Get out of the practice room.
Into the studio. Onto the stage.
Fly to Calgary, Canada, for four days at a real recording studio. You rehearse with a pro rhythm section, record in the live room, and play a gig at the end of it. In person, with me.
Get on the waitlist- Planned for May 2027
- 5 players
- OCL Studios, Calgary AB
Let me show you the studio.
A quick walk through OCL Studios, and what four days at LIVE looks like.
Get on the LIVE waitlist
Dates, price and the full plan go to the waitlist first.
You'll hear before anyone else.
You know the songs. In your room.
It's time to get out of the room.
LIVE bridges the gap to performing:
- For your family.
- At garage band jams.
- At open mic nights and open stages.
- Even at gigs.
Right now, that's a skill you haven't had the chance to build. After these four days, you'll know what it's like to play, jam and perform with and for other people.
Nobody can teach you that from a screen.
One of my students told me what his daughter said to him:
"Dad, you're a music collector, not a music performer."A student's daughter
That one stings. And it's true for a lot of us.
Courses and YouTube are fine for learning pieces. They'll never get you ready to play with other musicians. The only way to get there is to go do it.
So for four days, that's all we do.
Put me on the listWhere my band made our record.
OCL Studios sits on an acreage just east of Calgary. It's a real residential recording studio. Live room, control room, a rehearsal and jam space, bedrooms, kitchen, the works. My old band Mount Rushka recorded our album there.
Living at the studio while we made that record was an amazing experience. I want you to have that too.
Awh man, that control room. I've never heard a sound system like it.
Most of what I know about playing in a band, I learned in rooms like that one. Counting in. Locking in with a drummer. Punching in and doing overdubs. Hearing yourself back for the first time.
Jimi Hendrix didn't learn guitar from YouTube.
So I'm bringing you into the room.
You go home having...
- Discovered an entire roadmap for playing blues and rock solos all over the fretboardThe roadmap
- Learned how to set up your own guitar and dial in your amp settingsYour gear
- Gone to some of the best guitar and music stores Canada has to offerGuitar Safari
- Gone behind the scenes at Canada's National Music CentreBehind the scenes
- Toured the mobile recording studio that recorded Led Zeppelin IVMusic history
- Rehearsed with a pro drummer and bassistThe band
- Learned how to jam with other guitaristsJams
- Recorded in a pro studio, then punched in extra parts in the control roomThe studio
- Played and sang around a campfireCampfire
- Soundchecked a real venueSoundcheck
- Played a gigShowtime
Plus your recording, video of your performance, the fretboard handbook, new friends who play, and a plan to keep playing with other people once you're home.
A day at LIVE
Every day's a little different. Most of them go something like this.
- Morning clinic
- Afternoon band
- Evenings together
Learn it in the morning. Play it with the band in the afternoon.
That's how you get from the practice room... to the stage.
- BreakfastCoffee's onHome cooking at the big table. Guitars come out early.
- MorningClinicOne hour on my fretboard roadmap, with 1-on-1 support in a group setting.
- LunchRefuelBack to the table for more delicious, healthy, home-cooked food.
- AfternoonThe bandDial in your amp. Play your parts. Take your solos. Then we record it in the live room.
- Free timeOpen jamsPlay with the other campers.
- Late dayListen backToday's takes on the big speakers in the control room.
- DinnerEverybody at one tableThis is where the best music talk happens.
- EveningThe campfire, or we drop the needleWeather willing, we pass an acoustic around the fire. Or we head into the control room to drop the needle: everyone picks one song off my vinyl or Spotify, tells us why it matters, and we all listen.
- NightSleep at the studioYour room's just down the hall. It all soaks in overnight, and you wake up a better player than you were yesterday.
Mornings learning. Afternoons playing.
You'll get the songs before you arrive, so you show up practised. We spend the week rehearsing and performing, not learning parts.
The fretboard roadmap
My personal roadmap for playing rock and blues all over the neck, built on licks you already love.
We review it all on the last morning. You take the handbook home, so it keeps going after you leave.
The band
A pro drummer and bassist, there for you. You dial in your tone, play your parts, trade solos and learn what it takes to be a band. Count-ins. Dynamics. What to do when it goes sideways.
The studio
We track the band live in OCL's live room. Then you head into the control room to overdub or punch in your parts, the way the pros do it. You go home with the recording.
Open jams
Every day there's time to go off and play. Two small groups and a full backline. One guy takes the lead, the others hold down the rhythm. Get ready to play a ton - it's all about putting in the reps.
Guitar Safari, then the National Music Centre.
One day we load up and head into Calgary.
Hit Calgary's best guitar shops.
We go from shop to shop, one after another.
I know a lot of the owners, so they'll be expecting us.
Play everything. Ask questions. And if something speaks to you, you've got a working guitarist right beside you to talk it through.
Tour the truck that recorded the Stones, Zeppelin, and more.
The National Music Centre is a five-floor music museum in downtown Calgary, with over 2,000 instruments, amps and pieces of gear. We're doing two guided tours with their music educators.
On one, the guides go behind the glass and play the historic instruments, so you hear them, not just see them. On the other, we go backstage into their working recording studios and see pieces most of the public never gets near.
