July 29th, 2010
Thank you all for another amazing Year at Rockschools.
I have seen Rockschools bands improve greatly throughout the year and, having played so well at our Christmas and Easter concerts, give a fantastic end of year performance at our Summer Concert at The Stables. I would like to say a particular thank you to the many of you who were able to stay to the end of the concert.
Several of our bands have also been playing at public venues during this past year. Bands have supported charities locally at the Vision Youth Café, the May Day Fayre, at the Bell Plantation and at Midsummer Music in the Town Hall in Towcester. Further afield, Krieg were chosen to play in the finals of the National Festival of Music for Youth at the O2 Academy in Birmingham last week, while four of our bands; Prestige, Static, Turn It Down and Behind Closed Doors are to play at the National Rock and Pop Festival next week. These are wonderful opportunities for Rockschools bands to play in a really professional environment.
We will be holding a ‘Picnic in the Park’ Family Day at Nicholas Hawksmoor School on Saturday 11 September from 12.30pm with live music from 1.00pm. This will include registration for our next Rockschool year. The bands which have been performing for national events will be there to play for you and the day will provide an opportunity for everyone to have a great time getting together again after the summer holidays. This is an important Rockschools session, and although a non-playing day, all students need to be there as I want to discuss with all bands the groups they are to be with and then plan their goals for the year.
The Rockschools Parents and Friends Association will provide refreshments for the afternoon so bring a picnic and enjoy the music. Full details will appear on the website www.rockschools.co.uk and by email. Please make sure we have you current email address, do send any updates to rosmiles@rockschools.co.uk.
Have a wonderful summer and I look forward to seeing you all again on11 September.
David Taylor
Director
July 15th, 2010
Final Details of Concert and Practice Sessions
The Stables Saturday 17 July 6.00pm.
Students need to be at The Stables for 5.00pm to check in and store their instruments. The Bar and Café areas will be open with drinks and some light refreshments available. There is plenty of open space around the theatre so if the weather permits you may like to bring a picnic.
The running order of Bands is:
- Prestige
- Red Dragons
- Not Quite Human
- Antarctic Monkeys
- Dropkick Murphy
- Ignite
- Today is Thursday
- Ellen & Georgie
- Reflection
- The Starburst
- When’s Tuck
- RED
- Josh Prestige
- State The Obvious
- Fish Puppets
- Locked and Loaded
- Quantity
- Skeleton Crew
- Black Salmon
- Krieg
Interval
- Turn It Down
- The Interval
- Six Minute Gig
- Desert Quarters
- The Statement
- Acropolis
- Sophie & Ben
- Elsewhere
- Collision
- Switch
- The Muppets
- Frances & Harry
- Behind Closed Doors
- Epic Fail
- D-Fault
- The Uproar
- Static & Finale
Please remember that students are expected to support all other bands during the concert and seating is provided for them. If you have not done so already do let Ros know asap if any student cannot be there for the whole evening, on 07738 974220 or rosmiles@rockschools.co.uk.
All student’s instruments will be kept in a secure area until the end of the concert when it can be collected. Any student needing to leave before the Finale must advise Ros first.
Practice Sessions Saturday 17 July at Towcester
Each session will be for about 1 hour
9.30:
- Collision
- The Starburst
- Ignite
- D-Fault
- Turn It Down
- Skeleton Crew
- Desert Quarters
- Antarctic Monkeys
- Not Quite Human
- Quantity
- Epic Fail
- Today is Thursday
10.30:
- Behind Closed Door
- Acropolis (if required)
- Six Minute Gig
- Elsewhere
- Locked and Loaded
- RED
- When’s Tuck
- Fish Puppets
- Red Dragons
- Dropkick Murphy
- Black Salmon
- Static (if required)
We look forward to yet another fantastic Rockschools Concert!
David Taylor
Director
Rockschools
July 11th, 2010
Final arrangements are being made for our Rockschools Concert at The Stables on Saturday 17 July at 6.00pm. Students need to be there for 5.00pm to check in and store their instruments.
