In his black jeans, button-down sweater and knit cap with a pronounced pompom, Joshua Radin looked like a hipster teacher just a few years out of college.
The singer-songwriter was, in fact, assuming the role of instructor on a recent morning at Jean Childs Young Middle School, explaining in his soft voice how he writes songs.
“Someone once told me that all you need are three chords and the truth,” Radin told his audience of about 30 students, who squirmed and whispered to each other as Radin showed them chords on his scuffed acoustic guitar.
Radin’s poetic advice is true, but the students also needed instruments to play those three chords and a musical background to understand the origin of those truths.
That’s where Little Kids Rock comes in.
The nonprofit organization, founded in 1996 by former California elementary school teacher David Wish, has equipped more than 100,000 students in 10 states with free instruments, including the group at Jean Childs Young who cradled their acoustic guitars and basses with care.
In Atlanta, there are 23 LKR representatives in 21 schools throughout the city and DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties, with expectations to expand statewide.
During the Jean Childs Young gathering, Radin, 36, whose sensitive songs have populated TV series such as “Scrubs,” “Brothers & Sisters” and “American Idol,” led the class through a strum-and-sing-along of “Brand New Day” from his current album, “The Rock and the Tide.”
As Radin walked the kids through the chord progressions, Erik Herndon, the orchestra director and guitar instructor at Jean Childs Young and an Atlanta ambassador for LKR, stood nearby with this own guitar, spiritedly playing along.
Herndon is an energetic emissary for LKR because he has seen its benefits in the classroom.
“[This program] has empowered my students to explore their creativity, self-expression and passion for music,” Herndon said. “Imagine a classroom where students are just as comfortable interpreting Alicia Keys as they are Bach or jamming out on Beatles songs before band and orchestra classes.”
For years, arts and music education programs nationwide have been gutted, making organizations such as LKR, which functions with the support of donors and honorary board members such as Bonnie Raitt and Paul Simon, vital to the survival of music education.
Last summer, the Fulton County Board of Education voted to convert its band and orchestra programs into fee-based after-school programs, while the Georgia Council for the Arts’ state funding is being cut by about $200,000 in Gov. Nathan Deal's proposed fiscal 2012 budget.
That’s the kind of bad news that prompted Radin to get involved with LKR, joining a parade of artists including Carlos Santana, Kris Allen, Rick Springfield, Gene Simmons, Stefan Lessard of the Dave Matthews Band and Brad Delson of Linkin Park.
“I love hanging out with kids and trying to get them to be more creative. I know that schools have to teach math and science and that the arts are what gets cut first. But if everyone does something small, it could make a difference,” said Radin, a former art teacher in his native Cleveland.
His appearance at Jean Childs Young marked the first LKR stop on Radin’s current tour. He plans to pop into other classrooms throughout his national road trek, which extends to mid-March.
While in front of the students at the Atlanta school, Radin explained his unconventional music path -- an appearance at an open-mic night in New York turned into a standing gig, which led to key industry introductions and a record deal.
“I never had a teacher. I just put my fingers on places on the guitar and hoped it sounded good,” he said, then glanced at Herndon. “Be thankful you have a teacher to teach you this stuff now.”
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