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<p>WILKES-BARRE TWP. &#8212; If you want to rock, Joe Nardone Jr. has a special place to do it.</p><p>The Gallery of Sound co-owner stood inside his new Rockology Music Academy in the East End Centre on Sunday, greeting potential students and giving a tour of the space during the final day of its open house.</p><p>An idea that&#8217;s been over a year in the works, Nardone said the academy can teach those interested in learning the instruments of rock &#8216;n&#8217; roll &#8212; or of any genre of music they prefer.</p><p>The music mogul said that the idea came to him after seeing so many local school districts cutting out their music programs to balance their budgets. Many of the districts that have kept music in the schools, he said, don&#8217;t offer instruction on guitar, bass and other rock instruments.</p><p>&#8220;School music programs are not what they used to be,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Even if there is a music program at a school, they&#8217;re not teaching instruments like guitar and bass.&#8221;</p><p>From the members of KISS to a black-and-white photo of The Beatles to a concert picture of The Clash, posters of rock legends past and present hang prominently on the space&#8217;s bright green and blue walls. A multitude of smaller rooms line the hallways, each filled with a variety of musical instruments waiting to be picked, plucked and played.</p><p>The Rockology Music Academy offers individual and group lessons on drums, guitar, bass guitar, piano, keyboard, vocals and more. Students can range from beginners to advanced, from as young as age 7. Nardone said a special Preschool Playhouse group will be offered by a certified pre-kindergarten instructor for those aged between 4 and 7 years old.</p><p>Those who already know how to play an instrument and want to learn how to work with a band, the academy is offering a special class called the &#8220;Live Band&#8221; program.</p><p>Students who have already mastered an instrument can learn to work and play together as a group. Nardone said that after a student reaches a certain proficiency, they too can join the group program.</p><p> &#8220;It&#8217;s a way to learn how to play together on stage,&#8221; he said.</p><p>As Nardone showed off what he called the &#8220;jam room&#8221; &#8212; an auditorium-like setup featuring everything a rocker would need, from a stage to amplifiers, speakers, a soundboard and more &#8212; he said that after members of a Live Band group learn to play together, the academy can have them perform at local events. In the future, Nardone said, he hopes to hold master classes in the jam room that feature professional members of the music industry.</p><p>A total of seven instructors will be teaching at the academy, with Wilkes University faculty member Vince Insalaco as the lead instructor.</p><p>A graduate of Syracuse University with a bachelor&#8217;s degree in classical guitar, Insalaco has been teaching at Wilkes since 2008 and has also gone on tour with multiple bands. He said he enjoys teaching because every day brings something new, and it prompts him to expand his musical knowledge based on what his students want to learn.</p><p>&#8220;I love it,&#8221; he said of teaching. &#8220;This is the best job in the world. It deepened my own understanding of music.&#8221;</p><p>Both Nardone and Insalaco said that while it may be the &#8220;Rockology Academy,&#8221; students can learn anything from classical and jazz to pop or rock, depending on their personal preferences.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re going to teach them the music they want to learn,&#8221; Insalaco said.</p><p>Grazia Saporto walked into the academy with her mother, Rebecca, hoping to take a quick look around.</p><p>Trying to kill some extra time before a performance at the nearby KISS Theatre, Saporto said she was looking for a place where she could continue learning bass guitar.</p><p>The 13-year-old Pittston Area student said she is active in her school band and has a passion to continue with music on her own.</p><p>&#8220;I play saxophone in school,&#8221; she said, noting that her brother was once a guitar player in a band. &#8220;I&#8217;m just really fascinated with music.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Co-owner Joe Nardone Jr. talks about the new Rockology Music Academy at the East End Centre in Wilkes-Barre Township during an open house on Sunday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_TTL121216Rockology_1-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Co-owner Joe Nardone Jr. talks about the new Rockology Music Academy at the East End Centre in Wilkes-Barre Township during an open house on Sunday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_TTL121216Rockology_2-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Joey Nardone III, of Dallas, practices in one of the guitar rooms at Rockology Music Academy. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_TTL121216Rockology_2-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Joey Nardone III, of Dallas, practices in one of the guitar rooms at Rockology Music Academy. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_TTL121216Rockology_4-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Prospective music student Grazia Saporito, 13, of Wilkes-Barre, left, and her mom, Rebecca Merchant, talk with Rockology Mucic Academy co-owner Joe Nardone Jr., about classes. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_TTL121216Rockology_4-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Prospective music student Grazia Saporito, 13, of Wilkes-Barre, left, and her mom, Rebecca Merchant, talk with Rockology Mucic Academy co-owner Joe Nardone Jr., about classes. </caption2><photoCredit2>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_TTL121216Rockology_3-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Instructor Vince Insalaco, of Wilkes-Barre, tries out the drums in one of the instruction rooms. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_TTL121216Rockology_3-1.jpg</photo3><caption3>Instructor Vince Insalaco, of Wilkes-Barre, tries out the drums in one of the instruction rooms. </caption3><photoCredit3>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Marcella Kester</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>HOW TO ROCK</strong></p><p>The Joe Nardone Rockology Music Academy is accepting new students. Classes are generally once a week for an hour, or 90 minutes for Live Band groups. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.rockology.info" target="_blank">www.rockology.info</a>.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach the Times Leader newsroom at 570-829-7242 or on Twitter @TLnews.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Joe Nardone Jr.’s new Rockology Music Academy welcomes public at open house