For every kid who learns to play an instrument or sing (or both) in hopes of joining a rock band, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is the pinnacle.
Just ask the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who formed in Hollywood, Calif., in 1983 — the same year the hall was established in Cleveland — and got enshrined during its 27th annual induction ceremony last month.
But even for the members of the Chili Peppers, playing at that ceremony was likely still only a dream halfway through their 30-year career. For the 13-to-17-year-olds in the advanced School of Rock North Palm Beach Houseband from Palm Beach Gardens, playing at the hall is a dream that will come true on July 7 to highlight a special tour through Philadelphia and Cleveland.
Most of the band members, and a handful of parents and chaperones, will see the hallowed hall for the first time. Notable exceptions will be 13-year-old guitarist, vocalist and bassist Ben Rothschild and father Rick Rothschild.
A 49-year-old keyboardist who runs an ink-and-toner business, the elder Rothschild also co-owns both the School of Rock’s 4-year-old North Palm Beach site and its 2-month-old, suburban Lake Worth-based South Palm Beach location with 46-year-old psychologist (and guitarist) Chris Paige.
“I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” Rick Rothschild says. “I’ll take the tour bus up with the band, and Chris is flying up. It’s been a dream of mine to take the kids to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ever since Ben and I visited, since we spent days there. The exhibits change constantly, and there are all kinds of things to look at, from lyrics to costumes to movies.
Every day there, it looked different. To be able to show these kids the history of rock and roll, and have them play there, is amazing.”
Joining Ben Rothschild, on the bus and onstage, will be vocalists Lexie Ayres and Clarissa Schmidt; guitarists Doug Benilous, Austin Covell, Dylan Fernandez, Tommy Hickey and Rob Hickey; keyboardist Alex Burgess, violinist Caitlin Trezise, bassist Zoe Zeeman, and drummers Andy Haas, Tyler Kulik, and Alex Mandel.
“We’re so excited; we can’t wait,” says Ayres, a 15-year-old Lake Worth resident who’s also learning to play keyboards. “Myself, Clarissa and Caitlin, when she isn’t playing violin, will sing lead, along with some others. To be able to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the first time, and to actually perform there, is such a great opportunity.”
Most band members will play one or more instruments, do some singing, and rotate through onstage lineups that range between four and eight members. And for most, this will be their first tour of any kind. Thanks largely to the ever-growing list of School of Rock locations, which now approaches 90 in 30 different states and Mexico, the North Palm Beach Houseband will play two shows each in Philadelphia and Cleveland with other house bands and regional all-star lineups.
“What better place to play on the Fourth of July than Philadelphia?” Rothschild asks. “The details haven’t been finalized yet, but the owner of the Philly school is organizing a festival and another gig for July 4 and 5. The second gig in Cleveland will be a charity event on July 8, with School of Rock house bands from Ohio and Michigan, plus the 2012 School of Rock Midwest AllStars. And we’re just planning our song lists for the shows. When we’re in Cleveland, we’ll certainly do a little tribute. Maybe some Mott the Hoople.”
Four members of the North Palm Beach Houseband — guitarists Benilous and Fernandez, bassist Zeeman and drummer Mandel — were recently selected among the best in their region and named 2012 School of Rock South AllStars.
“I’ll be able to go on my first two tours this summer,” says Fernandez, a 17-year-old from Boynton Beach who also sings and plays bass, keyboards and drums. “I’m so psyched to play in Philly, and finally see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and especially to play there. The South AllStars will tour up the East Coast starting in late July, and play Warped Tour stops in South Florida and Atlanta.”
Philadelphia is where manic guitarist Paul Green started the first School of Rock in 1998 before selling the chain a few years back. He was the inspiration for Jack Black’s character in the 2003 film School of Rock, and he appeared in a stellar 2005 documentary on the franchise called Rock School.
With a motto of, “Inspiring Kids to Rock On Stage and In Life,” the schools offer weekly private lessons that revolve around school homework and other responsibilities. There’s open, rolling admission, no auditions, and reasonable tuition to learn an art that public schools largely ignore. And students are placed in band situations according to their age and skill
levels, which literally run from A to Z (as in AC/DC songs for younger kids in the beginning Rock 101 program to advanced Frank Zappa material for all-stars).
“There’s also a not-for-profit program being set up called ‘Rock the Future,’” Rothschild says, “to allow inner-city and other kids who can’t afford to attend a School of Rock to be able to do so.”
In addition to the upcoming tour, Rothschild has future plans to introduce students to the realities of road work.
“I want to expose these kids to what it’s like,” he says. “We’ll live in hotels like a band for 10 days. The kids will either be playing or on the bus for the entire time, but we’ll only stay a half-mile or so from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. So we’ll walk over there in the morning, spend the entire day exploring before they play there, and then hang out with the local kids. And if this goes as well as I think it will, we might hit places like New York and Nashville as early as next summer.”
Both Rothschild and Paige have been frantically getting the new South Palm Beach school (www.southpalmbeach.schoolofrock.com) up and running while organizing the tour and putting on an impressive slate of shows by the North Palm Beach school (www.northpalmbeach.schoolofrock.com). The Lake Worth site’s debut concert, at its 200-capacity Dark Side Theater, will be Pink Floyd’s The Wall on June 9 and 10. The Palm Beach Gardens school has no such theater, so it makes good use of the facility to the south, along with other area venues.
A variety of North Palm Beach students will perform in the upcoming “Tribute To ’80s Metal” (at 8 p.m. on May 18 at the Dark Side Theater, and 3 p.m. on May 19 at B.B. King’s in West Palm Beach), as well as the “Tribute To Punk Rock” (8 p.m. on May 19 at the Dark Side; 3 p.m. on May 20 at B.B. King’s), “Tribute To One-Hit Wonders” (8 p.m. on June 1 at the Dark
Side; 3 p.m. on June 2 at B.B. King’s), and “Tribute to Seattle’s Best Rock” (8 p.m. on June 8 at the Dark Side; 3 p.m. on June 9 at B.B. King’s). The northern school also has one-and-two-week Summer Camps in June, July and August.
Needless to say, the cost of executing a 10-day tour is daunting between the tour bus rental (which includes costs for insurance, gas and a professional driver) and additional money for food and lodging.
“It’s very expensive,” Rothschild says. “In most of our shows, any money we make goes toward paying the musical director and for wear and tear on our equipment. We’ll be putting on Battle of the Bands shows to raise tour funds, and parents from both of our schools are pitching in, which is great.”
***
The School of Rock North Houseband performs a special “Walk of Fame” fundraising concert from 6-8 p.m. on Saturday, May 12, at the Dark Side Theater at the School of Rock South, 7433 S. Military Trail in Lake Worth. Advance tickets cost $25, and are suggested and available by calling School of Rock South Palm Beach general manager Mary Mandel at 561-420-5652.