 A Homerun!
I must say I was very excited to see the kids perform live after hearing about the camp from the start, seeing the logo, and the cool shirts – I couldn’t wait! When we arrived at Olive It Café, volunteers and camp leaders were outside handing out flyers and cooking up yummy $1 hamburgers and hotdogs. All of the seats in Olive It Café were taken and full of friends and family of the kids. Everyone from the Northeast Youth Center (NEYC) was so kind and just as excited as the audience to see the kids they have been working with for two months play.
 Rock League and School of Rock performed together as the first band. With 3 guitars and a dummer/singer they were Eli, Kaylee, Justin, and Jordan. I thought they did a good job and they stayed focused. Their clothes were “rocked” out and they started the show with the White Stripes “7 Nation Army,” which is one of my favorite White Stripes songs. I believe they also killed the intro to “Rock You Like A Hurricane.” You could tell they were proud of what they learned and their parents were too. Justin Oliveri worked with group and he even played along to “Rock You Like A Hurricane.”
After Rock League and School of Rock performed Justin Oliveri played a few songs including “Fell In Love With A Girl” on his acoustic guitar with his friend Lars on the bongo. It was a White Stripes night!
David Barnhart was the third act and he mellowed out the crowd by playing a few Nirvana tunes on his acoustic guitar. He had the right voice and he hit the notes pretty well. These kids have good taste in music!
Last but not least was a group known as Top Soil. I had the chance to talk to the bands drummer Jake who is 11. He has only been playing the drums for about 16 months, and you wouldn’t know it. He was funny, adorable, and knew how to keep a beat. I asked him what his favorite part about being in a band was and he said “the thrill of the crowd clapping and cheering.” He also told me that he did want to be in the band for the rest of his life but just as a hobby and not as a career. For being 11 years old he knew what he was doing and what he wanted.
 Top Soil is a rock n roll’ band for sure, they had two guitar players, a bass player, singer, and drummer. You could tell they liked playing with each other and they were serious about the music, which you don’t always see in musicians. In case you didn’t know, you can catch Top Soil this Saturday, August 8th at Kid’s Day in Riverfront Park!
For only working on the songs for two months I was impressed with the group. I don’t think I could play that well after two months. It will be cool to see what the kids take out of the camp and where they will continue with music. I think it’s fantastic that there is a program for them to learn about music and instruments, and I am glad the NEYU put it together. Thank you to everyone who worked with the kids and their parents for making it happen, it was a fun night! I hope the kids enjoyed it as much as we did.
Check out more photos from the show HERE!
Andrea@checkitoutmusic.com |
