Co-Founders

STEVE GIBSON (BandWorks Co-Founder and Co-Director)

Steve is a guitarist and music teacher who has been working in the Bay Area since moving to Berkeley in 1984. He founded BandWorks with Jeremy Steinkoler in 1993. In addition to his private teaching and BandWorks classes, Steve has taught at Cazadero Performing Arts Family Camp for many years, worked in London as a music director, taught band workshops in Dublin (Ireland), and contributed to Guitar Player magazine. As a guitarist, Steve has performed at many clubs and festivals throughout northern California, including the High Sierra Music Festival, the San Jose Jazz Festival, and the Sonoma Salute to the Arts. His recording "Sunday" was used by the Augustino Dance Theatre Company. Most recently, Steve has performed and recorded with Andrea Hurley and Her Very Attractive Band, Marie Schumacher's Invisible Band, The Kevin Beadles Band, Lonnie Lazar and the Vaporizors, Chowbucket, and Jemimah Puddleduck, among others. In addition to guitar, Steve has taught saxophone, mandolin, bass, and piano. He is also a registered Music Together teacher.

 

JEREMY STEINKOLER (BandWorks Co-Founder and Co-Director)

Since picking up his first pair of drumsticks at the age of 10, Jeremy has gone on to teach private students, drum clinicsand rock band workshops in Ann Arbor, MI, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Dublin, Ireland. He founded BandWorks School of Rock in 1993 with Steve Gibson, which has grown into a thriving musical program serving over 1,200 students each year.  He has been on the faculty of Cazadero Performing Arts Family Camp for the past 16 years, where he was the Co-Director from 1999-2001 and currently serves on the Board of Directors.  In addition to teaching BandWorks classes and a full roster of private students, Jeremy maintains an active performing schedule, playing around the San Francisco Bay Area on a weekly basis with his own J. Steinkoler Quartet, the unique saxes-and drums trio Mo’Fone (featured at the Monterey & SF Jazz Festivals), the Kevin Beadles Band and assorted other projects. He has performed at dozens of popular Bay Area venues and festivals, including the Monterey, San Francisco, and Sonoma Jazz Festivals, Art & Soul Festival, Yoshi’s, the Shoreline Amphitheater, and at Lincoln Center and the Village Gate in New York City. He has played with Dave Ellis (The Other Ones, Charlie Hunter), Adam Levy (Norah Jones, Tracy Chapman), Kirk Joseph (Dirty Dozen Brass Band), Guru Garage, Hot Links, Christy McCarthy, and many other top touring bands and musicians. His music has been featured on KFOG, KCSM, KUSP, KZSU and KALX radio stations, and has received radio airplay across the country and in Europe. Jeremy is proud to be endorsed by Vic Firth Drumsticks, Istanbul Cymbals and Aquarian Drumheads. "A very swinging drummer who's mastered the art of coordinated independence." -East Bay Express

 

Staff

JULIE CHERVIN

According to her Mom, Julie’s been singing since before she could speak, as evidenced by playing with her toes while humming a tune in her crib, rather than take a nap. She took piano lessons through ages 6-10, sang in the school chorus, and eventually took up guitar and violin in middle school. While the sound of herself practicing the violin literally made her cringe, guitar was different. Julie discovered the best thing about playing guitar was the ability to accompany herself while singing. After college and moving to the Bay Area from LA, Julie did stints with Eastern Onion Singing Telegrams, the Lamplighters, the Oakland Opera and upon getting married, played and sang in some rock ‘n roll bands in Bermuda. During the early years of her kids’ lives, Julie completed a Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology and also served in PTA leadership organizing after school enrichment classes. Through that, Julie learned about Cazadero Performing Arts Family Camp and met Steve Gibson & Jeremy Steinkoler. After taking some BandWorks classes, Julie has been happily utilizing all her skills to help BandWorks grow and keep it organized and accessible to students and families since 2004.  Come see Julie play with her current BandWorks band, Bad Mommy! at the student concerts at Ashkenaz.

