Gabby
General Manager
Gabriella Garcia is a native Texan, born and raised in East Dallas. At an early age, she started competitive cheerleading and was a Varsity cheerleader throughout her time at Woodrow Wilson High School in Old East Dallas. Her favorite memories of high school are football games, hanging out with her friends, and going to shows!
After high school, Gabby attended Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. She enjoyed school and chose to major in Retail Management. In Gabby’s senior year, she landed an internship with the International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She lived in Santa Fe for a semester working with the market, where her work included marketing, social media, finance, and sales. Gabby has now worked with the Folk Art Market locally at Dallas Market Hall during the Home and Garden Market and the Market in Santa Fe. The Folk Art Market is very close to her heart, and she stays involved with the organization as much as possible.
Gabby adores a good sunset accompanied by a sandwich or hotdog. George Harrison is her sunshine, along with David Crosby and John Prine and she will forever dance until the lights turn on.
Dalton
Music Director
Dalton is a pop-rock singer/songwriter from Dallas, Texas, and is known for being one of the Top 3 finalists on the 15th and "final" season of the Fox television hit show, American Idol.
Dalton began performing at the age of 12 when he formed his first band, Fly Away Hero, which released two EPs. At 14, he was contacted by a casting director who discovered his band through YouTube and was asked to audition for a new act called IM5. The principals were Simon Fuller, Perez Hilton, and Jaime King. From over 30,000 nationwide auditions, Dalton was chosen for the group. Over the next four years, Dalton worked with many well-known producers, songwriters, and choreographers including Toby Gad, Harmony Samuels, Rock Mafia, Nappytabs, and Meghan Trainor.
At 18, Dalton reunited with his childhood band, Fly Away Hero, who landed themselves at #17 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart after releasing a new EP titled "Lost and Found" that debuted at #22 on the Alternative charts and included their song "Hercules," written by Dalton, which remains the bestselling song on the EP. Dalton's solo album, "Nobodys Home," reached #5 on the iTunes chart in September 2017.
Dalton teaches vocals, guitar, bass, and keyboard.
Milo
Assistant Music Director
Milo is a Dallas-raised guitarist. His passion for music began at an early age behind the keyboard. By the age of 9, he had turned his focus to guitar and was playing live at local restaurants and bars. Milo's musical influences have spanned all genres of music, from rock to classical, and even country-western. A well-written song will always get his attention.
Milo attended the W.E. Greiner Exploratory Arts Academy and played in his middle school Mariachi band for three years and then in his high school jazz band for four years. However, throughout that time Milo’s focus was on developing his own band and writing original music.
Since the age of 12, Milo has played in many local DFW bands and has written original music for guitar, bass, and keys for each. Milo was raised in a musical family, with both his father and grandfather being professional musicians. Under much of their guidance and influence, Milo was raised in full exposure to the music industry. He has played as a studio musician for many local artists, worked as a recording engineer and producer at Sessionworks, and helped write and co-write music for many artists.
Ewan
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Music has always been at the forefront of Ewan's life. Born in Dallas, Texas his earliest musical influences include Eddie Van Halen, Metallica, and Chevelle. When he was 11, Ewan watched a YouTube video of EVH playing "Eruption" live. Shortly thereafter, he picked up the guitar and never put it down.
While his musical roots are in hard rock, Ewan loves all types of music from thrasher metal like Metallica and Megadeth to instrumental prog-rock like Polyphia; there is even some rap and R&B in his mix. Ewan's goal is to help students unlock the meaning and message of any piece of music. For Ewan, teaching and learning are both about exploration, inquiry, and experimentation and he approaches each lesson fully committed to sparking a student's imagination and musical understanding through these principles.
Ewan is passionate about his craft and finds joy in seeing students' ideas develop and being there as they find their own artistic voices. Ewan works to equip his students with practical skills so they can take their creativity and love of music in many directions.
Ewan is currently a member of Cinema for the Blind, a Dallas-based alternative pop band, playing lead guitar. Ewan is a former School of Rock student and an Early High School College graduate. He obtained both his high school diploma from WT High School and his associate's degree from Brookhaven College, simultaneously in 2021.
