Drum line gives teenagers opportunity to learn, grow

By St. Clair Murraine
Outlook Staff Writer

Brian and Adrienne Forbing could be doing just fine with contract gigs as percussion musicians. They decided to form Capital Battery Drum Line instead.

It’s the Forbing’s way of helping to mold young people, while helping them to hone their skills as musicians.

“It just a big part of who we are,” Adrienne said. “It’s how we thrive and live; the feeling, the passion it brings. It’s something both of us experienced so continuing it is natural.”

The couple is going into their sixth year with the drum line, enduring a period of going without drums. At the same time they have been able to make 22 young people perform in unison.

This past weekend, eight of the drummers took an educational trip to New York at the invitation of Brooklyn United Music Program. The Tallahassee teenagers were initially scheduled to participate in the Battle in the Apple, but the reduced number of available members left them to perform an exhibition.

While Capital Battery Drum Line isn’t quite a household name, the group has a presence in the city. Springtime Tallahassee, FAMU’s homecoming and the annual Veterans Day parade are some of the outings they’ve made.

Through the use of social media, the group has also been invited to perform annually in Jupiter, Florida.

Participants in the program range in ages from 7 to 27. Many of the school-age drummers are students at Title 1 schools. Participation in the drum line often is a life-changer, Brian said. 

“I use the drums as a vehicle to coach them through life skills, development and getting them placed with whatever vocational development they want to pursue,” he said. “Most of all we want to give them hope. 

“I talk to these kids when it comes to their lives in their environments they don’t have any hope. When they come to play with us and share their experiences about what they are going through, we provide a different scope which provides hope.”

Seeing young boys and girls work toward their dreams is another motivator for the Forbing’s.

“Whatever they envision that they want is what I want,” Adrienne said. “That’s my end goal.”

The drum line is the outgrowth of Brian and Adrienne’s working as drumming instructor at Fairview School as part of the federally funded 21st. Century Program, an after-school activity. At the same time, Brian was also helping a friend establish a drum line. That led to the birth of Capital Battery Drum Line.

 What the Forbing’s teach is rooted in their backgrounds as former members of FAMU’s Marching 100 band. In fact, the couple met while Brian was a graduate volunteer with the percussion section and Adrienne was a student.

Both are currently instructor in the school system — Adrienne teaches percussion at Godby High School, while Brian is also an assistant drum instructor at Rickards High School.

 Adrienne has also worked as a contract performer at a few theme parks around the country, including her most recent at Dorney Park in Allentown, Pa.

Growth of the drum line led to a little hiccup that the Forbing’s thought they had fixed when a defunct drum line gave the drums to Capital Battery Drum Line. Not long after, the group asked for their drums back. 

The Forbing’s kept things going by using a little innovation. Through a sponsorship from Firehouse Subs, the sandwich shop donated emptied pickle buckets that the group used as drums.

But there is nothing like real drums, prompting Brian to seek out sales. He got lucky when he won an auction on line. For $369 they got 20 drums. 

 The pick up involved a 36-hour roundtrip drive to Conemaugh Valley, Pa., to the high school that held the auction. Now they have a variety of drums, sneer, tenors, tom-tom and tunnel bass. 

Many of those drums were used during the exhibition performance in New York. The showing was just one of several experiences that made an impression on Jaden McKellar, a senior member of the drum line.

“It’s a total shift from what Tallahassee is,” he said. “It’s a mind-blowing experience just seeing how the people work and the culture here.

“It has opened my eyes to a lot of things. My profession that I want to go to school for is music education. They’ve really helped me move in that direction.”