ARIEL WANG

Ariel began her artistic endeavors at the age of two, when she discovered the magic of spaghetti sauce on paper.  At five, she started taking piano lessons with her mom, and then moved on to the violin at age nine.  By 14, she realized that the strict rules of classical music didn’t let her fully express her wild side, so she picked up the guitar and joined the circus (high school drama class).  When college rolled around she had worked out most of the teenage angst and graduated UC Berkeley with a B.A. in Psychology.  Although she never imagined herself working an office job, BandWorks was no ordinary desk gig and she soon found herself immersed deep into the BW community.  Now, in addition to BandWorks, Ariel also coaches a couple girls lacrosse teams, is getting her photography degree, illustrating a comic, writing songs, practicing guitar and bass, banging on the drums, and constantly being inspired by the talented musicians and artists around her to push her creative limits. You can look her up on facebook, or check out some of her writing and work on her blog at: http://worldexplorer912.blogspot.com/

 

Teachers

MATT HEULITT

Bay Area session guitarist and band leader Matthew Charles Heulitt is a musician that defies categorization.  Hailing from two highly acclaimed jazz schools, Interlochen Arts Academy, University of Miami, Matthew has managed to make his mark in a wide variety of musical settings.  He has toured internationally with The Salvador Santana Band, and folk singer Vusi Mahlasela (voted best male vocalist in South Africa 2008).  Locally, Matthew has been featured on numerous recordings and live performances ranging from singer/songwriters, ska, modern rock,  afrobeat, to experimental jazz.   For eight years he has been a regular member of acclaimed funk drummer Zigaboo Modeliste's (The Meters) band, and in 2008 was featured on Grammy award winning producer Narada Michael Walden's cd "Delightful".  As a bandleader and composer, Matthew has pushed the envelope for genre-defying original/improvised music and is soon to release his first full length cd "Room To Run".  With 20 years of teaching experience, Matthew is an educator adept at using his patience, intuition, and creativity to cultivate a playfull and effective learning experience. For more information you can find Matthew at: http://www.myspace.com/mattheulitt or mheulitt@yahoo.com

JON PREUSS
After sustaining one to many injuries racing dirt bikes and playing intramural sports, Jon turned to the "safer" pursuit of guitar at the age of 16. He played in garage bands and learned classic rock tunes. After high school, a summer jazz camp led to enrolling in college as a music major. Jon received a Bachelors of Music in Classical Guitar & Performance from Northern Arizona University. He also played in the Jazz Big Band and with local jazz combos. After later studies at the Berklee School of Music in Boston, Jon headed back to the Southwest where he performed and began his teaching career. Performing and teaching in Seattle followed. And finally, a move to San Francisco in 1988. Appearing throughout the Bay Area at clubs and festivals, Jon has played with variety of bands including the Jessie Turner Band, Moe Dark & The Love Posse, Presidents Breakfast, Nancy Hall & The Curios, Hurlo Thrumbo, Bob Bradshaw & The Resident Aliens, and Beth Custer (Eighty Mile Beach). He has recorded with several artists including Pete Forbes, Sara Lovell, and Ha Tran. Jon enjoys teaching private lessons and also serves on the faculty of the National Guitar Workshop.

STACE WRIGHT
From a role in a professional production of "Peter Pan" when he was 8 to a gig as a tenor sax player in an Elvis impersonator band at 18, Stace has enjoyed performing. His first instrument was the clarinet followed by the tenor saxophone. He played the bass drum in the high school marching band and baritone saxophone in the University of New Mexico marching band. He has also played in stage bands, sung in jazz and swing choirs and played his own compositions on keyboard. In the early 1980's he got involved in the rock scene as a roadie, lightman and bass player. Later he began teaching himself guitar, practicing every once and awhile over the next 30 years. During this time he also traveled a bit and listened to a lot of live music. In 1992 he got married to his wonderful wife Suzanne. They have two children (now 10 and 13), a dog, and a home in Berkeley. He has a BA in Geography from the University of California, Berkeley. For the past 15 years his days have been spent working as a cartographer. Most evenings he can be found at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland teaching a BandWorks class or playing with his own band. He has considerable experience as a coach and has found that many of the positive concepts and lessons that are taught in youth sports can be applied to BandWorks as well. Stace is thankful for the BandWorks program and very excited that he has this opportunity to work with such awesome kids.

