Ray Kidd
Owner
Ray grew up in a highly musical atmosphere, living under the same roof as a Music Minister, Band Instructor and singer for the Vocal Majority. From a young age, he gravitated towards Elvis & The Ramones instead of the 80’s new wave of the day. A cancerous tumor left him deaf in one ear, but that didn’t sway his love for music. Living in Grand Junction Colorado, young Ray decided he wanted to learn guitar. His parents took him to a member of their church, the guitar-tech-turned-guitar-player of the 80’s Hair-Metal band, Quiet Riot. (“Come on feel the noise” and “Bang your Head/Metal Health”) . Ray picked up guitar with ease, as he seems to do with any instrument (except vocals!)
Moving back to Texas his Senior year of high school, Ray immediately joined a band looking for a bass player. After graduating he became a Private School Kindergarten teacher by day / Rockstar by night. His band Atention Deficit won the Dallas Observer Award for best punk band in DFW, playing with such bands as: Bowling for Soup, Brand New, Taking Back Sunday and more.
Eventually some severe health problems resulted in Ray becoming completely deaf for a few months, putting his life & band on hold. When he regained hearing in his good ear, he moved back to Dallas, and joined back up with his band-mates. They re-formed as a new band named Peacemaker, and worked with still unknown producer Geoff Rockwell (Forever The Sickest Kids, Artist vs Poet, Memphis Mayfire) to record their first full-length as this band. Peacemaker quickly garnered a large following playing with bands such as: Bad Religion, Hot Water Music, Less Than Jake and more.
When the Frisco School of Rock opened in North Dallas, Ray was a perfect fit as an instructor. Ray quickly learned that his passion could become a reality and a career. He worked his way up to becoming the Music Director of what became the second largest School of Rock in the nation, leading him to later train and work in multiple locations in the DFW area. After 6 years, Ray and his wife moved out to Southern California and led a cultural revolution by opening up multiple brand new schools from scratch! A few years later the Kidds were moved back to DFW to oversee 27 locations across the US!
But Ray and his wife always knew they wanted to be School of Rock owners, and after 8 years with SoR they opened their first location in Bryan/College Station with their family. Their second location in The Colony is opening in Summer 2021.
Ray loves teaching, song writing, and working with local musicians all day, every day. If you want to reach out to him, you can drop in, call, text or email the school!
Kristin Kidd
Owner
Kristin has a degree in English & Child Development from the University of North Texas, as well as a certification in Audio Engineering. She ran one of Texas' largest recording studios, working with artists such as Justin Timberlake, Timbaland, the Jonas Brothers, John Legend, and more.
Since 2009, Kristin has been operating and opening new School of Rock locations from Texas to California, and everywhere in between. She and Ray opened their first school in College Station in 2019, and their second in The Colony in 2021. Kristin is currently an executive for a national franchise organization by day, and a musician by night. Kristin has seen firsthand how incredible and life-saving this program is for its students, both young and old.
Rich Sanchez
Music Director, Drum Teacher, Guitar Teacher, Bass Teacher, Piano Teacher, Band Director
Raised in a musical family, Richard Sanchez began learning music at five years old. While he notes that drums are his primary instrument he is also proficient in guitar, bass, keys, mallet percussion and vocals he also dabbles in banjo and cello.
Rich began performing on drums professionally at the age of 17 with students from UNT college of music; playing almost every venue in Deep Ellum by the time he reached 18. He strongly credits rock music as being the catalyst that led him to study music in college. Rich was accepted to Berklee College of Music but opted to pursue jazz studies at University of North Texas. Rich worked as an audio engineer at Maximedia Studios, where he got real insight into the workings of the professional music industry. In his time there he worked with artists such as The Jonas Brothers, Pat Green, Andy Timmons, Amy Lee of Evanescence, Filter, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Missy Elliot and Timbaland to name a few. He is also a session drummer for many local and regional artists.
Rich has taught with School of Rock for over 8 years and was the music director of the Flower Mound school for 6 years. He continues to maintain strong relationships with musicians and venues in the Denton and DFW music community. Rich composes music on multiple instruments and still performs as a studio musician, in original bands, cover bands and jazz gigs with talented musicians from all over DFW. However, he strongly believes in teaching as his calling and truest passion.
Dillon Wilkins
Guitar Teacher, Bass Teacher, Singing Teacher, Band Director
Dillon was born and raised in the DFW area. She was drawn to music right from the start, even humming songs before she could form sentences. At age 11, she joined Girls Rock Dallas where she found her tribe and had her first experiences playing guitar and bass. After getting a taste of being a musician at Girls Rock, she decided to take playing an instrument seriously. The next summer, she joined the School of Rock in Flower Mound where she was taught by Ray and Rich. She knew immediately that this was the place she wanted to be.
In the summer of 2016, Dillon began teaching guitar as a teenager. She moved to join the School of Rock Fort Worth and became the guitarist in her first band, Ting Tang Tina. They played shows in 2017, gaining a following in the local music scene and winning best new artist from Fort Worth Weekly in 2018. Ting Tang Tina released an EP, Love is Trippy, and an LP, HoneyBee.
Today she is studying Art Education at Texas Woman’s University and fronting her new band, Trash Puppies, with other School of Rock alumni.
Nick Bobotas
Drum Teacher, Keyboard Teacher
Nick was born in Illinois and grew up in Flower Mound, TX. He was raised on rock and roll, jamming to Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, and Creed at a young age. At age 5 he started taking piano lessons and continued through high school.
While in high school, Nick decided to learn drums and started taking lessons with our very own Rich Sanchez. Nick was in the first House Band at the Flower Mound SoR and hasn’t stopped playing live music since. He currently plays in two bands local to the DFW area: Trauma Ray and Mayhill. When he’s not touring or practicing for shows, Nick spends his time working a full-time gig with Pepsi Logistics and teaching keyboards and drums to the coolest kids in the Colony.
Fun Facts:
Nick loves - cheesecake, good music, and chewy candy
Nick does not like - bullies, coconuts, or bad music
Kaity Floyd
Singing Teacher, Keyboard Teacher, Rookies Teacher
Floyd is a singer-songwriter from Dallas, TX. She’s had a love for Rock ‘N Roll from a very young age, listening to bands such as Led Zeppelin, AFI, The Used, and many others.
Floyd got her start by playing local venues in the Dallas area, including House of Blues, The Palladium, and Freedom Fest. Her vocals gained the attention of one of her favorite artists, Kevin Martin of Candlebox, and was invited to sing with the band during their show in Dallas. In addition to Floyd’s live performance credits, she also has numerous worldwide song writing placements in commercials and television shows.
Floyd’s love for performance doesn’t stop at music. She is also the in-game host for three professional sports teams in the Dallas market and has appeared in several national television commercials.
Floyd is a School of Rock alum and is excited to be a part of The Colony School of Rock family. She looks forward to inspiring the next generation of Texas rockers!