In the mid-‘60s a trippy Californian pop band belted out a song with the question, “So you want to be a rock ‘n’ roll star?” which was followed by the answer, “Just get an electric guitar and take some time, and learn how to play.”
Now that some of Canada’s aspiring rock gods and goddesses have done exactly what that Byrds song suggested, a few of them are gearing up for an excitable new music documentary series on the CBC called Rock Camp. Rock Camp will follow 18 young musicians aged 14 to 18 for three weeks and will document these teenagers in a series of different workshops and events. Default, Gob, Live On Release, I Mother Earth, Wide Mouth Mason, Jersey and Not By Choice will conduct these seminars to help shape some of our country’s future potential superstars.
There will be no elimination or immunity challenges to rid some of the camp members, but it will give them more of a chance to tell all their friends, “When I was in band camp…”
Almost 200 kids showed up with their picks, sticks and licks to try out for the TV show that will begin shooting this August and will hit CBC’s airwaves in the spring of 2004. The guitar players, bassists, keyboardists, drummers, singers and songwriters will form bands, write songs and play all-ages gigs to prepare for the big stage and will get a chance to win a recording session from EMI Music Canada.
The purpose of the camp is to try and eliminate some of the fluff and pabulum (save of course, for the new potential Canadian Idols Richie Wilcox and Jenny Gear, who actually seem to be pretty cool) appearing on reality and idol shows and prove to our nation that there’s some real talent in the rock world that’s usually hidden from the spotlight.
Hopefully this documentary won’t get to some of the youngsters’ heads who’ve sold their soul for rock ‘n roll, but if so, they should listen the refrain of that old Byrds tune. “The money, the fame, and the public acclaim, don’t forget who you are, you’re a rock ‘n roll star.”
