So much to report this spring as we pivot to repositioning BBDF as a blended arts wellness enterprise. Same rhythms, same EZbeats, same songs. Same arts activities, like our Shaker Maker kits and ColorMeBeats.
What’s changed is our focus. Bambam is still a smart, fun, easy arts program for all ages and abilities. The ‘what’ hasn’t changed. What’s changed is the ‘why’ of Bambam. I have distilled the core essence of what makes syncopated rhythm-making, arts’n’crafting, song and cheer so beneficial to our clients.
Mind and mood health. Cognitive and emotional wellness. All the essential social aspects of participation in a 1-time or ongoing group arts program. That’s Bambam. And of course our live show, now ready for larger stages.
It’s Bambam Drumfun Time! A live rhythm drum-along show for all ages!
For more information or to book a Bambam Drumfun Arts Wellness workshop event or a live It’s Bambam Drumfun Time! show and after-show workshop, call or text DC Scott or Elyse at (786) 971-9636 or send an email request to drumcaptainscott@gmail.com
Three words. Drum. It. Out. Seems like a fairly simple phrase implying the obvious concept of ‘drumming out one’s whatever … angst, negative energy, bad mood, bad day at school, bad day at work, bad day at … well you get the point.
For me, the idea of ‘drum it out’ goes way back to middle school, when life was shall we say less than idyllic.
I know what you’re thinking …. ‘What could possibly be so tough for a kid growing up with a mom and dad plus two ok sisters, living in a nice Miami suburb on a nice house on a lake. How bad could your life be that you had so much tween sadness or trauma or whatever that you needed to drum it out just to get through the day? Eh, Scott?’
And I understand your point, whomever you might be. But what you and the other readers do not know is precisely at the very heart of what is now one of the most important and salient topics in our world these days.
Mental health.
And what you do not know now is what I also did not then. Had I known then what I know now and have spent the past 20 years learning and doing a deep dive into my own mental health experiences, going back to my earliest memories through my tweens and well into my early 40s is this:
What I did not know then was just how important our mental health is to our success in life .. at home, in school, on the playground, and everywhere else we live our lives. Mental health was a mystery to me back then. And my lack of knowledge and awareness of how specifically mental health was impacting my efforts in all areas of my life certainly made my tween years as a middle schooler at John F. Kennedy Junior High in North Miami Beach less than a bed of roses or walk in the park as it where.
Chronic sadness, anxiety, fear, social phobia, panic attacks, sweaty palms, memory and concentration challenges were all the norm for me.
Except in band. Where I was a percussionist. A good one, who by 8th grade became section leader, and went on to perform at county contests and perform as part of a local youth symphony by 9th grade. Thanks to my love for and affinity for drumming and all things percussion, I was able to carve out a small slice of joy and happiness in between the darkness that followed me before and after my time in the band room with Mr. Hoffman and my fellow band mates.
Drum it out I did. In band, and at home. My brain certainly liked when I drum, which explains my healthy drum practice regimen. Not only did I sense playing rudiments over and over and learning and perfecting challenging snare pieces for the fun of it was a good thing for me to be doing in my spare time, my brain and body were constantly telling me so.
So, I continued to ‘Drum it Out’ well into high school. And I can say with the highest degree of confidence that if were not for drumming then I cannot imagine surviving the incredible social shark tank that was my high school years.
It’s been a busy month of networking for yours truly. Emails, zoom and skype meetings, LinkedIn messages .. and texts. Lots of texts.
Getting Bambam to the next level takes time, patience, the right message to the right folks when they’re able to hear it and act on it. And now, some 8+ years into my arts startup with a heart, Bambam Drumfun has some new friends and supporters to add to all the wonderful folks who have supported my mission to bring music and art together in one blended arts enrichment class.
business card
Some new marketing has gotten BBDF some much needed attention.
Feel free to reach out – say hi – ask me how we can put together a dynamic, fun, low-cost high impact arts program that can be used over and over and over .. for pennies on the dollar verses more traditional art and music programs.
