Ryan is very passionate about teaching his students. He had everything prepared for our lesson, if…read moreyou use the intro offer he also provides the books so you don't have to search for them yourself. I'm learning how to play the ukulele from him and it's been really fun to practice and get better at it.

I came here for an art show that was closing. It's a cute little gallery in the administration…read morebuilding at Laney College and it's been around for quite a while. It's a blink and you'll miss it, as far as size, but the show was quite robust and there was a nice crowd of us looking at the art. There was someone who actually had a video that he'd created and it was quite good. I'm glad that we went.

I've had positive experiences here in getting lessons for my young kids and me. Instruction was…read moregood, and varied -- music theory and different genres and styles are taught. I think at one juncture they were going through a change in ownership and digital scheduling, and the payment engine had a little "tuneup period" but the class content flowed fairly smoothly. I think Mr. Jordan teaches voice, theory, and fretboard instruments. The teachers are an informal, wonderful group to deal with. They are reliable, dependable, and flexible. A couple of times we reciprocated with this flexibility. Unless you're dealing with the Conservatory it seems the scheduling of musical instruction can be an exercise in adaptability. I recommend the music instruction studio of Gregg Jordan, at fairly reasonable rates, for all ages.

Gregg was my instructor for 3+ years and he thoroughly engaged me as a student. I have always…read moreaspired to have his skillset. If your child wants to learn classical/rock guitar from a great chill teacher, he has my vote.

I am not known for sending reviews but because this class had such an impact on me, I am stepping…read moreoutside of my comfort zone to share with anyone that reads this. Vernon Bush is "Spot On" as a teacher, a coach, and a spiritual guide. When I arrived in the Reclaim Your Voice class, I was not certain of my level of voice aptitude and confidence to sing solo. When I completed this class, I left with a confidence to believe in myself as a contributor and active participant in the rhelm of music. I look forward to future opportunities to learn from Vernon Bush and invite others to explore yourselves through the power of music. I believe in me! Thank you Vernon Bush!

This process was very dear to me, and personal. It's actually the most difficult review I have…read morewritten yet. What can I say but that it really touched me, and gave me something to look forward to week to week. You have to spend some time here, there is such a great group of people, and just to be around Vernon's spirit, passion, laughter, and smile is a lifting of the heart and soul. It reminds me of what I think satsang must be like. I hope get to know my voice better, and really start to sing in my own life, both literally and figuratively. Thank you for your songs and teachings! p.s. What a good title: Reclaim your Voice. Very apt indeed! And the first time I REALLY sang in front of others and even myself. What a delight, even if I stressed over the performance for two weeks! Lol.

Anzaur made a custom table for my boyfriend because we wanted it to have very specific dimensions…read more He was great working with what we had in mind, very kind and patient. Protip: Know exactly what you want, in terms of woods, finish, design, size and structure and then he can give you a more definitive timeline. We ended up getting our table a few weeks later than we had anticipated because of small things that we hadn't been completely clear about, but as long as you have good communication with Anzaur, it will be great! We really love our table.

We wanted a custom dinning table made of local wood, both to have a pretty table and to have a…read moresouvenir of our time in SF the day we head back home! Mission accomplished, we love our dinning table, Anzaur was very helpful and even ready to come by as many time as needed in order to discuss the details! Great work, great price and super friendly people!!!! Thanks

This was a fun, fantastic experience in every way. Ciara is an outstanding musician, a patient and…read morepersonable teacher, and has crafted an educational workshop for aspiring musicians that delivered even more than my highest expectations. All of the original band workshop members still meet monthly to play together!! Each week we would meet to work on songs picked democratically on the first day of the workshop. Usually there would be a guest teacher to help with a specific instrument, i.e. guitar, drums, bass, piano and keys. Ciara herself is quite knowledgable about each instrument, but more importantly for a band workshop, she has a keen musical sense and, drawing on the experience of over a decade of playing in bands, she knows how to get musicians to play TOGETHER and sound GOOD! The workshop ended with a live performance of the songs we'd all worked diligently on for the previous six weeks. There was a great crowd of friends, family and supporters. When the performance ended, we all went out for drinks and were high on that performance adrenaline for days afterwards. I can't recommend this workshop more highly for the casual musician looking to make the next step in their musical life. Nothing improves your playing like playing in a full band with other musicians. I've become a better musician because of this workshop, and I met some good friends who I now play with regularly. Go for it, you won't regret it!

One of the most amazing experiences! I've had the pleasure of working with Ciara McAllister over…read morethe years playing music. As a bass player and musician, I know how important it is to play with others and Join A Band is the perfect opportunity. Just a few rehearsals, with a very close group of other musicians just like you, and personal instruction by awesome teachers! Fortunately, I was able to take part in a couple of the classes and see how much fun everyone was having. Then, on the final performance at one of the coolest venues in San Francisco, everyone was having a genuine Rockstar moment. It was so amazing!!! I can't wait to be part of the next one.

It would be nice if they had gallery notes so you know what you're looking at…read more Like any small art space, there will be good and crap shows. The one on right now is a cool concept. Five Habitats with a different curator each week around the theme of home/abode/architecture/design, a new set of installations each week, an opening party every Tuesday night.

For any of you who came for Banyan in the month of November, which happened to be sponsored by…read moreYelp. RIght on the program. It's a great space, it's small, but it's great. It reminds me of those small spaces in New York, and I wish there were lots and lots more than there are in San Francisco. There are only really trwo problems, one which they can work with, the other not really. First is that it is in a seedy neighborhood and parking is difficult to have so always travel in large groups. The second is that it is poorly ventilated and with a full house can smell really bad and get really hot, plus they only have one restroom.

The single star above is for the neat clothing and creativity that flowed through this event. The…read morelack of any other stars are solely based on the absolutely atrocious organizational skills of the folks who tried (in vain and not well) to lead the volunteer efforts. The way I saw this go wrong can be summed up below: Showed up, people didn't even know where to go to wait for the event. There were about 5 bags of tortilla chips and a couple of bottles of water and soda stacked in the corner of the volunteer "room". The night began with no less than about 60 volunteers all save about 6 who clearly caught on that no one was monitoring them, leaving myself and some friends to man the ENTIRE operation at the end of the night (when the real work began). I came with a group of friends, we were NEVER offered anything more than some weak finger food during the silent auction. That's supposed to keep us sane for 5 hours? Yup, that's right. We were there for 5 hours and were never given food and barely water. Someone in my group brought some almonds from home and that kind of held us for the night. Forget the food for the moment - there just seemed to be absolutely no plan as to how to even manage the event and then the volunteers. You'd expect an event like this that has lots of street cred would be run like a well oiled machine. I think it was just slapped together by a few people who know a few people and have some awesome last name. I think it is a real shame - this is a great event put on by a seemingly great organization benefitting an awesome cause. And I'm not saying I needed the goodie bag all the other guests got (I get it, volunteers aren't actually equal), but COME ON! Order some pizza or something! It's the least you can do. They just need to get their shit together. I just got an email about volunteering this year. Unless I get promised at least some astronaut ice cream, my answer is HELL NO. Maybe this crap review should be for St. Vincent de Paul and not for D to D. Eh, whatever. The highlight of the night was this super cute high schooler who was shopping for a dress for prom. I thought that was neat, and I think she ended up getting something in the silent auction. I guess that shares the star with the clothes.

A kickass event put on for a kickass cause by kickass designers…read more Now if only I could afford anything other than the entrance fee. . . A link to some of the designs: http://www.flickr.com/photos/discardedtodivine/ Based on photos from previous years, this was clearly the first BIG year of the event - with an actual runway and everything. Very nicely done.