EXCHANGE: Duo seeks students for new music school

DIXON, Ill. (AP) - Nolan Wegner had a sore throat. His voice teacher, Jon McLemore, had a backup plan.

Flashcards? Check. Dry-erase board? Check. A tender blend of smarts, humor and sensitivity? Check, check, check.

“If you want to try singing, that’s great,” said Jon, 39. “But we don’t want to push it and damage anything.”

He would know. Before he and his wife, Ashley, 30, opened Rock U School of Music, they recorded an LP and toured March through August as the duo Thistle and Lace - along with their two dogs and two kids, Olivia, 4, and Leola, 2.

“It was a lot of fun the first few weeks, and then it became work,” Jon said.

“By the end, I’d look across at him in the front seat and think, ’Where could I hide the body?’” Ashley said, cracking both of them up.

Anyone who’s ever toured knows that feeling. Seemed a pretty good idea, then, to settle in and open a music school in the lower floor of their house - especially with the ongoing artistic renaissance in Dixon.

They were watching the Jack Black comedy “School of Rock,” and “I looked over at Jon and said, ’Why aren’t we doing this?’”

Boom. A foundation was laid. The first semester began Oct. 10.

Tuition at Rock U is $80 a month, which includes a 30-minute voice, piano or guitar lesson each week. There’s a full guitar class of five students Monday nights that costs $50 a month. The current roster consists of two 7-year-old girls, a 7-year-old boy and a mother-son combo, 37 and 11.

The McLemores would like to add another group guitar class, as well as a cappella groups of six to eight singers.

Jon gives the lessons, and Ashley handles public relations and such, although her 15 years of theater experience can prove handy for advanced students who want a coach.

She remembers growing up in Dixon and feeling envious of the sports and academic stars, with all the outlets they had.

“I’m so creatively driven, so it made me sad,” she said. “I felt left out.”

Jon grew up in the South, and they lived in Montana about 3 years before moving back to Ashley’s hometown.

“I felt really fortunate, because it gave me a really good perception of what Dixon is missing,” she said.

They conducted a workshop with Denise Ewers’ middle school and high school choirs last Friday and were blown away.

“There’s so much talent to be unlocked with those kids,” Ashley said.

Similarly, 6-year-old Nolan signed up for piano, then changed to voice.

“I was blown away, because he has a beautiful voice and a great sense of pitch,” Jon said.

He taught, then drilled Nolan on the notes on the staff Thursday evening.

“It’s like a different language,” Jon said when they started the lesson.

“Wow!” Nolan said, wide-eyed.

“Except this alphabet only has seven letters,” Jon said.

“A ha!”

Minutes later, the youngster showed off how quick he learns, rattling off several correct answers.

“Rock and roll!” Jon said.

“Nailin’ it!” Nolan responded.

Beyond his immediate likability, Jon’s got a nice resumé.

Before Thistle and Lace’s brief time in the spotlight, he was a professional a cappella singer for about 20 years, even helping Street Corner Symphony finish runner-up in NBC’s “The Sing-Off” in 2010.

So, of course, he had to teach Nolan some vocal percussion last week. Throughout Nolan’s lesson, Jon gave tips to his dad, Ben, to help Nolan practice.

“I can tell you, he’s been doing the vocal percussion at home,” Ben said, laughing.

Jon can play just about any instrument you put in his hands - and boy, did a beloved member of the community do just that. Longtime Dixon piano teacher Dorry Kingry, of late a beloved Jefferson Elementary School teacher, donated two pianos to Rock U.

“I was just about in tears,” Ashley said.

The bills get paid because Jon still composes and arranges music, and Ashley works as an eyebrow artist. They hope, though, to build as big a clientele as possible, and would expand beyond their 4-to-8 p.m., Monday through Thursday restraints. More days, longer hours, as long as the students are there.

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Source: The (Sterling) Daily Gazette, https://bit.ly/2f0O15k

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Information from: Dixon Telegraph, https://www.saukvalley.com