(drumsticks pattering) (drums beating rhythmically) (cymbals crashing) (percussionists chanting) (drums beating rhythmically) - Well, drumline is, so if you have a band with all the instruments, saxophone, trumpets, tuba, all that good stuff, drumline is just the portion without all of that, and it's just the drums.

(drums beating rhythmically) Peoria Manual High School Drumline is what we are, and then our kind of identity is Southside still.

- Who are we?

S-T, double E, L, woo!

Who are we?

S-T, double E, L, Steel, woo!

Who are we?

S-T, double E, L, woo!

- Our drumline, Southside Steel is a percussion organization.

We aim to have fun while playing drums.

That's basically what we do, having fun and inspiring others while doing it, while also gaining life skills.

(drums beating rhythmically) (cymbals crashing) (percussionists chanting) - Three years ago, I came and wanted to build something that kids could remember.

I was on a couple of drum lines throughout my time as a youth.

And then, eventually, when I got here, everything that I learned from back then, I wanted to take what was given to me, which was a lot of experiences, and I wanted to be able to do the same thing for kids of today.

(drums beating rhythmically) So I got started here by a random text message.

(laughs) I was working previously at Best Buy, and one day, randomly, the previous percussion instructor, he texted me one day and was like, "Hey, I'm going back to college.

You want to take over?"

I was like, "Of course."

(bright music) (drums beating rhythmically) Where we started at was a place of kids not knowing a lot about drums, just technical stuff, know how to read music, very basic elements.

- With Terrell, he taught us how to hold sticks.

You would think that people teach you how to hold your sticks.

They didn't teach me how to do that, how to read music, rudiments, just a bunch of things that you would need to be a good drummer.

I was in drumline my freshman year, but he wasn't here.

So, he got here my sophomore year, and I got to watch and help build what we have now.

He came in, he was like, "Okay, "I'm gonna get you playing in like a month."

And I'm like, "Oh cool."

- He's a pretty good teacher, honestly, one of the best teachers I've had.

He helps you with time management, helps you with planning, organizing, life skills, a lot, he helps you with a lot.

- We've been able to go from a place of, "We don't know what we're doing," to, "Now we're able to talk about the whys "of everything that we're doing and connect the dots," and show them, hey, it's more than just drumming.

Drumming's fun, but what skills did we develop?

So that way, when you're done with the drumming phase, what do you have left over?

It was more so like, "Hey, let's show you what's even possible."

You know, you can get a full ride scholarship if you know how to take these two pieces of wood and move them fast enough.

I tell them all the time, "Drumline is one of the best ways "to prepare and practice life."

(drums beating rhythmically) (cymbals crashing) - We perform for very diverse crowds all the time.

We just did, we've done elementary schools, preschools, nursing homes.

We've done basketball games.

We played at a wedding recently.

And being able to reach out to all of those different people is very, I, I enjoy it, and I appreciate it.

(drums beating rhythmically) (cymbals crashing) - [Terrell] The kids have made an insane amount of progress.

There are students that in just two short years are already playing on par with college-level kids.

- We've been to Lincoln University, which is down in Missouri, about twice.

I'm thinking, you know, the experience, it's gonna be hard, but with Terrell, you know, he's actually preparing us for this early.

So we went down there, you know, we actually played with their band and marched with them.

I can definitely see a big improvement.

Like I was, you know, real rowdy in middle school.

I came in, you know, it changed.

- Drumline gives me purpose.

I come in and I'm able to work on myself just like practicing.

I practice at home all the time.

That's one thing.

That's the reason why I got to be as good as I am now is because going home I have to be disciplined.

Okay, I don't wanna watch TV right now.

Well, maybe I do, but I know I gotta practice, and I gotta learn these parts, 'cause I got people counting on me.

We're a family and even when times is tough, rough, maybe we messing up, maybe we got a lot of stuff going on, it's still having that sense of family and connection with everybody.

(upbeat music continues) - [Terrell] First and foremost, is that what we do wouldn't be possible without the amazing support staff that we have at Peoria Manual High School, and that starts with Dr.

Hawks, and then it trickles down from there.

Having a great staff behind what we do is super important.

- [Sarai] I love seeing the impact that I have on people and my peers too.

- You don't have to know how to read music.

You don't have to know how to play a drum.

You don't have to dance.

You can come in, and we'll teach you everything, and get as good as us.

- And I encourage all of y'all to get out there and join drumline, because it will help you in ways that you won't even see until maybe 10, 20 years from now.

Or maybe you do see it now, but it's definitely gonna help.

(drums beating rhythmically) - Southside... - [All] Steel!