Following the beat of an inspiring Kelowna musician

Christmas is perhaps the ideal time to highlight the efforts of a Kelowna drummer boy.

Well, to be clear, Zac Gauthier is no longer a boy, but his attitude to life and rhythm is now an inspiration to boys and girls across the area.

It took a while for him to find the perfect beat but now he's giving back and helping to build community in a very special way.

His passion for drumming drove him to pursue it professionally, with a goal of touring the world playing music. Despite his immense talent, landing that dream proved difficult, and he ended up falling back on landscaping to bolster his income.

But one day, he received a phone call that entirely changed the course of his life and musical career.

“I was in the frozen weeds, picking stuff off the ground and [my friend] said to me, ‘dude, I think you should teach drums.’ And I said, ‘I don’t want to teach drums, I’ve got nothing in me to teach, I just want to play the drums,’” he told Kelowna10. “But he convinced me to try out teaching, and he taught me how to teach, and then I started to fall in love with the idea of it.”

And that love grew even more once he secured his first couple of students.

That was eight years ago.

Today, Gauthier is the Academy Director of Bring the Noise Drum Academy (BTN) in Kelowna. Not only is it a place to teach aspiring musicians the art and skill of drumming, but the lessons go beyond that.

“I tell everybody who’s a new student, this is actually less about drums and more about spending time together, building community, making sure relationships are built, strong connections are made, that trust is established,” he explained. “And through the drums, we can express ourselves.”

His instruction has grown beyond private lessons to now also performing in schools, expanding his impact. He described the current pursuit as “winning the lottery.”

Drumming is like playing sports

Gauthier said playing the drums is not dissimilar to a sport: it involves lots of movement, tons of tactile expression by using the sticks, and can force you to dig deep to power through a song.

He said the fluid nature of drum playing is attractive to many kids, as it can be a simple and effective way to express themselves. There is an ease of teachability too.

“I can sit down with a student, and I can say copy me and I can play a rhythm, and they can repeat it instantly without ever having touched a drum set and that’s a connection right away,” he said. “Kids are naturally aggressive, they want to express themselves, they want to get their emotions out. The drums have a way of facilitating that for the kids.”

Found sounds

Imagination is also key to playing. And that’s where Gauthier’s talents truly shine.

At the academy, it's hard not to notice a particularly unusual drum set.

Alongside typical equipment like a hit, snare, and kick-drum are everyday household items like pots, pans, plastic jars, and paint buckets, known as 'found sounds.'

“I would go to Value Village with my drumsticks and just pound away on all these things until I found something I liked,” he said.

“It encompasses the idea that imagination is key. And that when you’re locking into imagination with these kids, you’re able to lock into something that’s very dear to them,” Gauthier said. “This drum set is a manifest of that idea of being creative, being imaginative, and encouraging them. When they see me play this, they can go home pull stuff out of their kitchen cupboards and start setting things up and making music.”

For those pursuing the art, he urges them to not get too caught up in the science behind drumming. He said drumming is like learning a language and is an ideal tool to simply express yourself without having to speak.

Beyond that, the skills required to play translate well into other aspects of life.

“Drumming is a phenomenal way to learn how to listen,” he explained. “I believe that drums and other instruments are a great way to learn to stop, play your part and then listen, and see what comes back to you.”