Grounded in Music: Instrumental learning

“One of the most important things to keeping Texas music alive is to make sure that it’s available to our kids,” says Joe Stallone, legal attorney for the firm Bracewell & Giuliani, and one-fifth of the founding team of Austin-based non-profit organization Grounded in Music.

courtesy of Grounded in Music Alex Vallejo has a jam session with his students during a music lesson 

Founded earlier this year, Grounded in Music has a mission to inspire children to turn to music as a hobby, career, outlet, or alternative to life on the streets. They’re slated to hold their first fundraiser on November 5 at Antone’s.

Providing music programs to students in grades 4 through 12, by way of a very symbiotic partnership with the Boys & Girls club, GIM was founded by a collection of industry professionals along with Stallone: Jeff Kreinik, Director of Sales and Marketing for Front Gate Tickets; Zack Baker, Owner of The Jiles Agency; Michael McKinley, CEO of Made Creative Management; and Matt Hoffman, legal attorney of Duane Morris LLP.

“Grounded in Music is a clear-cut solution to the rising cutbacks in music programs in schools in Austin and across the country,” says Stallone. Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in early January 2002, there has been a significant shift in funding for educational programs in public schools. The Act qualified the arts – and therefore music – as one of the “core academic subjects,” of which there are 10, along with reading and math. According to non-profit organization Americans for the Arts, the “NCLB currently requires schools to report student achievement test results for only reading and mathematics. Because of the amount of change schools must see in student achievement … there are many reports of decreasing instruction time for … the arts.”

courtesy of Grounded in Music James Speer takes part of his class to demonstrate how computers can complement the making of music. 

The resulting cuts in public schools’ budgets has revealed a big problem. “Underprivileged kids are the hardest hit. If they can’t get it in school, they just can’t get it,” explains Stallone.

Partnering with the Boys & Girls Club was, according to Stallone, the “easiest and most efficient way to make music more accessible to kids.” As a board member for a number of years, he has seen the ebb and flow of program availability. “It was a natural fit,” he adds.

As with most new organizations, GIM is funded “solely from donations of individual and corporations,” Stallone explains. “We run a pretty lean organization. For the most part, our instruments have been generously donated. Our instructors are paid less than the market rate for their time and effort, and are musicians from the area,” he explains. “David Deeson teaches guitar and plays for Broken Teeth. Alex Vallejo teaches drums and plays with Vallejo, and James Speer teaches vocals and piano, and plays keys for Vallejo.”

GIM has covered all of its bases, realizing that students interested in music may not be interested in performance. “Another thing that makes our program unique is that we’re not catering to kids who want to play. We want kids to understand there are opportunities in the music world… without being the lead singer or lead guitarist,” says Stallone.

photo / Kristin Hillery The GIM fundraiser happens tonight at Antone’s 

GIM highlights possibilities that previously seemed so out of reach for students. Earlier this year, with help from the Recording Academy, GIM brought approximately 20 students to a sound check program for the Cheetah Girls concert at the Frank Irwin Center, complete with a tour. “The Cheetah Girls came out and did a song for them, and sat down and were interviewed by 20 of our kids,” says Stallone, beaming.

With a staff comprised essentially of Executive Director Jacquelyn Sorcic and founding board members, Grounded in Music is committed to working hard to provide a program that gives some kids another reason to be at the Boys & Girls club. Ambitious in their intentions to expand, they plan to unroll the same program in Philadelphia in February or March. They’ll modify the program based on lessons learned with this pilot program.

The November 5 fundraiser will be a benefit concert with a slightly different format. “Three [artists] will share the stage at a time, doing a sort of song swap,” explains Stallone. That should no doubt get the audience excited. Among participating artists are Bill Baird, Adam Hood, Sonny Burgess, Doug Moreland, Jason Allen, Josh Grider, Owen Temple, Justin Johnson, Ryan Turner, Ryan James, and Kyle Park.