BRYAN RESENDIZ

Music Director & Drums Teacher

Bryan Resendiz is a Music Director at the Highwood IL School. He will be teaching drums, and manage the ensemble rehearsals. Bryan is from Evanston, Illinois. His path through the world of rock 'n' roll began when Bryan got his first drum set in the 3rd grade. Bryan's musical inspiration came initially from his older sister's record collection of "The Police" and "Led Zeppelin." By age 12 and throughout his teens, Bryan performed live in bands and in studio settings.

In the summer of 1995 as a part of the Hello Dave band, Bryan played in venues from San Francisco and New York to Key West, while also headlining at the House of Blues, Park West, and the Vic Theater in Chicago. The band also performed on numerous radio and television programs including WGN-TV, WXRT, and WCKG. In 2002, Hello Dave was asked by the U.S.O to entertain American servicemen and servicewomen overseas. Between 2002 and 2005, Bryan played rock 'n' roll in the Pacific Islands, Asia, Europe, Africa and across the Middle East, culminating in an intense tour across Iraq.

Bryan recorded a full-length album for Hello Dave's "Perfect Day" in 2003. An opportunity to work closely with producer, Don Gehman (John Mellencamp, REM, Bruce Hornsby) and engineer Mark Dearnley (Paul McCartney, ACDC, XTC) made a lasting impression on how to create powerful music and capture great performances.

Bryan left the Hello Dave band in 2005 in order to focus on freelance music projects and a successful teaching practice at Kevin Connelley Drum Instruction in Skokie. Bryan continues to maintain a busy gigging schedule with a number of Chicago bands.

GORDON PATRIARCA

Music Director & Bass Teacher

Bassist Gordon Patriarca has been a lifetime resident of Chicago. As a child in the 1960's a transistor radio was a constant companion (under the pillow at bedtime) this radio would be tuned to one of the AM powerhouses WLS or WCFL and the gloriously diverse Top-40 sounds were the soundtrack of his childhood. The physical relationship with the electric bass began at age 16, this was fueled by the inevitable sibling rivalry with a younger brother who had become an above-average guitarist in only 3-4 years of playing. Not to be outdone (and using Cream bassist Jack Bruce as a role model) Patriarca picked the 4-stringed instrument and circumnavigated any comparisons with his junior kin. High School bands followed (now the radio was tuned to FM, Hard- Rock, Blues-Rock, Prog-Rock etc. it was the '70's) There was a bit of formal study with (now L.A. studio bassist) Paul Zibits.

After High School there was a couple of years of college (Northern ILL. University) where he was in an African percussion ensemble, and took various oddball music classes. The highlight of this college experience was probably his twice weekly shows as a DJ at the campus radio station. Leaving school to pursue the life of a working musician, Patriarca began his 25 year career with a "Who's Who" of Chicago musicians spanning Rock, Pop, Blues,and Country. Patriarca has played in at least 50 local bands (Remainders, Bad Examples, Anna Fermin, Cathy Richardson,Robbie Fulks, Satyagraha, Yardsale, Word Bongo,Urban Djinn,Jan James,Icos et.al) In the Blues/R&B arena he has gigged with Sugar Blue (harmonica on "Miss You"- the Rolling Stones), Matt "Guitar" Murphy (Memphis Slim, Blues Brothers),Johnny Johnson (Chuck Berry's pianist in the 1950's), Jimmy Johnson (Delmark and Alligator recording artist), Screaming Jay Hawkins( "I Put a Spell on You"), Dave Spector (Delmark) and others.

Patriarca has also worked with national acts doing tours with Survivor ("Eye of the Tiger") Spirit ("I Got a Line On You") and gigs with the Coasters, Drifters, Martha Reeves, the Shangri- Las, Sam Moore (Sam & Dave) In addition he has appeared on over 25 recordings including recent discs with James Burton ( session guitarist extrordanaire and Elvis Presley's guitarist 1970-'77), songwriters Josh Verbenets and Cameron McGill, roots-rocker Bucky Halker,instrumental combo, the Nitecallers and Honky-Tonk legend Urban Dijinn. Other recording highlights include the Icos CD "At the Speed of Life" recorded at Abbey Road studios in London. He has toured Europe twice with Blues-Rock chanteuse Jan James. At this point he calculates he has done close to 4000 gigs and remains active in the Chicago music scene.

