Students interested in music sat outside DVC’s music building, waiting in anticipation for a tour of the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus.
The tour bus sat outside DVC’s music building on Feb. 9th from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. There are currently four members of the staff living on the bus. They travel 10 months out of the year, going to different schools to educate students in the different areas of music.
Students of the bus are allowed 20 minutes to tour the state-of-the-art equipment, which is all donated by various sponsors, that has the equipment to help students produce, edit, record their own music videos in eight hours, depending on the school.
It was originated 15 years ago by Bryan Rothschild, who saw a need to reach out and support the arts. Since then, the project has expanded.
Ryan L’esperance, who is the producer and engineer, said he spent the last three years living on the bus.
L’esperance said the bus is especially important given that many schools are cutting their arts and music programs.
“I love that this gives kids the opportunity they otherwise wouldn’t have to get a whole new experience when it comes to music,” L’esperance said.
They go coast to coast visiting elementary schools, high school, and various college campuses.
“I’ve been playing in bands since I was young,” L’esperance said. “I got into the studio aspect of things and loved seeing the outcome. I wanted to help others get their art and ideas out, too.”
During the tour, two other members living on the bus, Kyle Baudour and Hans Tanner, gave demonstrations of the visual and audio set ups in the bus. Each showed examples of music videos students made in the past.
“We wanted to carry on John Lennon’s legacy and doing something good,” Tanner said.
The staff worked various different artists, including Justin Timerlake, Black Eyed Peas, and Natasha Bedingfield.
” We have worked with all of them,” Tanner said. “They are very passionate about music education. And why shouldn’t they be? They got where they are today because they had some type of music education in their lives.”
Kyle Baudour, another member of the staff, said that he really enjoyed the end result of each project.
“I’m very passionate about changing the world through art,” Baudour said.
Students who are just as passionate about music found the idea of the tour bus visiting campus a very exciting one.
Jonathan Redrico, who found out about the vent through a flier that hung outside his music class, said that he was interested to see what the bus had to offer.
“The recording aspect is cool,” Redrico said. “I didn’t really know what to expect. I kind of thought it would give more about the history of John Lennon.”
There may not have been any history, but there was still plenty to learn.
Francisco Arcila, a student at DVC and a volunteer for the bus, said he had no idea what to expect when he first found out he would be a part of the project for a day.
“It’s pretty cool,” Arcila said. “If you go inside, it’s decked out. They offer a lot of different services. The fact that all of the equipment is donated just makes it more amazing.”
The bus has seven more stops, and will end the tour for this year on Feb. 16th.
“Honestly, at this point in my life, this is the best journey and adventure,” L’esperance said. “It’s amazing to be out doing what I do.”