Housekeeping: Not much to say regarding the logistics. I’m in the Sewanee Inn on the campus of the University of the South, spending the night in a beautiful and modern hotel room with golf course view, on the eve of my son’s big School of Rock performance at the Caverns in Pelham, TN. I have had a rough couple of days, and in tonight’s entry, I’ll begin to explain why.
Tonight, my family had dinner outside beneath a sky of radiant pastel hues with fireflies providing cheerful twinkling lights on the surrounding patio. I have come to cherish these times because of their rarity. With Marina working tirelessly night after night in her restaurant job, and Garret accustomed to computer time and connections with online friends, several hours each week of musical rehearsals, and the relentless call of alternative high school work, we don’t often sit down together for a meal.
Garret had the fortunate opportunity this Spring to audition for a spot in the School of Rock’s Festival Band. This particular franchise is fairly young, and lacked a House Band among other things, so they held auditions for an “ad hoc” Festival group. As a strong vocalist, I had hoped Garret would be a shoe-in, and evidently, he was, as auditions were held over for him while he recovered from a cold which he probably picked up while teaching martial arts to school aged children.
Finding out that Garret was chosen to represent the School of Rock in Tennessee was a highlight of my year. This also meant more rehearsing, and learning a whole new set of songs by the middle of July. He’s had a few opportunities to also perform this Festival set in town, as part of the preparations.
The Caverns in Pelham, TN, is to be the exciting opening venue, with Chattanooga’s Signal event space the closing location on Saturday night, incidentally my father’s birthday. About 20 other schools from all over the Southeast are coming to participate, creating a huge weekend-long event that includes a bonfire and Master Class with Bumblefoot from Guns & Roses. I have been eternally grateful for this important opportunity, since Garret isn’t necessarily the type of person to seek out such experiences on his own. I can’t imagine a better program for young musicians than School of Rock. No matter what this journey entails, I know that they have given him an auspicious start.
In the lead up to this event, we’ve brought him to the Woodstock School of Rock campus three times a week for rehearsals and voice lessons, and driven all over Atlanta while the kids in this group practiced their set at various venues. It has all been a momentous build up to tomorrow’s concert.
Ring, Ring! Timer’s Up……More on this tomorrow.