Did you know teachers actually have lives outside of school? I know, shockingly they all actually have their own hobbies and things they like to do. But have you ever thought about what the cool teachers with band posters in their classrooms and guitars by their desks do? Well, I bet you’d never guess they’re in a band.

French teacher Ryan Foehlinger happens to be one of these cool teachers in a band. With Foehlinger as the lead singer and guitarist, and Spanish Teacher Jonathan Nelson as the drummer, these two have created a band named Speck Nelson & the Ralstones.

“I went to Ralston High School and the football field is called the Speck Nelson Field. And I always just thought it was a funny name. Yeah, barely anyone who lives in Ralston knows that. But I just thought it was a funny name. And then I was like, okay, I’m gonna go with the Ralston thing here. So I thought that the ralst-tones were like the Ralston tones,” Foehlinger said.

While Foehlinger’s band is fairly new: they have already gained popularity for their unique singing style. Speck Nelson & the Ralstones perform covers but add a reggae/ska sound to the song. The goal for Speck Nelson & the Ralstones has been to play songs that everybody knows all the words to.

“Songs your mom and your daughter can sing with. We do a reggae version of Sweet Caroline. We do a reggae version of All The Small Things by Blink 182. We do a ska version of YMCA. So songs you, your grandmother and your mother could sing to,” Foehlinger said.

Like Foehlinger, English Teacher Barry Glynn is also a lead singer of the Barry Glynn Band. Along with being the singer of the group he plays the guitar and harmonica. The Barry Glynn Band performs a variety of covers ranging from popular Irish pub music to songs by his personal favorite artist Bob Dylan.

“We’ve played all over. Pretty much now that we all have families we only play about once a year as a band, up in my hometown, Fullerton, North Dakota – they have a little festival. So otherwise the band doesn’t get together much anymore. I used to have a regular gig at a place in Council Bluffs. I used to play the Dubliner and I played Mr. Toad’s, just a whole bunch of different places,” Glynn said.

Glynn created the Barry Glynn Band with an old friend from high school 17 years ago. They have had quite the career, and even released an album named Go Folk Yourself.  Along with this interesting release, The Barry Glynn Band has performed in many unique places.

“The coolest place I ever played was, I played a couple of gigs in New York City. The shows went well, they paid well, but I had to come back because the guy who owned the bar, he was like, ‘Oh, I could get you to another place the next night.’ It’s like, I kind of realized that I could keep playing if I wanted,” Glynn said.

Similarly, fellow English teacher Jacob Duhey also has released a variety of songs with his band: A Band Called Hemingway. As the bass player Duhey plays an important role in supporting the rest of the band. Through his instrument he links the harmony and rhythm of a song.

“I grew up a guitar player and Grant who’s the rhythm guitarist and lead singer called me and said their bassist went MIA, they didn’t know what happened to him, [he] stopped texting, all that kind of stuff. And they had a show, within a week’s time frame and [Grant] goes, ‘Okay, I know that you play guitar. Have you ever played bass?’” Duhey said.

While Duhey had never played bass before he was able to step up to the challenge and perform with A Band Called Hemingway within a week.

Teachers by day, rockstars by night. Put Glynn on harmonica, Duhey on the bass, Foehlinger on vocals, and throw in Nelson on the drums. Sounds pretty cool to me.