By POLLY KEARY, Editor

Just because it’s a church doesn’t mean you can’t play Iron Maiden there.

As long as the lyrics aren’t offensive, you can play what you want after school at the Monroe Community Chapel. And if you need help figuring out how to play your favorite song, Scott Shrock will give you a hand.

It’s part of a free after-school music program for Sky Valley kids, and Shrock, 28, a music major from Los Angeles and a music director at the church, hopes it grows in coming months.

Coming to Monroe

Until three years ago, Shrock was living in L.A., a graduate of the Musician’s Institute in Hollywood. He had married another student at the Institute, a girl from Index, and one day on the way home, they realized they needed a change.

“We were driving home from work one day and didn’t want to go home,” said Shrock, in the cavernous chapel at the church last week. “So two months later we packed up and came here.”

They had been very involved in church in Los Angeles and hesitated to become so deeply committed again right away. But driving past Monroe Community Chapel on Old Owen Road one day, they decided to stop and check it out. Soon, they were deeply committed again. “That’s how it works,” said Shrock with a smile.

In Monroe, Shrock soon set up a home business as a music teacher, traveling around the greater Snohomish County area giving private lessons and working with jazz bands as he was able. But in L.A., he’d always had the idea to start an after-school music program for kids. Monroe seemed like the perfect place to do it.

A positive path

“I’ve always had a heart for people who don’t have as many opportunities, to have a place where people can come and learn, where you can have the same opportunities as others,” said Shrock. And he well remembers what it was to be a young person, entranced by music. “I always loved music,” he said. I got lost in it. It was a whole ‘nother world.”

He played in bands as a youth, exploring everything from hard rock to punk to hip hop and R&B, then graduating to blues and fusion, but didn’t realize what a passion it had become until he was in his early 20s. That’s when he chose it as an academic career. “I really believe that, when I was allowed to pursue music, that helped me get my life on track,” he said. “I didn’t feel lost. I could use my talents for good, to create positive things. It put me on a positive path.”

Teaching music is more about helping kids find that positive path than creating a bunch of professionals, he said. “If that happens, great,” he said. “But even if a kid’s life circumstances aren’t the best, there’s a huge amount of potential in everyone. That’s what we’re trying to help kids find.”

School of Shrock

The after-school program started four months ago, and only about a dozen kids turned out for the first meetings. Some nights there are only a handful in attendance. But there is lots of room for the program to grow.

Shrock walked through a large practice room above the chapel, which can be subdivided. There is another room which Shrock hopes to turn into a viable little recording studio soon. Behind the stage is another space, and then there is the stage itself, replete with a nice sound system and a drum set. “This is the main performance area,” he said. “Once kids can perform, we put them with other kids on the stage.”
Kids don’t have to know how to play when they show up. Nor is the program limited to beginners; Shrock welcomes advanced young musicians, too.

And any instrument is welcome; Shrock plays guitar, piano, drums and other instruments, but his specialty is bass. And soon he will be able to add voice, and take on more kids as new volunteer teachers come on board.

For now, he gives kids some group and individual time at each three-hour session, and kids get some time playing as a group, as they are able. And as long as the tunes kids wish to learn aren’t offensive, he’ll help them play the parts. “Rock, funk, classical, any style they want to learn, we’ll teach them,” said Shrock.

So far, the kids have been pretty inspiring, he said. There’s one kid who plays good funk bass. Another drummer is studying classical. “The kids that are showing up love it,” he said.

The after-school program runs from 3:30 to 6:30 Mondays and Wednesdays, and is open to kids grades six through 12. To learn more, call Scott Shrock at (323) 793-6463 or e-mail shrockjr@yahoo.com

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