HOUGHTON – Sweet harmonies and Cookie Monster growls. Piano ballads and techno rave-ups.

It all fit comfortably into Saturday’s concluding performance of PJ Olsson’s second annual Rock Camp, which drew a large and enthusiastic crowd at the Rozsa Center Saturday.

“I’m in infinity right now, in my mind and in space,” Olsson, the camp’s creative director, said after the show. “It’s absolutely wonderful. I could not be prouder of the kids.”

The youth musicians and dancers performed 40 numbers over a three-hour span, mixing originals and covers.

Wynter Bethel sang lead on “Stairway to Heaven” and gave a solo piano performance of her own song, “Pink Floyd.”

“Music is one of my passions,” she said. “That’s one of the reasons it’s so much fun to do this, collaborating with other musicians who like this as much as I do.”

Many of the players popped up in different configurations throughout the night, hop-scotching genres in the process.

“It was tough for a little while, until I had all the songs down,” said Aaron Posega, who played bass on several songs. “It wasn’t that bad.”

The Adventures of Derryl and Friends went from Panic! At the Disco to Lady Gaga in the span of three songs; Caitlin Polakowski followed up her hazy “Star Trance” with the uptempo dance number “Let Yourself Shine,” complete with background dancing.

PJ Olsson closed out the main set by accompanying his daughter Sofia on a cover of Miley Cyrus’ “Butterfly Fly Away.”

He returned shortly thereafter for the Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony,” a performance that grew in waves until the entire camp was assembled onstage.

Afterward, audience members enthused about the performances.

“It’s amazing,” said Cindy Drake of Stanton Township, whose daughter danced in the show. “Fabulous. Very talented, hard-working kids. I was floored.”

So were the campers.

“It’s a little bittersweet that it’s all over,” Bethel said. “It’s been a fun two weeks.”

Tentative plans for next year include adding a tech camp, Olsson said. Alan Parsons has already expressed an interest in coming out, he said, as have other well-known musicians.

“Now that we know the relationship works so well with the Rozsa Center, we’re hoping we can really springboard off that,” he said.

Garrett Neese can be reached at gneese@mininggazette.com.

HOUGHTON — They can strum the guitar, sing and beat the drums with the best of them, but these talented musicians are only kids.

Rock camp kids to be exact.

And they’ve been practicing hard for the past two weeks to prepare for this weekend’s big show.

“Our area is very vibrant with talent,” says Rock Camp Creator P.J. Olsson.  “One of the things I really hope is that if we can do this year by year the music scene will become more youth oriented.”

Before taking the stage, these rockers spent hours in the classroom learning more about their instruments and music theory.

They got to know one another and formed bands according to their stylistic similarities.

“My friends at school don’t enjoy the same things as me,” says Caitlin Polakowski.  “So I’ve gotten to meet a bunch of people who like music and it’s been so much fun to share it with each other.”

The camp culminates in a public concert being held at the Rozsa Center Saturday night.

There’ll be 33 different songs performed by acts that range from solo singer-songwriters to heavy metal bands.

“My favorite part is playing with my friends,” says Connor Nwill.  “When we nail the song it feels amazing.  I can’t even describe it.”

If you want to catch them in concert tickets are still available.

The show starts at 7:30.

PJ, Todd, Kenny, Caitlin, Ben, and Conner … on the Dirkside!

Click below to listen…

Thanks to Dirk and the mix 93.5 crew for having us on by for a visit!

HOUGHTON – It’s still coming together for the kids at the PJ Olsson Rock Camp; the group members are playing together, finding out their influences, seeing where they’ll go as a band, hashing out their creative visions.

But in little more than a week, they’ll be showing their finished products to the Keweenaw.

The students of the PJ Olsson Rock Camp will be playing a concert at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 7 at the Rozsa Center. Tickets will be $5 for children and $10 for adults.

The camp is an outgrowth of one done by Olsson last year, in which 18 teens came together in one group to play several songs for the Arts & Music Festival in Houghton.

This year’s is bigger – 35 students, who will form seven or eight groups, plus four or five singer-songwriters. The campers auditioned for PJ live or by video, playing as well as answering questions such as “What kind of music do you like?” and “How important is writing your own music to you?”

On the first day Monday, the participants split into groups and decamped to practice rooms in the Rozsa. The sounds of kick drums and bass bled through the walls; in one room, the group listened intently to Lady Gaga to arrange a cover version.

The Rozsa’s art gallery was converted into the “metal room,” with live and electronic drums, six amps and a PA system.

True to form, Olsson said, the metal kids were already clashing on their vision.

“You know what I’m letting them do?” Olsson said. “Trainwreck. So they have to listen to each other.”

Things were already going smoothly for one group, whose members were running through covers of Creedence Clearwater Revival, 4 Non-Blondes and Moby.

