One of my best friends, Ned, was a coach for Skip Music’s Stairway to Stardom, an award-winning music education program located here in Sacramento. For the past six weeks or so, he’s been mentoring a group of novice musicians into the semblance of a band. The program is sort of like little-league for musicians. You sign up and pay the fee, and based upon experience level and area of interest, an aspiring musician get matched with a group of other musicians and a coach. The coach then meets with the group once a week to discuss aspects of songwriting, arranging, and performing with a group – all with the goal of forging them into a band. This year, there were twenty such bands, ranging in size from three to five members, mostly four, though.
My friend’s group, who had named themselves “The Flaming Muffin,” were a four-piece group of two boys and girls, all of whom were between 13 and 16 years old. One of the girls had to drop out at the last minute, but Ned was able to convince them that they would be strong enough as a three-piece, and that the show would be fine.
At the end of the coaching and rehearsal period, Skip’s puts on a big show for the groups. Mostly, the audience is comprised of parents, siblings, and teeny-booper fans, who fill up the conference room of the Holiday Inn dressed up with stage, lights, sound equipment, and a sea of folding chairs. The parents, laden with camcorders, signs, and strollers, wait semi-patiently for their young star to take the stage.
Of course, if one is not a parent, sibling, or teeny-bopper fan, the wait for your friend’s wunderkinds is a rather noisy one, interrupted by potential genius. There were a few of these groupings that had someone with true talent. A young girl singer with a real sense of melody and already very good phrasing; the bass-playing boy prodigy; those two speed-demon guitarists who traded off tasty licks; and in my friend’s group, the thirteen-year-old drummer, who drove their music with passion and control. These and a couple of others amazed the audience with their native talent and obvious dedication.
It was a strange day, one which left my ears a bit tinny, but one I was glad to have witnessed. That the arts are alive in this place, is a notion that gladdens my heart, and makes me hopeful for the future.
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