Veteran musicians who rocked the revered CBGB and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are supposed to be jaded, not invigorated by prepubescents tackling “Stairway to Heaven.”
But Bryan Ewald, an in-demand live and session guitarist, swears teaching classic rock to kids as young as 8 keeps him energized.
“There were songs I had forgotten about or was sick of, but then I started teaching them, and I fell in love with the genius of the songs again by seeing them through the kids’ eyes,” said Ewald, 36, Baltimore School of Rock’s music director. “Teaching kids how to play this wonderful music that was written long before they were born, you see the enthusiasm and energy that they’re putting into the songs. And if you watch them play, you see the songs through a whole new light.”
School of Rock, the nationwide franchise that inspired Jack Black’s 2003 comedy of the same name, attempts to “save rock ‘n’ roll one kid at a time” through private lessons on guitar, bass, drums, vocals and keyboards and weekly three-hour band rehearsals building up to the final event — a live show at the 8X10 in Federal Hill.
“Any musician you talk to would have jumped at any opportunity like this,” Ewald said. “Trying to find a band can be hard when you’re young, especially before you can drive. Most kids would kill to have somebody to play with rather than practicing alone in their bedroom with a CD.”
More than 100 kids, 8 to 18, find stage partners at the Baltimore school.
Two of the local Zappas-in-training there, learning classic hooks and killer riffs, are brothers Alex and Nathan Leach.
“Rehearsal is the most fun part of the day for me,” said Nathan, 12. “And the school’s definitely made me more comfortable doing things. My first show was in the spring of the fifth grade. As we drove up there, I was building up a couple of nerves, and I didn’t know what to do. But then I was on for the first song, and I came out and was relaxed and cool. People were cheering for me and stuff. At the David Bowie show, for “Young Americans,” all the music stopped, I sung “Break down and cry” and everyone was clapping. I was like I did it right and people liked it. It was so awesome.”
Nathan and his older brother owe their budding rock star status to their parents and a bumper sticker.
In January 2007, their mom, Annette, scribbled down the school’s phone number while driving.
About a year and a half later, not only have her sons learned classic rock’s mystique, but Annette, a reproductive endocrinologist, is getting in on the act.
Encouraged by her husband, she’s resurrected her piano know-how to master the keyboard, and last semester she began taming the bass.
“It’s probably the most fun I’ve had in years,” she said about practicing with other grad school students and performing at Rams Head Live. “My husband and other members of my family and my friends have noticed it. They ask me about it and tell me my eyes light up when I talk about it.”
“Being able to get back into music is like a reawakening,” she continued. “July 10 was my last show and [this past Wednesday night] was my first practice since the show. I was so excited for it.”
Annette will be back on stage for the next semester of adult classes, called grad school.
“Getting up there is anxiety provoking, but once you start it’s exhilarating,” she said. “You get a real rush. And it goes way too quickly.
It’s really just fun — the audience knows the song, and they sing and even kind of dance and get into it. Connecting with the audience is one of the things I really like about the whole experience.”
Baltimore’s School of Rock
515 W. Cold Spring Lane
Info: 410-366-7625, www.schoolofrock.com
Upcoming Shows
A Tribute to the Police, 7 p.m., Oct. 3 and 4
Women of Rock, 7 p.m., Oct. 10 and 11
A Tribute to Van Halen, 7 p.m., Oct. 17 and 18
All shows are at The 8×10, located at 10 E. Cross St. in Baltimore.
