We're very excited to announce the new themes for our upcoming season starting on September 25th! These are the musical themes students in the Performance Program will learn this Fall at School of Rock Tustin! Students enrolled in Performance attend a private lesson and a group rehearsal every week. In their private lesson, they learn the songs for their band along with the relevant music theory and technique to understand their songs and develop their musicianship. In their rehearsals, they play their songs with other students, preparing for a rock concert.
Monday 7-9pm Modern Metal
The Modern Metal show traces the evolution of metal music from the turn of the century to the present day, and focuses on bands who kept the virtuosic spirit of metal alive while incorporating more contemporary techniques into their sound, such as an emphasis on melody and harmony, and modern studio production. Artists such as Disturbed and Slipknot rose to prominence with the popularity of Nu-Metal, while Metalcore bands such as Killswitch Engage and The Dillinger Escape Plan brought the genre into the 2010s. The Modern Metal show will celebrate this next generation of metal artists - including Avenged Sevenfold, Tool, Baroness, Gojira, System of a Down, Lamb of God, Mastodon, and more! This is a super challenging show for all instruments, as the speed and precision of this music requires quite a bit of proficiency to master.
Tuesday 4-6pm Pop Punk & Emo
In the 1990s, artists such as Green Day, Offspring, and Blink-182 achieved success by blending punk attitudes and influences with a more polished, melodic, commercially appealing sound than their often raw predecessors. By the 2000s, Pop Punk and its Emo offshoot (featuring lyrics that touch on emotional and confessional topics) were fully entrenched in the mainstream music world, with bands such as Fall Out Boy, Paramore, My Chemical Romance, and Panic! At the Disco topping the charts and selling out arenas. Of course, this music is still incredibly popular and influential today. A fun show that can be musically challenging but also teaches solid fundamental skills, Pop Punk & Emo is sure to appeal to all levels of students and will entertain any crowd!
Wednesday 5:30-7:30pm Yacht Rock
Easy Listening. Dad Rock. The West Coast Sound. Whatever nomenclature you choose, Yacht Rock music has survived the test of time and has made an explosive, full-steam-ahead resurgence in today’s popular music. Mostly emerging from the late 70s to early 80s, Yacht Rock’s mellow moods and relaxing vibes overshadow the sublime musicianship and songwriting skills of artists like Steely Dan, Toto, Hall and Oates, The Doobie Brothers, Carole King, and many more. Steeped in jazz, R&B, and dense harmony theory, these songs feature collaborations between some of the best studio musicians in history. These enduring songs will surprise and challenge even the most advanced SoR student. There are multi-layered vocal harmonies for singers, jazz-inspired guitar parts and solos, legendary grooves for bassists and drummers, and intricate keyboard parts utilizing what were, at the time, innovative electric pianos and synthesizers. This is one of the most challenging shows in the School of Rock curriculum!
Thursday 7-9pm Rush
Rush was a Canadian rock band which formed in the late 60s and gained their popularity in the mid-70s and early 80s. The band’s classic lineup of Geddy Lee (bass, keys, vocals), Alex Lifeson (guitar), and Neil Peart (drums) went on to release 20 studio albums of heavy, progressive rock music that solidified them as one of the most prolific and proficient music acts in history. The band’s songs often utilized odd time signatures and non-traditional arrangements, with lyrics venturing into science fiction and fantasy. Classic songs like Tom Sawyer, The Spirit of Radio, Closer to the Heart, and Free Will helped Rush sell millions of records, earning their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013. Any student participating in the Rush show will be faced with performing some of the most complex music the SoR curriculum has to offer. Vocalists will stretch their ranges with Geddy Lee’s dynamic vocals, and bass players will be challenged by his unique, melodic style. Alex Lifeson’s guitar parts venture further from straight pentatonic riffs to modal playing. Drummers will have the challenging task of attempting some of the most complex drum parts in music history. Keyboard players will receive an education in innovative synth techniques. This show is sure to be an exciting, educational musical experience for all students intermediate and above!
Saturday 10-12pm Fleetwood Mac
One of the world’s best-selling bands, Fleetwood Mac formed as a British Blues group in 1967 and morphed into a chart-topping British-American pop band in the mid-1970s. Despite several band member iterations, the Fleetwood Mac’s best known lineup featured Mick Fleetwood (drums), John McVie (bass), Lindsey Buckingham (guitar/vocals), Christine McVie (keys/vocals), and Stevie Nicks (vocals). It was this lineup that recorded their most successful and critically acclaimed Rumors album, which featured hits like ‘Dreams’, ‘Go Your Own Way’, ‘The Chain’ and ‘Don’t Stop’. Throughout the remaining decades, Fleetwood Mac went on to produce material that, while somewhat popular, did not critically live up to the success of Rumors. Their May 1997 live concert on a soundstage in Burbank, CA, was recorded and subsequently released as The Dance, which premiered on MTV that year and brought the band back into the public spotlight and widespread popularity. Fleetwood Mac, including the Rumors-era and the original (Green, Kirwan, and Spencer) lineups, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Fleetwood Mac is an amazing show that will challenge vocal students to master harmonies, guitar players to learn the unorthodox fingerpicking style of Lindsey Buckingham, drummers to study Mick Fleetwood’s extremely versatile drumming, keyboardists to grasp how Christine McVie merged classical-training playing with rock improvisation, and bassists to learn from John McVie’s creative and rock-solid bass foundations.
Saturday 3:15-5:15pm One Hit Wonders
One Hit Wonders is a super fun show that students and parents will love! What constitutes a One-Hit Wonder? The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders defines the term as a musical act that registers on the Billboard Pop Top 40 chart once in their career. While there have been One Hit Wonders since the beginning of the Rock and Roll era, this show contains a heavy dose of ‘80s hits like “Come On Eileen” by Dexy’s Midnight Runners, “I Ran (So Far Away)” by Flock of Seagulls, and “Take On Me” by a-ha. There are also some ‘70s gems, such as “Mr. Big Stuff” by Jean Knight, and '90s favorites such as Semisonic’s “Closing Time” and Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumping”. While these artists might not be household names, the One Hit Wonders show presents a musical journey through some of Rock’s most infectiously memorable tunes. This show is great for all instruments and skill levels, and will put a smile on every Rock fan’s face!