Fiddleheads Camp 2007

Just got back from Fiddleheads Camp, and as usual, it was a blast!

For the post-workshop concert, each camper picks a band by style (Bluegrass, Folk, Celtic, etc.) and one of the professional teachers at the camp rehearses them for the concert. But this year was a little different. For the first time, they allowed students to form their own bands without pro coaches. Of course I had to form a funk/rock band, a style that has never before been performed at a Fiddleheads concert.

Several kids joined me and my buddy Mike to perform unique renditions of SuperFreak and Purple Haze. Ours was the only student-led band, and certainly the only one that featured a baby-faced guitarist doing a solo with her teeth.

Bear in mind that I played with these kids for the first time on Saturday afternoon, and the concert was Saturday night. We had barely three hours to pick two songs, arrange parts, and rehearse! I am so very proud of them for how they came through with such a rockin' performance.

Band members and their ages:

• Margueretta (16), guitarist who took all the first solos
• Andrew (16), guitarist on SuperFreak and singin' Purple Haze
• Becka (14), our main bass line and wild soloist
• Isa (16), our solid rhythm guitarist, sitting stage right near the piano (hidden by the double bass during SuperFreak)
• Will (9), hangin' in the back doing fiddle backup (and totally stoked to be in a rock band)
• Mike (adult), my right-hand man and #1 supporter, helped me arrange parts and generally kept me from falling apart during rehearsal
• Michele (me, adult) singing SuperFreak and calling the solos for the other pieces
• Diane (adult), double bass on SuperFreak, a pro who steps in when requested. Diane rehearsed with us for about 15 minutes, as she does with all the bands.

Click to see the clips, and see the notes on each one below. The sound quality isn't that great, but you can get the idea of what a great time we had, and what kind of response we got from the crowd. You'll need Windows Media Player to see the clips.

SuperFreak (5MB)
Purple Haze (5MB)

SuperFreak

It's traditional at Fiddleheads to perform a song about the camp and its organizers (Kathy and Ellen). The song's original lyrics are kind of raunchy, so it was appropriate and certainly more fun to change the lyrics. The new lyrics are below, and parts that might not make sense to a non-Fiddleheader are footnoted.

She's a very special girl
She runs a camp for budding fiddlers
She will never let your spirits down
Once you learn the notes in D*

She let me form my own band
She says that I'm her all-time favorite
She says I never play my solo wrong
She's never hard to please

That girl is pretty wild now (she's a superfreak)
The kind of girl you read about (in Strings magazine**)
She taught me how to stretch my pinky*** (she's a superfreak)
I really like to see her (every time we meet)

She's all right, she's all right
That girl's all right with me
Yeah, hey, hey, hey, hey!
She's a superfreak, superfreak, she's superfreaky, yow!

*Ellen ran a workshop where we explored the D chord in great detail. Her final advice was to "learn all the notes in D" thoroughly.
**Strings is the name of a popular fiddle-players magazine.
***I had to have a line in there that rhymes with "kinky," right? One of Kathy's workshops includes a notorious exercise for stretching and bending the pinky. You can see Kathy in all the clips -- she's the audience member with the blonde ponytail at the left of the frame.

Purple Haze

When we were trying to decide on a second song, the kids threw out all kinds of suggestions ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. Becka called out "Purple Haze!" and all four of the teenagers ripped into the chords in perfect unison. It took me and Mike about half a second to decide it would be a perfect. Each band member worked out their solos on their own, so I didn't see Andrew's theatrics or Becka's guitar-eating solo until we got on stage. I think Jimi would be proud.

Final note: Ellen and Kathy were very happy with our performance, and "my" kids were celebrities for the rest of the weekend. There's no turning back -- Fiddleheads Camp will have to have a funk/rock band every year now. Rock on!