Victor Wooten, Andy Leach, Senior Director of Library and Archives, Greg Harris, President and CEO of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Roy "FutureMan" Wooten (l-r)
It's been 52 years since The Byrds offered the sage advice of what to do if you want to be a rock 'n' roll star ("Just get an electric guitar, Then take some time and learn how to play")
You're able to do just thatand much more at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's newest exhibit, The Garage,which opened on July 1. Here, you can play high-quality instruments such asGibson guitars (played through a Marshall amplifier), Fender basses, Rhodes electricpiano, Hammond xk3 organ with Leslie speaker, Ludwig drum kit and Technicsturntables.
“That basic instrumentation of drums, bass, guitar and keyboards, that is your staple of rock ‘n’ roll,” said Jason Hanley, Vice President of Education and Visitor Engagement. “We wanted to make sure it had those traditional rock instruments but that it also had acoustic guitars, ukeleles, things that are a little easier to access for some folks.”
Acknowledging technologicaladvances and what aspiring musicians have also used he said, “In the GARAGEGEAR exhibit we have drum machines and laptops. We’re thinking of doing somepop-up things in here where we might bring out a drum machine and let peoplework on a beat or bring out a laptop and work with some samples or loopsbecause all of that is what people today are doing whether it’s actually thegarage or their bedroom.”
At a media preview the finaltouches to the exhibit were still being done by workers who acted like kids letloose in a candy store, excitedly trying out the collection and fine-tuningsections while Cameron Fontana from "Good Morning Columbus” did liveremote segments.
The exhibit uses songs fromRock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees in the PLAY section for lessons fornovices or seasoned players. The list of material ranges from classic rock tosoul, alternative and hip hop including Deep Purple's "Smoke on theWater" or Chic's "Le Freak" for guitar, Led Zeppelin's"Dazed and Confused" for bass, Tupac Shakur's "CaliforniaLove" for keyboards and AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" for drums.
If you feel likecollaborating with others, there’s the JAM section that offers an audiorecording and video recording of the session.
You can also BRAND YOUR BANDby giving it a visual identity as well as check out historical instruments ofthe past in the GARAGE GEAR exhibit.
The area is filledwith replicas of concert posters including the original Woodstock,Nirvana, Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Nina Simone, Bob Marley, U2,Joan Jett, Dead Boys. There is also a Bob Dylan setlist that is recreated on anacoustic sound blanket.
Bela Fleck & theFlecktones’ bassist Victor Wooten who, along with Roy “FutureMan” Wooten,visited the Rock Hall prior to performing that night as part of the 40th annualTri-C Jazzfest reinforced the importance of the garage as a training ground formusicians. Both attended the media and invite-only unveiling of TheGarage.
"When we lived on thewest coast in California and the east coast in Virginia, our garage was alwaysthe central place for musicians in the state. When we lived in Virginia, a lotof the Dave Matthews Band, a lot of jazz greats that are out there now, JamesGenus who's playing bass with Herbie Hancock,used to come to the garage alot...Oteil Burbridge who is out with Dead & Company right now...a lot ofgreat musicians. So, we understand this. We feel right at home here at TheGarage.
He added, “We were fortunate,the five of us brothers, our parents always gave us the garage, whatever housewe lived in. Our dad would never put the car in there. That was our music roomand it ended up being the place where all the local musicians from around thestate or anyone that came into town would show up at our garage and we wouldjam. So, they're right. The garage is the beginning place."
At the unveiling, Darryl"DMC" McDaniels spoke of the importance of the garage setting."What is the most powerful element of rock 'n' roll? It's the spirit.And where does that spirit choose to haunt all the souls and people walking theearth. It all starts in the garage. So, what we're doing here at the Rock andRoll Hall of Fame, rightfully so, is honoring the birthplace of the greatness,not just of the creators, but to all of those who hear, see and experience the beautyof the soul and spirit of rock 'n' roll."
He credited listening to rock radio and artists such asHarry Chapin, Jim Croce and Joni Mitchell for inspiring him as a youth more sothan the soul music of the day. "This is the source. Everybody thinks it'sHollywood, the big tours, the bright lights…It would never have manifested intowhat it is today if it wasn't for all that greatness being primed and toned andwelded together in the garages of our universe."
Following his remarks,McDaniels performed Run DMC's "It's Tricky" and the Rock and RollHall of Fame act's version of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" with agroup musicians playing instruments in the JAM section of The Garage.
During McDaniels'between-song he reinforced his thoughts on the importance of he garage."Rock 'n' roll is a spirit. It's a transformative spirit.The beautiful thing, especially for our young people, it's very therapeutic.It can help our children, if not to become rock stars, [but] getting theminvolved in the arts can build confidence about themselves and theirself-esteem and inspire them to be great and learn and want to learn."
Hanley summed up the exhibit."When you think about rock ‘n’ roll, it’s alive. It’s happening right now.People are still making it but it has this incredible history. Now, visitorsare going to be able to come into this space and get to play or learn how toplay the same music that our inductees are playing.
“If you’ve never held a LesPaul guitar before, and I’m very lucky working here, we get to do these thingsall the time, but if you’ve never held a Les Paul guitar you’re going to beable to do that and learn how to play it. It’s incredibly exciting. I can’twait to see what’s going to happen with all these different visitors coming inand what their experiences are going to be.”
