Drumline director keeps things positive, focuses on changing lives through music
By David Blanchette
Photos / David Blanchette, Marcy Patterson
Being surrounded by a group of drum-banging teenagers in a church basement room may seem like an ear-splitting, headache-inducing nightmare for some, but it’s pure joy for Chip Davis.
Davis is the director of the Jacksonville Drumline Institute (JDI), a private drumline school serving youth from grade six through 21 years of age and teaching them to read music, percussion instrument playing, drum repair, marching technique and the art of marching drumline performance. JDI teams have recently won awards during national competition and they are in high demand for parades and special events.
Still, all of that takes practice, and that’s what Davis does with participants every Wednesday and Thursday evening at First Baptist Church in Jacksonville. Saying that drum practice in a basement room is loud would be an understatement, but at one of those recent practices there appeared to be no shortage of motivation, effort, cooperation, discipline, artistry and enjoyment among the young people creating tympanic harmony together.
“We’re here to build each other up, I don’t want any negative comments from anybody,” Davis said. “I teach them discipline, to be proud of what they are doing, to keep their heads up. Not only is this a learning experience, but the real enthusiasm is when they go out and play in front of a crowd and they receive applause.”
The JDI received a silver medal and the Spirit Award in August at the Drum Corps International World Championship in Indianapolis, an achievement that Davis considers quite a feat for his fledgling team. JDI participants have also performed at the St. Louis Cardinals’ Busch Stadium for Jacksonville Night, the St. Louis Thanksgiving Parade, King’s Island amusement park in Ohio, and all over central Illinois for sporting and special events.
Those interested in joining JDI can simply show up on a Wednesday or Thursday evening at First Baptist Church. The fee is $50 per month for those in the performance group and $20 per month for beginners, and there are scholarship opportunities for those who can’t afford those rates. That’s important for Davis, because he knows from firsthand experience what a difference music can make in young people’s lives.
Davis grew up in a poor area of Covington, Kentucky, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. Davis got the opportunity to join a band in third grade and it changed his life.
“I lived in the projects and music is what kept me off the streets and the reason why I do what I do for these kids,” Davis said. “If it wasn’t for music, I’d be in prison or debt or something by now, because music was my outlet.”
Davis played in his high school marching band and received a drum scholarship to Eastern Kentucky University. But then he “dropped out like a dummy,” and although he kept playing the drums, Davis’ life wasn’t really going anywhere.
“My sister called me and said I needed to get out of Covington before I got into serious trouble,” Davis said. “My mom and sister got me a bus ticket and I ended up in Jacksonville. I said I would stay two weeks, then I got a job at Capitol Records and I’ve been here ever since.”
Davis volunteered in the music department at Jacksonville High School while his son attended the school, and his son encouraged him to check out the JHS drumline practice one evening.
“Ryan Davenport was the captain at the time and he asked me, ‘Well, what do you think?’ And I said, ‘My honest opinion, you suck,’” Davis said. “I’m glad he got mad at me because it showed that he cared, and I explained that the group’s playing was great but they needed to add some moves, not just stand in one spot.”
Continued Davis, “I then showed the group some drum stick visuals they could use … My son came home that night and said, ‘Hey dad, those guys thought you were cool. They want you to come back.’”
Davis kept on assisting with the JHS drumline while working a swing shift at Pactiv during the four years his son attended the school. He was ready to walk away after that but underclassmen asked him to stay until they graduated, so Davis continued to volunteer with the drumline until he accepted a state job that required him to move to Effingham.
Davis returned to Jacksonville on the weekends and never lost his desire to teach drumline techniques to young people. When he heard that PORTA High School in Petersburg was selling their old drumline equipment, Davis thought he could use that equipment to start a drumline academy when he moved back to Jacksonville. He used $250 of his own money to purchase the 30-year-old equipment, took a photo of the drums and posted it on Facebook, and then nothing happened for six months.
“God works in mysterious ways. First Christian Church called me and said they were looking for a drumline to play in their Christmas program,” Davis said. “I said I didn’t have a drumline at that moment but would put one together, and they offered to pay me $250 to do the program, the exact amount I had paid for the drums.”
“I said don’t pay me anything, just give me a place to practice in your church,” Davis said. “I added a message to Facebook that said I was starting a drumline and needed kids to perform. Our first practice session was spent cleaning up those old drums and tuning them.”
As the program grew, Davis kept looking for better drums, and took out a personal loan for $4,000 to purchase the used equipment that his students now use. That’s also when he officially formed the Jacksonville Drumline Institute, a 501(c)(3) organization, which now rehearses at First Baptist Church. Participants come from Jacksonville, Winchester, Beardstown and other area towns, so their experience with JDI also helps to bolster the music programs at schools in those communities.
Davis recently received grants from the Tracy Family Foundation and other donations to purchase $10,000 worth of drum equipment for his beginners’ group. He’s also raising funds for $24,000 worth of new drums for the performance group. Still, it’s not about playing the drums as much as it is about giving the kids important life skills.
“It’s about discipline and respect and learning a trade,” Davis said. “You come in here ready to learn. There’s a time to work and a time to play, and we do both here. Discipline and structure are what kids really need in today’s world.” Normally, when parents ask their children what sort of musical instrument they want to play and the kids respond “the drums,” that choice elicits dread from mom and dad.
“I absolutely get that because I know I drove my parents crazy,” Davis said with a chuckle. “I tell my JDI students to practice by drumming on a pillow or tapping the side of their leg. You can do multiple things and not be as annoying to your folks when you practice.”
So said the man who stopped the interview and walked back into the choreographed cacophony of the church basement room where kids were beating on real drums, high-fiving with their drumsticks, and enjoying every drumbeat of the practice session that was molding them into an award-winning, in-demand, and character-building unit.
