How I Feel

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How I Feel

Young minds, Old souls dept.

Dartanyan L. Brown

Jan 18, 2025

Transcript

After meeting the young man playing his metal heart out in the middle of downtown Des Moines, I resolved to dig in and find others who really wanted to join with others to explore sonic possibilities.

It wasn’t long before I encountered Tyreece Smith then a 14-year-old vocalist already singing for church services, and his cousin Dajene Brown who lived in the same E. 14th and Walker St. Lee Township neighborhood where I grew up. That once-vibrant area has never recovered from the 1963-4 upheaval wrought by the freeway’s path through the heart of that redlined neighborhood.

Tyreece and Dajene, a budding lyricist, wrote their song HOW I FEEL during our summer workshop. The song held great sincerity and an uncommon maturity that sometimes comes from those who don’t expect themselves to be that good….but they are. The really nice thing was that the entire group (guitarists, keyboardist, trumpet and saxophone players all helped Tyreece and Dajene to arrange the song. Great teamwork all from a group whose average age was 13!

Before long, I was volunteering to give Des Moines kids School of (Rock, Jazz, Blues, Country, Folk and Electronic) experiences which mirrored what I was already teaching my students in Northern California during the regular school year. North High school guitarist Victor Gomez told me straight up: "I want to play the Blues…NOT METAL!!..the Blues is what I want to learn. This from a high school freshman!

Victor was telling me what he wanted in no uncertain terms so while he got to work learning about Bluesmen Sun House and Michael Bloomfield, I met students Tyreece Smith and his cousin Dajene Brown. You will hear more from Victor in the ACCESS DENIED post linked below.

THIS is why I teach. I remember how great it was to have someone sit down and take the time to help me understand [insert subject]. Perhaps the greatest thing you can do for anyone is to take the time to help dispel some ignorance of the heart, the mind, the society.

I spent a portion of my summers from 2009 through 2013 here in Des Moines, doing my best to rekindle a sense of fun and achievement that has always been, and should always be, a part of the creative process.

One more word about teaching in Northern California 1996-2014: Marin county was then-home to musical, literary and digital artists across the spectrum. Our students heard World Music, Jazz, New Age, Blues, Electronic and acoustic singer-songwriters. Marin had them all and celebrated them all.

In our music classes at Marin Academy we nurtured young rock bands, jazz and classical ensembles and in the early 2000’s an acoustic revival of folk and even ukelele-centered little groups would spring up on campus. It was a great scene that drew value almost every form that was out there.

It was tough to come back to Des Moines and see kids who wanted to jam just hanging around with no one to plug them in. Rather than complain or be discouraged, I got to work. Thanks to help from then-first year Principal Matthew Smith we fixed that.

After two more years of summer sessions working with these young creative minds, It was an honor for me to set up my laptop recording studio in the East High band room in 2011 to capture some of the student work you’ll hear in this post. With the help of remote recording engineer, the late great Lee Bell, we pulled off a whirlwind 10-day blur of writing, practicing, arranging, recording and ultimately producing some great student-produced music.

Believe me, these Central Iowa kids from modest backgrounds are blessed with talent and creative instincts that I felt truly honored to uncover. I often wonder about how much we miss when we shut down opportunities for students to express themselves.

Band Room recording sessions for the student composition “How I Feel”

I felt compelled to volunteer in Iowa over those years because, frankly, I couldn’t just stand by while a vibrant interdisciplinary environment was being held back from them for reasons both political and resource-wise.

North High musician Megan Hanson working on her parts for How I Feel and Access Denied

I felt fortunate that I could bring something of value back to Iowa kids whose talents and creative ideas are no less dynamic then their West Coast counterparts. I was personally like a “kid in the candy store” working with Iowa youth who were there just waiting for someone to offer them an opportunity. An opportunity to express themselves and push themselves as a group to create something that didn’t exist before.

It was challenging, and not automatically evident that something great could happen, but as a teaching artist, I know that when you give kids an opportunity for self expression they will exploit it. That’s the heart of Rock’n Roll, man. It’s also the heart of learning.

Production notes: For the song HOW I FEEL, The students decided on a ‘traditional’ repeating four-chord progression [C Major progressing to A minor then to D ending on G] The horn players worked out their parts independently learning a lot about harmony and voicing. The lyrics, written by then-13-year-old Dajene Brown are the expressions of a much older spirit.

Now let’s head over to another RadioDartanyan episode to hear more from these young artists.

Workshop Leader Jaimeo Brown (center) with student musicians and their family members post concert North high School 2013

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