Rock Underground rocks out and on

The owners of The Rock Underground say they want their students to experience music, not just learn it. The new store on Bedford Avenue in Bellmore Village opened in September and has had a growing number of loyal clients ever since.

Steve Eplan had long owned the building where the music store now resides. The first floor had been a kitchen store, and the upstairs had been where Eplan operated his mortgage business. The idea to open a new kind of music store had been brewing for a few years, and when the kitchen store moved out of the space, Eplan seized the opportunity.

Two of Eplan’s sons were involved in bands and music, so he approached their coach, Paul Casanova, to ask if he would be interested in going into business. He also asked Billy Handy Jr., a guitar expert who had sold Eplan a guitar or two, to come along for the ride. The three joined together and opened The Rock Underground as partners, not fully knowing what to expect.

The Rock Underground offers lessons just like most music schools, but the school also goes beyond that. “You take your lesson and that’s it,” Eplan said of traditional music schools. “You’re very uninspired.” Handy said that the trio went about using new learning methods to alleviate that problem. “We’re definitely more innovative than a normal music school,” Handy said.

Students take 45-minute lessons once a week, but then have the option to join with other musicians at their experience level to play in a band-like setting. There is a full stage in the store where students can practice the songs and sets they’ve been working on. The students are encouraged to be interactive with their music and one another, Handy said. Lessons focus around learning songs that can be incorporated into a set list and potentially be played at a show.

Students who have mastered their songs can take the process one step further and head into the recording studio, where Handy helps students lay down tracks and record their music. The Rock Underground also offers an entire course for musicians who wish to write and record their own music.

Eplan and Handy said word of mouth has helped bring in new students, and while the rise in popularity of shows like “Glee” and video games like “Rock Band” didn’t inspire the store, they certainly haven’t hurt either. “’Rock Band’ set off this new wave of kids who love rock music,” Eplan said.

The thing that connects all of The Rock Underground’s students is their passion for music, Eplan and Handy said. “We don’t want to be the place where kids just come and take lessons and do nothing with it,” Eplan said.

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