Music lineup announced
for Arts, Beats and EatsBy Jeremy Carroll
C & G Staff Writer

ROYAL OAK — Calling it the best ever entertainment lineup in the 13-year history of Arts, Beats and Eats, festival producer Jon Witz unveiled the musical acts for the annual festival set for Labor Day weekend in downtown Royal Oak.

Among the performers on the main stage will be rock bands Candlebox and Sponge, R&B singer Macy Gray and country star Clint Black. Others include Saving Abel, Alto Reed, Mayer Hawthorne and Kansas.

“The lineup is amazing,” Witz said during an Aug. 11 press conference at Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle. “This is the best work we’ve ever done.”

Overall, the event will feature more than 200 artists on nine different stages, including events at the Royal Oak Music Theatre and inside Baldwin Theatre, which are both within the footprint of the festival.

The main stage will be located in the parking lot at Seventh and Main streets.

“This is the most quality event that we’ve brought to the public since the inception of Arts, Beats and Eats,” said County Executive L. Brooks Patterson. Patterson founded the event in 1998.

The nine stages will feature various types of acts, including alternative rock, country, blues, international music and a kids stage.

Inside the Baldwin Theatre, the Detroit School of Rock and Pop, based in Royal Oak, will put on clinics in between performances of student bands.

“So far we’ve organized a studio roundtable with a bunch of top recording studio guys in town,” said Jason Gittinger, who runs the facility.

Also, they have lined up musician/producer Luis Resto to put on a keyboard clinic. Resto, who hails from metro Detroit, will be in town to play with Eminem during his concerts at Comerica Park with Jay-Z. A percussionist from Kid Rock’s band will also be putting on a clinic.

All this will be done inside, away from any potential hot or wet weather.

“We will be in air conditioning, and we’ll have about 10 bands,” Gittinger said. “It should be a lot of fun.”

There will be 53 different participating restaurants, including 14 from Royal Oak, at the festival. No food item will cost more than $5, organizers said. More than 400 artists applied to be part of the event, with 135 scheduled be to selling items.

“This is going to be a special weekend in the city of Royal Oak,” Mayor Jim Ellison said.

For a complete list of musical acts, visit the festival’s website atwww.artsbeatseats.com.

You can reach Staff Writer Jeremy Carroll at jcarroll@candgnews.com or at (586) 279-1110.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5eOqsMbuVE

www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3gFk0F304A

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNbVvsW9H1s

Tune in June 23rd, 2010 at 11:30pm on CBS.

The Detroit School of Rock and Pop Music is proud to announce AGAIN that our bass instructor, Chuck Bartels will be performing on The Tonight Show on May 24th, 2010 with soul legend Bettye LaVette! Chuck has been touring with Bettye for a couple of years and regularly travels all over the globe to back her up. We are happy to have such a consummate professional not only providing unparalleled instruction to our students, but also leading by example at the top of the business.

Tune in May 24th, 2010 at 11:30pm on NBC.

Detroit School of Rock and Pop Music Instructor Chuck Bartels at Soundcheck on The Tonight Show

Local musicians team up for CD, concert of hope, healing for Haiti

by Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published March 5, 2010

ROYAL OAK — Louis Canter can’t travel to Haiti and rebuild a house, or help heal the sick and injured. In fact, not many people can.

But what he and several other area musicians are doing is putting together a CD, and organizing a concert, that will benefit the people of Haiti through the funds they hope to raise.

Canter, the archdiocese’s coordinator of music ministries, and local musicians Susie and David Taylor, with the help of Detroit School of Rock and Pop executive producer Jason Gittinger, worked together last weekend to record a track to be played at the concert. They have several other pre-recorded tracks to add to what will be a four-song CD, “Songs for a Time of Healing.”

He’s hoping to fill St. Isidore Church, Macomb Township, and raise as much money for Haiti as possible. “The opportunity we have to minister to brothers and sisters that we don’t know and have not seen is incredible,” he said.

