WVCSD Artist of the Week: Raymond “RJ” Curtis

Not many drummers could claim a full decade’s worth of experience by the time they reach fifth grade, but Warwick Valley Middle School’s Raymond “RJ” Curtis can.

RJ received his first drum set before he could walk, and the story of how he got it has become family legend. As an infant, RJ had a habit of banging on everything in sight, including the family TV, which sustained some damage at one point. RJ’s dad, surveying that damage, came to a reasonable conclusion and solution.

"He says [the TV] was his fault because he wasn't watching me," RJ said with a smile. “After that, he got me a brand-new drum set, and that's how I started playing the drums at one year old."

Ten years later, that preventive investment clearly paid off. RJ wrapped up his first year at middle school with gratitude and enthusiasm for his teachers, his classes, and, maybe most of all, for getting to jam out with the Guitar Club for the first time!

A peak moment happened back in January, when he played drums during the club's 30th anniversary concert, providing the beat for covers of Taylor Swift's "You Belong with Me" and the classic rock staple "I Fought the Law."

Following that knock-out performance, RJ was a featured performer at the school's spring band concert, playing the drums on 'Let's Go Band!’, and that was only part of his night; he also sang with the chorus and played the trumpet.

Audience members kept asking him the same question: How long have you been playing? His decade of experience surprised everyone.

"People wanted to take pictures with me," he said. "I was really happy."

RJ thanks WVMS music teacher Ryan Muehlbauer for recognizing his abilities and giving him the opportunity to shine during his first year at middle school. But, as much as RJ has loved finding his groove at the middle school, his musical education began long before he set foot in the building; generations before, in fact.

His family's musical story begins with RJ's great-grandmother, a woman of deep faith who loved music and passed both on to her son, RJ's grandfather, Richard Curtis.

"She loved music," RJ said. "She passed it down to her son, who is my grandpa. And he passed it to my dad and his siblings."

That next generation became known as the Richard Curtis Singers. RJ's dad, aunts, and uncles started singing when they were just two and three years old, performing at churches with their father, Richard Curtis, guiding the way.

"They'd be singing every single day," RJ said. "They said it was a lot of work, but it was worth it. And I think it was worth it, too."

When the next generation of family musicians, the one RJ is a part of, was ready for the stage, Richard Curtis gave the new ensemble a name that honored exactly who they are to him: The Grand Band, named for his grandchildren. The lineup is all cousins, and RJ sits right in the middle of it. Two younger bandmates are still in elementary school, while some older members are college-age.

RJ's role as drummer has its own legacy story. For years, an older cousin anchored the kit while RJ held down the bongos. When that cousin headed off to college, RJ assumed his current seat on the drum throne. RJ isn't the only Grand Band member making a name for himself at school, either. His cousin and bandmate Leland White, who plays the keyboard, was also recognized this year as an Artist of the Week, and RJ is quick to sing his praises.

"He knows a lot of music," RJ said. "If you write a note on the board, he will learn it in a snap."

The Grand Band performs regularly at churches and live events, and just recently, RJ was behind the kit for a live television appearance, where, once again, amazed audience members wanted to know: ‘How did you get that good?’

Along with his love of the drums, RJ stays busy expanding his musical range. He already plays bass, piano, trumpet, and bongos, and says his goal is just to keep on getting better at all of them, all the time. His favorite musical style is jazz, with a little rock and roll mixed in, and his favorite musician is Jonathan "Sugarfoot" Moffett, the drummer behind some of Michael Jackson's most iconic pockets, including "Billie Jean" and "Beat It."

"[Sugarfoot] has a YouTube channel with all those songs," RJ said about the drummer’s instructional videos, which he has learned a lot from. "I've been watching every drumming clip."

While he still has a few years left in middle school and then high school, RJ has given some early thought to what his future may hold. Foremost, he is excited to keep on making music at Warwick Valley, and, beyond that, he is keeping his options open, with two ideas for future endeavors that keep the family tradition close.

"I want to be a drummer when I grow up," he said, “or a preacher. I have different things in mind."

As much as RJ loves the opportunities to perform that being a Warwick Valley middle schooler has afforded him, he also shared that, simply put, he just loves middle school! He spoke enthusiastically about his teachers, his classes, and the value of education.

"Our parents know stuff, but not as much as our teachers do. They've been here for, like, 22 years or 30 years," RJ said. "If we never had teachers, we wouldn't even know how to do the alphabet, or math, or science, social studies… any of that stuff!"

His favorite subject is science, thanks in part to a memorable experiment involving a soda bottle and a foaming chemical reaction early in the year. That experiment wowed RJ and significantly altered the view of the subject he’d formed in elementary school. It opened the door to a wide world of mysteries that has gotten RJ on science.

"You might think [science] is all about animals and stuff," he said, shaking his head. "But it's about other things, too. It’s, like, the Earth's core… You got the mantle; you got the outer core — I never knew any of that until fifth grade! Then, I wonder: how do you even know what the Earth's core is? Science is so cool; whenever you do science, it's always changing."

With everything RJ accomplished in his first year at middle school, he remains most proud of his family and the musical tradition they've kept alive, generation after generation. And, when asked if there was anyone he'd like to thank, RJ pointed straight to the top of the family tree.

"I'm proud of my grandpa's mother for doing that for us," he said. "Because if she wasn't a musician, we would just be gamers all day."

RJ, who has been an inspiration to many of his school bandmates, encourages his peers to stay confident in their goals, even when others doubt them.

"Always stay strong," RJ said. "My family always says to always do the stuff you want to achieve in your life. Always have wisdom in your heart and always have grace."