Rock Camp is in Session
Rock Camp: The Movie opens with a goofy, albeit charming Alice Cooper letting viewers in on his secret to lasting youth and a stress-free life. And it’s just as expected: rock and roll.
Luckily (the documentary hopes to prove), we can get a taste of Cooper’s solution through a ticket to Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp. Created by David Fishof, a quirky promotor who curated the experience for the public after touring with big names like Ringo Star, Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp grants you an all-access pass to a 4-day rock and roll immersion.
Upon arrival, campers are teamed up with a ragtag group of strangers of equivalent musical talent and shown what it’s like to live like a rock star, spending days in a rehearsal room or at masterclasses practicing their assigned rock ballads alongside their coaches—some seriously legendary rock superstars: Stephen Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Meatloaf, and Slash of Guns N Roses to name a few.
The documentary walks us through the oft-quoted “life-changing experience” via a few unique return campers. From a die-hard Kiss fan and grandmother named Tammy with incredible talent to a teenage boy with autism named Blake who comes alive behind a guitar, it’s each person’s unexpected backstory that proves even the accountants and the CEOs are anything but normal. In fact, it’s the film’s middle-aged dad who truly embodies the spirit of rock and roll in his devotion to helping his son battle a severe brain disease.
Of course, it’s all a bit cheesy—perhaps a bit cheesier than we want to believe rock and roll really is—but aren’t we all just as dorky as the dads in the basement listening to Creed and System of a Down CDs on repeat? The filmmakers (and David Fishof) tap into a collective concealed desire—that we just want to be on stage rocking out somewhere instead of working behind our desks or our laptop screens. We’re captivated by the fantasy.
The real sweet spot of Rock Camp is watching the rock legends get hooked on it all, too. Huge names, like Gene Simmons of KISS, discuss their genuine excitement over the experience, confessing the camp allows them to remember their appreciation for music all over again—reminding us that anything can become “a job” after a while.
Yet, the magic of Rock Camp: The Movie and Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp is, in the end, the suspension of belief that we can rock and roll all night and party every day. We’re allowed, for an hour and a half, to escape into a world far different from our “normal lives.” We can even imagine we’re not so different from those rock gods after all.
The film does seem to convince its viewers of Alice Cooper’s declaration. We should find relief from our daily grind one way or another—and trading guitar licks with Paul Stanley might be just the thing.
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