story by Krystal Sidzyik & Eileen Chalupa Boehmer | photos by Dawn Thorfinnson

Bob Okamoto spends a lot of time with instruments. He plays them, teaches classes about them and even fixes them. Okamoto has been a volunteer, program coordinator and now the director of Academy of Rock — a non-profit music program in Lincoln that teaches children and teenagers how to play music. Just last month, AoR marked its five-year anniversary.

The program started as a single class sponsored by the YMCA, but by 2007 the single class turned into a full program sponsored by the Northeast Family Center, a United Way agency that offers a variety of programs in the areas of early childhood, youth development and family support. AoR focuses on teaching students not only how to play an instrument, but also about the journey of learning how to play that instrument.

“The kids want to rock out,” Okamoto says. “They’re learning to play songs with kids their age. The focus isn’t on theory and fundamentals. You can spend classes teaching theory and fundamentals, but in the amount of time available, that would mean the kids would have less to show for their time.”

Still, the program does encourage individual lessons as part of its curriculum.

“Lessons are like practice, and we’re like the game. Lessons will teach you the fundamentals, we let you put it all to use,” Okamoto says.

Aside from instrument lessons, the program also helps kids grow, gain confidence and find their identities. By teaching the kids not to care what others think, they have the confidence to get on stage, and once a student conquers standing on stage with a microphone, everything else seems easier.

“A majority of the kids who participate in the program don’t play sports — they can’t define themselves as athletes, and they’re looking for that identity factor. This gives them that,” Okamoto says. “[Being a musician is] part of how you identify yourself.”

Okamoto grew up in North Platte, Neb., where he says there wasn’t a place for him to go and play guitar with other people like him and it almost drove him to quit.

“I’d hate to see these kids miss that opportunity. We give them that someplace to go and rock out,” Okamoto says. “AoR is an opportunity for kids to express their interests and perform like rock stars.”

From Academy of Rock's final show of 2011 at Red9.

Tuition for students at AoR is $65 a month but can be less, depending on income. Prices are set as low as possible to allow as many kids to participate as possible. Scholarships and income-based tuition help cut the costs for parents who might not otherwise be able to afford it. Tuition includes one two-hour class per week for a semester (spring, summer, or fall).

Students also are required to play at least three shows during the semester. This semester the program is running 14 classes. Last year they ran 20 per semester. The number of classes offered depends on the economy and the influx of students.

From a performance by Cold in Hand, which got its start in Academy of Rock.

Students usually stay with the program until they have advanced as far as they can, usually at around 15 to 17 years old. But many return as volunteers or instructors.

TJ Abele started as a student at AoR before eventually becoming an instructor. Currently, five of the instructors at AoR were participants in the first years of the program.

“Before I became an instructor, I volunteered,” Abele says. “During my volunteering, I would show the kids some of the stuff I learned from playing shows, and the kids started to listen to what I was teaching them.”

Students of AoR are highly encouraged to see other shows to help broaden their horizons and develop relationships outside of AoR.

“It’s not just about your band, it’s about music in general,” Okamoto says. “Students get excited about seeing their instructor’s bands. It’s the ‘cool connection’ they have to musicians that other kids at school don’t have.”

The program also hosts an Original Bands class, where students form their own band and the instructor acts more like a record producer. The kids bring in their original song and the instructor asks them what they can do to make it better.

“Everyone writes the same first song, we try to help them think about how to make it different,” Okamoto says. “The instructors mold the songs, make the unknown known, and the known unknown, and pass along mistakes they made along the way so the kids can avoid the same pitfalls.”

Instructors also bring a deeper pool of knowledge to the table, allowing them to suggest things to students they just don’t know, like new chords or rhythms, tempo changes or various effects. This collaboration spurs more creativity, and the kids can start building off of each other.

“AoR helps kids by getting them involved in music, as well as their community, by performing at community events, getting friends involved, and also by meeting new friends from different schools and building connections among other musicians,” Abele says.

The program doesn’t have a marketing budget, so it depends on word-of-mouth and community events for promotion. Okamoto says they’re lucky to have a supportive community. AoR students have been involved in events like Ribfest, Celebrate Lincoln, ZOOFest, Lincoln Exposed, Lincoln Calling, events at the Children’s Museum, Library Summer Reading Programs, etc.: any event where there might be families and kids to get the word out.

The program also depends heavily on donations and grants because of low tuition prices. The 14 two-hour classes held each week is hard on the program’s equipment. What they do have has been pieced together from donations or cast-offs that Okamoto was able to get working again.

“I'm not sure what we will see in this program in the future,” Abele says. “Hopefully more kids and better equipment. Right now, I love what I'm doing and I'm thankful that I have the opportunity get paid to do what I love.”

Krystal Sidzyik is an intern for Hear Nebraska. Writer's block is her worst enemy. Reach her at krystals@hearnebraska.org.