Rock 'n' roll camp gives adults chance to live out music dreams
"I just kind of felt more empowered like I don’t have to go in my shell."
Alisa Mounts spends her days tending to her kids as a stay-at-home mom in California.
But recently, Mounts was able to live out her dream of being a rock star, taking the stage at the historic Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles.
"I felt like a rock star," Mounts told "Nightline" after belting out "Evil" by Cactus. "It's nerves and anxiety, but power and freedom and expression."
Mounts is one of the many campers who have attended "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp," which launched in 1997 giving campers a chance to hone their music skills with some of the top acts in the industry.
For some, the camp is more than just a dream come true, it is an opportunity to let go of life's stresses.
Music producer David Fischof founded the camp and said he wanted to give rock and rock enthusiasts an immersive experience.
"We take them back to their childhood, when before they had any issues in life and they find happiness through the music," he said.
The camp counselors have included Vanilla Fudge drummer Carmine Appice and the DeLeo brothers of the Stone Temple Pilots.
The four-day camp teaches campers a variety of musical skills, including writing and performing their own songs.
Mounts wrote and performed an original song that she wrote about love and relationships.
"I just kind of felt more empowered, like I don't have to go in my shell. I'm important too, it's OK to fight for what you want and how you feel," she said.
For fellow Rock and Roll Fantasy camper Jeff Cates, the experience is an emotional step in his personal rehabilitation journey.
Cates struggled with addiction in his 20s and served 13 years in prison for a series of robberies that he said he committed to support his drug habits.
He told "Nightline" that during his incarceration he joined a prison rock band and found hope.
"For that three or four hours that I was at band practice, I wasn't in prison anymore," he told "Nightline." "I was somewhere else."
Cates said he hopes Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp can help him get one step closer to his dreams of one day going on tour with a band.
During his camp performance at Whisky a Go Go, Cates performed Soundgarden's "Outshined" alongside the band's lead guitarist, Kim Thayil.
"My mind is just blown," Coates said. "I was crying off the stage just because [it's] overwhelming."
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