By Ellie Shalvarjian
Staff Writer
Costa teachers and musicians Timothy Piper and David Piorek prove that teachers really can rock.
Piorek teaches 11th grade CP and Honors English courses as well as the senior seminar on Los Angeles Noir Literature. Piorek also plays guitar and sings in his two bands. Piper teaches Geography, Intro to Law, and AP Psychology. Piper also plays a variety of instruments including guitar, bass guitar, drums, and harmonica.
“I have self-released my own stuff at various times, depending on how much I’m playing live and how much demand there is for it,” Piper said. “Within the past two months I have written upwards of ten new songs that I plan on recording very soon.”
“Playing songs that you have written in front of a crowd who actually cares to hear them and enjoy them is one of the most exhilarating and rewarding experiences life has to offer,” Piper said.
Piorek is in two separate bands: “Lord Have Mercy On Us” and “The Trembling Tabernacle.” “Lord Have Mercy On Us” has four members and have been an on-and-off again band since 2002. Piorek says that “Lord Have Mercy On Us” was created because his friends and he desired to make loud and indignant music.
“I was partially inspired by a street corner preacher who yelled about the end of the world,” Piorek said. “I wanted to make music that serve as a good soundtrack to that. “I wanted to do that, and was lucky enough to have friends that thought it was a good idea too.”
Piorek’s other band, “The Trembling Tabernacle,” includes 5 members, and has been around since 2012. Piorek says that “The Trembling Tabernacle” tends to be more of a solo project rather than a collaboration; however, there are still multiple people who help him with his music. Piorek has released 7 EPs and albums from his various bands.
“The best part of music is how I can write a song and see it become an actual piece of art that I made, either through recording it or playing it live,” Piorek said.
The first band Piper was a member of was called “A Feel Good Assignment,” which was composed of him and 5 friends from his high school. “A Feel Good Assignment” released their first and only EP “Sounds of a Wooly Mammoth” in 2009, but later broke up due to creative differences.
“Getting 4 or 5 people on the same page and willing to dedicate the same effort to the band was one of the most difficult and frustrating experiences of my life,” Piper said. “My advice to aspiring musicians is always to find people who you want to play with, be around and who love music as much as you do.”
Although Piper is now a solo artist, he is still actively writing and performing new music. Piper says that, over the past two months, he has written upwards of ten new songs that he plans on recording very soon. Even though Piper has performed under the name of “A Feel Good Assignment” since he was 19, his future plans include going under a different title.
“From a songwriting perspective, being a solo artist is the best,” Piper said. “The tough part is getting people together to help me play live because I have found that the general public is hesitant to accept another guy toting nothing but a voice and an acoustic guitar.”
Although Piper and Piorek aren’t in the same musical groups, they both agree that performing in front of a live audience and writing their own music are some of the best parts of being a musician.
“Playing songs that you have written in front of a crowd who actually cares to hear them and enjoy them is one of the most exhilarating and rewarding experiences life has to offer,” Piper said.
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