Girls Rock MKE w/D Kirschling
- Elisabeth Gasparka
- Apr 10, 2024
- 2 min read
In this episode of Creative MKE, Elisabeth speaks with D Kirschling, a board member and the volunteer coordinator at the non- profit organization Girls Rock & Ladies Rock MKE. Participants of Girls & Ladies Rock MKE attend camps and workshops where they experiment and learn music in a safe space, working on traditional elements of a rock band including voice, instrumentation on guitar, drums, bass and keyboard, and song composition and performance.
Despite the name, Girls & Ladies Rock MKE programs are inclusive: they are open to all on the gender spectrum, and are designed to empower participants through collaboration, expression and exploration of technical skills.
Guided by volunteers who are often local musicians, participants are encouraged to lean in to the process of self-reflection and self-expression through creativity. It’s a process that Kirschling and organizers hope sparks rockers to challenge themselves—and maybe even change their perception of who they are and what they can accomplish.
Kirschling shares how Ladies Rock—an offshoot of Girls Rock MKE-- emerged from the interest of parents of kids who were part of Girls Rock camps, and saw the benefits it had for them. Ladies Rock became an answer to the question of how adults who had interest in music but little experience could find space within Milwaukee’s music scene, and rock music itself, which is often experienced as a “boys club” by marginalized artists.
“We want to create healthy and balanced people. The arts are part of a healthy and balanced life."
Ultimately, the mission of both programs is to move the Milwaukee music scene forward to become a more equitable place, and to enrich the lives of individuals.
“We want to create healthy and balanced people. The arts are part of a healthy and balanced life,” said Kirschling.
In the conversation, Kirschling also reflects on how arts organizations, including Girls Rock, as so focused on basic survival that they struggle to expand on their programming and their footprint in the community. She imagines that with more support, individual artists in Milwaukee would live healthier, more fulfilled lives—which would in turn make our community a healthier place.
You can find Girls and Ladies Rock on the web or on Instagram: Girls Rock MKE, and Ladies Rock MKE.
Read:
Full Interview Transcript (Click to Expand):
Note: the following podcast dialogue has been auto-transcribed, and accordingly, may contain some minor spelling or formatting errors.
Elisabeth Gasparka:
Welcome to Creative MKE, a conversation show from Imagine MKE, where we talk to creative leaders in Milwaukee to highlight all the incredible transformative power of their work in our region. We Hope that after listening, you'll be able to imagine our city's arts and culture ecosystem, and all the awesome artists, organizations, and creative assets within it in a new way. I'm your host, Elisabeth Gasparka. Hey there. Welcome to Creative MKE. Today I am speaking with D Kirschling, a board member and the volunteer coordinator at Girls Rock Milwaukee. Girls Rock Milwaukee is an organization focused on empowering girls, women, and gender expansive individuals through music, education, and performance. Their work is focused on fostering independent thinking, building positive self-esteem, and bridging cultural and social divides through supportive community in their workshops, panels, and events. Girls Rock is dedicated to creating safe spaces to explore music through collaboration, expression, and technical skills. My guest today, D Kirschling, was born, raised, and currently resides in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and encourages others to do so as well. In addition to her leadership at Girls Rock, D is also the founder of National Diorama Month and organization that looks to increase interest and attention to the art craft and fun of diorama making while raising money for local nonprofits. If you enjoy today's conversation, please go ahead and take a moment to subscribe to Creative MKE wherever you stream podcasts. While you're there, feel free to share about the episode on social media or leave a reading or review of the show while you're at it. You can also follow along with the adventures and the work of Imagine MKE by liking or following us on socials. Learn more about us and how you can get involved with Imagine MKE through our brand new website. Imaginemke.org. Thank you. Creative MKE is supported through a partnership with Shepherd Express. For more than 40 years, shepherd Express has proudly advocated for arts and culture in the Milwaukee area. You can hear more podcasts like this one @shepherdexpress.com. Today's feature music is by Girls Rockers from summer 2018. The songs are jet lag by bucket list, and relatively simple by existing is exhausting. Stick around for my conversation with D Kirschling from Girls Rock Milwaukee after the break. Welcome D. Really excited to speak with you about Girls and Ladies Rock. Yeah. Before we get started, I wanna invite you to tell me about a Milwaukee musical experience that left a strong imprint on you.
