"The champions are the people who are pointing to the future and that's what music is; it's about the future, cooperation, motivation and inspiration," says Rascals member Eddie Brigati as he discussed the upcoming January 11 auditions for the Rockit Academy (Rockit Live Foundation) at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, NJ.
"Rockit" is widely thought of as,"New Jersey's number one rock band program for aspiring musicians" that, "Endeavors to build character as well as talent" while "Instilling confidence and team skills with an emphasis on community service." Some of the programs participants have gone on to perform with Steve Vai, The Les Paul Trio, Keith Urban, Jon Bon Jovi and more.
Founded by Bruce Gallipani in 2004 and inspired by E Street Band member Steven Van Zandt's "Underground Garage" radio program, "Rockit" has recently partnered with Brookdale CC in an effort to increase its visibility as well as offer those in the program a broader learning experience.
Eddie Brigati is an active member of the board along with Van Zandt and his wife Maureen; he explains that his involvement with the program stems from his long time friendship with Little Steven.
"Let's start off by saying that Steven and Maureen Van Zandt are 10 star human beings; they speak for themselves but I'm going to speak for them in this instance. Steven is a wonderful mentor to me; he reproduced the Rascals, the best production ever of Rascals in 2013 and for the obvious reasons of the powers that be it was the best production of Rascals ever. We had a tour, about 80 shows across the United States and Canada and he got us in the Hall of Fame in 1997; he was our inductee and that's something to take a look at, the role that he played and he's a super Rascal fan. He and Bruce came to the first concert; legend has it that this was their first concert to see the Rascals and that was back in 1860 (laughs). Steven is a super duper advocate for Rock 'n' Roll; look up TeachRock. He did a concert at the Count Basie Theatre and "Rockit" was performing there and "Rockit" is by the stewardship of Bruce Gallipani the founder and director and he takes these children from eight to eighteen years old and it's a very wonderful, nurturing, progressive entry level at those tender ages and he performs upwards of a dozen concerts a year. There's probably about 70 or 80 children involved and he invited me to come and speak and I've never stopped from that point on; I've been validated, vindicated and everything you can think of and it has been an honor to be part of it. My wife Susan and I are on the council board and recently the program has graduated into Brookdale Community College. They were invited to be part of there on campus; so these kids are going to campus and the great part of it is that they are being groomed and they are in an environment to continue their higher education. I go back to music which is the basis of my life so it's about cooperation, expression, first you express yourself, you cooperate and you have this tool to navigate and get through life which has to do with your opinion and your expression and getting together and supporting each other; communication is the key word, that's what songs are all about."
Auditions are held to fill the limited amount of spots available and according to Brigati the reason is simple; to discover who has not necessarily the best talent but the focus to enter the program.
"The criteria is your intention, these are kids that are motivated and they are focused," he stated with conviction. "The object of auditioning is to sort out who is serious and who is paying attention and at that age the direction; to give them an opportunity. That's kind of the role that I think I'm adding; I have the experience and we are successful. We are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame 2008 and a couple of other honorary things. My point personally is that I have no degrees in music or business and my success stems from cooperation. We are trying to project that, the civil part of our society and you can take this vehicle and I know that I have a lot of awards but I don't have any from a four year college program and that's who I represent; the outside of the inside so to speak. That's what I think music does, everybody is entitled to their opinion, especially their expression and that's what you want to bring out. Music has a momentum, a purpose and a direction and it's extremely personal; it's one of the few things that you can do with yourself being the center of it."
Once accepted there's still the matter of financials; "Rockit Academy" doles out several scholarships per year; each having a value of $5,000 and include free private lessons, band class and the live performances. Brigati believes that everyone deserves a chance and that this program and its scholarships allows for just that.
