Success Stories

Jonathan Gabriel Sparks (Guitar, Recording Artist) just checked in with this update: “About a year ago, in May 2007, I started a Sultry Indie band called Poésis (pronounced "poy-ae-sis”). After a few rehearsals we played our first show and sold out the venue. We got $170 in tips alone that night, in addition to $150 from the venue! We've played over 50 shows in our first year, most of which are nicely paying gigs. We did a short tour in New York City, where we played to a packed house at The Living Room, a very hip venue that has set off a lot of bands including Norah Jones. Last June, I landed a job as the House Engineer for Angel Bluff Studios (given my training in the RAP Program). I now make $1,000/month, $30/hour engineering for local bands and artists. I also took advantage of the gig and recorded our own record, titled The Letter, which I played for Threshold Sound and Vision, a beautiful studio in Santa Monica. Peter A. Barker, the chief engineer for Sony Studios for the last 15 years, heard it, loved it, and decided to cut us a deal on mixing it. I then had the opportunity to fly out to LA and be an apprentice of sorts for him while he mixed our album personally! The record sounds great - it's available on iTunes and CD Baby under “Poesis.”  We have already placed seven songs in an upcoming movie called Dropping a Ton and Making it Fun, a sort of "What the Bleep do We Know" movie about nutrition. The director has plans to be on Leno and have us play for them. AND, in addition to all of that, I am now happily teaching guitar lessons at the local music store, making very good money doing it! SO, THANK YOU MUSICIANS INSTITUTE! I couldn't have done it without you!

Check out Poesis at their website and myspace...