LANSDALE – By day, students at Penndale only expect to be schooled by their teachers in lessons of the history and physics variety. But by night… well not much is different; students take home more work while the teachers take repose in their classroom closets. On one particular day every year, though, Mr. Steven Zong, Ken Schwartz, Matt Wendell, John Collier, Joe Disiro, Robert Pecharo, and Dan Rauscher swap out their books in favor of drumsticks and guitar picks to teach students a different kind of lesson, one grounded firmly in pure rock and roll.

Almost ten years ago, back in 2007, the Penndale Student Government Association hosted its first Battle of the Bands competition in which student musicians and their bands were invited to perform in front of their peers. However, Mr. Neil Broxterman saw this as an opportunity for teachers and students to bond on the same level, or at least come together on same face melting wavelength.

Because of Lip-Syncing Competition’s notoriety prior to Battle of the Bands, many teachers with no musical background volunteered to be a part of the show, thinking it would be similar. However, after the first practice, many members realized that the band was a bit out of tune, to say the least. After a round of clarification and hiccups, the band was finally born. Thus began the teachers’ debut as they opened with “Fight for Your Right to Party” and “Island in the Sun.”

“From what I remember,” Collier reflected, “Mr. Broxterman said, ‘Hey, we should do that! Who plays instruments?’ And a few of us knew each other, knew we played instruments, and we sort of just started talking, finding other people who played, and eventually there were twenty people in the band.”

While twenty may be a slight exaggeration, the number of band members who play the same instrument most certainly is not. Wendell, Collier, Disiro, and Pecharo all play guitar for the band, and though they were originally called Lords of Rock, the end result was an ironic nod at the four guitarists as they decided to become known as Guitarmageddon.

“We usually try to be faithful to the original [songs], but sometimes we tweak things a little bit for a variety of reasons, like to make it conducive to four guitars,” Collier explained of their rehearsals.

“And to our ability,” laughed Pecharo, “which is not that of professionals.”

But the teachers appreciate the fact that their students don’t seem to expect them to be the next ACDC. What really counts is how playing music makes them seem like real people. They are recognized in the hallways and have worked hard to rightfully earn the ever-elusive reputation of “cool teachers.”

“It’s typically the other way around where we have [students] in class and they see ‘boring Mr. Collier,’ but then they find out that we’re going to be playing in this performance that’s coming up, and suddenly they really want to know who’s in the band, what do they play, and it gives [students] that chance to see their teachers in a much more relaxed atmosphere,” Collier said.

“It has expanded perceptions mostly, I’d say, as students see their teachers up there really rocking out to a tune that they know,” agreed Zong, who could not make it to the interview but was available to comment via email.

“And they don’t see us stiff,” Disiro added. “They have more fun with us.”

The music isn’t just responsible for bringing teachers and students together; it also helped form friendships among the members in the band that may not have been previously made. Both Pecharo and Disiro come from the history department, Collier and Wendell from the science department, Rauscher from English, Zong from Business and Tech, and finally Schwartz represents the retirees (though he used to be a French teacher). Rauscher is actually a new addition to Guitarmageddon this year, after the band lost their original front man, (but current North Penn High School history teacher,) Mr. Gus Maurer. Despite this change, the group always looks forwards to performing together, finding new ways to better themselves both as musicians and people.

“Playing music by yourself is okay,” said Wendell, “but for me, I think it’s better playing with a group.”

“This is motivation to practice more,” Pecharo explained. “I definitely have gotten better since we’ve been playing because I really have to learn the songs. People are depending on us to know our parts, so being in the band makes practicing a necessary, and usually fun, component.”

So how did each band member start out? Many of them began pursuing an instrument while still in middle school, like Wendell, and a year into the band’s formation, he, too, became part of the group.

“When I learned that these guys played music, I was here after school one day, and hearing them play, I knew I wanted to do that too,” he said.

Though Collier began playing guitar in middle school as well, throughout high school and college he switched over to the drums. Guitarmageddon gave him the opportunity to relearn what he had previously given up. Besides, where would Guitarmageddon be today with only three guitarists? The drums, instead, were left to Schwartz, who, though unavailable for comments, was lauded by his fellow bandmates for his talent.

“[Schwartz] is retired, but he’s been coming back to us for two years now. He’s amazing,” Collier enthused. “First of all, he’s the most ridiculous, awesome drummer ever, but also he’s so dedicated to coming back and loves playing so much. He has always been an essential part of the band.”

Disiro, self-appointed part-time manager of the group and full-time guitarist, began playing his instrument as an adult. After becoming a teacher, he picked it up as a way to relax, and though he admits his skills are slightly below those of the other members, he can certainly manage like nobody’s business.

“I’ll organize our ten year anniversary tour next year,” he joked.

Or even, perhaps, a reunion tour, because Maurer, one of the original members of the Guitarmageddon, lettered his farewell from the band and his music career in 2015.

“It was still fun,” recalled Maurer, “but we only got to play once a year, and we couldn’t find time to practice, and it was getting to become a bit of a hassle. The reward was less too because we played at Penndale, and the kids didn’t know who I was anymore. I felt like I was out of place. They’re screaming for their teachers and they were like ‘who’s the guy singing?’ I also felt like it would have been more fun for the kids and for the band if the lead singer was from Penndale.”

So the NPHS teacher made his unfortunate, yet gracious exit. While he will remain irreplaceable in the hearts of the members of Guitarmageddon, Maurer handpicked his torch-bearer.

“So I handed my torch to Mr. Rauscher,” announced Maurer. “There was a talk about me hanging around as a guitarist, but if there is one more thing that band does not need is another guitarist.”

Hence the acquisition of the Penndale English teacher. His involvement began one fateful day at the lunch table, during which the other band members were discussing their loss of Maurer. Coincidentally, Rauscher already had experience playing with a band, as both a singer and guitarist.

“They mentioned they were looking for a new frontman,” Rauscher started, “and these guys already have about seventeen guitars, so I figured I could fill in that vocalist part. It’s been a lot of fun for me.”

Zong also dabbles in a position behind the mic, despite primarily playing bass for the band. Last year he received the chance to sing one song while the group performed on Penndale’s Blue and White Day. However, picking which songs to sing is not exactly as easy as it sounds when seven people need to approve them before it even reaches administration.

“It’s a negotiation between what we want to play, what we can actually play, and what the kids want to hear,” clarified Rauscher.

“A lot of new music today wouldn’t lend itself to four guitars,” Pecharo added.

“But we’ve been fighting about which songs to sing since ‘07,” Collier laughed. “It’s just bound to happen.”

Being together for nine years has given the band ample time to make unforgettable memories, from Zong’s son’s cameo performance, to a packed auditorium concert that lasted all night, to an open air rock show, to finally the appearance of bagpipes during ACDC’s “A Long Way to the Top.”

Perhaps the most memorable moment came in fateful night of ‘08.

“In November before that concert, my sister was killed,” remembered Maurer, “and it was on my fortieth birthday. It was really depressing and really hard. For like two months, there just wasn’t anything to be happy about. But that show went so great and it was so much fun, it was like the first real fun I had in few months, and it’s just really special to me. It brought me out of that really dark time.”
Ultimately though, they perform for the fun of it all, simply because they can.

“We’re trying to make it so that the kids recognize [the music] because that’s what it’s for. It’s for us playing live to entertain the Penndale kids,” said Collier. “Rock and roll for life.”