D Kirschling:
Ooh. So I do have a good story for this. In the latter mid nineties, I was with my boyfriend at the time and we went to go see the box tops at play at State Fair. And it's not that we were a big fan of the box tops, but we were a big fan of the singer of the Boxtops, who was Alex Chilton, who we liked more for his work with Big Star, a band popular in the seventies. So we just thought we'd go and check out the box tops, maybe see if we can autograph, whatever, and they were playing like three shows that day. So we showed up early for the first show, and he came out and we're like, oh, my, my God, <laugh>. And I went out, I'm brave, or Tried to be Brave, and I went over and I chatted him up a little bit and my boyfriend came over and we kind of talked him up and then just went and sat down and waited for the show. And he actually came over before, you know, after their sound check and like, sat and hung out with us. Whoa. And then for those three shows, we just decided to stay. We didn't wanna miss an opportunity. And he did. He hung up like in between every show. He was like hanging out. We like walked around, stayed fair a little bit, and hung out and talked. And I just went ahead and asked him what he was doing the next night, which was Friday, and he didn't have anything on his docket. So I called in sick to my job at Pizza Shuttle <laugh> and we swung by his hotel and picked him up and went to the uptown Dang. And Helicos and hung out all night and had a great time Wow. And exchanged numbers. And anytime he was kind of in the Midwest or in a drivable distance we would go and see him and hang out. He would go on tour with the box tops or he had solo endeavors that he would do. And he even like welcomed my husband when I met my husband and he started coming to hang out. So we had like a genuine friendship, which was even still crazy to think about now, <laugh>. So you know, it was really just an idol of mine that you, you know, they say don't meet your idols, but every once in a while it works out. Okay.
Elisabeth Gasparka:
That's amazing. Yeah. I love that you went to the Uptown. Yeah. <laugh>.
D Kirschling:
So that was the style of the time. <Laugh>.
Elisabeth Gasparka:
All right. Late nineties. Gotcha, gotcha. Yeah. Well, that's amazing. And I feel like that also signifies the sense of hospitality that I think musicians and artists experience when they're here, like there's a, there's just this ardent love of music that exists everywhere, but in Milwaukee it just feels really positive. And I know bands that have come through always just love the hospitality that they experience. And so thank you for being a great ambassador of Milwaukee culture to Alex Chilton. Are you still in touch with him?
D Kirschling:
Well unfortunately he did pass away.
Elisabeth Gasparka:
Oh my goodness.
D Kirschling:
Ooh in 2010 RIP, but we were in touch and I did get to see him quite frequently, so it's a, a joy in my life.
Elisabeth Gasparka:
That's wonderful. Well, thanks for sharing that. Yeah, you
D Kirschling:
Betcha.
Elisabeth Gasparka:
So, speaking of music in Milwaukee, you are the volunteer coordinator and a board member for Ladies and Girls Rock. Tell me, what is Ladies and Girls Rock?
D Kirschling:
So we are an organization that right now focuses programming on camps for people with little to no musical experience. The camps for kids are set up in two week or in two one week increments during the summer. And then we have an adult version that's usually three days, usually in the spring. And so you come together, learn to play an instrument, form a band, write a song with that band, and then perform that song in front of an audience at the end of camp. Sweet. Yeah. It's pretty amazing.
Elisabeth Gasparka:
Who is Girls Rock for and who is Ladies Rock for?
D Kirschling:
So despite the name, we are inclusive to all genders. We'd like to open it up to participants on gender expansive youth and adults. Mm.
Elisabeth Gasparka:
Wonderful. That's really exciting. Yeah. I think the name, you know, is a, it's, it sounds very gendered, but I love to hear that it's, it's an inclusive program. Right. And so you're saying that anyone who identifies as a girl or as a lady, or is female identifying in some way or just
D Kirschling:
Yeah, somewhere on that gender expansive spectrum is welcome. We look to create a safe space for people who wanna experience music that maybe haven't had the opportunity because of certain attitudes in the musical business that we encounter.
Elisabeth Gasparka:
Mm. <Laugh> Oh, the patriarchy. Yeah.
D Kirschling:
That patriarchy. It's always there. Yeah. Right,
Elisabeth Gasparka:
Right. So, so exciting and so cool. I know people who have really benefited from these programs. And a few years ago I had the opportunity to be a speaker on a panel for Ladies Rock, which was really an amazing, wonderful experience for me. But I wanna talk about what these programs do. So at the heart of the camps and the workshops for adults, there's this sort of intentional play and this, this space that's created for musical exploration, creativity, community building, relationship building in a safe space. So I just want you to speak to, from your perspective, how you've seen that impact people on the gender spectrum who participate in these programs. Yeah. How does it impact the participants?
