THE WHO’S ROGER DALTREY VISITS ACM@UCO FOR MASTER CLASS

 
For students at the Academy of Contemporary Music at the University of Central Oklahoma (ACM@UCO) the question wasn’t where or when, but who would appear at their first master class on Oct. 21.

Turns out the “who” was actually a “Who.”

The 160 students in the ACM@UCO’s inaugural class, along with special guests including members of The Flaming Lips and UCO President Roger Webb, stood and cheered as Roger Daltrey, lead singer of the legendary rock band The Who, came on stage as the surprise master class guest at the Maker’s Straight Up lounge, located downstairs from the ACM@UCO’s Bricktown facility.

Daltrey participated in a lively, 90-minute question and answer session led by ACM@UCO CEO Scott Booker, allowing students to interact personally with a pioneer in the music industry.

He talked extensively about his history with band mates Pete Townshend, Keith Moon and John Entwistle, with whom he began performing with in the early 1960’s. Entwistle and Moon have passed away, but Daltrey and Townshend still perform together occasionally as The Who.

“You become more than family in a way…you touch on different bits of the human journey. What really matters is what you create with the music.”

Daltrey advised students to be mindful of protecting their ears when they perform, saying band mate Entwistle was almost completely deaf the last seven years of his life and had to rely on vibrations from an amplifier to stay in rhythm.

However, when asked if he had any advice for the students on performing The Who’s “I Can’t Explain,” the song the students had been assigned to learn and perform later that week, he said no.

“Perform it how you feel it,” he said.

Daltrey’s appearance is the first of what will be many visits by music industry icons.  Since announcing the ACM@UCO’s creation last fall, the so-called “School of Rock” has generated worldwide buzz about its innovative, ground-breaking approach to music education – the first of its kind in the United States.