The Beat Goes On

A new generation of guitar, percussion and vocal maestros is being groomed at Acton’s internationally acclaimed School of Rock. Ben Lerwill tunes in

Above: Drum-Tech

‘We excite talent and nurture and develop it. Don’t expect convention – expect results.’ Francis Seriau, founder of Drumtech, Vocaltech and Guitar-X, is enthusing about Acton’s School of Rock, three closely linked vocational colleges (they occupy the same premises) that provide everything from bona fide degree qualifications to one-year diplomas, three-month certificates and tailor-made private lessons. But first things first: Francis doesn’t look like Jack Black, a Deep Purple riff isn’t echoing deafeningly around reception and no chewed bats’ heads are in evidence. Just what kind of cliché-defying place is this? A highly focused and successful one, as it turns out.

‘While we have a fair percentage of students who come here to play and sing purely as a leisure activity, most – whether they’re from Chiswick, Hammersmith and Shepherd’s Bush or Brazil, South Africa and Korea – aspire to be professionals,’ Francis continues. ‘So our main thrust is to prepare them to survive and flourish in the music business.’ His philosophy is pragmatic and simple: ‘We’re about enabling people of all backgrounds, cultures, styles and levels to reach their goal. That means unlocking their potential in order to maximise performance; every one of our students is an individual – they’ll never be made to fit into a particular mould.’

Next year will mark the 25th anniversary of the opening of Drumtech and among those who have honed their trade in the block of buildings just off The Vale (the facilities include sound-proofed performance rooms, specially equipped acoustic drum booths and a state-of-the-art techsuite) are Radiohead’s Phil Selway, The Damned’s Rat Scabies, Victoria Hart (the ‘singing waitress’ who has just signed a major deal with Universal) and musicians who have performed with the likes of Lily Allen, The Kinks, The Cure, Sugababes, Massive Attack, Primal Scream and George Michael.

Of course, the concept of a ‘formal’ music education doesn’t exactly chime with the time-honoured rock’n’roll myth of living on your wits, shunning the system and learning Ramones chord patterns until your fingers bleed. But as Francis emphasises, the industry is a colossal, ruthless entity that makes quick casualties of those who don’t come to terms with its complexities. Emulating devil-may-care cult heroes might have a strong romantic appeal but – for better or worse – success today is as much about multi-tasking as it is raw talent.

‘We work very closely with record companies, agents and producers,’ Francis explains. ‘They use us as a resource – they come here to find musicians and that’s why we hold auditions more or less every week. We’re focused on providing a wide palette of skills and that’s about more than just teaching people to strum chords and hit drums. There are a lot of business components: students learn to perform, they learn music theory, they learn to programme, write, arrange, compose – they become complete musicians. And we also deal with crucial issues such as band management, publishing, royalties and so on.’

In fact, Drumtech, Vocaltech and Guitar-X have played a significant role in pioneering contemporary music education. ‘Of course, you won’t get a job on the strength of a qualification on a piece of paper,’ smiles Francis, ‘But we know how to train students to get work, our courses are accredited and we’re subject to the same quality assurance system as any university; we wrote the first degree in popular music performance – previously, that didn’t exist in Europe.’ A full-time course requires around 17 hours a week of ‘hard contact’ time in groups of up to a dozen and each student receives plenty of personal attention. ‘And on top of that, they have lots of practise time here,’ Francis adds. ‘We’re open from eight in the morning until midnight, seven days a week.’

Francis himself has an impeccable industry pedigree. Born and raised in France, he arrived in London in his early twenties seeking to develop a career as a drummer and was soon performing with The Art of Noise and country guitarist Albert Lee. Within five years his eye-catching virtuoso technique had seen him become a much sought-after teacher, particularly among well-known musicians looking to perfect their craft. Inspired by the level of demand for his expertise, Francis set up Drumtech in 1983 and then, in the 1990s, expanded to include the Vocaltech singing academy (long before the spectre of Simon Cowell) and finally, in 2003, Guitar-X.

Not all the schools’ students are signed up to full-time courses and a major part of Francis’s ethos is to attract ‘casual’ singers and musicians looking to improve and consolidate their skills or simply have fun. ‘Our main age bracket is 16 to 25, but there’s no limit,’ he tells me. ‘We want everyone to get better and to enjoy themselves and they can come as little or as often as they like.’ And there’s excellent news for harassed parents. If your rafters are being shaken constantly by the ‘musical’ activities of a would-be Keith Moon or Jimi Hendrix, the weekend and evening kids’ club could be the perfect solution. Again, there’s no stringent minimum age restriction – as Francis says: ‘if you’re tall enough, you’re old enough!’

Any educational establishment is only as good as its staff, so who are the teachers responsible for moulding the recording artists of the future? ‘We recruit people who are good players, good communicators and, most importantly, have a real passion for music and for teaching. At the moment we have about 60 and many of them are past students who, over the last 25 years, have become well-known figures in the industry and done amazing things and then come back to us. They bring incredible practical experience, which is fantastic for our students.’

With a distinguished alumni list and powerful industry patrons and contacts, the three schools have won countless accolades. But Francis stresses that everything that is achieved is rooted in a genuine passion for making music: ‘It’s all about enjoyment. Playing the small smoky clubs at the beginning is just the start. When you’re doing great gigs, great tours and playing with great musicians, it’s the most rewarding job there is.’

For information visit www.drum-tech.co.uk, www.vocal-tech.co.uk or www.guitar-x.co.uk. The next Open Day is on 8 September and new courses begin in October