Let 'Ghosts of Rock' take you on musical journey inspired by Charles Dickens
It's a rock 'n' roll take on a classic Christmas tale.
"Ghosts of Rock" pays homage to rock's early roots while exploring what happens when music is threatened by the '80s electric pop scene.
The show, which is modeled after Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," will have three performances Friday-Sunday at the Cox Capitol Theatre.
"The story takes place in 1983. We were just coming off the whole classic rock era, the '70s," said Scott Colson, who created the show. "The concept is the Ghost of Rock Present, who is supposed to be keeping an eye on the rock scene, has kind of dropped the ball."
The Rock Gods look down and see hope in an up-and-coming boy band, but they are being led astray by the corporate music machine and "The Man" -- personified by a character named Theman, he said. The Gods decide to send in the Ghosts of Rock Past, Present and Future to help.
Just like in "A Christmas Carol," the Ghost of Rock Past shows up first. He is a grizzled British roadie who left a party in heaven to intercept the boys.
"He basically takes them on a blues and early rock 'n' roll journey," Colson said.
The Ghost uses a magic guitar to let the boys merge with blues legends like Bill Monroe, Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry.
"All of this is told through the stage and also a series of videos," Colson said. "For each song, we have a full dance team out on the stage. It's a big production."
The boys are inspired by their journey with the Ghost of Rock Past but then Theman "rears his ugly head again and kind of asserts his authority over them," prompting a visit from the Ghost of Rock Present.
This Ghost is a surfer dude who uses his magic mushrooms to take the boys on a psychedelic trip that includes Led Zeppelin, Kiss and Southern rock.
"Once again they're inspired, but again, Theman comes back and beats them back down," Colson said.
This sends in the Ghost of Rock Future -- the Rock Reaper -- who shows the boys two futures.
"One if they choose to rock where they have money, fame, chicks everything," Colson said. "And then one if they don't choose to rock in which they are cowering at Theman's feet living a miserable existence."
Throughout the production, Colson throws in his own love of music and exploration of the influences behind a band.
"I'm a little bit weird as I tend to go backward when I'm looking at music, in that I hear something I really like and I'm really interested to see who influenced that artist," he said. For example, Led Zeppelin is in the show and Colson learned they were heavily influenced by early bluesmen.
"I'm just fascinated to hear about how they were in England and trying to get their hands on all these blues albums they possibly can and they were just wearing them out," Colson said. "And when you hear the songs, you hear the influences and it's always fascinated me. 'Led Zeppelin 1' is basically a blues album and they took that music and took it to a whole new place."
He said this show is his way of conveying that passion for music influences. The show debuted last year at the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta and Colson is planning a tour in 2016.
"People like the show for different reasons," Colson said. "Some people like just the music because all of the music is really well done. Some people like that it's a comedy show; it's very funny. But a lot of people like the history; it's something they didn't know."
"Ghosts of Rock"
When: 7 p.m. Dec. 18-19 and 2 p.m. Dec. 20
Where: The Cox Capitol Theatre, 382 Second St.
Cost: $19 balcony seats; $25 floor seats
Information: www.Ghostsofrock.com; www.coxcapitoltheatre.com
"Ghosts of Rock" After Party
When: 9:30 p.m. Dec. 18-19
Where: The Hummingbird Stage and Taproom, 430 Cherry St.
Cost: Free with show ticket
Information: www.Ghostsofrock.com; www.coxcapitoltheatre.com
This story was originally published December 17, 2015 at 6:39 PM with the headline "Let 'Ghosts of Rock' take you on musical journey inspired by Charles Dickens ."