BY BRIANNA SKELTON
ISSUE NO. 37 | MARCH 2022
For nearly two years, while the world took pause as a pandemic ravaged its way through the entire world, our students and coaches have done the best to continue to bring the magic of music to not only their lives, but the people around them.
THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF MODERN DAY MUSIC SCHOOL
The last two years haven’t been easy by any means for most, but they’ve made the best of these situations, and as we see the world opening back up, we look forward to getting back to more live performances and shows. Some were littered with cancellation after cancellation of shows, others had a personal impact on their lives, but regardless musicians did their best to persevere. One MDM coach, Tony Garza, pointed out that, “Performances over the last two years have been interesting. Depending on where you were playing, and how bad COVID was, you could either perform normally or fully masked — sometimes even virtually.” As so many know, Modern Day Music School attempted to combat things the same
the long awaited return to live music
way when times got tough, moving lessons to Zoom, wanting to keep our students connected to something everyone feels so passionate about. Fellow guitar coach, Gabe Stallman, weighed in on his personal experience over the last two years and his own music journey, “It’s been really hard. My band, Ampevene, was signed to a booking agency just weeks before COVID hit," he said. "We had a big summer planned for 2020 and ended up taking a long hiatus instead, one performance in over a year after playing one-to-two shows a week prior to that.” Like so many others experience, shows were cancelled, sometimes with little to no notice while everyone was tackling a worldwide pandemic. Still, our coaches and students pulled through and showed their dedication and ability to adjust, change, and grow as we all had to learn how to do things a little different. For Ben Zoleski, it was a lot of the same experiences. “Things have definitely been different since the onset of the pandemic,” he stated. “For awhile, there was just nothing. So, to be able to get back out and perform for people has been huge.” Ben pointed out that it’s been a slow process. Things slowly opening up often meant fewer people wanting to be out experiencing those moments. However as things have become more stable, the crowds have started to increase, which brings along the added excitement all musicians look for in live performances.
CONT...
Much like our coaches have had learning curves and bumps in the road navigating the changes that came with COVID, so did the students of Modern Day Music. Students went from in-person lessons to virtual lessons practically overnight, which also included so many of the other wonderful programs we offered such as Rock School, Musical Theater groups, and our beloved showcase performances. Each student had to learn to adjust right along side their coaches and learn this new form of teaching and learning instruments. For some, it wasn’t easy, but we banded together to make the best of it. Coaches like Ben made a point to let his students know, “Keep working on your craft, if it is truly that important to you. It can be really easy to get into the mindset of, ‘what is the point?’ but if you let yourself be pessimistic, you are letting yourself down in the process.” For Gabe, it was leaning into the ability to really practice. “Being able to take lessons again and to practice things for 3+ hours a day can be a gift when nothing else feels right -- being able to figure out new tools to be creative," he said. For him, it’s been important for the students to know that music is constantly changing, growing, and becoming more innovative, and in those moments where things don’t seem so bright, that music can still be that bit of happiness. When Tony was asked what he would encourage other musicians, or general music lovers that have felt like they struggled during this
time, he was quick to say, “You need to take advantage of the music that you can hear live again.” For so many musicians and aspiring musicians, music is a vital part of their well being and mental health. Being able to see that and experience that again will have a great impact on anyone. Live performances are important to so many people, including our Rock School students, who will be returning to Wicked to put on their live performance for anyone to attend on March 20th, 2022 at 12pm. Returning back to those live performances has been something that Band Directors Joe Taurone, Chris Andreski, Andrew Cruisce, and performance etiquette coaches Mike Malatino and Maria Carvajal have been working hard towards over the last several weeks. Our dedicated students have come back together for an hour and a half every week to work with their fellow bandmates, honing their craft and skill to be able to have their own live performances for their friends, family, and fellow MDM students and staff. The excitement grows with each week that they get closer to getting to experience that feeling of being back to their own live music. It’s been a long almost two years for so many people, and Gabe left us with one other important piece of advice, “If possible, do the local music scene a favor and go out to a show, once a month, once a week, every day — whatever you can do. Go out and support bands and buy food and drinks at the venue.” He reminds us just how important a part we all play in supporting our local venues and musicians. With all this said, don’t forget to come out to Wicked/Trickshots in Clifton Park on March 20th and start with supporting our own MDM students and coaches!
Andrew Cruisce, one of the band directors in this upcoming session of Rock School 101, has been a wonderful asset among the talented ranks of Modern Day Music. Born and raised in Valatie, New York, Andrew graduated from Ichabod Crane High School before enrolling and obtaining his Bachelors Degree in Music from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. From a young age, Andrew found a love for music when he started experiencing music classes in elementary school. From those moments we’ve all experienced, with tapping away on classroom blocks and to favorite days learning music on the recorder, Andrew developed a fond appreciation for music. It lead Andrew to learning the clarinet for his middle school band, before eventually being gifted a guitar by his parents in middle school. Guitar was always a passion for Andrew as it was something his father also played. He began developing his own sense of music and finding an appreciation for bands like AC/DC, Black Sabbath, and Metallica. So much so, that when he received his first guitar, one of the first resources he got to learn the guitar was an AC/DC book. His first guitar coach was the first instructor to completely blow Andrew away when he started taking lessons. The way his coach was able to play so fast and melodic was captivating, and he knew from that moment on, he wanted to take his studies more serious.
Taking his lessons further eventually lead him to realize he wanted to build a career doing what he loved, and that involved music. When he went off to college, he decided to explore all other kinds of styles of playing --- wanting to become a bit of a jack-of-all-trades when it came to guitar. He began learning everything from more contemporary styles to jazz and classical pieces, giving him a well rounded knowledge of music. In between his lessons at Modern Day Music and coaching bands for the Rock School program, Andrew aspires to not only educate his students, but to also continue growing his own music career. He hopes to someday release the original music that he has been working on and potentially create a band, with aspirations of touring and eventually making a living from his ability to do live performances. As always, we like to end our interviews by asking our coaches some advice they’d give the fellow students at Modern Day Music in their musical journey. Andrew told us that he’d want students to know, “Not to be discouraged when you’re learning something new. I’ve been playing for fifteen years, and teaching guitar has given me more experiences to learn from. Whether it’s learning a new instrument, or learning to write and perform music by yourself or with others. Every new experience is going to help you grow into a great musician.”
Michaela's Corner
MARCH CALENDAR
6 - Young Musicians Forum at 2 PM - Nicole Rizzo’s performance 7- Open Mic Night, Caffe Lena, 7-10pm 8 - Journey performs at MVP Arena 13 - Daylight Savings starts 14 - Open Mic Night, Caffe Lena, 7-10pm 17 - St. Patrick’s Day - We are open! 19 - Ampevene (Gabe), Rare Form Brewery 20 - Rock School 101 Live Show, Wicked, 12pm 20 - Korn performs at MVP Arena 21- Open Mic Night, Caffe Lena, 7-10pm 21-27th - International Teach Music Week 27 - World Theatre Day 28- Open Mic Night, Caffe Lena, 7-10pm
Make sure to stop by Wicked on March 20th for our Rock School 101 Band Show to see what our student bands have been working on this session!
A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR OUR NEW STUDENTS in FEBRUARY!
Susan P Kiley R Matt D Joshua H Andrew D Dean C Scarlett C Camden G Charlotte C Noah B Hugo H Gabriela H Daniela H Wes T Isabelle L Storm S Xander A Tattiana G Mason A Holdan M Sophia T Jimmy F Kait M Phoebe B Margot B Richard C Charlie L Jessica D
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