Day #3 | Sussex Rocks 2013 with Richard Perkins

Well that is it for this special 3-day half-term Sussex Rocks course at CMP Studios in Eastbourne.

Day 3 began at the unsightly hour of 8am at the Winter Garden Floral Hall with an 8:20am sound check for the performances at 2:40pm and 3:30pm.

After the sound check students reconvened at CMP Studios for a final rehearsal session. Bands finalised their set lists and running orders before heading back to Winter Garden for the afternoon performances.

Congratulations to Chantalle, Amber, Callum, Red, T-J, Harry, Luca, Sam, Lawrence, Alex, Frank for putting on a fantastic all-round performance. Well done!

“Like” us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SussexRocks

Day #2 | Sussex Rocks 2013 with Richard Perkins

Day 2 of Sussex Rocks at CMP Studios continued in fine form as students tightened up the performances of their favourite classic rock tracks in readiness for the Winter Gardens gig on Tuesday 29th October (2:40pm and 3:30pm).

Bands rotated between studios to rehearse with head tutor Richard Perkins and were joined by drum tutor Phil Drew in the afternoon to help out the resident drummers.

A few more songs were added to the set list today, including ‘Go Your Own Way’ by Fleetwood Mac and ‘Seven Nation Army’ by The White Stripes. The as yet unnamed bands performed timed sets at the end of the day to ensure they can get on and off stage, set up and play their songs within 20mins.

Set 1
Paranoid – Black Sabbath
Eye of the Tiger – Survivor
Seven Nation Army – The White Stripes
Highway To Hell – AC/DC

Set 2
Teenage Kicks – The Undertones
Foxy Lady – Jimi Hendrix
Sunshine of Your Love – Cream
Go Your Own Way – Fleetwood Mac
We Are The Champions – Queen

“Like” us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SussexRocks

Day #1 | Sussex Rocks 2013 with Richard Perkins

Day 1 of the half-term Sussex Rocks course at CMP Studios started with a group discussion about which songs to perform at Winter Gardens on Tuesday 29th October.

The Sussex Rocks bands will be performing from 2:40pm and again at 3:30pm in the Floral Hall at Winter Gardens, as part of the Eastbourne Youth Event. Come along – it’s free!

During the song discussion lots of ideas were shared, including; ‘Teenage Kicks’ by The Undertones, ‘Sunshine of Your Love’ by Cream, and Queen’s ‘We Are The Champions’.

The group split into two scratch bands and immediately began learning, arranging and rehearsing songs in the studio live room.

Group 1 rehearsed ‘Tennage Kicks’, ‘Sunshine of Your Love’ and ‘We Are The Champions’.

Group 2 rehearsed ‘Paranoid’, ‘Eye of the Tiger’, and attempted ‘Crazy Train’.

“Like” us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SussexRocks

Sussex Rocks (3-day Rock Camp) 27-29 October 2013

Sussex Rocks returns from 27-29 October, 2013 at CMP Studios for an intensive 3-day music course covering all aspects of classic rock, funk and blues, climaxing with full-band performances at Winter Gardens in Eastbourne on Tuesday 29th October.

Once again Richard Perkins (Bath Guitar School), and Phil Drew (Ravebugs), together combining over 30 years of experience, team up to deliver three days of expert advice and tuition about songs, bands, live performance and studio session work.

“Like” us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SussexRocks

Performance Videos | Sussex Rocks 2013 with Richard Perkins

Hurrah – finally we have footage from Sussex Rocks 2013!

A big thanks to Maxim Gamble for editing and uploading these performance videos. More to come soon…

Please “Like” us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SussexRocks and say hello!

Dakota – Stereophonics

Come Together – The Beatles

Billie Jean – Michael Jackson

Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd

Wishing Well – Free

Sussex Rocks 2013: The Gig (Live Album) – Buy for only £2!

Please support Maxim Gamble’s valiant effort on tech duties during Sussex Rocks 2013 by purchasing the Sussex Rocks 2013 Live album for only £2! Listen below for free and purchase via this link: Sussex Rocks 2013 – The Gig

All funds go directly to Maxim who recorded and produced all tracks on the album – Thanks, Maxim!

“Like” us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SussexRocks

Sussex Rocks 2013 with Richard Perkins | Day 5

So, that’s it for 2013, Sussex Rocks has finished for another year, and we went out on a high note! Many students performed for the very first time in front of an audience (50+ strong in attendance) while others were honing their stagecraft and showing what they’ve learned over the past week with confidence and style.

From all the instrumental tutors; Richard, Jason and Phil, we thank all the students for a great week, and roll on Sussex Rocks 2014!

Sussex Rocks – Class of 2013

All bands spent the whole day rehearsing their songs for the end of week performance.

