Rawk U Holidays

Hello and welcome to winter everyone. Rawk U has been here in the East Falls section of Philadelphia for almost a year now and couldn't be happier. We continue to see growth with new students, and watch with a smile as the area continues to offer new opportunities and services to the people here. We are offering a 10% discount this month as a holiday special on a month of half hour guitar lessons. Cost is $100. Act now as this promotion only runs through the end of the month. Give us a call @ 215.844.7295. Happy Holidays to everyone and enjoy!
-Daniel Cullen
Owner Rawk U School Of Music

vs.

Rhoads Vs Van Halen.
Who Do You Like Better, and Why?

Fall 2010

Hey Guys,
we had a real good summer here at Rawk U School Of Music. Just a few weeks back we had our summer shows performances at Market Place At East Falls. We did, Neil Young, and Blur Meets Oasis. It may have just been our best show yet. Starting next week, we are doing a British Invasion class. Really looking forward to this one. We will be doing the music of: The Beatles, Stones, The Who, Manfred Mann, The Kinks and The Troggs to name a few. For Winter Classes, we are thinking of offering, The Rolling Stones, The Band, and a David Bowie: The Rise and Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars in its entirety. This is going to be a new trend with our adult rock classes, where we will be taking rock albums that have been deemed "classiscs" over the years and presenting them in order from beginning to end. Those classes will begin in the second week in january, Call 215.844.7295 for more info.

Whats Up For Rawk U This Summer

First Off,
I want to congratulate my students from this Spring's Indie Rock and Americana Classes. They had their show a few weeks back on June 13th, and it was awesome. Starting next week we are going to be doing our summer classes. They are Blur Meets Oasis and Neil Young. We are always accepting new students for our private lesson program, which includes instruction on guitar, bass and drums. Im already looking ahead to the fall, and since we couldn't get to British Invasion, that will most likely happen then. Also thinking Jimi Hendrix and possibly Weezer. I hope everyone has a great summer, and if you want to come check out our studio or schedule a lesson, give us a call at the school @ 215.844.7295

A Sneek Peek Into One Of Our Rock Class Rehearsals

Thanks to Bill for providing this video.
This is The Americana Rock Class, doing our
first run through of "Jack Straw" by The Grateful Dead.
This is warts and all, and if you want to see the polished
awesome version, come to LIMELIGHT ARTS ON SUNDAY JUNE 13th
7 PM. $5 4002 Ridge AVE. ALSO PLAYING: INDIE ROCK CLASS,
guaranteed good time!

The Crash Years

This is a video/song by one of my favorite bands of the last 7
or so years, The New Pornographers. The video combines subtle digital
effects with an unusual birds eye view angle perspective. I was wondering
why current bands still bother making videos. But then i realized that people
ARE still watching them. Just watching them online, on places like Youtube and
Pitchfork.tv and stuff. Anyway, that's it. Enjoy the video. The song is called,
"The Crash Years."

Indie Rock/Americana Show Sunday June 13th

Hey People!
We are having a show for our Adult Rock Class Program on Sunday June 13th, at Limelight Arts in East Falls. This show is going to be really exciting. Each show keeps getting better and better and this one is looking really good. Up this time: Indie Rock, and Americana. Some Sample songs from the indie rock class:"Big Trucks" by Pedro The Lion, "Driver 8" by R.E.M. and "Big Dipper", By Built To Spill. Americana: "It Makes No Difference", by The Band. "Melissa", by The Allman Brothers, and "She Talks To Angels by the Black Crowes. Limelight Arts is located on ridge ave just around the corner from Rawk U. 4002 Ridge. The show starts at 7pm and is $5. Hope to see some of you there.
Thanks!

Summer Rock Classes Announced!

So,
Summer is fast approaching, and it will mark the one year anniversary of our Rock Class programs. Our current classes, Americana, and Indie Rock, are set to perform a show in East Falls at The Limelight Arts Community Center On Sunday June 13th @ 7 pm. So, yeah uh.. right, Our Summer Classes are: Britpop(Oasis Meets Blur), British Invasion, and Neil Young. Classes start Sunday July 11.(Neil Young) Britpop meets Tuesdays, and starts tuesday July 13. British Invasion meets Wednesdays, and starts Wed July 14th. We are looking to fill a few spots in all three classes, so call us here at the school @ 215.844.7295 to sign up or for more info.

How I Figure Out A Song Pt. 1

I thought i would just give a tiny insight into how i go about learning songs on the guitar without the aid of sheet music. I was learning "Paper Thin Walls", by Modest Mouse for the Indie Rock Class we are currently doing at Rawk U.
As the title of this post suggests, i am going to be doing a few more of these behind the scenes looks.

From The Classroom To The Stage

This is a video of one of our students here at Rawk U School of Music.
His name is Bill. He is playing an old folk song called "Hang Down Your Head". The song is by Tom Waits. This performance is from The Walking Fish Theatre's Open Mic last wed evening. Enjoy

Americana Class In Action

This pic was from the Americna class again tonight. We were learning "She Talks To Angels", by The Black Crows. This song has a pretty tough intro, but Lou has got a handle on it. The song is also of note because it employs an open E tuning. An open tuning is when you tune the open strings of the guitar so when strummed open(meaning no fingers on the fretboard) sound the same as a first position open chord. I may be crazy but open tunings always remind me of the fall.
Thanks for reading Call us here at the school 215 844 7295 if you want more info on our Rock Classes or to sign up for guitar, bass or drum lessons.
Thanks
-Danielelectric

Sherman Mills!