Rather than bore you into reading a bunch of clippity clap long form body copy (there’s enough of that in my other blog posts), I’ll simply post a few recent picks of what I’ve been up. Let’s just say that in addition to several new group rhythm programs, I’ve added some new interesting elements to my rhythm arts pedagogy which will make BBDF and its related utility more user-friendly, for both activity providers and the wonderful folks they serve. I call them our drummers because they are drummers and they are part of our community.
Yes, Bambam Drumfun is about creating community, like the community of drummers I enjoyed being a part of with my drum sections back in my marching band days at North Miami Beach Senior High School in the late 70s.
Yes, those were the days . . .
My new Hallandale apartment kitchen has a wonderful nook that’s perfect for rhythm-making. Some new lyrics for my public television b’cast ‘It’s Bambam Drumfun Time,’ which tackles teen mental health. More on this later!
Was a total blast chatting with Chris Matthews and Mitch Albom backstage today at the Miami Book Fair. Chris Matthews. Chris speaks like a prize-fighter, jabbing and counterpunching in rapid fire, with no editing or punch-pulling. Almost stream of consciousness, near poetic as an off the cuff commentator. Always a gentlemen even when tossing a sling or arrow or two. Says of Madame Vice President Kamala Harris, “She needs to get out there and define herself, be more regular with the people, talk sports or whatever.” Says she can’t let the bums define her. Also said, about democracy in peril, that the dems need to have a better strategy re: voters rights. They should outflank the GOPs attempts to subvert voter rights by embracing voter ID cards, maximizing early voting, etc.. He’s right – if you can’t stop’em, beat’em at their own game. Mitch Albom. Mitch Albom of Tuesdays with Morrie fame, is a man on a mission. This heralded sports writer turned humanist story-teller and major public programs provider in his hometown of Detroit and in Haiti tells of how he got his start in journalism right here in So Fla at the Sun Sentinel (or the paper that preceded it). It’s a serendipitous tale he tells with fondness, as he does with all his stories he shared today at the MBF. I had the joy of asking him about his piano-playing, which was on display during a video presentation of his Faith Foster Care in Haiti. He shared that he and other writers – Davy Barry, Steven King, Amy Tan and others – formed a very mediocre rock band some years ago and that it’s fortunate he doesn’t quite his day job. His recent book has to do with the stranger we all come in contact with, and how we treat that stranger. In this case, the stranger who boards a shipwrecked boat of rich folks is the lord. I’ll leave it at that, though the bulk of his talk today centered on how we as a society and as individuals are faced every day with a choice: to help those in need, to lend a hand, to care for strangers? Or to look the other way? Mitch goes on to stress how redefining his life in this way has transformed him in a way he would have never expected. He speaks of his orphanage in Haiti, and the incredibly harsh conditions the 60+ kids face each say, from the scarcities of basic resources like electric, water and gas to the ever-present danger from notorious Haitian gangs. One day, it occurred to me, that perhaps I can bring Bambam Drumfun to these wonderful kids, and share with them the simple joys and many mind-body benefits of rhythm-making and arts’n’crafts (though from the video it looks like they already enjoy some dynamic music and art enrichment). It was a fine fall day at the MBF. No rain, no traffic, two dynamic speakers, and a balloon guy on stilts.
There’s a look and feel to It’s Bambam Drumfun Time. I decided to go heavy on clean graphics for my Scott’s Dots EZBeats (the dots grid behind Bambam, one of our mascots) and the focal point of BBDF publishing, and rescued found objects for the characters that make up the story-tellers and brand ambassodors (i.e. Bambam, drumbot, Tommy the Therapy Turkey, The Drumbot Five, etc.).
PRESENTATION, PRESENTATION, PRESENTATION . . .
If I learned one thing from my 20+ yrs as an ad writer mostly on Madison Avenue and a few years free-lancing in South Florida, it is the incredible power of and importance of presentation in any marketing or sales environment. The work you want to a client to sign off on … any client be it a major consumer brand, a mom-and-pop operation, or a solo practitioner looking to launch a product or service … must be presented in a manner that’s clean, clear, and to the point.
