Camp rocks
Kids learn how to play in bands at Sweetwater
FORT WAYNE – It might get loud.
That’s the promise of Rock Camp at Sweetwater Academy of Music, where kids can unleash their inner Lady Gaga or Caleb Followill for a week.
One of them is tiny Brooklyn Cly, who doesn’t look so tough in her black Hello Kitty T-shirt and denim shorts as she stands on an auditorium stage. But along with singers Kelsey Shea and Hanalies Wissler, the 12-year-old forms a trio of vocal girl power in their band, Zero Degrees.
They’ve got the “Eye of the Tiger,” punching the air with the beat to that ’80s classic. Then they launch into “Sweet Child o’ Mine.”
After the band rocks the intro, Kelsey starts the lead vocal, changing the pronouns like Sheryl Crow did: “He’s got a smile that it seems to me, reminds me of childhood memories …”
Then Hanalies takes over the second verse: “He’s got eyes of the bluest skies …”
Vocal instructor June McCullough is standing in front of the stage, encouraging her to belt it out. “A little more,” she says.
But when the girls harmonize on the chorus, they make musical magic as their sweet voices blend perfectly. Somewhere, Axl Rose is weeping.
When the band wraps up to take a short break on a Wednesday afternoon, McCullough offers praise.
“That’s coming along. That’s going to be good,” she says.
Not bad for only their third day.
These girls were matched by McCullough on the first day of camp during the audition process. That’s when the five instructors try to figure out which students will gel together musically.
For Zero Degrees, the Guns N’ Roses tune was “one of the first songs they jammed on,” McCullough says. “From the first day, they just really worked together.”
And if it seems a bit strange that mere tweens are reminiscing about childhood memories in a song written before they were born, that’s the beauty of Rock Camp.
Their collective repertoire really reflects the tastes of their instructors: Tim Beeler (bass and guitar), Eric Clancy (keyboards), Doug Laughlin (drums), McCullough (voice) and Kenny Taylor (guitar).
During this session, the four bands will cover everything from B (the Beatles) to U (the Used). Each of them will master two cover songs, plus write and perform an original tune, in five days.
They get to record two songs in the Sweetwater studio (the original and one cover) and perform all three during the Friday night concert for family and friends.
“Rock ’n’ roll is about songwriting, arrangement and skill,” Taylor says as he listens to a recording of his young charges, who dubbed themselves Gibby and the Vibes after the “iCarly” character.
They’ll cover “Blitzkrieg Bop” and “Walking on Sunshine,” both picked by Taylor.
In previous camps, his bands have taken on the Go-Go’s (“Our Lips Are Sealed”), the Romantics (“What I Like About You”) and Alice Cooper (“School’s Out”).
“I want to hear the song the way people heard it on the radio. There’s a reason those songs were hits,” Taylor says.
Downstairs, End of Silence takes a short break while members tune guitars.
The camp has “helped my stage presence a lot. And I’ve met a lot of cool people,” says guitarist Andrew Wick, 14.
Singer Holly Lentine will channel Michelle Branch for Santana’s “The Game of Love.” Unlike her male band mates, she’s not a huge rock or heavy metal fan.
“I love Carrie Underwood … and Lady Gaga,” says Holly, 15.
Their other cover tune is Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” which was revived once again on the Fox TV show “Glee.”
And they might call their original song “Maybe.” Or, maybe not.
Being in a band is all about compromise, as these musicians are learning. You can’t always get what you want.
As for the instructors, who will sit in with each band at some point, offering critiques and even jamming with them, they also try to let the students run rehearsals on their own if possible, “up to the point of them falling into chaos,” Clancy says.
“At the start, they’re unsure of themselves and each other. At the end, they’re developing strong ties. It’s fun to watch them transform,” he says.
One of those emerging leaders is keyboard player Tyler Davis, 17, who takes lessons at Sweetwater and is in his first year of Rock Camp. He wrote the original song for Zero Degrees, called “Please Don’t Get in My Way.”
Working with a music teacher one-on-one is about “building up your strengths and demolishing your weaknesses,” he says.
But this experience requires technical skills, adaptability and intuition, to somehow make it all work, as if you were part of a real band.
“It’s the critical thinking part of music. It’s been a great experience playing with other musicians,” Tyler says.
The camps started last summer with two weeklong sessions, three bands in each and four instructors. This year, it expanded to three weeks, four bands (during two of the weeks) and five instructors.
Many of the mostly male students taught themselves how to play; others take private lessons at Sweetwater. But one challenge they all struggle with initially is keeping the beat, together.
In the fourth rehearsal area, the members of Death in a Treehouse enjoy staring into the darkness, at least metaphorically.
Their cover songs: “The Bird and the Worm” by the Used and “Eleanor Rigby” by the Beatles.
Lead singer Chase Thibaut is wailing through the second verse of “The Bird and the Worm” again.
And again. And again.
The song choice “shows a lot about who we are,” the 15-year-old says afterward.
His band mate, guitar player Patrick O’Rourke, is back at Rock Camp for a second year. For him, the experience of recording and performing is crucial.
“It’s like you’re actually in a real band,” O’Rourke says.
Back in the auditorium, where each band will get rehearsal time during the week, Zero Degrees is taking a well-deserved break.
The girls, who are breathless after powering through three songs, say they’re still adjusting to the demands of fronting a band.
“When you’re in front of people, it makes you nervous. And you can’t sing as well,” Hanalies, 12, says.
So who do they wish they could sing like – who are their favorite rock chicks?
For Kelsey, 13, who’s been “singing ever since I could talk,” it’s Jordin Sparks.
“Does country count?” Brooklyn asks.
Yes.
In that case, it’s megastar Taylor Swift, another deceptively delicate-looking singer.
Hanalies decides to go with Lady Gaga because “she has a strong voice – and she’s crazy.”
Crazy (and loud) is also a good way to describe the creative chaos that is Rock Camp.
“It’s hard to have a standardized (teaching) method in a camp like this. That makes it fun … and interesting,” instructor Eric Clancy says.
Perhaps instructor Kenny Taylor, who’s in his second summer of Rock Camp, explains the experience best.
“It’s always a madhouse,” he says, “but it’s awesome.”
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