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Former frontman of Skid Row teaches music performance to local youth at School of Rock

By: Shelby Olive
| Published 11/24/2015

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THE WOODLANDS, Texas — Johnny Solinger was on a cruise ship performing as Skid Row’s lead singer when he saw a group of teenagers playing rock and roll music on one of the ship's decks. The impressed frontman got up on stage and began singing with them. Thus began the segue from full-time performer to performance teacher at School of Rock in The Woodlands.

“These were National Dean's List kids,” Solinger said. “The kids do shows all over the country. That’s when I was introduced to School of Rock. I had no idea what it was, because whenever I came up, we would just play in a garage with whoever had the most money to get together the amps.”

The Dallas native began his own music career by gathering a rag-tag group of friends in junior high and high school from different walks of student life and started a rock band. He continued his musical endeavors at the University of North Texas, where he and his band, Solinger, saw some regional success after releasing several independent records.

The records caught the attention of a group in New Jersey, Skid Row, late in 1999. In need of a new frontman, they asked Solinger to come up and audition for the spot. It was the farthest north he’d ever been, and within the blink of an eye in March 2000, Solinger was on tour with KISS.

Fifteen years and four records later, the band parted ways. Solinger began his foray into country music and released two albums, one of which was named after his 100-year-old grandfather, Scrappy Smith. Worn from the music industry’s travel demands, Solinger settled down in The Woodlands with his wife and school-aged children.

After making the decision to step back from the stage, Solinger remembered the teenagers from the cruise and started researching School of Rock locations. He found that there were over 170 schools in seven different countries, four of which were located in the North Houston area, including one in The Woodlands. He currently works with the school in The Woodlands as a consultant, show director and vocal instructor.

“It’s just a program for kids to problem solve and become part of a group,” Solinger said. “They get the opportunity to learn an instrument. We teach guitar, piano, bass and drums, and I’m one of few vocal teachers that there are. I get in there with these kids who really want to rock, and I’ll teach them a little bit of warming up and how to breathe, and then we’ll get right into the rock music.”

Surprised by how much he enjoyed his new role as a performance educator, Solinger decided to dedicate himself to using his experience with Skid Row to provide School of Rock with a teacher who has an extensive and widely-known music career. Through his interaction with local youth, however, he saw that more and more kids were attached to their mobile devices and video games. He immediately sought to change this.

“I’m noticing kids younger and younger glued to their cell phones and playing way too much video games and spending hundreds of millions of dollars on video games,” Solinger said. “It’s my mission, for a while, for them to put that stuff down and pick up a musical instrument, learn how to play it, have some art in their lives and maybe change the world, because you’re not going to do that playing Battle Front, the new Star Wars game, but you could with a guitar and a nice thought.”

The instructors ask the kids to put their cell phones away during their lessons, and Solinger said that if the kids are engaged in learning, they shouldn’t want to get on their phones and text their friends.

“Their friends should be in the room with them. I’ve seen a lot of bonds there,” Solinger said. “Some of these kids are forming bands together and going out and playing, and that’s what I did. They can do the same thing.”

School of Rock has continued to see growth in enrollment with kids who are excited to learn without being forced into the program by their parents. Solinger said with the omnipresence of music, it’s not very difficult to get the kids engaged into School of Rock’s music classes.

“Just listen to the radio. I mean, everywhere there’s music. There’s music that accompanies their video games. There’s music with every commercial. AC/DC is on half the commercials that air now,” Solinger said. “It’s not that difficult, and these parents are not pushing them towards this. If they show any interest at all in banging on some drums or if they’ve been taking piano lessons and they’re sick of theory and playing scales, and they want to come in and play some Journey and some Elton John or some Billy Joel, we’re the place to do it.”

Solinger has taken a more active role in the community by recently serving on The Woodlands’ Texas Star Competition’s judging panel. With this new, extensive community involvement, Solinger said he’s seen local kids with musical talent all across the board. From his 45 minute sessions at School of Rock to giving students a fully-lit stage to show off their talent, Solinger said he gets great satisfaction just by watching the kids learn about music. Ultimately, he just wants the community to know that he’s available to help their kids discover their own musical abilities and to have fun learning.

“Their parents [are] tickled to death with them that they’re interested in music, because music classes are being cut from schools left and right in the real world,” Solinger said. “I believe that’s another reason why School of Rock has really taken off. It’s culture, and it’s art, and there’s not enough of it.”

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