The glaring eyes of a screaming Alice Cooper hover over the stage from the wall-mounted, larger-than-life poster hanging in the corner of the bar lounge at Humphrey’s by the Bay Restaurant in Point Loma.
The stage, elevated a few inches and set back about 10 feet from the closest couch and table, provides an intimate atmosphere fit for a mellow winter concert.
On this day, and every first Saturday of each month, about 20 or more musicians grace the lounge at 2241 Shelter Island Drive with dynamic presence ” young faces and matching skills ” to pluck out classic rock and pop tunes as they put on a show that is anything but mellow.
The would-be future stars that make up the First Friday Club attend middle schools in the Point Loma area. Their seemingly small stature belies tremendous skill as they jam with the best “” in between homework assignments, of course.
Led by local musician turned music teacher Glen Fisher, the middle-school students come from public and private schools, including Correia Middle, 4302 Valeta St.; Dana Middle, 1775 Chatsworth Blvd.; and William H. Standley Middle, 6298 Radcliffe Drive in University City, among other schools. With Fisher, they learn to play and perform for the crowd.
“Grab an axe anywhere you can find one and start playing!” Fisher yelled into the crowd of students and parents gathered at January’s First Friday Club meeting.
At his command, little heads squeezed through the shoulders of adults sitting at tables and climbed up on the stage. They picked up their guitars, tuned their basses and tested the strength of their drums before playing their finale for the crowd.
The stage held two drummers, four guitarists and two bassists. It was an ensemble of members from other bands with names like Gomango Girls, Death Dirby, The Frecklehorns, The Shortest Whalers and My Privates, a band whose members attend private school together.
The afternoon jam session, where the students wailed out classic songs like “My Generation,” “Thanks for the Memories” and “Message in a Bottle,” ended with a crowd of proud parents clapping in appreciation.
They appreciate not only the music their children learn to play, but also what Fisher is doing for the community, said parent Richard Irby. Irby played back-up guitar for his son, Seth, during the show. The Irbys, along with Fisher, make up the members of the band Death Dirby. Irby, the former food and beverage director at Humphrey’s, also helped secure the venue at Humphrey’s for the First Friday Club.
“Glen is trying to get music back to the kids and to the schools,” Irby said. “It’s really a labor of love for him.”
For about three years now, Fisher has been working in the community to bring music back into the junior highs and high school in Point Loma, Fisher said. The nonprofit First Friday Club is part of his goal of introducing popular music into the school curriculum.
“I started making people aware that the music had disappeared from Point Loma High School,” Fisher said.
After approaching several people and organizations asking for help, he was able to broker a $50,000 donation to the school in 2002, he said. He said he wants to create a music program for the schools that would start at the middle and elementary schools and continue through junior and high schools.
“In high school there’s band and that’s it,” he said. “There’s not enough in the junior high and the high school [levels] to handle these kind of kids, pop musicians.”
During music lessons throughout the month, Fisher teaches the children not only how to play an instrument but also how to play with other students as part of a band. He said he wants to help students become professional-quality musicians if they choose.
My Privates is a band made up of students ages 10 to 13 who attend School of the Madeleine, 1875 Illion St. The brainchild of Fisher and the students, its members include, Joseph Saad, Patrick Barba, Ryan Stamper, Kyle Stamper and Max Kaderabek.
“If we can get an agent and get it going, we’re going to go to the big leagues,” Ryan Stamper said.
The First Friday Club isn’t just for boys, however.
The Gomango Girls is a band made up of only girls, who can play equally as well as the boy bands.
Although not all members of the Gomango Girls were present on this night, Sahara Grim, 10, of Correia Middle School, represented the group at Saturday’s show.
“It’s fun, really crazy,” Grim said. “In one song he [Fisher] kicked over the drums.”
A choir singer, hula dancer and actor, Grim said she likes playing the music Fisher teaches and wants to hopefully make music a big part of her future.
Other members in the Gomango Girls include Ella Adams, 12, Correia Middle School; Katie Magers, 11, from Dana Middle School; Emily Martine 13, Standley Middle School; and Lauren Eagle, 13, from Correia Middle School.
Grim said Fisher isn’t as strict as her other music teacher and is more “crazy.”
However crazy Fisher may seem, he’s serious about the lack of music education in the public school system.
Through the First Friday Club, Fisher said he hopes to accomplish his goal of reintroducing a comprehensive music program that includes pop music into the schools. The club asks for $10 donations to keep the program afloat.
Donations can be made at the First Friday Club meetings every first Saturday of the month at Humphrey’s by the Bay from 3 to about 7 p.m., or by contacting Fisher through the club’s Web site, www.gomangoinvasion.com.