Where: Willingdon Community School
When: Friday 2nd August, 2013
Time: 4:30pm
Entry: Free

Bands performed the following:
Dakota by Stereophonics
Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Billie Jean by Michael Jackson
Come Together by The Beatles
Wishing Well by Free
Highway To Hell by AC/DC
School’s Out by Alice Cooper
Don’t Believe A Word by Thin Lizzy
Texas Strut by Gary Moore
Midnight Hour by Wilson Pickett
Diamonds and Rust by Judas Priest (Excalibur feat. Amber Satchwell)

Photos and videos to follow…

“Like” us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SussexRocks

Closing
A huge thank you to Jacqui for organising Sussex Rocks! x

Sussex Rocks 2013 with Richard Perkins | Day 4

The penultimate day of Sussex Rocks 2013 saw bands in all-day rehearsals to fine-tune the song arrangements for Friday’s end of week performance.

The started with a band with a mega 2-hour full-band rehearsal session before lunch. All bands had the opportunity to perform alongside head tutor Richard and drum tutor Phil.

This session was a huge success and many students benefited (esp. the drummers) from having an expert on hand to guide them through the tracks.

Bands rehearsed the following:
Billie Jean by Michael Jackson
Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Wishing Well by Free
School’s Out by Alice Cooper
Highway to Hell by AC/DC
Don’t Believe a Word by Thin Lizzy
Come Together by The Beatle
Dakota by Stereophonics

Intro Riff: ‘Dakota’ by Stereophonics

The intro to ‘Dakota’ begins with a synth riff playing the fifth of each chord (E-B, C#-G#, and A-E). A guitar can emulate this sound with a light delay and phaser set to a slow and deep sweep. Have a go!

After lunch bands continued to rehearse their songs with the extra help of Jason Stocker.

The student concert will begin at 4:30pm on Friday 2nd August at Willingdon Community School, Eastbourne, East Sussex. Entry is free and we welcome anyone to come and show their support.

“Like” us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SussexRocks

Sussex Rocks 2013 with Richard Perkins | Day 3

We’ve reached the middle-point of the week, and bands are starting to form; friendships have been made, and songs are now chosen for Friday’s end-of-week performance showcase.

The morning sessions taught the guitarists two new songs – songs that students did not know before arriving at Sussex Rocks; a key goal of head tutor Richard Perkins.

One track (‘Dakota’ by Stereophonics) specifically focused on multiple layered guitar parts that would allow up to 5-6 guitarists to perform together as a band, and the other (‘Come Together‘ by The Beatles) centered on a bass groove with power chords and a harmony solo guitar spot.

Intro Riff: ‘Come Together’ by The Beatles

‘Come Together’ was written by John Lennon (credited as Lennon-McCartney) and appeared on the Abbey Road album and was later released as a double A-side single with ‘Something’ in 1969. The track principally grooves on D bass riff and the guitar subtly, and quietly, plays the riff an octave above.

Through-out the afternoon session the South East rockers continued to work on their performance songs, after some minor line-up changes to mix things up and allow the youngsters to experience playing alongside as many new musicians as possible.

The bands convened for the performance session at 3:30pm to showcase the songs they had been working on in rehearsals. Songs performed to the group for critique were: ‘Highway To Hell‘ by AC/DC, ‘Don’t Believe A Word‘ by Thin Lizzy and ‘Sweet Home Alabama‘ by Lynyrd Skynyrd.

“Like” us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SussexRocks

Sussex Rocks 2013 with Richard Perkins | Day 2

Students returned for Day 2 of Sussex Rocks and the group split into their instrumental classes for the daily technique expander sessions.

The guitarists resumed their caterpillar exercises; working with patterns in 4-note groupings per string along with a click track (quarter, eighth and sixteenth notes at 60bpm).

The guitarists then learned to play all the guitar parts for ‘Wishing Well’ (Free) to perform later in the afternoon band performance session.

Song structure: “Wishing Well”  by Free
Intro (Main riff)
Verse 1
Pre-chorus
Chorus 1
Interlude (Main riff)
Verse 2
Pre-chorus
Chorus 2
Interlude (Main riff)
Middle-8
Solo
Bridge
Outro (Main riff)

After lunch students were put into new bands; Sussex Rocks encourages its participants to work with as many musicians as possible to expose students to the widest possible range of musical styles and genres. The bands then descended to the practice rooms to begin rehearsing songs for the performance session.

The performance session is designed to give students a chance to showcase their songs, be it work-in-progress or completed song. Each band has approx. 5-mins to perform their chosen song and the class and instructors give critical feedback on their performance.

Songs performed in today’s session included:
‘Wishing Well‘ by Free
‘Smoke on the Water‘ by Deep Purple
‘Paranoid‘ by Black Sabbath
‘Billie Jean’ by Michael Jackson

Intro Riff: “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson

Billie Jean featured as a single on Michael Jackson’s mega-selling 1982 album ‘Thriller’. The song was written by Jackson about a real-life encounter with a groupie. I have arranged the string and bass parts for electric guitar – have fun!

Side Note
I have been trialling Riffstation (http://www.riffstation.com) during Sussex Rocks 2013 and would encourage anyone to download the generous 30-day free trial from the website. The software allows you to change pitch, tempo, add click track, beat match, analyses and identifies chords and has a great sweeping EQ so you can remove guitar and vocal parts to create your very own backing tracks.