At sixty years young, rocker Steven Tyler (aka Steven Tallarico) of Aerosmith (whose father Victor who is a classical musician who studied at Julliard), has no intention of sporting his AARP card any time soon.

Tyler will be headlining the upcoming Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp founded by David Fishof in Hollywood, Ca.

Roadrunner Records reports:

The five-day session, which runs April 29 through May 3 in Hollywood, California, gives music lovers — regardless of their musical ability — a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to live like a rock star and jam with their idols. Participants form separate bands, each of which receives intensive coaching from a different rock star in preparation for the two big events that cap off this unforgettable experience. Each band records an original song with renowned engineer/producer Eddie Kramer (LED ZEPPELIN, JIMI HENDRIX) at the historic Capitol Studios. Located near Hollywood and Vine, the famed studios have hosted recording sessions for everyone from FRANK SINATRA and the BEACH BOYS to GREEN DAY and RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS. Then the bands will rock all night, performing at the world-famous Whiskey-A-Go-Go on the Sunset Strip.

This session’s all-star roster of musicians also includes:
Todd Rundgren (Liv Tyler’s real Dad)
Duff McKagan (GUNS N’ ROSES, VELVET REVOLVER)
Steve Lukather (TOTO)
Bruce Kulick (KISS)
Mark Farner (formerly of GRAND FUNK RAILROAD)
Slim Jim Phantom (STRAY CATS)
Mark Hudson (producer/songwriter)
Alan White (YES)
Elliot Easton (THE CARS)
Carmine Appice (VANILLA FUDGE)
Kip Winger (WINGER) (head counselor)

You can sign up online at RockCamp.com or by calling 888.762.2263.

Tyler who has just recovered from pneumonia, will be among 20 other counselors at the camp.

From a Reuters article:

“I’ve not done anything like this before. I’m expecting just a whole lot of fun,”

“I think they’ll find it very interesting when I tell them that it’s not really necessarily about practicing and hitting all your notes,”

“I don’t think it’s about that at all. I think it’s all about finding a passion, a way of singing something in a way that nobody has ever done it before. It’s about a feeling and getting that across to people. That’s what I’ll be trying to tell them.”

In Tyleresque speak, Steven says: “It’s the weird to the beard…It’ll be the most bad-ass rock ‘n’ roll you’ve ever heard in your life.”

They have just added three more “rock” counselors to to the lineup: keyboardist Rami Jaffee (Wallflowers, Foo Fighters), original Chicago drummer Danny Seraphine and Vixen bassist Share Ross.

And what does an experience like this cost? One-day camps start at $1,999.00 per person, per camp, which sounds like a steal to me for a chance of a lifetime.

What should one expect at the Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp?

“As a participant in a Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp™, you’ll be treated like a rock star. You’ll live the rock n’ roll lifestyle day in and day out, learning or perfecting your knowledge of an instrument, practicing and jamming with your band mates and learning the ins and outs of the music business - all in the company of some of music’s brightest stars.”

Here’s a sneak peek at what to expect:

• Small group instruction from celebrity musicians (campers are placed in a band with a rock star counselor for the entire camp duration)
• Play and write your own original song
• Perform live on stage to a sold out audience at a major rock venue
• Counselor-led master class sessions in drums, bass, guitar, songwriting, etc.
• A souvenir DVD of you jamming at the final night’s Battle of the Bands
• 10+ hours of daily jam sessions with your bandmates and rock star counselors
• Daily meals with celebrity musicians and campers
• Rehearsal time at professional rehearsal studios (you’ll play where the stars play!)
• Plenty of opportunities for photos and autographs as guest stars walk through the camp all week (so be sure to bring your camera!)

So grab your axe and clear your pipes, camp starts on April 29 and runs through May 3.

And for you Aerosmith fans, you will be happy to know the band is also raring to go. They last toured in 2007 and have put aside working on their current album to concentrate on heading back out on tour, jam packed with gigs all over the US, and possibly heading out to South America, Europe and Japan.

(Read the article)

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In what seems to be a rather candid and stunning interview, Amy Winehouse’s husband Blake Formerly-Incarcerated admits that he is the one who introduced Amy to drugs, cutting, and the high life:

Blake Fielder-Civil, spoke of the extent of their drug-taking, how he introduced his wife to hard drugs, and his fear as she collapsed with a seizure after an all-day binge.

