NEWS AND UPDATES
Silversound Family,
Welcome to our new monthly newsletter! This will be a place where you can learn about all the great things happening at Silversound Guitar. We’re committed to being the premier destination for guitar, bass, drums, piano, voice and ukulele instruction, as well as offering studio services, jam classes, and more. Our team is so stoked that every day we get to help you achieve your musical goals.
For example, this month our voice and piano teacher, Katy Van Nortwick, who has a background in early childhood education, trained our instructors in engagement and reinforcement strategies to help us improve the lessons we offer. In this newsletter, you’ll be able to learn more about the great things that are happening and the great people that make up the Silversound family. Currently we are still working with a few places to set up a student recital and Jam showcase and are still battling a lot of covid restrictions and rescheduling of last years cancelled shows.
Mark Young, Owner & Founder
LONG/LAST EP Release Show at Black Sheep on October 31st
Our front desk administrator and instrument tech Gabe Dresback is the singer for post-hardcore band LONG/LAST. They’re playing an EP release show Oct. 31 at the Black Sheep with Falter Never Fail, Flesh Digest, Mnmlst and Fighting the Phoenix.
You can connect with LONG/LAST on
Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/longlastofficial
and on their website at https://www.longlastofficial.com/.
Do you have a band, album, or music event you want mentioned in the newsletter?
Meet Levi Vreeman
Drum teacher Levi Vreeman started playing drums in 7th grade. Nine years later he’s teaching for Silversound Guitar and playing drums for local prog-metal band VaTiC. A versatile music-lover, Vreeman describes himself as a “Jazz drummer by day, death metal drummer by night.” His personal favorite drummer is Chris Turner from the British metalcore band Oceans Ate Alaska.
“He’s fantastic. Perfectly marries jazz and metal music together, and that’s what I look for in a drummer is versatility.”
Vreeman started teaching drums while he was still in high school, giving his friends free lessons out of his bedroom. “Just me and the guys hanging out,” he recalls. “I would show them how to play some drum licks and all that.”
For Vreeman, watching his students grow as musicians is the best part of the job. “Seeing people come into my office and start at one point and leave with a big smile on their face knowing they made progress that day, that they’re a better drummer now than when they walked into the room, that’s an experience that you only get once in your life for any given moment,” he says. “I’m really glad I get to spend that moment with my students.”
For his students, Vreeman’s advice is to avoid trying to compare yourself to others. “Don’t feel intimidated by how far the music scene has come,” he says. “It’s too easy to fall into that trap on social media where you see people posting these perfect drumming takes, or you see YouTube videos of these flawless drum covers. There was one point in my life where I was just starting out, I’d never held a drumstick before. We all start there and no matter how old or how young you are there is always room to be an amazing, amazing drummer. Ignore all the stuff you see online.”
To schedule a lesson with Levi, click here.
