Our awesome staff

Anne Coombs

Anne began her music studies at age 10 with violin and guitar.She continued her studies playing music and songwriting upon entering WVa. University as a music performance major in violin.

Anne graduated from The Music Business Institute Of Atlanta, which furthered her music career business knowledge. Throughout the years she has been awarded numerous publishing contracts along with performing and songwriting awards.

She stayed busy touring with several bands including a stint with Willie Waters, son of Muddy Waters where she cut her teeth as a blues lead guitarist. Her bands shared the stage with numerous big name Artists such as Johnny Winter, Indigo Girls, and BB King. Her Guitar playing style has been compared to Eric Clapton and Rock Daddy Keith Richards to name a few.

Anne Started the Asheville Music School in 1996 where she still serves as Assistant Director and full time instructor. She also founded The Rock Academy last year which gives her students an opportunity to learn about live group performance.

The Rock Academy is an offshoot of the Asheville Music School. Anne Coombs, founder of the Rock Academy, is also the founder of Asheville Music School and the director of Asheville Music School West.

Along with Anne's busy performance schedule, she remains deeply dedicated to bringing music education to the Asheville Community.

Alec Fehl

Alec started playing guitar at age 6. After brief stints with piano, drums, violin, and banjo, he fully committed to guitar.

He was raised on heavy metal - at least what qualified for heavy metal "back then". Ozzy, Dio, Ratt, Dokken, Van Halen, Yngwie Malmsteen, you get the picture. It wasn't until high school and college that he began delving into other styles, such as classical, jazz, blues, and Frank Zappa (a style all his own). His more recent influences include Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joe Bonamassa, Joe Satriani, Andy Timmons, Guthrie Govan, Michael Hedges, Eric Johnson, Larry Carlton, Dan Huff, John Mayer, Tommy and Phil Emmanuel, the list is endless...

Alec has played in bands since the 7th grade and currently plays with Carolina Rex, a local Texas Blues band. He graduated from Berklee College of Music (Boston) a looooooong time ago with a major in Music Production and Engineering and a minor in Guitar Performance. He has been an educator since 1989 (taught junior high math for ten years in Los Angeles while gigging at night) and continues to teach computer hardware and web design at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College. He writes computer text books, folds insane origami, and is constantly inspired by his wife and daughter. Oh - and he made this website. Pretty cool, huh?

Emily Easterly

Guitar teacher and singer/songwriter Emily Easterly first got serious about being a musician when she discovered the Beatles at age 13.  Writing and recording on a 4- track tape machine in her bedroom was the most important of activities at the time. She has since self- released four albums of her own material (take a listen at www.emilyeasterly.com) and has toured and played all over the US.  Allmusic.com called her work “a mix of D.I.Y. attitude, guitar proficiency, and songwriting skills modeled after Cat Power and Exile in Guyville-era Liz Phair.”  Emily attended the University of Miami, Frost School of Music and received a BA in guitar performance.  She has been teaching privately for the past nine years in all the cities she has lived including Miami, FL, Richmond, VA New York, NY and now Asheville, NC.

Harry Lewis

Harry wanted to play drums after seeing the Beatles movie "Hard Day's Night" as a little kid and took cookie tins from his mom and sticks from a tree limb and played in the backyard. He is influenced by many drummers, but would have to put John Bonham at the top of the list.

Harry has toured extensively in the United States and in Europe and was the drummer for Epic Recording Artist Smash Palace and Cleopatra Recording Artist SpahnRanch. He has played with many different bands while living in New York, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia, including Shag Motor Pony, Executive Slacks, Tubalcain, Robert Hazard, Roadhouse, Kelly Gitter, Felix y Los Gatos, Vertigo, and even played snare drum in a Scottish bagpipe band. He still has the kilt.

Harry currently plays drums in the band Carolina Rex.

Kimberly Revis White

A native born of Asheville, NC, Kimberly has passed many milestones in her home town.  She attended Asheville High school, graduated from Enka High and holds a A.A.S Business Admin Degree from Asheville Buncombe Technical College .  Currently Kimberly works as a Retail Housing Specialist in and around the Asheville area.
And while she is a hard working woman in the business world, her love and passion for family and music are the roots that run deepest, connecting past and present as she strives to share her knowledge, joy and enthusiasm with those around her.

Music is ingrained in Kimberly’s DNA, her grandfather played guitar in a band and her mother loved to sing.  From the time Kimberly was three years old, she remembers singing at the top of her lungs (not always in key) along to the top country crooners of the day. Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash and a whole host of others.  As Kimberly grew older she added Guns n Roses, Joan Jett, Metallica, Lita Ford and numerous other metal hair bands into the mix creating an eclectic and diverse repertoire to secretly sing to in the privacy of her bedroom. Surprisingly, Kimberly was shy about her talents and unsure whether she was any good.

In 2004 Kimberly took her love and belief of all things musical and pursued her dream to front a Rock n Roll band.  After a year of open mic nights and karaoke contests she met the guitar player for Unit 50 and took her place on stage beside them. The band gigs around town in a variety of venues and Kimberly always sings from her soul, giving the audience everything she’s got.  Currently she is working on a series of original songs, adding them to an existing catalog she has compiled through the years.

Toni Pisani

This remarkable, hyper-ambitious Material Girl, who never stops reinventing herself, has sold tens of millions of records and CDs to adoring fans worldwide.

OOOPS…. that’s another Italian catholic schoolgirl. They’re often confused!  Toni is our office manager, maintenance chief, financial officer, event coordinator, photographer, caterer, decorator, barista and well…the fun one! She is not considering a political career at this time.