D Kirschling:
Well, so I was a camper at the very first Ladies Rock that we had. I had never, never heard of the program before and signed up for it very much on a whim. within 10 minutes of learning about it. And I remember feeling very nervous about the other people that I was going to be with. You know, what is the attitude? What, what was the vibe going to be? , because sometimes we can be so cruel to each other, but what I found was such an open, caring environment. You, you go and, and everybody was vulnerable with the same, you know, everybody was feeling the same feelings and feeling vulnerable and trying to share something about themselves that it was really amazing to be a part of that. And it changed my life in that moment immediately that I knew I wanted to be involved. And I've been involved ever since then. You know, music is the catalyst that brings the programming together, but it's such a small part of really everything, you know, we we're looking for empowerment, we're looking for self-reflection. We're looking to encourage others to participate in whatever arts programming might be their calling.
Elisabeth Gasparka:
I'd love if you could speak to the range of instruments that people might explore in these camps and workshops. Sure.
D Kirschling:
You know the lessons, because it is a, a quick short program. , we generally focus on what a rock band would have. Mm So we do vocals, bass, guitar, drums, and keyboards. So usually the campers can pick their first, second and third choices, and then we'll work from there and form their bands.
Elisabeth Gasparka:
And who instructs the campers
D Kirschling:
Local musicians, volunteers that we have come in for that. Super
Elisabeth Gasparka:
And how do you recruit your, your volunteer teachers?
D Kirschling:
Oh, I am out there on them streets. <Laugh> <laugh>. I personally don't try to let an opportunity go by when I, when I meet somebody and they've got that right kind of vibe going on and they've got the right kind of experience, I am asking them if they wanna be involved. I'm telling them about our program and just really, so it's been a lot of word of mouth for me. a lot of people that I've known. My husband is kind of out in the music scene So he's been helpful introducing me to people and just people I've, I mean, I'm older, so I've just known a lot of people my whole life and I'm just bringing them into this program left and right. <Laugh>
Elisabeth Gasparka:
Awesome. So, yeah. I love what you were just touching on D, about just music making and how it's, you know, a confidence booster. It's, it's also shown to reduce anxiety, improve relationship building even improve like brain function. You know, you're planting seeds Right. With, with people who may be brand new to music and may go on to become musicians or truly embrace that part of themselves and explore that further
D Kirschling:
Challenging, challenging themselves. Like so many people, especially in Ladies Rock, never thought that they could do something that they are currently doing. , you know, it's just really amazing to see that transformation for people.
Elisabeth Gasparka:
I'd love to hear a little bit about that. What are some of the groups that you've seen over the years that have kind of come out of or emerged from these, these programs?
D Kirschling:
We have two very popular girls rock bands. gas Station Sushi and Negative Positive. Yes. Now those children that originally started at Girls Rock are now young adults college age but still out there still performing. Right. It's really amazing. And even, you know, if we don't get a lot of longevity from the bands, I know that we get a lot of longevity from the feelings they got from, from the program.
Elisabeth Gasparka:
Absolutely. I wanna go back to what you just mentioned about the programs kind of challenging the participants to maybe conduct some self-reflection or stretch themselves in terms of acquiring a new skill. In my own experience speaking on a panel for Ladies Rock, it's so funny the prompt was to like, reflect on what a songwriting mean to you. How did you come to become a songwriter? And I had all these prepared notes and I was in the space with all of these really wonderful warm human beings. And just listening to the other panelists speak about their own lives and the role that songwriting has played in their lives, I kind of was shook. And I ended up not really speaking on my notes at all, my prepared notes and just like shared this traumatic story from my own life about, about how I started to dig into personal narrative and this experience that I had as a teenager that I had never shared with anyone before.
D Kirschling:
That's amazing.
Elisabeth Gasparka:
Yeah. And it was because of that space of just vulnerability and trust and compassion that was created by the leaders of Ladies Rock and the participants in that panel. But I feel like that was a turning point for me as, as a songwriter and as an artist.
D Kirschling:
I love to hear it. You have really come down to the essence of what we're trying to do and what we're trying to build. That is beautiful.
Elisabeth Gasparka:
So de you just spoke about, you know, how Ladies and Girls Rock is trying to empower the individual to proceed in their lives as artists and step into the future and perhaps pursue music in the future with more confidence and perhaps even explore other areas of the music industry, like being part of a venue or going into music production. And that's just making me think about the amazing network of venues that we get to enjoy in this city. So I just wanna ask you, how does Girls and Ladies Rock interact with our, with our music scene, both the underground music scene and the more established music scene? Yeah.
