I.B. Is O.K.

Singer/guitarist Allen Camp says Misguided Children "spent a lot of time in a van eating peanut butter" in the late '80s, early '90s. The high point for his hardcore punk band was when Eddie Vedder booked them. (Before Pearl Jam, Vedder organized some shows in San Diego.)

Now, at 35, Camp plays in Fuzz Huzzi. His day job is music program director for the City of Imperial Beach; Camp oversees a 32-track digital recording studio located at I.B.'s Sports Park on Imperial Beach Boulevard. The studio, with microphones, guitar amps, and a drum set, is for the use of any local teens that want to record.

"We only have about 5 percent that are hip-hop," says Camp. "We cater mostly to bands." Kids who don't live in I.B. can use the studio for $10 an hour; the studio is available for adults at $25 an hour. "These kids don't have any money.... If a kid wants to come in and use the facility and they have no money, they can earn their keep." Bands can work off their studio debt by cleaning the studio or working as stagehands or performing at the monthly multiband shows at the Sports Park's 600-capacity gym.

Camp knows of no other city with such a program and says that he and his boss James Coates aren't done.

"The next thing we want to do is build a rehearsal studio," says Camp. "We're going to get Pro Tools and then have a crash course and teach kids how to use it."

Adam Baez, 20, of the Lost Identities says the biggest challenge "...is getting bands to believe that it even exists. I've been going there for three or four years."

After a two-month break, the I.B. Sports Center live-band series resumes January 20. Admission is usually $5. Camp can be contacted at 619-628-1385.