Camplified 2009 wrapped an impactful summer at camp bringing bands, brands and campers together for a day of interactive games and rock concert FINALE! A look back can be found throughout this Camplified blog but for a visual synopsis that showcases what the campers experienced see below:
Posts Tagged ‘rockband’
Camplified 2010 Coming Soon
Sunday, December 6th, 2009
ShareThisCamplified ’09 pulls through Oakland to visit Camp Matoaka!
Saturday, August 8th, 2009Our time in Oakland, ME continued today as we visited Camp Manitou’s all-girls sister camp. The girls involved in today’s Camplified tour stop ranged in ages from 7 – 16 – and they were ALL excited. It was a great environment to walk in to! There were some talented musicians-in-the-making who taught us some tricks on MTV’s Rockband. A few of our own Camplified musicians were playing some tricks of their own with our sponsor HP’s MediaSmart Software.
Oh no, they're multiplying!
Next up, we had autograph and signing sessions with all of the musicians. Each musician visited with each camper who came by – it was pretty special to see the artist-fan interaction. Here, Taylor Bright takes a goofy picture with some happy fans.
Everyone say cheese!
Today’s afternoon concert was pretty exciting. The girls were already super fans of Taylor and Misha Williams – they walked around camp singing the songs!
Misha started the show and got all the girls out of their seats
Taylor sings her heart out - and the crowd loves it
Duke Squad took the stage and were greeted by hundreds of screaming fans. These girls were ready to rock!
Phil from Duke Squad greets some very happy fans
The concert was a huge success! Combined with the autograph sessions and the activities, the concert just topped off the amazing day that we had with the campers and staff at Camp Matoaka. It was a great few days in Oakland, ME – see you guys next year!
Posted by Jess Fontaine, Crew Member
Oakland, ME welcomes Camplified!
Friday, August 7th, 2009Camplified ’09 visited Camp Manitou in Oakland, ME today. The all-boys camp was a real treat as the campers took part in MTV’s Rockband activities and played some Yu-Gi-Oh! with our experts.
The campers get into MTV's Rockband
Yu-Gi-Oh! expert Robert goes through some rules and tricks with campers
Tonight’s concert featured sets from Taylor Bright, Misha Williams, and Duke Squad. The camp was ready for us – for the last few weeks, they’d been listening to the music of tonight’s artists daily. They were pumped for tonight’s show!
The evening started out with Taylor Bright’s set. You would think a teenage girl would be intimidated playing to a room of a few hundred teenage boys…but Taylor is no average teenage girl. She had them all in the palm of her hand in no time – and they came to visit her to say hello later, too.
Taylor puts on another great show for the campers at Camp Manitou
Next up was Misha Williams. Misha plays a great set filled with dance songs and some slower acoustic numbers. She has an amazing voice so even when she slows the show down a bit, the campers are still completely mesmerized with her and her performance.
Misha entertains the masses
Last up was Duke Squad. The Duke Squad boys are super high energy and always have a great time on stage. So, playing to a room of teenage boys gets pretty rowdy. The boys are jumping around and having a wild time within minutes – it’s crazy!
the Duke Squad boys are ready to rock
At the end of the night the artists sat and met with the campers – everyone connected through email or Facebook or whatnot, and all the kids left happily knowing they’d get updates on when they could see these musicians perform again.
Taylor Brights meets and signs some posters for some very excited campers
Camp Manitou laid out a great day for the Camplified crew and artists. We had a wonderful time setting up the tour at camp – thanks Camp Manitou!
Posted by Jess Fontaine, Crew Member
We Camplified Weequahic!!
Wednesday, August 5th, 2009Spending the day at Weequahic was a blast and an extremely unique experience!
Not only did our activities go off without a hitch, but we were honored to help break their color war! It was amazing! Most of the Camplified crew had never seen such a thing, including myself, so we were pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm and excitement that soaked the camp.
Color War !!!!
We threw a Rockband competition earlier in the day so the winners could grace the Camplified stage and play for their fellow campers. Little did they know that their prize would be COLOR WAR!!! All of our artists on the bill that day participated in the fun!
One of the finalists!!
Duke Squad closing out the exciting night for Weequahic!
All in all, Weequahic was a unique experience for everyone. Camplified broke a color war and it couldn’t have been better!!!! Thanks for letting us help you begin your color war, teams Army and Navy!!!!
Posted by Alicia Pettine
Weequahic teaches Camplified some color war tricks!
Wednesday, August 5th, 2009Camplified visited Camp Weequahic in Lakewood, PA today. Weequahic is in the same area as a recent camp we visited, so we were happy to return to the part of NY where we’ve already made some great memories. Camp Weequahic has been around for a few decades – and the grounds are amazing! The directors were so welcoming and accommodating to us today – between all of our great activities and the amazing freebies we leave in our wake, sometimes we can be quite a handful! But the minute we pulled on to Weequahic’s grounds we knew we were in for a special day.
We got started with MTV’s Rockband, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Cartoon Network in their beautiful rec center. It’s an incredible space and offered more than enough room for our crew and equipment, and the many visitors we received throughout the day. You can always count on MTV’s Rockband to get the party started early – today’s big hit was Survivor’s “Eye Of The Tiger.” Interestingly enough, it happens to be the camp’s fight song. It was perfect! Across the hall was the Cartoon Network station where kids got caught up playing FusionFall and watching some great videos.
Lisa, our FusionFall expert, helps some campers get acquainted with the game
And just a few steps away our Yu-Gi-Oh! experts were teaching campers all about the game and tricks they can use to get better on their own.
Our Yu-Gi-Oh! expert Robert teaches a camper some new tricks
The dull roar coming from inside the rec center was pretty crazy – lots of busy, happy campers!
Tonight’s concert featured sets from Misha Williams, Kicking Daisies, and Duke Squad. Misha started the night off right with some great dance music, and some beautiful guitar work. Kicking Daisies were up next and they were a huge hit. KD does a great cover of GNR’s “Hot For Teacher” – every single time the campers go wild! It’s great!
Kicking Daisies gets the crowd into it
Finally, Duke Squad hit the stage to round out the evening. The boys from Montreal always keep the party going and they get the party poopers up on their feet and dancing. It’s definitely their feel-good music, but also just the pure energy from the band members that make you want to dance. They obviously enjoy what they do – and they’re really good at it!
The boys from Duke Squad celebrate their set with some help from the campers
We had an unusual end to the evening…..Camplified broke Campe Weequahic’s color war! It was huuuuuge. The campers had been asking us about the top-secret event all day and the Camplified crew was having a really hard time – we’re not that great at being mischievous! But once the news broke after Duke Squad’s set, there was no stopping the energy. As the campers made their way to their starting positions for the next few days of intense activities, we discussed Scholastic Books and Ian’s cookies with the directors. Although we couldn’t give them to the kids directly (they were already off and running with their color war) we knew they would be super excited when they received them from their counselors the next day. Although it was a bit disappointing that we didn’t get to see their faces when they received them, just remembering the reactions from the kids at the other camps – and knowing how excited Camp Weequahic’s campers would be was good enough for us.
After all was said and done, Camp Weequahic was an amazing stop on the Camplified ’09 tour. We had some very excited campers who got pumped over MTV’s Rockband, learned Yu-Gi-Oh! and some new Yu-Gi-Oh! tricks, and got to play some CN FusionFall. And if that wasn’t enough, they were then treated to some rock from Misha, Kicking Daisies, and Duke Squad. It was an amazing day – even the crew couldn’t help but have a great time at camp today! Thanks Camp Weequahic – hope to see you next year!
Posted by Jess Fontaine, Crew Member
Camplified brings the rock to Camp Kenwal
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009Camp Kenwal, in Melville, NY welcomed the Camplified tour onto their campus today. Kenwal is a great day camp with kids of all shapes and sizes – we don’t see many really young kids on this tour, so today’s visit to Camp Kenwal was fun from the minute we rolled into their parking lot.
We were very lucky with a beautiful day today and we set up to Cartoon Network and MTV Rockband activities outside on their tennis courts. This proved to be a very smart idea as we had so many kids that wanted to be involved – it was hard to get them all close enough to the activities! First up was Cartoon Network where FusionFall was set up. We had five HP laptops running the game while different groups of boys and girls alternated turns. We had some campers that were familiar with the game and had played in at home, while others were just hearing about it – and getting to play it! – for the first time.
MTV’s Rockband was also set up on the tennis courts. Between two stations Camp Kenwal campers drummed, sang, and strummed their hearts out. The rock “anthems” still reign supreme when kids are selecting songs, but that’s ok with us. Rockband’s got a great selection!
Later that day we had some music. Today’s concert featured Taylor Bright, Misha Williams and Duke Squad. Taylor had made some friends at camp who joined her onstage, while Misha brought up a few campers to help her dance it out to a song. Both girls were great today.
Taylor brings their campers to their feet
the kids loved Misha!
