Jason!

Thank you SO much again for working with me yesterday. I learned a whole lot and really appreciate all the honest feedback you gave me I do indeed have garage band on my computer, and I am sure I will become familiar with it during my “study breaks” this fall.
Thanks again so much, I had an awesome time!!!

Best wishes,
~Sam

With a passion for music, but no knowledge of where to start, I met Jason from the Detroit School of Rock and Pop.  In a matter of a few sessions, Jason had assembled a team of adults with similar interests to make a band. Shortly, we were cranking out song after song from rock history and soon after found ourselves on stage playing for a packed house at Memphis Smoke.  This alone was an incredible experience I wouldn’t have found elsewhere.  However, I couldn’t get enough of the DSRP.  I soon began working with Jason and a team of engineers to write, produce, and record original material.  To see my own music and lyrics come to life in a full arrangement was mind blowing.  It was at that point that I was introduced to Carey Denha from Tangerine Moon Productions.  With a recommendation from Jason, I auditioned and was hired into the band “The X-Generation.”  Since then I have had the chance to “rock out” for fans every weekend.  Thank you Jason and the staff at the DSRP for everything you have done!

Tristan K.

Back in August I told some students that everyone here has to learn things and grow. As the words came out of my mouth I thought, “uh oh… what have I just said?” Knowing that I should put my efforts where my mouth is, I proceeded to learn more about playing the guitar and played a couple of songs at our September concert. They weren’t perfect. I sang a bit funky, messed up a bunch of stuff and many jokes by the staff were made at my expense. But in doing so I hope to have proven to some of the youngsters (and oldsters) here that no matter what the task at hand, the first thing it takes to get out and do something is believing that you can do it.

After you overcome the hardship of “self-inflicted” doubt and fear, the process of learning is very simple. It’s just a matter of paying attention to little details and working hard. You may not look perfect or do the best job to begin with, but each and every time you put yourself and your talents out there, you will grow and get better.

We are in a time of change. It seems like the world is falling all around us. Our city and region are being decimated by sweeping changes in the operations of our major institutions. It all seems so bleak and dismal but I know it is not. All of these big changes are all going to happen outside of our individual control, but the two things that will truly change each of our lives for the better is, believing we can accomplish great things, and doing so in community with others.

The process started in August of learning the guitar led me to writing a song for my daughters to teach them these two tenets of life. Knowing I have a limited time on this planet, and that these are the most important things I can teach them, I wrote this song to inspire them when the difficult times come. I hope you enjoy it. If you need some inspiration in these difficult times, I hope it can provide some for you.

Sincerely,
Jason Gittinger
Executive Producer

In April of 2008, The Detroit School of Rock and Pop Music was featured in an article that appeared in the Fortune Small Business section of CNN.com. That article inspired a gentleman from North Carolina to contact the school to see if they could help him prepare a unique anniversary gift for his wife.  He was interested in preparing a custom song for her.

Executive Producer Jason Gittinger and Erik discussed some concepts and directions for the song and Erik was charged with forming an email with some lyric concepts.

After Jason received the email with Erik’s direction, he and his co-writer Colin Harfield charged ahead with writing and recording the song for Elaina. They took some liberties with Erik’s lyrics, moving them around a bit to work in relation to the song and managed to come up with a concept that highlighted Erik and his wife’s multi-continent spanning relationship.

With lyrics finalized, the songwriting duo tweaked and finished the chords, form, and melody. Then they finshed the process by recording all of the parts for the final “demo” of the song to send to Erik for his approval.

Finally, once the song was approved by Erik, Jason enlisted the help of fellow Detroit School of Rock and Pop Music staff members Chuck Bartels and Brian Lord to play the bass and guitar parts on the finished song.

Jason emailed Erik the finished song which was presented to his bride on their anniversary to much appreciation.

HEAR THE FINISHED SONG:

when-east-kissed-west