Play it Forward, April 2022, Make Your Move Missoula!, No
Make Your Move Missoula!,
No
Thursday // April 14th // 7:30 PM // Free, but please consider donating as 70% of funds received go to support Make Your Move!//
Donation link:
VIEWING LINKS
ZACC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thezacc/
Zootown Arts YouTube:
MCAT Local Live: https://www.mcat.org/watch-now/local-live/
Thanks for tuning in and playing it forward.
FULL EPISODE:
Intro:
TW // sexual violence, rape
Peyton Butler: KBGA College Radio and the Zootown Arts Community Center (ZACC) have teamed up to bring you 'Play It Forward', a music series and podcast program curated to unite and uplift community artists and organizations in Missoula. Once a month we will partner with a different organization and host a local music event, with 70% of proceeds going to that month's organization. In conjunction with the music event each month, KBGA will run a podcast program on-air featuring interviews with the people behind the organizations and the artists themselves. We’re here to have a conversation with community organizers and creatives, artists, and activists on what community means to them and how they engage in their community.
April’s Play It Forward features No, a local Missoula band made up of Noelle Huser, Erin and Duncan Szalda-Petree, Ally Fradkin and Caleb Tutty. A live concert at the Zootown Arts Community Center will take place at 7:30 on April 14th. Part of the proceeds from this event will be going directly to Make Your Move Missoula. Make your move is an innovative campaign designed to engage our community as allies to prevent sexual violence in the greater Missoula area. This multi-faceted, inter-agency approach creates long-term, positive change by changing the beliefs and behaviors that support sexual violence, thus creating a safer and healthier community.
And before this episode starts I wanted to step in and say this episode mentions acts of sexual violence and rape, so listener discretion is advised.
This podcast features Noelle Huser of the band No, as well as Erica Ritsema of Make Your Move Missoula. This episode’s host is Peyton Butler, KBGA’s Media Director.
No is in the process of finishing up their upcoming album Cold Sweat. Here is a sneak peak of one of their unmastered songs Practical Magic.
<Practical Magic by No>
Peyton Butler: Hi everyone! Thank you so much for joining me for this month's Play It Forward Interview. This month we are featuring local Missoula Band No, and they’ll be playing in support of Make Your Move Missoula. And here in the studio with me today are Noelle Huser and Erica Ritsema.
Erica Ritsema: Hi, my name is Erica Ritsema I use she, her/hers, and I am the prevention specialist for the healthy relationships project at the Missoula city county health department.
Noelle Huser: Hi, I'm Noel Huser. I use she/they and I am a musician. Uh, my music project is No.
Peyton Butler: And then, hi, my name is Peyton Butler. I use she/her pronouns and I'm the Media Director here at KBGA.
And my first question is for Erica. Erica, could you give us a little background on what Make Your Move is?
Erica Ritsema: Yeah, for sure. So, Make Your Move is a inter-agency collaboration between lots of different local organizations. Who have all come together to try and promote healthy relationships in Missoula County. Um, so historically we've done a lot of work specifically around preventing sexual violence, but we also do other work to just in general, prevent, not prevent, promote healthy relationships.
Peyton Butler: And then Noelle, you were actually KBGA's general manager at one point. Do you want to briefly describe what Play It Forward is for us?
Noelle Huser: Um, yeah, so at the time, um, I sort of formed it. Uh, I just, it was the pandemic and there were very little opportunities for local musicians to play music.
And I think also there was like a lot of, kind of global reckoning with just different social justice issues and things that like the pandemic really shone, shined a light on. Um, and, uh, lots of like grappling with that, you know, online. But, um, I was curious about just how we could kind of move that to like, just focusing, like what we could do to focus on our community and different things happening in our community, different issues that affect all of us.
And I feel like a lot of musicians and artists I know are very linked to being active in being community organizers around certain issues. And so, um, the idea was just to each month, have a music show, a live stream, um, that people could access from all over the place that musicians could play and play in support of different local organizations.
And then there would be a podcast portion as well, where, um, we just get to kind of be informed and create awareness around those issues that those different organizations are working on. And the idea was always to have kind of the artists and the organizations be somewhat aligned. So it's cool and I'm happy to be back here because, um, a lot of my experience in the music scene and in my music has been, kind of, um, talking about like creating space for myself, especially in a world and in a scene where there is a lot of sexual violence that occurs and then Make Your Move Missoula. I've always seen as like a really important organization and causing our creating conversations, um, around what we can each do individually, um, in every facet of our life to promote healthy relationships.
