Rock 'n' roll music and financial literacy are about as polar opposite as you can get.
But last week, sixth-graders at Bussey Middle School in Garland ISD were treated to both in the span of just an hour.
Steve Gooding and his band by the same name — Gooding — are traveling across the nation with Funding the Future, a charity he founded. Gooding and bandmate Erin O'Neill teach students how to save and be careful with money.
"We find out that some of these kids, if they get in trouble with this stuff, it gets real easy to lose hope," Gooding said minutes before his concert in the school gym. It was one of 38 shows the band is doing in Texas.
The songs performed have nothing to do with money. You won't find lyrics about compound interest or student loans.
"That sounds awful," Gooding exclaimed. "I'd never do that."
The four songs the band played got the Bussey students pumped up. Kids clapped and stomped the bleachers in excitement.
Then came the lesson on money, which didn't start out on a high note.
"We're going to talk about financial literacy," Gooding told the crowd. "Does that sound cool?"
"No!" most of the fidgety students screamed back.
But the singer forged ahead and tried to keep the students' focus.
Wearing a shirt straight from the disco era, Gooding explained the basics of interest, how to avoid same-day lenders, and the importance of starting to save money.
The rock 'n' roller has a 'do as I say, not as I do' mentality, noting that he struggled with finances as he tried to balance a music career with living expenses.
"I screwed up my credit cards," he said. "I screwed up my credit score."
During a question-and-answer session, 11-year-old Aziah Fite asked how to pay for college. Ashton Minor, also 11, asked about investing. Gooding was impressed with the students' adult-like questions.
After the Q&A, Gooding went back into rock 'n' roll mode, signing autographs and giving high-fives to students and staff, slicking back his curly hair while doing so. He said he hoped that at least one student went home and asked his or her parents to help open a savings account.
"Like it or not, all things are ruled by money. You're either making some interest or you owe interest, and when we get too far behind, a lot of other things get rough," Gooding said.
