The Manfre's : Family Support Story #16

I remember the first time I met Dylan Manfre. He had to have been like 9 years old or so, maybe 10, and he was this wide eyed kid with this huge blonde poof of hair. He was a little hesitant at first learning guitar, but he settled into it more and more each week. And then years went by, and even more years after that. I worked with Dylan right up until he left for college. I taught him everything from chords, soloing, to songwriting, singing; there really wasn’t a musical stone left unturned in our work together.

Dylan was funny because when we first started his taste in music was SO radically different than where he ended up years later. In the beginning he resonated with Bon Jovi, Green Day, and The Goo Goo Dolls; he HATED ballads. Like literally. He would say “This is depressing!” (even to a slow love song), and eventually he was ALL about the ballads. I remember his enthusiasm when it came to the Beatles; we did so many Beatles songs. He eventually opened up to all kinds of music, just like I always told him he would.

He’s one of the few students I’ve worked with that actually dug in deeper to the songwriting side of things; at first I kind of had to force it on him with incessant encouragement, and gradually he started writing more and more on his own. He would start a lesson off saying “Dude.. I wrote these words..”, or “Dude… check out this chord progression..”, and that is really the most satisfying thing about being a music educator / coach for me; when they start contributing to the collective and generating new ideas and creations.

Dylan is in college now studying sports journalism, writing articles, and YES still playing and singing!! We caught up not too long ago in early 2019, so we both know the line is open if we want to connect.

In the time when Dylan was phasing out of high school and into college, I started teaching his sister Carly on guitar, bass, and voice. Like her brother, she is a natural musician, and she had a lot of ambition in pursuing her craft. She and I did lessons for a few years and eventually she branched off to explore on her own, but last we met up, she was playing A LOT. She got pretty good at ukulele, and at singing. I’m not sure how deeply into songwriting she got, but I’m sure she’s an active musician.

My ties with the Manfre’s went beyond just music lessons. Their father is my personal and business accountant for nearly as long as I was teaching the kids. I would go see his stand up comedy showcases when possible as well (he’s a pretty funny guy!). His wife, their mom, was always incredibly involved with the kids lesson arrangements, and was / is an enthusiastic and constant cheerleader for their growth. She would often ask the kids to learn certain songs, and she would suggest bands they should check out, so without a doubt she had / has a musical influence on them.

The Takeaway From This Story:

Sometimes you have clients that are mainly just *clients*, and then there are clients who become close friends in life. I watched Dylan and Carly grow up from very young to college and beyond. They saw me get married (and divorced), start and end a decade long band business (Amber Blues). We became very active and aware in each other's life journeys, and THAT.. that is what it’s all about for me. The connections, and the interaction, that’s really the heart of working with families as a coach and more importantly, as friends. I have a lot of memories with the Manfre’s, and they are a family that I’m grateful that I got to work with, and for so long’.

As of the time this letter was written and published Jimmy and Dylan are still in touch.

Check out Dylan’s Twitter: @dylan_manfre11