Rock School preview

[Richard Ruck]

I've only seen the first two episodes, so can't comment on the later ones, but I certainly haven't found it 'objectionable'.

C.H. ISN'T going to feature in the second series - the W.S.C.T. got that bit wrong.

As for withdrawing funds? I very much doubt that the school stumped up large amounts of cash to be involved in this. Surely RDF Media would have been funding the project?

Essentially Gene Simmons and Christ's Hospital will be doing this for very similar reasons, i.e. money and, more importantly, maximum publicity.

As for 'Rock Star in Strip Club shock horror' - perhaps this is just a question of morals. I personally have no objection to anyone visiting such an establishment if they want to. Let's face it, it helps to be a rock star to be able to afford the price of a drink in one of them.

Again, as with the opening episode, where Gene was shown arriving in a limo with a couple of girls draped over him, this is surely just a slightly tongue-in-cheek device to play up the 'Rock God' persona.

And finally, it must be said that classical musicians, especially when on tour, are more than capable of indulging in some very questionable behaviour - they get away with it, though, because thay don't have the same profile.

I suppose that only time will tell whether the whol exercise has been a 'Good Thing', both in terms of the standing of the school and the effect on the kids involved, but I'm enjoying it so far, and I suspect that many others are too.

[Richard Ruck]

I always thought that a CH education was supposed to broaden the mind.

How can you know what to reject if you have no experience?

Well put!

It's very easy to bristle with moral indignation about Gene Simmons and his lifestyle, but I'm sure that many of the blokes on here would admit, even if only in private, that, well, $100,000,000 and queues of women? Let's experience a bit of that to see if it's as bad as people make out!

[englishangel]

And surely there is no such thing as bad publicity.

I think the students have been a fantastic advertisement for the school. (After the first 2 shows anyway)

[Richard Ruck]

And surely there is no such thing as bad publicity.

I think the students have been a fantastic advertisement for the school. (After the first 2 shows anyway)

They have indeed.

[loringa]

I think it's great. GS seems to have the 'knack' as a teacher and the kids come over well even if they are rather better spoken than perhaps we older Blues were used to in our day. I also thought GS singing 'God Gave Rock and Roll to You' in chapel was fantastic. I wouldn't say I was a fan of 'Kiss' but I would have certainly gone along to that particular chapel service.

Oops - forgot - these days Chapel is compulsory!

[J.R.]

Again, as with the opening episode, where Gene was shown arriving in a limo with a couple of girls draped over him, this is surely just a slightly tongue-in-cheek device to play up the 'Rock God' persona.

On this very note - Who saw the documentry the other night about Lemmy of Motorhead. He's virtually the same age as me, and STILL enjoying life !

(A touch of jealousy creeping in there, me thinks !)

[englishangel]

Again, as with the opening episode, where Gene was shown arriving in a limo with a couple of girls draped over him, this is surely just a slightly tongue-in-cheek device to play up the 'Rock God' persona.

On this very note - Who saw the documentry the other night about Lemmy of Motorhead. He's virtually the same age as me, and STILL enjoying life !

(A touch of jealousy creeping in there, me thinks !)

In the interests of accuracy Lemmy will be 60 on Christmas Eve. Who has worn better JR? Wish you had his money?

Oprah Winfrey is 2 days older than I am. Wish I had her money.

[J.R.]

Again, as with the opening episode, where Gene was shown arriving in a limo with a couple of girls draped over him, this is surely just a slightly tongue-in-cheek device to play up the 'Rock God' persona.

On this very note - Who saw the documentry the other night about Lemmy of Motorhead. He's virtually the same age as me, and STILL enjoying life !

(A touch of jealousy creeping in there, me thinks !)

In the interests of accuracy Lemmy will be 60 on Christmas Eve. Who has worn better JR? Wish you had his money?

Oprah Winfrey is 2 days older than I am. Wish I had her money.

The money WOULD be nice. The track record, even better. (Nudge, nudge: Wink, wink !!)

[helen]

Well seems I'm outvoted etc although some of the people earlier on seemed to have had the same reservations as I did.
Re

I always thought that a CH education was supposed to broaden the mind.

How can you know what to reject if you have no experience?

.

This old standby to support just about anything doesnt really work in this context. (Or should we start including 'Strip school', 'Fetish school' etc. on the curriculum?)CH or any school can't supply every experience in life which will provide a basis for choices. And broadening the mind doesn't have to focus on broads. Schools have to choose the kinds of experiences they think will most benefit pupils. If they had to have Rock school couldn't they have chosen someone with something more solid to offer in terms of a personal life as well - perhaps Bono, with his focus on aid around the world etc.?

Yes, the kids were good and seem to have come through it all well - I watched the last episode. GS was allowed liberties no other teacher I know would have been and so got away with a lot. He became more human near the end and somewhat less arrogant and objectionable.I think it was true that the kids gave him more than the reverse.Perhaps that justifies the series.
As for my 'moral indignation' whatever that means - what do you know about my morals? - my objections were based more on aesthetic criteria and some awareness in my dotage of what life has to offer, thingsI would like CH to introduce to kids. Arrogance, greed and lust are not on that list and there are plenty of others who will encourage them to indulge in those without CH spending resources on featuring them.
In the end, perhaps accidentally, these became irrelevant to the kids which is good.
As for some of the posts dribbling over the money and the girls- oh, come on!

