Justin Nihiser General Manager
General Manager -
Justin has been brought up on rock. And MC Hammer. But mostly rock. Picking up the guitar to impress girls at age 15, he practiced and practiced until finally heading off to the rock school of rock schools, Berklee College of Music.
Upon graduation, Justin knew where the rock was happening, so he headed to Atlanta where he joined rock band We Are Berliner's while also starting The Advertising Foundry to write and produce numerous radio jingles for companies nationwide.
Jingles aren't very rock, but they're still fun.
Justin is really excited to help bring the gift of rock to all of Atlanta's 8-18 year olds by way of The Paul Green School of Rock Music.
Let's rock.
Greg Lee Music Director
Music Director -
Greg Lee is one of the most recognized faces in Atlanta, due mainly to his involvement, as a bass player, guitar player and singer, in some of the most influential bands out of the southeast.
Greg has toured and often recorded with acts such as Peter Searcy, Michael Tolcher, Marvelous 3, South 70, Sundiver, Johnny Hyde, Mimi Holland, Jason Tillery, Supermatic, the Veins, and is a founding member of the classic-rock tribute bands Rock Fight and Yacht Rock .
Regularly tapped as a studio musician, Greg naturally found his way to the other side of the board, and began producing bands in early 2001. His producing and engineering credits so far include: The Wrights (currently signed to ACR/RCA Records), Joe Stark (Sons of William), Sam Thacker, Peter Searcy, Cory Sellers, David Roland, Rockets to Ruin, Dented, Dodd Ferrelle & the Tinfoil Stars, Francisco Vidal, and Ryan McDougal.
Greg just finished up projects with Crawford Adam, Brian Collins, Leslie Barnett, The Unusual Suspects, and Timothy O'Donovan.
Now Greg is ready to kick it Jack Black-style and show these kids what rock is all about.
Email: glee@schoolofrock.com
Ganesh Giri Jaya Drum Instructor
Ganesh Giri Jaya knows rock n roll. He's worked with many of the finest original bands in the southeast, including the Wrights, Peter Searcy, Francisco Vidal, Sundiver, Clay Cook, and Acres, as well as slugging it out in the trenches with some of the hardest-working cover bands, playing over 250 dates every year since 2001. As the drummer for Metalsome Inc., Ganesh had the distinct challenge of keeping over 270 rock, pop, and metal anthems ready and sharp for thousands to try their hand at singing with the well-known live karaoke event. From ACDC to Zeppelin, from Pat Benatar to the Who, Asia to Ozzy, he's had to play them all, which give him a unique perspective on what it takes to play rock.
Benjamin Williams Instructor
Since his birth in Dallas, Texas, Ben has been eating rock nuggets topped off with a delicious coating of shred syrup. Never mind that nuggets don't mix with syrup; just go with it.
After moving to Atlanta, Ben kicked around in different rock groups for a while, eventually eventually winding up playing for Erica Ambrose.
Ben attends Oglethorpe University and is getting his masters in early childhood musical education. He wants to rock out with the kids and show them the path to the top, which involves stage dives, windmill picking, and 3-string arpeggios.
Damian Cartier Piano/Keyboard Instructor
Damian Cartier started out playing piano when he was 7 years old. At
first, he would wow severely related audiences with "The Old Grey Goose"
and "Broken Record Boogie" before moving on to "Fur Elise" and what his
mother would call "That Damn Major Scale, Again?". Soon, he took his
talents to the road and performed in front of people lucky enough not to
be related to him (as they could always leave a recital unnoticed) and
even began to compose his own songs. In the summer before 8th grade, he
auditioned for a high school all star band called "The Rhode Island Youth
Stage Band". He was immediately cast as the second bass player, and
played his first big show opening up the Kool Jazz Festival in Newport,
Rhode Island. This was the first time that he had been exposed to "jazz".
He had heard the word before, but assumed it was a dirty one based upon
the expression people would make when they said it. In the next few
years, Damian was promoted to the lead pianist position, and opened for
Dizzy Gillespie, Maynard Ferguson, Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis, Stevie Ray
Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, B.B. King, and many others.
After High School, Damian attended the University of Rhode Island to study
classical music. It was here that he realized that he wanted to be an
original musician, and play pop, jazz, rock, and funk. He joined a rock
band outside of college called "Kendall Green" who was asked to open for
Phish, Roomful of Blues, and Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker. He also started
a Rhythm and Blues band called "Funky Sea, Monkey Doo". They didn't open
for anyone famous, but they had a really good time.
A couple of years later, Damian started a band called "Max Damian". All
of the band members names were in the name..Max, Damian, and Ian (which
I've been told is Welch for Evan, unless it's the other way around). Max
Damian received immediate local success, and opened for G-Love and the
Special Sauce back when they were cool. They were offered two record
deals, but both of them involved Satan in some way or another, and then
the band slowly fell apart after flirting with the rock and roll dream.
Dusting off his britches, Damian moved to Atlanta in 1998 to try music in
a bigger and warmer environment. Upon arriving, he started jamming with
Brighter Shade, India Arie, Jon Allmett, and a bunch of seriously talented
bands. Pining for an outlet for his own music, Damian started "Damian
Cartier and His My Newt Orchestra" featuring himself, a trombonist, and a
drummer. While it was not the most conventional trio, they were good
enough to attract a bass player, then a guitarist, a trumpet player, a
saxaphonist, and, ultimately, some back up singers. The one problem was
that noone could remember the name. Some people thought it was Damian
CARTER (because Georgians knew Jimmy Carter), while others thought it was
a NEW orchestra, and still others had even more off the wall ideas for
what the name was. Frank Zappa had died, and, with him, creative band
names. So, they changed the original band name to "Wabi Sabi" in 2004,
but kept "Damian Cartier (And his My Newt Orchestra) for cover gigs.
During this time, Damian auditioned for and received a dueling piano
position at Jellyroll's in Buckhead, and then started his own traveling
dueling piano company called "The Andrews Brothers" in 2003.