Top 50 Guitar Songs of the ’70s

Shane Isenberg – Guitar Teacher Shane teaches beginners to professionals, teenagers to adults, in electric and acoustic rock, blues and country guitar. He focuses on technique, reading and song interpretation. Shane is a graduate of Musicians Institute in Los Angeles, California. Shane’s background includes scoring music for independent films, creating commercial jingles for radio, music for iTunes as well as Musical Director for the VSC production of “Nobody Lonesome for Me”. His principle teachers were Paul Gilbert, Jennifer Batten and Michael Ward.

  Michael Kersting – Drum Teacher Michael teaches all ages, beginner to advanced, with emphasis on reading and fundamentals. He teaches all styles of music from rock, jazz, latin, orchestral, and marching percussion. Michael attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music and has studied with Casey Scheuerell, Steve Wilkes, Dave Cowan and Mark Tate of the Louisville Orchestra. Michael has been teaching at Mom’s Music since 2001.

Russ Wallace – Guitar, Bass, Drum, Ukulele and Vocal Teacher Russ comes to Mom’s from Spring Field, Missouri where he attended Missouri State. He teaches mandolin, guitar, bass, drums, and vocals. Russ is also Mom’s Rock School coach. His styles include Rock n’ Roll, Blues, Metal, Punk and Pop. Russ creates a tailored personal lesson plan for students of all ages.

  Kirk Whitehouse – Guitar, Bass, Ukulele and Vocal Teacher Kirk specializes in youth and young adult guitar/vocal/bass lessons, beginner to intermediate with emphasis on basic note and fingering techniques. Kirk was a member of the Kentucky All State high school choir for three years and studied under Renee Grunt Williams (vocal coach for Linda Ronstadt and The Grateful Dead). With over 20 years professional performing experience in rock, country, soul, blues, R & B, funk and pop, Kirk is one well-rounded instructor.  

  Rob Edwards – Drum Teacher Rob’s teaching focuses on structured fundamentals that apply to all styles of music. He instructs all ages beginner to advanced. He has been teaching at Mom’s for over 10 years. Rob has earned his Bachelor of Music education from the University of Louisville and has studied percussion with James Rago, Kalani, Glen Caruba, Jim Chapin and Jimmy Lobb. He teaches snare drum, drum set and hand percussion at Mom’s.

Jyn Yates – Drum Teacher   Jyn Yates grew up in a musical family and has been rocking behind the kit from tender the age of three years old. She has performed for the Los Angeles Center Theatre Group, Kirk Douglas Theatre, Universal Studios, Actor’s Theatre, The Kentucky Center For The Arts, Youth performing Arts School, Center Stage, & the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre of New York. Jyn is also an esteemed drum instructor in Louisville, Kentucky – teaching drum set performance and percussion composition full-time here at Mom’s Music.  

  Justin Shaw – Drum Teacher Justin’s approach is “show up with your sticks and an open mind”. He teaches beginner to advanced students of all ages. His focus is reading, ear training and written improvisation. Justin has a Bachelors of Music from the University of Indiana. He has studied marching percussion, classical and drum set in multiple styles from Jazz, big band to funk and classical.

Kimmet Cantwell – Piano and Vocal Teacher Kimmet teaches beginner to intermediate piano – specializing in reading music, understanding basic theory etc.Kimmet, originally from Long Island, NY, is a full-time singer, performer and songwriter. She has been half of the acoustic duo ‘Kimmet & Doug’ for over 10 years and is currently playing at least 5 times per week. Kimmet is a former touring member (keyboards & backing vocals) of the platinum-selling rock band Days of the New.

    Karsten Nelson – Guitar, Bass, Songwriting and Ukulele Teacher Karsten has a catered to student approach that focuses on the fundamentals of reading, technique and song training. He teaches beginner to professional classes from age 7 and up. Karsten has a Bachelor’s degree in music from Bellarmine University and has recorded and performed in regional bands for over 10 years. 

Billy Lease – Bass and Guitar Teacher Billy enjoys teaching Rock, Blues, Country and Pop style of music to students of all ages using his own techniques to teach material that would match student’s preferences. Billy brings 15 years of musical knowledge and 7 years of professional touring experience to his students. With 8 years of formal music training, Billy has shared the stage with acts such as Spoon, Ok Go, Sleater-Kinney, and Biz Markie.  