Duke Squad closed the show with a rowdy set – full of rock and pop and lots of jumping around. Although the stage is was set up in the cafeteria-area, the kids were out of their seats and dancing through most of the show. It was a great show!
Phil from Duke Squad makes some fans very happy
Thanks again, Camp Kenwal. We had a great time playing with you guys, and enjoying some rock music – hope you did too! As these camps get better and better, I find myself not being able to wait until tomorrow. See you guys at Camp Weequahic on Wednesday!
Posted by Jess Fontaine, Crew Member
Camplified has its first ever free show at Garden Sk8 Skatepark in Pine Brook, NJ!
Sunday, August 2nd, 2009Camplified brought the tour inside today as we visited the gracious hosts at Garden Sk8 skatepark. The interior of Garden Sk8 is covered in hand-painted original art and is breathtaking. It acted as the perfect backdrop for our activities and bands today. It was a super fun vibe.
We set up Cartoon Network in the main office area and the kids started coming up to us even before everything was plugged in. It was a tough environment for activities – kids would come by and get excited about what was there but would already have their minds made up about heading in to skate. We had a lot of people coming through and promising to come back. So, later in the afternoon as people were heading out, the Cartoon Network station got really crowded! Luckily, we were able to keep all the kids happy with a lot of help from Lisa (Lisa is Camplified’s own FusionFall pro). We came across some kids with existing accounts but, for the most part, the Garden Sk8 kids were FusionFall rookies. It’s awesome how into the game these kids get – and right away! It was a happy day over at the CN station.
Dylan (5 yrs. old) really got into FusionFall!
Rockband was set up across the lobby and the musical selection was diverse today. Where we usually hear a lot of Paramore, today was a lot of Bon Jovi and Metallica. We love the regular selections, but the music choices today were a great change to our everyday routine. The skater kids had a great time rocking out.
Rocking out to Rockband
The concert was a full bill today – we had four bands on the schedule. First up was Kicking Daisies – they were great. Always full of energy and enthusiasm, Kicking Daisies were a great start to the show.
Duran, Ben, Carly and Caitlin of Kicking Daisies bring the rawwwk
Next up was BYS. We haven’t had them on the tour for the last few dates so it was really nice to see them again. Camplified ’09 isn’t the same without them! They’re a great band to work with and they always bring so much energy to their sets.
skater kids enjoying BYS's return to Camplified
Next up was Duke Squad, a band out of Montreal. The band usually plays originals, but they switched it up today and introduced some covers into their set. Their regular fare is pretty great – super catchy feel-good rock pop, but seeing them take on the music of others was a treat too.
Duke Squad rocks out at Garden Sk8
Lastly, Misha Williams took the stage with her guitar. She was joined at the end of her set by some Camplified staff and the boys of Duke Squad. They all had a great time and as an audience member, it was really fun to watch.
Misha Williams get some help from Duke Squad....and other audience members!
Garden Sk8 skatepark was a new venue style for Camplified. In addition to the great space and our incredible hosts the bands seemed to really enjoy the event. The skater kids were really excited about our activities as well. Over all, it was a great day in Pine Brook, NJ. Thanks Garden Sk8!
Posted by Jess Fontaine, Crew Member
NJY Camp in Midford, PA welcomes Camplified
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009Today Camplified visited the NJY Camp in Milford, PA. We were welcomed into this massive camp – and their beautiful grounds – just after lunch. Right away the campers were hard at work at mastering Rockband, visiting with our Yu-Gi-Oh! experts, playing with the Cartoon Network goodies and collecting their free Scholastic books. It got pretty rowdy pretty quickly!
Rockband was set up in the gazebos in the park – which was great because although there were some dark rain clouds, the kids could play as long and as loud as they wanted. This was one of the first camps with a lot of co-ed bands – the campers were so excited about playing that they didn’t want to pass up their turns to play in a band with only their friends – everyone jumped right in!
Rockband brings the kids together
Down the trail Yu-Gi-Oh! and Cartoon Network were set up in the camp’s theatre. At the Cartoon Network station the campers were able to play with the CN online game FusionFall. There were a group of girls that were really excited – they mentioned that they play on onemorelevel.com and games123.com so the format of FusionFall was immediately appealing to them. As they played the game, they got more and more into the tasks and levels that they wanted to conquer. CN has kindly given us some postcards for the interested campers to redeem at CartoonNetwork.com and these girls were pumped when they received them! A few more happy faces courtesy of FusionFall ……sometimes our jobs are so easy!
