All photos by Tracy Isley©.
Director of Music Education, Fazio's Frets & Friends/ Manchester, MO
For those who may not be aware of it, the St. Louis Camp Jam is not your ordinary, every day summer camp. Instead of canoeing, hiking, swimming, and fishing, campers learn the ins and outs of playing in a rock 'n roll band. Co-founders Dan Lipson and Jeff Carlisi- the latter of 38 Special fame- designed this camp to give kids 7 to 17 a taste of what it's like to rehearse, write, record, and perform rock 'n roll music. In this article I'll give you a taste of what it was like directing a two-week summer camp full of young people with serious musical aspirations.
I was hired early in 2007 to direct the Camp Jam in St. Louis, one of the fifteen U.S. cities where the camp is currently offered. My pre-camp responsibilities included hiring a qualified staff of instructors and counselors, a fair amount of marketing and PR duties, scheduling guest artist appearances, and lining up a videographer for each of the Friday-night concerts- just to name a few. As the Camp Jam St. Louis drew nearer, I was asked to travel to Chicago to participate in the startup of their camp, so I would know what to expect. After two days in Chicago, I had a pretty good idea of what to do and what not to do.
Let's fast forward to the week of July 08, 2007 (the first of the two weeks of Camp Jam St. Louis). I'll be honest..at first I was a bit overwhelmed. Sunday included setting up the stage, instruction rooms, ensemble room, and office for the camp as well as preparing my staff for what was going to begin the following day.
The agenda for Monday included welcoming all of the kids, establishing the schedule, evaluating each student's proficiency on their instrument of choice (guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, or voice), and placing them into the appropriate band.
By Tuesday, students and teachers alike were used to the schedule and had gotten into the routine. This is when my feeling of being overwhelmed subsided and I began noticing what was actually happening during Camp Jam.
Students enrolled in Camp Jam rotate through a schedule of instruction on their instrument, songwriting and recording classes and band rehearsals. In addition, they attend concert-workshops with outstanding guest artists throughout the week.
Once placed in appropriate bands, the daily schedule for a Camp Jam student begins with a brief meeting with the director, instructors, and counselors in the concert hall (where they will ultimately play their final concert on Friday night). The students then proceed to one of three locations: the ensemble room for band rehearsal, a classroom for instrumental instruction, or a classroom dedicated to songwriting and recording.
After lunch, the students resume their rotation with a couple of exceptions: Songwriting and recording and instrumental instruction are displaced by rehearsals on the stage of the concert hall and a class called "Song Surgery" where students learn how songs are constructed by identifying verses, choruses, and bridges of tunes and become acquainted with other songwriting terminology.
On Friday (concert day), the afternoon schedule is changed to include a complete concert rehearsal where the students run through the concert in the order that it will occur later that same evening. This means that everyone must be clear on where to enter and exit the stage, what order the bands are to perform in, where to wait when your band is next on stage, when to tune instruments, and of course, what songs they are performing.
In observing all of this, I realized how much the students grow and learn in one short week. Let me give you some examples. At the beginning of each week of camp, we had students who were somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of singing in a band and unsure if it was something they wanted to do. By week's end, these same students had worked up choreographed presentations and were singing with a great deal of rock 'n roll attitude. Other students learned what it means to work with a group- agreeing on band names, song choices and arrangements- and a few displayed surprising songwriting skill.
I also saw how much the students benefited when guest artists came to perform, or simply hang out and answer questions. The first week featured Derek St. Holmes from Ted Nugent's band, and the second week featured Pat Travers.
One of the highlights of Camp Jam 2007 St. Louis was a visit by Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Ernie Isley of the Isley Brothers. Mr. Isley performed a few of the Isley Brothers many classic songs, answered several questions about his life in the music business, gave his thoughts on how the next generation of musicians should channel their inspiration, and even performed with one of the student bands. Afterward, Mr. Isley took time to pose for photos with students and sign autographs. He even allowed many students to hold his Fender Custom Shop 'Zeal' Stratocasters for the photos. This event was certainly something that the students at Camp Jam would not soon forget.
Other than the obvious growth the students displayed, my favorite moments of Camp Jam 2007 included watching the instructors and counselors in action. Most of the staff were professional instructors and performers who teach at Fazio's Frets & Friends where I direct the music education program. Because I have known most of them for years, I already had high expectations going into camp. What I wasn't prepared for was how much they exceeded those expectations. Almost daily, one or more of the faculty would display a different talent for teaching and performing that I didn't know they possessed.
Friday July 13, 2007 and Friday July 20, 2007 were the dates for the two Camp Jam concerts in St. Louis. These concerts consisted of a presentation of the material each band had rehearsed all week. The students were definitely up to the task. Not only did each concert go off without a hitch, the students also performed with energy and enthusiasm before a crowd made up of their families and friends.
Overall, it was an exciting though somewhat exhausting two weeks. I am very grateful to have been asked to direct the camp here in St. Louis. I am certainly looking forward to directing after-school Camp Jam programs at Fazio's this year as well as next year's St. Louis Camp Jam.
Brian Vaccaro
Director; Music Education and Marketing
Fazio's Frets & Friends
14239 Manchester Rd.
Manchester, MO 63011
636-227-3573
www.faziosmusic.com
About the Author
Brian Vaccaro graduated from Webster University in St. Louis in 1996 with a Bachelor's Degree in Music with an emphasis in Jazz Studies. He continued his education at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville where he earned a Master's Degree in Music in Jazz Guitar Performance in 2000. Since completing his studies, Brian has been active as an educator as well as a performer. He has taught a variety of jazz and general music courses, including such titles as Jazz History, Jazz Ensemble, Rock History, and numerous others, at Southwestern Illinois College, St. Louis Community College, and St. Charles Community College. He has also performed and recorded with many of the top jazz musicians in the St. Louis area.
Brian currently oversees the music education department at Fazio's Frets & Friends which includes roughly thirty instructors offering individual and group lessons, a regular schedule of visiting artist workshops including artists such as Larry Coryell, Tuck Andress, Johnny Hiland, Greg Koch, and Ernie Isley to name a few. In 2007, the music education department at Fazio's unveiled their own guitar curriculum, compiled and edited by Brian in collaboration with Drew Andrews of Mel Bay Publications, the publisher of this series of books.
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