Measure Twice, Cut Once

Before enrolling, or, if you are already enrolled and are new to Rock Band Land, please make sure you know what Rock Band Land is and what we do.

Fact: All are welcome at RBL, and RBL is not for everyone.

Our focus is on creative collaboration in a band context. We encourage critical thinking, the challenging of authority, and creative expression in all constructive forms. We believe in speaking freely (with respect) and we know that some expressions are misunderstood, at those times we give grace for intention. Some expressions are also an exploration of boundaries, boundaries are invaluable to know and to understand and sometimes it takes a young human longer to grasp them than others. That’s okay, there might be evil humans among us but there is no such thing as a “bad kid” - those who are perceived elsewhere as “bad” or “weird” tend to thrive at RBL because we don’t ask them to conform, only to be aware of others as they are being themselves.

We utilize unorthodox, irreverent, and playful methods (improv comedy is a major facet of our program) to connect with our rockers and artists. We give them all the credit they deserve as young collaborators and we hold them to high standards. We avoid therapy speak and soft-touch, condescending school jargon. Instead of working in a “safe space”, we built a freaking castle for our kids to be themselves in; it doesn’t get any safer than a castle. Though we may hold strong particular beliefs as individuals, we never use our rockers and artists as pawns in response to political struggles, social justice wars, or any other dogmatic crusades. Show me a war in which kids were used to fight and I’ll show you a corrupt society - I hate that we do that in our country, even when I agree with the underlying principles.

Much of the work we do is social and there is a great deal of conversation, discussion, and riffing on ideas at RBL. Our rockers and artists are free to think for themselves and we encourage healthy, respectful discussion and debate. I know America has forgotten how to communicate without attacking the individual behind certain expressions, but you’d be surprised how much we can be learn from one another if we give grace for differences of opinion. Hating your neighbor simply results in making you unpleasant and your home uninviting, it doesn’t make your neighbor move.

At RBL we are detail-minded, organized, fully transparent about our methods and philosophies (see the novel that is the RBL Summer Info page), and hit all of our project goals. We also leave ample room for spontaneous tangents - when creating together sometimes you have to throw the map out the window to get where you are going.

To best understand the tone of RBL, before enrolling, I encourage you to watch some episodes of our TV show, UGLY BABY. Though it is not music based, it is a core part of our programming and a concentrated version of what your camper can expect while at RBL. If you get it, great, go ahead and enroll. If you think it’s funny, even better, but just wait, it’s only getting funnier as we go. If you hate it or it’s not right for your family’s values, or if reading this message has upset, scared, or offended you, RBL is probably not the right place for your kid. That is 100% fine, there are plenty of other camp options out there and we hope your kid has an awesome summer wherever they go.

Brian
RBL Founder & Director