School of Rock
The School
of Rock was originally started in Philadelphia. It has grown to
include nine branches: two additional schools in Pennsylvania, three
in New Jersey and recent additions in New York City, Salt Lake City
and San Francisco. Four more are planned to open in September 2005.
Aldo Noboa runs the newly formed San
Francisco branch, which is housed
in a sunny Victorian apartment above a popular nightclub. The youngest
student is 7-years-old and the oldest is 17. The school generally has
group and one-on-one lessons, with the goal of playing a show at the
end of every eight weeks. For their very first show the San Francisco
group played Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” in its entirety,
with a little direction from their Mohawk-sporting instructor.
The school is a day care,
after-school program, business and, above all, a band. Besides learning
classic rock, the students learn punctuality, responsibility, priorities
and social interaction.
“They learn to decide what’s important to them,” says
Noboa. “Even if they decide to blow off everything else, they
should know that they can’t be late to band practice.”
These kids are the guinea pigs, and their success and the success of
their teacher will set the foundation for all the future students, classes
and shows of the San Francisco School of Rock.
ENTER