Students learn tune of music industry

LONDON -- Many university students find their book bags weighed down by Freud, Shakespeare, biology texts or accounting tomes, so feel no pity for Graham Parker, whose homework consists of listening to Stevie Ray Vaughan and other masters.\n"Texas blues, that's my favorite," said Parker, an 18-year-old student at the Powerhouse, an unusual rock and roll college affiliated with Thames Valley University. \nFour days a week, he attends classes at the Powerhouse, where students learn the music business with an eye toward becoming well-rounded professionals who can earn a living doing what they love -- even if they don't become rock stars or brilliant songwriters.\nFor Parker, who bears the same name as a famous British rocker, it's a big step up from the garden shed where he and his band used to try to match the blistering pace of Vaughan's classic blues ensemble, Double Trouble. At the time, his beleaguered parents wouldn't let him practice in the house because the din was overwhelming.\nThe Powerhouse, in an industrial section of west London near the neighborhood where The Who made its name, was founded in 1983 by Francis Seriau, a French drummer who believed that French rock music fell short of international standards. \nSeriau said classical and jazz schools would only accept prospective musicians with a wide range of experience, closing the door to beginners. He said that his school, in contrast, helps students who are starting from scratch, as long as they are not tone deaf and rhythm-challenged.\nSeriau said that pop music has become a substantial business in Britain -- the sixth largest industry in terms of export revenue, generating more than $1.9 billion a year -- and that there is plenty of room for his graduates who have developed a wide range of skills. Students can choose between a three-year curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree or a one-year course.\n"Most of our degree students are working in the industry," Seriau said. \nStudents have gone on to play in a number of prominent British bands, including Radiohead, Massive Attack, the Cure and others. \n"Our aim is to enable them to have a job, not to be a rock star but to have a job." Seriau said. \nThe Powerhouse is one of the few colleges where the life of Jimi Hendrix is interpreted as a source of inspiration rather than a cautionary tale. But instructors take a modern, post-60s approach. Students are taught to read music -- a skill that John Lennon and McCartney lacked when they wrote their million-sellers. They are also told how to manage their business affairs so they won't need a handout after a busy career.\nSeminars with famed session musicians are common. Occasionally a full-fledged star shows up, like Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith. He recently taught a master class session.