The Teacher

Jim Donovan Teaching

While still only in his 30s, Jim Donovan already had a lifetime of experiences behind him. He had studied under some of the most revered drummers in the world, been a creative force as part of a band that had developed a style of music all its own, and traveled the globe playing alongside some of the most recognized names in the industry.

Now a settled family man, he felt compelled to share with others all that he had learned and experienced.

He became a full time music instructor with the fine arts department of Saint Francis University, released a half dozen instructional DVDs on drumming, and was named Drum Circle Facilitator of the Year by Drum! Magazine.

But perhaps even more significant than actually teaching music, Jim Donovan also began developing unique ways of using music to teach.

“I know that my main work is to better myself and to help others better themselves, and so now I direct all that I create to that specific end. The more I work and live in this way, the more I grow as a result” he says.

Donovan joined forces with mentor Elie Kihonia to develop “Rhythm, Race, And The Transformation Of Fear“, an interactive diversity workshop that uses music and rhythm to spark dialogue about racial tensions and prejudice. Donovan and Kihonia provide their students with tools of empowerment, and to bestow upon them the skills they need to complete Donovan’s three pronged attack against prejudice: Confrontation, Engagement, and Education.

Another lecture series that he developed, “400,000 People, Carlos Santana & Me”, calls back to his experiences as a young musician that was thrust into the spotlight, with the aim of helping people overcome their own fears of failure and shortcoming.

Says Donovan in the lecture synopsis “You’re a young musician, and your band has been selected to go on tour with your all-time musical hero Carlos Santana. On the first day of the tour Carlos asks you to jam onstage with him in front of 30,000 people. You accept the invitation and then onstage you completely humiliate yourself… over and over again…”

While his various lectures, workshops, and seminars have him traveling again, it is not near the frenzied pace that he once endured while touring with Rusted Root. But still, he often finds himself in different surroundings, and it would be these opportunities Jim Donovan began using to drum the ecstatic.

Drum The Ecstatic International

Drum The Ecstatic International

Referring to Drum the Ecstatic International as a “band” may be something of a misnomer. Its definition, band: a group of musicians who perform together as an ensemble, is likely a better description than the word itself.

This group of musicians is the evolution of Donovan’s “hey wanna go play some music?” days of high school. A seemingly spontaneous jam session comprised of a varying cast of characters, this band is an informal gathering of people that have become along the way, a part of Jim Donovan’s life.

But a high school garage band it is not. Picking up where he left off with Rusted Root, Drum the Ecstatic International would become a unique cultural force of its own.