It completely changed me.
I mean, I would come in and I'd have this black hoodie
and I wouldn't talk to anyone and I'd just like,
no, no, don't look at me.
Now I'm very obviously drastically different
because I have bright pink hair
and demand attention everywhere.
Watching that transformation is pretty awesome
and fascinating.
You kind of watch this sort of social transformation
where all of a sudden they go from being
an introverted shy person to being somebody
that feels comfortable in their own skin
and freely able to express themselves.
And it's pretty awesome.
Maybe they're like the quiet kid in the corner all the time
and then all of a sudden they're just like
all over the stage, they're rocking out
and all their friends are in the front row cheering them on.
I think it really builds their self-confidence.
A lot of adults can't get on stage
and perform in front of so many people.
The kids, they find it in them and the more they do it,
the more comfortable they are.
Just as School of Rock went on,
it just gave me something to be excited about
and it gave me something to be passionate about
and gave me something to really care about.
School of Rock wasn't a part of my life.
I wouldn't have the relationships I have now.
I wouldn't have, I just wouldn't have the environment
that I have now.
My life would just be totally different.
I feel like it would have been way more boring
if I had School of Rock not happen.
It's completely making me a better person.
I have the drive to want to accomplish things more.
Like even in school, doing homework and turning in assignments,
I want to do it because I want to succeed
and have that feeling of, wow, I can do this
and I am really good at what I'm doing.
Whether it's as a hobby or whether it's
because it's their biggest passion in their life,
music can prepare you for so many things
and is important in our society.
With my girls, they've gotten a feeling of,
it's going to be hard, but I'm going to work at it
and I'm going to succeed and both of them
have been able to portray that in the rest of their life.
Teaching life lessons is a big part of what we do
and even though we're just trying to show them
how to play our favorite songs and guitar,
they learn a lot more than that.
It's really rewarding to work with a kid
who doesn't come in with a lot of self-esteem
and leaves in a short time with quite a bit more.
I remember students coming to me
as like little nine-year-olds didn't say a word
and I see them turn into these teenagers
who have a lot of personality.
As much as I loved building guitar amps
or I've done a bunch of different stuff,
I never had that sense of spiritual fulfillment
of watching a kid become excited
and grow as a musician and a person.
We were doing a show and one of the moms came up to me
and with tears in her eyes,
man told me, you saved my kid's life, really.
And he was going down a pretty bad path
and he found the school and just changed his life.
MUSIC
