Academy of Rock shortlisted in national Music in Communities awards!

We are thrilled to share the news that the Academy of Rock has been shortlisted as one of 24 national finalists in the Music Council of Australia's Music in Communities awards. Selected from hundreds of applicants across the country, we have been recognised for the positive contribution we have made to the community since our inception several years ago. Many of you may not be aware that as well as teaching over 120 students of all ages every week, the Academy of Rock has supported a range of community groups in various ways, including Willunga high School's Flexible Learning Options program, Willunga Primary School's rockband, Jamae RAW School of the Arts, Tatachilla Lutheran College, the Willunga Almond Blossom Festival, Fleurieu Folk Festival, Willunga Waldorf School music students and many others, most of it without charging for our services. This award recogises that we are much more than a music school and confirms we are meeting a need in our community. Win or lose, it's really encouraging to get that sort of recognition!

Idol's Tom Williams hooks up with the Academy of Rock

Paying us back for the loan of a couple of our guitar teachers, Australian Idol's Tom Williams filled in for our singing teacher Jess last week while she had commitments interstate. Tom joined in band practice with Willunga Primary School's rockband, sharing his experiences during and since his time on Idol, including the time Cyndi Lauper made him push her over, and spoke about spending time with Zac Efron, Jordin Sparks, Vanessa Amorosi and a bunch of other stars.Tom then spent the rest of the afternoon working with some of our singing students. He did a fantastic job, everybody enjoyed themselves and he proved to be multi-talented, accompanying the students on the piano as they sang their chosen songs. I was really impressed with Tom's work and he certainly showed why he was the youngest ever Australian Idol contestant to make it into the top 10. We hope to be working with Tom more in the future. In the meantime, check out Tom's debut single LOL, available on itunes or on his website (see below). It's an infectious pop tune that will be sure to appeal to the Jonas Brothers / Short Stack fans out there.

Barossa Under the Stars with John Farnham

Recently Dusty & Andy had the chance to play at John Farnham's Barossa Under The Stars concert, with Australian Idol's Tom Williams. The boys have been working with Tom over the last couple of months as he works on his debut album and have been filling in as his backing band. Check out www.tomjwilliams.com for footage of Tom, Dusty and Andy in action.

The 'Fab 4' take over the Academy of Rock

Congratulations to our guitar teacher Dusty who joins another of our teachers, Andy, as a member of Australia's best Beatles tribute band, the Fab 4. Dusty has taken over the role of 'George Harrison'. The last couple of months have been fantastic, with Dusty spending every spare minute learning a good chunk of the Beatles rather HUGE catalogue in preparation for his debut with the band. If your kids have been coming home playing the riff from 'Daytripper' or 'Lady Madonna', now you know why. It's been great to see kids exposed to this amazing music, its easy to forget how many great songs the Beatles had. Dusty has also been busy learning to play the Sitar for some of the band's songs. Andy and Dusty just completed a run of 9 shows around the Northern Territory, so expect to see the staff band performing some Beatles hits at our next concert, later in the year!

'RUSSIA' album release  -  June 2009

 For those of you who rememeber our ex-guitar teacher Matt, his band 'Russia' recently secured a management and album distribution deal and their debut album will be out at the end of June. Those of you with Foxtel may see the album promoted on channel V and some other channels, as well as on Triple J. For more information, check out their website on Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/russiatheband

The album can be bought as a download by following the links from there.

 

TOUR DOWN UNDER - FREE COMMUNITY CONCERT

Saturday, 24th January (mid -morning onwards)

Showcase stage, on the front lawn of the Academy of Rock, directly opposite the race winner's podium. A series of rolling performances from Slate, Academy teachers and special guests. Stay tuned for more details!

 ACADEMY OF ROCK Concert Showcase

Saturday, 17th January, Willunga Recreation Centre stadium.

Entry $2 per person, to help us cover the hire of the stadium.

Sausage Sizzle available to buy from 5.30pm, concert starts at 6pm.

 

 

Don't miss this, featuring solo and group performances from our students, the SLATE rockband, special guests and 5 songs from our sensational teachers' band! A guaranteed night of great music and entertainment for everyone, with music from a wide range of genres, from slow blues to hard rock.

 Please come along and support the students, nothing boosts their confidence quite like a huge appreciative crowd!

LESSONS RESUME FOR 2009:

Monday, 5th January