Logicbank Media

Trends started to emerge in the selection of songs being worked on inside the classrooms at Our Lady of Lourdes School by the third week of Toronto Rock Camp. Several students returning for another round combined with others showing up for the first time this summer — resulting in a more advanced collaborative dynamic. Within a day or two of getting together to jam for the first time, new creative bonds are established, and getting every last detail down for the Friday afternoon concert becomes a shared goal.

Conversations about the songs are also a large part of the creative process, as campers compare notes about their own tastes, trading trivial anecdotes they picked up along the way — whether from a parent’s record collection, or researching YouTube clips and Wikipedia entries. Midway through each week, the bands sit down before the camera for a journalistic interview, answering questions about what is making each band click. Toronto Rock Camp wouldn’t be a legitimate experience if it weren’t all being captured for a rockumentary.

THE ESQUIRES OF NUIK

THE ESQUIRES OF NUIK (L to R: Matt, Ethan, Tom, Daniel, Joseph) assumed a British Invasion-inspired handle which suited their decision to play the Beatles song “Taxman,” along with “Say It Ain’t So” by Weezer — both acts that other bands picked to cover this week.

FALLING BRAINS

FALLING BRAINS (Nick, Ryan, Garnet, Patrick) took their moniker from a biology classroom model that tumbled to the floor, perhaps in response to the original 12-bar blues-metal songs they were pummeling into shape on these summer days: “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues” and “Hero of the Night.”

FUNKYZEIT

FUNKYZEIT (Julian Lee, Chris, Adam, Alex, Ryan) were somehow inspired by the “cracking voice chords” of their 14-year-old singer in picking a name for the group, but their selections went from one extreme to another: Queen’s highly-nuanced “Somebody to Love” and the rave-up “Still Take You Home” by the Arctic Monkeys.

L.O.A.P.

L.O.A.P. (Xavier, William, Charlie, Zack, Victoria) was an acronym taken from one of their performed songs, Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer” — although it alternately stood for “Life on a Panda” or “Lords of Atomic Power” — but tacking “Is This Love?” by Bob Marley showed off their diverse range.

MARCO POLO 5

MARCO POLO 5 (Joanna, George, Nolan, Michael, Eric) was named in tribute to their band leader, Marco, who helped them perfect two different sides of the rock ‘n’ roll anthem canon: “Communication Breakdown” by Led Zeppelin, and Nirvana’s lyrically nonsensical “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”

MRS. FEATHERBOTTOM AND THE BROKEN TABLES

MRS. FEATHERBOTTOM AND THE BROKEN TABLES (Hannah, Amy, Lily, Sam, Nate, Dylan) were inspired by the show Arrested Development, and a character that found David Cross dressed as a British nanny — fitting for a band equally comprised of both genders — but they were partial to playing what they called “hippie music”: the Beatles‘ “Come Together” and “School’s Out” via Alice Cooper.

STAGE FACE

STAGE FACE (Daniel, Sam; not pictured: Elijah, Joe) also helped set the trends of the third week of Toronto Rock Camp, doing yet another Weezer tune, “Beverly Hills,” and “Another Brick In the Wall (Part Two)” by Pink Floyd — whose “hey, teacher, leave us kids alone” refrain was a reminder that there were still some weeks left to go before school would not be about rock.

More images of week #3 here.