    Joe D’Amato – Piano Teacher Joe teaches beginner to advanced piano – specializing in Rock, Blues and Pop styles. He teaches theory and reading but also takes the approach of “close the book and put the knowledge to work”. Joe a native of Long Island, NY, studied piano with Ralph Caruso of the Ralph – Joseph Orchestra from age 5. He then majored in piano at the Nassau Community College. Joe currently performs weekly as a solo artist at restaurants, clubs and private events and as a freelance professional sound engineer and stage tech. <

      Karlyn Baker – Guitar Teacher Karlyn Baker has been a guitar instructor at Mom’s Music since 2008. He teaches all ages, all genres, notation, how to read guitar tab, music theory and everything in between. His forte is rock and heavy metal.

  Brandon Bell – Saxophone – Clainet – Flute Teacher Brandon is a Louisville based saxophonist and music educator. He graduated with a Bachelor’s of Music in Music Education from Kennesaw State University in 2010. Originally from Georgia, Brandon moved to Kentucky in 2011 and remains an active performer and teacher throughout the metro Louisville area. Brandon teaches music at Prospect Latin Preschool and Friends School as well as maintaining a private studio. He brings a wealth of diverse experiences and versatility to his educational approach, as he stays active teaching general music appreciation classes, piano classes, band clinics, and private woodwind lessons to students ranging in age from 18 months to adulthood. Being a woodwind doubler, he has played saxophone, clarinet, and flute in a variety of musical settings including orchestras, wind ensembles, chamber groups, Broadway shows, big band, jazz combos, gospel groups, and rock bands with artists including Little Anthony andthe Imperials, the Georgia Symphony Orchestra, and Michael Bolton. Brandon can be heard performing with Your Friendly Neighborhood Big Band as well as other jazz groups in the metro Louisville area.

    Sarah Francisco – Voice Teacher Sarah is a singer, performer and a voice teacher dedicated to teaching both classical, pop, and Broadway music to her students in any age level. She has taught for four years in the Philippines where she is originally from and where she took her Bachelors degree in Music as well. In 2013, she came to America and pursue her Masters in vocal perormance at Lee University. Her goal is to teach her students healthy vocal techniques that can be applied to different music genres but at the same time have fun singing while learning. She has performed in concerts, musicals, operas and oratorios both here and back in the Philippines. Currently, she is an active performer/singer of the Louisville Chorus and the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Louisville.

    Bethany Cothern – Piano Teacher Bethany Cothern has just finished her Master of Music in Piano Performance, and is currently enrolled at the University of Louisville for a second Masters degree in Piano Pedagogy.   She has loved music from a young age, starting with piano lessons at age nine and adding voice and violin lessons during high school.  She has done many collaborations with instrumentalists and vocalists since beginning her undergraduate career.  She also spent a summer in Graz, Austria studying German Lied through the collaborative piano program at the American Institute of Musical Studies.  She currently teaches the undergraduate group piano classes for music majors at the University of Louisville, and has taught privately for the past 6 years.  Her teaching experience includes beginners, intermediate, advanced and adult students.  Her favorite part of teaching is when students have those “Aha!” moments in lessons; she focuses on students having a strong musicalfoundation comprised of music reading ability, theory knowledge, and a musical ear.   The most important goal at every lesson for her students is that the students create beauty at the piano while enjoying the learning process!

Steven O’Reilly – Drum Teacher Steven has been in Louisville since 2007, just a few months after graduating from the Atlanta Institute of Music with a 4.0 grade point average. Music brought him to Louisville and has kept him here as he has flourished in our local music scene. Being a well rounded drummer and having a love of many genres of music, Steven’s teaching style is suited for all student levels. With a deep appreciation for music history as well as music theory, students are more than willing to keep up with his curriculum and actually do their homework! His passion for drums and how music is constructed makes his teaching style fun and unique; For example, in his teaching studio, he has one drum kit split into two sides to maximize hands on learning. He currently performs throughout the area with his band, Gas Money, which focuses mainly on Pop cover songs. He started the band over a year ago to bring something different to the Louisville cover music scene. He has also playedfor some other note worthy bands and artists like Heaven Hill, Jefferson Tarc Bus and Peter Searcy, to name a few.