JOSH THERRIAULT

Keyboards

Josh Therriault grew up in Chicago, Bucktown to be exact.  At an early age Josh loved music; he especially took a liking to blues men like Little Walter, Junior Wells, Little Richard and Ray Charles.  Josh’s father, a well known Chicago based Luthier, helped to cultivate this interest in music and always encouraged Josh to be open minded and to listen to a variety of music.  After graduating from Lane Tech High School on a music track, Josh went to Northeastern Illinois University where he quickly became a musical leader in all ensembles ranging from Varsity Big Band on Tenor Sax to Concert Band on Clarinet and saxophone with countless bands and combos where Josh performed on Sax, Keyboards and Clarinet in between.  Josh has performed live at many Chicago venues beginning when he was just 15!  Some of these awesome places include The Kingston Mines, Martyrs, Spot 6 and The Kinetic Playground.

Here at the School of Rock, Josh can be found helping out managers, assisting with Rock 101, Show directing (he made his debut with the Blues show performed in Highwood in June 2009), giving his wealth of musical knowledge and performance experience to any student, and of course, teaching Keyboards and Saxophone.

STEVE KENTALA

Drums

Stephen Kentala has been performing as a drummer in and around Chicago for the past 8 years. He is currently pursuing a degree in Music Education from Northeastern Illinois University. Stephen plays in several ensembles at NEIU including the Wind Ensemble, Varsity Big Band and other smaller combos. He is a member of the Ravenswood Orchestra as a percussionist. Stephen has been a drummer for several bands since 2001. He can currently be found playing at jam sessions around the city.

Having taken lessons from Kevin Connelley in the late 90's, Stephen has a strong foundation in drumset education. He was once told by Kevin that "my goal is to teach you to teach yourself." That mantra still resonates with Stephen. Stephen has a passion for the drums, music,teaching and learning. And he knows that the most important thing of all is to have FUN!

CHRIS NEAL

Keyboards/Vocal

I was born in the best city in the world, Chicago, and have been performing professionally for over 15 years. I was captured by music early by my mom?s glorious singing in church and my dad?s eclectic vinyl collection ranging from Mandrill to Miles Davis, Stevie Wonder to Ahmad Jamal, John Coltrane to Grover Washington and many others. I knew I had to be a part of all these beautiful sounds.

Piano lessons at 5 years old, saxophone since 9, choirs since junior high, a music performance degree, a jazz studies degree and many amazing life experiences and encounters. I always have and continue to explore many avenues in music. Whether it be Schubert art songs, Al Green ballads, Beatles songs, or Wayne Shorter compositions, I am really just all about expression and evoking a feeling through my singing and playing.

Since returning to Chicago after living in various cities in the mid-west, I perform regularly in the area as well as performing in Canada, Europe, and South America. I have had the pleasure to share the stage and perform with The Temptations, The O?jays, The Manhattan Transfer,Taj Mahal, Buddy Guy, Randy Brecker, Donald,Byrd, R Kelly, The Joffrey Ballet, Syl Johnson, Umphrey?s McGee and many others.

TOM HOBAN

Guitar Instructor

After developing a mild obsession with the Beatles in the 7th grade, Tom decided it was time to start playing guitar. In High School, Tom began taking his playing more seriously. He played in both the Jazz Band, as well as the Rhythm Machine- where he tried out and was selected to play in a jazz band for the Illinois Music Educator's Association. To close out his High-School playing career, Tom's rock band won the school Battle-of-the-Bands in both his Junior and Senior year.

He then went on to The University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied classical guitar with Javier Calderon. During college, Tom was selected to play as a soloist with the University of Wisconsin Marching Band during their Spring Concert Series. In his senior year, Tom's rock band won the campus Battle of the Bands, earning them an opening slot for the Violent Femmes. Tom graduated in 2005 with a degree in Classical Guitar Performance.

Since 2005, Tom has been a part of a number of Chicago-based bands, which has given him the opportunity to play many Chicago venues including Martyrs', The Kinetic Playground, The Abbey, Gunther Murphy's (RIP), and The Double Door. Tom is currently playing gigs all around town with his band Rod Tuffcurls & The Bench Press.

