"You want your kid to be passionate about something, whether it be sports, scouts, dance or whatever. School of Rock does this for my son. We have discovered a talent we didn't know he had. My son would live at School of Rock if he could. We've already recommended the program to several friends."
Current Season Info
Current Season Info
Portland School of Rock 2011 Fall Season Overview
PERFORMANCE PROGRAM/SEASON SHOWS
This is our traditional program, the one you all know and love. When a student is signed up for the Performance Program, they will have a private 45-minute weekly lesson on the instrument of their choice, and participate in a 3-hour weekly group rehearsal. They will rehearse for between 13 and 16 weeks until they are razor-sharp, then perform a triumphant 2 hour concert as the finale of the season. The shows are always at big rock venues like the Hawthorne Theater, Kennedy School, the Mission Theater, and other great spots around Portland, and they are ALWAYS A BLAST!!!
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Portland School of Rock 2011 Fall Season Shows!!!
Motley Crue vs. Guns ‘n’ Roses
Director: Guffey (assistant Davey C.)
Rehearsals: Tuesdays, 5:15pm-8:15 pm. Rehearsal start date: Tuesday, October 4th
Show: Sunday, January 15th @ The Mission Theatre, 1624 NW Glisan, PDX
Kids show up @ 4:30 PM, Doors @ 5 PM, Show from 6-8 PM
“The two best Rock’n’Roll bands of the ‘80s collide in an epic battle of Gutter-Glam Titans!!! First, we’ll play fist-pumping Motley Crue anthems like “Too Fast for Love”, “Shout at the Devil”, “Kickstart my Heart”, “Wild Side”, “Live Wire”, and many, many more. The second half of the set will be all the G’n’R classics from the early part of their career. “Welcome to the Jungle”, “It’s So Easy”, “You’re Crazy”, “Reckless Life”, “Rocket Queen”, all the essential tunes. Come celebrate the Sunset Strip in all its leather-clad glory!!!”
Best of the Portland Music Scene
Director: Dani Fish (Ed Thanhouser assisting)
Rehearsals: Thursdays, 5:15pm – 8:15pm. Rehearsal start date: Thursday, October 6th
Show: Friday, January 13th @ The Cystal Ballroom, 1332 W. Burnside, PDX
Kids show up @ 6:30 PM, Doors @ 7PM, Show from 8-10 PM
“Our goal? To showcase 25 of the best CURRENT Portland bands in an epic concert at the Crystal Ballroom, featuring our School of Rock students AND members of the bands! Dani Fish and Ed Thanhouser (the guy behind PDX Pop Now!) will be directing and booking for this show! The setlist has music from LOTS of genres, and is representative of the vast creativity in our beautiful Rose City. If you’re looking for musical diversity, a FUN setlist, and love local music, this is the show for you. Look for bands on the set list such as: The Gossip, Red Fang, The Shins, Brian Jonestown Massacre, M Ward, The Thermals, Starf*****, Nether Regions, The Decemberists, Menomena, Mean Jeans, The Dandy Warhols, YOB, Spoon and many more!”
Queen of the Stone Age: Greatest Hits + the “Songs for the Deaf” album
Director: Adam Corkery (Assitant Emily Seabroke)
Rehearsals: Sundays, 11:00am – 2:00 pm. Rehearsal start date: Sunday, October 9th
Show: Sunday, January 29th @ Mission St Theatre, 1624 NW Glisan, PDX
Kids show up @ 4:30 PM, Doors @ 5 PM, Show from 6-8 PM
“Queens of the Stone Age is one of the most influential bands of the 21st Century. Nuff said.”
Pink Floyd: Greatest Hits + the “Wish You Were Here” album
Director: Bobby Ray (Assistant Jon Brownhill)
Rehearsals: Sundays, 2:00pm – 5:00 pm. Rehearsal start date: Sunday, October 9th
Show: Sunday, January 22th @ Mission St Theatre, 1624 NW Glisan, PDX
Kids show up @ 4:30 PM, Doors @ 5 PM, Show from 6-8 PM
“Continuing down our path of eventually performing every Pink Floyd record, we present this exciting evening of music. The first set will consist of great songs from throughout Pink Floyd’s entire career, such as “Money”, “Comfortably Numb”, “Astronomy Domine”, “Echoes”, “Us & Them”, “Another Brick in the Wall”, etc. The second set will include a complete performance of their masterpiece album, “Wish You Were Here”. This show will be AMAZING.”
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THE EPIC ALBUM PROGRAM
The Epic Album Program is something we’ve been working on during the last couple of seasons, and it is really starting to hit its stride. The concept is to choose a single album or small collection of related songs, and really work them in a smaller group setting. These rehearsals are 1 ½ hours, and generally have between 8 and 12 participants. This is a more intimate setting where the kids can really get to know each other as players and people.
