Comments on: The Kids are Alright

The Kids are Alright

not_on_display — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 17:07:36 -0800

Are you sick and tired of telling those darn kids to "get off your lawn" because their "favorite band sucks?" Next time, instead of handing out snark, hand them a brochure for the Paul Green School of Rock Music! Before you know it, you'll be wishing that you had a bigger lawn.

Since Paul Green founded the school in Philadelphia in 1998, kids ages 7 to 17 in cities all over the USA have been invited to live out their ~~parents'~~ dreams: to be in a rock band. Paul Green's story has spawned a documentary (which explores the bi-polar nature of his teaching style), and has inspired a popular movie (directed by Richard Linklater and starring Jack Black). The curriculum draws from a variety of rock styles, from the ubiquitous Led Zeppelin to the Damned, Captain and Tenielle to Devo, System of a Down to Nena, RATM to P-Funk. I've selected the following examples from the massive amount of footage available on YouTube to illustrate the variety of styles taught and performed, the different levels of talent, and the overall spirit of the whole she'bop. (Plus, seeing kids sing inappropriate lyrics they may not fully understand is a kick, too.) This is the summer camp I only wish my parents could have sent me to. Led Zeppelin - Travelling Riverside Blues (My favorite clip) Parliament/Funkadelic - Maggot Brain (My second favorite clip. The rest are in no particular order.) The Vapors - Turning Japanese House of Pain - Jump Around Oingo Boingo - Dead Man's Party Soft Cell - Tainted Love Black Sabbath - National Acrobat B-52's - Rock Lobster Prince - Let's Go Crazy Rage Against the Machine - Killing In The Name Of Frank Zappa - Keep it Greasy Lou Reed - Walk on the Wild Side Slayer - Reign in Blood David Bowie - Moonage Daydream Van Halen - Hot for Teacher Average White Band - Cut the Cake Sex Pistols - Pretty Vacant Chris Isaak - Wicked Game AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap King Diamond - A Mansion in Darkness Devo - Whip It | Sloppy (not to be confused with Devo 2.0) Parliament/Funkadelic - Tear the Roof Off Nena - 99 Red Balloons Eagles - Hotel California System of a Down - Aerials Herbie Hancock - Chameleon The Damned - New Rose King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King The Captain and Tenielle - Love Will Keep Us Together The Knack - My Sharona Steely Dan - FM

By: stenseng

stenseng — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 17:39:25 -0800

Frankly, this gives me hope for the future during these otherwise increasingly dark, bleak times.

By: WalterMitty

WalterMitty — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 18:07:34 -0800

Damn I wish I was a rock star. Cool post, some of these kids are pretty good.

By: R. Mutt

R. Mutt — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 18:09:18 -0800

Or you could just get together with your friends in the garage and make your own music.

By: blaneyphoto

blaneyphoto — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 18:19:58 -0800

I've had to cover a few of the school's gigs over the past few years. My review of thier performance at CBGBs. Photo, Photo, Photo.

By: alicesshoe

alicesshoe — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 18:35:20 -0800

Absofuckinglutely the kids are 'awrite. My nephew [keyboards] attended Camp Jam. Great performance and the lead singer totally got Jim Morrison. A shy, talented guitarist, sang because the group's lead singer got sick. The nephew has picked up the Bass lately and bought his own amplifier [500 Watt], at 15, they know much more than I did in those days. Not so damned innocent, believe me. They work hard at it and nephew gets together and jams in his basement, writing their own songs and dropping them to YouTube [havn't got the URL onhand], they got it going all rite. Cool. And good for them. Sure helps to have cool parents to let you explore and grow. In your own home.

By: The Straightener

The Straightener — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 18:43:26 -0800

If you the documentary you know who Asa Spades and Tucker Collins are. Well, their mom Andrea, a mainstay in the Philly punk scene, was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer last year. She's been blogging about the experience of being terminally ill since last year; it's a simultaneously heartbreaking and uplifting read. She's a really active member with the Fishtown/Kensington Circle of Hope church, so you might want to skip the blog if the Jesus talk bothers you. It's an ultra-progressive Mennonite offshoot, though, if that mitigates things at all.

