Camp Jam 2010
A two-and-a-half-day rock workshop gets recreational musicians out of their basements and onto the Atlanta Hard Rock Café Stage.By Jackie Saunders
The Camp Jam Experience for adults isn't like most weekend getaway, rock celebrity fantasy camps. While famous rockers, including Jeff Carlisi (founder and lead guitarist for 38 Special), Liberty DeVitto (long time drummer for Billy Joel), Jeff Adams (bassist for Starship), Peter Stroud (lead guitarist for Sheryl Crow), Jimmy Hall (vocalist, and sax and harp player for Wet Willie), and Canadian guitarist Pat Travers run the workshop, the focus isn't on the pros, it's on the recreational musicians.
Twice a year, Camp Jam hosts a weekend workshop in Atlanta for recreational musicians who want to play in a group setting, meet other musicians, and get better at their music. Camp Jam also runs camps for kids and teens, as well as corporate team-building workshops. During the most recent Camp Jam Experience, held February 18-20, about 22 participants of all skill levels came together, rehearsed a set, and played a gig in the Hard Rock Café as a showcase performance. Attendees ranged from regulars, who come every year, to newcomers, and even a married couple. These are their stories.
When Vince Dobilas opened his 40th birthday card from his wife, Barbara, he was stunned. Inside the birthday card was a round trip ticket to Atlanta and a voucher for a weekend rock camp called Camp Jam. Surprisingly, Dobilas, who plays the guitar and writes his own music in a basement studio he built, was not pleased. For one, he only played with a band once during high school, and second, although he owns a bunch of music gadgets for writing his own music, he had never played popular rock songs and didn't even know how. "I immediately had negative thoughts," wrote Dobilas in an e-mail to friends. "I thought, I'm not good enough; I'm going to be exposed. People are going to look at me like a guy who owns all this nice music stuff, but can't play."
Vince Dobilas
Having a week to mull it over and talk with his music teacher and Danny Lipson, a co-owner of Camp Jam, Dobilas decided it would be a fun experience after all. Plus, he really wanted to meet Jeff Carlisi because, at age 16, Dobilas had seen Carlisi play with 38 Special. Dobilas works in technology for Citi, but he admits to being a heavy metal dude behind-the-scenes—it's his alter ego. "It was awesome to talk to one of the guys I used to scream my head off for," he says.
John Steigerwald, 50, known as "Stag," is an old pro when it comes to Camp Jam. Steigerwald attended the very first weekend held for adults in 2005 and has been coming ever since. His family owns a furniture store in Toms River, New Jersey, and he plays in two bands. "You know how they say, you can't go back?" says Steigerwald. "With Camp Jam, that's not the case. Seeing Jeff and Liberty, having a jam fest with old buddies every time—it's getting together with old friends. A lot of us repeat guys keep in touch with each other during the rest of the year."
Debbi and Terry Anderson, from Seattle, Washington, found Camp Jam online at campjam.com. Married for 38 years, the couple had met through music and now both play in the band Blind Blonde Driving. Debbi, a vocalist and an owner of several real estate companies, wanted to get out of the local Seattle scene and see how she and Terry fared compared to the professionals. "You don't know what makes you different from the professionals, so we were hoping to take it up a notch," says Debbi. "We wanted to learn what they do different from what we do to bring us to a higher level."
On the first night, the out-of-town musicians were picked up from the airport and shuttled over to their hotel to freshen up before they went to the Crossover rehearsal studios. Carlisi and the instructors brought drinks and pizzas for a meet-and-greet and also performed for the campers to break the ice.
"Normally at these social gatherings people ask, 'What do you do?' or we talk about our jobs, but in this case, we were asking, 'What do you play?' or 'What type of music do you like?'" says Debbi, who was the only woman at Camp Jam. "There was this high level of excitement and everyone was so eager to meet the other musicians and the pros."
After Dobilas chatted up Carlisi for 45 minutes, asking about how he got into music and what kind of music he enjoys, it was time to break off into rehearsal bands. Carlisi and Lipson assigned people to bands by mixing musicians who play different instruments and those from different skill levels.
Next, the new bandmates jammed a little, got familiar with each other, and chose the songs for their set. Dobilas felt a little apprehensive, since everyone in his band knew how to play the chosen songs, ("Cocaine," "Gimme Shelter," and "Tush") and he could only play the chords. But that feeling faded the next morning when Travers intervened. "Travers told me to play something, so I played a few power chords," says Dobilas. "Then he walked over to the amp, turned a few dials, turned up the volume, and my guitar came to life. I was psyched from that point on."
Friday was strictly business for the bands. Split into four practice rooms, each band rehearsed from about 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a break for lunch. "The amazing part is how fast it all comes together," says Steigerwald. "We get to know each other and get a feel for each other."
Since at home the Andersons usually only practice twice a week, they found the all-day practice session intense, but exciting. "It's wonderful collaborating and working with musicians from all over the US," says Debbi. "There were people from different musical backgrounds that would put in a different spin on a particular ending or transition that you wouldn't have thought of. It was a real creative effort."
Throughout the day, the pros went in and out of the rooms, offering feedback and help. "The first night, I didn't even know who they were because they came up and introduced themselves like anybody else," says Debbi of the celebrity teachers. "There was no ego; they were just like a friend next door."
At the end of the night, the Camp Jammers headed over to Lipson's home where they kicked back, ate a meal, and then checked out their host's music room and guitar collection, while Carlisi played the blues on a 1930s steel guitar. "I was sitting on a couch, next to Jeff Adams and Liberty DeVitto, watching Jeff Carlisi play the guitar," says Dobilas. "We were all in awe."
Saturday was the last day to polish up the songs and prepare for the performance at the Hard Rock. The group did a sound check around 5:30 p.m. and headed across the street for dinner before the big show.
When the Camp Jammers returned to the Hard Rock, almost 50 people were waiting for the show to start. "I started to get really nervous—all these people were going to watch me play," says Dobilas. "I asked Jeff if this feeling goes away once you are on stage and he said, 'Absolutely.'" Dobilas' bandmate, John "Chopper" Kovach, who had played gigs before, reminded him not to look at the lights or the front row because he might forget his chords.
"We were the second band out, and as soon as the music started, I thought, this freakin' rocks," says Dobilas. "It felt like a minute, playing those three songs. I came off the stage completely juiced up and knew I was coming back every year."
Debbi, who performs several times a month, wasn't nervous at all. She says she gets an adrenaline rush getting out in front of people and making music with friends. "People like watching a bunch of friends pal around onstage and tease each other. I sang 'Treat Her Right' and I was like, 'Yeah, you listen up boys,' to the guys in the band." Jeff Adams joined Debbi and her group for their last song, "Rockin' in the Free World." The instructors also played an hour-long set at the Hard Rock.
Camp Jam is unique because of the weekend's small-scale intimacy, where friendships are forged over the course of a few days. One example is a group of four Atlanta musicians who met at Camp Jam several years ago. They formed a band and now play together on the weekends. "I'm from New York but I met someone from San Diego, two people from Washington state, and Texas—there is just a wide range of people who do what you like to do," says Dobilas. "You don't know them Thursday night, but by Sunday, we're like a family."
Jimmy Hall
Debbi Anderson
Glenn Zimmerman
Pat Travers
Jeff Adams
