Submitted photo / Sherono Photo Students from the Austintown Fitch High School Rock Band are shown during a recent performance at Westside Bowl in Youngstown. The group will kick off the Library of Rock series in Liberty.

A space associated with quiet will be used for rocking, at least for one hour a month.

Starting in March at the Liberty branch of the Warren-Trumbull County Public Library is Library of Rock (Unplugged), a monthly concert series featuring teen musicians from rock band programs at three Mahoning County high schools.

The series is the brainchild of teen library associate Dave Hope. Hope plays drums in the band Apocalyptic Lovers, and music is a big part of his life. Making it a part of his job at the library just made sense.

“I wanted to incorporate music somehow,” Hope said, and he knew just where to start.

John Anthony, lead guitar player for the band The Vindys, spent some time in the studio with Apocalyptic Lovers and recorded a guitar solo for its upcoming album. Anthony also teaches the rock band classes at Austintown Fitch HIgh School. That same album also will include backing vocals by a choir made up of Austintown students.

“Honestly, out of everything I’ve done in my musical career, working with those kids in that choir at Austintown at Mindrocket Studios on our album (was the best),” he said. “It got the hair raising up on my arms.”

Hope initially invited Anthony to bring his students for monthly concerts at the library. Anthony said his students could do the first event, but he suggested contacting other area schools that have similar programs and put him in touch with Tim Tuite at Boardman High School and Megan Mullins at Canfield High School.

Each band will play a 45-minute set, followed by short Q&A session with the performers

Hope said he sees many potential benefits from the program. For the student musicians, it will be an opportunity to play acoustically for a live audience instead of a plugged-in rock show.

“When you’re acoustic, you just can’t make as many mistakes,” he said. “It’s a whole different ballgame.”

He also hopes the series will expand the number of teens who take advantage of what the library has to offer and dispel some of the preconceived notions that libraries have as many rules as schools do and aren’t fun. It’s also an opportunity for students to engage with live music and disengage from their cellphone screens.

And while sports often encourages rivalries between schools, Hope said he wants Library of Rock to break down some of those divides by bringing in students from different districts to perform.

“Kids from other schools can network with other musicians,” he said. “It’s going to (draw) kids that like live music, and it’s also going to be kids that are musicians trying to figure out how to put a band together. It’s just the perfect networking opportunity.”

Since it’s a new program, Hope wasn’t sure when would be the best time to schedule the concerts, so the three planned concerts each will be held at different times and days of the week to determine which is most popular.

If it’s successful, Hope would like to continue the program next school year with even more bands.

I would love to schedule it once a month, starting next school year, September through May,” he said. “And I would love to have it culminate the following summer with a festival in the library parking lot with all of the bands plugged in and have food vendors and all that kind of stuff. That’s where I’d like to see it go.”

Library of Rock ‘Unplugged’

schedule

• March 11 — Austintown Fitch High School Rock Band at 3 p.m.

• April 14 — Boardman High School Rock Band at 6 p.m.

• May 16 — Canfield High School Rock Band at 1 p.m.

All three events are at Warren-Trumbull County Public Library Liberty Branch, 415 Churchill-Hubbard Road, and will include a 45-minute acoustic set followed by a short Q&A/networking mixer with the performers. Admission is free, and the programs are for teens ages 12 to 18 and their parents.

For more information, email teen library associate Dave Hope at hoped@wtcpl.org.