While other campers learn archery, swimming, and pottery, 16 young rockers at last week’s Rockstock Summer Rock & Roll Camp worked on new riffs, chords, and runs.
“We teach them how to perform as a group, to use teamwork,” said Pat Saunders, lead instructor for the camp at Sashabaw Middle School. “There’s nothing else like this for kids in the summer.”
“It’s awesome,” said camper Will Manera, 16, who plays guitar and piano. “I like learning how to set up amps and other stuff. I learned a couple new songs and music styles, like ‘Summer of 69’ and ‘Knocking on Heaven’s Door.'”
Campers of all skill levels learned rock history, showmanship, stagecraft, basic music theory, and as many songs as they could handle, Saunders said.
“I learned a lot of new songs,” said Thomas Lowe, 12, a returning camper. “I like it here. I work on my guitar, like how to change chords. I used to be kind of nervous on stage. Now, not so much.”
“They teach how to play different kinds of rock and roll,” said Tommy Hickey, 12, a first-year camper. “I’ve always been a huge rock and roll fan. They show us how to impress a crowd, give them something else, more than music ? how to put feeling into it.”
Charlie Martin, drummer for Bob Seger’s Silver Bullet Band, stopped by to share lessons and stories with the aspiring artists.
“I love working with kids ? I was once a kid myself,” Martin said. “I love their enthusiasm. I like to see their progress. In every group, some kids have the spark, a commitment and willingness to get in there and do the work.”
Martin said he was about their age when he committed to his dream of becoming a rock star.
“But it takes a lot of work ? you can’t just wish for it,” he told the students. “Talent is like gold in the ground. Unless you dig it up, work for it, it’ll just stay gold in the ground.”
With a degree in psychology, Martin works with youth in Farmington, teaching teamwork and confidence.
“In a band, you’re not five individuals on your own trip, you’re five people working together on one sound,” he said. “Help each other. Be kind to each other.”
The camp, sponsored by JCs’s Drum and Music, Pontiac Music and Sound, and Northbay Audio, was offered through Independence Township Parks and Recreation.
They performed for parents and friends, July 3 at the middle school, and for the Fourth of July crowd Saturday at Clintonwood Park’s Festival of Fun. They also marched in the Fourth of July parade.
Saunders grew up in Clarkston and now lives in Nashville. He returns every summer, now his eighth, to run the camp.
“This is the highlight of my summer,” he said. “Growing up, I played all day, every day in the summer. I want to inspire the kids to do the same thing.”