May 2024 Newsletter

Shredding Things Up For June

June is officially here and for this months online content we are dedicating this month to guitar! We’ll be going over special techniques that we think are essential as well as a few cool techniques specific to guitar. Keep an eye out on Facebook or through the online portal!

Student of the Month

Our student of the month is Jeremiah. Jeremiah took a real big leap on guitar this month and has been making steady progress this year. We’re currently working on Metallica but we’ve been slowly expanding our rock catalogue with an escalating level of power chords and riffs. He was chosen this month for his attention to detail and positive attitude.

Name: Jeremiah

Instrument: Guitar

Time Playing: One and a half years

Favorite Song We’ve Learned So Far: Barracuda – Heart

Dream Song To Learn: And Justice For All – Metallica

Favorite Activity Outside of Music: Watching Anime

The St. Pauls Junior Olympics

St. Pauls Muskego is a Church I’ve been a member of for 29 years now. When I was a kid, I attended this school and as an adult I have the pleasure of teaching guitar and drum classes here during the week. At the end of the year, the school puts together a variety of events where the eighth graders pick teams from the entire school and compete for school champion. I was proud to attend the event this year and even helped officiate the shot put competition. I got to see all my St Paul students compete and cheered on some of my students who were team captains this year.

It’s cool to think back to when I was their age competing in the very same games. Congrats to all my students who competed in SPJO. You represented your teams admirably.

Alex's Cool Music Gear of the Month

Boss Pocket GT

Do you travel a lot? Do you have a small practice space? Do you ever ask if you can practice outside? The power of amp emulation is getting more and more impressive. Better sounds in smaller packages. Enter in the Boss Pocket GT.

The Boss GT lineup has been around for years. While the emulation gets a little better with every iteration, Boss has never been at the top of my list for quality emulation. To be honest, what blows me away about this pedal is not necessarily it’s amazing quality compared to something like a Fractal or a Kemper. What is cool is how good it is in such a small package. How you can edit the sounds right through an app on your phone. How you can put a couple batteries in it, hook up some headphones and be off and playing. And it’s not just amp tones but effects too! Are there cheaper ones? Sure. But not as versatile as this and at around $160, I don’t think it gets much better than this right now.

Upcoming Music Gigs

This section promotes not just teacher music shows but also student shows as well!

6/1 – 18 Hands Ale Haus @ Fond Du Lac – Hold’em High

6/7 – Veterans Memorial Park @ Muskego – Alex Bennett Solo

6/8 – Whisky D’s @ Two Rivers – Broken Arrow Band

6/14 – Replay Sports Bar @ De Pere – Broken Arrow Band

6/15 – Mukwanago Summerfeste @ Mukwanago – Sons of Sconnie

6/23 – The Flagstone @ Appleton – Broken Arrow Band

7/4 – Tosa Tonight @ Wauwatosa – Sons of Sconnie

7/5 – Summerfest South Party Pavilion @ Milwaukee – Sons of Sconnie

7/6 – Shotskis @ Eagle River – Sons of Sconnie

How Bout Dem Packers?

It’s already been a month since the draft. And now we wait. Wait to see who the coaches think are studs and who are duds. The Packers have consistently had one of the youngest teams in the NFL over the last few seasons. Youth means potential but it can also mean having a few busts.

But since everyone is talking about all the new rookies I’m gonna push the topic into a slightly different area. An area I’m excited to talk about is our wide receiver position. All of our top wideouts last season were 24 years or younger! We had a few who we thought would show up that didn’t, but we also had a few surprise talents at the position last year too. Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs lead in yardage but not by a wide margin. It seems we have a well rounded receiving core and while theres some debate and speculation on who the true WR1 is on team, I think the reality is we have a great core of receivers with not only potential but drive to prove themselves which is a recipe for a hot offense in our new star QB Jordan Love.

Switching to Defense, the word in the locker room as that one new player is already making a huge impression with the coaches. New DB Javon Bullard who was drafted in the second round is making waves and looks to be an immediate starter either in the slot or next to new safety Xavier McKinney. Green Bay has had a knack the last few years of getting great value in the second and third rounds. It’s a bit early to tell yet but so far signs point to history repeating itself. With a whole lot of young new talent and a new defensive scheme, look for the defense to make a big jump this season!

Are You Ready For Summerfest?

It seems like the Summerfest lineup is changing it up all the time. I’m personally excited to see if I can attend the Goo Goo Dolls this year. Maybe some Eve 6 if time will allow it. There’s a few other oldies in here too that are tempting to try and catch a glimpse of like REO Speedwagon or Modern English.

And of coarse don’t be afraid to support any local artists you love at the show. From main stages to bar stages to indie stages, there’s always something to enjoy at Summerfest!