Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ROCK 'N' ROLL FANTASY CAMP
play guitar with the who's roger daltrey
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA & NEW YORK, NEW YORK
I was as giddy as a kid on his first trip to Disneyland as I stood onstage
with Roger Daltrey, belting out the background vocals to “I Can See for
Miles.”
—Michael Molenda, Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp participant
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Although Jay Leno joked that enrolling in drug rehab was a cheaper way to meet rock
stars, Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp, a five-day boot camp for learning the music biz, offers
much more than the chance to rub elbows with the Who's Roger Daltrey and the Grateful
Dead's Mickey Hart. Sure, you'll take the stage with those legends (as well as nosh with them
over buffet lunches), but you'll also hone your electric guitar-or drum- or keyboard-playing
skills, write a song (Daltrey himself might even perform it), learn the ins and outs of the record
industry, and jam with your fellow bandmates. According to participants, some of whom have
come back as many as four or five times, the camp is “life changing.”
When David Fishof, manager and promoter for Ringo Starr, threw out the idea of rock 'n'
roll camp back in 1997, he was practically booed off the stage. Won't fly, he was told. Folks
with that kind of money wouldn't spend it to play “rock star.” Undeterred, he decided to try
it as a onetime gig. Then at the urging of fans and the artists themselves, he began offering
the camps again in 2000. Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp has consistently sold out, and Fishof is
currently adding camps in London, Las Vegas, Sydney, and Tokyo.
The camp itinerary includes a day of auditions (camp counselors such as Bruce Kulick,
lead guitarist from Kiss, and Markey Ramone from the Ramones form bands after hearing each
of the campers' chops), three days of band practice at professional rehearsal studios (much
classier and soundproof than mom's garage), and a one-night live concert playing with the mu-
sicians who sell millions of dollars' worth of albums. In Los Angeles, the final battle of the
bands takes place at the House of Blues on Sunset Strip; in New York, it's B. B. King's Blues
Club in Times Square. Both live concerts sell out.