Sarah
Vocal Teacher
Sarah is an experienced vocalist and performer. Her musical journey began when she started piano lessons at age 6, before expanding into voice and theater. During high school, Sarah was accepted into the Virginia Governor’s School for the Arts where she studied voice and gained performance experience. Having received her master of music from the Eastman School of Music, Sarah performed significant roles in several main-stage productions during her time there.
Sarah has also performed with Tidewater Opera Initiative, Prague Summer Nights, Symphonicity of Virginia Beach, and OSSIA New Music Ensemble, and has been a featured chanteuse for several noted cabaret troupes and festivals in the northeastern United States. She has also competed, and placed, in several vocal competitions: the Jesse Kneisel Lieder Competition, the Friends of Eastman Opera Competition, and the Prague Summer Nights Vocal Competition.
Always a travel enthusiast and language lover, Sarah has performed on stages in England, Ireland, Tábor, and Prague. She has used those experiences to study new languages and different styles of music. Sarah loves teaching and performing all kinds of music. She uses her classical background to instill not only excitement and passion for singing but also sustainable techniques to develop a well-rounded performer.
Joey
Vocal Teacher, Guitar Teacher
Joey is a musician and teacher with a BS from the University of North Texas. He currently interns at a recording studio and plays at jams at open mics around the DFW area. His favorite artists include Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Chris Cornell, Robert Johnson, Kendrick Lamar, and Jay-Z.
Joey discovered his passion for music in middle school, when he started taking saxophone lessons, and was introduced to hip-hop and dubstep. He had some knowledge of rock and roll through his dad's iPod and the video game, Rock Band, but his first musical obsession was hip-hop. Artists like Eminem, Kanye West, and Lil Wayne started an obsession that would drive most of his music consumption and creation until college.
Joey began learning how to play guitar through YouTube in 2019. He was influenced by Nirvana's MTV Unplugged performance; Kurt Cobain and that performance was the reason Joey began playing guitar. From there influences began to include other relevant '90s alternative rock bands like Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stone Temple Pilots, Metallica, Pearl Jam, etc. Joey looked into other members of the mysterious 27 Club, Jimi Hendrix, and Robert Johnson, and found that their music also captured something timeless and inexplicable. Joey began exploring the history of rock and roll, received several years of vocal lessons, and traveled to learn music theory as well as foundational piano and drums.
Sammi
Drum Teacher
Sammi Jo Bishop was born near Fort Worth, TX, and started her musical journey in middle school. She cut her teeth as a teen after moving to Jacksonville, FL, drumming and touring the States with popular national acts such as Big Engine. Not long after this period, Sammi Jo was discovered by Tito Larriva of Tito & Tarantula, who is well-known internationally for his songs and musical contributions to such classic films as From Dusk Till Dawn, Desperado, and Machete. Tito mentored and took Sammi all over the world in his touring band.
Now back in her home state of Texas, Sammi is known as one of the go-to musicians in the network of most in-demand musicians/performers in the greater Dallas/Fort Worth area. She has played in a number of the most successful tribute, country, and rock acts in Texas and surrounding states.
In 2021, international Southern rock pioneers Jim Dandy and Black Oak Arkansas recruited Sammi into the band which she is still actively a member of. In 2022, she was tapped to fill the vacant drum throne as a full-time member of the long-standing alternative nu-metal band Saliva with whom she is actively touring today.
Sammi has toured the world throughout her career thus far, playing everything from outlaw country, Chicano rock, hip-hop, Southern rock, hard rock, and metal. She is currently endorsed as a brand ambassador for Trick Drums, Scorpion Percussion, Sweet Spots Drum Dampeners, and No Nuts Cymbal Sleeves. Sammi continues to further her career, thrilling audiences all over the world with her entertaining, high-energy live performances and grooving, tasteful playing.
Thomas
Drum Teacher
Thomas began his journey playing drums at age 13. Growing up in the church allowed Thomas early stage time and helped form a love for performing. His signature style was shaped by years of personal drum instruction in various styles from funk to jazz to rock, and playing with different types of musicians allowed him to make his mark on the scene.
