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When most young people attend a music camp, they are immersed in a world of note reading, clarinets and Beethoven. Kids at the DAYJAMS Rock Music Day Camp in Des Plaines, however, are getting a crash course in Rock and Roll 101.
While a parochial school may seem like an unlikely setting, the halls of Our Lady of Destiny Catholic School, 1880 Ash St., have been reverberating with low bass tones and the wail of electric guitars.

The experience offers 9-to-15-year-olds a full spectrum of rock music, from history to stage presence to marketing. Kids are generally grouped according to age and musical experience to make each band more or less equally talented. Older campers are generally more advanced, but there are exceptions.
"We've got some 10- to 11-year-old shredders here!" said camp director Jim Konsbruck.
All skill levels are welcome, however, though horn players require two years of experience. Shredders and novices practice with their bands, jamming until they hit the right flow. Bands create two of their own songs from scratch.
"I like it because at some camps you're just playing other people's songs," said Sarah Householder. The 11-year-old Park Ridge resident is in her second year at the camp. "Here you're playing you're own self. Someone just comes up with an idea and it builds up."
"It's really fun," said 11-year-old Anna Chudzinski, also a Park Ridge resident in her second year. "We were in the same band last year. I learned a lot of things for the keybooard."
Chicago resident Danielle Thomas, 13, has played electric guitar for four years.
"I like the camp because -- even though it's an instrumental camp -- you get to do a variety of stuff," she said.
Campers also promote their bands by making posters, T-shirts, CD covers and backstage passes with names such as "Cheese and Crackers," "Unnatural Disaster," and "Empyre". And no rock and roll experience would be complete without the video game "Guitar Hero 2".
Camp counslers guide the fledgling rockers throughout the process. Maggie Geoga, 16, fills in when bands need a bass player.
"I was a camper here for the past three summers, and I really liked it here, so I figured I'd help out," she said.
Seventeen-year-old Matt Litwin, meanwhile, teaches drums, filling in when needed.
"I'm a musician myself," he said. "It seems like a lot of fun teaching kids to play."
Each week culminates with a Friday evening concert, where the bands perform their two songs live on stage. Their performance is taped by Jeff Sheldon, a videographer for Eternal Video. Sheldon edits the footage, creates story lines that the campers act out and adds effects to create a music video for each band.
"I put the two cameras together and burn the sound with a DVD. People are pretty happy with it," he said.
Julie and Kevin Becker's daughter, 11-year-old Rachel, is playing electric guitar at camp for the second year. The Northbrook residents appreciate the unregimented style and variety the camp offers.
"They really encourage kids to be creative with the music and lyrics," Julie said.
Kevin, meanwhile, grew up a rock fan and has taken up electric guitar himself.
"[Rachel] enjoys that aspect, knowing all the classic rock I like, and developing her own tastes as well."
Fees run $540 for one week, $1,030 for two weeks, $1,520 for three weeks and $2,010 for four weeks. For more information about DAYJAMS call 1-800-295-5956 or visit www.dayjams.com.

By PAUL KAZMIERCZAK | Staff Intern