iAM Music founder Jesse Ogle, left, gives a lesson to Animas High student and performer Julianne Marqua, right, on Tuesday. An official nonprofit since 2014, the local music school will be holding a fundraiser/festival downtown this Friday and Saturday at various locales./Photo by Jennaye Derge

Grooving to their own beat

iAM Music strives to cater to individual musical talents

by  Martina Pansze

Durango’s summer is going out on a high note this weekend as iAM music presents its first ever music festival. The event, a fundraiser for the local nonprofit, includes two days of music, art, dance and worskshops at various downtown venues this Friday and Saturday.

“The purpose of the festival is to raise awareness of our organization and our mission, to raise funds for various outreach programs and operating costs, and of course to bring a whole lot of great music, art, spoken word and dance to Durango,” iAM Music Director Easton Stuard said.

Originally “Independent Artist Management,” iAM was started in 2012 as a grassroots musician networking for the Southwest’s live music scene. However, the name was later shortened to iAM and the for-profit morphed into a nonprofit music education school. It officially gained its 501c3 nonprofit in January 2014.

“It began as an effort to bring an alternative music education model to this community and provide music to students in need, whether it be low-income, at-risk or schools without any music instruction,” Jesse Ogle, iAM’s executive director and co-founder, said.

Ogle, a member of the local band Hello, Dollface, founded iAM along with his bandmate, Ashley Edwards (vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist). They, along with Stuard, the band’s flutist, all teach at the institute.

The iAM team, which currently has four full-time and two part-time instructors, has approximately 75  private students and serves another 200 through its outreach programs at schools. In addition, iAM has a free instrument-lending program so students in need of an instrument can start playing without an investment up front.

“I am able to make such an impact on my community, and the youth in particular,” said Stuard. “I am surrounded all day by absolute bad ass musicians and dedicated students.”

iAM instructors work with students anywhere from a one-time lesson to regular, ongoing sessions. But, as Stuard says, what makes iAM different is its unconventional approach. “We focus first on kids having fun with music and being able to play music with others. Then we integrate the fundamentals along the way instead of overwhelming new students with pedantic curricula,” he said.

They also don’t discriminate by age: right now, iAM’s oldest students are in their late 60s or early 70s, and the youngest student is just 4 years old.  It also has students who are professional musicians and music teachers, according to Ogle.

The organization offers music instruction on guitar, bass, piano, violin, viola, flute, saxophone, vocals, songwriting and drums as well as classes on performance, music theory, business and early childhood development.

The program is involved with public and private local schools, including Animas High School, Big Picture High School, St. Columba, Liberty School and DeNier Youth Services.

“Our approach is to serve every person and program in a unique way that takes into account every goal, aspiration and learning style of the individual or program. We don’t fit the person or program to us, rather we fit ourselves to the person or the program we serve,” said Ogle.

Animas High School student Julianne Marqua has been an iAM student for two years. She meets weekly with both Ogle and Edwards for about an hour and half for guitar and vocal lessons.

Marqua finds that being able to incorporate her own style in the lessons gives her confidence and passion while still learning the fundamentals and techniques of music.

“IAM music has a nontraditional approach to music, which I find helps students such as myself find their true creative spirit,” she said.

She said the confidence gained through her lessons and the support from the staff helped her to overcome one of her biggest fears, stage fright.

“IAM music has been a light in my life for the past two years, and I am extremely grateful to be part of such an amazing program in Durango,” said Marqua.

Almost all its students are from the Four Corners area, but this summer the school also completed a West Coast tour, including guest instruction at Music’s Edge Rock Camp in Eugene, Ore., and Clackamas Community College in Portland, Ore.

All proceeds from the upcoming festival directly benefit the nonprofit, going toward curriculum development, operating costs, scholarships and expansion.

More than 20 local and touring bands will be performing at the festival, including Flobots, Hello Dollface, The Sugarthieves, Copper & Congress, Eldergrown, Carute Roma, Afrobeatniks, La La Bones, Six Dollar String Band and more.

During the festival, various venues will host bands as well as concurrent art shows.

Things kick off Friday night with art and music at Studio &, live jazz at the Steaming Bean Coffeehouse and a “Gypsy Stage” (21+) at the Lost Dog Bar and Lounge.

On Saturday, the music moves outside, with a main stage in the Durango Dance/Durango Craft Spirits parking lot. There will be a secondary stage in the parking lot between Studio & and Root and Branch Medicine. In addition, Guido’s Favorite Foods will be hosting a third stage on its patio, which will open with a performance by some iAM students.

However, live music is not the only thing the festival has to offer. All day Saturday, there will be unique educational workshops at the iAM studio, located at 1315 Main Ave., Suite #207. Topics include: “Poetry in the Community;” “Song Sharing and Voice Empowering;” “Didgeridoo Craft and Sound;” and an emcee workshop, “Lyrical Prowess.”

Visual and performance art will also be offered around the venues by various local studios and artists. In addition, there will be burlesque and aerial dancing, courtesy Imaginario and Bon Bon Burlesque, as well as poetry and spoken word, performed by Tere Fowler and Brady Wilson.

And when the sun sets, the action moves to an 18+ show at Animas City Theatre.

Tickets for the festival are available online at www.iammusic.us, and at Southwest Sound, Animas City Theatre, and the iAM Music Studio, 1315 Main Ave., Suite #207. The general admission two-day event pass is $25, although many ticket options are available.