Zach Gervaise
Vocals, Guitar, Bass & Songwriting
Zach Gervaise is a singer, songwriter, and performer with 15 Years of experience and over 15 million streams across various platforms for his music projects. He has shared the stage with renowned acts such as Lime Cordiale, performing at iconic venues including The Metro Theatre and the Sydney Entertainment Centre. A graduate of the Talent Development Project—whose alumni include Angus and Julia Stone and David Le’aupepe of Gang of Youths—Zach cites winning Triple J’s competition to perform on the main stage at the Yours and Owls Festival as one of the highlights of his career. With years of experience teaching vocals, guitar, bass, and songwriting, Zach has developed a dynamic teaching style. He is dedicated to making music education engaging and inspiring, emphasising creativity and individuality.
Darcey Gervaise
PIANO, DRUMS, SONGWRITING & RECORDING
Darcey Gervaise is a singer, songwriter, producer, and performer. The music he's written and recorded for various projects has garnered over 5 million streams across all platforms. With his bands, Synthetic Love Machine and The Zilzies, Darcey has performed at renowned venues such as The Oxford Art Factory and The UniBar Gardens, sharing the stage with acts like Lime Cordiale, Ocean Alley, and Tash Sultana. In addition to his career as a performer, Darcey has collaborated with numerous local artists as an audio engineer for over five years. During this time, he has honed his ability to nurture others' creativity and inspire confidence in their ideas. He cites having one of his recordings played on Triple J as a career highlight. In addition to his experience with traditional music lessons, Darcey has gained extensive knowledge through self-teaching throughout his music career. This journey has shown him the vital role creativity and self-expression play in turning music into a lifelong passion.
Nick elliott
drums
Nick Elliott is a professional drummer and performer with over 15 years of playing and live performance experience. He began playing drums at age 10 and has performed extensively across Australia and internationally, appearing at major festivals including Splendour in the Grass and Lost Paradise, as well as iconic venues such as the MCG. Nick has toured the UK and USA as a session drummer, working with artists including Pacific Avenue and Shurley Shirley, and is currently involved in projects such as GOSH, Big Twisty and the Funknasty, and Mac Tango. With years of experience teaching drums, Nick has developed a practical and musical approach to learning, focusing on groove, feel, and the role of the drums as the backbone of any great band. He is passionate about helping students discover the enjoyment of music while building strong foundations and real-world playing skills.
ANDY BACK
DRUMS, GUITAR, BASS, PIANO, Songwriting & Recording
Andy Back is a Performing and recording Session Musician, Tutor and Songwriter with over a decade of live performance and teaching experience. Andy’s experiences are shaped by his proficiency in Drums, Guitar, Bass and Piano including a passion that extends across a range of other instruments beginning from a young age. Andy’s work with many local and nationally touring bands has seen him on tours nationwide at iconic venues such as Oxford Art Factory, Liberty Hall, Northcote Theatre and the Triffid. He has also toured overseas in the USA for SXSW in Austin, Texas. He currently performs and tours with the bands: Surely Shirley, Crocodylus and Hatchling.
Declan O’Driscoll
GUITAR, Vocals, BASS, PIANO, Songwriting & Recording
Declan O’Driscoll (BMus) is an eclectic, diverse music professional with alumni of University of New South Wales. With over 15+ years of playing experience learning classical guitar, jazz guitar, classical opera, piano, drums & DJing he’s become a multi-instrumentalist and skilled composer. A well developed arranger as well as session musician, he’s been part of a wide range of different groups all over Australia including styles of funk, rock, pop, punk, metal and jazz groups. He has international & national touring experience with his own formed bands and continues to compose and write everyday whilst also being a regular DJ performer for the Sultans of Spin. Declan lives and breathes music, dedicated to helping anyone wanting to learn the joy of playing music, expanding their musical horizons and helping anyone find their own musical voice.
