Vivian Pacheco is a NYC Guitar School alum who played with She’s Lost Control, an all-girl post punk band that was part of our rock band program. Thank you, Vivian, for sharing your story and how NYCGS fit into your path and journey as a musician. We are honored to be a part of every student’s journey to their personal greatness!
Growing up with my father and grandfather who were gigging musicians and also played music around the house, music was always part of my life. In fact, my grandfather met my grandmother at one of his gigs!! To this day, I remember how my father put me between speakers when I was very little to listen to Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon.”
So, in high school I joined the orchestra, jazz ensemble and the string quartet and played the upright bass. My music teacher (Mr Gabriel Nevola, RIP) had me first start on the violin; after one night trying to play it, I was depressed hahaha. So he pulled an upright bass out of the closet, played it and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. That’s how a fourteen-year-old girl fell in love with the bass…
Fast forward years later, I got my first electric bass. After playing it for my ears only for a few months, I played a few gigs with my work band, had an empowering and life changing experience at the Willie Mae’s Lady’s Rock Camp, and formed an all girl band, She’s Lost Control. I realized I was onto something that I was not going to stop. We played for a while, but needed to find a new guitarist, and that’s when NYC Guitar School’s Rock Band program came in. We joined and got 2 new guitar players and an awesome coach, Mike Bennett, to guide us. It was an amazing experience.
Shortly after NYC Guitar School Rock Band shows, our all-girl band sadly had to disband because the drummer was pregnant and the singer went to grad school. I was interested in joining a new original band and answered a Craigslist ad, and that became Cowbell Superstar. The band was just forming, so it was the right time to join, and here we are … that was almost 2 years ago! And this is just the beginning…
Congratulations, Vivian! Check out her group, Cowbell Superstar, here, and see her play in her past NYC Guitar School shows:
