From left to right: Jordan Wagner, Duff McKagan, Francesca Bonavita, Bruce Kulick, Ally Pacella, Greg Deal, Ujesh Desai, Anthony Hixon and Jamie Nichols
of the other bandmembers’ mannerisms and
styles, and this usually doesn’t happen in the
course of a week. It can take months, even
years, for a band to really sound professional, and I personally wanted to sound like
gold if I was going to be setting foot on the
stage that Jim Morrison and John Bonham
had graced with their presence.
Meeting my band was a very casual
moment. I was fortunate to be in a talented
group who all shared the same curiosities
as me. I was introduced by Rudy Sarzo, the
Ozzy Osbourne and Quiet Riot bassist, to
our rock star counselor and band leader,
Bruce Kulick. Knowing Bruce’s background,
I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. He
played on several KISS records, and is a
member of Grand Funk Railroad. His third
solo record is about to come out, and features players like Gene Simmons, Steve
Lukather, and Eric Singer. The man played
on the Bat Out of Hell tour, for Pete’s sake!
Was he going to be personable, or stand-offish? Would we all be able to work well
together as a team with someone who was
used to playing with some of the world’s
most talented musicians?
The band members came from a very
diverse pool. Offering a friendly handshake,
a man in military fatigues introduced himself
as Sergeant Anthony Hixon, our bass player,
fresh from a tour of duty in Iraq. Our lead
vocalist, Ally Pacella, with an operatic voice
and fantastic presence, hailed from Russia.
Backing up Ally was Francesca Bonavita,
who contributed vocals and also provided
percussion talents. Guitar duties would be
handled by me and Jamie Nichols, a hard-working rocker from Canada who shared
some of my own musical tastes. Jamie was
a blast to work and hang out with, and his
sense of humor certainly helped ease my nervousness. Rounding out the rhythm section
was not one but two drummers: Greg Deal
and Ujesh Desai. These guys were a great
rhythmic powerhouse, and their enthusiasm
was something I considered us very lucky
to have. Some of my fondest memories of
the camp are of me and Ujesh geeking out
over the video taken of us playing “Crazy
Train” with Rudy Sarzo, and sneaking back
to the practice space and playing “Master of
Puppets” really badly… but we didn’t care,
it was just so much fun. He was the one who
came up with our band name, W. T.F.
The twenty minutes or so that we all banded
together in the hotel lobby to jam on “Wild
Thing” with acoustics, the drummers slapping their knees in time, was one of the
highlights of the camp. It was a great bonding
experience, just getting to know one another
through the simple three-chord riff. Bruce
wielded a beautiful Gibson Elvis Presley Dove
and led us through the classic tune. It was
particularly humbling (and really funny) to be
drowned out by Rudy’s group a few feet away
from us. Their singer was belting out the lyrics
to “Metal Health” with Rudy, and us, grinning
from ear to ear. This moment of us ‘normal
folk’ jamming around with these guys was just
a taste of what was to come.
Reachin’ for the sky
and tearin’ up the ground
Some might expect a camp like this to be
more laid back. People do show up expecting to rock all night and party every day, and
they’re met with swift reminders that music
is a labor of love (with a strong emphasis
on labor). Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp is a
lot of fun, but a lot of work, too. Almost
every hour that wasn’t spent eating a meal,
attending a Q&A session, a master class,
or sleeping was used for crafting the songs
that would represent us on the final night.
Bruce told us that people have attended
with their minds set more on partying than
on the business at hand. That’s not what this
camp is about at all. According to him, it was
Jack Blades from Night Ranger who got him
involved in the camp: “That must’ve been
four or five years ago… I had no idea what
I was walking into, but as exhausting and as
crazy as it was, I loved it… I believe in the
whole vibe of it. It’s about the work that goes
into being in a band. I think it’s wonderful.”
