Sunglasses worn indoors: check....
Sunglasses worn indoors: check. Vintage gold-top Les Paul: check. Ex-Guns N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke exudes deep cool in any environment.
While I hadn't quite known what to expect from Ellefson (rumor has it that he and the rest of the `deth squad once defenestrated a toilet while staying in a Tokyo hotel), the bassist proves a generous and congenial host, even going out of his way at one point to make sure our photographer has room to snap pictures of all the campers. It's a trait I'll come to recognize in the rest of the counselors throughout the course of the day. As Winger put it earlier, "All of the Camp personnel are selected not just for their musical talents, but for their accessibility as well. We don't take just anybody."
11:00 a.m.
A few rooms over, Hudson and Winger lead several campers through a version of The Kinks' "You Really Got Me" that borrows liberally from both the original and Van Halen interpretations without ever fully coalescing into either. The group's standout is a young guitarist of perhaps 14, whose facility with his chosen instrument far exceeds that of the room's other amateur players.
"I'd put him in my band," Hudson tells the boy's father during a break between songs. While they chat, the group's singer, a comely blond who works at a local radio station, interviews Winger live for an on-air promo. When the spot wraps, the hair-metal legend commandeers my notebook and scribbles the word "ROCK!!!" in three-inch-tall letters. Then he's back at it, coaxing and prodding the campers into shape for the night's show.
Delgado and company rock out...
Delgado and company rock out on the Stones classic "Satisfaction." At left is counselor Earl Slick, best known for his collaborations with David Bowie.
Winger's antics aside, the overall vibe is one of focused intensity. This session of RRFC will culminate with a 7:00 p.m. performance at the nearby House of Blues, located on the grounds of Walt Disney World. Each of the bands will take to the stage and run through its three-song set just prior to a real, honest-to-god rock concert by platinum-selling artists King's X and Extreme. Flub a line or hit a sour note, and everyone will know it.
(From left) One of the campers...
(From left) One of the campers poses with rockers Chris Slade, Marc Tremonti, Ellefson, and Glenn Hughes. Extraordinary sights like this are commonplace at RRFC.
1:00 p.m.
In Earl Slick's room I meet bassist Emilio Delgado, from just down the Florida Turnpike in Hialeah. Delgado, who runs a muscle-car shop and owns three Corvettes, has driven his Velocity Yellow C6 up to Orlando for RRFC.
"I first heard about the Camp on The Simpsons," he tells me, referring to the famous episode in which Homer attends an obviously RRFC-inspired program run by Mick Jagger. "My dream is to attend one of the sessions in London, but that's a little out of reach right now. If they do another one nearby, I'll definitely go back." Not wanting to keep Delgado from his rehearsals, we wish him luck and move on to the next suite.
And so it goes for the next several hours, as the five groups of campers run through their sets in preparation for the upcoming concert. During that time, I'll watch a pair of water glasses tumble off a shelf and explode from the sonic fury of Slick's amplifier, gossip about the members of Deep Purple with Glenn Hughes, and enjoy a chance meeting with Alter Bridge guitarist and "guest star" Mark Tremonti, who's stopped in to sign autographs and press the flesh.
The RRFC curriculum also includes...
The RRFC curriculum also includes special treatment at the night's concert. Here, a camper (at right) has his guitar autographed by Extreme shredder Nuno Bettencourt.
As for the concert itself, things go off far better than you'd expect from a loose-knit collection of amateurs who've had less than a day to iron out their material. The only substantial snag comes when the singer from Ellefson's group--earlier christened "Shrapnel" by its members for maximum metallic effect--botches the lyrics to Motorhead's "Ace of Spades," throwing the rest of the players into a cacophonic turmoil. Sensing a meltdown, the bassist quickly halts the song and launches into the Judas Priest classic "Breakin' the Law." Crisis averted.