School of Rock - Vienna, VA

Location & Contact Info

Our Vienna school is at the center of Vienna, just off Maple Ave. (123), next to Town Hall and across Center St. from the Vienna Public Library.

Vienna SOR
111 Center Street South
Vienna, VA 22180

For enrollment information or general information please call our DC-area hotline:

DC-Area Hotline	703.850.2100
Vienna School:	703.242.2184
Fax:	703.232.1048
Email:	nova@schoolofrock.com

Faculty & Staff

Brian Fox

Brian Fox is the Music Director for School of Rock Vienna. In this role Brian leads all music activities at the Vienna School and is responsible for the quality of our music instruction and performance. Brian is a singer, songwriter, bassist, drummer, percussionist, keyboardist, and blues-harp player. He teaches vocals, bass, drums and keyboards.

Brian's background is the story of musicians everywhere - making connections, forming bands and navigating a changing music scene while looking for the "big break". He bought his first bass on his 16th birthday while attending Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington DC. With classmates from Wilson High, Ian Mackaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi) and Henry Rollins (Black Flag), he was present at the genesis of DC's hardcore punk movement.

His first band was called Frozen Heat - they practiced in a room so cold they had to warm their hands on the family dog. A Rush cover band soon followed, and then Brian formed a power-trio called Zeus with guitarist Dave Lizmi.

Brian was accepted at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA and completed a semester when a classmate connected him with producer Paul Rothchild, best known for his production of five albums for The Doors. The opportunity to work with Rothchild took Brian out to the Los Angeles music scene. In L.A. Brian got to be known for his monster chops, musicianship and technique. He was a sought-after teacher for bass and vocals, and got to know many up and coming musicians. Brian relates a painful/amusing story from this time in his career ... "Duff McKagan (bassist for Guns n Roses) arranged for me to audition for a little known (at the time) metal band you might have heard of called Metallica; he even bought me a plane ticket to San Francisco but I didn't go because I didn't know anything about 'em."

In L.A. Brian started his own metal band called The Power Trio From Hell. Dave Lizmi came out to LA and joined him and a drummer named Brian Walsh. Lizmi eventually left to join The Four Horsemen and was replaced by DC guitarist Johnny Tsakanikas. After a couple of years of gigging and developing the band they auditioned for Rob Cavallo of Warner Brothers who signed them. Cavallo became famous in the music industry for signing and producing the band Green Day, and today is the Chief Creative Officer of Warner Music Group.

The band needed a manager and Cavallo turned to his father, Bob Cavallo, who developed and managed major bands including The Lovin' Spoonful, Little Feat, Weather Report, Earth, Wind & Fire, The Emotions, Deneice Williams and Prince. It was time to record an album, and the Cavallos brought on Eddie Kramer to produce the recording. Kramer is an industry legend, having produced albums for Led Zeppelin, Triumph, Kiss, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Peter Frampton, Santana, Anthrax, Carly Simon, and many others.

With the Cavallos and Eddie Kramer behind them, the Power Trio from Hell began work on their first album. Twelve months, and dozens of studios, engineers and hundreds of thousands of dollars later, they produced the CD American Man. For this band on the verge of making it big, all that was left was a big promotional push for the CD. But alas, it was not to be, as Brian describes it..."The production of American Man had been a difficult, year-long process, but it was finally done. Looking back at that time, 15 years later, I think the problem was that the "Power Trio from Hell" really was the power trio "from hell". We had big attitudes, didn't listen to management and were just generally difficult." To top it off, guitar player Johnny Tsakanikas had been getting more religous in the preceding years, even going on public buses to evangelize for Christ. As the Power Trio from Hell was about to record the promotional video for American Man, Tsakanikas dropped out of the band, citing an inability to reconcile the metal music with his religious ideals. This was the last straw for the band's management. The promotional support was quickly dropped and spent instead on Green Day. The Power Trio from Hell folded, and Green Day...well...you know what happened to them.

