Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/436829
IN MR. V'S WORDS WHY IGNORE COMPETITIONS? We don't have time be- cause we're trying to make money. They want to charge us $84 to enter a competition and give us a trophy? We don't need a trophy. We need drumsticks. We need shoes. We are totally funded by the activities and perfor- mances we do. So it makes no sense to compete. HOW DO YOU RELATE TO YOUR STUDENTS? I grew up just like them in a low-economic, crime-infested area of Col- orado. I am a product of the same type of environment, so I understand. They are fascinated by me because I can play any instrument, and they know I've been in bands. They know I can walk into any nightclub with a saxophone or horn. I listen to all music, and anything they want me to play, I can play it. They like the fact that I can take a song on the radio and play it in five minutes. ARE YOU STRICT? Yes. I tell them to get respect, they must earn it. I tell them we are all poor individuals, and the one thing we have of value is our word, and that once people cannot trust you, you lose all respect. It's very important to me that students keep their word. I also don't want to hear profanity. I don't want nega- tivity. I say, "If you don't like what's happening here, bounce. You don't have to be here." It is not about the individual, it's about team spirit. I tell them, "If you want to be part of something that is bigger than you, and want to be a positive force, you are welcome here." IS IT TRUE YOU TURNED DOWN PRESIDENT OBAMA'S INVITATION AT FIRST? Yes, I did. [Laughs.] We were nominated to play for the 2012 presidential inauguration, and we got a Dear John letter that turned us down. I didn't like that. So when we were invited to perform in July, I turned it down. I was at a meeting with colleagues who said, "You got an invitation to perform for the president and turned it down? You need to reconsider." So I called back the selection committee, and three weeks later, we were the official representative of California for the Indepen- dence Day Parade. WHAT'S THE BEST THING ABOUT YOUR "LINE" OF WORK? I love the students. They are incredible. I'm impressed with their ability to respond in positive ways to what the drumline has to offer. I love my job. Sometimes I have to pinch myself, because I'm getting paid to do this. It's the best gig there is. Business, you might say, is booming. "We may not be the best, but we are the busiest," says Van Buren, Twin Rivers United Educators. "All you have to do is look at our calendar. Last month we had more than 30 gigs. We're walking on clouds right now." T h e d r u m l i n e w a s f o u n d e d i n 2 0 0 8 w i t h z e r o money. It does not participate in competitions. It's too busy performing. It was voted the top performing band in Sacramento. During a practice session, it was difficult to distinguish Mr. V from the students. He's a small man with a no-non- sense manner who occasionally breaks into a big smile. He keeps the students in line, musically and behavior-wise, in a neighborhood where there are many distractions. "Yes, we have a challenging population," says Van Buren. "Any time you walk outside the doors, you are presented with some kind of incentive to do something wrong. Some of my kids are in jail right now. But when they are in the drumline performing three gigs in one day, it takes up a lot of their time. I have three or four students in colleges right now, and some of them received full-ride scholarships because of the drumline." M r. V a g re e d to a n s we r a f e w q u e s t i o n s f o r t h e California Educator, and he answered them in rapid-fire sentences without missing a beat. P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y S C O T T B U S C H M A N Perspectives 27 V O L U M E 1 9 I S S U E 5