Mitch fanning
Drums
Mitch has over 20 years of playing and gig experience since starting to play at age 10. He studied Performance and Music Business at Berklee College of Music in Boston Massachusetts and has toured both throughout Australia and Internationally as a session drummer with various artists. With many national tours under his belt, some career highlights have been performing on Triple J’s Like A Version, Australian Idol at the Sydney Opera House forecourt, multiple sets at Yours and Owls festival and multiple appearances at Australia’s leading artist showcase BIGSOUND.
Romie Olivares-Panucci
Guitar, Bass, Drums, Songwriting & Recording
Romie has been performing in live venues with various artists/groups since he was 14. Some artists and groups he has worked alongside and supported are acts like Ocean Alley, Lime Cordiale and Tash Sultana at various renowned Venues. Romie enjoys the creative flow in a studio environment, he has had experience recording/ producing and writing songs in studios and with local artists and bands. Romie has taught guitar bass and drums in the past and has made many students successful at what they want to play. Romie finds great joy in playing music and being able to express himself through his instrument and cares to share that dedication with the students that wish to learn with and from him.
Riley jackson
BASS, Drums, Guitar & RECORDING
Riley Jackson (BMus) is a genre spanning multi-instrumentalist and alumni of University Of Wollongong. Often employed as a session musician and playback technician, Riley has performed across the country and internationally with artists such as Merci Mercy, Joe Mungovan, Bec Sandridge and Jack R Reilly. Sharing the stage as support for artists like George Ezra, Declan McKenna, Conor Maynard and Flight Facilities. Some of Riley’s career highlights are performing live on Triple J’s ‘Like A Version’, multiple appearances at Brisbane’s BigSound conferences and travelling to perform on Berlin’s FluxFM and at Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg, Germany. Other musical achievements include performing at some of the countries best venues: Enmore Theatre, Aware Super Theatre, Victoria Park and Red Hill Auditorium (WA) as well as sponsored performances for Mastercard and Jack Daniels.
Steve Hill
Drums
Steve Hill has been a drummer in the Australian music industry for over 45 years and played his first paying gig at the tender age of 13. He is experienced in many styles and genres of music including rock, pop, country, funk, Gospel and jazz. Steve has performed in many bands and shows over the years including: the Queen musical We Will Rock You; the Matchbox Twenty tribute show; the U2 tribute show; Party Inc; 13th Floor; Stormy Monday and countless other projects: both live and in the recording studio. He has also toured the country extensively over the years with original acts such as Eva trout and Syndicate, and supporting legendary Oz acts including Paul Kelly, The Screaming Jets and Noiseworks. Steve is currently resident drummer with Jimmy Barnes/ Cold Chisel’s younger brother the Alan Barnes band.
NOAH STEELE
GUITAR, bass, PIANO & DRUMS
Noah Steele is a guitarist, songwriter, and music educator with over eight years of teaching experience across music schools and university programs. He has taught guitar, piano, drums, bass, and ukulele to students of all ages and skill levels, from beginners through to advanced players. As an active performer, Noah plays guitar in a local band, performing on some of the region’s largest stages and venues. His work as a musician has also led to songwriting and collaboration opportunities within the Australian music scene, bringing real-world industry experience into his teaching. Noah is passionate about building strong musical foundations while encouraging creativity, confidence, and individuality in every student.
JOSH NUTT
GUITAR & bass
Josh’s passion for music was first ignited when he attended the ChiME program at the Wollongong Conservatorium of Music, when he was 18 months old. After completing the Con’s Transition course, he chose to learn guitar. While moving through the grades of classical guitar, he also started to learn the trumpet in the Primary School band. While having a diverse taste in music, Josh has a great ear and picks up songs quickly. He enjoys teaching his friends how to play their favourite tracks. In late 2025, Josh travelled to Cambodia with his family to work with a charity to build a house for a family living in poverty. In addition to learning practical skills on the work site, Josh learnt the basics of the local language and built a relationship with the kids in the local village. Josh is great at building strong relationships with his students and believes that this is the key for a successful learning environment.