D Kirschling:
So one of our co-founders is Ashley Smith, and she was in the Band Whips which is great band. Mm. And you know, she was a musician. She is a musician, loves music, and, you know, being a woman in the music scene really kind of had a firsthand experience about what a boys' club Mm. The Milwaukee music scene or any music scene could be. And then in turn, ladies Rock was founded partially by Mary Joy Hickey, who is from Fox Face. And she kind of felt the same thing. We had a lot of parents of the kids wondering if there was ever gonna be a program for them to explore. So, you know, we just wanted to be able to create those kind of safe spaces that we had for the kids to move on to the adults and really facilitate all that. You know, we've had a couple of bands I mentioned, or negative positive and Gas Station Sushi that really, you know, sustain themselves for years after participating in our program and have come back as adults and volunteered with their skills. Every camp that we hold, we have multiple local acts that come and perform and play for us. So we have had Rena Rat Bath, sle, Barry Scam, likely very popular band this year. We've also partnered with a couple of events around town where just recently partnered with chosen events. , they're an LGBTQ plus event company. And Company brewing we're part of a monthly round robin showcase. Ooh. Which we're primarily featuring women artists, but it's been really amazing so far. You know, we've worked with so many people and we're so thankful that people have been generous and had a willingness to prop open doors that they have found locked. Mm So moving forward with, you know, we want, our hope is that Girls Rock and Ladies Rock Camps can give back as much as we've received from everybody that has come forward and, and helped us and, and helped the music scene move forward to a more equitable place. Mm.
Elisabeth Gasparka:
Love it. Beautifully said. Yeah. It sounds like there's just like this rich give and take between girls and ladies rock and local venues and local artists that just continues to build momentum. People
D Kirschling:
Learn about the program and how could they not wanna support it? Really <laugh>.
Elisabeth Gasparka:
Mm. True that. So how, I wanna just open it up a little bit. How can music lovers who are listening to this conversation and intrigued by the concept get involved or support the work of Girls and Ladies Rock?
D Kirschling:
So if you'd like to support the Girls Rock Milwaukee mission where we empower individuals in marginalized communities you can follow us on social media, you can share and like our posts. I mean, something is that simple. You can volunteer with us. I know we've talked a little bit about there are music instructors, but there are many different types of roles available. You don't have to have music experience, you don't have to have performing experience, anything like that. I mean, you can come down and help us move equipment around You can have one day available. We have room for you to come and volunteer. And I will say that a lot of our volunteers come back again and again and again because the experience they've had has been so wonderful and so fulfilling. Obviously we do take donations as well. that is in musical equipment and Cash money <laugh>. So feel free to follow us on social media to find out ways to donate. You can also sign up for our newsletter that we have on our website, girls rock m ke.org.
Elisabeth Gasparka:
Thank you. So once the participants have dug into music and done their exploring, where do they showcase what they've come up with? What's, what does that look like? Can you tell me a little bit about the sort of culminating event from Girls Rock?
D Kirschling:
So we actually just had our second session showcase on the 30th, so a few days ago. and for Girls Rock, we have that at Turner Hall. So it is a huge venue. Yeah. And it's, we have obviously a lot of parents and family members, but we do invite the publics to come as well. Mm. We, admission is on a sliding scale, no one has turned away for their inability to pay because we just want everybody to come and experience and see what these kids have done and had to offer. Ladies Rock. We've had venue changes We have been at a few local places. I don't have a new place set up yet for next year. because we've just finished programming. We haven't yet begun Sure. Programming for next year. But we're usually at a little bit of a smaller, more intimate venue, but it's been really fun and it's a great way, you know, when you go through this program and then you're actually up on a real actual stage where there's a real sound check and a real person running the lights is just an, a beautiful cherry on top of the experience, I think.
Elisabeth Gasparka:
Cool. So you just mentioned Turner Hall Ballroom. I wanna give you a chance to shout out any of the partner organizations that help Girls Rock, you know, fulfill their mission.
D Kirschling:
Absolutely. we have a few of our partners, we have musical round. They've been holding events for us to come in and actually help the kids learn about musical instruments and do shopping events. Cactus Club, we work with them closely. Yeah. Love them. We just had a book club meeting there just the other day where we sponsored this month book read. It was a very great sea dog creative. Does a lot of our AV stuff. Lion's Tooth Bookstore has been very supportive. And of course we have our co-founder, Valerie Luxe. She has a restaurant group with Palomino Honey Pie, small Pie and Comet. Mm. She's one of our co-founders and has been ex an excellent supporter for many years now.
Elisabeth Gasparka:
Awesome. So you just touched on, you know, events, sales at music go round and sort of the network, the cultural network that Ladies and Girls Rock is embedded within. I just wanna invite you to reflect a little bit on that. What is the footprint from your perspective of Ladies and Girls Rock as a nonprofit organization operating in the cultural space?