Uh, so yeah, I'm happy to be here.
Peyton Butler: And then Erica, could you talk a little bit about the resources that make your move provides for Missoula?
Erica Ritsema: Yeah. So I think one of the big things we do is provide education. So we have 3 different workshops that we conduct in the community. Um, so one is a bystander intervention training for alcohol serving staff. Um, so for example, we're going to be at the ZACC doing a training with their staff soon. Um, and I think Noelle, you were really helpful in setting that up too.
Um, so thank you. Uh, we love getting out in the community to do that. Um, we also do a sexual harassment workplace, sexual harassment prevention, workplace training. Um, so that one really talks about like, we know at least a third of people end up dating someone at work at some point in their life. And so how can we help people do that in a way that is healthy and not crossing the line into sexual harassment.
Um, and then the last one that we do with adults at least is a nightlife workshop. Um, and for that one, the nightlife community. So musicians, comedians, the drag community, lots of different like entertainment. Um, a lot of people in the entertainment community came to us being like, Hey, we know this is a problem, but we don't really know how to fix it.
What can we do to not just intervene when things happen, but also be preventative. And so that workshop, um, teaches people how to think as a prevention assist and how to like be change agents in their communities.
Peyton Butler: And then Noelle, my next question is what's the story behind how No was formed?
Noelle Huser: Um, yeah. Uh, so I'm like fairly new ish to music.
Um, and it's kind of just been like a culmination of all my song writing that I've done. Um, I kind of darted around different bands and different band names, but, um, yeah, I started the project probably like officially. Yeah over the pandemic. Um, just like putting a name to it. Um, no, it was just sort of, uh, my own nickname.
Um, at least two of my band mates, I taught rock camp with, at the Zootown Arts Community Center. Um, and so we just spent a whole summer navigating the pandemic together, playing music every day.
Um, and we all had like really similar music tastes. And so I kind of recruited everybody to be in my band and we had already played in my friend, Erin who's in the bands project, ESP. Um, and then yeah, recruited a few other, uh, other few other friends and started just, um, yeah, taking these kinds of songs that I wrote in a very like acoustic self-soothing kind of way in my bedroom and turned it into like a indie pop rock project.
Peyton Butler: And then could you also kind of talk about the kind of music that you create? Like, does it fall under a specific genre or anything?
Noelle Huser: Um, yeah, I'd say like, I don't know. I'm inspired by like a lot of like nineties, early two thousands, like all rock pop. Um, yeah, so I don't know, alt rock, indie pop type of thing.
Um, going on there's like kind of different influences, but I'd say the main ones are like pop and rock and a little bit of like country folky stuff too. Um, yeah.
Peyton Butler: And then for Erica, could you talk a little bit about the bystander campaign that Make Your Move has been working on and the importance of bystanders in ending sexual violence?
Erica Ritsema: Um, yeah, so, so I think the bystander approach, uh, is trying to help everyone recognize that we all have a role in preventing sexual violence. Um, we know that sexual violence is unfortunately super prevalent and we don't just need like superheroes in capes who can like fight bad people.
We need like everyday people who can, um, intervene in whatever way feels comfortable for them. In order to prevent situations from escalating. Um, and that can be anything from like causing a distraction to help someone get away from an interaction that is making them feel really uncomfortable around safe, or being really direct.
Um, and we really encourage people to like find the method that works for you, what works for some people is not gonna work for everyone. Um, but we all have a role to play in promoting the types of positive social norms that prevent sexual violence and bystanders is a big part of that.
Peyton Butler: And kind of going off of that, could you talk a little more about the trainings that you provide?
Like, the one where you have trainings for people who serve alcohol to different venues?
Erica Ritsema: Yeah, definitely. Um, so I think overall. Our approach to trainings is that we want people to walk away with actual skills. Um, we don't just want to like raise awareness and raising awareness is super important, but we want people to have tangible skills that they can practice and that change behavior as part of how we actually prevent and change culture, prevent sexual violence and change culture.
