No matter the decade you grew up in, we’ve all grabbed a broom and played it like a guitar, or sung at the top of our lungs into a comb in front of a steamy bathroom mirror, or shook our head violently while playing the air drums in the back of a car. The common theme: We’re all dreaming of being rock stars on that huge stage, belting out the music that moves us.
Music Flow, the Central Oregon music school, is making this dream a reality for its rock band students when it throws the Music Flow Youth Rock Fest on Saturday, Feb. 22 at the Volcanic Theatre Pub. Featuring students aged 12 to 18, six youth bands will take the venue’s stage playing 15- to 60-minute slots of rock ‘n’ roll.
You can expect to hear plenty of classic rock covers from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, plus ’90s alternative and a few metal songs. “The ’90s are making a huge comeback, as far as students go and learning music,” says Travis Palladino, Music Flow’s founder. For one, it’s not the most complex music, and “Kids really love the sounds of Weezer, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters — they’re really stoked to play those songs. The kids love it, their parents love it.”
In the fall of 2015, Palladino, a local guitarist, started offering private music lessons in students’ homes. “Through networking with local musicians, and the community in general, I began to meet a few instructors who wanted to join the team and grow the program with me,” Palladino says. “Right now, we’re a team of 11 instructors… cover[ing] a mix of private lessons, group lessons and rock band lessons.”
Offering in-home private lessons for guitar, voice, piano, ukulele, bass, violin, drums, mandolin and brass instruments, “we rent space for group lessons at Bend International School at their music room,” Palladino says, plus he partners with sound engineer Dave Pettibone and his Good Vibes Studios to host rock band practices.
“At the moment, we have five groups that we are working with, and we are planning to expand that to eight groups by the spring,” says Palladino of the rock band program. New students can apply to join a band — find the application here.
At Music Flow Youth Rock Fest, you can catch Palladino’s student groups Parker & Lily Duo, Awkward Silence, Cardboard Box, Hella Shy and Punk Lab, plus Echo Chamber, which is part of guitarist Matthew Gwinup’s guitar studio. All proceeds from the Volcanic show will support Cascades Theatrical Company “to help support their youth theater programs and provide new music equipment upgrades,” Palladino says.
While this showcase is the first one Music Flow has put on for its rock band program, many of its student acts have played fundraisers and partner venues like breweries in the past. The most accomplished of these acts may be Hella Shy, having rocked an opening slot at last summer’s Munch & Music. “I’ve been teaching most of that group since they were six years old,” Palladino chuckles. “They’re friends that have gradually just morphed into a band over time.”
Hella Shy’s guitar player is Wylam Klein, a 15-year-old who just got his driver’s permit. He started taking piano lessons when he was 4 and picked up the guitar around 7 or 8. With Hella Shy, he really enjoys playing ’80s songs by The Police, Van Halen, Queen and Hall & Oates.
Getting out there and gigging has been “a really awesome experience,” Klein says. “I used to be pretty nervous and shy performing on a stage.” He had a few opportunities to play solo at recitals, but “I just didn’t want to do that. I was just too nervous. But with a band, it’s a lot easier because you got four other instruments and people… it’s not just you. You got a whole band backing you up. [I’ve] just been building up that confidence, and now it’s transitioned from like nervous to just excitement, and I really enjoy performing now.”
Palladino echoes this experience: “What we’ve noticed is when our student bands perform, especially in front of larger crowds, it’s really inspiring to younger kids, looking up to really talented students a little bit older than them. It tends to get a lot of interest going for learning music and building that confidence to take that next step to learn music and perform and share with others.”
Hella Shy’s lead vocalist and guitarist Lily Miller is 14 and she started singing at age 6. Even with all these years of practice, she hasn’t always felt comfortable getting up in front of audiences. “It’s definitely a process to get used to it, especially at first,” she says. “When I started, [it was] super, super scary. But then I’ve gotten used to it over time.”
Young or old, if you’re looking to learn an instrument, Klein says piano is a great place to start followed by ukulele. From there, you can “work your way up. Find something that you enjoy. If you really enjoy piano, stick to that. Bass, ukulele, whatever you want.” Next, “find some people who you enjoy playing with. I think that was the biggest step for me, that was where I made the most growth because it holds you accountable,” Klein explains. “When you are in a band with other people, it forces you to play better and to learn your part, which is super helpful.”
This article appears in The Source Weekly February 13, 2025.
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