D Kirschling:
You know, we, we have just a very small staff. a part-time staff. But I feel like what we, the work that we do can kind of affect the economy in a, like a less defined way. Mm. Our music education and performances are really just kind of the edge when it comes to our programming. So we're, you know, there's a Dper like, impact when it comes to empowering individuals. Mm. , you know, I really look at it at, like, like I said, the, the music is the catalyst for getting us together. But what we're doing is changing these individuals' lives. We're fostering their creativity. , you know, a lot of more soft skills. You talked about that workshop. We've got those kind of workshops going through all of our camps with different sorts of topics. for each of the girls and ladies, or people that are the campers that are involved. Mm. You know, we want them to stand up for themselves to know their value. Mm. And to be able to, if they join the, you know, the Milwaukee creative scene to be able to hold and advocate for, hold space for themselves and advocate for themselves. Mm.
Elisabeth Gasparka:
Beautifully said. I love that. Yeah. Just stepping into their authenticity and taking up space. Yeah. Those soft skills, as you mentioned, will end up helping them in their careers no matter what they go on to do. Obviously communication is so crucial no matter what sector you work in.
D Kirschling:
Yeah. I mean, we wanna create healthy and balanced people and, you know, the arts are part of a healthy and balanced life.
Elisabeth Gasparka:
So how can people follow all of the things that are going on with Girls Rock?
D Kirschling:
So we're on all them socials. So we are at Girls Rock, MKE and at Ladies Rock, MKE on Facebook, Instagram. And then we'll also have our email newsletter, which you can sign up for at www.girlsrockmke.org.
Elisabeth Gasparka:
Lovely. Well, D, before I let you scoot, I'm gonna ask you just one more question. And so right now the atmosphere that we're existing within here in Wisconsin is, I think you could call it a thriving art and music scene. Absolutely. But that's despite the fact that there is really almost no public support for the arts in our community. Wisconsin is currently 49th in the nation in terms of per capita funding for the arts. So I wanna just invite you to imagine for a moment, a future where individual artists and arts organizations experienced a higher degree of support. What would that mean for Milwaukee? What would that mean for the music community?
D Kirschling:
You know, it would be really fantastic if the city and the state invested directly into arts programs and funneled more money towards arts organizations, even smaller ones like Girls Rock. And I would love to see a future that has permanent grant programming and funding to actively promote arts and community programs. That just makes sense. You know, we would love to be a consistent presence. You know, ultimately a goal would be to have our own building, our own we'd love to rent out gear to these, you know, burgeoning bands to have practice space available and to do year-round programming. Mm. So that is a struggle for us. And I imagine a struggle for many other arts organizations in the area if you really had more money and to be, I mean, it's, it's what everybody needs is more money. Right. But like, you could change so much on a community level and a city level and a a state level. It'd be amazing, you know, we have so many artists here trying to work, and if you were able to be more creative without having such a financial strain And live your best life, we'd have so many more people that could have support in their chosen fields. And I think you could increase, you know, mental and physical health if we're able to do the things we wanna do. without having to worry all the time about so many other things, wouldn't we change the world?
Elisabeth Gasparka:
I love that vision. Yeah. I think the sustainability piece that you're speaking to is, is so crucial, right? Because arts organizations are so focused on just surviving at this point,
D Kirschling:
Scraping by. Right.
Elisabeth Gasparka:
There's very little space to have more of a footprint and more of an impact and give back more to the community. So hopefully we are moving in that direction. I sure hope so. We did recently advance from 50th in the nation Oh. To 49th in the nation. So things are shifting. Yeah. Things are shifting in the community crossed Yeah. <Laugh> and at the state level. So we'll just, we're, we're part of leading that charge at Imagine MKE. But I'm so inspired by the work of Girls Rock and I wish you much continued success and I'll continue to be a, a big fan.
D Kirschling:
Absolutely. Thank you so much. And we so appreciate your support.
Elisabeth Gasparka:
Thanks for being here.
D Kirschling:
You bet. Thank you.
Elisabeth Gasparka:
Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to help support the show, please share it with others. Post about it, leave a rating or review or contact us. Creative MKE is hosted, edited, and produced by me, Elisabeth Gaskparka. It is recorded in beautiful downtown Milwaukee with engineering support from the Good folks at Podcamp Media Creative MKE's theme music was written and produced by Bobby Drake. To get involved or learn more about the work of Imagine MKE, you can find us on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn, or visit us on the web.
