Faculty
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 Camp for the past seven 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, Dubrock, 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 drum clinics and rock band classes in Ann Arbor, MI, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Dublin, Ireland. He has been on the faculty of Cazadero Performing Arts Family Camp for the past ten years, where he was the Co-Director from 1999-2001. Jeremy founded BandWorks in 1993 with Steve Gibson. 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, singer/songwriters Kevin Beadles and Christie McCarthy, and assorted other projects. He has performed at dozens of popular Bay Area venues and festivals, including the San Francisco Jazz Festival, Yoshi’s nightclub at Jack London Square in Oakland, 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, and many other top touring bands and musicians. His music has been featured on KFOG, KCSM, KUSP, 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 Attack Drumheads. "A very swinging drummer who's mastered the art of coordinated independence." -East Bay Express
MATT HEULITT (BandWorks faculty since 2002)
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 (BandWorks faculty since 2004)
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 (BandWorks faculty since 2004)
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.
JOE BALESTRERI (BandWorks faculty since 2004)
Joe's interest in music began very early in life. By the age of 13, he
was playing piano, guitar, and trumpet, as well as singing and
songwriting. After writing a full-length piece for his high school
Symphonic Band, Joe went on to earn a Bachelor's Degree in Music
Composition from Illinois Wesleyan University. Since then, Joe has
taught in a variety of settings, including beginning-intermediate
concert band, K-8 general music, and rock band tutoring. He has been
teaching private trumpet and guitar lessons, with children and adults
of all ability levels, since 2001. Joe is proud to have performed with
New Orleans music greats Zigaboo Modeliste and Buckwheat Zydeco, as well
as Bay Area funk and African acts such as Albino!, Samba Ngo, and Brown
Baggin. Currently he's playing trumpet and recording with local
classical ensembles and bands, while leading his own original rock
project, The Flux.
JOHN HALL (BandWorks faculty since 2005)
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.
ANDREW GRIFFIN (BandWorks faculty since 2005)
"Time and Music are the two big mysteries. When Andrew Griffin sits down behind the drums, the alchemy begins and something turns into gold."
—Jesse DeNatale, singer/songwriter
"Most drummers play the drums on songs. Andrew plays the songs on drums."
—Peter Canton, bassist
Andrew Griffin is a drummer with many different sides. Whether he's playing rock, jazz, funk, or blues, Andrew plays for the song, and always in the pocket. Andrew works as a drummer, drum instructor, record producer and session musician. Andrew teaches private lessons at his East Bay Drummers' Studio in Oakland, California. The California Percussive Arts Society sponsored Andrew's drum clinic, Essentials of Funk Drumming, as part of their annual Oakland Day of Percussion. Andrew is a graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston where he studied with drumming greats Kenwood Dennard , Joe Hunt, John Ramsey, and Gary Chaffee. Andrew has performed/recorded with: CAKE, Vince Welnick(Grateful Dead, Tubes, Todd Rundgren), Victor, Jonathan & Greg of Camper Van Beethoven, Kenny Margolis (keyboards Cracker), Jonathan Richman, Carole Pope (singer Rough Trade), Steven Yerkey, Ralph Carney (saxophone Tom Waits), Nate Query (bassist the Decemberists), Pete Escovedo (Grammy award winning Latin percussionist), Eric Holden (Bassist with Josh Groban, the Bodeans), Bruce Kaphan (of American Music Club), Chris Xefos (of King Missile), Jon Evans (bassist Tori Amos), Duane Jarvis (guitarist & co writer for Lucinda Williams), Jimmy Prescott (bassist G Love and Special Sauce), Darren Cassidy (bassist Cherry Poppin' Dadies), Bobby Lee Rogers (of Col. Bruce Hampton's Code Talkers), Herb Geller (alto Sax Jazz legend and Verve receding artist), Steve Fisk (producer Nirvana, Soundgarden, the Posies, Soul Coughing), the legendary Carol Fran (blues singer and vocalist formerly employed by Ray Charles)
MARK BERNFIELD (BandWorks faculty since 2005)
Drummer and vocalist Mark Bernfield has been teaching music for 18 years. At UC San Diego, where he graduated cum laude in classical vocal
performance, he directed the UCSD Madrigal Singers for 3 years. Upon
graduation, he went on to direct choirs, teach private voice students and
lead vocal workshops at Appel Farm Arts and Music Center in Southern New
Jersey. He has been teaching drums privately in the Bay Area since 1995,
and is currently Musical Director of East Bay Harmony, a 35-member community
chorus based in Oakland. On drums, Mark has performed and/or recorded with
jazz groups The Brad Niven Trio, EO Trio, The Michael LaMacchia Core-tet;
blues bands The Blue Reptiles, The Justin Torpey Band, and Edna Love and the
Love Toys; funk bands Flowtilla and Thump; singer-songwriters John Vanderslice, Jill Knight, Rich McCulley, Andrea Hurley and Marie Schumacher;
textural art-rock band Laughingstock; Mark Karan (The Other Ones/Ratdog);
Adam Levy (Norah Jones); Todd Sickafoose (Ani DiFranco), and many others.