Seeking a change, Brian spent the next several years in a variety of bands and geographies. He returned to Boston and formed Brian Fox & Load, which sold 250,000 copies of an EP titled "Emerging Artists (Breaking Through)." He spent time working in a band aboard a Carnival Cruise Line ship, which led to living in Miami and then Paris, France, where he performed for four years in a heavy blues band. He returned to the Washington DC area for two years to play in local bands, and then accepted an offer to return to L.A. to work in the production house Brodsky Entertainment. Brian spent three years at Brodsky, serving as a studio musician, producer and internet promoter. Brian return to the Washington DC area in mid-2010.

When asked what he has learned over his career in the music business, Brian answers "All great things start with a thought. The mind is a very powerful entity. I discovered the remarkable power of positive thoughts. If you think you're going to fail you probably will. They say "when the student is ready the teacher appears" and I say when anyone is ready for anything it happens, provided it follows the laws of the universe. It isn't easy to drive out negative views, thoughts, wishes etc. but my policy is to love everybody unconditionally. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote about the power of thoughts and following one's heart...beautiful stuff...if you put it into practice! I want to work with people who feel the same way.

Brian continues to work with his band, Brian Fox & The 33rd Degree.

Robert Caporal

Robert was born in Columbus Ohio and grew up in Dayton, Ohio. Starting on Piano at 5 years old and playing until 12 years old laid the foundation of a life of Rock! After being heavily influenced by his Dad's record collection of Beatles, The Who, and The Rolling Stones, he switched to drums. Five years of drumming contributed to a strong rhythmical sense that would later help his guitar playing. Robert took up guitar at the age of 17 after listening to his sister play guitar to the classic rock hits of the 70's. His sister was his first of many teachers through his life. The love of rock lead guitar came after hearing and learning the classic double stop riffs of T-Bone Walker and Chuck Berry. Now 30 years later, Robert's passion for guitar is stronger than ever. With a love of learning, playing and teaching; a guitar will be by his side until the end. For those about to Rock he salutes you! Robert favors: PRS Guitars, Fender and Marshall Amps, Fulltone effects, GHS Strings and Dunlop Jazz III picks.

Bill Grier

Bill Grier started playing drums when he was thirteen and living with his family in Taipei, Taiwan. He had formal training with Bill Reichenbach who played drums with Charlie Byrd for years. Bill spent ten years in Los Angeles playing at famous venues like the Troubadour on Sunset Strip. He's played around the DC area for the last several years and currently appears locally with the band Cover Story. Bill loves playing drums and even more, loves teaching drums to the next generation of musicians.

Dave Magazine

Dave has toured internationally over the last several years, sharing the stage with the major-label artists and working in the studio with the likes of Dan Rappaport and Sal Villanueva (Thursday, Taking Back Sunday - Warner Bros.). He endorses Genesis Drums and Ernie Ball Strings, and runs an artist and production management company founded independently. He has taught drums for several years and loves meeting new students.

Mandi Meros

Mandi has been a vocal coach to members of many DC and Baltimore area original and cover bands in her years teaching. She also has taught privately at Dematha High School in Hyattsville, MD since 2006, where many of her students have achieved goals including All State Chorus, Superior ratings at District and State Solo and Ensemble festivals and major roles in musicals and other productions. Mandi has had a variety of experiences with teaching adults, teenagers and children, and she is well versed in both classical and contemporary styles of music. In addition to teaching, Mandi is the lead singer for Reflex ? a very popular 80s cover band. She maintains a busy performance schedule with recent appearances at well-known venues such as the 9:30 Club, the State Theatre and Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Arts. She appears regularly at many popular DC-area clubs, as well up and down the east coast. Mandi holds a bachelor of music degree from James Madison University and is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and the Music Teachers National Association. She is certified in all three levels of Somatic Voicework, the LoVetri Method, a method of voice training that ensures students learn to perform and respect all styles of music including Contemporary Commercial Music (CCM). She also has received a nomination for a Contemporary A Capella Recording Award as Best Female Soloist from the Contemporary A Cappella Society of America. Following matriculation from university, Mandi relocated to Nashville, TN and spent several years working for Creative Artists Agency. There, she gained valuable music industry experience which she gladly passes along to her students. Mandi constantly pursues new opportunities for musical and professional development, and currently studies voice with Edrie Means Weekly. She is thrilled to be working with the very talented students at School of Rock.