Bands playing are as follows:
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July 2nd, 2010
Thank you to all who supported Midsummer Music in Towcester. The event was a great success despite competition from the World Cup and bands played in the Town Hall until gone 11.00pm. Thanks too to Tom Mitson for making the sound work so well in the hall.
Tickets are still on sale for our concert at The Stables on Saturday 17 July. There are just two weeks of Rockschool left now so do buy them this Saturday if you can. All bands will be playing at the concert which starts at 6.00pm and should finish at about 10.30pm. Students are expected to support all other bands during the concert and seating is provided for them. Do let Ros know by this Saturday if any student cannot be there for the whole evening on 07738 974220 or rosmiles@rockschools.co.uk. Details of when bands need to arrive and the running order will then be given next week.
Two more big events this term are the National Festival of Music for Youth and the National Rock and Pop Festival.
Krieg have been invited to perform at the National Festival of Music for Youth on Wednesday 7 July at the 02 Academy in Birmingham. If you would like to come and support them there please ask Ros for details.
Four of our bands have been invited to perform at the National Rock and Pop Festival at the Birmingham Town Hall on Monday 19 July. We will be going to Birmingham by coach for the day and will be able to take part in workshops during the afternoon. Details will be available this Saturday and all Rockschool students are invited to come with us, dependant on availability of seats on the coach.
We look forward to a very busy few weeks at Rockschools!
June 17th, 2010
Several Rockschools bands are playing on Friday 18 June for Midsummer Music in the Town Hall in Towcester from 7.30 pm.
Bands playing are:-
- Epic Fail
- Elsewhere
- The Statement
- Acropolis
- Desert Quarters
- State The Obvious
- Behind Closed Doors
- Jo & Sophie
- Turn It Down
- D-Fault
- Static
- Krieg
- The Uproar
- The Interval
Tickets are available on the door for £3.00 and for those with tickets for Midsummer Music on Saturday entry is free. Do come and support our bands, we look forward to seeing you there.
On Saturday 19 June the Rockhopper Recording Studio will be at The Saracens Head in Towcester as part of their Talent Tour and the winning band taking part from Rockschools is Desert Quarters. You can watch their performance there at about 4.00 pm.
Finally, a reminder that tickets for our concert at The Stables on Saturday 17 July will be on sale at Towcester Rockschool this Saturday and at Brackley Rockschool on Tuesday.
David Taylor
Director
Rockschools
May 21st, 2010
We are already coming to the end of a very busy first half of our Summer Term at Rockschools and we have many events planned for after half-term too. There is no Rockschool on Saturday 29 May and Saturday 5 June at Towcester, or at Brackley and Towcester on 25 and 26 May.
During the last few weeks Rockschools bands have played at the Towcester MayDay Fayre on 3 May and at The Bell Plantation in Towcester in aid of Cancer Research. All bands were well received by a wide audience so many thanks to the various bands which took part and to parents for their support of these events. Thank you too to Ian Blunsdon and to Tom Mitson for providing such excellent sounds at these outdoor venues.
After half-term we will be supporting the Towcester Midsummer Music weekend on 18 and 19 June. On Friday 18 June Rockschool bands will be playing in Towcester Town Hall from 7.30 – 11.00pm and all are welcome to come and listen. Tickets will be available on the door at £3.00 for those who do not have programmes for all events on Saturday 19 June.
Also on Saturday 19 June the Rockhopper Recording Studio will be in Towcester in the car park of The Saracens Head as part of their Talent Tour. This is a competition open to anyone of any age, solo singer or bands and details can be found at www.thetalenttour.co.uk. Rockschools is supporting the Towcester leg of the Talent Tour and our Parents and Friends Assn. is offering to donate a prize of an entry into the Talent Tour for any Rockschools band in a free raffle. Ask at the Tuckshop on Saturday, where posters and flyers are available, of details of how to win a free recording session for your band!
One of our Rockschool bands, Krieg, have won through to the finals of Music for Youth Festival at the O2 Arena in Birmingham on Wednesday 7 July so many congratulations to them for having done so well. We also hope to take part in the National Rock and Pop Festival again this year on Monday 19 July. More details on both these events will be available after half-term.
