JILL MCLAIN (SHE/HER)

I grew up playing piano and percussion, but it wasn’t until I was in my 30s that I realized how much I loved to rock. I’d been an active fan and spectator of dozens of Des Moines bands for over a decade when I picked up a bass for the first time in 2016 — and I’ve been playing in the punk band, Greg Wheeler and the Poly Mall Cops, ever since.

Nearly seven years into my musical tenure, it’s still not unusual for me to be the only musician on a bill who isn’t a cis male — and I want that to change. I’m thrilled to be part of Girls Rock! Des Moines, so I can share my love of the stage with kids who might not have seen people like them represented before. I truly believe that if Girls Rock had been around during my adolescence, I would have discovered my love of live performance years earlier.

When I’m not rocking out, I work as a creative director for a local woman-owned advertising agency, ZLR Ignition.