Um, so for the bystander intervention training for alcohol serving staff, we start by helping them understand what sexual aggression looks like in bars. So we go through some of the academic research on this, as well as local data about what people in Missoula have experienced in bars. And unfortunately it's super common.
Um, we did a survey in 2016 and I believe it was 84% of Missoulians surveyed had experienced some type of aggression or harassment while at a bar in Missoula. Um, So we go through that data and help people identify what to look for while they're working. Um, and then we talk about policy that can help prevent sexual violence, especially around over-service.
Um, so preventing people from getting too drunk is really helpful. Um, and then we then teach intervention skills. So we talk about what some of those different options look like and help everyone figure out like, well, what's the thing that you would feel comfortable doing. So the next time you see one of those things that we talked about, you feel like you can step in in some way.
Peyton Butler: And then for Noelle, what is your music making process like? How do you go about writing and creating different music?
Noelle Huser: Um, yeah, it kind of, it kinda can be different. Um, for, you know, different songs. I feel like for the most part, um, can happen like one of two ways. Um, I have like a running, like phone notes thing that like, I'll just pop in random thoughts that come through my head, um, in the day and kind of keep track that way and then sometimes revisit it. Um, but oftentimes I find like I will be just sort of, I'm sitting on like a feeling or something I'm trying to understand about myself or about, uh, a relationship or, or something I'm reflecting on.
And, uh, I will just sort of, it's my way of kind of approaching that, um, kind of very like diary-esque writing. Um, but yeah, oftentimes it kind of comes out like in a heart vomit sort of situation. Um, or yeah, or it kind of like slowly strings together. I do a lot of like writing and rewriting of the same song.
Um, so yeah, we just recorded our first album and that is probably like a half or a third of the songs that I've ever written. A lot of them have gone in the, like, I don't want to say trash bin cause some of it's like sometimes recycled or revisited. Um, but yeah, I let her write a lot of songs. Not all of them are great, but I think that's also like important part of the process to like allow that to happen.
Um, yeah. And, uh, yeah, I have a few songs that like are kind of directly dealing with, um, Yeah. Some of my own experiences, I guess, of like sexual violence or like, you know, what happens and what it feels like when a boundary is crossed. And I think that music is like a healthy way to process anger, um, for me, uh, which is something that I, I struggle in processing.
So, um, yeah, I don't know, going back to like, Erica's point of just like that we each have a role and we each have a different thing. I think part of my making music has been like believing in myself enough to take up that kind of space. And in doing that also, like it's important to yeah. A lot of the things that I need to say to come forward and kind of, um, yeah, these things I feel passionate about, and I think it's good to be able to express how they affect people, I guess.
Peyton Butler: And that kind of feeds into my next question that has to do with, where do you get your inspiration from? Do you have any specific artists that you take inspiration from?
Noelle Huser: Um, well, Phoebe Bridgers is like a big one. Um, and what else? I love Elliott Smith. I love like, there's just, there's actually just like so many awesome, like queer female and non-binary like rock stars right now, honestly, that are just like taking over the music industry.
Um, so I don't know. There's just like a constant stream of stuff. Um, gosh, what else? I don't know. There's like so many different things that go into it. Um, also just plenty of like individual local musicians as well, um, who kind of like brought me into the music scene and encouraged me to play music, which has been really cool.
Um, there's a neat little local scene here, um, for sure. And so, yeah, I, I could go, I could rave about a lot of the different, like local bands too. Um, yeah. I don't know. Um, Wrinkles is one of my favorites. Uh, Ash Nataanii, um, Panther Car are all friends.
Peyton Butler: Awesome! And then for Erica, could you give a little background on Make Your Move and like when they were started and how they were founded as well?
Erica Ritsema: Yeah, I'll do my best.
I've worked for Make Your Move or, or relationship violence prevention in general for almost three years. Um, but this work definitely started before that, before. Um, I think there was some relationship violence prevention work that happened about a decade ago, but then it really kicked off after the department of justice investigation into, um, the way sexual assault cases were being handled in Missoula.
And so I think that really lit a fire under our community to, um, kind of come together and figure out like, Hey, what can we do? Not just to improve how we respond to violence, but also how do we prevent it? And so make your move was formed in the wake of that. Um, and has been doing workshops in our communities since at least I think 2015, 2016.
