Founder rocks on with new academy
NORWALK — On a recent afternoon at Factory Underground, a small group of preteen and teenage rockers sat on mismatched couches in a recording studio with their attention fixed on Paul Green.
He stood before them, dressed in jeans, a black tee and matching Adidas, and taught them about the process of a demo and classic covers that made songs better. Then he led them into an impromptu jam session to “All The Young Dudes.”
“What’s a song?” Green asked the group, looking around the room expectantly and then saying matter-of-factly, “It’s chords and a melody.”
That scene was reminiscent of when Green started the original School of Rock in his living room years ago and grew it to more than 50 locations before leaving in 2010. But he never stopped teaching music to children from then until now.
One way he has managed to do that is by starting the Paul Green Rock Academy in Philadelphia and in Norwalk, with hopes of having 25 musicians of ages 10-18 at each location. Official auditions will be held in July for the yearround program to work on David Bowie’s music, a recording project with Yes frontman Jon Anderson, professional residencies, guest star shows and a culminating tour.
With about a dozen in Norwalk academy already, Green said he was pleasantly surprised by the group of young musicians who meet at Factory Underground.
“I hate the word talent,” Green said. “Talent seems to take away the achievements of human beings and giving it some sort of nebulous genetics. I know a lot of successful people and they all just tend to work a little harder than everyone else.
“So my program is always about, ‘How hard are you willing to work to get where you want to go?’ ” he said.
Green was approached by Loren Teolis, a Wilton mom of two “rocker kids” in search of more challenging and engaging musical opportunities in the area.
Teolis said Green’s way of teaching music aligned with hers, with a focus on theory and history as well as fun, teamwork and character development.
She reached out to Green in February and started recruiting students about a month ago, as the program director and head of admissions at the Paul Green Rock Academy of Connecticut.
The results so far have produced fruitful teamwork, she said.
“I find that when the kids are together, it’s a team sport. If your drummer isn’t good enough, your band isn’t good enough. And so, everybody really works on the exact same team and they root for each other to be better,” Teolis said.
“Or else,” Green chimed in. Charlotte Hamilton said Green’s plans and vision for music education aligned well with hers, too. His academy not only embodies the spirit of rock and roll, but also offers a place where she can perform with like-minded musicians.
“It’s great having kids my age and kids with common abilities,” Hamilton, 17, of New Canaan, said. “It makes for an interesting music and learning environment.”
This kind of development among musicians fits well with Factory Underground’s mission, said Ethan Isaac, owner and producer of the recording studio downtown. He called the collaboration between his studio and the rock academy a great marriage of businesses.
“Paul is creative and one of the most famous cutting-edge brands in music education,” Isaac said, “and being able to have him working in our space is really inspiring for all of us.”
Green first became inspired to play music at a young age, looking at albums his guitarist mom owned at 4 years old. He soon picked up guitar himself and went from being “Paul the nerdy kid to Paul the nerdy kid playing the guitar,” which is a big difference, he notes.
It’s this transformative power of music that drove Green to play and to teach music. At the original School of Rock in Philadelphia, Green hung the words on the Statue of Liberty over the front door: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”
“Because music does that. You take the most awkward person in the world and put a bass in her hand, and suddenly she’s a bass player,” Green said. “And that’s the cool thing to me.”