CARL RESTIVO Music Director
Vocal Instructor, Guitar Instructor,
Bass Instructor, Drum Instructor
Carl Restivo's unique ability as a singer, multi-instrumentalist, performer, writer, producer and arranger has opened ears and eyes everywhere. Recently it has landed him a spot in Perry Farrell's Satellite Party.
Carl has recorded, produced and/or written songs with Wyclef Jean, Jerry Wonder, Perry Farrell, Mick Mars, Nuno Bettencourt, Gary Cherone, Dug Pinnick, Salt (Salt N Pepa), Dilana, Sully Enra (Godsmack), Criss Angel, Steve Perry, Patti LaBelle, Buju Banton, Big Pun, Peter Gunz & Lord Tariq, Corey Gunz, Kurupt, Xzibit, J Ocean, Ed Palermo, Monkeyboyz, Patricia Bernetti, Meleni Smith, Barry Beama, Guy Boogie, DJKnS, Joey Heredia, Shut Up Stella, and Lorenzo Owens.
As a guest artist, Carl has contributed as lead guitarist and vocalist with numerous performances with Wyclef Jean, lead vocalist and guitarist with The Ed Palermo Big Band, bassist and vocalist with Extreme, and drummer and vocalist for Wrong. Also, Carl has performed such great and diverse artists as Robbie Krieger, Ray Manzarek, John Densmore, Slash, Tom Morello, Ben Harper, Jerry Cantrell, Mick Mars, Cypress Hill, Wayne Kramer, Jill Sobule, Shooter Jennings, Napoleon Murphy Brock, and Mike Keneally.
In 2007, Carl toured the UK and Europe as the bassist and the US as musical director for Perry Farrell's Satellite Party.
www.myspace.com/carlrestivo
JODY DELLI SANTI Assistant Music Director
Growing up in Wayne, New Jersey, JODY DELLI SANTI studied classical and jazz piano from the age of eight, which eventually earned him a scholarship to Five Towns College in Long Island. Along the way, he taught himself guitar, bass, drums and vocals, which helped immensely when he cut his first record, and literally played every instrument on it.
In 2003, he partnered with Grammy Award winning producer Warren Riker and worked for two years on songs that became his SUPERCREEP album. Warren became a mentor, friend and collaborator, and Jody credits him with getting him signed to PRC/Universal in 2004, which is Pat Magnarella’s label (manager of GREENDAY, ALL AMERICAN REJECTS, GOO GOO DOLLS), and for the quality of the album. Contributors include Riker (drum programming, guitar, key producing), Marc Shelton (guitar), Rob Grosso (drums), and Robin Diaz (drums).
In 2006, Jody moved to Los Angeles where he randomly stumbled across the players that would help him form the most complete incarnation of SUPERCREEP. With the classically trained keyboard virtuosities of Lauren Pardini, Bass maestro Matt Maroulakos and the rapid fire drumming of Johnny Dinu, Jody found a musical kinship like never before. This four piece band of self professed 'supercreeps' have rapidly gained a reputation for their tight and entertaining shows within the jaded folded arm movement ever present on the west coast. From teen centers to hipster hang-outs, the band is fast becoming a vital part of the burgeoning underground music scene.
DEMIAN ARRIAGA Drum Teacher
Drummer and Percussionist Demian Arriaga was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela in 1982. He has been playing drums for most of his life, listing bands such as Megadeth, Mr. Big, Extreme and Dream Theater as the guilty parties in his obsession with music.
Fast forward 20 years and Demian decided to make music his life. In 2001 he was accepted at the prestigious Berklee College of Music where he graduated in 2004 with a Degree in Professional Music. In this respected institute he studied drums with Dave Dicenso (John Petrucci), and personal childhood idol Mike Mangini (Steve Vai). His percussion studies were under Eguie Castrillo (Tito Puente), Ernesto Diaz (Mango Blue) and Jamey Haddad (Paul Simon).
He's played drums for artists such as the legendary rock singer Gary Cherone (Extreme, Van Halen), Flamenco guitar virtuoso Mario Reyes and the multi-Grammy winning Salsa legend Ruben Blades. His percussion work has been as varied, playing with numerous Hip Hop, Reggae and Rock bands in Boston, New York and Venezuela. His percussion work has been recently featured in Buick commercials all over the country. He's been part of supporting acts for artists such as Busta Rhymes, Ozomatli, Talib Kweli and N.E.R.D among others.
Beginning on January 21st Demian will tour Europe with world famous guitarist Richie Kotzen, performing in over 12 countries.
