“I was a RRF Camper in Jan 2007. My “counselor” was Clem Burke, drummer for Blondie. Clem and I have kept in touch on and off over the years. At the end of August, Blondie played a concert with Cheap Trick in Baltimore. Clem was kind enough to invite my wife and I to be his guest at the concert. It was a wonderful experience and doubly so as we were also celebrating our first wedding anniversary. Clem was a very gracious host, treating us like VIP’s. Amazingly we shared many memories of the camp. It was a terrific experience. I never thought that my contact and realtionship with anyone from camp would last more than a month much less over three years. RRFC does form lasting and meaningful connections. I’m now a 60 year old doctor playing in a rock and roll band and hanging out with Blondie back stage. Its hard to improve on that.”
Best wishes.
“I wanted to take a moment to express my profound thanks to you for RRFC. It was exhilarating, exhausting, exciting, inspiring and anything else that’s awesome and ends with an “ing.” Those moments that you and your team helped create for me and all the other campers were very real and incredibly potent and they will be with me forever. And I know you know this because of your success with the camp but it can’t hurt to reiterate how impressive it all is: That you’ve engineered a series of events that manage to put this kind of lightning in a bottle for so many people simultaneously in such a short time. Truly mind blowing.
The crew and the process and the program and everything around it seemed to all fall together with this planned chaotic precision (if those words can even go together) that fueled the whole rock star lifestyle vibe. Your crew were amazing, the roadies were dedicated and the counselors were enthusiastic about connecting with us. And the most important thing, your entire team had excellent attitudes and appeared to really love being a part of making the wheels turn and that enthusiasm was infectious.
Going into it, I didn’t think that much could get done in three days or that much of a band experience could be had. But being compressed within those 72 hours a band was born, we bonded, we recorded, we performed and we disbanded in way that was very authentic and very powerful. I’ve got three new friends that I’ll stay connected with from now on. And if we lived in the same city, we would no doubt continue on as a band.”
“I am just home now from the October Camp at MGM.Yet another mind blowing camp. Standing with Zakk Wylde beside me on stage and having Gene Simmons spend so much time with us – speechless.
What a great person Sebastian Bach was and Vince Neill – well how can you top that. The camp was very busy as we performed many nights at the lounge in the casino. This was a lot of fun and a great experience.
Your new facilities are amazing. All the counselors and support staff were excellent as usual. Kip Winger is the best – he did such a great job of everything.You certainly do a great job with the camps.”
“Thank you for such an amazing experience. RRFC Feb 2010 in LA was more than I had hoped for. There were the incredible moments with the great band I played with (Jeff Foskett and the Wild Oates) – jamming with Michael Anthony, singing “We Just Disagree” for you and Dave Mason and our Opening Day, Gibson Showplace and Closing Night performances. Those were awesome. I also was blown away by the fantastic intimacy of the Master Classes I attended with Mark Farner, Ron Nevison, Jeff Foskett, and Billy Sheehan. My master class/voice lesson with Kip Winger was incredible – that boy has some pipes! He taught me some great techniques that will really help me to save my voice and improve my singing. All of them were so generous with their thoughts, guidance and stories from their experiences that it was invaluable.
Of course, Mark Farner was a force to be reckoned with. The campers and counselors alike were amazed at his energy, showmanship and genuine kindness. What an inspiration! And, having the opportunity to sing with him on “I’m your Captain” and “We’re An American Band” during master class was unbelievable! So glad I had my camera and video to capture it all.
What I enjoyed most of all was the bonding and human experience. Meeting and becoming fast friends with Steve from Finland, Victoria from UK, Nick the disabled vet, Michael, Chris, Ed, and so many more is by far the most valuable take-away for me. We all experienced an amazing week together and bonded in a way that cannot be duplicated anywhere else. The joy in everyone’s eyes and the feeling of pure love of the experience was palpable, and through Facebook I’ve been able to stay in touch with many of my fellow campers and your staff so I can share the pictures and videos that I took. This was the best part of all.
To your staff – they were just as amazing and made the camp experience that much more pleasant by being so attentive and looking out for all of us.
I loved Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp, and can’t wait to do it again! It will remain as one of the greatest joys of my lifetime.”
Sincerely,
Congratulations on pulling off an amazing event.”