Canter said the project came out of a poem, written by Diana Macalintal, associate for liturgy in the Diocese of San Jose. As Canter was reading it, he thought that it needed to be put to music. “In two days, I had it,” he said. “It was right. It worked.”

Working against fast deadlines — writing music quick enough for performers to learn it, recording tracks in time for CDs to be pressed before the concert — they hope to have everything in line before the concert, and are working to have CDs available through the archdiocesan Web site, www.aodonline.org/haiti. A previous concert had been done earlier in the year, not long after the earthquake.

Susie Taylor, director of music at Our Lady of Hope Parish, St. Clair Shores, has worked with Canter before, lending backup vocals for him while he provides her with original songs, for example. “Louis is so talented,” Taylor said. “He gets a thought, and he can see the full picture in here,” she said, indicating her head.

Her husband, David Taylor, professor of music at Wayne State University, and who helps in parishes’ music departments, was also on hand Sunday to lend a musical ear, to make sure all the correct notes were hit. They named the song “A Prayer in Time of Hope, a Prayer for Haiti.”

“We don’t even know who is going to be ministered (to) by this,” Canter said. “It’s our gift. It’s what we do best. The disaster there is so complete — 200,000 people are dead. That’s a lot of futures, a lot of grieving, a lot of loss.”

The money will be given to Catholic Relief Services for them to distribute to the needy of Haiti.

Stop Practicing… Start Performing®

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uU-po9xW30

Thanks for checking out our lesson on how to play the first riff of “Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple with your friends!

Be sure to have each instrument of your band watch the video for their instrument, then watch the final video to see how to put it all together!

1. GUITAR

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeoPJE21_Yk

2. BASS

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uIQV9Ba9HE

3. DRUMS

www.youtube.com/watch?v=efxtnfgq9pU

4. KEYBOARDS

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYAuSZWGkjM

5. PUT IT ALL TOGETHER!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVCCMPaFIyw

]]> http://www.detroitschoolofrockandpop.com/2010/01/02/lesson-play-the-first-riff-of-deep-purples-smoke-on-the-water-with-your-friends/feed/ 0 http://www.detroitschoolofrockandpop.com/2009/12/18/photos-the-hard-rock-cafe-december-2009/ http://www.detroitschoolofrockandpop.com/2009/12/18/photos-the-hard-rock-cafe-december-2009/#comments Fri, 18 Dec 2009 05:32:45 +0000 jason http://www.detroitschoolofrockandpop.com/?p=1207

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Crowds greet Santa at Royal Oak Parade

BY BILL LAITNER

FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Billed as Santa’s first stop in metro Detroit, downtown Royal Oak’s Holiday Magic Parade kicked off the region’s Thanksgiving-through-Christmas period this morning with a blend of yule tradition and electric guitars.

Organizers estimated the crowd at more than 20,000 that crowded sidewalks from 10 a.m. until noon on both sides of South Washington from Lincoln north to nearly 11 Mile, watching a parade whose date over the years has crept earlier and earlier on the calendar until this year it predates Detroit’s big parade on Thanksgiving Day by five days.

There were plenty of traditional sights and sounds, like the award-winning Ferndale High School Marching band and the Shriners making rapid circles in their mini-roadsters. But right behind the Ferndale marchers, with their shining brass instruments and pressed uniforms, was a float of vastly different notes — those of teen musicians from the Detroit School of Rock and Pop Music, located in a former bike shop on the same street as the parade.

There were seven electric guitarists strumming, one drummer pounding, and one generator electrifying on the platform draped with signs identifying the school whose aspiring rockers also have performed at Royal Oak’s Memphis Smoke nightclub and at the Detroit Zoo.

“We played ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree’ and the other tune was ‘Greatest Time of Year.’ It’s a Christmas song that was done by Aly and AJ, a Disney act of a few years back,” said Gittinger, who pulled a wagon-load of the school’s brochures behind their float, hoping to interest some newcomers in his school.

