Philip Gustavson
Director of Operations
Phil Gustavson has been a School of Rock staff member since 2008. His guitar playing has stretched from filling in with local bands at venues like The Triple Door and The Showbox to touring the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia with Argentinian tango singer and actress Ruth De Vicenzo. His most recent original work was with the gypsy jazz quintet Hochiwichi.
Lana Sparks
General Manager
Lana Sparks is the General Manager of School of Rock West Seattle. Lana has been singing and writing songs since she was seven years old. She is a passionate singer/songwriter and Seattle native.
She loves to sing, play guitar and is an avid street performer. Her roots in the Seattle music scene began when she first started attending open mics and was offered the opportunity to host her own. Lana hosted Open mics in Seattle for 10 years, nurturing and supporting local Seattle artists as they find their voice on stage. Lana loves busking, coffee, writing songs, journaling and performing. Her calling is to inspire others to face their fears and do what they love. She loves Rock and Pop music. Her favorite artists are Muse, Pinegrove, Florence and the Machine, Jessie Reyez, The Strokes, The Black Keys and Radiohead! She lives to inspire and is a lifelong musician. "Everything you've ever wanted is on the other side of fear"
Ben Haber
Music Director, Bass Guitar Teacher
Ben Haber hails from the vibrant arts community of Missoula, Montana. There, he studied bass privately for 8 years under renowned teacher and luthier Ryan Beck, while also dabbling in lessons on guitar, piano, and voice. By the time he graduated high school, Ben was working all different kinds of gigs, from jazz trios to wedding bands and musical theater. While studying at the University of Montana, Ben participated in some of the top jazz combos, the chamber chorale, and even a steel drum ensemble. After graduating early from the University of Montana in 2013, Ben studied music production through the Berklee School of Music online extension, earning technical certifications in "General Music Studies" and "Production With Ableton Live".
Ben relocated to Seattle in 2014 and has been busy performing and teaching ever since. His Folk/Rock band, "The Hasslers", have toured up and down the west coast and have shared the stage with PNW favorites like Blitzen Trapper and The Cave Singers. He has also served as a bass player for local singer/songwriters Claire Michelle and Miller Campbell. Most recently, he has been working on building his composition portfolio and licensing his music for commercial use. He has taught at School of Rock West Seattle since 2015 and loves teaching students of all ages.
Steve Ross
Guitar Teacher
Steve Ross has been the music director at School of Rock West Seattle since day one. He is the songwriter, vocalist, guitarist, and founding member of the acclaimed punk band the Briefs, who have been active since 1999.
Prior to his time in the Briefs, he was a member of the Alt-Rock band Green Apple Quick Step in the ‘90s, appearing on Late Night with Conan O’Brien and Beavis and Butthead. Steve’s songs have been featured in several TV shows, including an episode of The OC.
Over the years, his bands have toured with acts like Pearl Jam, The Buzzcocks, The Damned, and Alice in Chains, and played festivals such as Punk Rock Bowling, Warped Tour, and Fun Fun Fun Fest. He enjoys science fiction and cats.
Jacob de Vrieze
Guitar Teacher
Jake grew up listening almost exclusively to classic rock and started learning to play the guitar at age 11. He is a long time instructor at School of Rock West Seattle, he’s been playing guitar and bass for 16 years and has been drumming for five. Jake plays in and writes for a Seattle band called Motel Dolores where he plays guitar, sings and is an occasional bassist.
Erik Foster
Bass Teacher, Guitar Teacher
A Pacific Northwest native, Erik Foster has been playing guitar since the age of seven. He became active in Seattle’s music scene as a teenager and began touring both stateside and internationally soon after. Erik is the singer and lead guitarist for the alt-rock band Dirty Sidewalks, plays bass for surf and garage-rock staples The Boss Martians and The Bomboras, and recently joined garage rock legends The Sonics as bassist. His songwriting has been featured in commercials and television programs, including the TV show Shameless. In addition to performing and teaching at School of Rock West Seattle, Foster is co-owner of No-Count Studios, a full-service audio production facility in Seattle.
Luke Jaeger
Guitar Teacher, Bass Guitar Teacher
Luke Jaeger is a multi-genre guitarist, bassist and composer. At the age of 13, he performed to his first live audience of hundreds on public access TV in Sacramento with his first band after winning several talent shows in school. It was 2002 when he founded his original project Sleep Terror that his unique sound, technical playing ability, and compositional skills became globally acknowledged. Luke has over two decades of experience as a music teacher to all ages and musical interests with touring, recording, and band experience to top it off. Taught for several years by a G.I.T. graduate, Luke understands and incorporates similar disciplines of practice, understanding essential music theory, and developing personal style in his own teaching modules. However, his primary goal for every individual student is to get them
to have fun and artistically express themselves in the fullest way possible.
Angel Foster
Guitar Teacher
Angel began her musical journey when they started playing guitar in 1988. She studied music at Tyler Jr. College and Tarrant County College with a focus on classical guitar performance. Angel also studied music theory and performed in recitals and as part of the classical guitar ensemble while in school. After playing guitar in rock bands around Dallas, TX, she began teaching guitar and bass guitar.
Angel enjoys the process of teaching music by finding out how each student learns and then finding the best way to progress. Most of all, she enjoys seeing a student become confident in their ability to create and perform music. For the past few years, Angel has been playing guitar live in Seattle, most recently with their band, Chase Sequence.
