I have seen the future of rock & roll, and its name is Camp Freddy.
Compared to the past of rock & roll, the future of rock & roll is a little older, a bit more intimate, but still wildly and undeniably cool.
The other night I went to see Camp Freddy for the first time at the Roxy on the Sunset Strip. What exactly is Camp Freddy you ask, at least rhetorically? Well, I'd say that Camp Freddy is a true rock & roll rarity -- a super group that's actually super, a loose gathering of great players that truly tight. On their website -- www.campfreddy.net -- Camp Freddy describe themselves as "not a band" but "also way more than a jam session." More descriptively they are called an "Occasional Happening" and "a freak of Hollywood nature."
The happening freaks in question are -- at their core - guitarist Dave Navarro (Jane's Addiction), drummer Matt Sorum (The Cult, Guns 'N Roses/Velvet Revolver), Billy Morrison (The Cult), Chris Chaney (session great and tours with Alanis Morrisette and Jane's Addiction) with charismatic and charming frontman Donovan Leitch, son of another fine singer you should know who went simply by that first name. I hear that Scott Weiland was also part of Camp Freddy, but apparently he got caught with some contraband sweets in the camp bunk, and he was not around for the good clean fun the other night.
Based on Wednesday's show, Camp Freddy is an extremely welcoming place -- a packed crowd at the Roxy saw a constant stream of guests and fellow travelers take the stage including Slash, Steve Jones, Mark McGrath and Chester Bennington of Linkin Park, among others, running through an intoxicating blend of classic rock and punk standards. A singer named Franky Perez sang the hell out of "Highway To Hell," Chester Bennington made "Mountains" by Jane's Addiction even more majestic and McGrath did a very credible "EMI" with Steve Jones sitting in. And Slash played "Paradise City" and seemed happy to be with a band that actually appeared to like one another.
At a time when everyone still alive in rock history in music is reuniting for profit if not for fun, it was a gas, gas, gas to experience some heartfelt rock for rock's sake.