First of all, I have to preface this by saying that if there had been a rock camp for girls when I was a pre-teen, I would have signed up in a heart-beat. The Rock n' Roll Camp for Girls recently launched their first ever New York program which honestly makes me want to have daughters of my own if only so that I can send them there and raise the next Sleater-Kinney. You can read more about it today at Spin.com which features a completely cute and awesome journal written by one of the campers/future femme rockstars of the world.
So Spin.com got me completely jonesed on girls in music which led to my being really excited to go to their offices last night and check out Smoosh, two young sisters from Seattle who caught my attention late last year. And by young, I mean YOUNG, Asya and Chloe are both still not even in high school, and yet are traveling around the country opening for artists like Sufjan Stevens and Death Cab For Cutie (whose drummer is their teacher/guitar tech/mentor) and headlining Knitting Factory tonight.
Their set at the Spin offices was filled with nervous pre-teen energy, starting off slightly awkward but slowing finding its balance and then proceeding to blow away the entire room. It's a sort of uncomfortable and yet awesome thing at the same time to see a 13 year old and her 11 year old sister produce these increasingly complex songs which oftentimes seem mature beyond their years. But there is something so totally fascinating and just plain FUN about their music so all the awkwardness melts away and all you want to do is say "heck (gotta tone it down for the kids) yeah, I wish I had gone to rock camp for girls when I was their age!"
It will be interesting to see how Smoosh progress as a band when the girls get older and come more into their own. They played a good number of selections from their SECOND and upcoming album and there was clearly a huge progression from the songs on 'She Like Electric.' Either way, these two siblings seem like they are having a great time doing what they are doing. Afterall, the headline of their bio reads: "Music is nothing if it's not conceived for the joy of it."
I couldn't agree more.
Here's a Smoosh track from their first album. Get your Knitting Factory tickets for their show tonight here.
Smoosh - La Pump
update: Peter just brought the VIDEO for this song to my attention. What's up claymation!