The music video assistant, who is currently in a drug rehabilitation centre, broke down as he told the News of the World how Amy, 25, asked him to let her try crack cocaine as she watched him taking it. Previously the singer had only tried cannabis. [...]

Fielder-Civil took the blame for Winehouse’s current state, as he spoke of how the singer didn’t even recognise him after her collapse, and began to cut her arms after seeing him self-harm.

‘Amy got really upset about seeing me bleeding. And because she’s loyal and f****d up over our love — like Romeo and Juliet — she cut her arms too.’

The 26-year-old began taking heroin at the age of 22. Admitting that he was old enough to know better, he said: ‘Crack is the nastiest drug. It makes you paranoid, unreasonable, edgy and totally suspicious of everyone.

‘I made the biggest mistake of my life by taking heroin in front of her,’ he said. ‘I introduced her to heroin, crack cocaine and self-harming. I feel more than guilty.’

He revealed how he was so consumed with remorse, that he has even considered taking his own life. ‘I feel like killing myself. I feel like f***** dying.’

Fielder-Civil, who has recently been released from Pentonville Prison after serving five months for GBH, spoke of his lowest point, when Winehouse nearly died in front of him last year.

He told how they had taken heroin and crack all day long. ‘We didn’t really think to stop. We both pushed things too much. And while I was getting out of my head, I wasn’t thinking that I was taking somebody with me.

‘Then my wife, who I love with all my heart and soul, just started shaking violently in front of me.’

He said that he started crying as he lay her down in the recovery position, clearing her airways to prevent her from choking or biting her tongue.

‘It was heartbreaking, seeing someone you love more than yourself, someone you would die for, someone you would kill for on the floor shaking.’

Worse still, the singer didn’t even recognise him when she came round. ‘I will go to my grave with that picture of Amy asking me, “Who are you? Who are you?”

‘I knew f***ing then that I had ruined something beautiful. It was all my fault. It was the worst thing that has ever happened to me in my life.’

Blake is still in rehab, and says that when he gets out there will be no reconciliation:

‘When I see pictures of Amy and the state she’s in it tears my heart out. I just want to pick her up and help her.

‘But I can’t — because I’m the man who caused it all. It scares me to death that I can’t fix Amy.

‘I will do anything for her — and that includes walking away.’

He has vehemently denied that he has been planning a divorce in order to get a share of the singer’s £10million fortune.

‘I’m not interested in her money,’ he said. ‘I always offered to do a pre-nuptial agreement before we got married.

‘It doesn’t matter if I turn up in the divorce court homeless and with no shoes on, I’m not taking a single penny off her.’

Fielder-Civil spoke of his dream that he and Amy could one day have a future together. ‘In an ideal world me and Amy would live together in a nice house with our two kids and all of this would be a distant f****** memory.’

‘What people don’t realise is that Amy is an amazing wife, an amazing home-maker and a beautiful figure in the home.

‘You would be surprised the domestic bliss you can have with Amy just doing the cooking and caring for you.

‘But because of drugs we can’t have a normal life together. That’s why I have to let her go.’

What Blake says about introducing Amy to hard drugs backs up what her sorry father told an interviewer back in February:

Amy Winehouse’s father Mitch has blamed his jailed son-in-law for his daughter’s addiction to class A drugs.

While Mitch concedes Blake Fielder-Civil is “not entirely responsible” for Amy’s drug problems, he believes they worsened after the two married last year.

Before getting together with Blake, Amy had told her dad she thought class A drugs were “for mugs”.

Well, while I’m tempted to be all cynical and heartless about this, I’m not so sure that he isn’t telling the truth here.  I mean, could it be possible that he actually has had a change of heart, that he truly is trying to get his life back together, that he really does want the best for Amy even if that means he walks away?  I want to believe it.  I really, really want to believe it.

But I also think that Blake takes a bit more than he deserves.  If someone has an addictive personality to start with, they will latch on to an addiction like a fish to a baited hook.  The desire to self-harm, to take drugs, has to be already present inside of someone…you don’t just cut yourself because your boyfriend thinks it’s a good idea, there’s got to be something already there inside you that urges you on.  While he does definitely need to take responsibility for his part in getting Amy messed up and hooked, he can’t take all the blame and leave Amy with none.  She also has to accept responsibility or she’ll never get better.

I’ve certainly ragged on Blake in the year or so I’ve been writing here, and he’s deserved it.  But if he really truly is trying to change his life and be a man, I’ll be the first one in his corner.  Only time will tell and it’s a bit early yet to make snap judgements.

Source: k

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