MICHELLE HALLMAN

Vocals

Michelle Hallman performs, records, writes/arranges songs  and tours with many different  projects. She had been a working musician for a greater part of her life, and thrives in the live performance!  She is a well versed singer perfecting a plethora of styles and genres. Even though she’s a rocker at heart, she has always loved choral music and is extremely knowledgeable in vocal harmonies. Michelle is also an accomplished percussionist. She plays congas, bongos,  djembe and all kinds of assorted hand percussion instruments. She can Whistle! She has played the piano since age 3, and took lessons for many, many years! She also plays the guitar and is striving to get better. Michelle has sung/played with the likes of Gregg Allman, Darryl Jones, Mr. Blotto, Umphree’s McGee , Richard Marx, Vince Welnick, Freddie Jones Band, The Bodeans... Her bands have opened for Kansas, Steven Stills and Jazz is Dead. She’s also been the voice of national commercial jingles. Michelle loves teaching at the School of Rock, and is thrilled to share her knowledge and experience.  She is so excited to see what the next generation of talent will bring.

Check out Michelle’s different projects: Chicago Groove Collective , Goodfoot, Ladies of the Canyon.

JARED RABIN

Guitar/Mandolin

Jared Rabin is a guitarist/violinist from Chicago and a member of the prog-rock quartet, The Hue. Jared graduated from DePaul University in 2007 with a degree in Jazz Studies/Guitar Performance. He was a member of the Chicago Civic Orchestra from 2006-2008 and has been recording and performing on guitar, violin and mandolin in a vast array of professional freelance settings since moving back to Chicago in 2005. In early 2007, The Hue was formed. Since then, the band has performed all over Chicago and the Midwest at venues including The House of Blues, The Metro and on national bills including Summercamp and 10000 Lakes Music Festivals. Tracks from the band's first EP Unscene have been featured on WXRT Chicago and countless college radio stations across the country. This winter The Hue is very excited to be recording their first full length record which is set to be released in May 2009. 

JOHN SIEGLE

Guitar

John Siegle is a singer/songwriter who grew up in Peoria, Illinois. He learned to play guitar with high school buddies and was soon playing at dances and at local bars. John and some friends moved to the college town of Champaign-Urbana in the mid '70s. They formed the power-pop band SCREAMS. John started writing material for the group. SCREAMS was soon signed to MCA's Infinity label. They released an album and hit the road, headlining for national acts, at one point touring with Van Halen through most of the United States and Canada. The Infinity label was dropped by MCA as the band was in the middle of a tour of England, and SCREAMS went back to Champaign to regroup. John moved to Chicago after meeting singer/songwriter Gary Yerkins to play in the band GARRISON (a fine band, but didn?t pan out). John played a stint with local and regional favorites MIKE JORDAN and the ROCKAMATICS, a glorious rock and roll roadhouse band, before re-joining with Gary to form the INSIDERS. INSIDERS were signed to Epic Records and produced a successful album that featured the MTV hit, "Ghost On The Beach". Although the Epic deal only lasted for one album, the Insiders remained a Chicago mainstay for over ten years, self-produced three more albums and were regularly played on station WXRT 93 FM. John is still in Chicago, still playing with a couple of bands and still writing fine music.

MIKE BRUNO

Drum Set

Mike Bruno has been playing the drums professionally for nearly a decade. He has toured the United Sates with his original group Spare Parts for the past five years playing coast to coast. More recently he has played internationally at the Festival de Jazz in Peru and opened up for hip hop legend Snoop Dogg at the House of Blues in Chicago.

Mike has also been featured in the January 2007 issue of Modern Drummer magazine for his touring accomplishments as well as featured in many other magazine and news articles across the nation. He received his BA from Southern Illinois Univeristy- Carbondale in Music Business and his Masters in Music from DePaul University for Jazz Performance. He currently resides in Chicago, Illinois where he teaches and tours with his group Spare Parts.

MATT BERGER

Guitar

Chicago guitarist and composer Matt Berger demonstrates his technical prowess by featuring a unique blend of jazz, Indian Classical, rock and R&B styles. Although raised by a classically-trained family, he was initially attracted to heavy metal music. During high school, drawn further to jazz music, he decided to apply to Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he went on to study contemporary jazz performance, in addition to traditional composition and film scoring. Upon graduating, he became a student of tabla master Sandip Burman's, and had the great opportunity to tour and perform at over 180 venues and schools across United States, while learning about Indian Classical music concepts from a renowned master.

