March 16, 2007
Rock music doesn’t have an age. From the moment a child can pick up a pencil, they can pick up a guitar and start jamming away. Or at least, that’s what school of rock founder, Paul Green believes, who brought his All-Star band along with him to perform at the Mountain Creek Vernon Base again for the second time. The show took place on March 11th at 1 p.m., and it was free to the public.
“We had a great show the last time we were there, and it’s just a great place to play on a nice, balmy day,” says Mr. Green.
Accompanied by a nicely sized horn section along with the standard guitars, basses, and drums, the band played tunes from Frank Zappa, Led Zeppelin, and even Radiohead, all of which were chosen by the founder himself.
“Next time, we’ll play Blue Oyster Cult,” he promises, the song “Seven Screaming Diz-Busters,” being a great challenge for the kids to master, some of whom can actually play Jimmy Paige’s “Stairway to Heaven,” solo flawlessly.
After graduating college in Philadelphia, it was in 1998 that Mr. Green came up with the idea for a rock school for kids. Having faith that anyone can play in a band as long as they put their heart and soul into it, Mr. Green set the age bar low and the standards high, with kids from five all the way up to 18 being a part of the movement.
His goal was to make rock music an educational tool, similar to how some choose to go to the Julliard to study classical music. So instead of Chopin, there’s Alice Cooper. In exchange for Mozart, there’s Metallica. So the dedication to music is the still there; it’s just played to the beat of a different drummer.
Including this concert, the touring All-Star group, which usually consists of the older, from 13-18 set, has also played or will be playing at the now closed CBGB’s, The Knitting Factory, and even this year’s upcoming Lollapalooza.
But if the concept of children turned rockers turned concert performers sounds a bit familiar to you, you’re not going crazy. The story, and even the very title, “School of Rock,” was used in the 2003 comedy of the same name, starring Jack Black.
“I thought it was pretty lame,” says Mr. Green, who made his own little documentary called Rock School a few months before the big theater release came out.
“They just ripped us off and didn’t even come to me,” his sentiments for the film being less than stellar.
Still, any press is good press, and with more of Mr. Green’s schools of rock popping up all over the country, the movie could only have done the school more good than harm. So, if you’re wondering how the kids have already been elevated to rock god status, Mr. Green has the answer: “We make them.” It turns out rock has an age, after all: timeless.
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“We had a great show the last time we were there, and it’s just a great place to play on a nice, balmy day,” says Mr. Green.
Accompanied by a nicely sized horn section along with the standard guitars, basses, and drums, the band played tunes from Frank Zappa, Led Zeppelin, and even Radiohead, all of which were chosen by the founder himself.
“Next time, we’ll play Blue Oyster Cult,” he promises, the song “Seven Screaming Diz-Busters,” being a great challenge for the kids to master, some of whom can actually play Jimmy Paige’s “Stairway to Heaven,” solo flawlessly.
After graduating college in Philadelphia, it was in 1998 that Mr. Green came up with the idea for a rock school for kids. Having faith that anyone can play in a band as long as they put their heart and soul into it, Mr. Green set the age bar low and the standards high, with kids from five all the way up to 18 being a part of the movement.
His goal was to make rock music an educational tool, similar to how some choose to go to the Julliard to study classical music. So instead of Chopin, there’s Alice Cooper. In exchange for Mozart, there’s Metallica. So the dedication to music is the still there; it’s just played to the beat of a different drummer.
Including this concert, the touring All-Star group, which usually consists of the older, from 13-18 set, has also played or will be playing at the now closed CBGB’s, The Knitting Factory, and even this year’s upcoming Lollapalooza.
But if the concept of children turned rockers turned concert performers sounds a bit familiar to you, you’re not going crazy. The story, and even the very title, “School of Rock,” was used in the 2003 comedy of the same name, starring Jack Black.
“I thought it was pretty lame,” says Mr. Green, who made his own little documentary called Rock School a few months before the big theater release came out.
“They just ripped us off and didn’t even come to me,” his sentiments for the film being less than stellar.
Still, any press is good press, and with more of Mr. Green’s schools of rock popping up all over the country, the movie could only have done the school more good than harm. So, if you’re wondering how the kids have already been elevated to rock god status, Mr. Green has the answer: “We make them.” It turns out rock has an age, after all: timeless.
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Picture found here: http://www.schoolofrock.com/
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