[UserRemovedAccount]

My opinion is that the children come out of it with flying colours, particularly when compared with the popular image of 13-year olds. They are bright, intelligent, honest and very articulate, my only criticism being that they are a tad serious, but maybe that will change as things develop. I had never heard of Simmons or Kiss and from I have seen so far, I missed nothing. Further, it all looks pretty spontaneous, except for poor Mrs Ireland who has clearly been set up as the "voice of authority" and either she is very, very nervous or she has been given set lines to speak to fit in with the script - or both. As for "Dudders," is there nothing that he isn't brilliant at?
David

[DavebytheSea]

Yes, David, I agree with all of that, or nearly all of it.

Just to set the record straight, I have had the opportunity of discussing the show briefly with Mary Ireland who was Simmons "mentor" while he was at CH; she assures me that all was spontaneous - no prearranged lines or even any contrived situations. (Like you, I was convinced that much had been pre-scripted - and that was after seeing all six episodes as shown in the US).

However, the editing of "spontaneous" film leaves 95% on the cutting room floor so what you are left with is a highly selective version of the whole. I daresay the producers could produce any kind of show they wanted by selective editing - thank goodness that what we have is an entertaining, warm and at times quite funny show which I think shows both the school and the kids in a (for me, at any rate) surprisingly favourable light. Just think of the damage that could have been inflicted on the school had it been otherwise!

As far as the impact on the kids is concerned, I know that opinion is divided. I am told that some at the school feel sufficiently bitter about the lack of consultation that they will not even watch the show. Apparently the student body knew nothing about anything until GS drew up in his limo - even then they had no idea who he was! Why should they?

The Year 9 music group were genuinely astonished when this extraordinary looking new teacher stared in at them through the classroom window and then shouted "YEAH!" very loudly at the poor girl in the front row.

In spite of this, I cannot help feeling that there may be a hint of jealousy in the attitude of those at the school who profess to feel that the students have been exploited for the sake of money - money for Gene Simmons, RDF and (I certainly hope!) the school.

As far as the ten children in "the Class" are concerned - especially those chosen for the band - I have no doubt that they have enjoyed a tremendous experience which will be of huge educational advantage. They are, in my view, exceptionally fortunate children. Even Camilla, who is genuinely quite shy and who was the most reluctant "to let herself go" (her words, not mine) concedes that the experience has taught her a lot. After talking to her mum, she decided that she should try to get more involved, and the result .........? Well, you will have to wait and see!! She never got to like pop music, but .....

I have spoken to the mother of one of the children involved and I have seen what Josh's Mum said on the American forum - as parents, they are unreservedly thrilled with the educational opportunity afforded to their children. Let's hope they are right!

[Richard Ruck]

As for my 'moral indignation' whatever that means - what do you know about my morals? - my objections were based more on aesthetic criteria and some awareness in my dotage of what life has to offer, things I would like CH to introduce to kids. Arrogance, greed and lust are not on that list and there are plenty of others who will encourage them to indulge in those without CH spending resources on featuring them.
In the end, perhaps accidentally, these became irrelevant to the kids which is good.
As for some of the posts dribbling over the money and the girls- oh, come on!

The 'moral indignation' bit wasn't directed at you - it was just a general comment. I don't know anything about your morals, and I'm sorry if you think I was implying otherwise.

Having said that, the criticisms you make do reveal certain concerns which don't seem to be shared by those other posters who have seen fit to comment.

As for 'dribbling' over money and girls, well, if you're including my post in
this, perhaps I should have had the foresight to add to show that I wasn't being 100% serious.

Not that I wasn't dribbling, of course...

I really don't see that 'arrogance, greed and lust' are being encouraged, and certainly not by the school. As DavebytheSea mentioned, you have to consider the editing process in all this. I don't for one moment imagine that Gene Simmons, off-camera, was encouraging these kids to pursue riches and fornication above all other things.

In my view, all he was doing was to try to convey a certain 'attitude' which might be a prerequisite in his particular branch of the entertainment industry.

I also have to endorse the point made by englishangel : "How can you know what to reject if you have no experience?" - the kids involved have evidently NOT shared many of Gene's experiences (yet), but they are now at least have some first-hand awareness of the potential rewards and, perhaps, some of the pitfalls of his chosen lifestyle.

I may be wrong, but the kids involved seem like a very bright bunch, and I'm sure that they won't be too troubled by this experience.

Finally, you mention Bono. Fine in a way, but U2 aren't 'Rock' in the same way as Kiss - they are better musicians, and probably more successful, but the contrast would not be sufficiently pronounced for the needs of the programme.

Why do you think the group played as support for Motorhead, rather than, say, Will Young?

Anyway, I hear that Cliff Richard's at a bit of a loose end at the moment - perhaps they should have enlisted him instead........

[Great Plum]

I think the kids actually made Simmons think twice about his life rather than the other way round - they ceta\inly weren't swayed by him...

[englishangel]

I couldn't get onto the forum over the weekend so I have a bit of catching up to do.

Gene Simmons going to a strip club, aaahh,

I believe it was Stringfellows and everyoone bar the Queen (and me) seems to have been there, I think even Margaret Thatcher went once.

What is the world coming to?

(and don't say Ravel's Bolero)

[Richard Ruck]

I couldn't get onto the forum over the weekend so I have a bit of catching up to do.

Gene Simmons going to a strip club, aaahh,

I believe it was Stringfellows and everyoone bar the Queen (and me) seems to have been there, I think even Margaret Thatcher went once.

What is the world coming to?

(and don't say Ravel's Bolero)

I do hope Mrs. T. wasn't performing at Stringfellows........