Thomas is inspired by John Theodore, Dave Eltitch, and Animal from The Muppets. From teaching swim lessons and coaching gymnastics, Thomas looks to bring his coaching expertise to forming the future of rock.
Vinnie
Drum Teacher
Vinnie is an accomplished and devoted musician with over two decades of musical experience, specializing in the performance of drums and percussion. Having studied music formally throughout his life, Vinnie has studied under many pioneers of drumming such as Mike Portnoy, Thomas Lang, Dave Weckl, Virgil Donati, Aquiles Priester, Mike Mangini, and many others. Since 2010, Vinnie has been a music educator teaching theory, application, and performance to all ages and experiences. He joined School of Rock in 2017.
Throughout his life, Vinnie’s dedication to music has afforded him many opportunities to travel and perform overseas and throughout the world. Known for his flashy tricks, aerobatic drumming, silly facial expressions, aggressive attitude onstage, and humble attitude offstage, Vinnie has an adept, yet varying playing style that shifts depending on genre. Having performed with various musical talents throughout his career, Vinnie currently drums in BANSHEE, MYSTERY, HILLBILLY ORCHESTRA and performs locally with DALLAS COOPER and others.
Throughout the years, Vinnie has done a multitude of studio and session work, working alongside reputable producers such as Chris Bell, Charles Godfrey, Dave Chavarri, and JT Longoria just to name a few.
Jasper Campbell
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Born in Seattle to a musical family, Jasper Campbell has been surrounded by music and musicians his whole life. Growing up with classical musician parents, Jasper spent much of his youth traveling to music festivals, and attending concerts of all genres.
After trying a few instruments, Jasper began guitar lessons at age 11 after hearing music from Led Zeppelin and the Foo Fighters, and eventually became a School of Rock student at 13, where he found his passion for rock music. During his time as a School of Rock student, Jasper auditioned and made it into his school's House Band and participated in four seasons before graduating from the program. he then began gigging around town with various bands. He recently started an '80s band called The Joysticks, with other instructors from both the Rockwall and McKinney School of Rock locations.
Jasper joined School of Rock in North Dallas as a teacher in 2022 and enjoys teaching and sharing his love of music (especially The Strokes, The Killers, and Muse). When not teaching, he attends the University of Texas at Dallas in the Advanced Technologies and Emerging Communications department working towards an arts degree.
Alan Hernandez
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Alan’s musical journey began in middle school as a percussionist. After receiving a drum set for Christmas, he subsequently lost interest. Alan picked up the electric guitar in high school after a sports injury and immediately became obsessed. He spent many, many hours practicing before, during, and after school, developing his self-taught skills, and realized he was born to rock. Soon after high school, he began playing shows with friends at a local club and eventually, he formed a band covering '80s hard rock and Spanish rock music for some years.
After parting ways with the cover band and his consistent pursuit of rock n’ roll, Alan cultivated a reputation as an East Texas musician and soon after formed an original hard rock band where they performed original music and toured throughout the state and eventually out to California. That band would later split ways and Alan went on to play gigs for different bands of different genres as a hired musician. Years later he teamed up with local musicians and joined an original band where they would consistently tour and go on to record a debut album and music videos. Alan decided to take a long break from music after he parted ways with that band when he moved to Dallas to be closer to his son.
During his time as an active musician, Alan was also instructing at the Tyler Music Academy and a local arts studio. Some of his other accomplishments have been winning the International YouTube Eddie Van Halen/George Lynch Guitar Solo Contest in 2016 and being runner-up the following year. He ended as a finalist in the 2015 Demon Rock Off in San Jose, CA. He was invited by Take2 Classic Rock Band to perform the 2017 “Take Me 2 Vienna” Rock Orchestra concert with the East Texas Youth Orchestra.
Alan has been a kickboxing fitness instructor for the past few years and finally decided to align himself back with his innate passion. He has gotten back into playing music and has been enjoying instructing students at the School of Rock in North Dallas, inspiring and teaching the future generation of rock n’ roll musicians.