Guitarist will teach children at rock camp

The kids will learn and perform in bands.
By BRAD BARNES
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
ATLANTA -- Here in Georgia, it's fitting that a Southern man from a Southern band like .38 Special might be a model for reconstruction.
Jeff Carlisi -- the guitarist who had a hand in writing "Hold on Loosely," "Caught Up In You," and almost every other song you associate with the band -- has pulled a Jack Black on us.
He's taking his chops to the children with a five-day rock 'n' roll day camp this summer in Atlanta. He and other pro musicians will teach them licks on their instruments, some ins and outs of the music business, and assemble the kids into bands for a performance.
(Then, as happens to many bands after their burst of fame, camp's over and the bands all break up. It's the whole rock 'n' roll story arc in five days.)
To get details
The camp's about $500 for a session, which isn't cheap, but it does sound like fun. Details are at www.campjamatalanta.com. Here's what Carlisi had to say:
Q. So what makes you think parents are going to be willing to turn their kids over to a so-called "Wild-Eyed Southern Boy" for a week?
A. Actually, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Ten years ago, you probably couldn't have done anything like this. But the parents of kids today grew up in rock 'n' roll. Now it's accepted. Seeing everything from "American Idol" to whatever on TV, there's a credibility in the music industry. We have parents go, "Can we come?"
Q. Were you a rebellious sort in the old days, or did people just assume that because you were playing Southern rock?
A. In the sense of the clich & eacute; of Southern rock behavior -- in the sense of drinking whiskey and fighting -- we really had seen so much of it before that we tried to be pretty responsible. We certainly had our parties.
And we were lucky to make our mistakes very early, before there was a lot of money involved. We had a good time, don't get me wrong, but we were not rebellious. Unless we really didn't like the hotel we were staying in.
Q. You guys had scantily clad women on the album covers and all that, though. And singer Donnie Van Zant is Ronnie's little bro.
A. It was more that we inherited through osmosis the reputation of Lynyrd Skynyrd or whatever. If you really compare all the Southern rock bands, .38 Special was more of a pop band than anything else.
Q. How are you going to handle it if you get one kid in the camp who's just a stinker -- can't play? You don't want to put him with others and drag them down.
A. Well, the rules are, if you've never played anything, you can't come to the camp. You have to know some chords. Having seen some of the kids, having talked to them, there's going to be a good range.
Q. What if all kids just want to learn licks to, you know, "Hold on Loosely"?
A. I can teach them that. That's not a problem. Hey, at the end of the week, if we've got 16 bands, and they're all playing "Hold on Loosely," we'll see who does it best. More likely is there are going to be kids there who say, "Who's this old man?"