Peyton Butler: And then do other cities have similar groups to Make Your Move? How are you guys unique to the Missoula area?
Erica Ritsema: Good question. Um, so. I think a lot of communities have relationship violence prevention, programs of some sort, they look different in different places. Like a lot of times they're housed within a domestic or sexual violence response agency.
Um, other times they're housed, um, within a coalition. So for example, sorry, for example, Montana has the Montana coalition against domestic and sexual violence. Um, we're a little unique in that we're housed within the health department, which is really awesome because I think there's growing interest and attention to that.
This is a public health issue. Um, when people experience violence, there are health consequences to that. And so it makes a lot of sense to take a public health approach to how we address it. Um, and there's also a lot of. Similarities, sorry, I could nerd out about this, but there's a lot of, um, similarities in the risk and protective factors for experiencing or perpetrating violence as there are for other public health issues.
And so me being in the health department is really helpful because then I can collaborate with the substance use prevention person or the suicide prevention person and align our efforts so that we're more effective together. Um, I'd say another way that we're unique is that I do both youth and adult work.
So for example, there are communities like Arizona, for example, they have a really strong. Um, bystander intervention program for bars, but I think that is like their main focus, which is great. And they have a really robust program. Um, and also for our community, like I'm able to do both like work in high schools, teaching consent, as well as being able to work with bars, to help bars be a safer environment for everyone.
So I think that's one of the things that makes us unique is that I get to like work across the lifespan to address this issue.
Peyton Butler: And then I saw that make your move does a lot of prevention work and how to prevent sexual violence. Do you have any resources for people who have already experienced some form of sexual violence and resources they can go to, to help themselves after that experience?
Erica Ritsema: Yeah. Great question. Um, I mean, I think I would start with just like, I'm really sorry that that happened to them and that like, they deserve to be believed and. We do have quite a few really good resources in our community. Um, here on campus, there's the sexual assault resource center SARC. Um, they provide really great confidential services.
There's also the YWCA um, they have a 24/7 crisis line that you can call, um, and whoever answers that call will help direct you to ever other resources might be appropriate, or they can just talk to you, um, totally up to you. Um, and then there are other organizations, but they tend to get a little bit more like specific to different situations, but there's places like first step resource center, um, and the crime victim advocates program.
So depending on what's going on for you and what your specific needs are, um, there are different organizations that might be helpful, but I think, you know, going to SARC or going to the Y they'll help connect you with the resources that you need.
Peyton Butler: Thank you. And then for Noelle, what was your background in music like? Did you grow up playing music? Did you study it in school?
Noelle Huser: Um, no, I actually didn't. Um, I, well, I mean, I grew up like a musical theater nerd, so I mean, I did like seeing in like chorus and stuff like that. Um, but, um, I actually studied dance, uh, here at UM, um, and also journalism. And I've been really interested in like arts journalism.
Um, and then I specifically got really involved with the local music scene and was just hanging out at shows all the time. I'm doing a lot of reporting on local stuff and also a lot of reporting on sort of like just the experiences I had in the things that I was, um, witnessing like a lot of, yeah, kind of like gender disparity, um, stuff in the music scene.
Things that I felt like, um, could be improved there. Like kind of also yeah. Having to do with yeah. Just like this entire culture of like, um,
yeah, it's, it's super common. And as Erica said, experienced sexual violence here. Um, and I think that there's like many different factors that go into that, but, um, where am I going? Uh, got involved with the music music scene. Um, I just kind of started picking up guitar and wanted to be a part of it more.
I saw a bunch of the same kind of like boring dudes, psych rock bands play, um, the same set over and over again. And I was like, you know, like if they're taking up the space doing that, like, what I have to say is important to you and I can learn and are people who kind of taught me and I ended up getting invited to teach the rock camps at the ZACC
um, and they have all sorts of different art camps. They have definitely like a specific focus on like girls rock camp, or also like trans and non-binary. Um, kids are also kind of included in that as well, but basically you're just creating spaces that are, are not just for like cis het men, um, or like young boys, um, just because that is like such a dominated field, um, music and growing up, like we had programs like that in Wyoming, but it was all boys usually.
