The Old Boy Pretending To Be Nineteen Again, Part I

John, what was the most interesting or fun thing you did last summer?

-  The beautiful Sister Janetina, my fourth grade teacher (September 1956)

I have had about 50 people ask me about the Rock Camp in which I participated last summer, so maybe I should write about it.  Oh, wait... Did I just type "50"?  I meant to type "05."  Not to be discouraged, I hereby plod on.

You already know most of the history of my illustrious drumming career from having read my April 30, 2014 post, The Tom Tom Thumper.  Since the days of the Dark Ages and Lemon Oil Mahogany, I had only drummed twice in public before this year.  The first time was in December 2007.  Mary and I threw a combination retirement/Christmas party at the Legion in Bloomington, and hired an oldies band, Teen King & The Princes, to play a couple of sets.  The real name of "Teen King" is Pat Fitzgerald, the husband of one of Mary's good friends and the band's lead singer.  We made the mistake of telling him beforehand that this was definitely not to be advertised or considered a birthday party for me -- I had recently turned 60 -- so, of course Pat could hardly wait to announce to the crowd more than once that this was, in fact, my birthday party and everyone should congratulate me accordingly.

At some time during his band's second set, after I had consumed several brews, Pat called me up to sit in as the drummer for a rockin’ cover of Del Shannon's # 1 hit from 1961, Runaway.  I did not want to do it, as I had not drummed with a live band in almost forty years, and obviously had not rehearsed with the Princes.  But not wanting to be called a chicken for failing to accept what amounted to a dare, I went up on the stage and got behind the kit.  Luckily, the Princes' version was almost identical to Shannon's original which I was very familiar with, and the song was and is a great one to drum to.  The thing I recall most is that Michael helped my eighty-eight year old mom, The Pook, get close to the stage so she could see me.  I will always remember the smile on her face.  It was the first and only time she had ever seen me play with a band.

Before I could make a graceful exit Pat insisted I sit in for one more song, Johnny Rivers' # 2 hit from 1964, Memphis.  That went well too, although it is not as good a song for a drummer as Runaway.

The second post-college public appearance was Jill and Luke's wedding ceremony in January 2015.  Once again, I was not crazy about the idea of drumming, but it's hard to say "no" to your baby girl's wedding request.  Jill wanted Michael and Luke's bluegrass band, Luke Warm & The Cool Hands, to play during the ceremony, and asked me to sit in with them on Stand By Be.  That song was originally sung by Ben E. King in 1961, becoming even more famous with the 2008 international music project Playing For Change.   Although it is a meaningful song, especially in a wedding context, Stand By Me does not really call for a drummer; just a little dose of percussion suits the tune just fine.  Nevertheless, I wisely remembered the old wedding day adage, "It's all about the bride."  Therefore, I set up a snare and a high hat and was good to go.  I was honored to be asked and to play behind such terrific musicians and a wonderful singer, Jill's friend Natalie Catron.

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So now, finally, we come to my Rock Camp adventure.  The company used to be called "Rock Camp For Dads" but, partially due to the participation of a noteworthy percentage of female singers and musicians, changed to the degenderized moniker "Rock Camp Experience," sometimes abbreviated to "RCX."  For a fee, RCX puts together groups to learn several songs of a particular artist or genre as selected by the company.  The participants are mostly people who are not currently playing in a band but would like the opportunity to play or sing with other similarly situated people who share their musical taste.  The organization furnishes a coach to help the group turn into an actual, albeit temporary, band.  The coaches are accomplished musicians and are well-versed in the artist or genre being played.  Each group meets at the Rock Camp studio in St. Louis Park once a week for four weeks.  The small studio has a top notch sound system and decent equipment.  Each session lasts two and a-half hours.

RCX conducts several camps every month, with each camp falling into one of three levels: 101, which is mostly for folks who can play or sing but have never been in a band before; 301 is for RCX "alums," and 201 is for everybody else. The camp I signed up for, a 201, was Foreigner, a classic rock band from the seventies and eighties with many hit anthems to their credit.  My taking the plunge was a long time a-comin'.

