I was driving on the 101 going north towards Sherman Oaks, heading to the Gender Amplified camp. I made a brief stop on the way and eventually pulled up into the residential area, into the driveway, and grabbed all of the important necessities—my bag that includes my interface and all the cables, cords, and adapters I might need at a moment’s notice whenever I’m in a session; my bag with my laptop, headphones, and additional MIDI controllers; my outfit change for the after-party after the sessions in the daytime; and my sunglasses, of course, because it’s always so sunny in LA. It was a beautiful day, which was already a sign of positive things to come.
I walked through the beautiful wooden open door into the open floor plan of the Calhoun Studio recording facility, nestled in this beautiful residential area on Calhoun Street just north of Hollywood. Some of the producers selected to be a part of our Grammy Week camp and mixer were already set up in their designated rooms. They had been strategically paired together by our phenomenal producer community manager, Natalie Sears, who takes painstaking effort to pair the right producers with one another in hopes of getting the best possible tracks by the end of the day.
Once I arrived a little before 11 AM, I greeted our gracious sponsors—Maggie and her team of videographers from Output, the technology company that makes the incredible plug-in Arcade, which I’ve been using for years. I met the crew, and then we assembled all the producers for a very quick meeting and introduction in the living room. Natalie gathered and corralled all the different producers, who were preoccupied at this point with getting prepared for their sessions. I gave a very quick motivational address to them, reinforcing the tenets of Gender Amplified as a nonprofit organization that supports the advancement of women and gender-expansive music producers through special events, such as this recording camp. These events are designed to not only create a space for creativity and community but also provide real-world opportunities for potential placement of their music, allowing their names to circulate while creating revenue-generating opportunities.
I shared an important book that I was reading at the time, Real Artists Don’t Starve by Jeff Goins, and mentioned that in addition to free subscriptions to Output’s Arcade, Gender Amplified would also be extending the opportunity to purchase this book for any of the artists at the camp who wanted a copy. I believed it was well aligned with the vision and mission statement of Gender Amplified. After some light chatting and my address, we all headed into our respective studios and started to create.
As the day progressed, we gathered for lunch, and as the sessions wrapped up, we all descended upon Studio A to play our tracks. The first track, produced in Studio B, was a soulful, romantic, guitar-driven R&B chill track. The second track, from Studio A, was a more bombastic, hyper-pop, over-rock beat—an expression of girl power and resilience. The third track, from Studio C, was an upbeat, pop-leaning four-to-the-floor dance track.
As the sun went down, we continued to collaborate and commune. Soon, more creatives began to spill in from a camp across town on Cahuenga hosted by our partner organization, Sound Credit, which is based out of Memphis, Tennessee. The atmosphere turned into a house-party-style hangout full of musicians of all genders, races, creeds, ethnicities, and backgrounds. Everyone was encouraged to play their music. I went around prying music from people because I knew everyone there was an artist, and I wanted to hear their work. I wanted everyone to feel encouraged to share because it’s the best way to get instant feedback.
As the night wound down and party-goers started to leave, people exchanged Instagram handles, social media contacts, phone numbers, and emails, encouraging each other to stay in touch across distances. Everyone was there for Grammy weekend, but as the night went on, the hype and culture of the industry event faded into the background. What became most important was sharing, giving, and being within a creative community. I could feel God’s presence in the space.
Many of the artists have continued to collaborate beyond the camp. I have personally reached out to many of the producers and artists to fortify the connections made that day. One of the young men who happened to come to the camp because a friend of his was in the session earlier that day ended up winning a Grammy on Sunday night. As I watched him walk down the aisle during the telecast to receive the award on Rapsody’s behalf, I thought to myself, "That’s JeMarcus Bridges. He was at our event—such a humble and gentle soul and now an extended member of the Gender Amplified community."
This is the beauty of Gender Amplified. After people leave our doors and our camp experiences, they go off into the world and do incredible things, uplifted and encouraged by the work we do. I am so grateful for our community and all the work we’ve built since 2007 when we were founded. We will continue to create these experiences that hold space for creatives, particularly women and gender-expansive music producers. But as our camps illustrate, we are about all people, all music, and the power of building community across all identities.