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Hobbs trying to drum up interest in band

Doug Flanagan/reporter@qvpr.com
April 08, 2010

Clayton Hobbs is a drummer for the Quincy High School band.

Clayton Hobbs is passionate about music. That’s why the Quincy High School senior is so disappointed that the number of students participating in the school’s band has been steadily dropping over the last few years.

“I have no idea why,” he said. “Kids are just losing interest. I try to get them into it all the time. Kids will just quit for no real reason, and I harass them to get them to join back in. That’s why I want to try to promote it at the lower levels and see what happens.”

For his senior project, Hobbs is holding an event called “Sticks and Strings” at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 13, at the high school. The event is designed for younger students to become exposed to a variety of instruments and familiar with what being part of a school band is about.

Hobbs and two recent QHS grads, Marcos Sanchez and Breck Field, will take turns playing guitars and drums. There will be one room set up for kids to play and learn guitar and another room for drums, and Hobbs plans on going back and forth between rooms to check on progress and answer questions.

“I wanted to invite the kids down for an open night and show them guitars, drums, pianos, a lot of different instruments, and hopefully we can spark some interest,” he said. “What I want the kids to know is that they won’t be pushed into the band or toward a particular instrument. I want to try to show them what it’s all about. Some of the younger kids, they think that playing an electric guitar is the best thing ever; it’s loud, it’s fun and it’s fast. We could generate more interest.”

The QHS band currently has 14 members, Hobbs said, and about half of those members play drums.

“If we don’t get people interested,” he said, “the program is going to be over.”

Partially due to the low numbers, the band has morphed into more of a rock outfit with electric guitar, bass and drums rather than the full symphony ensemble that it used to be when more kids were involved.

“We play a lot more contemporary songs now, which is kind of cool,” Hobbs said. “(Band director Jeff) Corlett is getting more and more into the band aspect, and since he listens to all kinds of stuff — country, classical, old rock — he’s got a wide range of things he wants to do. He’s really open-minded, and I think that gives the band an edge. He’ll try new things so we never really get into a slump.”

Hobbs said the band’s performances, though, have been appreciated by some people. Jay Cedergreen, the boys basketball team’s shooting guard, asked the band to play “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC and “Run to the Hills” by Iron Maiden before games to energize the gym’s atmosphere.

“We missed a couple of games, and we had complaints from a few teachers,” Hobbs said. “But when we’re there, it’s no big deal. Nobody really notices. Sometimes we’re not sure if people want us to be there, but when we’re gone, people miss us. It’s kind of a weird thing.”

Part of the reason why the numbers are declining may be because of the social stigma that tends to be attached to members of a school band.

“(We’re supposed to be) dweebs,” Hobbs said. “When I first thought about the band and learned about concert music, that’s the stereotype I thought of at first. But as I got more into it, I realized it was a lot of fun. You get to travel, and skipping school is obviously a plus. I get to do what I enjoy, so doing that while skipping school, you can’t beat that.”

Hobbs’ mother, Kelly, has followed the band for years due to the involvement of Clayton and his older sister, Michelle.

“The band used to be huge,” Kelly said. “There was at least three times the amount of kids in the band than there are now. It’s sad to see, and I don’t know why it’s happening. The kids need to realize it’s fun. Maybe they’re too nervous to try, or they don’t know what type of instrument to play.”

It used to be that the district required students to join either the band or choir once they entered the junior high. That requirement is no longer in place, according to Clayton.

“The appreciation for the arts has kind of gone away,” Kelly said. “Maybe if it was a required course again, more kids would follow through with it. The kids are never recognized for all of the hard work they put in and their commitment.”

Clayton started playing the drums when he was in the fourth grade and has been playing ever since. He started playing the bass guitar three years ago and the electric guitar two years ago.

For the most part, he taught himself how to play the guitars.

“I first wanted to play trumpet, but I had asthma, so that was harder,” he said. “My parents suggested I try the drums, and I’m elated that I did. There’s a lot of types of drums that can do all sorts of different things, so I like the fact that I can experiment with a lot of different styles but keep within the same general type of instrument.”

Every once in a while, Clayton and Corlett will jam together in the high school’s performing arts center, and their performances will often draw a few curious onlookers.

One day, one of those on-lookers was Michael DeRosier, drummer for the popular rock band Heart in the late 1970s and early ’80s.

“I practiced with him once for five or six hours, and just to watch him was insane,” Clayton said.

After he graduates in June, Clayton hopes to take some music classes in college to further his knowledge and passion.

“It’s fun,” he said. “It’s a hobby that I can do to relax. I can do what I enjoy to do instead of doing what I have to do.”

If all goes according to plan, a lot of students are going to feel the passion that Clayton feels in the coming years.