As the rockers rolled past, others waited their turn — including two performers who leaned against telephone poles, seated a full 12 feet over the pavement on unicycles. Doug Oliver, 16, of Redford Township and Bryan Alexander, 19, of Dearborn Heights towered over mounted police of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, who as they rode by said, “How’d you get up there? That’s a lot harder than climbing on a horse.”

Contact BILL LAITNER: 586-826-7264 or blaitner@freepress.com

Cedar Point is searching for talented entertainers and technicians to fill more than 100 positions in the park’s Live Entertainment Division for the 2010 summer season.

Representatives from the Sandusky, Ohio, amusement park/resort will be holding open auditions and interviews in Royal Oak from 3-5:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 13 at the Detroit School of Rock & Pop Music, located at 1109 South Washington in Royal Oak.

Positions that are available include:

· Performers – singers, dancers, singers/dancers and singers/musicians;

· Musicians – electric guitars, bass guitars, keyboards and drummer/percussionists;

· Technicians – stage managers, sound and light technicians, stage crews, ushers, costume shop personnel and dressers;

· PEANUTS characters – costumed characters and escorts; and

· Karaoke hosts and DJs

Applicants must be at least 18 years of age by May 2010 to audition.  Each audition piece should be limited to 16-32 bars.  Applicants should select music that is upbeat and illustrates their personality and ability to interact with audience members.  A CD player and piano will be available, but other instruments and amplifiers will not be provided.  Interested applicants should bring a one-page resume with references to the audition.  Reporting dates run from late April to early September.

Those who cannot audition in person can send audio and/or videotape with a resume to:  Cedar Point Live Entertainment, One Cedar Point Drive, Sandusky, OH 44870-5259.

With thrilling rides, award-winning live entertainment, special attractions and resort accommodations, Cedar Point is one of the most popular amusement parks and vacation destinations in the country.  It has been named the “Best Amusement Park in the World” for 12 consecutive years.

For more information, please contact the Live Entertainment Division at 419.627.2388, by e-mail at liveshows@cedarpoint.com or online at cedarpoint.com.

The Detroit School of Rock and Pop Music rocks the Royal Oak Holiday Magic Parade

Join us as the students of The Detroit School of Rock and Pop Music show us what happens when you “Stop Practicing…” and “Start Performing”. The City of Royal Oak will usher in the holiday season with one of metro Detroit’s most festive holiday celebrations. The Detroit School of Rock and Pop Music will showcase some of the most talented music students in the region as they light up their float in this holiday extravaganza.

Where: Downtown Royal Oak

When: Saturday November 21, 2009 – 10am

CEDAR POINT AUDITIONS:
Audition Alert
Cedar Point Auditions
Thursday, November 13, 2009

DETROIT SCHOOL OF ROCK & POP MUSIC HOSTS CEDAR POINT AUDITIONS FOR THE 2010 SEASON ON THURSDAY,
NOVEMBER 13TH IN ROYAL OAK

WHO: The Detroit School of Rock and Pop Music, will host auditions on behalf of Cedar Point.

WHAT: The Detroit School of Rock & Pop Music will host auditions for Cedar Point’s 2010 season. Interested musicians, technicians or administrative personnel are welcome to audition. Please note: Auditions and interviews are closed; only the person auditioning (and an accompanist, if needed) will be permitted in the audition room. Bring resume and music selection of rock, pop or country to comply with Cedar Point music standards.

WHEN: Thursday, November 13th from 3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

WHERE: Detroit School of Rock and Pop Music
1109 South Washington Avenue
Royal Oak, Michigan 48067

CONTACT: The Detroit School of Rock and Pop Music
(888) 988-ROCK

AUDITION INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION:
Cedar Point 2009 Auditions Information

http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/jobs/applying/auditions/index.cfm

(This music job posting is brought to you as part of The Detroit School of Rock and Pop Music’s “Access to Superstars” partnership program with Cedar Point Live Entertainment. Visit this site frequently for more music job postings.)