In " The Rocker," which hit movie screens last week,
Rainn Wilson plays a 40-something who thinks he can fulfill his lifelong dream of being a rock star by playing with his teenage nephew's band. All of which proves, no matter how old you are, it's the perfect age to make music. If you've got the dough-re-mi and want to unleash your inner rocker - or even your inner barbershop quartet singer - here are a few places to start.
Rock Star Band Camp
P.O. Box 242, Westhampton Beach
631-998-3159
rockstarbandcamp.com
DOWNBEAT: The Guitar Heroes program is geared toward budding Eric Claptons, as kids from 8 to 18 learn about different guitar icons through their riffs, scales and solos. Each hourlong class ends with students performing a song by the icon du jour. In Rock Camp, the emphasis is on songwriting as students form their own bands, pen their own tunes and perform at local venues.
HOW MUCH: $150 for Guitar Heroes, $225 for Rock Camp. Eight hours of group instruction is included and classes are offered at beginner and intermediate levels. Saturday fall sessions begin Oct. 4. Private classes available.
HIGH NOTE: Students perform their original songs in concert places likes Regular's Music Cafe in Southampton.
The School of Rock
1144 Walt Whitman Rd., Melville
275 Main St., Port Washington
631-425-5191 or 516-767-2262
schoolofrock.com
DOWNBEAT: Classes are aimed at ages 7 to 16 and run in three-month seasons. In addition to learning an instrument and performing in jam sessions, students get to meet professional musicians such as Jon Anderson from Yes.
HOW MUCH: Tuition is $300 a month, which includes weekly, 45-minute private lessons plus three hourlong concert rehearsals.
HIGH NOTE: Every three months, students rock out in places like Mulcahy's in Wantagh and The Downtown in Farmingdale. "Each show has a theme. We've done Pink Floyd, Cream, The Beatles, even reggae," says Patrick Castania, music director and general manager of the Melville school. "They perform 20 songs in each show. The real payoff is that they're learning how to play with each other."
Five Towns College
305 N. Service Rd., Dix Hills
631-424-7000
ftc.edu
DOWNBEAT: Private lessons and ensemble classes are available for adults in a whole musical range, including voice, instruments, jazz band, chamber music, chorus, choir and barbershop men's quartet. Some ensemble classes are audition- only.
HOW MUCH: Fifteen lessons for $500; some classes may have additional fees.
HIGH NOTE: All ensembles have concerts during or at the end of the semester.
Want to record? Book the A Room
If the music lessons are all done and you're ready to record, the
A Room Rehearsal and Recording Complex in Hicksville is a good place to churn out that disc.
WHAT THEY'VE GOT: A staff of engineers and state-of-the-art equipment to accommodate the next U2 or Green Day. Book in advance at 516-433-7666 or go to
thearoom.com.
HOW MUCH: You can make a disc to the tune of $40 per hour.