By: caddis

caddis — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:08:20 -0800

As for the lawn, a shotgun filled with rocksalt loads is more effective. MY kids get to go to rock and roll camp and I am frankly a bit jealous. I would trade places with them those days. "Son, that man is a boss, lick his ass, even though it smells at it will buy you several guitars. While you are doing that I will be learning some new licks on your guitar. "

By: Herodios

Herodios — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:20:29 -0800

Adrian Belew (Zappa, Bowie, Talking Heads, King Crimson, ridiculous Japanese tv commercials) records and tours with Julie Slick (21, bass) and Eric Slick (20, drums) two graduates of PGSoR. ('Fact, Julie was one of the first students, when Green was still in college himself, if I'm not mistaken.) They are fine musicians. -

By: Herodios

Herodios — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:23:19 -0800

Damn I wish I was a rock star. . . posted by WalterMitty Is that what you call eponysterical around here? -

By: smackfu

smackfu — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 20:02:52 -0800

It also inspired a UK reality show with Gene Simmons in the teacher role. Rock School. It's not quite as awful as you might imagine, despite Mr. Simmons.

By: nola

nola — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 20:43:28 -0800

ta-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa

By: ludwig_van

ludwig_van — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 21:56:47 -0800

I haven't seen the documentary, but I was a substitute guitar teacher for awhile at the Paul Green school in Cherry Hill and almost took a job at the Philly school (ha -- I gave lessons to some of the kids in the linked clips). It's not a summer camp, it's just a place that offers private musical instruction with periodic band performances. The performance aspect of it is definitely cool, although lots of music schools are doing that now. The kids that I saw there seemed to really enjoy it, and used the school as much as a social hangout as a place to learn. I probably would've enjoyed it at that age. But they underpay their teachers, and for the most part it's not really different from other music schools. They just assign music and put the kids into bands and get them up onstage. It'd be a lot better if it weren't limited to whatever handful of 60s-80s radio rock songs Paul Green chooses. The students there don't get to learn or play jazz, or classical, or even indie rock or anything you wouldn't hear on classic rock radio. They don't learn to read music (perish the thought) and tend to be weak on fundamentals. Which is just like most kids taking guitar lessons at other schools, but that's my point.

By: not_on_display

not_on_display — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 22:09:22 -0800

^Straightener: ...Asa Spades... Didn't know why Motorhead suddenly popped into my head; had to read twice. ^R. Mutt: Or you could just get together with your friends in the garage and make your own music. As a kid, I was lucky enough to have a friend with a basement. But some kids live in apartments. Some kids may not have as many social opportunities to get rocking with all their other friends--if they have friends who also rock out. And, especially around here, practice space costs a bundle. So anyway, as I'm constructing this post (it actually grew from watching Adrian Belew/King Crimson videos on YT), I'm thinking that next summer, if my kid's music bug takes him over (he asked me to teach him a song by Garbage and that song from Portal today), and he practices, I'd pop for something like this for him. It looks like some some fun.

By: ludwig_van

ludwig_van — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 22:30:29 -0800

Ah, correction, I looked at the web site and they do have a summer camp. But for the most part it's regular after school private lessons mixed with band rehearsals.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 22:53:20 -0800

"real rock concerts at real rock venues in front of real rock audiences." Keeping it real!

By: medeine

medeine — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 23:29:54 -0800

I took guitar lessons at the Philly school when I was 24. I may possibly have been their oldest student, ever. I remember Paul screaming at the kids pretty often. But they rather bratty, and deserved it.

By: medeine

medeine — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 23:31:43 -0800

"they were rather bratty" (sigh...it's been a long day.)

By: pxe2000

pxe2000 — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 04:43:36 -0800

Did anyone else expect that Paul Green's Rock School was something like this?

By: sleepy pete

sleepy pete — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 12:30:25 -0800

Parliament/Funkadelic - Maggot Brain OK, kids, now just imagine your mom died, but first maybe you want to take this. No, you don't want to tell your parents. No, those spiders aren't real, Jimmy. OH MY GOD BUT THAT SNAKE IS! Just kidding, Jimmy. Jimmy? Jimmy? On topic, Ethos in Portland, OR seems really great. If I had more time I would definitely be volunteering there right now, but it will have to wait.

By: mrbill

mrbill — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:36:11 -0800

Suddenly, my senior-year talent show performance of Poison's "Every Rose Has It's Thorn", with lyrics modified as necessary to remove any mention of "sleeping" and such, seems rather insignificant.

By: not_on_display

not_on_display — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:41:25 -0800

Suddenly, my senior-year talent show performance of Poison's "Every Rose Has It's Thorn", with lyrics modified as necessary to remove any mention of "sleeping" and such, seems rather insignificant. Hell no... and double bonus points for that song in particular. No shame: you did it on your own! (And thanks all!)

By: Gucky

Gucky — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 18:20:59 -0800

My daughter's already signed up for two weeks of summer camp. This will get her jazzed more than playing ROCK BAND one more time.