NEIL RAMBALDI Guitar
The lyrical and unique voice of Neil Rambaldi’s guitar, and his passion for melody, rhythm, and harmony have brought and continue to bring his music to many new fans on an international level. Fans of Rock and far beyond are experiencing Neil’s epic and eclectic brand of heavy Rock Fusion with his global influences bursting at the seams.
His acclaimed all-instrumental solo debut album “Perpetual Horizon” has been heard on FM radio waves in 13 countries to date since its release in 2002. His music has also been licensed in countless projects, including commercials for AMC TV, the feature film “199 Lives,” the extreme sport DVD “ThrillBillies,” Carmichael Training Systems’ audio workouts, a video game trailer for XGen Studios, and many others.
Neil’s guitar talents along with his skills as a composer, arranger, producer, and multi-instrumentalist have been used as well by other artists both live and in the studio. This includes former Universal Records recording artist Lilian Garcia, Kenny Simmons, former member of the three-time Grammy award-winning group The Commodores, Mausoleum Records (Belgium) recording artist Rivera Bomma, and singer/songwriter John Taglieri among others. Aside from regional touring with various artists, Neil has also performed on national and regional television with Lilian Garcia, and served as musical director for John Taglieri’s live band in addition to his lead guitar duties.
Very diverse in his taste of music, Neil’s influences range from various forms of Rock, especially progressive, along with Blues, Metal, Classical, Jazz, Latin Jazz, Flamenco, Funk, New Age, and even some of the mainstream Pop through the decades among others. He holds a B.A. in Music from William Paterson University in New Jersey, and has also attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. Neil enjoys bringing his knowledge, skills, and experience to the table at School of Rock.
www.neilrambaldi.com
AL PAHANISH Drum Teacher
Multi platinum recording artist, drummer/vocalist, music composer/producer and multi instrumentalist...AL (AL3) Pahanish, Jr. is widely known as co founder and drummer for DreamWorks SKG recording artist Powerman 5000 (1990-02). His rock solid beats are the original foundation of the PM5K style and are deeply rooted in the long history of the art of drumming. He has performed around the world, appeared on numerous tv shows (Conan O'Brien, B.H. 90210), film soundtracks(Scream 3, Little Nicky, Zoolander) and was involved in some of music's most important tours such as Ozzfest 96-97 (Black Sabbath reunion), Metallica's Summer Sanitarium and the 1997 Kiss reunion tour. Al has performed or recorded with John Zorn/ Naked City, Cypress Hill, Soul Assassins, Martin Sexton, The Lunch Factor, Vixtrola, Eminem, 50 Cent, Mobb Deep, Obie Trice, Lloyd Banks, Avenged Sevenfold, Zora Young, Everlast, MC Rai, Screaming Headless Torsos and Zayra Alvarez(Rockstar:Supernova). Al received his BM in Percussion Performance from Boston's Berklee College of Music and studied theory, piano and composition under master bassoonist/ pianist Maxine Shimer at the Trinity College of Music, London (Pgh. centre) where he was also a candidate instructor of music theory and percussion. Now residing in Los Angeles, Al has been working with renowned Tunisian Rai artist MC Rai, teaching, doing sessions dates and composing music for film and television at his studio. Recently, the Gorilla Pictures release "The Lengend of Sasquatch" starring William Hurt and John Rhys Davies has won best animated feature at the 2007 International Family Film Festival in Los Angeles. Al was original music composer, arranger and producer for the film.
PABLO SIGNORI Guitar, Bass, Vocals
Upon graduating from Interlochen Arts Academy in 1998 as a Classical Guitar Major, Pablo went on to further pursue musical academia at the University of Indiana School of Music. He graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Classical Guitar Performance under the guidance of world-renown guitarist Ernesto Bitetti. During the completion of his Bachelors, at age 19, Pablo was also given a position as Instructor of Guitar at Indiana University. Deciding that teaching was not his only career path, he moved to Los Angeles with his diploma in hand in 2002. Here he began a new career as a song-writer, recording his first demo at Graham Nash's home studio. It was there, while working on his music for three months, where he honed in on the skill of turning live instruments into recorded sound. He then went on to form a band called Malbec, which has garnered a solid following in Southern California and the Mid-West. Pablo plays guitar, keyboards and sings in the band. Malbec made the top 100 unsigned artists list in Music Connection Magazine for 2006, and promptly went on to secure a publishing deal with Songs Publishing (NYC). Since then, Malbec has appeared on a number of TV shows and movie soundtracks including One Tree Hill, The Sims: Pet Stories 2, The Omen, Kyle XY, Dirty Sexy Money, and My Best Friend's Girl amongst many others. In conjunction with his band career, Pablo branched into the commercial/tv/film world by securing the main vocal part for the song "Blue" in the critically acclaimed Wojan Bros. commercial for Fruit Of The Loom. This event catapulted his interest in this genre of music work, making way for multiple co-writes and forming his music production collective called My Name M. They have written for many projects including but not limited too indie film One Wish, Mr. Woodcock, 27 Dresses, Toyota's Monday Night Football, and Ford's Road to Bristol for NASCAR.
