Posted In Elle Magazine, Written by Jerra 2005

Power In Numbers: Why Every Girl Is Your Friend, Not Your Foe. Plus: outdoor concerts and porta-potties (what to bring, what to expect.)

Today, we were covered in dust and dirt. Girls walked around in their bikini tops with bandannas over their faces. People were of a mud tribe moshing in circles under the radiant sun; dust-caked faces in the afternoon smile wildly.

My friend walked up to me with her eyes as big as cannonballs: “there’s this girl spreading rumors about me!” She was horrified to report that some girl she never met in her life was passing on crude information full of lies to all the guys on tour. “She doesn’t even know me and she has a boyfriend, so why does she care?”

We all shook our heads. What is this, grade school? Weren’t we supposed to not have to endure this sort of degrading lack of partnership in the world? From the looks of this I almost half expected that we should walk to the bathroom together in a girl gang to discuss the happenings among our camp; girls are supposed to be our friends, not our foes. When we knock one down, we should only expect to fall ourselves: our power is in numbers – we have to know that what happens to one happens to all of us. “That’s exactly why I never make friends with girls,” she said finally, pouting more at the idea that someone would be so mean than the actually caring about what people would think of her. Maybe that’s exactly why she SHOULD make friends with girls.

By the time the afternoon came and went, she had made an alliance with most women here on tour, making sure that they understood just who she is, simple as that. The rumor dissipated and the girl spreading the rumor was truly embarrassed. For my friend, it was a simple matter of needing to introduce herself, and let people get to know her rather than isolating herself from the other women. She learned that they are more likely to be advocates of hers if they knew who she was. It was a big wake-up message to us all: we all just want some friends. Girls can be there for us if we give them the chance. Not to mention, guys want to meet groups of girls, not girls gone solo. They want to hang with girls who have friends and lives of their own. Wouldn’t you rather hang out with someone like that?

I remember walking into Guitar Center one time in San Francisco to pick up some things. I was waiting for some assistance when I overheard a conversation right next to me. There were two guys my age talking to each other for the very first time, total strangers. They introduced themselves, standing over music gear. They were asking each other about music and what they play. They quickly discovered that they had things in common and exchanged numbers so that they could hang out with each other’s friends and play some music. The conversation was quick, brief, sincere, and to the point. They said their goodbyes and wished each other luck, even picked a day of the week to give each other a call.

STOP.

How many times have you experienced this for yourself with other girls?? Why not?

I truly believe the only thing that gets in our way is ourselves, the fact that we don’t travel in numbers. We’re smart, tough, talented, and self-sufficient. So why aren’t we doubling up or tripling up on our collective powers to bring a force to be reckoned with, a force so positive and powerful that it washes out all chances for petty power struggle and self-induced struggle and isolation? Because when we get together with a common goal of making friends, we don’t have to worry about our foes.

I ended my day standing on the main stage, overlooking the beautiful gorge in Seattle. Drummers stretched under their backstage canopies, while the tired crew sleepily pushed equipment up and down ramps into trucks. The day came to an end with a stunning sunset. Acres of green grass, canyon, stone, and water. Snow-capped mountains looking up at the sky and the sky bowing down to the music. Onstage, I looked every woman in the eye, and we shook our hips in unison: yes, we are all curves and beauty, and together we are an arc of loveliness, sharing our happiness with each other through smile and that glint in our eyes that says “we are having one magnificent time, aren’t we?” When a girl looks like that, and you are with her, know that it is very probable that you are looking as rad as she.

All you have to do, you can learn from the boys. Find a common interest, talk about it lightly, make plans to meet up and/or choose an activity to do together, exchange words of encouragement and support, acknowledge each other, and reap the benefits of having a strong female army of friends that will ebb and flow for the rest of your life – providing you with a strong sense of self-discovery, support, and fun. And in return, you too can make yourself available to others to show them that girls are better your friends than your foes, that power in numbers works for the boys and it can work for us, and that most importantly that we’re all here sharing in similar experiences, and there is always a common denominator to find in one another.

