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Sharing the language of
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Seguin music shed offers the ability to grow without restraint Story by Sarah Maskal
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he drab and unassuming exterior of the Seguin Music Shed offers no clues as to the wonder that lies within. Upon entering the building, you’re instantly transported to a nostalgic garage band-style setting. The owner and founder of the company, Johnny Villarreal, has a kind, down-toearth attitude that draws you in and a passion for music that makes you want to be a part of it all. Villarreal doesn’t come from a particularly musical family, but can remember being drawn to it as far back as age 5 or 6 when he started out in dance classes. When he was in second grade, his older sister got into band in school and he found himself interested in playing the drums. “We talked to the band director and he said if you play piano, if you take piano lessons, you can pretty much pick whatever instrument you want when that time comes in sixth grade when they pass out instruments and kind of 30 SEGUIN ~ GUADALUPE COUNTY LIVING
photos by victoria gaytÁn
test proficiency,” he said. Villarreal took his advice and studied piano for a couple of years to advance his musical proficiency, but he always knew that his real passion lay in drumming. As a sophomore in high school, he got his own drum set and his dream started to take shape. He quickly got a band together and the endless hours spent playing as a group laid the initial groundwork for his desire to establish a different, more cohesive approach to music lessons. Villarreal studied audio engineering in Phoenix, Arizona, at the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences. But perhaps his greatest musical influence was when he was afforded the opportunity to work with some of the pros at the top of the drumming scene. Traveling around playing in bands opened the door that led him to receive one-on-one training from musicians such as Ernie Durawa from the Texas Tornados, the innovative Scott