JORDAN PLOSKY Drummer
Jordan has been playing drums for 21 years, and professionally for 5. His first professional gig was for Atlantic Recording artist,Ryan Cabrera. From there he has toured the US, and internationally with many other major label artists. These include Miley Cyrus, Ashley Tisdale, Teddy Geiger, and many more. He has also performed with Island Records artist, Kerli, and Wind- Up's STEFY. His most prestigious tour to date has been as the drummer for rock legend Perry Farrell, and his band Satellite Party. Jordan has played live at many renowned venues including Madison Square Garden, the main stage at Lollapalooza, the Presidential Inauguration, Super Bowl weekend, Angels Stadium and many many more. He has also performed on many notable television programs including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Total Request Live, Good Morning America, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and many more! Currently, Jordan is a part of the rock band We Are The Fury, who are set to
record a follow up to their Warner Brother's debut, "Venus" this year.
JOE DE SA Guitar
Joe De Sa is an accomplished guitarist, composer, arranger and author based in Los Angeles, California. Influenced by YES, Jeff Beck, Alan Holdsworth, John Mclaughlin, and many other rock, jazz and fusion artists, Joe toured extensively opening for several of them in his native Brazil. He eventually found his way to Berklee College of Music in where he graduated with a degree in Professional Music in 2000. Joe has collaborated in projects alongside artists such as Vinnie Colaiuta, Dennis Chambers, Michael Breker, Barry Manilow, Chuck Loeb, Leann Rimes as well as producers Desmond Child (Kiss, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith) and John Shanks (Melissa Etheridge, Alanis Morissette, Fleetwood Mac, Celine Dion).
Joe has published two successful guitar books, “100 Ultimate Jazz Riffs for Guitar” and “Ultimate Latin Riffs” through A.D.G. Productions and is currently working on a series of new titles to be released in 2009/2010.
An active guitarist in the Los Angeles local scene, Joe also tours nationally and internationally with a variety of artists and music styles. He is currently working with aussie alternative country singer/songwriter Shereen Teixiera, LA based rock band Minyan and jazz quintet Patrick Charles Group.
www.myspace.com/joedesamusic
LISA MARIE MAESTAS Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Lisa Marie Maestas was born on New Year's day in Denver, CO where she grew up in a loving and supportive family who always encouraged her to follow her dreams and pursue her passion. Lisa Marie discovered her passion for music at an early age and began her musical training at the age of 10 playing drums with her Elementary School concert band. She continued her training throughout her Junior High and High school years playing in the orchestra, marching band and jazz band. After graduation, she attended the Art Institute of Colorado where she studied Music and Video Production.
Since then, Lisa Marie has been revolving her life around her love for music by recording and performing as a lead singer and drummer with various national touring bands opening for internationally recognized recording artists such as Megadeth, Disturbed, Hazel Miller and Sonia Dada, among others. Lisa Marie has had the pleasure of performing with members of Fishbone, Ozomatli, Rage Against the Machine and Parliament Funkadelic. In 2005, she moved to Los Angeles working as a session musician and performing her songs in top venues such as The House of Blues, BB Kings, The Vault , Above the Rox, The Temple Bar and The Hotel Café, to name a few, as well as playing acoustic showcases with the organization, LA Women in Music. Since moving to LA, Lisa Marie has also had the privilege of performing benefit shows with The NightWatchman, (Tom Morello of RATM, Audioslave) and is also a volunteer with Axis of Justice, which is a non-profit organization formed by Tom Morello and Serj Tankian of System of a Down. Its purpose is to bring together musicians, fans of music, and grassroots political organizations to fight for social justice. Recently, Lisa Marie signed a production deal with Peter Distefano of Porno For Pyros and Sanctuary records and is recording her debut solo album to be released in 2009. She is thrilled to have Spacey T, formerly of Fishbone and Sound Barrier on guitars and bass and Peter DiStefano guest on rhythm guitar on her song "Haunting Me." You can hear it at myspace.com/lisamarieandspaceyt
Stay tuned for her new rock duo with Spacey T. on 8 string guitar and Lisa Marie on drums and vocals called PRAISE THE DEAD to be launched in 2009. Lisa Marie also works as a drum and vocal instructor for a non-profit organization bringing music lessons to underprivileged youth in South Central L.A., as well as teach private lessons at School of Rock in Hollywood, CA.
