Apparently, Rock School Blowout is the place to be seen.
This summer one of our bands was asked to audition for Battle of the Bands. Another band, User Friendly, was recently asked to audition for America’s Got Talent when a local producer saw them perform at our fall Rock School Blowout.
“They were so good, they really stood out,” said Lori Fudens, mom of Sam Fudens, the guitarist and vocalist for User Friendly.
Sam was invited to join User Friendly in the fall by drummer Alex Carr, who had participated in our summer Rock School.
“We’ve known Alex since the kids were in preschool together,” said Lori.
Now 13, the kids made an impression on at least one audience member, who approached them after the concert about auditioning for America’s Got Talent at the Convention Center in Tampa.
“We got a producer’s pass to go up to the front of the line at the audition,” explained Lori, who attended the audition with the kids.
User Friendly includes Fudens, Carr, Thomas Prether and Jacob Fleming. The group had to bring all their equipment and perform a 90-second piece for the audition. They performed Rolling in the Deep, by Adele.
“There were a lot of people there, and a lot of adults,” said Lori, “Dancers, musicians, jugglers. User Friendly were among the first kids to go on.”
Once they set up their equipment, they discovered there was no mic. Undaunted, Sam impressed the judges by carrying her voice enough that the mic wasn’t necessary. This group of young musicians handled themselves expertly under pressure.
“It was perfect, every beat. They were all on cue,” said Lori.
The group won’t find out for a couple of months if they’ll get a callback. But even if they don’t get picked to go on national television, they’re happy they had the experience.
Now they routinely get together to jam and plan to keep the band together.
“They never would have done this if it wasn’t for Rock School,” said Lori. “It’s a higher level of teaching. And it’s a group setting, so there’s a whole new set of things to learn.”
If you play guitar, bass, drums or keyboard, and you’re ready to take your music lessons to a whole new level, join us at the next placement auditions for Rock School and Rock School, Jr. this January.
Rock School helps you take what you’ve learned in private music lessons and put it into practice. Participants are placed in a band according to their skill level, and all bands perform at the end of the session in our Rock School Blowout, a fun-filled concert on the Riverwalk in downtown Tampa.
Auditions for the Patel Conservatory’s Rock School session in Tampa will be Jan. 3, Jan. 7 and Jan. 10, 2012.
For more information, or to schedule an audition, contact Dee Lynch at Deborah.Lynch@strazcenter.org, or call 813-222-6411.
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