Do kids even want to learn a skill like playing the guitar? This week we sit down with Matt Gerry, the guitar and music teacher at South Middle School in Salina, whose 24-year journey has taken him everywhere from a Weezer-sponsored trip to Chicago to a Radio Disney commercial — and even a Grammy Music Educator Award nomination. Before we get to Matt, Sydney shares a heartwarming (and a little ironic) story about a Kansan TikToker helping out a fellow Kansan stranded far from home, and Gus reminisces about the Hanks and Joshes of the world who keep our cars running. Then Matt takes us through how he fell in love with guitar via his dad's old Gibson, built a guitar program from scratch against school-system red tape, won contests with Weezer and Mozart-inspired performances, got his students backstage with Collective Soul, and shared the stage with his own wife and daughter in Theatre Salina's School of Rock.

Highlights:

A Kansan TikToker (Weston, from Winfield) pulls over to help a stranded fellow Kansan in Colorado — without realizing it at first
Matt Gerry shares how he fell in love with guitar playing his dad's Gibson from Kalamazoo, Michigan while performing in a school production of Grease
The step-by-step story of building South Middle School's guitar program — from a grant-funded classroom set of guitars in 2003 to a dedicated guitar class in 2010, now serving 250 students a year
Winning a Weezer video contest that led to a trip to Chicago and new classroom instruments
Winning the Midwest region of a Mozart-themed contest, earning $7,500 for new guitars, followed by a Radio Disney Channel visit and commercial shoot
Matt's involvement with the Stiefel Theatre's School of Music and getting students backstage with bands like Collective Soul
Sharing the stage with his wife and daughter in Theatre Salina's production of School of Rock
Being nominated for the Grammy Music Educator Award and making the quarterfinals
Why Matt believes learning guitar in a group setting beats learning solo from YouTube
Matt's big goal: becoming a clinician who trains other guitar teachers
A nostalgic tangent about Salina radio stations, Weird Al Yankovic fan mail, and shared music memories from middle school

Chapters:

0:00 – Scrolling TikTok Finds Weston

0:45 – Kansans Helping Kansans

2:32 – Brake Pads and Hank Stories

3:23 – Ask a Kansan Intro

4:52 – Meet Music Teacher Matt

6:04 – How Matt Found Guitar

7:42 – Choosing Music Education

9:04 – First Classroom Memories

11:47 – Building a Guitar Program

14:07 – Why Guitar Hooks Students

18:06 – Weezer Contest Goes Viral

19:30 – Fame and Disney Tease

20:16 – Mozart Contest Win

20:51 – Disney Channel Visit

21:42 – Family Support Grounding

22:18 – Stiefel Music School

24:03 – School of Rock Family

25:01 – Awards and Humility

25:52 – Church Music and Benefits

27:40 – Middle School Mindset

28:47 – Guitar Program Expansion

31:38 – Big Goals and Training

34:01 – Radio Nostalgia Tangent

35:41 – Teaching Dream Job

37:31 – Stories from a Hat Twist

42:22 – Episode Wrap and Merch

Resources Mentioned:

Salina Education Foundation: https://www.salinaeducationfoundation.com/
Teaching Guitar Workshops: https://teachingguitarworkshops.org/
Stiefel Theatre: https://www.stiefeltheatre.org/
KMEA (Kansas Music Educators Association): https://ksmea.org/

Learn more about the podcast at askakansan.com!

This show is part of the ICT Podcast Network, for more information, visit ictpod.net