Mike Fritz
Drum Teacher
Mike's musical journey has spanned nearly three decades, taking him from the streets of Oakland, CA, to some of the most hallowed halls of Rock and Roll! In that time, Mike has toured the world playing with many musical greats, recorded at legendary recording studios, and met so many amazing musicians! All of his rocking the kit has led him right here! School of Rock offers the perfect arrangement to marry his experience with the opportunity to teach the next generations.
Harry Snyder
Drum Teacher
Harry has always had a strong passion for percussion and digital media. Musically oriented since birth, his parents were musicians and had a variety of instruments. He has been DJ'ing and producing since the age of 12, winning several local production contests. During high school, he was the drum tech on the drum line as well as working as the audio tech, managing the PA set up and live audio during assemblies for the drama department and other events like battle of the bands (which he also won). Since then, he has been performing and volunteering at various festivals and playing percussion in various local marching bands. Harry has been working at West Seattle School of Rock since it opened in 2015.
Peter Bryson
Little Wing and Rookies Teacher
Peter Bryson is a Seattle-based musician and educator. As a performer, Peter draws on a wide variety of influences to create a high-energy and expressive style of drumming. As a teacher, Peter facilitates hands-on experience to give young musicians the skills they need to explore music confidently.
Peter has been gigging regularly for over a decade with his band, Beautiful Freaks, of which he is also a founder and songwriter. Beautiful Freaks have played countless shows across the United States and the band has released an LP, an EP, multiple singles, demos, and live recordings. They have also appeared live in the studio on multiple radio stations including KUGS, KEXP, and KISW.
Peter has also toured as a drummer and bassist with Seattle rock band Tres Leches, performed as a pit musician for several musicals, and supported solo musicians both on bass and drums. He has provided percussion for orchestras and wind symphonies, appeared with brass bands and experimental free-jazz combos, and extensively performed solo and ensemble percussion music works, including To The Earth and Music For 18 Musicians.
Peter received a BA in Music from Western Washington University in 2021, having studied music education and percussion performance. He has volunteered and taught in music classrooms of all grade levels across Western Washington. From 2017-2020 he served as the Percussion Coach for the North Sound Youth Symphony. Peter has been teaching School of Rock’s Rookies and Little Wing classes since 2021.
Jerrod Dietz
Vocal Teacher
Jerrod Dietz has been a musician for 20+ years, proficient in vocals, guitar, drums, bass, piano, music production, and composition. He has entrenched himself in everything he can that brings sound and life into this world! Touring with punk band The Newports in the early 2000's, Jerrod performed all over the west coast as the singer/songwriter. He is currently the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of his latest band, Born of Ghosts, which has just released a new EP "If It Ever Was, It Isn't Now". Born of Ghosts has been featured on KISW Loud and Local, The Stranger, Rock Rage Radio, and worked with prominent artists in the scene such as Kellin Quinn of Sleeping With Sirens.
Beyond teaching at School of Rock West Seattle, Jerrod is currently developing Born of Ghosts' first US tour, and composes music for video games in his spare time. His latest work "The Glitch Fairy" can be found on Steam. His musical influences include My Chemical Romance, The Used, Dance Gavin Dance, The Smiths, Cradle of Filth, Mayday Parade. He likes hiking, dungeons and dragons, and vampire fiction in his spare time.
Eric Junge
Keyboard + Piano Teacher
Eric is a lifelong musician and has been a keyboard + piano and occasional drum teacher at School of Rock West Seattle since 2023, although he's been teaching music since 2012. He has directed many School of Rock shows and camps over the years, as well as the Rock 101 and the Adult programs. Aside from teaching, Eric is currently weaving psychedelic synthesized sounds with his solo project Dream Commander and also recently produced a full musical soundtrack for an adventure game called Saturday Superday.
Eric is happy to have the opportunity to teach his craft and be able to contribute to the music community in whatever way he can.
Jacob Cleveland
Keyboard + Piano Teacher, Vocal Teacher
Jacob Cleveland is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, and musician who has worked in the Seattle area since 2020. He has played guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, and sang in various bands ranging from pop, '70s jam, to surf rock. You may have seen him shredding bass with “Sour and the Krauts” at 2025’s Summerfest in West Seattle. He has been teaching music for five years working with all ages and abilities.
Jacob has recordings licensed for Youtube, Netflix, Music Libraries, and Podcasts under his pen name “Ube Palomino”. He has short films he scored receive recognition in various film festivals across the United States and abroad.
Jacob is a founding member of Salmon House Art Collective, a group of artists collaborating across the United States since 2018. He is also a graduate of the Seattle Jazz Academy, where he earned Level I and II certifications on the piano studying with Andrew Guilbert, Mack Grout, and Dylan Hayes.
When not teaching at School of Rock West Seattle, Jacob enjoys nature, being a dog Dad, playing jazz, and cooking.
Ava Gem Anderson
Studio Coordinator, Vocal Teacher
Ava Gem was a long-time School of Rock West Seattle student and House Band member, but after graduating high school, she couldn’t bear being without School of Rock for too long.
Ava is mainly a vocalist and bassist, but she also dabbles in drums and guitar. When Ava isn’t jamming on grunge or classic rock, you can find her on a different kind of stage, she loves musical theatre and is currently very active in the scene.