BAMBAM DRUMFUN – WHERE CONTENT IS KING
Learning by seeing how top professionals at major ad agencies produced marketing materials for presentation, hundreds of ad programs over the years which I was a part of as copywriter, certainly has given me a helpful skill in communicating in print the essential content components of Bambam Drumfun, primarily its printed materials (Let’s Drum EZ BEAT Playbooks, DrumWithMe Rhythm Cards, & the BBDF Facilitator Training Be-A-Drum-Captain Guides).
These content-rich assets make Bambam Drumfun a highly desirable media brand, with numerous opportunities for sponsored media across several channels (b’cast, digital and online, in-store POP, on-site, interstitials, etc..).
Stay tuned, so much more to share.
It’s Bambam Drumfun Time! And I’m Drum Captain Scott.
Recently, I connected with documentary filmmaker Michael Rossato-Bennett, writer and director of the award-winning film Alive Inside. This film tells the story of music therapist Dan Cohen’s quest to put pre-loaded music in headphones and share them at no cost to seniors with dementia, Alzheimers, Parkinsons, and other neurodegenerative disorders.
Our missions are similar in that both the Alive Inside Foundation and Bambam Drumfun Rhythm Arts programs are dedicated to sharing the joys and benefits of music, in our case playing rhythms, making and decorating drumfun instruments, learning and singing fun and simple songs, and connecting with friends and loved ones.
After a few robust and hearty phone conversations plus countless texts, LinkedIn messages and emails, the obvious became clear to both Michael and yours truly.
BBDF + Alive Inside: More Rhythm Arts Programs to Help ‘Awaken’ More Seniors Than Ever Before
With this new development, Bambam Drumfun programs can be financed through your tax-deductible contributions to the Alive Inside Foundation, a 501c3. It’s not only wonderful news for our growing community of senior rhythm-makers, but also a much-need headline for Bambam Drumfun as we transition to Chapter 2 of my start-up journey.
2100+ group rhythm classes shared since 2014 across 30+ locations throughout South Florida.
And now, as creator and Chief Drumfun Captain, I’m venturing into new territory, transitioning away from single weekly ongoing programs to more of a workshop/training/club formation model where our clients now become owners of their very own Bambam Drumfun Rhythm Arts Clubs.
That’s right! Instead of me showing up each week, leading a class for an hour, collecting the sticks, shakers and pads and saying good-bye and ‘see ya next week,’ my drummers will have their very own BBDF Rhythm Arts Kits with their own drumfun kit, e-z beat rhythm books, drum-with-me-cards, and all the drumfun flair they care to print out!
Next up for Bambam? Training & coaching, along with my soon-to-launch BBDF Rhythm Arts Class + Drum Captain Training YouTube Channel
‘Ok, let’s start out with a 1-2-3 beat!’ … Learn, teach, lead, repeat.
The BBDF Drum Captain Training Handbook makes it simple and easy to learn and teach the class rhythms and ez-beats. It’s all designed and tested by yours truly. I’ve based my teaching pedagogy (a fancy word for teaching and learning methodology) on my 2 years as high school marching band drum captain, plus my training as a drum circle facilitator with Jana Broder of Drum Magic in Tampa, along with additional training from the Kalani DCF methods.
Training to be a Drum Captain and leading a basic drumfun session is a snap once you get the hang of it. I’ll also be creating zoom BBDF Drum Captain Training workshops, so stay tuned for announcements on upcoming workshop dates.
Presenting our ‘Alive Inside + Bambam Drumfun’ Donation Link
It’s all you need to help me help seniors awaken to the rhythm and sounds of syncopated drumming, along with the joys and many mind-body-spirit benefits of making and decorating their own drumfun kits.
Reach out to me at drumcaptainscott@gmail.com or the team at Alive Inside in New York City to request a specific Bambam Drumfun class for your loved one, either a solo class or a class/workshop with their community.
it's bambam drumfun time 