The John Lennon Education Tour Bus

Brian Rothschild Executive Director

Brian grew up listening to the great harpsichord and piano music of the 18th and 19th century.  His mother was a concert pianist who started giving him lessons at the age of 4.  By 15 he was accompanying choral groups and at age 16 played the celeste with the Hartford Symphony for the Hartford Ballet’s production of the Nutcracker.  After that, he began writing music and songs, and eventually was signed as an artist with Columbia Records under the name Iam Siam.  In 1998, along with music manager David Sonenberg, Brian created the first version of the Lennon Bus and has since devoted his time to expanding the project around the world.

Hometown - New York, New York
Nickname - Bchild
Fav Food - Katz’s Delicatessen
Fav/Band Artist - John Lennon, Elvis Costello, Ann Margret

Jaime Walden Associate Director

Jaime Walden graduated from Baruch College with a BA in Music.  She began singing, playing guitar, and writing songs at the young age of six years old in Florida.  Her passion for live music led her to New York City, where she began working in production and talent booking for several music venues.  In her fifth year overseeing management and events of the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, Jaime is pursuing her MBA focusing on development and programming for international busses. 

Hometown - Deerfield Beach, FL
Nickname - Mama
Fav Food - sweet potato fries
Fav Band/Artist - Jeff Buckley, The Beatles, Dion & The Belmonts, hipster “The” bands

Jeff Sobel Chief Engineer

Jeff Sobel has been a professional sound engineer since 1998. He has produced several albums for indie artists and was both a house and touring live sound engineer before joining the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus in 2002 as an on-board engineer.  Jeff spent 3 years on the road with the Bus during which time he oversaw the 2004 re-build of the first Lennon Bus.  In 2007, Jeff was responsible for the conceptualization and design of the current Lennon Bus for which he created a floor plan and system design ideally suited to the Bus’ unique mission. 
In addition to his work with the Lennon Bus, Jeff is currently a freelance audio/video producer, consultant, and educator living in Los Angeles, CA and is the author of the Apple Pro Training Series book Sound Editing in Final Cut Studio.

Hometown – Missouri
Nickname – Jeffro
Fav Food – Vegan
Fav Band/Artist – Elliott Smith, Neutral Milk Hotel, Uncle Tupelo, Brian Jonestown Massacre

Tiana Lewis Tour Coordinator

Tiana Lewis is a graduate of Fordham University in New York, NY with a BA in Sociology and Urban Studies. While in college, she interned at Warner Music Group for two years in the Market Research department. Interning at Warner Music Group led to a job at Atlantic Records in the International Marketing and Promotions department shortly after graduating. As the Tour Coordinator for the Lennon Bus she oversees the routing and touring logistics for the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus.

Hometown - Brooklyn, New York
Nickname - T
Fav Food - All things Mexican
Fav Band/Artist - Mr. Shawn Corey Carter, aka Jay-Z

Tyler Winick Creative Coordinator

Tyler started his musical career at the age of 17 recording friends’ bands and dabbling with computer sequencers. He also enjoys knocking heads with a pair of drumsticks. (He’s a drummer.)  With a new, untraditional approach to music, he began creating tracks using computers and technology, and pursued his passion to become a recording producer and sound engineer. Tyler attended Ex’pression College in Emeryville, CA. where he received his BAS (Bachelor of Applied Science) in Sound Arts. His creative energy finally had an outlet. He began collaborating with many different artists and found his niche working with others. Shortly after graduation, Tyler met up with the Lennon Bus at a local Apple store and began working on board.  He’s been around ever since.

Hometown – Fresno, California
Nickname – T-Win
Fav Food – Thai
Fav Band/Artist  - Bob Marley

Ryan L’Esperance Engineer

Ryan L’Esperance is from Pismo Beach, California and has been playing in bands since he was 12.  He loves music and has been either performing or recording it since he was in a Onesie. After working as an assistant engineer at his community college, he decided to hone his skills at Ex’pression College in Emeryville, where he received his Bachelors Degree. While in school, Ryan worked with a very diverse group of artists and musicians and spent a lot of his time doing freelance live sound work. Ryan loves to surf, is always down for a good time, and is known as the “Grill Master” to some of his friends.

Hometown - Pismo Beach, CA
Nickname - Ry
Fav Food - Mexican
Fav Band/Artist - The Used, Death Cab for Cutie, Bullets Can’t Kill Danny, Lennon, Dylan, The Mars Volta

Hans Tanner Engineer

Hans grew up in the small town of Los Osos, CA.  His father was the lead singer of the San Luis Obispo county’s lead band, Tink, so the influence of music was around non-stop, leading Hans to his first on-stage piano performance at age 12.

After various stints in school band and choir programs, Jazz combos, and solo shows, Hans was able to further perfect his love of singing, playing guitar, piano, and music theory by training with virtuoso pianist Rudolf Budginas.  It was a lesson with Rudolf which eventually lead Hans to attend and graduate from the Ex’pression College for Digital Arts, allowing him to hone and explore his music production abilities.

Up to this point Hans’s other passion of with working with kids has been in the ocean as a Junior Lifeguard instructor and director for Surf Camp Pacifica.  The Lennon Bus allows him to combine his love for music and working with kids, and he couldn’t be happier.

Hometown - Los Osos, CA
Nickname - Hansel
Fav Food - Sushi
Fav Band/Artist - Norah Jones, Jack Johnson, Ratatat, Dispatch, John Mayer (Blues/Acoustic)

Kyle Baudour Engineer

Kyle fell into a never-ending path of playing music and learning new instruments at the age of 16 when he realized that it was possible to make the sounds that came from his favourite records. Since that date, he has been attempting to recreate the aural excitement that peaked his interest via usage of everything from cassette recorders to digital multi-tracks. A fervent love of new sounds has led him to theremins, banjos, recording cats and country bands. He reads books and writes poetry like beavers chuck wood. He is not a nihilist and loves puppies.

Hometown - San Diego, CA
Nickname - K$
Fav Food - Tofu
Fav Band/Artist - The Smiths, My Bloody Valentine, Joy Division, Blur, The Band

Kevin Hoy Sr. Engineer

Kevin has been obsessed with music ever since the tender age of 16, when a good friend helped him discover the musical universe that lay beyond the Top 40 hits being played on the radio.  At 18, Kevin moved to San Diego and began producing music with his midi-keyboard and computer, mostly for his friends’ various hip-hop projects.  However, soon Kevin was inevitably drawn back towards his pop-minded inclinations and that is where he has stayed ever since.  After graduating from San Diego State University in 2008, Kevin worked as an ocean lifeguard, traveled the world, and continued making music before joining the Lennon Bus in 2009.  He is also an optimist.

Hometown - San Clemente, CA
Nickname - Hoyboy
Fav Food - Mexican
Fav Artists - Radiohead, Animal Collective, Doseone

Chris Walker Driver

Chris has been a professional driver since the age of 19, beginning with cross-country truck driving.  After years on the road, Chris left driving to work in the music industry, starting as an intern at Motown Records and eventually become a tour and production manager for the label. Having worked with Motown for 7 years, Chris returned to the road to drive coaches for some of the biggest names in music.  Nearly a decade and a half later, Chris crossed paths with the Lennon Bus and came on board as its full-time driver.  Chris is the perfect fit for the unique needs of the Bus and its crew and loves being a part of this amazing program.

Hometown - Washington DC
Nickname - Cwalk
Fav Food - Cajun
Fav Band - Led Zeppelin