12 April 23-29, 2026 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | Month XX–Month XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | With the Band How Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp turned a Miami disaster into a success. BY DAVID ROLLAND F or the past three decades, Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp has success- fully sold the chance to learn mu- sical and life lessons from genuine rock stars. Though thousands of campers have now participated, and they got the pop-cultural seal of approval from Homer Simpson, who attended Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp in an episode of The Simpsons, accord- ing to founder David Fishof, the event almost ended right when it began. “We had our first Fantasy Camp in Miami Beach in 1997, and it was a disaster,” he tells New Times via Zoom with a backdrop of cari- catured rock stars like Alice Cooper and Sammy Hagar. “We had more reporters and rock stars than campers. It looked like no one wanted to do it.” But within a few years, the camp found its yin and yang as an institution where anyone with the means (packages go for $8,999 a week) can get musical tutelage from their heroes and, at the end of the camp, perform with their idols on a stage. Fishof said he first fell under the sway of rock ‘n’ roll as a 12-year-old in New York City. “My brother took me to a Beach Boys and Chicago concert at Madison Square Garden,” he remembered fondly. He tried to play all kinds of instruments, from keyboards to drums to guitar, but said he never had the dis- cipline to be a musician. Instead, he produced tours. He did the Monkees 20th Anniversary tour in 1986 and the Dirty Dancing Live Tour. But it was during another of his brainchilds, the Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band, that he came up with the idea of a fantasy camp. “Everyone said that Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band wouldn’t work. Rock stars have too much ego to play in a band together. After four shows, the musicians played a joke on me. Clarence Clemons said the other guys were too violent and that he quit. I mortgaged my home on this, so I had to keep it together. I went to find Ringo, and there’s Joe Walsh with a knife and blood on his hands. Levon Helms was all covered in blood.” After the laughs and the shock of the practical joke wore off, Fishof saw an opportunity. “Rock stars have so much fun on the road. How can I bring this to the fans?” The format the camp has settled on fea- tures rock-star counselors who mentor camp- ers throughout the week. Campers have daily master classes in particular instruments and vocals. The culmination will take place at the end of the week, with a performance on stage in front of an audience of friends and family. The next South Florida camp takes place from April 23 to 26, featuring The Who’s Roger Daltrey and Deep Purple’s Steve Morse as counselors, with the final performance taking place at Boca Raton’s the Funky Bis- cuit. Though they also have camps in Los An- geles and Phoenix, South Florida keeps being a main locale, Fishof says, because so many rock stars live here. As the years pass, Fishof said it has be- come exponentially easier to recruit counsel- ors. “Rock stars enjoy it as much as the campers. It reminds them of what it was like when they started. They get paid for their time, but it’s like the old saying of rock bands, they get paid to travel, they play for free.” Fishof said he still has an extensive wish list of counselors he’d love to recruit. “Paul McCartney is the dream. The Rolling Stones. Jimmy Page is another dream. But never say never. We’ve gotten people I’d never imagine. Nancy Wilson from Heart brought in Jerry Cantrell from Alice in Chains. Slash told Ste- ven Tyler to do it. Normally, people don’t get to be around rock stars, and rock stars don’t get to be around fans since they’re always running around.” In the thirty years of organizing these camps, Fishof is quick to point out a personal highlight. “A woman who was suffering with breast cancer came to a camp with Meatloaf. At the end of the week, she quit her job as a lawyer. She said she learned from the camp she had to go with her passion, and she was going to become a writer.” In an even happier ending, her cancer went into remission. “People think when they get to the camp, they’ll just be jamming with the stars, but they learn a lot. A lot of times, campers start bands afterward. All these people had to get day jobs as lawyers or in business, but in their hearts they are musicians.” Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp. With Roger Daltrey, Simon Townshend, Steve Morse, and others. April 23 to 26 at the Miami Airport & Convention Center, 711 NW 72nd Ave., Miami. Tickets cost $899 to $8899 via rockcamp.com. [email protected] Judas Priest musicians pose with fan at the Rock ’n’ Roll Fantasy Camp. Rock ’n’ Roll Fantasy Camp photo “ROCK STARS HAVE SO MUCH FUN ON THE ROAD. HOW CAN I BRING THIS TO THE FANS?” | CROSSFADE | t Music
