Chase began playing drums at the age of four and, shortly after, picked up the guitar. Growing up in a musical household, he was exposed to many different types of music from an early age. Chase founded several bands and was captain of the drumline in high school, leading him to attend the Atlanta Institute of Music. He has toured with numerous pop, rock, and country groups around North America and did studio session work in Nashville and Atlanta – Chase is currently playing with the group Trotline. He resides in Auburn with his lovely wife Caitlin, their amazing son, and their beloved dog!

Stephen’s musical journey began at the age of five with piano, guitar and vocals. His mother earned a master’s degree in flute performance and his father led worship at his church, allowing Stephen to hone his skills in a musical environment and grow into helping lead worship with his parents. Alongside the continued development of his vocal and guitar skills, he also branched out to the tuba at age 12 and made the all-state band in Florida twice! After realizing he had a great appreciation for the more technical side of vocals and music composition, Stephen created a YouTube channel and began publishing original music. This channel has accumulated more than 194K views, mainly covering rock and metal songs that showcase technically challenging vocals and guitar. Stephen has always emphasized the importance of staying safe and having fun while learning to play any instrument! Aside from music, Stephen works as a personal trainer and will be finishing his master’s degree in exercise science at Auburn in August ‘24!

Paul H. Gross Jr was born in Wisconsin in 1960. He was given his first guitar when he was eight and did absolutely nothing with it until his family moved to Milwaukee in ‘73, and a friend taught him some basic chords. The rest, as they say, is history. Paul spent many nights next to a record player trying to learn songs and play like Jimmy Page. He played in many bands, from metal to country, while continuing to push and improve his skills. When Paul first moved to Auburn in ‘94, he was asked to teach a few guitar lessons at the local music store, beginning his teaching career. Paul was the first instructor hired when Spicer's Music opened, and he has been inspiring students at Spicers Music ever since. Paul continues to teach guitar, bass, and ukulele to students ranging from beginner to advanced each week. He specializes in classic rock and blues, but he loves teaching the music that inspires his students and makes them want to play!

Ty simply doesn’t remember a time without music being the central focus of his life, as he started his musical journey with classical piano lessons in the first grade. Upon reaching middle and high school, an interest in guitar and bass was piqued and he began pursuing lessons with both. Hailing from the Mobile, Alabama area he also played jazz piano in a youth group called The Jazz Studio, an extension of the famous Mobile Big Band. After high school, Ty chose to attend Auburn University. He is now pursuing an electrical engineering major and a music major with a focus in piano, with the plan of having a career as an audio engineer. Ty is a creative force in two independent bands that he is very proud of: his first band, headhaze, and The Optics, a local Auburn band in which his fellow instructor Tyler Peek is the lead singer! Ty feels confident in being able to meet any student where they are at, no matter their age or skill level. He is committed to teaching students what they want to learn, and wants to pass along a love for music as a whole. Ty believes music is a beautiful lifelong journey that everyone should get to go on in their lives, and he’s thrilled to get to bring his friends, family, and students along with him.

Connor Hawthorne began singing at age 11 when he joined his middle school choir. Connor immediately fell in love with singing and jumped in headfirst – Making the Alabama All-State Choir in 7th grade, and continuing to participate in the ensemble for the next 6 years until he graduated high school. At the encouragement of his middle school choir director (and growing up in a family of guitar players), he then began his journey of learning to play guitar and piano. Throughout junior high and high school, Connor became involved with anything he could at Auburn, including: Show choir, musicals, jazz band, and marching band! Over the past two years, Connor has been studying music and music composition at Chapman University in California. He had some incredible opportunities at Chapman, among which were music directing two musicals, directing an all-men’s a capella group, and performing in choirs and jazz ensembles. He is thrilled to be teaching at Spicer’s after working with their Rock Camps for several summers. Connor believes in a holistic but individual based approach to teaching – Every student has their own strengths that need to be played to. Connor looks forward to passing along his knowledge and skills, and engaging students with all genres and types of music!

