Heather Webb’s Jam Room: Empowering Women In Rock, One Band At A Time

Rock music is often associated with muscular men with long hair swinging their guitars around their neck. One Austin woman hopes to change that flawed and stereotypical assumption by uplifting women to perform in ways they never knew they could.

Written by Jessica Regan
Photography by Erika Ramirez

Heather Webb is a musician and founder of The Jam Room, a music lesson studio for women to learn instruments, express their creativity, and play music with support, encouragement, and fun. Webb hosts six-week sessions out of her garage-turned-studio in South Austin, where women of all ages can play together in a band while connecting over their love of music.

“Through my work, I found that women come out of their shell more around other women — there’s times where people feel shy or uncomfortable performing around men, so we get rid of that whole thing,” Webb said. “There’s just not enough women in music, so I just love that anybody can get up there on that stage and feel like, ‘Hell yeah, I can do this too.’”

Each jam session has an overarching theme and ends with a live showcase called Women Who Rock. In February, The Jam Room worked with another music company to host a show at Speakeasy on 6th Street.

“It’s the weekly get-together, learning the songs and becoming the band together, that makes it so special — then the performance takes it over the top,” Webb said. “The speakeasy event was packed. Some of these ladies are getting up on stage performing at this full club as their first time ever on a stage.”

The studio has a mini stage, instruments, and sound-proofing pads and is lined with posters and memorabilia from Webb’s musical past. The sessions each have unique themes, from songs by Led Zeppelin to one-hit wonders to classic female rock songs. Students learn three songs over the six weeks and practice their performance for the showcase.

“People sign up for the class and I’ll post the music and song notes online,” Webb explained. “Each student gets a set of music and we just start learning it. We listen a few times and go through the structure and chords, and just start playing.”

Webb's passion for teaching others originally stemmed from her personal experiences in the music industry. Before starting her own company, Heather was touring with bands like Adrian and the Sickness and BugGirl. She plays the bass, guitar, keyboard, and drums, allowing her to help her students learn any instrument they want to play. She also currently sings and plays guitar in her own band, Blue Eyed Bitch.

Webb started playing the bass while in college while studying to become a math teacher. She quit teaching altogether in 2004 and started pursuing her music career full-time. After playing in numerous bands and touring the world, she decided to start giving music lessons.

“Being a musician, it’s really really hard to make money,” Webb said. “We have to find creative ways to make a living, and I love music and love people. The moment I’m teaching a new class and we run a song, and it actually sounds like the original, it just gives you chills.”

Webb started giving music lessons at a summer camp in 2007. She went on to work for a private music lesson company, Girl Guitar, for six years before the owner decided to scale down, according to Webb. She then came up with the idea to start her own lessons.

“I started doing this on my own in November, and it’s been amazing,” Webb said. “Many of my students didn't have a class to go to anymore, so right after that, I started this up and reached out to my students, and the first session I had six bands.”

Webb and her students exude passion when it comes to music and The Jam Room. Students of all ages sign up for band after band, eager to learn more songs as they advance in their proficiency.

“I have students from college age to 80 years old. Coming together and learning music is such a great bonding experience for everyone.”

Jessie O’Connell, 63, has known Webb for four years and has taken up guitar under her instruction.

“The lessons are very relaxed, there’s no expectation of having to know the song or be perfect,” she said. “That’s what I think we all like. It’s the perfect way to get into it or get back into it with no pressure.”

O’Connell said learning under Webb has been more fruitful than any other lesson she’s attended. “She runs a really meaningful operation for people like me,” she said. “ There’s so many benefits for your brain when learning to play an instrument. I like the camaraderie. I used to take private lessons, and I didn’t get anywhere the way I do in these groups.”

Other than a few Facebook posts, Webb said she does not do much advertising, as most of her students keep coming back for more sessions. The showcases are great for promotion, too. After the Speakeasy event, six new students signed up for Jam Room sessions.

“People just keep signing up,” she said. “Some of these people have gone on to play in real bands around town, but some of them just love doing this. I’ve been working with some women for almost 7 years now.”

One of these women is Jennifer Yoder, who met Webb in 2013. For almost seven years, Webb has been Yoder’s music instructor and good friend.

“Heather’s incredibly supportive and really unlike any other instructor I’ve had,” Yoder said. “She tries to tailor the material that each class does to the ability level and interests of the women who's in the class.”

An aspect of the Jam Room that makes it so unique is how Webb forms her classes around her students. Students are welcomed and encouraged to give their input on the songs the bands play. Yoder is now the frontwoman in an all-female The Cult tribute band called Fire Women that plays regularly in Austin and San Antonio.

When Yoder began to form her own tribute band, Webb was there to help them get their feet off the ground, and remains one of their biggest supporters.

“When I got the women together to make Fire Women, we wanted to have that environment to get us started,” Yoder said. “Heather went out of her way to establish a completely new class for us and coached us through our first complete set. She was at our first show, our first headlining show, and she still comes out to watch our sets whenever she can.”

If all of her students have one thing in common, it would be the praise they have for Webb. Through talking with those who’ve learned from her, it becomes obvious how Webb’s easy-going, strong-yet-supportive personality shines in her work.

Olivia Suarez, 26, met Webb through mutual friends and started with the Jam Room in December. Suarez plays guitar and is a vocalist and songwriter, and came to Webb looking for a place to formalize and perform her original tracks.

“First of all, Heather is a badass,” she said. “She just has this aura of cool that's apparent when you meet her. When I first met her I knew we would vibe well, but I was also a bit intimidated because I didn't want to mess up in front of her. Thankfully, I discovered she's really patient when we make mistakes. Every time I doubted my ability to play a chord structure or develop a song bridge, Heather reassured me I was making progress and encouraged me all the more. She wants us to have fun rocking out because that's what it's all about.”

Suarez was able to compose and perform an original song, called “Shoot My Shot,” at one of the showcases. She said without Webb’s help and encouragement, it may not have been possible, and she would not be the musician she is today.

“The song that I wrote for the showcase ‘Shoot My Shot’ is about my journey as an up-and-coming musician, following my dreams to the end,” she said. “I have to say that I did ‘shoot my shot’ when I joined The Jam Room, and it really paid off. I'm so glad it did.”

The Jam Room most recently hosted six bands for their showcase on May 4. Webb said although the performances are spectacular, giving others confidence is still the main reason she teaches.

“It’s all about confidence and female empowerment and saying, ‘Hey, you got this.’”

Afterglow ATXMay 21, 2019