{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Ask A Kansan","title":"Strumming Success with Matt Gerry | Rocking Kansas","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2594,"description":"Do kids even want to learn a skill like playing the guitar? This week we sit down with Matt Gerry, the guitar and music teacher at South Middle School in Salina, whose 24-year journey has taken him everywhere from a Weezer-sponsored trip to Chicago to a Radio Disney commercial — and even a Grammy Music Educator Award nomination. Before we get to Matt, Sydney shares a heartwarming (and a little ironic) story about a Kansan TikToker helping out a fellow Kansan stranded far from home, and Gus reminisces about the Hanks and Joshes of the world who keep our cars running. Then Matt takes us through how he fell in love with guitar via his dad's old Gibson, built a guitar program from scratch against school-system red tape, won contests with Weezer and Mozart-inspired performances, got his students backstage with Collective Soul, and shared the stage with his own wife and daughter in Theatre Salina's School of Rock. \nHighlights:\nA Kansan TikToker (Weston, from Winfield) pulls over to help a stranded fellow Kansan in Colorado — without realizing it at firstMatt Gerry shares how he fell in love with guitar playing his dad's Gibson from Kalamazoo, Michigan while performing in a school production of GreaseThe step-by-step story of building South Middle School's guitar program — from a grant-funded classroom set of guitars in 2003 to a dedicated guitar class in 2010, now serving 250 students a yearWinning a Weezer video contest that led to a trip to Chicago and new classroom instrumentsWinning the Midwest region of a Mozart-themed contest, earning $7,500 for new guitars, followed by a Radio Disney Channel visit and commercial shootMatt's involvement with the Stiefel Theatre's School of Music and getting students backstage with bands like Collective SoulSharing the stage with his wife and daughter in Theatre Salina's production of School of RockBeing nominated for the Grammy Music Educator Award and making the quarterfinalsWhy Matt believes learning guitar in a group setting...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/31uDhQmE-73zaqpWjXtwnyYffNMsUnDPiL6GtjTddEQ/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9mNzBm/YzFkNDBkODVjNGM2/MzMwMGViYjhmZTY4/Nzc0Mi5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}