Also in the theatre, our Yu-Gi-Oh! experts were set up teaching kids about the games and even sharing some tips for the experienced campers. There was a small crew of guys that brought their own cards and told us about the tournaments that they hold in their bunks – it was awesome!
some very intent, and happy Yu-Gi-Oh! fans
Next it was down to the amphitheater for the concert – tonight the NJY Camp hosted Kicking Daisies, the Duke Squad, and 2am Club. It was a gorgeous night and the sound guys had arranged the system beautifully – it was quite the scene for the NJY Camp. The bands were all in great moods and the crowd was really excited about each set – the mood was electric!
Kicking Daisies' Duran gets happy at NJY Camp
Jake and Phil of Duke Squad...hard at work
The boys from 2AM Club closed out the night properly
All in all, NJY Camp treated us incredibly well, and Camplified brought the rock, the free books (which were a huuuuge hit!), the Yu-Gi-Oh!, Cartoon Network – and so much more! It was a very happy day in Milford, PA – I’m so happy to be a part of Camplified, who helped to make it happen!
Posted by Jess Fontaine, Crew Member
Taking Mid-Island Y By Storm!
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009We’re almost two weeks into this tour now and we are still going strong. Today we were at Mid-Island Y in Wheatley Heights, Long Island. The weather may have been dark and dreary, but the smiles, laughter and energy the children had made it feel like the sun was shining bright and strong.
Dancing in the rain!
Kids took an instant liking to one of our great sponsors this year, MTV Rockband. Rocking out to great legendary songs such as “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor and “Living on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi! There were also quite a few modern songs like “Nine in the Afternoon” by Panic! at the Disco and “That’s What You Get” by Paramore that were a huge hit! But then the rain came, that by no means stopped our bands from taking the stage and rocking out.
Even the Mid-Island Y Counselors rocked out to Rockband!
Through the rain, the bands sang their hearts out and the kids danced both on and off the stage like there was no tomorrow.
Rick Seibold performing while Adam (a member of Camplified's production crew) mixes sound.
Overall, it was an amazing day, even in the rain.
Nothing stops Camplified or the campers at Mid-Island Y!
Posted by Lisa Smith, Crew Member
Camp Takajo!!
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009Helllooo Camp Takajo! Our first foray into Maine was INCREDIBLE. We were introduced to Camp Takajo in Naples, ME by the staff and campers with the warmest of welcomes. We headed over to the camp the night before the show to check out the grounds and make arrangements for the Camplified event the next day – it’s a good thing as Camp Takajo is definitely off the beaten path. We were lucky as we got to see the grounds at sunset – and before all the carnival events were set up for the following day.
On show day we arrived early with the sound crew to get the event set up – we arranged for one set before lunch, then the Camplified activities, followed by another set in the afternoon. The first set opened with Alexa and Natalee Falk and they brought the house down! I’ve never seen it before, but they did an a cappella version of MJ’s “Black & White” that the boys loooooved. Next up was Kicking Daisies who got the crowd ready to rock while Loomis & The Lust kept the energy flowing. The crowd was pumped up….and it wasn’t even lunch time!
Alexa and Natalee Falk (of Faces Without Names) start the show off right
After a short break we set up the activities with Rockband using the acoustics of the theatre while Cartoon Network videos and Yu-Gi-Oh! set up next door in a connected building. Both spaces were gorgeous and it was a good thing – although the Camp Takajo carnival was taking place outside, all of our “stations” were packed! The day’s musicians joined the campers for some rowdy Rockband “shows” while the Yu-Gi-Oh! experts introduced and trained some excited campers in the art of Konami-goodness. PLUS (as if that wasn’t enough) the Cartoon Network videos and previews were a huge hit! The Andrew WK video in particular – the kids went wild! And, as they made their way outside, the campers picked up their Cartoon Network balls and turned the carnival grounds red with their CN kickballs. It was pretty crazy!
The campers had a lot of fun with their Cartoon Network balls
The bands that played am sets also hung out and signed some autographs for some very excited campers!
the guys from Loomis & The Lust made some campers very happy during the autograph session
Then it was time for the second set and 2am Club closed up the night. 2am Club has a unique blend of “funk, pop, rock, blue-eyed soul, hip-hop, new wave, and electro” (I couldn’t describe it if I wanted to, so I’m quoting their MySpace page!) that the kids really responded to. They put on a really good show and everyone had a great time.
Although we were only in Naples, ME for just over a day we had the best time. Not only because we were able to bring all of these great activities and music to the campers but also because the campers and staff were so gracious and welcoming to US! It was a great day for everyone involved in Camplified!
Posted by Jess Fontaine, Crew Member