"The whole principal of it is the intention; these kids come to give their intention and discipline in degrees and percentages. If they come and they are generally cooperative they need to get recognized, they should be rewarded. Our world today is monetarialistic; it's all about the monetary goal and sometimes you're not going to get the money," he said with a laugh. "I think to go to music and think that you're going to clean up and get money is a deception to the spirit of music. You may never make a nickle, it may cost you money to go out and play; maybe you want to eat and drink, it's costing you money in gas and tolls; what's the reward again? The thing about the scholarship is that you should be recognized and have an incentive. A lot of these kids may not stay in music, a lot of them may not excel but there's a pattern to follow, an orbit. There's a self-expression to get yourself unblocked, to not get cornered and that's what music is, it's a momentum, it's a circle. They say that Native American consciousness is the, "Mother's Circle;" she invites everyone to the dance and how you dance is up to you. The circle is continual and it's rising and the object is to get past the gravity of desire and possessions and distractions, you've got to get over it all. The scholarship thing means that you are going to afford them their education and some kids are brilliant and it doesn't matter where they come from; they can come from nothing economically and still be brilliant performers and then you can have the opposite, you can have people with everything and they're distracted. A phrase that I've been re-circulating lately is, "This is God's business" and it's really the grace of one's intention."
The Van Zandts and Gallipani as well as Brigati recognize that there is a need to assist today's youth population, especially since more and more schools are removing music and art programs. "Rockit Academy" does just that but rock's elite such as Van Zandt sometimes go a little above and beyond.
"One of the aspects is that half of the city kids drop out of school, more or less and half of those go to jail more or less and the more or less part of it is that this is happening; can you help it? Steven invites people to his concerts and he invites teachers to his concerts and it's not just a token superficial nod towards this; whatever Steven does he's all in one million percent. In my world he's one of seven and one half billion people of his kind; complimenting, helping me decide whether or not I should stay in front of this firing squad (laughs), it's not like I have the gun; I'm on the other side. There's a kind of give and take, there's a book called "Gathering Moss" written by a Native American author with a PHD in botany and moss is the first plant that comes out of the water; it's very entertaining but the key word to this conversation and music is reciprocity, the giving and taking."
The Rascals may have given Brigati his recognition but he realizes the egg shell fragility of both ego and talent; the reality of the limelight and being under the scrutiny of a crowd can produce mixed results.
"Whatever role you play and I don't say this often in front of musicians but the first instrument is the voice. That's the human voice to the human ear and the other part of it is the dichotomy of the stage; there's nowhere else to go so you go hide on stage. I don't know if you get that but when you're on stage you're vulnerable you're wide open but you're being ignored at the same time quite often. The audience is somewhat forgiving; by percentages and degrees some are paying attention and you're offering it up for their discretion. Some people go out and get another drink; it's just that when you are talking about people, humans, you are talking about any and all possibilities at the same instant. I don't want to be too profound but it's deep at the same time that it's superficial; it's called schizofrendo (laughs)."
So what exactly is it that Brigati wants to get across to the participants of the program and how does it feel when he sees a kid succeed or do well?
"I'm that kid," he exclaimed with a chuckle. "What I try to relate to them is essential, I say to them; do you love music? They all respond yeah, yeah and I say good, study law and accounting. Here's why, law is language, expression, communication; lyrics. Accounting is every step, every note, everything you eat, it's everything on the measurement side of it. You don't have to be a lawyer or an accountant, you just have to know that those things are constantly in play. Write your own song, make it your pizza; is it a three minute song? Every pizza is about a pound and a half of dough, you roll it out; now what do you want to put on this pizza? You want Latin percussion? OK that's one pizza; oh you burned it? OK make another one and another one and another one and that's the real point that I'm trying to inspire. I am an example and proud to be an example of doing just that."
Auditions for this nine week program are January 11 from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. at Brookdale's Lincroft campus located at 765 Newman Springs Road. There are a list of requirements and guidelines as well as fees beginning at $20; to discover all there is to know, please visit www.rockitacademy.org/auditions/ .
That's it for this week! Please continue to support live and original music and until next week....ROCK ON!
