Abby Boley, of our Kierland office, started singing when she was a little girl. She warmed up her vocals by singing in a church children’s program at a young age and later sang in music programs through jr. high and high school. Little did she know, one day she would be the lead singer of a rock band.
Abby was led to her band thanks to a guitar. As a teenager, Abby developed the desire to learn guitar, but she never enrolled in lessons. That changed a few years ago when she finally decided to do something new for herself. She started taking acoustic guitar lessons from Jen Logan, who also teaches bass, ukulele, drums, and piano lessons. Jen, who has since become a friend and mentor to Abby, was the one who suggested Abby get involved in a band. Since Jen had so many students playing different instruments she came up with the idea of putting bands together, grouping students by age range and experience levels. At first, Abby declined playing guitar in a band, but later she was talked into becoming a lead vocalist instead.
Abby has created many new relationships through her band, and she has also become a mentor to younger vocalists in the rock school. Abby has nothing but positive things to say about Jen and her program, named AZ Rock School.
“It’s such a great thing she’s done for us.” said Abby, “For one, it gives the middle school through high schoolers an outlet to be creative and not ‘get into trouble.’ Also she shows them, as young adults, a different type of discipline, i.e., being able to work with others in a group, teamwork, compromise, diligence, persistence, even just what it’s like to stand and hold an instrument and play for a set in a live show. It’s great for me, because it gets me out of the house socializing and I’ve gotten to meet so many amazing people.”
Abby was in three bands last year, but because of the time commitment and stress level she made the choice to focus on only one this year. Her band is called Earll Drive and they play mainly covers of classic rock music like Pat Benetar, The Eagles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Tina Turner, and more.
“We mainly play shows for our family and friends at different venues and charge admission to help pay for band expenses.“ Abby said, “We’ve even made enough money to buy sound equipment, design t-shirts, bumper stickers, and more!“
Fellow Pioneer Title team member, Maria Renella, has attended Abby’s shows multiple times. Describing her experience she said, “The first time I went to see Abby sing, I was not sure what to expect… Then she came on stage and I was blown away. She is not only charismatic but her voice is amazing with a unique tone. At her last gig, she added a bit of rap to a song and I literally jumped out of my seat at how remarkable she sang that segment. I am very excited for her next performance, as I will do my best to be at every one of them!!”
If you would also like to attend one of Abby’s next performances, keep an eye out for Earll Drive’s future show dates via social media:
Earll Drive: @earlldrive on Instagram and Facebook
AZ Rock School: @azrockschool on Instagram and Facebook