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"We're seeing now more than ever a drive in the American workplace toward greater teamwork and team-building, not only in the boardroom but also in the formation of corporate bands," said Joe Lamond, President and CEO of NAMM, the international trade association for the music products industry. "These are groups of individuals who work hard together and then at the end of the day, they're picking up musical instruments to blow off steam, develop stronger relationships and have fun."

Music has often been shown to encourage the development of interpersonal communications skills, enhanced problem-solving capabilities and a greater ability to work as a team. Additionally, making music is now becoming a more heavily integrated part of the work/life balance as many companies look to bolster morale and encourage creative thinking.

"More than 82 percent of people who don't currently play an instrument wish they did," said Lamond. "That number is astounding; what we've learned with the abundance of new corporate bands emerging is that people are realizing later in life that it's never too late to pursue a passion or try something completely new. Corporate bands are bringing together people of all ages, backgrounds and talent levels, acting as a successful retention tool for companies and an added benefit for employees."

As members of the latest corporate bands prepare for retirement, there is no sign of slowing down. There has been an increase in music-making among baby boomers and according to a recent Harris Poll funded by NAMM, more than 40 percent in this category believe playing an instrument has helped reduce stress.

More than 35 percent of people claim to lack natural talent to play and that prevents them from learning. NAMM has created a program called Wanna Play? geared entirely toward changing the perception that you have to be a classically trained musician to enjoy the benefits of playing music. From age 5 to 85, people are picking up instruments to bond with friends, family and colleagues and the health benefits are music to their ears.

"Playing music with my colleagues has definitely helped to bring us together and make our band a more tight-knit unit at the office," said Sarah Greene, an executive at Boston-based Enernoc who makes music with her colleagues in the corporate band, Enerock. "We work hard all day and making music together helps us have a little fun and unwind."

NAMM's Wanna Play? Campaign

NAMM's nationwide Wanna Play? campaign is dedicated to increasing awareness of the proven benefits of playing musical instruments for people of all ages. Since the campaign's launch in November 2006, more than 24 million people have heard the message of why it is important to play music through national public relations efforts by the association. In addition, Wanna Play? has the support of 34 celebrities so far, including campaign ambassador Gavin DeGraw, Ashlee Simpson, Taylor Swift, Robert Downey Jr., John Taylor, and The Band from TV. For more information and to get involved, interested parties can visit www.wannaplaymusic.com.

About NAMM

NAMM is the not-for-profit association that unifies, leads and strengthens the $17 billion international musical instruments and products industry. NAMM's activities and programs are designed to promote music making to people of all ages. NAMM is comprised of approximately 9,000 Member companies. For more information about NAMM or the proven benefits of making music, interested parties can visit www.namm.org or call 800-767-NAMM (6266).

SOURCE: NAMM

SABC News Release

The world was in attendance via satellite television for what was revered to be the most elaborate opening ceremonies in history last Friday. Among the acts, Drum Cafe's interactive performance team was proud to lead in atheletes from South Africa's olympic and paralympic teams. 

"Nothing brings together a crowd like the sound of rhythmic drumming; it really helped to build excitement and anticipation for the audience and the athletes. Our message has always been to unite, uplift and inspire, and it was great to be a part of the ultimate representation of that; the opening ceremonies for an olympic games. It was a very magical experience for all who attended, and viewed the event on television" says Danny Aaron, from Drum Cafe. 

Rahul Nanda's favourite beat!

Last night, some of the best body art you could imagine was on display at the Italian Cultural Centre in Vancouver.

Dominelli International College of Esthetics presented its 14th annual body art competition at a banquet to benefit the British Columbia Professional Fire Fighters' Burn Fund.

Models spent many hours beforehand being painted by the artists. Each artist chose a country, and tried to highlight its culture, language, and even widlife and geographic components.

The winner was Samantha Rae, who made model Regina Bair look like a Masai warrior, complete with a spear and traditional head gear. It was stunning to say the least.

Rae, a professional body painter since 2002, has worked in film and television, and won the Dominelli competition last year.

The second-place finisher was Lucie Brouillard, who painted Spain on model Nicole Pilich. Brouillard, who won the national body-art championship in Calgary on May 2, featured a spectacular Spanish guitar across Pilich's chest and stomach.

The third-place contestant was Jennifer Little, who painted Canada on the body of model Sky Foletto. Little's design included an impressive Inukshuk on Foletto's back. So far there haven't been any lawsuits filed by Vanoc for violating any Olympic trademarks.

Live entertainment included performances by baila vancouver, Harbour Dance jazz dancers, and Drum Cafe, which got the crowd roaring with its interactive performance.

The judging panel was chaired by renowned hair designer Richard Jeha.

So you had Anil Deshmukh, Roopkumar Rathod, Suhas Awchat, Divya Palat and Aditya Hitkari all playing the drums and Ashmit Patel dancing like no-one was watching. But, well, everybody was! And while Viren Shah drummed along, Brinda Parekh did the same on Viren’s head!

Donna Burkhalter - Employee of HEB who attended the conference

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FedEx Employees in San Antonio Find Rhythm Working Together.

