School of Rock (not the movie)

[Deep Eddy]

I know people are often looking for others to jam with, so I thought I'd share what I'm doing. For the past few months I've been taking an adult class (called Grad School) at the local School of Rock music school. It's been a ton of fun. We get together once per week to play, and we're putting together a 16 song set that we'll play in an area bar sometime in April. We have 4 guitar players, one bass player, 2-3 singers (one of whom plays keyboards) and 2 drummers. Everyone is a pretty solid player, so that makes it cool.

We're doing some Black Crowes, Stones, Zeppelin, Pretenders and Tom Petty songs, too. I'm playing bass on a couple of songs, too. Our drummer is 18 y.o., and he's a good sport about playing all this "dad rock." What's really been great about the class is that it has forced me to finally learn a number of songs and solos that I have dabbled at over the years. I've finally nailed the solo from Just What I Needed, and I'm getting close on the solo in Shake it Up by The Cars.

I know the SoR is a competitor to Mark (at least in the Orange County area), but for those of us outside of LA, it's not. If you have one near you and you're looking for someone to jam with, you should look into whether it offers a similar class.

 

[Peeker]

sounds pretty cool

 

[BrammyH]

I've always been interested in this. Unfortunately, none of their locations near me have the Grad school program.

 

[angry tele]

a friend of mine I grew up with made the documentary rock school...its pretty cool
this is the one in Philly I think the original one

 

[angry tele]

playing The Cars aint no joke...dudeman Elliot Easton bends all the time and if you dont have the ear for it the solo sounds like cats being raped

 

[Jeremy]

Let me know when and where that show is, I'll come out

Our singer owns the school of rock in Plainfield, I wonder if he'd ever do one of these adult classes.

 

[Deep Eddy]

playing The Cars aint no joke...dudeman Elliot Easton bends all the time and if you dont have the ear for it the solo sounds like cats being raped

I don't even want to think about adding up all the time I've spent on those solos. It would just be embarrassing. But having a weekly class has forced me to really practice in a focused way. A lot less noodling and more time learning new things.

 

[SpeedRacer]

Mark offers those types of classes at his school. They are really fun!

 

[Kerouac]

The one here is closing up shop. We've had several students come to us at LMA that had awful experiences there. It's a franchise, so your in-lesson experience can vary a LOT.

 

[Deep Eddy]

The one here is closing up shop. We've had several students come to us at LMA that had awful experiences there. It's a franchise, so your in-lesson experience can vary a LOT.

Completely agree. The couple that owns this franchise has a great physical facility, plus they are genuinely interested in growing a business that is part of the community. They recently held a fundraiser featuring local bands and restaurants to raise money to create a scholarship fund to provide financial assistance to kids who want music lessons but don't have the financial resources for it.

 

[BrammyH]

I wish there was something like this in the MA Metrowest area.

Or if there was, it was better advertised.

 

[Jeremy]

The one here is closing up shop. We've had several students come to us at LMA that had awful experiences there. It's a franchise, so your in-lesson experience can vary a LOT.

Completely agree. The couple that owns this franchise has a great physical facility, plus they are genuinely interested in growing a business that is part of the community. They recently held a fundraiser featuring local bands and restaurants to raise money to create a scholarship fund to provide financial assistance to kids who want music lessons but don't have the financial resources for it.

Yep. I've heard some horror stories, and I don't doubt them for a minute. I know the specific franchise that I'm familiar with is run by two of my closest friends, both of whom truly care about what they're teaching and the kids they're teaching it to.