Our Purpose:

Learn music fundamentals, Play your favorite artists and genres, Create your own compositions.

Specializing in voice, guitar, piano, bass, and drums; we offer all instrument lessons, band coaching, and songwriting workshops. Our purpose is to facilitate a lasting relationship with music and art, while prioritizing music theory and encouraging creativity.

Our Team

“While working to build a studio, I was lucky to find a like-minded purpose driven team;

without them we would not be here!” - Harley, Founder

Founder

Harley is a healing artist dedicated to supporting local music and art scenes. They advocate for the process to learn, play, and create art that challenges people to be seen for who they are. They are a multi-instrumentalist composer with a wide range of contrasting pieces; earning their Masters of Music in composition from the B.C. Conservatory at CSU Puvungna with a performance art piece revealing how gender socialization promotes cultural harm. Their current practice at Brain and Body is in community creative arts healing. When they are not mentoring young musicians; they spend their time reading, practicing archery, and sound near a tree.

President

Francis is a Santa Ana singer-songwriter who in the past has participated and volunteered at Brain and Body events. He is committed to creating and protecting diverse and inclusive spaces where people can find and express themselves through music and art.

Treasurer

Devon Ingram is a local photographer, and an optician during the day. She enjoys supporting small businesses and local music. As someone who does well with budgeting and sales, with an interest in finances, she helped form Brain and Body as treasurer. She is a full time paying music student of the program, and volunteers to organize our free community events. Devon was raised in alternative culture as a vegan and goth culture lover; she advocates for more people to incorporate plant based meals into their diet for their own health and the health of our communities. She is dedicated to keeping local community spaces for survivors of assault and creating systems of accountability.

Secretary

Valerie Duran, long time volunteer, now secretary; local musician living in Long Beach. She studies psychology at Cal State LA; she’s performed and helped organize community events with Brain and Body since 2021. She’s a session guitarist and producer when she’s not working in public education as an ABA specialist. She’s a proud pet mom to a French Bulldog and kitten. In her spare time she practices Muay Thai and love to stay active with her brain and Body.

Teacher/Administrator/Sound Engineer

Local Non-Binary visionary Jay Vesper serves as a teacher, administrator, and Sound Engineer at Brain and Body. Having played in bands, recorded their own music, and taught at various music schools while working odd jobs since High School, Jay works carefully to apply their multifaceted skillset wherever it is needed. You can often find them playing bass all over the country with San Pedro post-grunge group Cosmic Kitten, jangling on the guitar at home, going for hikes, sketching in their journal, banging on the drums (when no one’s looking), and advocating for the fair treatment of artists on social media. They are committed to creating the change they want to see in the world.