He has toured extensively and played at most major Bay Area venues. Mark
studied drums locally with Peter Magadini, Robert Kaufman, and Scott
Amendola, and at the Berklee College of Music with Joe Hunt and Ed Kaspik.
DEIRDRE LYNDS (BandWorks faculty since 2005)
DANIEL SHERIDAN (BandWorks faculty since 2006)
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 (BandWorks faculty since 2006)
Jeff Rolka graduated from the University of Michigan with Bachelors and Masters Degrees (with Honors) in Music Performance. He is credited with several definitive recordings 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
CHRISTOPHER GLYNN (BandWorks faculty since 2006)
Chris Glynn began his teaching
tenure with BandWorks in the summmer of 2005, assisting opposite Dave Berzonsky.
Since nine years old, he has been playing various instruments, including
piano, guitar, bass and drums. For the past few years he has been
studying music at Laney college in Oakland as well as the Jazz School
in Berkeley, and will soon be moving to Oregon to continue his musical
studies at Willamette University.
VINCENT SPAULDING (BandWorks faculty since 2007)
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 Deritz (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 (BandWorks faculty since 2007)
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 (BandWorks faculty since 2007)
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 (BandWorks faculty since 2007)
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.
ZACK ORR (BandWorks faculty since 2008)
Zack Orr began playing guitar at the age of fourteen in Atlanta, GA. Since that time he has toured the USA, recorded two solo albums, stage managed the South By South West (SXSW) music festival and taught music in private and group settings. A graduate of Berklee College of Music in Guitar Performance, Zack has led students as director of several “rock band” programs and served on the faculty of the National Guitar Workshop’s Day Jams summer camp. As Co-Director of Bandworks first expansion outside the Bay Area, Zack is excited about bringing such a great program to Portland, OR. “Stunning and inventive, Zack Orr just may be unstoppable.” - Ben Fong-Torres, Former Senior Editor, Rolling Stone Magazine.
JUSTIN GANZ (BandWorks faculty since 2008)
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.
DAVID IRELAN (BandWorks faculty since 2008)
David has been studying guitar seriously since age 12. He became interested in jazz while going to high school in Arcata, CA where he performed professionally and recorded an album with a jazz combo. David completed his BFA in music at The New School University jazz program in NYC where he had the privlege to study with jazz greats Reggie Workman, Vic Juris, Ben Street, and Nasheet Waits, among others. While living in New York, David perfomed regularly with various jazz groups at clubs, bars, and cafes. He also taught guitar lessons to his own students and at a music school in Queens. During the summer of 2005 he toured Nothern Italy with The Matteo Sabattini Qunitet. In 2007 David relocated to Portland, OR for a change of pace where he regularly records and performs with singer/songwriter Zack Orr and Origamis, jazz vocalist Lindsey Stormo, and his own jazz quartet.
LEWIS CHILDS (BandWorks faculty since 2008)
A sixth generation west coast native from a pioneer family. His musical career has taken him on many unexpected musical adventures including busking the streets of Europe, playing in an Irish Folk Music combo, doing field recordings in Brazil, performing with a high flying acrobatic music and dance ensemble headed by a Brazilian Master of Capoeira, and most recently traveling to Japan with the World Music folk duo "World of Songs." Lewis Childs often draws upon these influences during his solo performances, and recently has returned to his roots writing songs that explore the bounds of what is possible, offering compelling stories and messages of hope.
CHRISTOPHER RUDD (BandWorks faculty since 2009)
Christopher Rudd is a singer-guitarist-songwriter who has been performing in bands since 1986. He has been a member of several bands including: Hand Me Downs, Shambles, Pigment and currently Coolibah. He has studied voice, piano, guitar, saxophone and composition. He is accomplished in composing and arranging music in a wide variety of genres. He has a Bachelor of Arts in the Humanities with an emphasis on Comparative Culture Studies from San Francisco State University. He is also a credentialed teacher in Social Science and currently teaches in Berkeley. For Christopher, Bandworks is a perfect blend of his love for music and passion for teaching.