Logicbank Media

CityArts will be holding the Toronto Rock Camp Holiday Party and Benefit on December 17th, 2009,  at The Gibson Artist Lounge, courtesy of our sponsors Gibson Guitars and Epiphone Guitars and Amplifiers. About The Gibson Lounge: The Gibson Artist Showroom and Lounge is a private facility which supports Gibson Artists worldwide on their tours. With centers [...]

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Following a shortened session due to the August civic holiday, when a few students from Toronto Rock Camp had the opportunity to perfect their chops in the recording studio, CityArts regrouped for one final summer week. Groups are assembled on Monday based on playing ability, and other factors, followed by the five-day dash to the Friday afternoon live concert finish line. A number of faces called the Our Lady Of Lourdes School their second home for the better part of summer. Some others just recently became aware of what was happening at the otherwise inconspicuous corner of Sherbourne and Wellesley all summer long and wanted to leap into the action. Regardless of their musical background, just about everyone at the Rock Camp felt energized to continue such creative pursuits, whether by staying in touch with the others they met over the summer, or rustling up new bands in the fall.

The final performance of the session was the most celebratory of all, where campers spent as much energy applauding their band leaders as their own parents and siblings relished the performances, and the proverbial roof was raised on the school auditorium. During a summer in the city that will go down in history for its temperamental weather, a civic workers strike that kept the streets strewn with garbage, and plenty of bad news stories, it was reassuring to know that kids working on rock ‘n’ roll in a few downtown classrooms could generate enough enthusiasm to change the world — or at least change the way you could hear some familiar songs.

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And on the fourth week of Toronto Rock Camp, the summer humidity started to peak outdoors, making the students — not to mention staffers — all the more grateful for the air conditioned interior of Our Lady of Lourdes School. The trend toward more eclectic, if not eccentric, cover tune choices continued as well. A large part of the creative conversation involved discussing the context in which new and old rock songs were written and created. These legacies influenced what every band member brought to the concert performance on Friday afternoon — if you’re going to take on a well-known song, the motivation is to do it some justice.

But the more seasonal weather also increased the irreverence level throughout the classrooms. Songs with heavy messages were approached lightheartedly, fun numbers were given a bit of extra weight, and band names generally reflected these contradictions. Rock Camp instructors were typically appreciated for their ability to connect with their charges — all musicians themselves, they helped crank up all the attitude that rock ‘n’ roll has to offer. And, with time crawling into the last days of July, everyone was ready to turn down the volume for a long holiday weekend.

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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 [...]

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Cooler temperatures, moodier skies and a garbage strike haven’t made the city streets the ideal playground this summer, but overall conditions made it more conducive to staying indoors and rocking out, the ambition of all those enrolled in these five July days of Toronto Rock Camp. And the sources of inspiration were increasingly diverse by [...]

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Those walking past the Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School on Monday, July 6 might have assumed it was an empty, tranquil, unoccupied space for the summer — when, in fact, the second annual Toronto Rock Camp was firing up inside the classrooms. Bands were assembled on the first day — determined by instrument choices, [...]

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Online Registration for the Summer 2009 session of the Toronto Rock Camp is now open. Please visit the Toronto Rock Camp Registration Page, learn about the Toronto Rock Camp Programs, Dates and Fees and apply online with the Toronto Rock Camp Online Registration Form. You can register for the Toronto Rock Camp only through this [...]

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