Hi. Crispin Wood here -- the creator of Rock School. One of the best things about doing Rock School is hearing from users (like yourself). Your encouragement and support is greatly appreciated. You send in many helpful suggestions, hilarious anecdotes... thank you! In case you're interested, here are a bunch of questions I am frequently asked:
 
What are the names of the three guys? What's the name of their band?

Actually, the guys have no names. Nor does their band. For, they are Every Band. They are you. Their primary purpose is to provide a visual aid, helping demonstrate the many concepts set forth in the Rock School curriculum.
 
You used to play in a band, right?
Yes, I did. It probably doesn't really matter who the band was, although many of you out there know. We played together for six and a half years. That's over half a decade's worth of "research" -- many different experiences upon which to refer when creating material for Rock School. My ex-bandmates (Jon Hardy and Jim Janota) have been great about providing vocals for the animations on the Rock School site. They help make the characters sound more authentic.
 
How long has Rock School been around?
The Rock School web site has been up since April of 1998. I've been drawing a black and white comic strip called Rock School (which is published in a Boston-area music fanzine called The NOISE) since 1992. Click here to see a sample. A pile of these strips has accumulated over the years. I'd like to release said pile in the form of a "collection." If anyone out there has any recommendations for how such a collection might be published, please contact Rock School.
 
Can I download Rock School animations for use on my site?
I'm working on some (free) download-able activities/lessons/MP3s. Contact Rock School for information about licensing, if you're interested in the materials currently residing on the site.
 
How do you make your animations? Do you draw stuff on paper and scan it in?
No drawing on paper and scanning it in. Everything is drawn on the computer (400 MHz Mac G3) using a WACOM tablet. Animations with single-pixel outlines are done in Director, with backgrounds usually created in Photoshop (imported into Director). The bigger (streaming) files are drawn in Illustrator, and brought into Flash. Vocal sounds are recorded with an old Mac mic, using SoundEdit16. Most of the music was created in a recording studio... the old fashioned way.
 
Is there any Rock School merchandise available? T-shirts? Hats? Lighters? Guitar Picks? Incense? Underwear?
Ah, the merch. Some day. Once I find a decent (affordable) T-shirt printer, and a distributor, there will definitely be T-shirts. I know I could use some... uhh... new clothes.
 
What happened with that Rock School CD-ROM that was supposed to come out?
There was a Rock School CD-ROM in production several years ago. Then, it was revealed that there is pretty much no market for CD-ROMs whatsoever, unless they're of the shoot-em-up variety. Or the encyclopedia variety. Or the "adult entertainment" variety. Anyhow... Rock School falls into none of those categories. The CD-ROM developing energy was redirected toward the Rock School web site. Much of the material originally intended for release on the CD-ROM has been reappropriated for use on the site.