Vol. 18, No. 30	May 6, 1999

From his suit and his job title, one would never guess that Dale Trusheim, associate director of institutional research and planning, has had another career in a rock band where a tie and slacks would have been a definite fashion faux pas. But, for two years after he graduated from Washington College with a degree in Spanish, this UD administrator was the drummer in Libra, a Baltimore-area rock band.

"The typical 'gig' in those days was one week at a club where you worked six nights straight," he said, thinking back more than 20 years. "Sometimes we might be in the same place for two weeks, and every once in awhile we'd get a booking that lasted for a whole month.

"We were a fairly successful band in those days, and I don't remember having that much time off. It seemed like we were always working and the money was pretty good for the early '70s."

Though his full-time music career ended quickly, and he decided to pursue both a master's and doctoral degree in the sociology of education, he has continued to perform regularly with other bands.

Currently, Trusheim plays drums for the local three-piece band, Fat Shadow, and concert percussion for the Chesapeake Silver Cornet Brass Band, a 35-member ensemble. Some of his recent performances have included an appearance at Baltimore's Inner Harbor, at the '98 Washington College Alumni Weekend, at the brass band festival at Montclaire State University and at the Bay Bridge Swim last year, plus numerous fundraisers and private parties.

His passion for the drums, he said, began when he was in elementary school, but it was officially sparked when he saw the Beatles' debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. "I said to myself, 'Hey that looks like fun.'"

His beginnings weren't very promising though, Trusheim admitted, recalling his first neighborhood band which was made up of four acoustic guitars, the drums and a clarinet.

"What could we have been playing?" Trusheim asked, referring to the odd combination of instruments. "I would give my right arm to hear a tape. I don't even think we knew how to tune."

From that beginning, Trusheim went on to play in several bands, such as his college bands, Oracle and Henry.

"One of the fun things about being in a band is that you get to decide on a name," he said, "but those weren't some of the better ones."

In addition to the Beatles' performance, Trusheim said his drumming was influenced by Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham.

"I remember the first time I heard him," Trusheim said. "We were at the guitar player's house, and we put the album on. We were convinced that Bonham had double bass drums because the only way you could play the bass drum parts on the first Led Zeppelin album had to be with double bass drums. Then we found out he was doing it with one.

"I still really enjoy listening to him -- just his virtuosity. When you listen to it, there is nothing you would change, nothing you would add or take away. He just plays perfectly."

Having played in cover bands, which don't play original music, Trusheim said he now enjoys being in Fat Shadow, which delivers a mix of rock and blues with some jazz. The group plays 60 to 80 percent original songs written by Scott Woolever, AS '83M.

Trusheim and Woolever have performed together sporadically since the 1970s before rejoining in Fat Shadow.

"It's interesting to come back to the songs now, 20 years later with some of the new technologies," Trusheim said. "Where we used to do the songs with five or six members in the band, the technology now allows just the two of us to do all of the music. It's pretty much just Scott, me and a singer."

Some crazy things have happened during his performances, he said, recalling one Christmas party when a guest wanted to sit in with his band during a couple of songs.

"The guy wanted to play Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'Pride and Joy' and the Allman Brothers' 'Whipping Post.' We thought it was a little strange considering the formal atmosphere of the party, but we played it anyway," Trusheim said. "Everyone was wearing tuxedos and gowns, but they started jumping up and down and dancing. Those are the kind of memorable, fun things that can happen."

Other performances can be humbling though, like the time when Trusheim's band opened for the group Sea Level at an Ocean City, Md., auditorium.

"It was a Thursday night, I had just finished classes, and I rushed down to Ocean City," he recalled. "I didn't have time to set up or do a sound check. It wasn't one of my best performances, but I didn't really worry about it until the main band came on.

"The drummer for that band was Joe English, who played for Paul McCartney, and he was unbelievable. He made me look like I'd just picked up my first sticks; that guy was so good. It made me realize that I should have done better, and I try to keep that lesson in the back of my head. It was that kind of embarrassing moment when you realize you never know who could be listening. It's like playing sports, you have to give 100 percent as soon as the whistle blows."

Though many of his coworkers may not know that he is an avid drummer, there are a few clues that give him away: for instance, the way he inadvertently taps his pen on a desk or the way his leg bounces to an unheard rhythm.

Like many drummers, Trusheim said he finds himself keeping the beat wherever he is, trying to figure out certain patterns.

"Absent-mindedly I start drumming, shaking tables," he said. "It's just kind of an unconscious reaction."

Though his experience with his professional band is a fond memory for him, Trusheim said the lifestyle wasn't very family-friendly. He and his wife Mary Ellen, who sings in the UD Choral Union, have a daughter and a son, both active in their school bands.

"There were no employee benefits," he said. "You had to be ready to live in a hotel in the middle of Michigan for two weeks on a moment's notice, and you would play songs like 'Proud Mary' six nights a week for six months. For me it was fun, but it got pretty old.

"It was definitely not the kind of career that would allow me to enjoy and support a family, but I would never trade those memories and experiences," he said. "Had I not done it, I think in the back of my mind I would have always wondered what it would have been like. Now I know."

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