Any music fan seeing a concert listing with the acronym SOR attached to it could be forgiven for assuming it was another installment of performances by School of Rock students, wherein they show off how precisely they can carry off covers of tracks from the canon of rock. But, impressive as those shows are — and those kids really do their homework — Landon Moore, co-owner of the three local SOR locations, says his upcoming all-day concert, where “student bands have to have two or more former students, and staff bands have to have at least two current staff members,” will be more “SOR-adjacent.”
To Moore, the human connections that the music school franchise fosters are the real point, and so he launched SOR Fest, a celebration of current SOR students, alumni, and staff performing their own material, which is technically not an SOR event. It’s happening this Friday, June 26th, noon to 10 p.m., at the 1884 Lounge.
Moore, who taught at and managed a School of Rock branch long before partnering with John Whittemore to purchase all three locations last year, knows his brand. “When you see the School of Rock logo, you imagine 8-year-olds struggling through ‘Seven Nation Army,’ which is fine, that’s what they do,” he says. “But I’ve been teaching there for 13 years, and a lot of students say, ‘I’ve got this band, we’re playing a bunch of covers, what do you think we should do next?’ And I say, ‘Gig as much as you can, and then start writing your own music. You don’t want to just be stuck in cover band rotation for the next five years.’ Start writing. Start working that muscle a little bit.”
Many SOR students have done just that, often forging friendships and musical alliances existing outside of — and lasting beyond — their time at the schools. Some have gone on to teach at local School of Rock branches, and Friday’s show will feature a whole coterie of bands sporting SOR staff, many of whom are living the dream of playing, recording, and touring with their original music even as they teach.
Moore’s approach is to treat SOR Fest like any of the thousands of gigs he and his staff have played, and he tells the younger bands, “This is a festival, and you’re going to show up and you’re going to play your set. If there’s no one there, or if you have issues with the sound guy, I’m not talking to a parent. I’m sorry, this is not a School of Rock event. If you have an issue, the band is going to have to go talk to the sound guy. Learn how to talk to the industry people. You’re showing up, you’re playing; show us what you’ve got.”
Seeing SOR instructors in their own bands at the same event will no doubt be an eye-opener for the younger players. “The staff have been in the trenches for years, forming bands, touring, making merch, doing social media, all that stuff,” says Moore. “They know that learning and playing covers is not as hard as creating a musical identity, where you sound like yourself.”
SOR Fest, then, will see the flowering of much potential that’s been accumulating behind SOR’s walls, as both students and staff embody the next level of playing and their own artistry. It’s one big melting pot of creativity, featuring Joybomb, Degenerate Breakfast, Jombi, The Narrows, ThunderGun, Wilshire, Land/Divided, Abigail and The Starlings, Yakoob, Cyprus, The Peabody Project, Trivet, Brody Falcone, and Slumberland.
Joybomb is arguably the most recognizable name, having opened for Third Eye Blind at the Radians Amphitheater last year, and now dropping a new single, “Falling Apart in the Backseat,” the same day as the festival. Degenerate Breakfast, Jombi, and The Narrows are also familiar from their steady bookings in the local scene. All of the bands are doing the work and itching to level up. If all goes well, Moore’s festival will be not only their springboard, but their launch pad.
“It’s funny, because I ran into a guy who was in one of the bands,” Moore adds. “He goes, ‘Hey, man, when are we going to get posters in for Soar Fest?’ And I’m like, ‘That’s amazing that you’re pronouncing it Soar Fest!’” All indications are that the student was onto something. This Friday, show up, rock out, and watch these bands soar.