Then there's the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. Built in 1968, it was the first pro recording studio on wheels, and the truck Deep Purple sang about in "Smoke on the Water." Records cut through it include:
Two historic, must-go spots for music lovers.
After the National Music Centre, we walk across the street to the King Eddy, Calgary's historic blues bar, for dinner together.
Another night, we head to the Langdon Firehouse, a cool rock venue just down the road from the studio.
There's often a band on at both.
Then we drop the needle.
Needle Drop
It's a game I play at home with family and friends. Now it's on the best sound system you've ever experienced.
We put the day's takes on first. Then we go around the room. Everyone picks one song, off my vinyl crates or Spotify, and tells us why it matters. Then you drop the needle and everyone listens, start to finish.
Whoever's holding the mic talks. Everyone else listens. It's the best way I know to end a long day.
The campfire
We build a fire and pass an acoustic around.
You've been on the audience side of that feeling. Being the performer? That's something you've gotta experience.
I'll show you how to play at family get-togethers. When you're the background music, when you're the main event, and what to play for each. Lyric sheets are handed around. Everyone's got a voice, so we use it and keep it loose.
Then you play a gig.
Soundcheck. Walk onto a stage. Count it in.
You play the songs you've been rehearsing all week, with a real band behind you, in front of real people. If your partner came along, they're in the front row.
The plan is a rock venue just down the road from the studio. It's all filmed, so you go home with video of your performance.
This is the part you've been practising for.
You live at the studio.
No hotel, no commute. For four days, OCL is where you sleep, eat, rehearse, record and jam.
Where
OCL Studios, Chestermere, Alberta. Out in the country, just east of Calgary.
Your room
Your own room with a queen bed. Simple and clean, like a friend's guest room. A few steps from the live room.
The food
Every meal's covered. My wife Lindsay is cooking, home-cooked, right there in the studio kitchen, and we all eat together. Drinks are on you.
Getting here
Fly into Calgary International Airport (YYC), then rent a car or grab an Uber out to the studio.
This is for you if...
It's a fit if
- You've been playing for years and you know the basics, but you're looking for more.
- You've done the courses and YouTube, and you're ready for the next step.
- You want to play real songs with real musicians, not along to a track, and feel what that's like (yes, it's as awesome as you imagine).
- You've always wondered what it's like to record in a proper studio.
- You've always been curious how to jam with other people and get a song together, start to finish.
- You'd be nervous on a stage, and you want to do it anyway.
It's not a fit if
- You're just starting out on guitar.
- You're looking for another course or a clinic to sit and watch.
- You'd rather keep it in the practice room.
Five players. That's it.
Five players means everyone gets real time in the band, in the studio and on the stage. Nobody gets lost at the back of a room.
A couple of my students asked if they could bring their partners before I'd even picked a date. So yes, there are a few guest spots too.
- Backstage students hear first.My one-on-one students get first access, and they can prep their songs with me in their lessons.
- Then the waitlist.Dates, price and the full plan go to you before anyone else.
- Then you decide.If May fills up, you're first in line for the next one.
You're closer than you think.
Rip It Up LIVE was born out of what I kept hearing from my students.
They wanted to play for their family. Or put together a short set list for a mini gig, an open mic or a jam session.
Problem is, you're stuck in your practice room. No band, no connections, and nobody to show you how it all works.
LIVE bridges that gap. It's where you start experiencing the other side of playing guitar - the actual fun part. Playing with other musicians, and for your friends and family.
There's another side to music. And you're closer than you think.
Will
Lead guitarist in Rev Theory. Teaching guitar for about 20 years, to over 2,000 students.
The short answers
When is it?
It's planned for May 2027, over four days. The exact dates go to the waitlist first.
Where is it?
OCL Studios in Chestermere, Alberta, just east of Calgary.
How do I get there?
Fly into Calgary International Airport (YYC). From there, rent a car or take an Uber out to the studio. A rental's the safest bet for getting back to the airport at the end.
Where do I stay?
At the studio. You get your own room with a queen bed. Simple and clean, nothing fancy, and a few steps from the live room.
What about meals?
Covered. My wife Lindsay is cooking on site, and we eat together as a group. We'll also eat out together a couple of times. Drinks are on you. Tell me about any allergies or dietary needs and we'll take care of you.
Can I bring my partner?
There are a few guest spots. Guests share your room, eat with us, join the city day and the campfire, and they're front row for the show. Guest details go to the waitlist first.
How much is it?
The price goes to the waitlist first, along with the dates.
Do I need to be in Backstage?
No. Backstage students hear first, and the waitlist is next in line.
Am I good enough?
If you've been playing for years and you can get through some chords and bits and pieces of songs, you're who this is built for. You don't need to be stage-ready. That's what the four days are for.
Does joining the waitlist commit me to anything?
No. It means you hear first. When the details are out, you decide.
Be first in the room.
You've put in the hours in the practice room. This is where it gets played for real. With a band, on a record, in front of people.
Put your name on the list and you'll hear first when the dates are set.
Put me on the listKeep on rippin' it up.
Will
P.S. Five players, planned for May 2027. Dates and price go to the waitlist before anyone else. Get on the LIVE waitlist here.
