Rock Band Students Get Ready to Play

A few years ago, inspired by the Jack Black movie, "School of Rock," Ruth and Bruce Packett decided the students who take music lessons at their Edgewater music store, , could benefit from forming groups and practicing together as a band.

They presented the idea to some of their music students.

"Everyone jumped on the idea," Ruth Packett said. "Everyone wanted to be in a band."

They decided the students would need a minimum level of skill in order to participate, and decided a teacher recommendation would be the way to go.

They have continued the tradition and now have a couple sessions each year at their Edgewater store.

Winter session practices just wrapped last night and the students will have their debut (and final) performance at The Whiskey in Annapolis starting at 4 p.m. on May 1 (this Sunday).

"We divide the kids up and then allow them to select the songs," Packett said.

The instructors at Bay Tunes teach bass guitar, drums, guitar (electric and acoustic) and voice, so they have all of the components necessary to make a rock band.

The Packetts have owned Bay Tunes for 10 years. They've been at the Edgewater location for seven, but have plans to leave their current location for a larger store before the end of the year. Ruth Packett said the plan is to stay in the Edgewater area.

Bruce Packett has been immersed in music since he was a child. He has been in bands since he was a teenager, and is locally known for some of the bands he's played in, like Scar, the Barrens, Sassafras Tea, the Packett Brothers and Time and Again.

When he's teaching the students in the Rock Band sessions, he clearly enjoys the work. He'll strap on a guitar and jump in when a student is having a problem or look at them and nod his head to get them to keep up the tempo of the song.

The students select the songs they'll play. They seem to like old rock and roll music. This session, they're playing music by Jimmy Hendrix, Black Sabbath, U2, Led Zepplin, Cream and the Beatles.

"It's funny, the kids like what their parents listen to," Ruth Packett said.

For the students, the experience is a lot different from playing individually.

"They are learning to be part of a team," Ruth Packett said.

Drum instructor Brad Kimes said that for the students, it teaches them a lot about responsibility.

"They have to show up, be prepared," he said. "They have to know their parts of the song each week."

"For my drummers, it is a different experience—you have to hear the band and you have to learn how to recover, if you make a mistake or drop a stick," he said.

This year the 17 students, aged 12 to 18, make up five different bands, which will each play two songs on Sunday. Some of the musicians will play in more than one band, depending on the song and the needs of the group.

There are two bass players, five drummers and 10 guitarists and singers. By the end of the session, they will have been practicing a total eight weeks.

Bruce said that after the teenagers perform on Sunday, legendary drummer Timm Biery, who virtuoso guitarist Danny Gatton once called, ""the baddest drummer on the planet—bar none!" will go on stage and show the young ones a thing or two.

In addition, the store hopes to find enough interest for an adult version of Rock Band School. Check the website for details on how to sign up.