“While they might be coming because they want to jam with Phil Lesh, they might not realize that they’ll walk out with so much more than a jam with Phil Lesh,” says David Fishof the founder of Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp, while describing the upcoming Relix Fantasy Camp.

Fishof speaks from experience, as his first Fantasy Camp took place 25 years ago, drawing inspiration from his time on the road with Ringo Starr and the All-Starr Band. Fishof created that tour with Ringo and produced it for many years to follow. Along the way he noticed various acclaimed artists making time to collaborate and interact offstage, and he suspected that fans would be eager to witness and participate in a similar experience. Over the years, Fishof has enlisted a number of prominent musicians to serve as counselors and mentors at Rock Camp, including: Jeff Beck, Joe Perry, Buddy Guy, Gene Simmons, Nancy Wilson and Dave Mustaine.

Relix Fantasy Camp will take place in New York on October 27-30. John Scofield, Robert Randolph and Lesh will attend as special guests and perform with all of the campers. The roster of counselors and mentors also features: Scott Sharrard (Little Feat, Gregg Allman Band), Tony Leone (Little Feat), Derek St. Holmes (Ted Nugent, Whitford/St. Holmes), Lo Faber (God Street Wine), Leslie Mendelson, Michael Falzarano (Hot Tuna), Steve Liesman (Stella Blue’s Band) Alex Koford (Terrapin Family Band), Ross James (Terrapin Family Band) and Fuzz Sangiovanni (Deep Banana Blackout). Relix publisher Peter Shapiro will be on hand, while the Recording Package includes a full day session at a professional recording studio, with producer/engineer/mixer Jesse Lauter (Tedeschi Trucks Band, Langhorne Slim, The Low Anthem).

Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp is the subject of a recent documentary, Rock Camp: The Movie which shares the journeys of a few campers and offers insight from stalwart instructors, such as: Alice Cooper, Roger Daltrey, Sammy Hagar, Judas Priest and Paul Stanley. Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times called the film “inspiring” while another reviewer wrote, “At the root of it all is the very real emotion and power that music has over its most ardent fans, and how it can form lifelong friendships and unforgettable memories.”

“One thing that I really came to appreciate though the film,” Fishof observes, “is that it’s not only life-changing for the camper but it’s really meaningful for the rock star. That’s why people like Sammy Hagar and Paul Stanley keep coming back. They really enjoy it. Kim Thayil from Soundgarden is going to do another camp for me in a few months. When he came to his first one, he ended up staying for a couple extra days and just hanging out with the campers.”

Rock Camp appears in a notable episode of The Simpsons where Homer attends The Rolling Stones Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp, with guest voices by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Tom Petty, Lenny Kravitz, Brian Setzer and Elvis Costello.

Earlier this year, it also played a pivotal role in this season’s second episode of Billions.

At Relix Fantasy Camp, folks will rehearse with their counselors, attend master classes, participate in themed jam rooms, join Q&A sessions, take part in the headliner jams and appear at the Cutting Room for the concluding live performance.

As he reflects on the range of campers, Fishof notes, “You get some beginners, which I love, like the person who picked up the guitar during COVID. But really, a musician is a musician. So if you turn to all these people that come, in their minds, while they’re being a lawyer, doing construction, or being a school teacher, they’re thinking about being a musician.

“Joe Perry once said to a guy at camp, ‘What do you do for a living?’ The guy said, ‘I’m a lawyer and on weekends and I play guitar in my band,’ Then Joe said, ‘That’s bullcrap. You’re a guitarist first you do the legal stuff to pay for your guitars.’ The guys said, ‘Yeah, that’s me.’”

Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp describes itself as “a fully interactive, participatory camp with a non-competitive atmosphere. There’s no audition here! Whatever your instrument—be it voice, guitar, bass, drums or keyboards, we will make sure you can make a meaningful contribution.”

Fishof notes, “Rock Camp begins as soon as you sign up and you get a list of songs, so that you’re prepared for the experience.  Then once you arrive, the counselors are the building blocks of Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp. Each counselor takes a band of guitarists, bass players, keyboard players, drummers, and vocalists. You’re going to be with them for four days.

“All the counselors move around, but each counselor is also responsible for one band who they will prepare to jam with each of the guest stars. The counselors are around the whole time, giving you the best information that you could get from these pros who do this for a living. While you’re there you’re also going to break up into different groups to do master classes and there are going to be jam rooms.

“Then Phil Lesh will come in one day and the bands will be prepared to jam with him. The people will have been given the songs in advance that Phil, Robert Randolph and John Scofield have selected. They’ve put together a really great list.”

When asked to name a few memorable stories that have emerged from Rock Camp over the years, he explains, “There was a guy who stopped me on the streets of Manhattan one day and he said, ‘I just returned from Moscow last week, my band opened for Aerosmith.’ I said, ‘What do you mean your band opened for Aerosmith?’ He told me, ‘I met Joe Perry at your camp, so I contacted his manager, who had been there with him. I explained that our lead singer lives in Moscow, we have a new record and I asked if we could open the show. She told me to send her the record and that she’d ask Joe. Then when she told Joe that I had jammed with him at camp, he took a look at the CD and said “Let him open for us.”’

“I have so many favorite stories. Here’s another: a lot of people play in their bedrooms, they play in their homes, they have a music teacher but they don’t play in bands. If you’re businessman, for instance, you might not have time to put a band together. Well this guy goes to camp and he forms a band. Then when camp is over, he walks into a rehearsal studio in New York and he says, “I want to rent this studio for two hours per week to rehearse with my band.’ The person working there looks at him and says, ‘Have you been in a band before?’ So he pulls out a picture and says, ‘Yeah, this is me and Roger Daltrey. We played last week at the House of Blues.’”

Still Fishof emphasizes that what people take away from camp is more than just a musical experience.

“I invited someone from the Susan Komen Foundation to come as my guest. She ended up writing a book about her experience. It was called Rocking The Pink because she was a cancer victim. She credits camp for playing a role in helping her get better. I saw her later and she had originally been a lawyer but she told me, ‘I decided I’m going to become authentic like these musicians and I’m never going to write another legal brief again. I quit my law firm and I’ve became a writer. I’ve written fiction book that have become hits on Amazon.’

“I love to see people who get that spark. Music can do it to you. For so many people who come to camp, it’s a life-changing experience. When you play with musicians who are better than you, it makes you better and you never know where that’s going to lead. People get confidence and they don’t just apply that confidence to their music, they apply it to their lives.”