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Adventures of the Great Indoors
by Lauren K. Meade

Five days before their breakthrough concert, the eight members of the heavy-metal rock group White Skulls had yet to think of a band logo or write their first song.

The group of mainly 10-year-olds was among the 93 children participating in the weeklong DayJams Rock Music Day Camp at the Solomon Schechter Day School in Newton. Mop-topped preteens in Metallica T-shirts flitted between classrooms. Desks and chairs were shoved aside to make way for drum kits and guitar amps. Each day, campers grouped into rock bands took part in songwriting workshops, rehearsals, art activities, and outdoor recreation.

On the last day, each band would perform a song they wrote collectively with their music teachers before an audience of 350 parents, family members, and friends.

Camp director Justin Casinghino said he makes the final concert as "rock 'n' roll-like as possible." The stage includes two Pearl drum kits, a Congo drum, two Roland keyboards, four guitar stomp boxes, and six amps for both the guitar and bass. Parents donate colored lights and a fog machine.

Crowded around a table during their half-hour art class, the young musicians busied themselves with designing a band logo for their CD cover and matching T-shirts for the big concert.

Like most campers, the White Skulls represented a range of musical training. Keyboard player Mike Toll, 10, has taken piano lessons for four years. Bassist Christian Stratter, 10, and vocalist Gabriel Alves, 9, discovered their inner rock stars only two weeks before, having never taken lessons outside camp.
The band members, who had just met that morning, were assigned together based on their age. They debated what to call themselves, with some preferring "The Clips" over "White Skulls," said 9 1/2-year-old drummer Sam Pinkowitz. The latter won out because the majority felt it better reflected the edgy grooves of their rock influences: Green Day, Lincoln Park, and Blink 182. Sam predicted that the name would probably be shortened over the course of the week to "Skulls."
"We could make it like the White Zombie logo," said Sam as the group scribbled logos on white pieces of paper. He was referring to the fang-toothed skull of the 1990s heavy-metal band known for the snarling vocals of Rob Zombie, a native of Haverhill.

Ten-year-old Danny Gentilucci, a drummer, gingerly sketched a cartoon-like skull with bubbly eyes and two crossed bones. As the most adept artist, Danny smiled modestly when the boys unanimously elected his drawing as the band's insignia.

"Blood will be coming out of the eyes," guitarist Nuri Al-Hakim, 10, told his teacher of the final version.

As White Skulls finished before the other bands in art class, the conversation turned to the song they soon would write.

"We could call the song 'Untitled,' " said Gabriel Alves, who "hates" when people pronounce his name as "Elvis."

"That's a Green Day song," Nuri pointed out.

The White Skulls eventually titled their song "Over You." Guitarist Danny Fleming, 10, aided by their teacher, "MC Ruth," developed the beat. Writing the song didn't come easily, as the boys argued over lyrics. But after counselors offered inspiration, tensions cooled.

In a phone interview, Christian sheepishly sang the refrain of "Over You": The wind has changed, and so have you. It makes no difference no matter what you do.
"I guess it's a love song," he said.

Christian recalled the feeling of accomplishment at the concert when he stepped up to the bass amp after a week peppered with frustration and fun.
"I like rock camp a lot better than baseball camp," he said.

(c) Copyright 2005 Globe Newspaper Company.