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The School of Independent Rock is run by Yanni Papadopoulos, former DC native and long-time guitarist for Philly’s own Stinking Lizavetta. It’s an after-school program for children ages 7 to 18 that offers private lessons and group performance. I was in attendance for this special group performance since it featured none other than former Dag Nasty and current Gerunds vocalist Peter Cortner as emcee and occasional vocalist. Given Cortner’s and Papadopoulos’s backgrounds in the nascent DC hardcore scene of the 1980’s and a friendship that now dates back 30 years, it’s fitting that songs by obscure outfits like Bloody Mannequin Orchestra and Protem were played alongside much more well-known material by DC stalwarts like Minor Threat, Iron Cross and of course, Dag Nasty. Starting in alphabetical order by band name with Agent Orange‘s “Bloodstains” and including songs by bands ranging from The Stranglers to Cheap Trick (“He’s a Whore”) to the Sex Pistols‘ incredibly profane “Bodies”, this was a unique night featuring children with a median age of 12 or 13 singing classic punk songs, often with lyrics that have (shall we say) mature content and language. Many parents would probably not allow their children to perform such material, but I think it’s wonderful to expose them to music that they might have not heard or even known about otherwise. To be fair, many of the songs were rendered almost unrecognizable, but that isn’t the point. Unlike the much more well-known School of Rock (chronicled in the documentary Rock School), this program seems to be much more about the kids’ and instructors’ enjoyment than about making virtuoso classic rock musicians out of often young children. And if you’re wondering, Cortner only sang lead vocals on a hilarious version of Iron Cross’ “Live for Now” (doing a fabulous impersonation of Sab Grey, Iron Cross’ vocalist) The rest of the time, he just sang backups or let the kids take over completely.