ARI CHERSKY

Ari’s history with Bandworks goes all the way back to 2001, when he was in his first group as a student. Studying Guitar avidly through his teens, Ari was a member of the Berkeley High Jazz Ensemble, as well as the SFJAZZ High School All Star Ensemble. Outside of school, he led and performed with a variety of bands. In 2006, Ari led his first Bandworks group. He moved to New York City in 2008 to attend The New School For Jazz and Contemporary Music, and has continued to teach at Bandworks every summer since. He has performed in Italy, Switzerland, Japan, and at many top venues and festivals in both the Bay Area and New York City. In 2012, he released his debut album as a leader, Scenes From The Zephyr, on Hundred Pockets Records. www.arichersky.com

JOHN HALL
John Hall is a former teacher with a B.A. in Early Childhood Education and a minor in music. John is a professional drummer who performs with a variety of Bay Area bands. In addition to being a Bandworks teacher, he is the percussion instructor at Oakland's The Renaissance School and gives private drum lessons from his home in Concord. John is also active in public schools with his Percussion Presentation programs that allows hands-on classroom experiences with percussion. For more information on John's Percussion Presentation programs please visit www.hallpercussion.com.

DEIRDRE LYNDS
Deirdre Lynds is a guitarist/composer who has been playing in bands professionally since age 15.  She received herundergraduate degree in composition and classical guitar from the University of California, Santa Barbara and her Master’s in composition from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She is currently performing, composing and recording with Headshear, a San Francisco-based four-piece instrumental rock band.  Headshear released their self-titled debut CD in 2006 on Seattle indie label Big Balloon (www.myspace.com/headshear). While teaching at Bandworks Deirdre picked up the drums and is now drumming with Private Idaho, a Bay Area B-52’s tribute band.  She also plays Bluegrass and Celtic mandolin, and is a very active surfer.

DANIEL SHERIDAN
After his band won the battle of the bands at his high school in 1995, Daniel knew that there was no turning back and was to pursue a career in music. Soon after graduating High School, he moved from quiet suburban San Diego County to San Francisco where he earned a B.A. in music from San Francisco State University. He has attended scores of concerts from touring musicians from all over the country and the world, one notably a master class with classical guitar maestro Manuel Barrueco in 1998. Since moving to Berkeley in 2002, he has worked as a free-lance classical guitarist playing solo gigs for weddings and restaurants and as a private guitar instructor. At any given time he is playing with a varied number of bands around town, including an early-jazz/gypsy swing trio and a salsa/latin jazz trio. Also, he plays with an Iron Maiden tribute band called ‘I yearn for Maiden’, who recently played a concert at Berkeley’s historic People’s Park to benefit the free-box. He also has become involved with a weekly Hip Hop class at La Pena cultural center in Berkeley that teaches the fundamentals of emcee rap technique and live music accompaniment and beat-making.

JEFF ROLKA
Jeff Rolka graduated from the University of Michigan with Bachelors and Masters Degrees (with Honors) in Music Performance. He is credited with several definitiverecordings in the classical realm, has produced and appeared on several Bay Area songwriter's records, and has two solo records of his own which can be previewed at www.jeffrolka.com. He has taught at the University of Michigan, in the Alameda Unified School District, in the Diocese of Oakland, and currently enjoys balancing a studio of voice students in San Francisco when he's not on tour supporting his latest release. Jeff is the consummate multi-instrumentalist, having performed and/or recorded on vocals (lead and backing) saxophone (soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone) flute, clarinet, drums, keyboard percussion, piano, bass, acoustic and electric guitars, hand percussion, and even the Japanese traditional Shakuhachi flute. When not playing music, Jeff likes to relax by running marathons or climbing mountains

VINCENT SPAULDING
Vincent Spaulding is an accomplished musician and educator with over thirty years of experience in the music world. He self taught himself the guitar at age 14 and at age 16 was accepted into the music program for talented young teens at the University of California, Berkeley. After graduating from Berkeley High School, Vincent toured with Rodney Franklin, recorded on CBS records with Franklin and Adam Duritz (currently of Counting Crows), and performed with a variety of other local blues, rock and Caribbean bands such as Pure Honey, Caribbean Allstars, members of Fela Kunte band and Zulu Spear for over ten years. He also completed music classes at California State University at Hayward and the Music Institute in Los Angeles. In 1986, he joined the Navy Band and attended the Navy School of Music in Norfolk, Virginia. He was later stationed in Naples, Italy, and for six years toured with the Band throughout the Mediterranean. Upon returning to the U.S. in 1992, Vincent resumed playing at local venues and began teaching to a wide variety of students, in particular to children and teenagers.

SCARTH LOCKE
Scarth Locke has been writing, performing, and recording music since he was bit by the songwriting bug in college in 1990. Trained as a trombone player from the 5th grade onwards, he picked up the guitar in college, and began learning how to play the full gamut of rock and roll instruments (except the cowbell, the subtleties of which continue to elude him) through the process of having to record what he heard in his head. He currently is a special education teacher in Oakland, and before that was galvanized by a year teaching as a substitute teacher in Oakland. Emboldened and inspired by his Bandworks experience, he has become an occasional substitute music teacher for grades 1-5.

