About Flagpole. (Athens, Ga.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (July 20, 2011)
I magine a day camp at which teens are handed some ear drum-threatening pieces of musical equipment every morning. Yes, teenagers. Those wily, hormone-addled creatures who ride skateboards and ter rorize malls. Then imagine the instructors not only allowing but encouraging or even joining those teens in perfecting the time-honored tradition of starting a band and playing really, really loudly. It seems like an unlikely dream, but, hey, Athens is a pretty special place, and we've got a camp just like that that has been helping teens rock for five years: Camp Amped. "In such a music-centered community, you're gonna have teenagers that are really interested in music, but if they don't have anywhere to*go, they're not going to have any place to meet other musicians to play with," says Camp Amped director and Nugi's Space youth program coordinator Laura Ford. It was back in summer 2007 when Nugi's Space held its first Camp Amped summer session. Campers aged 11-17 came in every day 10 practice songs with each other, and instructors taught them lessons on everything from tuning to booking shows to getting offstage efficiently. It quickly became appar ent, though, that one session would not be enough. "It's crazy how it blew up," says Ford. "We had so many people on the waiting list in 2008 that we figured maybe we could do two sessions... And then the waiting list for [two sessions in 2009] was so long that we decided to do the after-school program." So, Camp Amped grew from a one two-week session per year to two in the summer, plus a 13-week after-school program in the fall and spring. "Every single month of the year there's something—whether it's the actual program or a fundraiser," says Ford. The reasons for this expansion are numer ous, but all are essentially linked to the fact that the idea was good to start with. Despite expansion and some streamlining, not much has changed. "It's still the same atmosphere that it was the first year," says Hunter Hulsey, who is in his last eligible session at Camp Amped after participating every year since it started in 2007. "It's not just a music camp where we come in and get taught. They actu ally want us to have a good time, and they actually care that we're here." The staff of instructors Hulsey refers to includes high-profile local talent like Dan Nettles (Kenosha Kid), Claire Campbell (Hope for Agoldensummer), Carl Lindberg (Grogus) and many more who keep students coming back because they know what it's like to be a young, struggling musician. Several local acts have also been invited to perform for campers, including visits every summer session since 2007 from Patterson Hood of the Drive-By Truckers, a prominent Nu<;i’s Space advocate. "I think I came and sat in for maybe the first session they ever did and just flipped out," says Hood. "I've met every group that's come through here, and I've always been blown away with the spirit of the campers." Hood was so impressed with the campers that he invited a group of them to open for the Truckers at a sold-out 40 Watt Club show last year. If you got to see it, you know that those teens had more poise onstage than most other upstart Athens bands. And some other Camp Amped grads, like Henry Barbe and the guys in Second Sons, continue to book shows regularly around town. Along with churning out professional, talented acts, Camp Amped has been able to make its services available to the entire com munity. In five years, the camp has raised and distributed $36,000 in scholarships to hopeful campers, allowing teens from all backgrounds to take part. And they continue to take part, and they come back. Wnich is pretty impres sive, because again, we're talking about teenagers—it's hard to convince them that anything is cool, much less summer camp. "Usually high school kids don't want to do something like a summer camp," says Ford. "But with Camp Amped, we've found some thing that they actually enjoy and they feel like it's their own. They don't feel like it's some nerdy camp; they're doing something cool. So, that's pretty awesome." Chris Miller j f ^ WHAT: Camp Amped Session Two Grand Finale WHERE: Nugi’s Space WHEN Saturday, July 23,7 p.m. HOW MUCH: FREE! V J I to 4 bedroom furnished rtments and townhomes better. Rates from s 349 as All private bathrooms ■ In unit w.isher & dryei ■ Swimmiiuj pools, fit ■ Jrnnis, b.iskotb.ill, voll E ^OS JULY 3 CALLF °^oaMLs innnuj ■ I Vi poison Usisiikj, loomm.ito in.itc hincj ■ Athens Ticinsit bus service to U(iA 10 min nd« 706.543.4400 Livc-RiverClub.com JULY 20, 2011 FLAGPOLE.COM 15
