Numerous global rock stars have become Coachella Valley residents, but one is taking his love for the desert a step further—by starting music-education programs for local elementary schools.
Matt Sorum, drummer extraordinaire most notable for his time in Guns N’ Roses, is the co-founder of Adopt the Arts, a nonprofit that provides music education to elementary schools. Since 2010, the organization has been aiding schools in the Los Angeles area, but beginning this semester, Adopt the Arts is coming to the Palm Springs Unified School District. Agua Caliente, Bubbling Wells, Della S. Lindley and Vista Del Monte elementary schools will be the first in the desert to experience a diverse music curriculum led by a rock legend. The education program will come at no cost to these desert schools.
“I just love Palm Springs,” Sorum said at a recent press conference. “I came here to the Colony Palms Hotel to write an album, and I felt that desert energy. I felt that vibe that a lot of artists gravitate to here. In the ’30s, all the great entertainers came to Palm Springs, and into the ’60s with the Rat Pack, and now I feel there’s a new wave. A lot of my musician friends are moving here. My neighbor is the bass player from AC/DC. He wasn’t when he moved here, but now he is. The Foo Fighters drummer lives here, Josh Freese, and he wasn’t the drummer of Foo Fighters when he moved here.”
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer took the time to explain how Adopt the Arts is not your average rock school.
“My mother was the music supervisor for the (Saddleback Valley Unified School District), so I grew up around music,” Sorum said. “My mother was a classically trained pianist; she played church organ, and my grandfather was a professor of music at Long Beach State University, where I was born, so I was around that, and I looked to my mom as sort of a real inspiration. I’m presenting Adopt the Arts about building a big band, and I’ve been in a lot of bands and been very successful somehow. I look at this like building a great band.”
Elementary schools have been the only focus for Adopt the Arts for a number of reasons.
“The reason I do public schools K-6 is because, for me, it’s (the) formative years,” Sorum said. “When I was a kid, I grew up in public schools in Orange County, and I had music. That came and went with Proposition 13. For me, this is about not creating the next great musician, but creating the next great innovator, next great creator, visionary. I get emotional when I think about it, because my life has taken me around the world … and now I’m here in front of you because of music, and I’m just grateful, and I’m really excited.”
Sorum said Adopt the Arts teaches kids to work together.
“What I learned from being in a band was collaboration, having an open mind, and being willing to try ideas,” he said. “I want to work with these school teachers who are amazing already on their own to help build the greatest band together. I just want these kids to have all the tools possible to achieve their goals.”
Sorum introduced Tony Signoret, the PSUSD superintendent, at the press conference.
“What really sold us on this is not only the fact that they’re supporting the program with resources, but really, the sincerity of Matt and the difference he wants to make in the lives of our kids, and that he wants to sustain this program,” Signoret said. “This isn’t one shot and you’re done. We want to see this program grow and continue to expand these opportunities for all of our kids at some point in the near future. Getting that passion from Matt and his team and understanding how they’re going to bring those resources to our kids is really the selling point.”
Following the press conference, Sorum had time for a short interview. He walked me through the four main elements of focus in the Adopt the Arts curriculum.
“For me, this is about not creating the next great musician, but creating the next great innovator, next great creator, visionary.”
Adopt the Arts founder Matt Sorum
Ukulele: “I don’t want to disparage any musical instrument whatsoever—they’re all good—but I feel like kids can wrap their heads around the ukulele based on the fact that it’s an open tuning. I tried guitars in my program, and six strings, getting it in tune, and all that kind of thing was demanding.”
Keyboard: “Keyboards is a no-brainer. That’s the bed of all music as far as scales and learning basic chord structure, and we’ve got a really great partnership with Casio. I’ve been working with Casio … and they make keyboards that are really kid-friendly.”
Percussion: “The drums is an obvious thing for me, but part of the percussion thing that we teach is cultural as well. They’re learning a little bit more about other countries through the drum, and through the music and the curriculum, you’ll see African percussion, Latin percussion, Native American, and then into modern beat, and how it all kind of crosses. It’s really a good part of the day where they can collaborate together through rhythm, and be together in a unit, making noise. When you play drums in a circle, there’s nothing bad that can happen, so everyone’s good, and they feel good about doing it.”
Voice: “Voice is something I came up with. It’s just another part of the day where kids get together in harmony to work as a group. It’s not competitive. Sure, you want to excel—you want to be good—but you strive to be good with the other kids who are singing alongside you, and I think when you’re in a group like that, you want to elevate yourself.”
Sorum said Adopt the Arts will help students beyond just giving them a musical education.
“I came up (in music) at a time when you had to be at a certain level to even get in the door, so that was something that set the bar,” Sorum said. “I feel like there’s a little bit of that in Adopt the Arts, to be the best you can be. Let’s give you the information, then take from it what you will and become the next great creator, the next innovator, the next president at Google, but you learned it through learning how to create. This is a whole different facet of my life than when I was the big rock ’n’ roll guy in the big band. I still play music, but this is just as much of a passion for me. … I say to people, ‘This isn’t a rock ’n’ roll school; this isn’t about making a bunch of rock bands. It’s more diverse than that.’”
Adopt the Arts is able to keep programs free to schools because of great fundraising concerts and events featuring rock icons. Moving forward, the organization also has support from philanthropic group Stand Together.
“For these kinds of projects, you have to fund. We did good work in L.A.—and we still do good work in L.A.—but now, we’ve got great support from a group called Stand Together, who believed in the vision, and that’s going to sustain us,” Sorum said. “We’re going to obviously do fundraising and get more people involved and build this, but it does take money. I feel it’s a great investment in the community and the people, and we’re here to elevate and help support and build it up, and put a bit of voice on it.”
For more information, visit adoptthearts.org.
Updated to correct the school district where Matt Sorum’s mother worked.