Tonight I went to the graduation show for the the Iowa School of Rock. I had wanted to be a part of it this spring, but couldn’t due to cost. And, it’s lucky, because normally they have a band with adult members, but there was not one this time. So, I would have been rocking with a bunch of high schoolers. I suppose there are worse fates.
What really struck me about tonights show was the influence that Guitar Hero is having on our nations youth. When I saw the program for tonight, I figured that it there were going to be some older bands because there were a lot of classic rock songs and 80’s stuff. The first band got up, however, scheduled to do “I Love Rock And Roll” and “Freebird” and another 70’s song that I don’t remember off the top of my head. I was surprised to find that it was a group of jr. highers that were performing that set. Then, the next band, during a transition said something about “a 20 minute free-form jazz odessy. It turned out that every band was in Jr. high or high school, but there was no nickelback or green day. So, it looks like Guitar Hero might just be able to teach the kids not to listen to horrible music. So, video games do have educational value.
Earlier in the day, I was at Wal-Mart. I was buying a slab of ribs to try out on the smoker tonight. According to the cashier, I “look like the kind of guy” what would “slap someone in the face” with a raw rack of ribs. She wants me to tell her what it’s like when I try it.
Do I really “look” like that guy? Of course, she did deduce, when looking at the roasting pan and basting brushes I was buying that I was going to be painting. So, who knows?
Filed under: music, random | Tagged: freebird, iowa school or rock, play some skynnard, ribs, smoking
You don’t look insane, so I don’t think you’d look like a guy who’d smack a person with ribs. Plus, if the woman really thought you were going to smack a person with ribs, wouldn’t she call the cops to warn them? I think she just needed some imagination time in order to break up the mundaneness of her job.
I think it’s more like the culture influencing Guitar Hero… Jr. high kids have been getting hip to classic rock for a few years now, and that probably helped an executive decision to create guitar hero. I attribute it to kids raiding parents’ record collections.
If even one adult had taken the plunge and signed up for Iowa School of Rock this spring that would have been a magnet that helped some others decide to join in. People will call up and ask if any adults are signed up.
If just a couple adults were to sign up, we’d fill out the band from our faculty, although we like to have students do as much as possible in each band. (One faculty person filled in on bass for one band this spring- other than that the only faculty participation was in the 9- piece student/faculty project that did Bohemian Rhapsody)
Later high school and college students tend to move away from classic rock into more contemporary stuff, but I’m hearing more classic rock influence in some of that music too.
Thanks for attending our show! The next one is slated for July 26. The summer session is fun because we meet almost daily for two weeks, and spend more time practicing in the 881-seat auditorium where we do the show. (Adult bands can practice in the evening.)
Check us out at: http://www.amesmusicstudios.com
Al Biela- Director Iowa School of Rock