Josh started playing music when he was 11. He is primarily a guitar and bass player, but he loves to study how great songs come together from every angle. Josh writes and records his own music as “Make Sure”, and has toured around the country. He enjoys playing all kinds of musical genres, but is most commonly found playing along to alternative rock. Josh loves the Lord, loves to exercise, eat food, hang out with his friends & family, practice mindfulness, and spend time with his lovely wife Katherine. Josh also thinks Star Wars is pretty cool. He graduated from Auburn University in 2019 with a degree in Media Studies, and is thrilled to be back teaching at Spicer’s!

Tyler has been passionately invested in the art of making music since he picked up his first guitar at 16. He grew up playing saxophone in the marching band, strumming ukulele at home, learning from youtube piano tutorials, and teaching himself to sing. Before college, Tyler started his solo music career, releasing and performing music often. He then studied Classical and Contemporary Guitar at the University of South Alabama and Auburn respectively, and is currently working on his Music Composition degree. He loves studying music theory and often analyzes sounds in the real world under an analytical lens. He has been a part of multiple successful bands and has worked with multiple budding artists around the state to help music dreams come true. He most often is drawn to alternative rock, R&B (shoutout D’angelo), and sounds from all eras of jazz. Tyler has a deep appreciation and reverence for music, and is committed to teaching music in fun ways that will keep any student engaged!

Johnny enjoys sharing the fun of playing guitar and offering his musical knowledge and experience to each student he gets the joy of teaching! Johnny has performed professionally across the Southeast with his party band, Alabama Avenue, as well as working with many professional artists and local cover bands in east Alabama. He has several years of experience playing guitar in the orchestra for live theater, and takes advantage of any live music opportunities that come his way!
Johnny’s love of music is superseded only by his faith in God and the love of his wife, Michelle, and family. By the end of every lesson, Johnny wants his students to be encouraged by their progress and inspired to conquer the next musical challenge!

Brennen Reece has been playing guitar for nearly 40 years, and studied with legendary Philadelphia jazz guitarist Steve Giordano, as well as Pat Martino, Bruce Forman, and Tim Lerch. In addition to jazz, he has a deep love for traditional American music such as delta blues, ragtime, country, and rockabilly. His influences include a diverse range of guitarists such as Wes Montgomery, Jimmy Page, Jerry Reed, and Mississippi John Hurt. In addition to teaching fundamentals and effective practice techniques, Brennen focuses on developing the student’s creative self-expression through a no-nonsense approach to theory, improvisation, composition, and ear-training. Brennen performs with his wife Britt in The Secret Sounds, a duo whose repertoire includes mid century jazz, classic blues, soul, and old-school country!

Asia is a current Auburn student who has been involved with music since the age of five. She started out singing and her love of music eventually pushed her along to explore other instruments; Guitar, piano, and alto saxophone. Asia performed at open mic nights beginning at age nine, and routinely did so until she moved to Stuttgart, Germany with her family! She stayed heavily involved with choir, advanced band, and jazz band throughout the duration of middle and high school. Asia has lived overseas for 15 years, returning to the states in 2021 to attend Auburn University! Throughout her different life adventures, her love for guitar and her commitment to lessons remained the same. Asia knows the importance of having a great music teacher, and her goal is to ensure that her students reach their full potential while having fun! When Asia is not playing music, she enjoys hanging out with friends and family or drinking coffee!

Born in Waverly, Alabama, Jesse was an aspiring comic book artist and saxophone player before he discovered guitar at age 13 and never looked back. His father was a drummer turned cabinet maker who instilled in him a love for classic rock bands like Led Zeppelin and The Beatles.
Primarily a rock lead guitarist, his musical journey has led him down many paths; Playing funk, metal, jazz, blues, edm and hip hop in various groups over the years!
When he isn't teaching his awesome students at Spicer’s, he performs acoustic shows locally and travels the southeast with his R&B band Power Surge.