Parents and kids will share the stage Thursday as members of the Fairview Community Rock Band

AUBURN – While his fingers plucked the strings of his electric bass, Trevor Laliberte, 10, strutted his best “Guitar Hero” strut.

He leaned back and thumped on the strings like Red Hot Chili Peppers’ bassist Flea. And when he grew bored on stage, he swaggered to the floor below.

Mike Laliberte – Trevor’s bandmate and father – watched and grinned.

For the first time, he shared the spotlight with his son.

“We’ve always brought him to lessons and watched,” Mike Laliberte said. “This is cool.”

It will be even cooler when the father and son take the stage together Thursday at Auburn’s Festival Plaza. They’ll be part of the 23-piece Fairview Community Rock Band, a collection of moms and dads, sons and daughters and even an uncle.

At 7 p.m., the band’s two keyboards, three guitars, flute, clarinet, tambourine, drums and cowbell will run through several rock ‘n’ roll classics. They’ll include the Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” the J. Geils Band’s “Must Have Got Lost” and Sam & Dave’s “Soul Man.”

“It finally worked,” said music teacher Brian Gagnon, who created the band from his Fairview Elementary students, his pupils from the summertime “Camp of Rock” he leads at Central Maine Community College in Auburn and their parents.

In 2007, he tried to get folks interested but too few signed on to the Fairview Community Band. This year, he added the word “rock” to the name.

That’s all it took.

He hoped to entice kids on the musical bubble, kids deciding whether they are interested enough in music to attend rehearsals and perform in public.

The teacher figured bringing in parents might convince kids to stick with music, especially if the songs were classic rock tunes.

Together, the kids and parents played like professionals.

At a rehearsal last week, they cruised through the set list without lots of chitchat. Gagnon did his best to lead the musicians, shouting out notes and keys as they plowed through “Soul Man.”

A pair of moms sang lead vocals on the ’60s rocker, known for its recording by Blues Brothers John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd.

Tammy Leferriere sang while her husband, Kevin, played drums. Morgan, 10, sang beside her mom while Ryan, 6, pulled up a drum with his dad.

Kevin and Tammy were both high-school musicians. Tammy majored in music in college. It was the first time the whole family shared the stage, though.

As the set list shifted to the J. Geils Band, Tammy sat, Gagnon took the microphone and Mike Laliberte kicked up his playing for a while, banging on the bongos for the percussion-only verses.

Meanwhile, his son Trevor rocked out, hopping up and down as the refrain began.

The boy would have been here with or without the parent-kid cooperation, said Mike Laliberte.

He’s a rocker, Gagnon said later.

“In the classroom, he’s the quietest, most respectful kid,” the teacher said. “On stage, he’s a monster.”

Percussion group will also play in plaza

AUBURN – Joining the Fairview Community Rock Band in Festival Plaza Thursday, Aug. 14, will be the West African & Latin American Percussion Group, another Fairview School Community musical group.

Both groups feature parents and their children performing side by side.

The percussion group will perform rhythms on djembes, congas, bongos and various other shakers and bells. The band will perform classic rock tunes.

The outdoor concert will begin at 7 p.m.

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