Outdoor concerts:

What to bring, simple kit:
Sunblock
Chapstick/lipgloss
Foundation/sunblock stick
Credit card/cash
ID
Sweater/Sweatshirt

What to bring, indulgent kit:
The simple kit plus:
Doctors’ mask w/ lavender essential oil (for the porta-potty)
Hand sanitizing wipes/baby wipes
Brush-ups
Gum
Small perfume sample
Throw-away camera (if they’ll let you)
Ear plugs

What not to bring;
Flip flops
A change of clothes
Too much stuff

What to expect:
Loud music
Sunburn, dirt, sweat
Nachos and pretzels
Crowds
Lines
Not much shade

What you should know:
• There is always a medical tent at every outdoor event to take care of anything from dehydration to a paper cut.
• Expect traffic in and out of the concert. Remember, this can also be a really fun part of the event. Here you are, traveling together to see your favorite bands and to have a really awesome experience.
• Food is expensive
• Many people get dehydrated at concerts. Drink water!
• Pace yourself- when it’s a day concert, you really have to give yourself a break. Schedule out the performances you want to see and make sure to take breaks by cruising through the merchandise booths or whatever. Most bands support themselves through merchandise and so supporting your favorite band by buying their stuff ensures that you can see them again. Not to mention, it’s a good time to get some shade, water, and a give your ears a break.
• Having fun is completely up to you.

SHE-TV

Since we sent out cameras on Warped Tour in 2007 and had a pretty nice response while live streaming from various live websites, we realized this amazing technology's potential as a great way to stay in touch with our audience all year long.

In September of 2008 Stickam.Com came to us to develop girl oriented content for their website and the partnership was a match made in creative heaven.

We have since been doing the live show on stickam.com/sugarhooker. It's been an amazing way to connect with like minds, express our crazy minds, and try new things.

Every week, we bring new ideas and test them out!

Tuesday Nights:
We have an all girl DJ show that airs live from SHE studio and The Viper Room in Hollywood where you can listen to fat beats and go to a Hollywood Club VIP style without leaving your room. This show attracts 10s of thousands of awesome people who even get on camera to dance for us and live MC! It's a blast.

Wednesday Nights:
We had our girl culture variety hour which was a huge success, but way too much work, and unfortunately we couldn't sustain it. You can see clips from this here:



Instead, we have been interviewing bands like Serena Ryder, Civet, Charlotte Sometimes, and more by getting into their heads for one hour of intensive musician to musician conversations. Those can all be seen online every week!

Join Us:



Thursday Nights:
Lauren is our SH correspondent in Seattle. She brings us the freshest interviews from a cafe in Seattle with the most interesting bands from there and passing through. It's an amazing show.

Saturday Nights:
We're taking the similar idea of the dance club to the famous all ages Hollywood club, Club Bang! where you can check out the hottest kids in the indie, electro, and trash scenes every Saturday Night.

They whole thing has been great and we will continue to use the medium to express ourselves, reach our community, and offer something special.

We have hundreds of band interviews and video archives in our SHE Vault. Some day, we'll take them all out and share them with you. Until then, we will just keep making stuff.

Check out our cool flash archive site:

SugarHolics from the 1950's

Jack Lalanne, fitness guru since the 1950's has it right. Understand more with this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJVEPB_l8FU

MAY, 2005

For Immediate Release
06/16/05

S.H.E.’S WARPED PRESENTED BY
SUGAR HOOKER ENTERTAINMENT (S.H.E.)
ENDORSED BY WARPED TOUR’S KEVIN LYMAN
Sponsors Include SG Magazine and Daisy Rock Guitar
S.H.E.’s Warped Program Active On All Tour Stops
Jerra Plays Shiragirl Stage On Selected Dates

Los Angeles, CA – Sugar Hooker Entertainment (S.H.E.) announces the S.H.E.’s
Warped program to launch for Warped Tour 2005. The label’s priority act,
Jerra, will perform on the ShiraGirl Stage for selected dates. The band is
touring in support of their new full-length album titled Play Like A Girl.

S.H.E.’s Warped is a new program being launched by Sugar Hooker
Entertainment (S.H.E.) on Warped Tour 2005. It is wholly endorsed by Warped
Tour founder Kevin Lyman who enthuses "The Warped Tour has always been about
bringing new, exciting music and lifestyle brands to kids around the
country, and we're excited to have Sugar Hooker Entertainment joining us
this summer. Girls are here to stay on the Warped Tour!"

The S.H.E.’s Warped manifesto advocates providing a cool, fun place where
girls and guys can exchange ideas about pro-grrl music, art, lifestyles,
politics, trends. Sugar Hooker Entertainment will provide a place where
concert goers can pick-up exciting give-away items and information on a
variety of grrl-powered topics.

