Building Blocks of Rock
August 5th, 2009
Rock Camp transforms aspiring musicians into rock stars in three days
By Anand Rao
When I was assigned to the opening session of the rock boot camp in Salt Lake City, I had no idea what to expect. It didn't take long. In less than a minute of me getting there, The Neil Zaza Power Trio - with Neil Zaza on guitar, Bobby Rock on drums and Doug Johns on bass took the stage. For about sixty minutes, the trio unleashed an astounding display of explosive instrumental rock music. As each artist wound up with a breathtaking solo, the audience was left spellbound and gaping; stunned to submission by the musical onslaught. For the students of the camp and their parents, who had assembled there, a line had been emphatically drawn and a very high benchmark set.
Last year, world-renowned guitar wizard, Neil Zaza met visionary marketer and musician Grant Ferguson at a similar music camp in Park City, Utah. It was unlike any other commonly seen meeting in the business of music, resulted in the formation of Rock Boot Camp - the three day drill for aspiring musicians that is now a very popular touring camp for thousands of youngsters across the nation. The camp has been very successful in Phoenix AZ, Denver CO, Cleveland OH, Louisville KY, Seattle WA, and Philadelphia PA and for the last two years in Salt Lake City UT as well.
Steve Auerbach, the founder of Salt Lake City based musicgarage.org volunteered to host Rock Boot Camp in Salt Lake City. An award winning musician, sound designer and composer who moved to Utah from Los Angeles twenty four years ago, Auerbach has been teaching music across various genres and styles for more than two decades now. "Music schools offer good grounding but can be expensive for families," says Auerbach. "musicgarage.org offers an alternative to all-inclusive, performance-based music schools by working with the community's private music teachers to provide 'add-on' professional rehearsal coaching and concert production services. musicgarage.org provides musicians of all ages and styles of music with a great learning opportunity that brings musicians in contact with the larger music community," he adds.
Students of the camp, beginner-to-intermediate level guitarists, bassists and drummers are put through their paces for three grueling days at the end of which they will get to form their bands and perform for a live audience. "It's going to be a lot of hard work, we never do musical babysitting" said Zaza. "They will have to feel totally exhausted at the end of it because achieving excellence and fame in music is not easy." The camp is designed to create real-life situations and challenges for the aspiring artist including finer aspects of team work, forming a band, becoming self-reliant and performing live. The Boot Camp, I discovered is also about creating better individuals. Zaza explained "living the dream" component of the camp, where the participants are told about life's choices including the hazards of drugs and alcohol. Zaza said "We make it a point to let the kids know that drugs and alcohol is not cool." Apparently, both Zaza and Bobby Rock are teetotalers. It definitely is a learning experience for everybody with all the common perceptions about rock and roll musicians.
Speaking about the philosophy behind the rock boot camp, Neil Zaza said, "When we were growing up it was hard for us to imagine learning music directly from pros in the business. Through this camp, students will have the opportunity to interact with top performers and look up to them for guidance." Zaza for sure knows what it takes to become a recognizable guitarist on the world stage. He has shared the stage with greats like Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Dweezil Zappa.
Grant Ferguson, the co-founder of Rock Boot Camp was in Corporate Marketing for a large part of his professional life. "This is a good business model but its mission is to give serious students of rock music an experience they will never forget," said Ferguson, who envisions taking Rock Boot Camp to every city in the US.
Legendary drummer Bobby Rock and the incredibly talented bassist Doug Johns are the guest instructors at this year's camp along with local musicians Terence Hansen, Derek Briggs and Richie Vasquez.
Rock Boot Camp is a fabulous opportunity for youngsters keen on a career in rock music, who have it in them to go the distance. It offers excellent infrastructure, strong support and hands-on learning from top notch musicians, who have achieved excellence at the highest level. There is no doubt that the ones who have been there will definitely know its worth. It certainly isn't a place for posers.
Rock Boot Camp returns to Salt Lake City November 6, 7 and 8, 2009. Contact Rock Boot Camps for more information.
Reader Comments
Steve Auerbach
Great article Anand! Thanks to Rich and everyone at Utah Stories for covering this. You are the only press outlet to pick up on http://musicgarage.org
Thanks for being the cutting edge!
Steve
Reader Comments
Jim Crawford
Rock Boot camp is a cool story. I had heard of it before.