ERIC GETTER
Eric Getter, percussionist, first picked up drumsticks and joined concert band in high school as a last-ditch effort to save his G.P.A. Twenty years later Eric has performed repertoire ranging from the traditional to the avant-garde. A dedicated performer of contemporary music, he has presented numerous premiers as well as classics of the twentieth century. In the realm of drum set, Eric studied with jazz legends Charlie Haden and Andrew Hill while working towards his MFA in Percussion from California Institute of the Arts. He currently teachers privately, plays with the hard-driving, power-pop trio Jubonic and with the classic-rock cover band 5150.

REX NICODEMUS
Born in Piqua, Ohio, Rex has been playing professionally since age 13, starting with festivals and high school dances throughout southern Ohio.  He lived in Tucson, AZ from 1979 – 1989, where he played numerous clubs and recorded original music with the band Once Bitten.  Drawn by its diverse music and cultural scene, Rex moved to the Bay area in 1989. He has recorded an original album with the band Times Square, who performed opening night for the San Jose Sharks and the San Jose Earthquakes. He has also played the morning show on radio station 107.7 “The Bone” out of San Francisco.  Rex currently works with the following bands: Monkey Knife Fight, Blind Pilots, Those2Guy and Latin Funk Express.  Rex has been teaching music for 30 years, and currently teaches out of Music-Go-Round in San Jose.

JUSTIN GANZ
Justin has been studying and playing music for 20 years and is currently working with and promoting young singer/songwriter musicians in the area as well as working with other local bands and recording in studios. He has studied music mostly on his own and/or through playing with other musicians and has had formal training in music theory at Dominican College specializing in percussion and classical guitar studies. Justin’s day job has been teaching 1-8th grade students in P.E. classes at the Marin Waldorf School for the last eleven years. He also has been teaching talent shows and student performances in music and circus arts/stunts over the years and has received a Teacher of the year recognition award from the Terra Linda rotary club.

MIKE ANNUZZI

Mike Annuzzi is Redwood City native and has performed at music venues, radio, colleges, festivals, and events all around CA. He started writing music at the age of 8 and later picked up the guitar. He has played for a variety of bands and taught guitar, bass, drums, piano, vocals, music theory, and songwriting to all ages and experience levels. He is a recent Bachelor of Arts Graduate in Music with a concentration in Guitar and Music Business from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Mike has been honored with several awards for songwriting and performance including WCS San Francisco's Song of the Year. His music has been featured on SF Bay Area's Channel 92.3FM, San Luis Obispo's Coast 101.3FM, and KCPR 91.3FM. For more information, please visit www.mikeannuzzi.com.

JULE BRUINS

Julie has been a music teacher for over seven years and is currently is teaching at both Coronado and Wilson Elementary Schools in Richmond. Julie grew up playing in youth orchestras in Indianapolis and received a Bachelor of Music degree in Flute Performance from NYU. She also holds certification in the play-based Orff method of music education. In her free time Julie enjoys singing with the Oakland Soft Rock Choir, and performing with the indie-rock 5-piece Alright Class.

SETH AFFOUMADO

Seth Affoumado is a musician, teacher, artist and performer. An award-winning photographer, www.sethaffoumado.com by day and an accomplished performer by night. Seth is the product of a creative family. Seth’s passion for music began when he was 5. He studied piano and voice with his conductor / composer dad Ralph Affoumado, and piano in high school with Ira Lieberman. Drums were a natural for Seth. A self-taught drummer, Seth started drums at 6 and has not stopped. A solid performer with an “atomic inner clock” Seth started teaching music at The Blue Bear School of Music in San Francisco, continuing in Berkeley at The Freight and Salvage with his successful, “Intro To Roots Rock” class and then to BandWorks.

Seth is a multi talented composer and performer able to play bass, guitar, drums, B3 organ, piano, and sing. Currently, Seth is the member of The Hot Rods Band, www.hotrodsband.com, PLAYDATE, Lovitt-Page and solo projects www.myspace.com/sethaffoumado. He is a sought-after sub drummer and can play just about any style. He teaches drums privately at his home studio. Seth is proud of the success of his first two BandWorks projects and is excited about his future contributions to the BandWorks performing community.