"If one child is inspired enough to continue to play music then we have made a difference. The world needs more musicians! Today, more than ever, our youth need to be guided in the right direction, so they can pursue their artistic and creative dreams confidently. I believe that if music skills are taught at an early age, that child has a better chance at a promising future." Lisa Marie Maestas
myspace.com/lisamarieandspaceyt
TRACEY SINGLETON Guitar, Bass
Tracey (SPACEY T.) Singleton is a multi-talented recording artist from New Jersey who moved to Los Angeles, California in 1978. In 1979 SPACEY T. met one of his musical heroes, the guitar legend from FUNKADELIC, EDDIE HAZEL. After hearing Spacey T. play guitar, Eddie Hazel invited him to record with BONNIE POINTER of the legendary POINTER SISTERS. During this time Eddie Hazel and Spacey T became best friends and continued their deep friendship and musical relationship until Eddie Hazel passed in 1992. During the years 1983 – 1986 Spacey T. founded the band SOUNDBARRIER which became the first all black Metal band to be signed to a major label, signing with MCA records in 1983 and recording 3 albums. After the break up of SOUNDBARRIER, Spacey T. performed with various bands and from 1992-1993 had the opportunity of playing guitar and recording with BILLY BASS NELSON who was also the Bass player for FUNKADELIC. At this time, Spacey T. also recorded and toured internationally with the Funk Rock band MOTHER’S FINEST, playing lead
and rhythm guitar. During 1994 – 1996 Spacey T. toured and performed with one of his best friends HR/ Human Rights who is also the lead singer of the legendary band BAD BRAINS. Soon after, Spacey T. caught the attention of another legendary band, FISHBONE and was invited to join the band as their guitarist. During the years 1997-2004 Spacey T. performed and toured internationally with FISHBONE gaining an already growing world-wide fan base.
Since then Spacey T. has been a highly sought after session player recording on various well-known artists albums such as MANDRILL, KANYE WEST, and TALIB KWELI, all the while recording and working on his solo material. During his spare time Spacey T. is a part time guitar and bass instructor for Sound Art LA, helping bring music lessons to underprivileged kids in Los Angeles, as well as teach private lessons at The Paul Green School of Rock in Hollywood.
http://www.myspace.com/lisamarieandspaceyt
Wendy Winks Regional Director, Southern California
Wendy Winks started taking piano lessons at the age of 7, and by 14 was playing Rachmaninoff's Op.3 No.2, and Beethoven's Sonate Pathetique Op. 13. But what she really loved to play was The Beatles. Unfortunately, the School Of Rock didn't exist then! She has built her career by working with creative people to help them achieve their dreams - artists, writers, directors, and now at the Paul Green School Of Rock Music, the most rewarding of all - kids who want to learn to play music.
Prior to joining the school, Winks was a film producer and literary manager. Her company developed and co-produced the perennial holiday film, "Santa Jr." for the Hallmark Channel. She also produced "Diamond Dog Caper," a family comedy starring French Stewart, Luke Benward and Kevin Farley. As a literary manager, she repped clients Paul Brown, who wrote "Camp Rock" starring The Jonas Brothers for The Disney Channel, and Mark Stouffer, whose life story was told in the Warner Brothers Film, "Wild America." Winks is still a co-producer on a couple of film projects being shepherded by her producing partners: a true story about Bruce Lee being produced by Terence Chang and John Woo to be shot in China in 2009, and a romantic comedy being shot in the UK with Italian producer, Pete Maggi.
Prior to starting her own production company, Winks was Sr. Director of Corporate Partnerships at Universal Studios, and managed the studio's relationship with Kodak, and with Discover Financial Services. She also spent three years as Director of Marketing in the Home Video Group.
Winks received her MBA from Notre Dame de Namur University, and her undergrad degree from the University of North Texas.
Elle Spencer-Lewis Assistant General Manager, vocals, guitar
Montreal-born, LA-based musician Elle believes in living her dreams. After wishing on a star to get the chance, she moved to Los Angeles to study and play in LA with such accomplished musicians as Dorian Holley (Michael Jackson, American Idol), Airto Moreira (Chick Corea, Sergio Mendez), Mike Shapiro (Justin Timberlake, Black Eyed Peas) and others. 16 hours after the release of her second album, Desire Rules The World, she hopped on a plane for her on the first leg of an actual tour of the world. Meeting an international brotherhood of local musicians and international fellow LAMA alumni, she gigged in Athens, Istanbul, Israel, Croatia, Austria, Italy, Ireland and England.
Through her Pasadena-based label, 5 Alarm Music, Desire has already had tracks placed in TV's Friday Night Lights, One Life To Live, The Black Donellys and Missing.
www.ellelala.com