Finally, we have another reminder for you, of our end of year concert at The Stables on Saturday 17 July at 6.00pm. We would like all Rockschool bands to take part and tickets will be on sale after half-term.
Meanwhile we hope you all enjoy your half-term holiday and look forward to seeing you in June.
David Taylor
Director
Rockschools
May 6th, 2010
Welcome back to Rockschools for the Summer Term which starts on Saturday 24 April at Nicholas Hawksmoor, Towcester, Tuesday 27 April at Brackley and Wednesday 28 April at Towcester in the evenings. Thank you all for your hard work and support at our Easter Concerts and to the students who all performed so well. Once again the standard of performance was excellent and we had lots of encouraging feedback from audiences for on both nights.
Welcome too to those students who are joining us this term for the first time.
For those who pay fees termly, fees are due on the first week of term so please see Ros with payments. Fees are £88.00 for Rockschool and £145.00 for Individual Tuition, payable to Towcester Rockschool Ltd. Any queries please contact Ros on 07738 974220 or rosmiles@rockschools.co.uk.
Tom Mitson will be with us again for the first two weeks of term to PAT test any equipment students bring to use at Rockschool which has yet been tested and does not have a passed sticker. Would all students with electric guitars, bass, keyboard or electric drums also remember to bring their own extension lead which can be plugged into the extension lead with circuit breaker supplied by Rockschool so that each room can access one circuit breaker. Tom will then PAT test these too.
We have lots of events planned for this term including the May Day Fayre and Midsummer Music in Towcester, Music for Youth, National Rock & Pop Festival and our end of year concert at The Stables on Saturday 17 July. More details of all these events will be available shortly.
We are also considering the possibility of running a Summer School, if anyone is interested in taking part would they please let me know at davidtaylor@rockschools.co.uk, with dates when available.
Meanwhile we hope to see you all again on Saturday or during the week and look forward to a very happy and productive Summer Term.
March 25th, 2010
Rockschools Spring Term is now ending and we have our final Easter Concert on Saturday 27th March at Nicholas Hawksmoor School at 6.00pm. We look forward to seeing you there and for those still needing to buy tickets could you please do so during the afternoon at Rockschool. They will be available between 12.30 and 4.30 by the Tuckshop and are £5 Adult; £3 Child and £13 Family Ticket.
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March 20th, 2010
Our first of our Easter Concerts is being held on Saturday 20 March and we look forward to seeing you there. For those still needing to buy tickets could you please do so during the afternoon at Rockschool. They will be available between 12.30 and 4.30 by the Tuckshop.
Bands playing are:
- Antarctic Monkeys
- Band Name Disallowed
- Black Salmon
- Collision
- D_Fault
- Desert Quarters
- Fish Puppets
- Ignite
- Intro-Out
- Krieg
- Lauren and The Machines
- Prestige
- Quantity
- Starburst
- Static
- The Interval
- The Statement
- The Uproar
- Today Is Thursday
- Turn It Down
Please note: All these bands need to be at Rockschool by 5.30.
Bands attending Rockschool at 12.30pm may go home at 3.00pm and return at 5.30pm, or if necessary may remain at Rockschool until 5.30pm. However, they may not leave the premises so will need to bring plenty of food and drink with them for the afternoon and evening. Bands attending at 3.00pm will need to remain in the school for the start of the concert so will need to bring food and drink with them too. Parents and carers wishing to bring in food (i.e. McDonalds etc.) for students must do so by 5.30 at the latest as food cannot be eaten in the Hall. All bands will sit in the Hall to watch others perform throughout the concert.
David Taylor
Director
Rockschools
March 12th, 2010
We are now coming to the end of our first term of 2010 and preparations are well in hand for our Easter Concerts which are being held on Saturday 20 and 27 March at Nicholas Hawksmoor School, both starting at 6.00pm. Tickets are now on sale at Reception at Towcester Rockschool and are also available at our evening Rockschools.
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Rockschools is the trading name of Towcester Rock School Ltd.