IIM’s second day began with the third Young Rockers group (this one made up of 7 boys) who were challenged in finding a song choice they could agree on. It took a great deal of discussion and compromise, but in the end, they all agreed on “Proud Mary” by Credence Clearwater Revival. Instrument choices were moving along easily until they hit a wall with deciding who would play drums. The eventual solution was to have one student on the drum set and the other trying out his skills on a cajon. Dave Kelly worked with the 2 guitarists and 1 bassist on their parts, while Habiba Miller worked with the singer, and Rick Stevens taught the keyboard player. By the end of the session, they made it through the introduction and first verse.
Next, the staff assembled the 14 Rockers 1 & 2 students in the Library to kick off their first 2-hour session. After introducing everyone, they split into 3 bands, learned about Load In/Load Out procedures, helped set up their equipment, and began by selecting their first song. One band chose “With a Little Help from My Friends” by the Beatles, one selected Paramore’s “Anklebiters”, and the third group settled on “Jump” by Van Halen, after realizing they really didn’t want to do either of the remaining songs from the Orientation packet. There was a great deal of internal support visible in all three band situations, as everyone worked together to set up equipment, select songs and teach each other parts. All in all, an excellent beginning to our first week of IIM!