Youth on Record
by Daniel Rondeau, Lead Instructor for Flobots.org and front man of Red Fox Run; partner artist
Playing music in this day and age is a new animal. The giants in the industry have been brought down a few notches to everyone else’s playing field. Listeners with access to the universe of music often only desire a tease or small sample from each band. Plus, the rock star lifestyle has become less and less practical and attractive. In this day and age, the people of our nation strive to back their passions not with their egos, but with meaning and action.
This has absolutely been a reality for the band I play in, Red Fox Run. But how does a scraggly bunch of musicians exercise tangible purpose? While searching for a cause where we could give back to the community, Flobots.org came up on our radar, and we jumped in at the first chance we had.
The moment we stepped foot into the world of Flobots.org, our search for a way to give back through music was affirmed above and beyond. We found an organization that figured out how to harness the power of music to greatly impact community on a permanent and significant scale.
I became a partner artist and took every opportunity to serve the youth. Sometimes it meant playing a benefit show, and sometimes teaching a workshop. Sometimes I worked in direct involvement with students, and sometimes I worked secondhand. I was able to serve the community and was blessed in exchange; with excellent networking opportunities, promotion, hospitality, and a new demographic of listeners Red Fox Run wouldn’t have had exposure to otherwise.
I became an assistant for a class in Denver Public School’s Venture Prep High, teaching music fundamentals to 25 at risk, underserved and under-credited high school students. Most of these students had never touched an instrument, nor considered any hobby or dream other than the life they were born into. Teaching such kids was at first intimidating, but my enthusiasm for sharing this beautiful world of music outweighed the fear.
After some hard work, I was promoted to a lead instructor. I began leading these young people to music in nearly every aspect, saw them open their creative minds, and even have seen the shyest or hardest kid come alive and develop confidence in their new creative voices. I saw a community develop in the classroom – kids working with kids regardless of their race, color, or sexual preference; they were – for perhaps the first time – seeing each other only as fellow musicians to experience music with.
These kids blow my mind. They knew close to nothing at the beginning of the year about music or how to play, and by the end of the semester, they all learned the basics of drums, vocals, guitar, and keyboard, theory, composition, and music history. They grouped into bands and each learned songs and performed them at the end of the year. Many of my students will continue to advance their musical talent, and those who won’t have learned a valuable lesson on how to develop a hobby, learn a discipline, overcome fear, and dream. I have been inspired by them, and I know that the classes we teach them inspire on a daily basis.
Category: Buzzworthy
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