Rock N' Roll Fantasy Camp - New Interview With Founder DAVID FISHOF Available
August 7, 2008, 16 years ago
Classic Rock Revisited founder Jeb Wright recently spoke with Rock N" Roll Fantasy Camp founder David Fishof. The following is an excerpt from the interview:
Jeb: You have been doing the camps for 11 years. When did the idea strike you?
David: "It came to me when I was on the road with Ringo and the All Star Band. I was hanging out with amazing people like Joe Walsh, Ringo and Dr. John. I was hanging out with the band on the plane and we were playing cards and I was hearing these amazing stories. It was such an amazing experience that I thought how amazing it would be to be able to give other people this experience."
I created my first camp. I called Nils Lofgren, Clarence Clemons and Mark Farner and I asked them if they would help me put together my first camp. They all agreed. We went to Florida and I lost a lot of money but a lot of news people showed up including People magazine, Newsweek, Time and VH1. On the second day I was walking through the lobby and they said, 'Fishof, come here.' I thought they were going to kill me and tell me what a goofy idea this was. They said how much they loved it and they gave me great reviews.
I didn’t see how I could make a living doing it at that time so I didn’t do another one for five years. Five years later I was at the Polestar convention and they were doing one of the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire type games with Tommy Shaw and Sammy Hagar. Bon Jovi was standing in the back of the room. We have a lot of mutual friends in the sports industry as I used to be a sports agent. I walked over to him and we started chatting. One of the questions was, 'Who created the Rock n Roll Fantasy Camp? David Bowie, David Burns or David Fishof?' Bon Jovi looks at me and goes, 'Fishof, that’s you!' I couldn’t believe those guys remembered my camp so I decided to do it again. I called Bret Michaels, George Thorogood and other guys I had met backstage. I asked them if they would appear at the camp. We decided to do it in LA and VH Classic was there. I didn’t lose any money. I saw Roger Daltrey after that and he decided to try it and he had a great time. The campers love it but the rock stars also love it. Roger has done five camps, Bret Michaels has done four and Paul Stanley has done two. I think it reminds them of when they first started. It’s about ready to blossom into something really big."
Jeb: It has to be cool to see the stars come down off the pedestal. It has to be great for them to be able to be a teacher or a mentor.
David: "It reminds them of their childhood. We call them Professors in the camp. They don’t have the worries of selling tickets or performing. They get to relax and they get a lot of respect. It takes place in a rehearsal studio so they feel at home. They get to jam on songs they may not have played before and they get to have fun. The camp has been great for the rock stars. It really has a camp feeling. The stars are used to going in and out of towns and they don’t get a chance to hang out with other musicians.
I told Slash to show up at a camp. He said that he could come for two hours and he told me he would not guarantee that he was going to play anything. Ten hours later, he had jammed with every band for an hour. He loved it. He walked out saying, "When is the next one?" I think they see the passion of the people. It has become a unique experience for people."
Go to this location for the complete interview.