We have been open at our new location in Sherman Mills over in the East Falls section of Philadelphia for about a month now. The place is looking great and its real exciting to have a proper place to call home for Rawk U School Of Music. Heres a pic from one of our rehearsals. The class was playing "It Makes No Difference" by The Band. Its included in our class called Americana. We're also currently doing an indie rock class.
give us a call at 215 844 7295 if you want to sign up for one of our classes or if you want more info. Classes that will begin in July for our summer session are: Oasis Meets Blur, Tom Petty, Rolling Stones.

Auto Tune This

Hilarious and informing video about auto tune.
Featuring Weird Al

Joe Satriani Gives You His 5 Commandments

Joe Satriani's 5 tips for perfect band rehearsals

Follow Satch's rules and rule your group!

Joe Bosso, Mon 11 Jan 2010, 10:30 pm UTC

"Practicing can be fun, but it's also serious business," says Joe Satriani. "The same goes for band rehearsals. Sure, it's great to hang out and be a part of the gang, but the fact is, rehearsals are about getting stuff done."

Joe Satriani performing with Chickenfoot, 5 September 2009. Image: © Tim Mosenfelder/Corbis

With this in mind, MusicRadar asked the Chickenfoot and solo star to share his 5 tips for band rehearsal success. "Some of these ideas are fairly subversive," says Satch, "but I've learned over time that sometimes the best way to get something accomplished is to not let people know what you're doing."

The guitarist thinks for a second and laughs. "Of course, that might be a problem now!"
1. Speak up

"Can you imagine being in a small room with Sammy Hagar and Chad Smith? It can be ridiculous! Obviously, they're great guys, but they're larger-than-life personalities, as musicians often are. Between the joking around and the constant changing of ideas - "Let's go this!' 'Hey, wouldn't it be cool if we...? 'You know what I think we should do...?' - it can get overwhelming.

Meanwhile, you're standing there with your guitar on and you're thinking, Have we even played anything yet? So you have to finally stand your ground and say, 'Guys! Yo, it's time to get to work.'"
2. Start playing the song you want to play

"This is another way of speaking up, I guess, but it can sometimes be more effective than just going 'Guys! Guys…' Whenever things get boisterous and out of control, just turn up your amp and start playing the song you need to work on. It won't take long before people get the hint. Repeat as often as necessary."
3. Show up really late

"The reason being, the band can't rehearse without you. So let them have their time to do whatever. Then you can walk in, unpack your guitar, look at everybody and go, 'Are we ready?' You might get these 'Well, we're waiting for you' looks for a few seconds, but chances are they'll be glad you finally showed up and they'll be more than fired up to start playing."

4. Give everybody their time and space

"It's not always joking around and goofing off at a rehearsal; oftentimes, people actually do need some time to take care of their own worlds. If it's Michael Anthony, he might need to talk to his bass tech and fix something with his strings. Or if it's Chad, he might need to change his drum heads or adjust his kit.

"While all of this is going on, you can't be making noise and cranking your pedals if they're doing what they need to do. So yes, it's important to speak up and keep things moving, but it's just as important to know when to settle back and wait for 10 minutes. It's just a little thing called 'respect.'"
5. Make sure your singer is the last to arrive

"Even though I said to arrive late, the truth is, you really want your singer to be the last guy to walk in the door - especially if that singer is Sammy Hagar!

"Singers get bored very easily. And if they're not playing an instrument, this compounds itself. If you're still setting up your gear, before you know it your singer is going to be in another room, he's going to making phone calls, he'll be outside...You don't want to be roaming around saying, 'Now, he was just here a minute ago...'

"So have your act together. Have your gear set up and ready to go so that the minute
your singer walks in the door, all he has to do is start singing. And as soon as you think you've had enough rehearsal, let the singer leave - because he's going to get bored again when you start fiddling around with your equipment. And trust me, you'll definitely fiddle with your equipment!"

-Reprinted via Musicradar.com

Jimmy Page Says Les Paul Was Real "Guitar Hero"

Jimmy Page Says Les Paul, Not Himself, Was “Guitar Hero”

Fans may beg to differ, but Jimmy Page insists he’s not a “guitar hero.” That accolade, he says, is a title more befitting the late great Les Paul.

““I can’t think of a greater guitar icon than someone who has the musical intellect to change what was there before, and take music in another direction,” Page said, speaking to the U.K.’s Daily Telegraph during a visit to Gibson’s London offices. “That’s a guitar hero for me.”

Covering an array of topics, Page also modestly told the Daily Telegraph that he feels he “never mastered the guitar.”

“Either I was playing it or it was playing me,” Page revealed, “it depends how you look at it. As a kid, the only things I had to do were go to school, do my homework, and play guitar. I play maybe every other day, now. But I don’t think of it as practice. I want to see if there is a new shape, a new pattern of chords, a new riff. I’m always looking for the creative spark. Always.”

Page went on to say that despite being the driving force behind Led Zeppelin, the band was a “group personality.”

“I knew from what I’d learned being a session musician that the key was to capture the performance while there’s a mass enthusiasm going on,” he said. “It becomes totally passionate, you feel the music. A lot of music today, they work electronically, tidying everything up, but that living energy has become sanitized. In Led Zeppelin we managed to do some of those major albums in three weeks. People today can’t understand that. It’s beyond them.”

Page plans to release new music sometime this year. To read more of his conversation with the Daily Telegraph, click here.

Maybe I'm Shooting Myself In The Foot

"Musicianship may be taught, but it’s most effective when it is a natural God-given talent;that comes from within."

-Dr. Certain