“I want to thank you for an incredible week at the New York RRFC. Your staff, the counselors, and the folks at Ultrasound and Gibson Hit Factory put together an incredible experience. Having attended the February 2006 camp, I had high expectations, and I must say the New York camp exceeded them in every way. When I got home, I didn’t want to forget any of the memorable things that happened there, so I began to write it down… before I knew it I had over ten typed pages, and I still don’t think I captured it all.
It was great to spend a week surrounded by campers and counselors who all have the same love for playing rock music, and my band mates and I were kindred spirits in that regard. I had the pleasure of playing with them and our multi-talented counselor Kip Winger all day, and then the added thrill of joining other counselors and campers for jamming each night. The busy schedule kept me playing night and day, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I loved your quote: “You can sleep when you’re dead!”
Recording the original at Sirius was an excellent event. Our other guitar player decided to sing on the original rather than play, so Kip played guitar with me. Having the opportunity to play with someone of Kip’s caliber throughout the day in practice and when we recorded it was unbelievable. Kip is an amazing musician and also a great guy. The BB King’s venue was a great place for the final show. I thought all of the bands sounded good, and the staff and stage crew made it easy for all of us. Thanks again for an experience that I will truly remember for a lifetime. I’m certain that at some point in the future, I’ll return for another RRFC.
Best Regards,”
“I just wanted to thank you for the whole RRFC experience; I really felt like a rock star for a while. I also wanted to tell you that Jane Weidlin is the most nicest, gentle, warm hearted, fare, lovable, person I have ever met and she made this whole experience for me AND my wife the best time of our lives. I relive those memories in my head as often as my mind will allow me to escape daily life.
Thanks for all of the unbelievable memories!”
“I wanted to personally say thanks to you and your staff for a fine job last Sunday at your first one day Rock ‘n Roll Fantasy Camp in Columbus, Ohio. Since I live in Cincinnati, it was convenient and an easy one day trip.
I can’t say enough about how much I appreciated the memorable experience…and more importantly, the opportunity to meet some of the best in the business. I expressed my gratitude to many of the artists, but never had the opportunity to personally thank you. Please accept my most humble thanks, and you have my deepest respect for the quality event you orchestrated.
I shared a brief story with Mark Farner, when I told him I attended one of “Grand Funk’s” concerts in 1971 at the old “stadium” in Chicago… he smiled and said “that used to be the old stockyards…right?” and I laughed and said “yes, what a place”. Never did I ever realize in my wildest dreams that some 35 years later we would be together reminiscing a moment in time when I was only one of about 25,000 fans in the audience, in awe of such a great band. That about says it all… and I have many other similar moments with the other artists last Sunday that I will never forget.
Thanks again for making this event a reality! You are a Prince in my book!
Best regards,”
“I have recovered & have gone back to the real world … it’s a little like Batman turning back into Bruce Wayne. The musical experiences & memories you helped create at fantasy camp were so strong that they will remain with me the rest of my life. I will never forget the feeling of rehearsing & performing on stage with Jon Anderson.
The connection I made with my Hudson River Band mates was strong and somehow remains so… it seems like we were/are connected not only by musical interest but by friendship too.
Rock & Roll Regards,”
“I have put off writing to you to thank you for one of the best experiences of my life – the One Day Rock ‘n Roll Fantasy Camp- because if I write about it, then I have to acknowledge that it’s over! I had the time of my life. I was very impressed with the organization of the camp, the helpfulness of your staff, and the extra efforts that went in to making sure that each of us had the best experience possible.
I am especially appreciative of the openness of each of the camp counselors. They truly gave us a gift by sharing with us their passion for music, their incredible talents, and their encouraging advice to challenge us to live out our fantasies. I wish the day never ended!
You and your staff have the best jobs in the world…making people very, very happy. Without a doubt, I am a very happy camper! Best wishes and I look forward to attending a 5 day Fantasy Camp in the future!”
“Please accept my thanks and congratulations for the one day camp in Columbus Ohio. It was certainly a day to remember! From the early call time to the end of the Def Leppard show it was an immersive and wonderful music opportunity. Everything was professional and well planned and I could not have asked for a better experience. The members of your staff were all professional, friendly and accommodating and should be commended as well for their fantastic performance and attitude. The celebrity counselors were gregarious and very generous with their time tales tales of the business. They are truly a wealth of rock and roll war stories. Again, many thanks for a great experience. I am confident that you will see me again. Best Regards,”