Warped Verdict

The first rock band course I taught was in the spring of 2006. I had an amazing group of teens that included our singer, Sophie, guitarists Ryan and Jordy, keyboardist Chloe, bassist Laura and drummer Will (Sheila’s son!). We met every Sunday for eight weeks. We rehearsed in another student of mine’s (Daniel) basement in N.D.G.. His basement was amazing. It was fully equipped with every thing you would need to play and record music. His walls were filled with guitars.

The members had never played together before. Our goals were to pick a band name, chose three covers to play, write and record one original song and perform live at the end of the twelve-week session. Sounds like a lot, now that I think about it!

The band began to gel pretty quickly. We picked Bad Reputation by Joan Jett And The Blackhearts, Be Yourself by Audioslave and Sugar, We’re Going Down by Fall Out Boy. We even added a short intro song called Dinosaurs Will Die by NOFX. We also began working on the original song almost from the beginning. It turned into a song called Change. The band decided on the name Warped Verdict, a combination of two people’s ideas. By the sixth week, the band was ready to record all four songs. We did a live recording that came out really well. The last two classes, we prepared for the show.

The show took place on May 30, 2006 at a place called Café L’Inconditionnel in the Plateau. It was to become know as Live From The Garage 1. It featured four bands including Warped Verdict. The other bands were The Soundwiches, including my students Zander and Sam, Papa So Mean with my students Wayne, Bill and Drew and D.S.I. – because I needed to get in on the action as well. The show was a blast. All the bands played super well, especially Warped Verdict. Below you can watch the first song of their set. It was most definitely an amazing experience working with this group. The really came together as a band and surpassed everyone’s expectations.

Since that time, I have worked with over eighty bands and put on fifteen Live From The Garage shows. This is an example of what is possible when you sign up for one of our group classes. We are not just about rock though; we are open to all styles of music and combinations of instruments. The key is getting people together to play music!