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Girls Need Guitars! Benefit at Mt. Baker, Apr. 3, 2005

by Laurette Langille

Girls need guitars, especially teenage girls who dream of being performers. At Sea Mar Visions (a residential sustance abuse treatment center, and the only level 2 program for teenage girls in Washington) a little help is on the way thanks to a number of talented regional women guitarists and songwriters. A benefit show will be given at 7pm, Sunday, April 3rd at the historic Mount Baker Theatre in downtown Bellingham. The goal is to support the Sea Mar Vision music program by providing instruments to these girls ranging from 13 to 17 years old.      The teenage girls receive counseling as they go to school and complete their highschool GED at the Sea Mar site. This period of sobriety, hard work and growth can also be a time of joy and expression with a properly funded music program.      Stepping up to the plate as sponsors of the 'Girls Need Guitars' benefit are Bellingham Weekly, Peavy, Sawatch Timber Drums, Bellevue's American Music, Bellingham Benefits and FedEx Kinko's.      The impressive list of female performers participating in the benefit includes the exceptionally talented and innovative guitarist, singer and composer Linda Waterfall. Waterfall draws from diverse musical genres in her original songs. Her fans also enter her audience from diverse backgrounds, from the pure folksters of PSGW (Puget Sound Guitar Workshop where Waterfall has been an instructor) to the old rocker fans of The Skyboys, jazz purists and new age music listeners. My own favorite memory of Linda Waterfall happened at a post concert party at WWU's  Womens Center. We had both just participated in a concert celebrating Women's Month and were trading wine and songs relaxing. Linda borrowed my guitar and whipped out a deceptively sweet and surprisingly raunchy Jelly Roll blues, a priceless moment!      Also participating in the benefit concert are Alice Stuart (who performed at the 2004 Mt. Baker Blues Festival), The Laura Love Duo, Vadinska, Tricia Sikes, and empowering Washington songwriter Linda Allen (whose lyric "Courage is the letting go of things that are familiar" will forever be etched in my memory.) . Alot of music styles will be presented on the Mount Baker Theatre stage with Alice Stuart providing her cool country blues to fully satisfy the Blues Lamp visitors who support the program by attending.       Tickets are available now at the Mt. Baker Theatre Box Office for $25 (www.mountbakertheatre.com)      For complete details and biographies on all of the women musicians participating in this concert or how you can donate a guitar or rhythm instrument gathering dust in the corner, visit:

LINDA WATERFALL

ALICE STUART

c.2005 blueslamp.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Laurette Langille is a Whatcom County blues musician.

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