24-year old S.H.E. founder Jerra Spence is thrilled about the pro-grrl
message S.H.E.’s Warped will unveil this year. “We are bringing together
girl-culture companies like SG Magazine and Daisy Rock Guitar” Spence
explains. “Plus we are introducing female cult artist Fawn Gehweiler. We
are grrl-powered DIY Clothing! Music! Revolution!”

At the heart of the program stands the S.H.E.’s Warped tent designed by
Spence and visual artist Fawn Gehweiler. Gehweiler has been hailed by The
Face magazine as "the visual equivalent of candy floss peppered with broken
glass - delicious yet dangerous.” S.H.E.’s Warped tent sponsors include the
grrl-oriented sports and lifestyle publication SG Magazine and Daisy Rock
girl guitars.

Daisy Rock founder Tish Ciravolo comments "Sugar Hooker Entertainment
(S.H.E.) is all about girl rockers, and as the only true girl guitar
company, Daisy Rock is proud to support Jerra and Sugar Hooker Entertainment
(S.H.E.) on this summer's Warped Tour. Their presence will help inspire
thousands of female musicians around the country to rock!" Daisy Rock is
sponsoring Warped Tour bands including Jerra (S.H.E.), Inspect Her Gadget
(MyShorts Records), The Shocker (with Jennifer Finch of L7) and The Randies.
Visitors will have the chance to enter to win a free Daisy Rock guitar. In
conjunction S.H.E.’s Warped is offering free guitar lessons at the tent
daily.

SG Magazine will be giving away free copies of their summer issue at the
S.H.E.’s Warped Tent. S.H.E. and SG support girls who surf, skate and
snowboard and are giving away free subscriptions to the publication as well
as hosting a free-to-enter raffle all summer long. “Girls who like rock
music relate to girls who board” Jerra points out. “We’re the same
community, the same tribe, doing what we love to do!”

SG Magazine and Daisy Rock Guitars will both be actively promoting the
S.H.E.’s Warped program online, in print and in-person at Warped Tour.
Visit their websites for updates, photos and more information at
www.sgmag.com and www.daisyrock.com.

Merchandise specifically designed for the S.H.E.’S Warped program includes
music, limited edition posters by Fawn Gewheiler designed for S.H.E. and a
line of S.H.E.’S Warped 2005 items including posters, tote bags, tee shirts,
pins and stickers.

The S.H.E.’s Warped all-grrl gang will be in full force this summer. S.H.E.
is calling on girls all over the country to step-up, show solidarity and
create a community of strong females doing what they love to do and
supporting each other in the process. The team will flyer the grounds as
well as distributing the official S.H.E.’s Warped Tour 2005 fanzine. The
fanzine will include Kathleen Hanna's Riot Girl Revolution, Jerra and the
band The Shocker’s notes on DIY ethics, a coloring book by Fawn Gehweiler,
articles, helpful ‘concert/festival-goer’ info, phone numbers for national
organizations including suicide hotlines, date rape information and fun
quotes by bands present on the tour.

Fans can also keep up with Jerra on her own personal Blog hosted by ELLEgirl
Magazine’s website, www.ELLEgirl.com. This is the magazine’s first foray
into the world of blogging on their highly trafficked website. The site
currently enjoys 3.8 million page views per month and 500,000 visitor
sessions.

Jerra’s album, Play Like A Girl, is the first release on Sugar Hooker
Entertainment. The first track on the record, titled "Don't Trust" can be
heard in the surf film, The Kill Seven, which features surf superstars Kelly
Slater, Tom Curren and other surf celebs. “The Others” can be heard on
Surfer Magazine’s clip of the Pipeline Pro Masters 2005. And MTV recently
licensed tracks from the album to be used on the hit shows Road Rules, Real
World, and RW/RR Challenge. One of the most applauded Clear Channel radio
stations in the country, Indie 103.1, has been spinning the track “The
Others.” Jerra will perform on the ShiraGirl Stage on Warped Tour in San
Diego, Ventura, Boise, Seattle and Portland.

Sugar Hooker Entertainment is an independently owned and operated record
label and lifestyle company based in Los Angeles, CA. Visit them online at
www.sugarhooker.com.

- there are some great pictures posted on our myspace from this year: