Phil Martelly Owner
A graduate of the esteemed Berklee College of Music in Boston, his passion for music is unmatched by few and is a driving force behind his bringing School of Rock to the Southern Mass/Rhode Island area. He is the definition of the word musician as he plays not one but several instruments: guitar, bass and drums. Phil has played with a lot of the area's hottest bands including Pappy Chulo as the opening act for none other than Incubus.
Shawn Garrity Owner
Shawn's musical journey began at age 11 when his dad handed him a guitar and taught him a few chords. As he grew, so did his love for music. At 15, he joined a band, began writing music and playing original and cover songs at clubs and venues throughout New England. He studied jazz and classical music at Western Connecticut State University and earned a B.A. in Music Industry from the University of New Haven. After college Shawn formed several bands which eventually resulted in the formation of his current band, VulGarrity. The band has completed three nationwide tours, signed an artist development deal with MySpace Records and won first place in 95.5 WBRU's 2011 Rock Hunt. Shawn has shared the stage with The Prodigals, Ra, Robert DeLong, The Heavy, Ra Ra Riot and Electric Six. Shawn continues to record music and tour with his sister and VulGarrity bandmate Tracy. With the use of loop pedals, the two play guitar, bass, drums and keys simultaneously while singing, often switching instruments during their shows, creating a unique live music experience. While Shawn enjoys listening to and playing a wide variety of music, he is most inspired by all things rock.
Mike Woods Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Most notably known as the lead guitarist for the band Damone, Mike Woods was also the primary songwriter and co-producer for their critically acclaimed and commercially successful album, "Out Here All Night," as well as the follow-up record, "Roll the Dice." He has shared stages and recording studios with a large variety of successful artists, such as Andrew W.K., Candlebox, The All-American Rejects, and Juliet Simms to name a few. He has had his music featured in movies, television and video games, including The CW, "Stick It," George A. Romero's remake of zombie classic "Day of the Dead," "Madden NFL '07," "Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam" and "Rock Band." He is a guitar teacher, bass guitar teacher, songwriting teacher and audio production teacher at School of Rock Wakefield.
Justin Hancock Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Justin Hancock is a Boston-based guitarist, singer-songwriter and teacher. Born in Weymouth, Massachusetts, he played saxophone before making the switch to guitar in his early teens. He was passionate about music at a young age, largely due to his parents raising him on artists such as The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, John Lennon, Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, The Who and The Doors. Justin was also very influenced by the music that came out in the 90s, and began writing songs and performing in bands around the age of 13. After high school, he majored in Music at Westfield State University before transferring to The Berklee College of Music in Boston. He graduated in 2009 with a degree in Professional Music.
Justin has performed all over the U.S. and other parts of the world, including Egypt and Costa Rica. Since 2010, the majority of his touring, songwriting and recording has been with the award-winning rock band Hayley Jane and the Primates. They have toured the country multiple times, been featured in a number of national publications, and have performed at some of the most well-known venues and high-profile music festivals in the Northeast. They have shared lineups and bills with artists such as Trey Anastasio (Phish), Wilco, Phil Lesh (Grateful Dead), My Morning Jacket, Weezer, Gregg Allman, Umphrey's McGee, Warren Haynes (Allman Brothers, Gov't Mule), Ben Harper, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Blues Traveler, Sharon Jones, Moe, Dweezil Zappa, Dickey Betts (Allman Brothers), Chris Robinson (The Black Crowes), G. Love and Special Sauce, and Stephen Marley.
Justin is a guitar teacher and bass guitar teacher at School of Rock Wakefield.
Silvia Beier Studio Coordinator
Inspired by her children's experience at School of Rock, Silvia Beier took the plunge, started guitar lessons and never looked back. She's happy to make her background in education and administration useful for School of Rock's Rookies Program and at the front desk as the Studio Coordinator at School of Rock Wakefield. Most of all, she's looking forward to meeting students.
Douglas Appleman Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher, Piano Teacher, Drum Teacher, Vocal Instructor
Beginning classical piano lessons when he was five years old, Douglas Appleman developed a passion for music when he began attending camps at School of Rock at age 12. In the years since, he has picked up guitar, bass and drums. He plays locally in and around the greater Boston area and is currently the bassist in a groovy metal band called Poor Judgement. He is also an avid rapper, and plans to release a rap project in the near future. He is a guitar teacher, bass guitar teacher, drum teacher, piano teacher and vocal instructor at School of Rock Wakefield.
Chris Narainen Drum Teacher
Christopher Narainen is from Mauritius, a little tropical island in the Indian Ocean. Self-taught since age 11, he played regularly in many rock/metal/fusion/prog rock bands growing up and recorded numerous EPs. He simultaneously managed to go to college for Management and Finance, and as a result ended up transferring from the University of Mauritius to UMass Boston. Chris has played with numerous musical projects in Boston, including Blue Boy Productions, Veneer, Misty Blue Jazz, Rack Em Let's Go, The Thunder Squad, The MadMauritian and Jazz First. Chris has a hands-on approach to teaching and enjoys preparing students for performances. He looks forward to strengthening and building the new era of modern drummers. He is a drum teacher at School of Rock Wakefield.
Joe Pessia Music Director, General Manager
Hailing from Boston, MA, Joe Pessia started playing guitar in his early teens, inspired by The Beatles, AC/DC, Aerosmith and Queen. Playing in bands throughout high school led him to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston, from which he graduated with a degree in Professional Music. As a member of the bands Dramagods (with Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme, Rihanna), Tantric (the platinum-selling band with albums produced by Toby Wright of Alice in Chains fame), Hurtsmile (featuring Gary Cherone of Extreme, Joe Perry and formerly of Van Halen) and currently Steelheart, Joe has toured the US, Europe, Asia, India and Australia, and performed on national television programs like "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson." Joe has shared stages with the likes of Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction, Mike Mangini of Dream Theater, George Lynch of Dokken, Michael Anthony of Van Halen and Warren DeMartini of Ratt, and has opened for artists such as Alice in Chains, Sammy Hagar, Bret Michaels, Carlos Santana, Jeff Beck, YES and Judas Priest.
Joe has also collaborated on various albums as a guitarist, bassist, co-writer, co-producer and engineer. His music has been used by ESPN, the NHL and MLB, and is included on the video game "MLB 2K10" as former Tampa Bay Ray's third baseman Evan Longoria's walk up music. He is a guitar teacher, bass guitar teacher, General Manager and Music Director at School of Rock Wakefield.
Michael Alan Scrima Drum Teacher, Piano Teacher, Vocal Instructor
Getting his start in music through the classical world, Michael Alan Scrima started formal training at the St. Paul Choir School in Harvard Square, Massachusetts. There he was able to perform under the conducting of such greats as John Williams at Symphony Hall, Seiji Ozawa at Tanglewood and Sarah Caldwell at the Boston Opera House. Alongside having many piano recitals at the school, these experiences developed a healthy appreciation of classical music in Mike. Around the same time, Mike also started gravitating towards rock music, forming his first rock band when he was 12 years old. Over the years, he would play with countless musicians at such venues as The Paradise in Boston and CBGB's in New York months before its closing.
In 2007, Mike was offered a teaching position at School of Rock, which employed him for the next six and a half years. There he formed another band called Force Us To Stop, which consisted of his fellow teachers at the school. One of these teachers was Mike Woods, who recently asked Mike to play keyboard for his band Damone and who Mike was a fan of already. Aside from collaborative projects, Mike has also composed for short films such as "Memento Mortis" and "The Unknown," which starred John Fiore from "The Sopranos." He is a drum teacher, piano teacher and vocal instructor at School of Rock Wakefield.
Gavin Caine Keyboard Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher, Guitar Teacher, Drum Teacher
Gavin Caine is a musician, composer, producer, and music teacher from New Jersey. He started playing piano at 4 years old, and since then has learned to play guitar and taught himself bass and drums. A School of Rock alumni from the Tenafly SOR (now called Cresskill SOR), Gavin first enrolled at age 9, joined the school’s House Band at age 11, and was a two-time SOR All Star in 2015 and 2016, where he played at festivals such as Lollapalooza and Gathering of the Vibes. He went on to study music theory and composition at Boston University with a concentration in piano performance, all while playing in several bands around the Boston music scene. With such a musically diverse background, Gavin always tries to expose students to all aspects of music and give them a well-rounded education. Outside of teaching, Gavin can be found writing and producing his own music, as well as producing records for other musicians!
Josh Giaquinto Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher, Drum Teacher
Josh is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and music producer. He started playing music when he was 10 years old and had his first drum lesson. By high school, he decided to pick up bass and eventually guitar when he was 17. Throughout high school, he performed with the marching band, Jazz band, and percussion ensemble. In 2015, he released his first solo album and knew he wanted his life to be surrounded by music as much as possible. He majored in music technology at Franklin Pierce University where he met his current band Milfoil, who has multiple albums on Spotify and plays shows in the New England area.
Brian Spatola Guitar Teacher
Brian started playing guitar around the age of 16. Before too long he found himself outpacing friends, and even his early guitar teachers. After playing in a few cover bands, he began to write his own music. He branched out from learning classic rock to writing his own music. He soon started a prog/math rock band named Clever Girl. He played several art gallery openings and art installations as an acoustic version of Clever Girl. His current project, spyHunter, mixes the sound and feel of early video games with math and progressive metal.