Upstairs, several of the singer-songwriters were seated in a circle, where they’d been sharing songs.

The Rock Camp is giving them the chance to play, and to encounter other musicians.

“It’s nice to meet people who are into the same things,” Brooke Basto said.

Tia Swanson agreed.

“My friends like music, but they don’t play,” she said.

The singers will be backed by some of the other musicians. Swanson and Caitlin Polakowski, also members of last year’s camp, each got to perform a song of their own at the Arts & Music Festival.

“If I have the opportunity, I sing on stage, but I’m always by myself,” Swanson said. “Last Rock Camp was the first time I was backed by a band, and it was really cool.”

In addition to practices, the campers will also meet periodically to get lessons on everything from songwriting to crafting their image.

“We don’t just want them to come together and play,” co-organizer Todd Brassard said. “We want them to personify the group they want to be on stage.”

Many of the campers were returning from last year’s inaugural camp; it even spawned a band, The Adventures of Darrell & Friends.

Olsson said his goal is ultimately to build a scene for younger bands in the area.

“I believe if we do it over and over and over again, we’ll have 25 bands in this town that we didn’t already have,” he said.

For more information, go to pjsrockcamp.com.

Garrett Neese can be reached at gneese@mininggazette.com.

PJ and I stopped by The Dirkside morning show at mix 93.5 wkmj to hang with radio personality Dirk Hembroff (also a great vocalist and musician) to talk about the “goings on” at the Rock Camp.  Dirk was kind enough to record the show which you can listen to right here, right now.

Click below to listen…

Thanks to Dirk and the mix 93.5 crew for having us on by for a visit!

“What a dream come true to give these kids the opportunity to learn and be inspired, while being surrounded by such a great facility. I am very excited with this collaboration between the Rock Camp and the Rozsa Center to create such a positive message for parents, kids and everyone in our community”, says PJ Olsson, Creative Captain of the Rock Camp.

“Rock Camp? Love it!”, says Susanna Brent, the Director of the Rozsa Center. “We are very excited to be working with community centric programs like PJ’s camp for kids. When it comes to introducing kids to the Arts you have to find what they are passionate about before immersing them in ballet or Shakespeare, you have to reach them genuinely and with no pretense. This program does that. Teaching young artists is essential to our survival and we are thrilled to be a part of a program that is really reaching kids in this way.”

Rock Camp campers will benefit from the band, choir, art and dressing rooms for workshops and rehearsals, enjoy meals and snacks in the mezzanine, and experience creative instruction and demonstrations in the beautiful glass lobby and on the main stage at the Rozsa. “I have always been in love with the lobby of the Rozsa as a beautiful venue for events”, says Todd Brassard, Program Director for the Rock Camp, “and I’m very thankful to the Rozsa Center and Michigan Tech for making this venue available to our campers.”

The Rozsa Center is an important component in our community’s quality of life. The Rozsa offers many events, but—perhaps more importantly —it offers opportunities for participation in arts programs such as the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra, art courses and workshops, theatre productions, Pine Mountain Music Festival and now PJ Olsson’s Rock Camp.” says Milt Olson, former Director of the KSO.

The Rozsa Center was built to provide the University community with a facility that could accommodate a wide range of artistic endeavors. From the most esoteric to the simplest entertainment, the facility was planned to meet the artistic interests and needs of the campus and the community. The Rozsa Center is dedicated to fostering a welcoming atmosphere to challenge minds, celebrate ideas, explore possibilities, and create a memorable experience through the arts.

For more information about the Rozsa Center, PJ Olsson and the Rock Camp visit pjsrockcamp.com.

]]> http://pjsrockcamp.com/2010/07/20/press-release-rozsa-hosts-rock-camp/feed/ 0 Todd Brassard RockCampRozsa3 RockCampRozsa2 PressReleaseRozsaThumb http://pjsrockcamp.com/2010/05/27/rock-camp-sign-ups-radio-psa/ http://pjsrockcamp.com/2010/05/27/rock-camp-sign-ups-radio-psa/#comments Thu, 27 May 2010 14:27:32 +0000 Todd Brassard http://pjsrockcamp.com/?p=139 ]]> Listen to the Rock Camp Sign-Ups PSA:

Click below to listen…

PJ and Kenny his the studios of the mix 93.5 wkmj this AM to hang with Dirk of The Dirkside morning show.  If you caught them LIVE on the air, left us a comment.  If you missed it, Dirk was kind enough to shoot us a recording.

Click below to listen…

Thanks to Dirk and the mix 93.5 crew for having us on by for a visit!

We will once again be doing our best to capture and post all of the various news and stories to this blog starting now with our first press release.  If you happen to hear about the rock camp in the news… please post a comment to this blog!  We would love to know about  it!