Paul Stanley of KISS (right) and Rock Camper Pistol Crockett
DOCUMENTARY
Rock ’n’ Roll Fantasy The documentary Rock Camp takes us inside the event that lets regular people live out their superstar fantasies BY NATHAN WEINBENDER
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or anyone who’s ever lip-synced to their favorite song in the bathroom mirror or busted out the air guitar during a Jimmy Page solo when no one was looking, Rock ’n’ Roll Fantasy Camp might be your kind of jam. It’s an annual four-day getaway that lets “campers” rub shoulders with actual rock stars, sitting in on master classes and Q&As, and forming bands with seasoned musicians and performing on real venue stages. The fantasy camp is now the subject of a new documentary called Rock Camp, which explores the ins and outs of the experience and introduces us to a select group of campers from all walks of life and skill levels. It also features interviews with a roster of big names: the Who’s Roger Daltrey, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS, Slash, Nancy Wilson, Alice Cooper and members of Judas Priest, Jane’s Addiction, Whitesnake and more. At the center of it all is David Fishof, a longtime music booker, tour manager and sports agent who was instrumental in reuniting the Monkees and forming Ringo Starr’s hugely popular All Starr Band. Fishof founded Rock ’n’ Roll Fantasy Camp in 1997 and has overseen it
ever since, and he spoke to the Inlander about the release of Rock Camp, the state of live music during COVID-19 and whether rock stars are actually as wild as we think they are. Responses have been edited for clarity. INLANDER: Because you’ve worked with so many famous musicians over the years, are you always fielding questions about what certain rock stars are like in person? DAVID FISHOF: People always seem to ask me, “What’s this one like? What’s that one like?” When I was [managing] the All Starr Band with all those musicians, that was when the phone rang every day, because everybody in the industry wanted to know how they got along. Everyone said it could never happen — that you could put all these superstars in one band and tour. We like to think of the rock star lifestyle as being pretty debaucherous, but am I wrong in thinking it’s probably a lot more mundane behind the scenes? You’re wrong. [laughs] But when the Monkees were
touring, they had their wives and their kids on the road. When Ringo was touring, most of them were in 12-step programs. The craziness happened years ago. Personally, I always ran to my room. I don’t drink, I never got really involved in that, so it became mundane. But you hear stories about Mötley Crüe on the road. To alleviate all that boredom, they would do crazy things. Rock Camp has been put on hold because of the pandemic, though I know you’ve been hosting Zoom master classes with artists. What’s it like not having that regular get-together? I’ve been trying to think for many years, how do I take my business online? In June, I came up with this idea of [reproducing] those master classes that we do at Rock Camp, where people get to sit around and talk to the rock stars. We’ve done 150 of these master classes since June. What I love about them is that the artists are doing these classes and they’re not promoting their tours, they’re not promoting their records. ...continued on page 45
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