A Lot of Notes at This School…

Back in the mid-1990s, Brian Robbins used to teach guitar lessons while he played in his eponymous alt-pop band at Westside clubs such as The Joint on Pico Boulevard. Little did he realize at the time that it was his musical instruction that would figure so large in his future…

Two years ago, the Westwood resident started Red Pelican Music, a school of rock, pop, jazz and classical that is, in fact, a network of professional, working musicians who go all over Los Angeles to provide professional musical instruction.

Robbins, a Michigan native, moved to West Los Angeles in the early 1990s following college.

“I’ve been teaching for 18 years,” said the University of Michigan and Berklee College of Music graduate.

He started with a staff of three and now employs nine instructors. From Malibu to Cheviot Hills to Hollywood and the Valley, Red Pelican sends musician teachers (most of them in their late 20s and 30s) to all parts of Los Angeles for individual instruction for every level of student and all ages, “from four-year-olds to senior citizens,” Robbins said. Students can work on most genres and instruments, from guitar and bass to piano to drums, the accordion, even the ukulele. Music theory and software is also taught. Robbins wants to add orchestral music, including strings, to Red Pelican’s academic repertoire.

“All of our teachers are busy music professionals,” Robbins said. “I thought, ‘What if I recruited the absolute best teachers?’ For a small shop, we have the best people.”

Red Pelican’s faculty of instructors, which includes Robbins himself, is an international outfit hailing from the U.S., Australia, the Netherlands, Germany, Brazil, and South Africa.

“All we need is a teacher from Asia and from Antarctica,” he half-joked.

Ulf Anneken, a songwriter and Berklee College of Music alumnus who teaches primarily in Westwood, was the first person Robbins hired.

“His guinea pig so to speak,” Anneken said. “Since then, Red Pelican has grown immensely and it has been a wonderful experience. I truly enjoy teaching my students and I am proud of their progress. Sometimes, students have come to my performances to see me play and support me as well.”

Drummer Neil Sebba has been with Red Pelican Music for the past year.

“It is a really wonderful organization,” Sebba said. “Brian is a great guy who really cares about the clients and teachers, always making sure everyone is happy. He is very professional and a pleasure to work for.”

The Hollywood Hills resident, who last year played in the house band on Fran Drescher’s short-lived Fox talk show, has a long history working with aspiring musicians.

“I have been a private music teacher for 26 years,” Sebba said. “Teaching always keeps me on my toes and my students are very inspiring from my youngest student aged 4-and-a-half to my eldest, aged 64. I love imparting knowledge on people and am very passionate about teaching. I also love bringing my playing experience into my lessons and sharing it with my students so they know what it's like working as a professional musician and giving them insight into the music industry, whether it's playing with an indie artist in a small club or a major artist on a national TV show or a recording session in the studio.”

It’s at his West Los Angeles studio “where I do most of my teaching,” Sebba continued. “Most of my clients are on the Westside and either come to my studio or I go to their homes. 

“I love the diversity in the students, I have students between the ages of 7 to 40, and each one of them has a very clear vision on what they want,” said Red Pelican instructor Femke Weidema. “Before I meet with them, they talk to Brian and he can find the perfect matching teacher for them, I get a list with detailed information about each student, so I can prepare my lessons and build each lesson around their favorite music. Each lesson plan is different and it keeps work fun for me, I never repeat the same lesson twice.”

A West Hollywood resident, vocalist and songwriter Wediema has worked for Robbins for a half year, although “I have been teaching for about six years. I believe teaching is an essential part in growing as a musician, it keeps me on my toes, and also keeps me in contact with the outside world.”

Wediema works with pupils in Venice, Pacific Palisades, Studio City, and the Hollywood Hills.

“My singer/songwriter job takes a lot of time,” Weidema said. “I spend many hours in the studio writing and recording, so knowing I have a few students to work with during the week is a very pleasant surprise.”

The instructors who work under Robbins’s umbrella praise their fearless leader.

“Brian...always supports his teachers one hundred percent,” Anneken said.

“Brian is great,” Weidema said. “He is very easy to work with, and spends a lot of time on making it as easy for the teacher and the student. He is so detail oriented, up to the point where he Mapquests the address of my clients to see how long the drive [will be]. This saves me a lot of work, and ensures that the student is never let down.

 “It's important for people to know how Red Pelican tailors [its instruction] to everyone's needs,” Weidema continued. “This is not just a music school you go to where you follow a program. The program is made for you, and Brian is the perfect matchmaker between students and teachers.”

Robbins said that a primary goal of his was to not hire the proverbial didactic music tutor ready to whack a pupil across the knuckles for making mistakes.

“We don’t have B.S. artists and we don’t have mean people,” he said. “Everybody have a great learning experience, but at the same time, they’re having fun.”

Red Pelican staff members are hired not only based on musical ability but “for their ability to communicate really well," he added.

The formula appears to be working. “We have a growing business in a recession,” Robbins said.