Dan Croft recently joined Plugged In as Administrative Assistant to help our staff keep every aspect of the organization running smoothly. He previously served in administrative and management roles at More than Words and the Asperger’s Association of New England. His interest in organizations that serve and inspire youth began when he was a camper and later a Counselor-in-Training at Paul Newman’s Hole In The Wall Gang Camp. He is also a manager at Lakeshore Learning Materials and is studying toward a degree in botany. Dan lives in Jamaica Plain, where he spends most of his free time baking and taking care of his kitty, Dodi. Dan loves his label maker and is known for saying “rock on!” all the time.
Born in 1987, Nick Avila has been a devoted bass player for the past 10 years and since then he has never put it down. Nick has attended Berklee College of Music, majoring in music business, and has trained with bass players such as Danny Morris and Jim Stinnett. Nick has taught bass lessons on his own, and has worked at the Day Jam’s program, teaching kids from 8-17 songwriting skills and group dynamics.
Nick is also a member of the band Powerglove, who play heavy metal arrangements of popular video game, cartoon and movie themes. Signed to E1 Music, Powerglove has toured the US and Canada multiple times with bands such as Symphony X, Dragonforce, The Black Dahlia Murder, Whitechapel, Darkest Hour, Hammerfall, Sonata Arctica, and more, and has generated worldwide recognition for their over-the-top live show.
Matt Chieffo is a Boston Public School Teacher who began playing in bands when he was 12 years old. He started on drums, then moved to bass, then guitar. He currently leads Alt-Folk group Man Alive! and they play shows frequently at a wide variety of venues and places. Matt has taught bass lessons and worked with youth music collaboration projects in his home town in NJ. In addition to playing music, Matt also enjoys recording music, writing fiction, poetry, and lyrics, and experimenting in many other forms of creativity and self expression.
Ben Cohen received his first guitar at the age of 13, and has been addicted to it ever since. He has played both guitar and bass guitar in numerous bands around the Boston area. His current band, Inoculus, a progressive metal outfit in which he plays lead and rhythm guitar, have played at such venues as Harper’s Ferry, Bill’s Bar (across from Fenway Park), and McGann’s Pub (across from the TD Bank Garden). At the age of 15, Ben began studying guitar with Berklee professor and one of the fastest guitarists in the world, Joe Stump, after having outgrown several previous teachers within a year and a half of having started playing guitar. In 2004, he was awarded a Berklee Entering Student Talent Scholarship and began his studies at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. Now 24 years-old, Ben is a recent graduate of Berklee, with a Bachelor’s degree in Professional Music. He also recently attended Mattias “IA” Eklundh’s prestigious Freak Guitar Camp in Gothenburg, Sweden, studying with Mattias, who is widely considered to be one of the most innovative guitarists in the world today. In 2000, Ben began to teach guitar lessons, and has been teaching passionately ever since, specializing in rock/metal, while also being well-versed in a diverse array of other styles. He has been teaching at Plugged In since 2005, and enjoys passing on wisdom gained from years of playing in professional bands to younger players. Ben continues to strive to push the limits of his playing, and encourages his students to do the same on their instruments, while maintaining a relaxed, anxiety-free teaching style that is focused on the individual goals of each student, no matter what the student’s level of experience and stylistic preferences might be.
Christian Lehman was born and reared in Pennsylvania and moved to Boston to study composition at Berklee College of Music. He lives in Allston and has since played in various bands, performing in the greater Boston area and currently teaches guitar, bass, music theory and is an instructor for the Plugged In Teen Band Program. He enjoys furthering his students’ understanding and appreciation of Music.
Johan NarsjoGuitarist Johan Narsjo has been active on the Boston music scene since the early nineties. He has performed with a variety of artists and bands both as a sideman and as a leader. His versatile style embraces rock, jazz, blues and funk and has taken him on tours in the U.S. and Europe. He is currently the guitarist for Eye 2 Eye and Shades of Blue.
Johan spent most of his formative years with a guitar in his hand, or around the record player with his friends. As he tried to emulate the sounds he had heard on the guitar, he started taking lessons at the age of 10 and set out to form his first band at 12. Throughout his teens, he played in various original bands, a big band and a cover band. While attending summer music camp, he developed an intense interest in jazz and improvisation that would eventually lead to a degree from Berklee College of Music, and later to studies with legendary teacher Charlie Banacos. He joined his first professionally working band at the age of 17 and has stayed the course ever since, always exploring new avenues for creative expression while honing his musical vision.
Johan has been a member of the award winning R&B band Eye 2 Eye since 1997 and continues to freelance in a variety of settings. In addition to performing, he also teaches guitar privately and spends time in his studio, writing and recording.
Bassil SilverWithout a doubt, Bassil Silver plays in the nerdiest band the modern world has ever seen. Powerglove, named in homage to the 80’s Nintendo controller, plays adaptations of popular video game, cartoon and movie themes infused with the speed, power, and overblown grandiosity of heavy metal. Powerglove has toured the US and Canada multiple times with bands such as Dragonforce, Hammerfall, and Sonata Arctica, and has generated worldwide recognition for their over-the-top and exciting live show.
Bassil began playing drums at the age of 8, and has since developed a very powerful and blazing fast playing style. Attending Berklee College of Music as a Music Production & Engineering major, Bassil had the opportunity to study under such drummers as Mike Mangini, Jackie Santos and Tony “Thunder” Smith, as well as learn the techniques he applied to the engineering and recording Powerglove’s albums. With their upcoming album, and international tours to support it, Powerglove promises to bring back the childhood memories of video game fans, and cartoon watchers, in the most extreme way possible.
Cory wears many hats through the week. From songwriter and bandleader to recording and live sound engineer, there are very few angles of the business that he hasn’t had a hand in somewhere. One statement you’ll hear him say often is, “I like good music. I like live music. And, I like to make music happen!” Cory is finishing his degree at Berklee College of Music, where he is a full time Songwriting/Film Scoring double major. In addition to his musical interests, he is the Senior High Youth Director at Needham Congregational Church. Cory first discovered the Plugged In program from a friend at Berklee and immediately knew he wanted to get involved. This is Cory’s first of what he hopes to be many semesters teaching for Plugged In.