And so I never really like, felt like I saw myself represented. I wanted to try it out. And so I got to teach the rock camps and teach them in teaching. Some of the girls rock camps, um, was super inspiring. I it's very like music theory. Like hands-off that approach and more just like giving kids rock instruments, giving them the confidence to write their own songs and work together as a band and, um, kind of like letting them know that what they have to say and what they have to play is important.
Yeah. Um, that there's many with different ways to do that. And by learning through that, and we kind of teaching these kids, I like was having to practice what I preach and started taking my music more seriously. And so I just, yeah, I don't know. I focused up on guitar and stuff like that. And, um, started writing and playing out and played some shows where like, I haven't seen any of those songs really, but like, because they're kind of cringey to think about.
But, um, I also just like, wasn't scared to just like put myself out there. And I think that that's one thing, um, that sometimes in music, like you don't learn enough is that like no one starts off like super killer. Usually you kind of have to suck in order to get good at that. And that's okay. And that should be like welcomed.
Um, I think this is a good community. For that it's like a good little like greenhouse for artistic expression. And you can find your way into that. Um, it doesn't matter like what age you are, whatever. It's a good spot where there is a community that will like support you and, um, help feed, you know, what you're passionate about.
Peyton Butler: So you picked make your move as the organization you wanted Play It Forward to support this month and kind of why, why would you have Make Your Move and why are they important to you?
Noelle Huser: Yeah. Um, yeah, I, I, well, as I said, like, I've experienced a lot of different sexual violence in my life, um, and a lot in Missoula in the music scene, um, also with other musicians, um, and, uh, My music, like, especially over the pandemic became, um, an avenue for me to process some of the things that had happened to me here.
Um, some of the sexual violence I had, um, experienced, uh, and yeah, basically, I mean, can I like dive into a little bit, like a trigger trigger warning? It doesn't have to be like on the, but just a little bit about my experience. Are you all okay with that? Okay. Um, yeah, I, I was raped by another musician in the local scene and somebody who had really like, um, who had really trusted, like I had read all about, you know, The Jon Krakauer book and all of that stuff.
And I always had like, kind of worried or thought that might happen in college. Um, and then I didn't really expect it to like happen through like somebody who had really had a lot of trust with, but that's the thing it's like, it's a pervasive thing. And, and, um, acquaintance rape happens a lot. Um, and so I just was like full of grief and, and full of that also with the pandemic being just like such an isolating moment.
Um, I felt like really alone and stuck. And I also was processing it in my body and I'm a dancer and I was like the first time ever in my life that I just completely stopped dancing. Um, because I just like. Was dissociating high above my body or something. But, um, I, music came out of me. Like, I, I just, I ended up finding my way back by like kind of, like I said, self soothing with my guitar and playing music and, and really like trying to fight the urge, even though like I've felt pushed out in different ways in the music scene by these different experiences.
I, I like know how much I am so passionate about music and I wasn't gonna let that like ruin my experience. I wanted to take it back. And so through music, I could do that and express sort of like the frustration I've felt. Um, and, and also just like, yeah, I don't know, come into myself more. I had this outlet that like, even though dance wasn't really clicking for me in that moment.
I, I, music was like a lifeline for me. Um, as Erica expressed, there's a lot of different like health issues, mental health issues that can come through experiencing trauma like that. So, um, yeah, for me, music was like instrumental in just like keeping me alive, honestly. Um, and so, uh, yeah, I cared deeply about the music scene here, um, because it is like my community and I want people to feel safe and like they can have their own autonomy and be empowered by this music scene.
Um, and so I, I just want to like, be part of that dialogue and always be challenging myself and my friends and my community, um, to be doing everything we can to incorporate, um, this kind of like awareness, um, and this importance of like consent and of body autonomy, um, into their daily lives and Make Your Move Missoula works in so many different facets of that.
Um, Yeah, it's something you can teach children, you know, it's something that you can teach people who are working in bars. It's something that even make your movements. We will, that I've heard kind of address in terms of also just sort of the bigger picture also like how creating a men accountability culture is prevention work as well.
Um, this stuff is really hard to talk about it. And I find like a lot of my experience has been, um, things that have been so messy or harmful that simply because we don't have tools to like talk about these things or we don't have tools to like, address, like have confrontation, I guess, and like have hard discussions about, um, interpersonal violence and anyways, yeah.
