It may not be the “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School,” but Tommy Evans hopes students who check out Elgin’s new School of Rock get the same kick from music that he did when he first heard groups like the Ramones.
The music school’s newest franchise at 355 S. Randall Road will celebrate its grand opening from 1:30 to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 7, by offering a free music lessons and a concert by Elgin School of Rock’s 101 program students.
Evans, a St. Charles resident who’s been playing guitar since he was a teen, opened the school with his mother, Meg. He remembers the thrill he felt when he first got into music, he said.
“My friends introduced me to bands like Nirvana and the Ramones, and I became infatuated with the sound of the guitar and the process of creating music,” Evans said.
He went on to get his bachelor’s degree in audio production and design from Columbia College in Chicago in 2012 and has played with bands in the Chicago area, including one he formed called Secret Colours. The band’s name is a nod to a Beatles song, its sound inspired by ’90s Britpop acts like Oasis, Blur and Pulp.
“My (late) father (Jim Evans) listened to a lot of those bands in that scene,” Evans said. “Something about the sound of that time and place will always make me feel nostalgic. It had such raw energy and aspiration behind it. I think it will always influence my songwriting in one way or another.”
Secret Colours’ music has been featured in YouTube videos, the 2015 horror movie “Wind Walkers,” and TV shows including Showtime’s “Shameless” and “Californication,” CW’s “The Vampire Diaries” and Hulu’s “Difficult People.”
Still, like many musicians, Evans needed a full-time job to pay his bills and started working for School of Rock in 2013. Since then he has played various roles with the organization, most recently as general manager of the location in Naperville.
After gaining experience, Evans said he realized it was time to open a School of Rock franchise of his own.
“I love the mission of School of Rock,” he said. “It does so much more than teach music. It helps people learn how to work together, encouraging each other toward a common goal, building confidence and having great experiences in rehearsals and at venues,”
Elgin’s is the 401st School of Rock in the country; more than 20 of those are located in Illinois. Evans opened and operates the business with his mother, Meg, who lives in Geneva.
“My husband, Jim, passed away unexpectedly in 2021, just six weeks after I retired from a 35-year sales career with Johnson & Johnson,” Meg Evans said. “When Tommy came to me with the desire to get involved and open his own school, it helped give me some purpose back. Jim would have loved it. He supported Tommy in everything Tommy ever did.”
In addition to the free lessons and performance, the grand opening celebration will feature a ribbon-cutting, food, beverages and tours. The students who will be performing are among the 40 who have come on board since the school’s soft opening two months ago.
They already have eight adult students, and “as soon as we get six or more adults, we will be able to form a band with them,” Meg Evans said. “At the end of each three- to four-month term, they will play at a local venue.”
School of Rock teaches guitar, bass, keyboard, drums and vocals. Students have a 45-minute, one-on-one lesson every week followed by a 90-minute band rehearsal lesson, Evans said. The school is offering a variety of summer camps as well, she said.
They’ve also has been getting involved in the Elgin community. They offered free lessons earlier this month at the Elgin Public Museum, and will be doing events at Lords Park Zoo and Elgin Downtown Market, conducting a kids interactive musical experience before the June 20 screening of “Soul” in Wing Park, marching in Elgin’s Fourth of July Parade, and sponsoring the summer outdoor concert series at Panton Mill Park in South Elgin.
“And when we have our own house band, we will be out playing wherever the community would need us,” Meg Evans said.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
