Hotter Than July! Part II
#SORonTour
Shortly after the concert, I left the venue and headed straight to the airport. I had to fly to Chicago so that I could be a mentor for the School of Rock at Summerfest in Milwuakee! Thankfully, my travel wasn’t terribly delayed (Beirut to Frankfurt, Frankfurt to Chicago, 90 minute drive to Milwaukee), and I was able to get to my first group of students with 20 minutes to spare. Now that’s the Musical Life!
This annual event, School of Rock OnTour (#SORonTour), showcased over 450 students in dozens of bands from several of the School of Rock locations around the USA. Over the course of three days, the students rocked the Summerfest audience from numerous stages, performing iconic rock songs with professional guest artists from legendary bands – AKA The Mentors.
I was paired with guitarist Robbie Angelucci to listen, evaluate and offer feedback to dozens of bands. Both of us, and all of the other mentors, were very impressed with the young musicians. We were all taken back in time to when each of us were that age, our burgeoning thirst for music just starting. The students reminded us of how special it is to learn music; that it’s a gift. I was so excited and thrilled to be there, and to offer whatever nuggets of wisdom I could.
The Mentors were an eclectic bunch, with a solid portion coming from the world of Rock. Since I’ve spent most of my career in the R&B/Pop world, it was lovely to get to meet and bond with musicians from other genres. The Mentors were Tanya O Callaghan, Robbie Angelucci, Allen Blickle, Dan McCafferty, Kudisan Kai, Julian Coryell, Tariqh Akoni, Phil Xenidis, Glen Sobel, Rachel Z Hakim and Peter DiStefano. I enjoyed meeting and spending time with each of you. Thank you for your high level musicianship, your insight, talent and beautiful hearts!
Thanks to Tania for the referral, VIP and VP Stacey Ryan for keeping us in check, and all of the other SOR top brass, including Rob Price, Elliot Baldini and Tony Padulo for making it all possible.
This entry was posted on Sunday, July 16th, 2017 at 6:53 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.