Anyone aged eight to 85 who has dreamed of being a rock star can make their dream come true during the week of August 22 to 26, when a RAWK Camp will be taking place at the Ashcroft HUB.
Sponsored by the Winding Rivers Arts & Performance Society, the camp brings rock trio Speed Control to the area. Members Graeme Peters, his brother Jody Peters, and Ian March take participants and show them what it takes to be a rock star. The five-day camp focuses on skill building, and no previous musical experience is necessary. At the end of the week, participants will join Speed Control on stage for a concert.
“The premise of the RAWK Camps is to teach participants that there’s more to music than the Top 40 we hear on the radio, and that music can be a whole lot of fun,” says bassist Jody Peters. “We also provide them with skills they can use down the road. Skill development is so important.”
The group has staged RAWK Camps across the country to huge acclaim. Participants are thrilled with the showcase event, where they are able to show off their newly-acquired skills.
The goal for participants is to grab onto the love of music and learn how to have fun performing with other musicians. The camp will include group lessons on individual instruments: guitars, drums, bass, keyboards, and vocals. The goal is for participants to learn one to three songs to perform in public at the end of the camp.
The members of Speed Control all have extensive performing experience, and were finalists in a competition for Best New Group in a CBC Radio competition. They are on the road for six or seven months each year, travelling from coast to coast to coast to perform and to stage RAWK Camps.
Registration is limited to 20 people aged eight and up, and the cost for the week-long camp is $50 per person. Sessions run from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. each day, with participants spending half the day with Speed Control and the other half with local music teacher Dave Dumont, who will be running a session on band instruments. Everyone taking part in the camp will join Speed Control on stage for the group’s performance on August 26, which starts at 7 p.m. at the HUB. Tickets for the performance, which is open to the public, are $20 each.
To sign up or find out more, go to the WRAPS website at www.windingriversarts.ca/.