Pubdate: Sat, 02 Apr 2005
Source: Herald, The (CT)
Copyright: 2005 The Herald
Contact:  http://www.newbritainherald.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/188

DRUMMER DELIVERS ANTI-DRUG MESSAGE

NEW BRITAIN -- Rob Gottfried, or Rob the Drummer, is standing on the
stage at Pulaski Middle School, trying to get 500 teenagers to do the
wave.

Some pupils in the middle are reluctant to follow the middle-aged,
balding guy, standing in his bare feet in front of an elaborate drum
set.

Gottfried uses the reluctance to lead into his talk promoting positive
choices.

"If you don't do it, you feel nothing, we are not here to be numb," he
said. "You're starting the stuff that your parents did. You are
already frozen."

Every middle school pupil in Pulaski listened to Gottfried beat out
intricate rhythms, play songs and preach a little about how to fill
your life with natural activities such as drumming instead of
unnatural substances such as drugs and alcohol.

Gottfried, a native of West Hartford but a musician who has traveled
to schools across the United States, had every pupil in the auditorium
rocking to the music like they were in a hip-hop club by the end of
the assembly.

Despite the rambunctious crowd, principal Ann Carabillo said the group
was so wrapped up in his message, no pupil was pulled out of the
audience for misbehaving.

"You didn't see a kid here that wasn't getting into it," Gottfried
said. "This is cool. This is what they need more of."

The drummer's positive message encouraged some pupils despite the
pressure they feel around them.

"It's serious," said Candyce Torres-Ellison, an eighth grader at the
school. "He made it sound easy to stay away from drugs and alcohol,
but it's hard when you have family or people around you doing stuff."

But still, Torres-Ellison and her classmates Ashley Ortiz, Claudette
Lopez and Carolyn Fabre said Gottfried's suggestion to find something
natural that makes them happy is a pretty good one.

Torres-Ellison and Lopez are part of Hershey Track, a Parks and
Recreation Department after-school and summer program.

Gottfried said he wants to be as real as possible to the pupils, which
is why he tries to throw them off by pattering around stage in bare
feet, and having them be as active as possible during the assembly.

"I'm trying to get those 10 or 15 kids that are ready to try and
catapult over the edge and then I am trying to get those 100 kids who
are ready to go down the wrong path," he said.

Carabillo said she had wanted to bring Gottfried back multiple times
since he came to the school five years ago, but never had any money to
do so.

This year, a local business, Gallagher Buick, paid for Gottfried to
come to Pulaski.

"What a wonderful way for them to support the community," Carabillo
said.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin