Business Profile: The Niwot Gig

"For me, I'm doing what I've been doing since I was 14 years old, and that's going into a rehearsal place with a song idea, teaching it to the different instrument players until it's ready to perform, and making sure it's a fun, respectful, and encouraging environment," said Martin Marks, owner and Music Director of https://theniwotgig.com/" target="_blank">The Niwot Gig music school. "You need to be in a place where you are going to be supported and you can feel free to make all the mistakes in order to learn and grow."

Opened in early 2022, The Niwot Gig offers lessons on guitar, bass guitar, drums, keyboard, and songwriting to craft a personal style. It also provides the opportunity to attend weekly band rehearsals and jam with other students with a professional music teacher leading them through each session.

Originally from Sweden, Marks moved to Niwot after two decades of performing in California. He said, "I would have people come up to me and tell me that my music would do well in Boulder. When my wife and I had our daughter in 2011, we wanted to find a beautiful place to raise a child and it seemed like the perfect spot. I originally got a job managing a store in a mall, but I had worked at a School of Rock school in Thousand Oaks, California and I always had it in the back of my mind to open up a school of my own and give back to the community."

Marks explained, "When a storefront became available in Niwot, I knew it was the time. My daughter was around 10 or 11 and she was about ready to join her own band, and I figured this was a great way for other children in the community to do the same."

The Niwot Gig currently has around 30 students each week for whom Marks is the sole teacher. He said, "We have seven bands in total that meet each week to jam; two adult bands and five non-adult bands. Each student comes in for a private lesson each week where we go over their individual part for the three to five songs we are working on. Then they meet in a group jam together each week to put those songs together. We find an opportunity to perform those songs and then we pick different music and move on."

Marks' vast performance experience has helped him on his teaching journey. He said, "My weaknesses are my strengths. I'm not a virtuoso on any one instrument, but I know how to play them all. From leading my own band all of those years, it comes natural to lead a jam session. I just approach each situation like it is my own band and try to positively guide them."

Marks has been blown away by the community support since opening The Niwot Gig. "Being a local rock school in a small community like Niwot is great. We have had so much support from the businesses and the community and we just want to keep encouraging that, because you're not supporting us, it's for the kids to learn and grow and also for the adults to have fun and heal."

Learn more at https://theniwotgig.com/.