For many young people, dreaming of rock-and-roll stardom and starting a band almost seems to be a rite of passage. For decades teenagers have been sort-of learning to play instruments, getting together with some friends, and writing songs that they know in their hearts will not only be their ticket to stardom, but will somehow change the world. But for every band that actually achieves some level of success, there are countless others that never even make it out of the garage.

In For Those Who Tried To Rock, the upcoming book from The Academy of the Recent Past (the minds behind Camp Camp), the stories of these would-be rock legends are finally told in the form of hand-written lyrics, homemade music videos, and any other leftover artifacts from the short-lived music careers of all those who never “made it.” On the For Those Who Tried To Rock website, where visitors are urged to submit their stories to be included in the book, editors Mervyn Tonin and Mel Schranz make it clear that they believe there is something truly great about these stories:

“We love you just the same if your band became the stuff or local legend or if it lasted little longer than the time it took to snap the photograph. We don’t care whether the band recorded original material or covers. We only care that you give us the chance to pay homage to your greatness.”

From the handful of stories currently featured on the site, you can already tell that For Those Who Tried To Rock is going to be the kind of book that is tough to put down. In addition to the promotional photos and press clippings, we also get to read the reflections of the now grown up former rockers looking back on what they thought was just the beginning of them fulfilling their musical destiny. It sounds a little sad, but most of the submissions come from people who have fond memories of their past and enjoy looking back on the period of their lives when they allowed themselves to have larger than life dreams. For Those Who Tried To Rock is proof that while not everyone gets to be a rock star, everyone can at least try.

Tags: Camp Camp, For Those Who Tried To Rock