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| Naomi Less - News & Reviews |
| Woman to Watch |
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Woman to Watch: Naomi Less By Perel Skier Age: Thirty-something Profession: Soul rocker Watch her because: She's going to teach your daughters how to stand proud and sing loud. When Naomi Less envisions Jewish chicks rocking, she sees an ocean of teenage girls in her mind-"a sea of voices," she says, "not afraid to speak out and state their opinion, not seeing a glass ceiling, not seeing, `No, you're not supposed to do that'." Jewish Chicks Rock, Less's trailblazing new project, is in many ways a confluence of these voices. Equally composed of the fearless rock passion she channeled as frontwoman for the band Less Nessman and the keenly observational nurturing instinct she developed at the Foundation for Jewish Camping, Less found herself dismayed by the dearth of identifiably Jewish, relatable female role models for teens and tweens, particularly in the self-expressive realm of music. Most chart-topping female artists, she notes, are "certainly not selling empowerment or self-esteem;" the few who emphasize such values "tend to be off-genre, like the Ani DiFrancos," unlikely to reach girls who crave guidance but define their taste in media based on popularity, not individual interests. Pause, as Less would say. "I've been very interested in helping these girls develop into resilient, strong Jewish women in my work," she explains. "Rock to me is always about not being afraid to say what you want to say, to say it loud, say it proud, say it with some shredding going on on the guitar-and in Jewish mainstream rock, the girls aren't seeing any role models doing that, so there's nothing to perpetuate." Now, guitar in hand, the experiential educator proposes to change all that. Behold: Jewish Chicks Rock, a program whose daunting scope and reach seeks to revolutionize the music industry and Jewish youth culture from the ground up. For starters, Less plans to develop a unique blend of Torah values and punky girl-power pop that will equip Jewish teens with the tools they need to build their own identities and hone their individual voices to express what is hitting them right now. This new music will be well-produced pop music-"like Pink meets Avril Lavigne"-but the messages will be "very now, powerful, and Jewish-values laden," Less says. Case in point: the first song Less has written for the endeavor, an upbeat stomper titled "Responsibility," details the inner struggle of an uncomfortable adolescent watching from the sidelines as two bullies pick on another girl. Yet while her own music is a crucial component of Jewish Chicks Rock, Less outlines an even more intriguing second phase: a traveling tour with a killer backup band and a few different Jewish rocker chick frontwomen. "They will share how they got to where they are, what their struggles were, what they're proud of, whatever they're good at that embodies the `them' that they are right now: scars, skeletons and all." Less explains. "I'm not proud of everything I've done, but it made me who I am." Eventually, she hopes, "there will be little pockets of girls around that will want to begin this in their own communities, that will want to express themselves creatively and through their Jewish identities." The definitive Jewish Chick who Rocks? "A work in progress," Less says: a garden, growing the self-confidence to voice her beliefs and the passions that make her unique. And-of course-someone who totally rocks. Perel Skier is a freelance writer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin who currently resides in Manhattan. She rocks a Washburn guitar and chocolate cake, not necessarily in that order. |
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