This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Feb. 22, 2010 - As the heart does for the body, the drum tells you everything you need to know about a song. Quick rapid beats mean a frantic song pace. Slow, deliberate drumming leaves the audience with a subdued and calm disposition.
No need to remind Terry Artis about all this. The drums, specifically drum lines, have been his life's work.
Drumming "became the feature of the ensemble and the beauty of the drumming is that it is the audio and the visual," Artis said. Seeing all the hands and the signals make "it more powerful and exciting."
Artis hopes to put all of the stimuli out for St. Louis to see on March 6 at his first ever "Showdown" drum line show at the Chaifetz Arena. Drum lines from half a dozen historically black colleges and universities will be involved the event. Prior to the musical festivities, each participating school will have representatives on hand with information about their schools for local students who might be interested in attending.
Such a link between drumming and academics is basic to what Artis wants to do in F.O.C.U.S. (For Our Children's Continued Unfettered Success), a group he established to teach and build musical awareness in St. Louis youth through percussion. Artis' ultimate goal is to get each of his students the requisite skills and exposure necessary to get college music scholarships.
A Normandy High School product, Artis didn't have to look far when thinking what prompted him to put this group together. He didn't have such a mentor relationship with an instructor during his adolescence. What he lacked in his youth, a sense of guidance and nurturing, is the gift he wants to give to young drummers today.
"Terry has instilled a lot of seriousness in me," said Matthew Clark, a senior at Visual and Performing Arts High school. "He talks a lot about not half-doing things, that not only does practice make perfect but that perfect practice also makes perfect."
Being the Mentor He Missed
Buddy Rich was it for Terry Artis. Though the legendary drummer never gave Artis a private tutorial, his mother brought Rich's music into their north St. Louis home. A Buddy Rich album almost single handedly set Artis on the percussion path. He had already enrolled in the band at school, and that kept him going as he he grew bored with the rest of the curriculum.
Artis says that he recognizes that he had good influences, but no one nurtured his love of drumming and pushed him to go on academically. "Don't get me wrong though, because I learned it (the drums) really well."
An aptitude for percussion instruments carried Artis through his secondary education and produced nice dividends. Artis was the 1982 recipient of the Louis Armstrong National Jazz Award, given to one high school student each year. It was also around this time that the high school senior began taking contract work as a drum composition scribe.
After graduating, he wrote pieces for Normandy and UMSL in between his playing commitments. That has been the norm for Artis for 25 years along with teaching and an occasional percussion consulting gig. At one of these stops, as a percussion director for the Fair St. Louis All-County band, that the group F.O.C.U.S. came in to, for lack of a better term, focus.
After looking at the racial make-up of the honor band, Artis became aware of two obvious points: The county band was composed of mostly white participants and the city band that he also worked with was almost all black. He attributed this to the unique racial landscape of St. Louis. But that didn't seem to be an excuse for Artis. In his mind, the drums are universal everywhere else.
"Drum lines are performed all over the world made up of whites, blacks, Chinese, etc.," Artis said. What's needed, first and foremost, he said "was skill. ... the underlying idea we have had to instill is greatness. No one cares what color you are if you are great."
And so Artis set out to invite any and all youth to join F.O.C.U.S.'s youth-oriented Show-Me Sounds percussion ensemble. Most participants are from the immediate St. Louis area but some have come from as far as Potosi. The drummers can start in junior high and go through high school.
"I knew this would attract a lot of kids in the community and it is having the effect that I hoped it would have," Artis said.
Clark, who has been with Artis since the program began four years ago, said he has benefited greatly from F.O.C.U.S. Rather than being just a drummer, Clark said Artis drilled him and his other students to be proficient in all percussion instruments.
"He tells us time and time again that you can't get a full scholarship on marching alone, and that the big schools need you to know all your instruments," Clark said. "I call myself a percussionist and not a drummer because to be a percussionist you need to be efficient on all instruments."
Clark is still undecided about this college destination, though he has been accepted to three so far, including the prestigious Berklee School of Music in Boston. In the long run, he plans to pursue a doctorate in marimba percussion.
Bringing in Drumlines
Artis works to bring people together and give today's drummers the kind of attention he wishes his talent had received when we was their age. Inspiration for the upcoming "Showdown" came from a similar venture in 2005 called the "Battle of the Bands" at the Edward Jones Dome. The event sold 30,000 tickets.
"I knew I wanted something to build in St. Louis and become a long-term thing," Artis said. "There's a demand for this kind of event."
In addition to the college and university bands, Artis has wrangled up commitments from local drumming factions including his own, Carr Lane Middle School Spirit Squad Drum Line, The University City Marching Lions Drum Line and the Spirit of Anegela/Kumasi Nankama Aswad Kambeng - West African Drum & Dance Ensemble. A highlight will be the opening number, in which all the lines will perform a version of the song "Turn it Up" by the rapper Chamillionaire. One challenge will be keeping the time and the focus of the group on track.
Artis wants his students to know how important working in a group is. Because there may be showmanship in a drum line, but the beats always have to keep the show together.
"Drumlines can create a positive environment when they come together; and I think we'll pull it off tremendously because Terry is really pulling for it," Clark said. He says that the kids all feel as though they are the lucky ones and that they can show the area what a drumline is all about.
Josh Mosley is a freelance writer.