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 Billy Ashbaugh's new found passion is a program
called START. Back in November of 2002, he and
Bob Gatzen began working on the first conception
for the program. Since then, they have performed
over 30 live presentations for schools from New
Jersey to Florida. Phase One of the program used
two drumsets as a metaphor to teach kids to think
creatively. Throughout the interactive program
they are exposed to such topics as brainstorming,
inspiration, teamwork and passion. Through the
use of multiple choice categories, (play together,
play separate, play just snare drum, play softly,
etc.) the kids were able to work together and actually
create a ěRhythmic Compositionî.
The overwhelming success of Phase One led to the
conception for Phase Two called START in which stands for START Idea Network. In an effort to reach
more students, START in is putting
together a series of educational DVDís for
classroom viewing. The first series evolves around
the theme that music is a lot like cooking. Each
volume of the series will feature a high profile
guest who attributes their success to ideas and art.
The first DVD will be a two-part (28-32 minutes each)
package centered on the question, ěwhat is
an idea?î Billy and Bob approached schoolsthat hosted Phase One of START and requested they
ask students (grades 4-6) to respond to the question.
After receiving over 300 responses, they decided
to build the pilot program on the theme, an idea
is arecipeÖingredients,
process and presentation. To reinforce this notion
they have Emeril Lagasse from the ěEmeril Liveî cooking
show as their first special guest. The DVD will be
in schools by the beginning of the 2004 school year.
Future plans include live presentations in 2004 and
2005, as well as working on the next DVD series for
START in.
In addition to working on START, Billy has
also just finished shooting his second DVD project
for Warner
Brothers. This one is from an instructional
series for The Hard Rock Academy. Itís designed
for entry level students and starts there musical
journey from a very basic point (anatomy of the kit,
how to hold the sticks, how to count quarter notes,
basic beats, etc.) The video finishes with the introduction
of starting your first fills. The idea is for the
beginner student to be able to play along with the
3-minute drumless song once theyíve worked
their way through the DVD.
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