Blues Boot Camp is the fun, challenging and highly interactive blues workshop for 12 – 25 years olds who want to gain music industry skills from trained and experienced music industry professionals.
Designed for all instruments and for students with an intermediate ability level for instrumentalists and beginner to intermediate level for vocalists, participants gain both theoretical and practical music industry skills from trained and experienced music industry professionals over two day and one evening. The skills will then be practically applied during the live public performance at the conclusion of the camp.
In a chat Forté previously had with esteemed musician and the man behind the program Wayne Jury, he explained that the most gratifying thing about doing Boot Camp is to see people develop over a couple of days.
“There’s some people who will be coming back for their fourth Boot Camp and it’s been such a blast to see and hear their development as musicians but also as people,” he says. “I guess they get introduced to a whole lot of musical styles from the other participants, and they run with it. Age doesn’t seem to matter at Blues Boot Camp, sometimes the youngest will team up with the oldest. It’s about the music, not the age.”
Ran by industry professionals, the tutors are not only talented musicians in their own right, but they also have their own characteristics and skill set as teachers. Alongside Jury, the 2018 lineup of expert tutors also includes Sarah Carroll, Chris Wilson, Dave Robertson, Sweet Felicia, Michael Pollitt and Tim Neal.
“They have the same qualities that we encourage at Blues Boot Camp,” Jury explains of the selected tutors,” things like listening to people, cooperation, working in a team, communication skills, a love of music, experience in the industry, a desire to help people and pass on knowledge.”
As for what’s involved, participants will gain a basic understanding of the mechanics of the blues and gospel forms of music as well as practical ways to apply this knowledge to modern forms of music, along with discovering the fun, joy and pleasure that music can bring.
Blues Boot Camp also deals with performance skills, industry skills, song writing, Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S).
“We do some theory and a lot of playing music. It’s a really intense couple of days and we (the tutors and participants) are all pretty exhausted by the end of the show,” Jury further explains. “We talk about all aspects of the music biz and apply a lot of that to our preparation for the show we do. For these days, everyone involved is a working musician.”
For more info head to bluesbootcamp.com.au.
When & Where: Potato Shed, Drysdale – January 9 – 11 2018