Mick Rabaa

Mick Rabaa comes to the School of Rock with a wealth of musical knowledge--specifically in the context of the high-energy rock band--and also brings years of teaching and performance experience gleaned from every corner of the globe.

Mick, a native Ohioan, was classically trained in piano from the age of three, continuing on until high school, where he began to play keys and sing in rock bands. After high school, he attended the Berklee College of Music, during which time he also played and sang in several professional Boston ensembles, among them ?The 55th-Century East Coast Jazz Gorillas?, ?Mr. Happy?, and the Berklee Progressive Rock ensemble. At Berklee, Mick studied electronic music synthesis with seminal thinkers in the field, including Tom Rhea and Pierre Boulanger, sang the part of Judas in "Jesus Christ, Superstar", and played in several of the school?s infamous cafe shows, all the while exploring the infinite depths of musical theory.

After Berklee, Mick moved to Asia, working and traveling in the region for years. While gaining experience and sitting in with rockers in Bangkok and jazzers in Hanoi, Mick also found time to collaborate with LRD and the Innocent Bystanders, a popular Western rock band in South Korea, doing shows around the peninsula at American military installations and private events. He also worked with several Korean pop musicians, including BoA, Kim Mok-Kyun, and Wax. He appeared on the 2003 Korean Music Video awards backing up Wax, and also performed on piano on live Korean national television.

After years as a vagabond, itinerant keytarist-for-hire, Mick returned to the US, and attended graduate school at American University here in DC. He earned his Master?s degree in International Relations in May 2008?this is, of course, not relevant to Mick?s musicianship, but it does speak to his patience. During grad school, Mick focused heavily on recording/producing original music--writing all the songs, playing all the parts, and learning the ins and outs of studio methods and recording techniques.

Mick?s teaching method emphasizes ear training and actual practice. Whether singing or playing, Mick encourages the student to develop his or her own unique voice--a process which can only be actively realized, never passively inculcated.

Music is Mick?s first and most enduring love, and he truly enjoys the opportunity to help his students become the hard rockers, jazz-funk jammers, avant garde power-screamers, digital crooners, and knob-tweaking analog time-warpers of the future!

Carl Schmeig

Carl has played in a variety of bands around the DC area and is currently a member of Bob - a rock band based in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. Carl is influenced by virtually all genres of music, but he has found his home in Bob's familiar yet refreshingly different approach. Since the formation of the band in 2004, Bob has developed a reputation for producing music that resonates in your head and leaves you wanting more. Combining undeniably moving phonics with a stage show that is unsurpassed, Bob is a band you have to see live to fully experience. Bob will blow you away each and every time they perform. Carl is on the road with the band every weekend and he is delighted to be able to work with rock music's next generation of incredible bass players.

Jack Simchak

Jack Simchak studied music and the guitar at Skidmore College where he earned his bachelor's degree in Music. He is a veteran of many gigs in the upstate New York music scene. As a member of the band Bipolar he won the coveted Northern Lights Battle of the Bands competition which led to opening for national touring acts including LoPro, Shinedown, Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace and Puddle of Mudd. Jack is a songwriter and his work has appeared on several CDs released by Bipolar. Jack is currently woodshedding like a madman to prepare for future graduate study.

Alex Vans

Alex Vans is a Music Industry/Jazz Studies Graduate from James Madison University, where he studied classical guitar under Keith Stevens, and Jazz under Charles Dotas and saxophonist David Pope. During most of 2008 and 2009, he performed seven nights a week on Royal Caribbean's Majesty of the Seas. He is a nationally touring member of Justin Jones and the Driving Rain and has performed in numerous venues across the country including the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC, The Iota in Arlington, Virginia, Stubbs Barbeque in Austin, Texas, Mercury Lounge in New York, NY, and The Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, CA. His self-titled EP was recently released and can currently found on itunes and amazon. His favorite artists include Beck, Wilco, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and Tom Waits.