Go & Do: School of Rock’s “Kidstock”

Go & Do: School of Rock’s “Kidstock”
by John Wenzel on August 28, 2009

School of Rock’s Kidstock is both a history lesson for the students lesson and a live concert of its greatest hits.

The Paul Green School of Rock, one of Denver’s finest purveyors of kiddie rock instruction, is coming at us with another worthy event this weekend. Adding their own twist to the recent spate of Woodstock 40th anniversary events, the School of Rock presents Kidstock, a pair of performances this Sunday at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. at the Soiled Dove Underground.

Think of it as the family-friendly alternative to watching people dance, smoke and pass out in the rain. “Whether it’s Woodstock or another type of festival or group, it’s something we can share with the kids and use it as a learning opportunity for them,” said Jessica Soucy, co-manager of the Denver school.

“We thought it was a great idea to make this a nationwide event for all of our schools,” Soucy added. “So all of the schools did some kind of Woodstock event.”

For the Denver school in particular, that means 21 kids aged 8-18 getting on stage in different groupings to perform songs like Joe Cocker’s “With a Little Help From My Friends,” Janis Joplin’s “Piece of My Heart” and other Woodstock classics, in addition to lesser-known songs from the Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Sly & the Family Stone, Jimi Hendrix and others.

Wait — Hendrix? Did some foolhardy lass or lad try to “learn” Hendrix’s famous take on the national anthem? “We have one student attempting to tackle ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’ so we’re hoping to have that performed at the show,” Soucy said with a laugh.

But seriously: The kids have apparently been using the practice sessions for the show as an educational opportunity for the broader context of the ’60s.

“With all the anniversary stuff and the additional marketing going on outside of the school, they’ve been able to learn even more than what people at the time probably did about (Woodstock),” Soucy said. “Parents have been sharing some of their stories, and it’s brought up the whole ’60s era for the kids to learn from not just musically, but politically as well.”

And it’s helped School of Rock do what it does best — preparing kids for the reality of the music business. “We’re teaching them about how it was the best music festival of all time, but also the worst. There were some pretty major issues, electrically, logistically, etc. So it was great for the kids to see that as a rock musician, it’s not just all fame and glory, it’s a job.”

And here’s the icing on the cake for concert-goers: The school is raffling off a Gibson Les Paul signed by guitarist Slash (Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver). “It just happened that our Hollywood general manager is friends with Slash from school,” Soucy said.

Not too shabby!

For more information on the Sunday, Aug. 30 events, visit the Denver School of Rock’s website.