Tomorrow's Real Guitar Heroes!

Orlando

Tomorrow's real guitar heroes

by Jim Abbott

July 25, 2008

I have seen the future of rock 'n' roll and its name is Justin Bennington.

The name of Justin's band, however, is still up in the air.

The 13-year-old guitar-slinger was among roughly 70 aspiring rock stars at work on Monday, the opening afternoon of Camp Jam, a weeklong real-life School of Rock.

In the auditorium at Trinity Prep in Winter Park, the students (ages 11-17) were divided into bands that would rehearse all week to lock down arrangements of classic rock songs such as "Crazy Train" for today's big closing-day concert. Along the way, campers learn some basics about music and the business from industry pros.

First, that pesky band name issue:

Manwich or Russian Roulette? That was the question. My humble suggestion, Willfully Blonde, was probably a tad soft for this hard-rocking bunch.

For Justin and band mates Trevor Byrne and Lance Levine, all age 13, the name debate threatened to escalate into Behind the Music drama. It looked like the band was going to break up before the first chord.

"Most of Central Florida is going to see this now," media-savvy Justin told the other guys, gesturing toward me and my reporter's notebook. "A bunch of 13-year-old guys named Manwich? I don't think anyone is going to get it."

As the guys sort it out, I look around. A few observations:

*Out of roughly 70 campers, 55 of them are guitar players! I guess Orlando really is "Guitar Town."

*They are all dudes! I can spy only one girl in the whole auditorium, not counting camp counselor Rachel Kessler.

What gives?

"I would love to see more girls," Kessler says, "but typically, it's been a male-dominated profession, so it has taken a while for the women to break through." *These kids all have terrific hair! Long, luxurious rock-star 'dos. I don't know how the bands will sound, but they look fabulous. Founded by .38 Special guitarist Jeff Carlisi, Camp Jam (campjam.com) is a national program, with sessions in Atlanta, Dallas, Washington, D.C, and elsewhere. Each features tips from rock musicians, such as Survivor guitarist Jim Peterik at this week's Orlando camp.

Maybe he knows where all these guitarists can find a few more drummers? Or has some advice about a name for the guys in Russian Roulette. Or is it Manwich?

Old-school funk

I first met singer-keyboardist Gerry Williams at another music camp hosted a few years back by Hard Rock Live. With an impressive voice and easy manner, Williams (who pronounces his first name "Gary") was a natural, teaching aspiring pop stars the history of good music: Motown, James Brown, Barry White.

In a way, that's what Williams is doing with his emerging Orlando ensemble, the Gerry Williams Band. It's a big R&B outfit, with powerful horn and rhythm sections. "We want to show all respect to the bands [from] back in the day, like Earth, Wind & Fire, The Ohio Players," says Williams, who plays with the band Saturday at the Social. "I wanted to bring some of that soul back and put a little modern twist on it."

Material slated for the band's upcoming debut EP also has a topical edge to it. There's a song about change, inspired by the death of Williams' brother who had been serving in Iraq.

"The type of music we do is about the way you live and the struggles that you've been through," says Williams, 37. "Funk is almost like blues, it was created during hard times. "Each person in this band has had some sort of struggle and I know a lot of other people can relate to that. We try to take those struggles and turn them into positive energy."

And you might even learn something.

Click here for a link to the article on the Orlando Sentinel's site