Music School Helps Fulfill Rock-N-Roll Dreams

When rock-n-roll was young, or even middle-aged, there was little in the way of instruction on the ABC’s of being a rock star.  The closest equivalent would probably be the Byrds classic: So You Want to Be A Rock-n-Roll Star, which set up a vague blueprint for future Micks and Stevies:

So you want to be a rock and roll star?

Then listen now to what I say.

Just get an electric guitar

Then take some time

And learn how to play.

And with your hair swung right,

And your pants too tight

                                  It's gonna be all right.    

Written by: Jim McGuinn and Chris Hillman

No one could have predicted in 1967, when that song was released, that the generations raised on rock, currently in the throws of parenthood, would demand a more concise, realistic, and educational approach to the music rooted in rebellion.

Musician and teacher, Mario Licciardi has recognized this very niche and has met that need with a class at Consolidated Music Incorporated called Rock Star 101.  The program guides kids from ages ten through sixteen through the maze of serious musicianship.

The classroom is in the cellar of the business, where a stage has been concocted on one end of the room.  The far wall has been decorated with what might seem exotic to his young students: 45-RPM records.

It’s all a part of a rock immersion program, according to Licciardi, where kids learn teamwork and musical skills, grouped into bands by age and ability. They round out their education with band photos and a performance at a local live rock Mecca called .

On the night of the show, the young musicians get a taste of the good life.

“We tune up their guitars for them. We give them the rock star treatment; they don’t have to load their own gear. We do all the sound checks for them,” Licciardi said.

Of course, a rock show isn’t just about performance, but parents needn’t worry about some of the darker aspects associated with the genre.

“We want them to experience the rock-n-roll environment without the negative aspects,” Licciardi said. 

Licciardi, whose faux hawk and tattoos are tempered by an analytical and entrepreneurial outlook on music, knows the world of popular music, bad and good, through a lifetime of experience.

“I’ve been a musician for 16 years,” he said   “I’ve been playing out in bars, restaurants and VFW’s since I was 15-years-old.”

He has worked with well-known musicians and producers, but mostly he’s just worked.

“I never finished college.  I came from a blue-collar family.  My parents are from Italy.  I had to prove to my parents that I could do this,” he said.  “I never got into drugs or any of that stupidity.  I was focused.  I was in music to make a career out of it.”

As difficult as it’s sometimes been, Licciardi has done just that, but not always in the most straightforward way. He’s involved with a band called, Elsten, which is currently experiencing the inevitable pitfalls of working rock bands: marriage, divorce, kids, and day jobs. 

“Our lives have all changed a lot,” he said.  “When you’re in your thirties, and you’re playing music, it’s for glory or it’s for groceries.”

Given that, Licciardi has diversified his career within the field of music, which has included teaching. 

“Private lessons have been my bread and butter since I was a kid,” he said.  

Also, he and business partner, Ron Swanson have developed a “Montessori-edged” program called Stage One which is aimed at public school students who have seen their music classes slashed in an effort to trim the budget.

“We’re a music education company that implements a music program in the school district,” he explained.  “It’s basically a general music class for elementary kids.”

According to the Stage One web site, the class isn’t just about playing a song. “We bring in formal academics to any musical style that their students want to learn, and bring them to a higher level of musical and artistic understanding and expression.”

The program is being implemented at Cary School District 26 and Licciardi hopes to expand the class to other districts whose students have lost their music programs. 

“We didn’t solve the music crisis, we didn’t cure it, but we feel that, with philanthropists, there could be a way for us to open a door to everybody,” he said.

Aside from teaching, Licciardi’s desire to serve through music has recently been honored with a President’s Volunteer Service Award for his humanitarian service in developing the sound track for an Emmy nominated documentary.

“I’m in my 30s now, I’m trying to plant as many seeds as possible to be a person who pays his own insurance and his own taxes,” he said.

However, when it comes down to the foundation of his life, his goal has always been to satisfy his love of writing and performing rock-n-roll and sharing the lessons he’s learned as a working musician.

“When you’re younger you think that if you have talent you can just make it,” he said  “There are so many other things to be an artist than being good at your craft.”

At the top of Licciardi’s list is hard work and dedication as competition in the music business is notoriously ferocious. 

“There are a million different guitar players; you have to be different. Part of that is getting them to focus.  It’s hard to get a 15-year-old to focus,” he observed.

“Hopefully, they’ll learn from Rock Star 101,” Licciardi said.  “And when they’re 19 or 20 they’ll start their band and they can take the knowledge they’ve learned here and take it with them for the rest of their life.”

Fall classes are now forming:

Session 1 will run from Sept. 12 through Oct. 15 with the 

final performance at Penny Road Pub 10/16 at 3 p.m.

Session 2 begins Oct. 24 and ends on Dec. 3 with the

final performance at Penny Road Pub Dec. 4 at 3 p.m.

For more information on Rockstar101 visit: http://consolidatedmusic.net/rockstar101.php or call 847-386-0164.

For more information on Stage One Music visit: http://stageonemusic.com/ or call: (847) 899-8224

For more information on Penny Road Pub visit: http://www.pennyroadpub.com/