After one year of touring, Matthew joined the T.G.E. publishing company to write and arrange pop music. As the co-founder of C.E.S.P., a fusion ensemble, Matt has pursued various educational projects. He is a current member of the Chris Searcy Band, Keith Harrison Band, as well as a free-lance session artist. As a clinician for young musicians, he has promoted the studies of counterpoint and composition, and how they can be applied to modern song-writing.

STEPHANIE STAHL

Vocal/Songwriting/Guitar

Originally from Milwaukee, WI singer/songwriter Stephanie Stahl, also known as Stella, is a vocal instructor, songwriting coach, and beginner guitar instructor. Her musical identity has a strong foundation in the mastery trombone performance. Being the idealist that she is, it wasn?t long before she decided to pursue a career as a music teacher. She is currently studying Music Education at Northeastern Illinois University.

She has performed on several stages across the Midwest. For a brief month long mini tour; Stephanie, as a busker, sang in the streets and coffee shops throughout Spain, France and Switzerland.

Stephanie has been a part of many musical projects but her recent coup is with the band the "Heat Birds." With the release of their first E.P. this year, the "Heat Birds" are a promising musical act based in Chicago. They also made their debut in Wisconsin, on the Miller stage on the summer fest grounds, as an opening for the legendary Etta James.

GRANT CARLSON

Guitar/Bass/Keyboards

Grant has been playing music since the age of 4 and has been in 2 seious bands. Grant enjoys teaching the Blues, Classic Rock, and Heavy Metal, and will direct our performances in these areas.

JAN JAMES

Vocals

This tale comes right out of the inner soul of the blues. It reads like the street-level truth in the lyrics of a Delta classic.What kind of artist finds their way to Chicago after having learned licks on a guitar from a Tennessee guy named "Catfish?" What kind of artist hones powerful vocals in a church choir and then translates that emotion into a deep understanding of the blues? Jan James is that kind of artist. Raised in central Michigan on a family-run fishing resort, Jan's talent was obvious early on."The more I played guitar and the more I tried out the voice I learned to use in the church choir," says Jan, "The more I liked it." And so did everyone else.

She was continually invited to sing at public gatherings and-like all the great artists-the seduction and thrill of performing onstage soon matched her talent.

Jan met her partner, songwriter/guitarist Craig Calvert, while they were both attending Michigan State. She was working in a duo, performing regularly at a small café. When she needed to replace her guitar player, the timing was right. It was perfect. Craig was taking a break from his punk band; they met and developed a musical chemistry that has evolved into a big sound and feel that is colored with blues, soul and the sweet dynamics of the best rock.

After their performances together established a solid reputation for them in the Detroit area, Jan was voted "Best Female Vocalist" by the Detroit Metro Times.

Then, continuing a legend-laced journey, they moved to Chicago. The blues capital was good to them, and they to it. They became favorites in such venues as Buddy Guy's Blues Legends, Taste of Chicago and The House of Blues. They shared the stage with Koko Taylor, John Mayall, Little Feat, James Brown and B.B. King. They cut their first demo, a powerhouse CD called "Last Train," picked up by the Dutch label Provogue, in yet another example of the wide appeal that American blues has throughout Europe.

Jan launched a promotional tour of acoustic and electric performances aired on radio and television throughout The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Scandanavia; along with a feature on NBC's television program, Talking Blues. The press raved: "Voices of the caliber of Jan James are rare in today's pop music" and, "Her upbeat rock/blues is exceptionally radio-friendly and very stylishly executed."

More albums followed: "Soul Desire," "The Color of Rose" and the critically acclaimed, "Limousine Blues."

Comparisons to legendary artists are often soaked in hype and are sometimes unfair both to the legend and to the musician who is carrying on the legacy. But sometimes they are necessary. Sometimes they must be made; not just for the sake of similarity but for the sake of the importance that keeping something so stark and vital alive means to the art.

Jan performed at Chicago's Royal George Theater in the staring role of Janis Joplin in a play based on Janis letters and songs. Along with the standing ovations, there was so much more. There was the aura of a major talent. There was not only the power of what Janis had left for us, there was the power in what Jan James now does and will do.

Jan's newest CD, "Drive Me Home," is a pure and commanding showcase of her heritage and her talent from start to finish. Each and every cut demonstrates just how good she is. This is what modern blues should be. This is Jan James.