I first became aware of Rock Camp about five or six years ago when I saw an advertisement for a show at Bunkers in the North Loop.  Each 301 camp typically plays a set at a bar shortly after their camp term concludes.  For years, all of these shows were at Bunkers and were open to the public for a nominal cover.  I attended a half-dozen of these shows and got on Rock Camp's mailing list.  I entertained thoughts of signing up, but in order for that to happen, three boxes have to be checked off.  First, the designated artist for the camp must play music I enjoy.  That excludes most punk, new wave, rap, electronica and head-banging tunes.  Second, the music's drum parts need not be prominent, but I want them to be integral to the songs.  To illustrate a time when that was missing, RCX once offered a Beatles camp, but one of the six songs the campers played at Bunkers was You've Got To Hide Your Love Away.  No drums there, only a tambourine.  Understandably, the drummer looked bored.

The third box is calendar clearance, and for me it was the most problematic.  When you sign up for a camp you are committing to a rehearsal on the same night of the week for four consecutive weeks.  Over the past couple of years RCX offered camps I would have joined but distant travel plans, summer sojourns at the cabin or other local commitments interfered.  For example, there was a Rolling Stones camp I wanted to try about a year ago, but my calendar was already plugged for one or two of the four nights.  (In case you're wondering, no, they were not going to play As Tears Go By, another drumless tune.)

The Foreigner camp was perfect for me.  Check, check and check, and it was designated as a 201.  When I told Momma Cuan I was thinking of "camping," one of her first questions was, "Do you think you can drum as well as the guys you've seen at Bunkers?"  Ordinarily my reply to that kind of question would be "Maybe."  But this time my response was a bold "Yes."  A drummer needs to be confident.  (Plus, it was true.)

When RCX advertises each new camp, it lists the first three songs which the campers will learn and perform.  For the Foreigner camp, those selections were Feels Like The First Time, Hot Blooded and Urgent, all songs I'd heard dozens of times and which had enough drum facets to make it worthwhile for me.  I quickly notified RCX I was down, then sent in my money.  Within a few days they called me in for an audition.  In truth, they refrained from actually calling it an audition, but that's what it was.  (They used the euphemism "camper assessment.")  I drove to the studio where I met one of the coaches, Henry (a fictitious name, as are all the remaining people identified herein), a friendly young guy who inquired about my music background.  After about fifteen minutes he said, "Well, what would you like to play?"  They want to make sure you can actually play the instrument you claim.  I had figured this might happen so I opted for Hot Blooded, the Foreigner song I had practiced the most at home beforehand.  Henry put the original Foreigner track on the powerful audio system and listened to me play along through the first couple of versus and the chorus.  Then something cool happened.  He had strapped on his electric guitar and played along with me (and the record) for the rest of the song.  Great fun!  I was pumped for the camp to begin.

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Before I go further I should present a little information capsule about Foreigner, and why I was excited to play their music.  The band was formed in New York City in 1976.  As I have written in other music posts, this was the era when pop was giving way to rock, the music was becoming more complex, and radio stations were willing to give air time to songs running over three and a-half or even four minutes.  Foreigner, a six man band, was fronted by lead guitarist Mick Jones, an Englishman, and lead singer Lou Gramm, an American.  The nationalities of the other four members were split evenly, two Brits and two Yanks.  Hence the name "Foreigner" made a lot of sense, and besides that, it was clever.

During its eleven year reign on the charts, Foreigner had sixteen Top 40 hits, nine of which breached the Top 10.  Their very first release, Feels Like The First Time, was a smash, hitting number 4 and staying on the Billboard list for over five months.  In fact their first eight singles, covering a thirty-two month span, all reached the Top 40.  They instantly became international superstars.

Finally, here is an ironic nugget.  Although the group is known as a high energy, hard rockin' band, their two biggest commercial successes were ballads, Waiting For A Girl Like You, a number 2 hit from 1981, and 1984's I Want To Know What Love Is, their only single to ever reach number 1.

For the better part of two months, May and June, I did not listen to any music other than Foreigner, nor did I practice drumming to any music other than Foreigner.  I came to appreciate what a great drummer Dennis Elliott is.  I was challenged to try to come close to some of the amazing things he could do with two sticks in his mitts, things I never noticed until I played the music through head phones on my numerous walks.  Lou Gramm is a tremendous singer, no matter the tempo or style.  Mick Jones is downright filthy on his electric guitar.  The keyboards, manned mostly by Al Greenwood, were essential on many of their tunes.  Every such listening or practice confirmed that I had made a wise move in selecting the Foreigner camp.