SCREAMFEST

Carry on SCREAMING

Over Halloween 2023 we indulged ourselves in a self-funded week of spook-themed musical shenanigans in the form of SCREAMFEST. And there was indeed screaming…

We bounced the idea of running a Halloween workshop around at the end of the summer event (70s) but like all things it depended on finances so it all came together quite late as we figured out costs and how best to approach it. I think we announced it about three weeks before it started which is a short time to get everything organised but hey, pressure is great for motivation.

So the concept of SCREAMFEST began to take shape. As with everything we do we created a framework for our young rockstars to build their own ideas within but we didn’t want to just go for obvious horror/Halloween songs so we hatched the idea of punning song titles to fit the brief. We had a lot of fun with that too. Suggestions included “Abracadaver” (Steve Miller Band), “Fell in Love With a Ghoul” (White Stripes) and the more tenuous “Damn, I Wish I Ate Your Liver” (Sophie B Hawkins). We secured the venue quick smart, then we advertised it, pinged emails off left right and centre and got on the blower (which I recently discovered is called so because the original telephones had a whistle on them and when you wanted to call someone you blew down the pipe and their whistle sounded). See? The Rockstar Experience is both cultural and informative.

Due to it being such short notice we expected a lot of people to be busy with their holiday plans and that proved to be the case but we had eight people sign up and boy did they smash it. Having a smaller group really helped us to focus on the music and we were able to put a set of six songs together, effectively in three days. Bearing in mind the framework we created and how we like it to be driven by our young rockers, the final set – as put together by them – looked like this: Zombie – The Cranberries Creep – Radiohead The Witch – The Cult

Psycho Social – Slipknot Dark Matter – Rivals Vampire – Olivia Rodrigo Plus we kicked off the show with Coor’s excellent single “The Rats” which you can listen to here

In The True Spirit of The Rockstar Experience We like to feed people. It’s just a thing we do because we know that life can be a struggle sometimes and holidays can bring a lot of stress for one reason or another, so, we did it again because knowing your children have eaten is one less thing to worry about.

It was great to have Leah back with us, supporting us all and providing hot food, tea, coffee, refreshments, Halloween decorations and a place for people to go and talk while they rested their ears from the raucousness of SCREAMFEST.

She kindly prepared a fantastic buffet on the final day and the food – all plant-based - was amazing. We had chilli, pizzas, a jelly brain and goopy eyeballs, cauldrons of sweets and spooky decorations adorning the buffet table.

We can’t thank Leah anough for the work she does. She’s a rock in so many ways and her being there allows us to focus completely on the music and final show. On behalf of everyone, THANK YOU, Leah x

Three Days of Glorious Noise And so it began, Monday morning, 10:30 am, doors opened, people rushed in, we had issues setting up, people waited patiently, we finished setting up, noise occurred, LOUD NOISE. We let the guys get it out of their system for ten or so painful minutes. They never seem to noodle the same songs so everything always descends into a raging weave of white noise and distortion. It’s cool though, kinda like clearing the barrels. A little noise first off readies the mind. By the end of Monday we had three songs on the go, Zombie and Creep being almost ready to go straightaway while the third, The Witch, needed a little more work. Tuesday ushered in its usual manicness after the euphoria of Monday’s results. This seems to be a normal pattern and can only be countered by keeping people focused. By the end of the day the set wasn’t looking much different and it felt like we hadn’t really made any progress. But fear not, for Wobbly Wednesday was soon to follow and that would make Tuesday look like, well, Monday. It’s not called Wobbly Wednesday for nothing. One day before the show the dynamic always seems to shift, people get a little stressed or anxious because they’re worrying about the show on the final day so Wednesdays always demand the most patience and strength of will. Don’t get me wrong, we have a tremendous amount of fun at our workshops but it is built on a foundation of hard work and determination. At the close of play on Wednesday we had five songs in shape, including a last minute Psycho Social by Slipknot, and the set was looking and sounding good. The SCREAMFEST Finale

So, as always Thursday arrived far too quickly and while setting up we decided to throw another song into the mix because we love to give you guys great value. Dark Matter was put together in about 15 minutes which is ridiculous considering all its musical parts. P knew the song well so there was no worry about adding it and she sang it so well on the day. Kudos to her for that. We had a great crowd for the gig and the guys played a blinder. I’m always blown away by the quality of the results they achieve given they have such a short time to learn the songs, get used to working with diofferent musicians and to prepare themselves for the show. And it really is all about them and their enjoyment, growth, progression, etc. All we do is facilitate that and help to nurture their passion for music. You can find a video of the show here

We’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone who took part, attended the show and gave support to the project. It’s all about you guys and all we want is to be able to keep doing this so that we can help more of you to flourish and find yourselves through music, just as we found ourselves.