Byline: Sanford Nowlin 

Feb. 3--It's a not-so-quiet morning at the Westin Riverwalk hotel as a group of 130 FedEx employees files into one of its ballrooms. 

The floor shakes as nine musicians in intricately decorated dashikis pound out an infectious rhythm on an array of African drums. 

A few of the FedEx workers -- visiting San Antonio for a sales conference -- tentatively try to replicate the beats on African djembe hand drums resting on each of their chairs.

Others, still clutching their morning cups of coffee, simply look confused as they move the carved wooden drums aside and take their seats. 

Eventually, one of the percussionists runs to the front of the room and like a hybrid of Tony Robbins and Tito Puente leads the group through a series of drum exercises that are as much about building corporate teamwork as they are keeping time. 

"We're going to learn a little bit about listening today," says Michael Enderle, the man working the crowd, as he slaps the djembe slung over his shoulder. "We're going to learn how to share space and how to create space." 

Within 75 minutes of the program's start, FedEx staffers are enthusiastically thumping along with the drummers at the front of the room and dancing in a circle as Enderle urges them to apply the lessons they learned to their daily work. 

As Enderle brings the session to a close, they give his group a standing ovation. Several come to the front of the room to plunk down $125 to buy the drums they played. 

Drum Cafe, the company owned by Enderle and business partner Dale Monnin, has been staging such events around San Antonio for about a year. It's among a growing number of groups worldwide that use drumming to bolster corporate training, relieve stress and promote health. 

"You can explain a concept to someone or have them read about it, and that's one thing," said Enderle, who spent 20 years in human resources at companies like Sony and Clarke-American. "But when the person actually experiences that 'boom!' -- the unity of everyone hitting the beat on the one -- they get it. They really understand." 

Enderle and Monnin have used Drum Cafe events to help companies teach lessons in diversity, team-building and leadership. Just a year old, the company now is working 15 to 20 such engagements a month. 

And in a sign that drum circles aren't just for the dreadlocks-and-patchouli crowd anymore, its clients include SBC Communications Inc., Motorola and World Savings & Loan, in addition to local hospitals and schools. 

Enderle and Monnin meet with clients before staging their drumming events to find out what training messages they want to incorporate. They then tailor their program to fit the client's objectives. 

A session aimed at improving leadership skills might allow group members to take turns directing beats and tempos, for example. One aimed at diversity might focus on the unifying power of making music together. 

About half of its corporate customers are from outside San Antonio and retain the company to work conventions, meetings and training sessions here. 

"Being in San Antonio, we realized the kind of convention and conference market there was here," said Monnin, who holds an international business MBA. "It turned out to be a good advantage for us." 

Drum Cafe operates as an affiliate of a South African company of the same name. Its parent has been using drumming as a teaching tool for seven years, conducting events in 16 countries. 

Monnin caught the drumming bug when he was working for a software firm in South Africa in the late '90s. It was there that he met Drum Cafe founder Warren Lieberman and began working with African percussion instruments. 

"It was a powerful experience," Monnin said. "I got all sorts of ideas about taking it with me when I left." 

He and Enderle met in 2000 at a Dallas percussion workshop and discovered they both were interested in combining drumming with corporate training. Both were living in San Antonio at the time, and joining their business interests made sense. 

So far, South Texas seems to be taking to the company's South African concept. 

Jim Dreher, World Savings' national training director, has hired Drum Cafe twice since November to help conduct training exercises at the company's West San Antonio corporate campus. It's got two more sessions in the pipeline. 

"At first (their program) is a little intimidating for our employees because we're bankers and we tend to be a bit stodgy," he said. "Then they start getting into it and realize, 'hey, this is kind of fun." Afterwards, they're talking about it and laughing, and if they're doing that, you know you had a hit." 

The University of Texas at San Antonio hired Drum Cafe in December to provide teamwork and motivational training for 60 of its academic advisers. 

"We got a whole lot accomplished in a very fun way," Linda Chalmers, executive director of the university's adviser program, said. "People told me it really helped them understand our mission better. They felt like they were energized by the experience." 

Enderle and Monnin wouldn't say how much they charge clients for their programs, but people who have used the service said it can run several hundred dollars to several thousand, depending on how large and how long a session is. 

"I say that we're more expensive than mariachis and less expensive than George Strait," Enderle said. 

While Monnin and Enderle expect to quadruple Drum Cafe's sales this year over 2003, it wasn't easy at first to -- ahem -- drum up clients. 

That began to change after they held meetings with the San Antonio Convention and Visitors' Bureau, local resorts and meeting planners to make them aware of what they could offer companies holding conventions and meetings here. 

Rather than sitting across the table and passing out business cards at those meetings, the two brought drums and gave a hands-on demonstration of their services. 

"When we come in and show a disparate group of people how they can come together through the power of music, it's very effective," Monnin said. "If they see it works with their small group, they'll understand that it can work for that larger group of people they may be bringing to town." 

To see more of the San Antonio Express-News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.mysanantonio.com 

(c) 2004, San Antonio Express-News. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. 

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