In addition to the compressed time commitment and smaller groups, the other main difference between the Epic Album Program and our traditional Performance Program is in how and when the shows are performed. The Performance Program has a set amount of rehearsal time, and then goes out with a bang, culminating in one GIANT show. Conversely, the Epic Album rehearsals are open ended, initially with no pre-determined show date. As soon as the students start getting close to being able to perform all of the material on their show, we will book an all-ages show at Backspace, and start AGGRESSIVELY marketing the show as an opening act for more established bands. The shorter set times and smaller group of performers make it possible to perform the show multiple times at various all-ages AND 21+ music venues around Portland!!! As long as we have gig opportunities, we will continue to run rehearsals and play shows.
We had incredible results with our initial Jeff Buckley and Green Day Epic Album performances, and our Radiohead and Ween rehearsals already sound AMAZING. The Epic Album program is gaining momentum because it allows us to cater to the specific musical tastes of smaller groups of students. If a kid has the drive to organize a group with a minimum of 8 musicians with the proper instrumentation, we can do literally any album they choose. This puts a lot more control in the hands of the students, and that is a good thing. Also, if a student can’t decide between two of our options, it is VERY affordable to add an Epic Album rehearsal to the Performance Program!!!
Portland School of Rock 2011 Fall Epic Albums!!!
Slayer, “Reign in Blood” (epic album)
Director: Colin Stout
Rehearsals: Wednesdays, 6:00pm-7:30 pm. Rehearsal start date: Wednesday, October 5th
Shows: TBA
“What’s more awesome than a bunch of teenagers tearing through Slayer’s terrifying 29 minute masterpiece, “Reign in Blood”? Nothing, that’s what. Widely considered to be among the greatest metal albums of all time, this show will drive anyone who plays it to push their technigue to the next level. By the time the students are ready to perform, the guitarists and bassists will have jackhammers where their hands should be, the singers will comfortably have the ability to gargle razor blades, and the drummers will be 210bpm double-kick killing machines. SCARY”!!!
All- Acoustic Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, & Nick Cave (epic album)
Director: Dan Lee
Rehearsals: Wednesdays 5:15pm-6:45 pm. Rehearsal start date: Wednesday, October 5th
Shows: TBA
“A tribute to three of the darkest, most mysterious songwriters who have ever walked the face of the Earth. For the first time, the kids at the School of Rock will perform a show using nothing but acoustic instruments! The kids will work on creatively arranging great songs like “Murder in the Red Barn”, “I’m Your Man”, and “I Had a Dream, Joe” for stand-up bass, accordion, mandolin, banjo, dobro, violin, and of course, acoustic guitars and drums. This is going to be INCREDIBLE.”
Roots of Garage Rock (epic album)
Director: Tamar Berk
Rehearsals: Sundays, 5:00pm –6:30 pm, Rehearsal start date: Sunday October 9th
Shows: TBA
“Tamar Berk returns to PDXSOR to edumacate the young’uns about the roots of GARAGE ROCK!!! She will dive deep into the touchstone for the new psychedelic/garage movement, “Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era.” “Nuggets” is a compilation album of American garage rock singles released in the mid- to-late 1960s, and it is MASSIVELY influential on modern bands like the White Stripes, the Black Keys, the Dandy Warhols, the Brian Jonestown Massacre, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Arctic Monkeys, the Strokes, and many more. You’ll find out how your favorite bands developed their sound on this incredible show. Wailing, fuzzed-out guitars, screaming Farfisa organs, and hip-shakin’ grooves will abound”!!!
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NEW PROGRAMS FOR FALL!!!
Exciting stuff is in the works for the rest of 2011. We are always looking for new ways to inspire our students. More information about all of our new programs will be coming soon. Here is an overview of what’s on the horizon…
1. BAND COACHING: Have a band? Our Band Coaching Program will give you a place to rehearse, and the benefit of having one of our experienced instructors help you tighten up your performance, learn about the ins and outs of the music business, and get you ready to play gigs!!!
2. PROJECT STUDIO: This program teaches you how to make good sounding recordings on common programs like GarageBand, Logic, and ProTools, as well as helping you write better songs. Practical experience for the recording musician.
3. EPIC ALBUM RECORDING: Learn all the necessary skills used in playing on a record! The participants in this program have their choice of re-recording all of Green Day’s “Dookie” or Radiohead’s “OK Computer” with their friends. In the process, they will learn how to perform using headphones, how to do overdubs, and how to dial in their equipment for great sounds. At the end of the process, they will have a copy of their favorite record that they actually played on!!!
THE ADULT PROGRAM: The long awaited Adult Program is coming soon!!!
