Wisconsin Life

drumming

Angela Fitzgerald

Drumming has been a part of Yorel Lashley's life from childhood. Born on the south side of Chicago, he soon became a world traveler following his family to Africa. I had been introduced to the Djembe drum from West Africa when I was in Liberia when I was about six. And I took some lessons from a guy over there, a master drummer, and got my first taste, sort of, over the power of the sound. But, I got back; I didn't necessarily pursue that. I think for me, people think, "Oh, it's the instrument. "You know, hear something, and you just fall in love." I don't necessarily know... I think it's also about the timing and the readiness to just employ that kind of discipline. Yorel didn't return to drumming for years until he started attending UW-Madison. While he was exploring music, he also discovered another passion in his life. By the time I finished graduate school in '98, I was very seriously into drumming. I was practicing, you know, five, six times a week. And playing wherever I could.

My first job was a work-study job that I got

the South Madison Neighborhood Center, which now is Boys and Girls Club. And then, I moved over to Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center, where I worked for years. And that was my first experience with youth work. And I discovered that, you know, I really enjoy young people and being sort of a teacher to them. And I was also doing the drumming at the same time. And I start thinking, "Well, maybe I could teach drumming." And so, I started to essentially work backward. What Yorel didn't know is that it would evolve into something bigger... Drum Power. Drum Power is a youth leadership program that uses West-African, Afro-Cuban, and Afro-Brazilian percussion. And, it's not just drumming. Dancing is a must. I like to move my body. It feels good to me, and it's not necessarily hard. And another skill, like since I know the drums, and they seem to be getting a little stale and worn out. All right, let's put the drums down. We're going to dance now, and then so we do that. So... feels like having a whole other trick. We're going right, first. But it feels like a whole other thing is opened up. That's super fun to me, but also a way of connecting to young people. It's more than just music. It also teaches skills based on the three pillars of discipline, community, and leadership. So, Drum Power is a program that teaches those three skills through music and in a practice way that they're always present. We explicitly try to create an atmosphere where that can be comfortable and safe. I expect them to always be disciplined. That doesn't mean perfect... but that's the standard. The standard is to use your energy for good things. The results are going to be good things. Positive outcome. Every summer Yorel hosts a Drum and Dance Camp on the campus of UW-Madison. The three-week camp teaches children and young adults empowerment through drumming and dancing. Drum Power drum and dance camp is the only thing I'm willing to do that is truly about just exploration. That is designed to be an opportunity for young people to enjoy fun, hanging out with each other, and learning together, and to learn and explore a vast array of cultural traditions that are not-- primarily non-western in focus. But it was amazing to see that sort of develop over time and people figured-- Because I wanted it to be a nurturing place. While teaching music and life skills is important to Yorel, it's more than that. It's helping them find their voice. It's not how tight the arrangement is... or whether they don't make mistakes. It's the smiles and moments of triumph that I can see on their faces and sort of in their spirits and in the way they hold their bodies. And my goal never is to train drummers. Like, I don't care if these kids don't want to play the drums in two years. But I do care if they have discipline, community, and leadership, and they understand what that is and how that could work for them. Whatever the road they travel, they were able to find......something powerful. Their power. Not my power; Theirs.

Yorel instructs "Rabba-dab-dabba-dab-dab-dab"

drumming powerfully in unison