Um, I think that Make Your Move Missoula is a great resource in this town. I think that our town can use even more resources in terms of like restorative justice. Um, 'cause that's a big thing is like the aftermath as well. Um, I was something like that, but, um, yeah, all the resources Erica's shared today are hugely important.
Um, and make your move Missoula is just like essential to this community. I think.
Peyton Butler: Thank you, Noelle. I really appreciate you sharing that with us and I'm sorry that happenened to you for Erica, what do you find the most inspiring thing about your work with Make Your Move?
Erica Ritsema: I think the, and thank you Noelle for sharing, um, and I'm really sorry that happened. Um, and I think it's working in sexual violence prevention is, can be hard.
Like it is hard to like bear witness to the pain that other people have experienced. And also I feel really fortunate. To also have a very like hopeful orientation to this work. Um, and I think like daily that there is something about my job that gives me like hope and optimism that like we will, the, the culture will change that we will figure out how to be better humans to each other.
Um, and like whether it's talking to high schoolers and seeing how much more they know about consent than I did at their age, like the conversations that ninth graders have about consent, I wasn't having until I was a senior in college. Um, and so that, that gives me so much hope, um, seeing our community care so deeply about this issue and wanting to be supportive and find a role like the number of bars who want this workshop, um, and who care about creating a safer environment than a.
People in the nightlife community who care about this. I think there there's a lot of room and a lot of signs to like, give me hope. So that's probably one of the most inspiring things.
Peyton Butler: Thank you. And then, some of my final closing questions are, does Make Your Move, have any projects or events coming up in the near future.
Erica Ritsema: Yeah. Um, and you know, also we are so honored that we were chosen, um, for Play It Forward. So thank you so much to both of you for setting this up. Um, I think one of the things I'm really excited about that we will hopefully use the funds for is that we're developing a training for trainers program. Um, I'm just one person.
And so there's only so much that I can do for our community. And so we're really hoping to increase our capacity for providing these trainings by creating a training for trainers program so that we can recruit, people who've worked in the service industry or people who are part of the nightlife community to be trainers with me.
Um, and we are hoping to be able to pay them or provide some sort of compensation. Um, and so that's hopefully what we would use these funds for. So I'm really excited about that.
Peyton Butler: And then Noelle, do you have anything coming up with either No or another music group that you work with and he shows or new music coming out or something that's just been released?
Noelle Huser: Oh gosh. I feel like I should've had my like list of stuff. Um, well, yeah, there's this show April 14th. Um, I'm actually gonna be playing in Livingston, um, April 16th, like a poetry reading, um, with Kate Morris. Who's an incredible local writer invited me to go there. Um, Oh, man. I do have some other stuff that I have like, look it up.
Um, No though my band where we just recorded our first album. And so that it'll be out sometime like late, late summer, early fall. I'm really excited to share it with people and yeah. Also just, yeah. Thank you. Um, both of you for being here, I'm, I'm excited about that training for trainers. I'm like, I don't, I don't want to do that.
Um, that's really cool. And I just get like excited and also hopeful about more conversations being had about this stuff and, um, more tools being used for just like deescalation and, um, and yeah, feeling like more confident, like the stuff is like inevitable stuff that, um, I mean, it shouldn't be inevitable, but it's pervasive in our culture.
And so I'm glad that, uh, we. I'm glad that there are resources, like Make Your Move Missoula doing this work as what I'm trying to say. Um, it makes me happy. It makes me stoked. And I think that that holding onto that, like optimism and, and, um, facing these, these things is like, it's really cool. Important.
Peyton Butler: All right. Thank you guys so much for being here. I really appreciate sitting down and talking with both of you about really important subjects.
Noelle Huser: Thank you.
Erica Ritsema: Thanks. .
Thanks for tuning in. This has been KBGA College Radio 89.9 in Missoula Montana. On April 14th at 7:30 pm, you can catch a live concert by the band No at the Zootown Arts Community Center, or watch a live stream of the event. 70 percent of the proceeds from this event go directly to Make Your Move Missoula. You can find that donation link and live stream link on our website at kbga.org under the Play It Forward page. Here’s Practical Magic again by the band No.
<Practical Magic by No>
This podcast was edited and produced by Peyton Butler