It’s fair to say music is important to John Carroll. He is in his second year at Nichols Middle School as the band director. Outside of school, he pursues his passion on stage as a drummer for different bands, including the Evanston-born punk band, Verböten.
Originally from South Bend, Indiana, Carroll moved to Chicago to attend Northeastern Illinois University. By the time he began college, he had already toured in Europe and Canada as a musician. Once his touring days were over, he made the practical decision to pursue an educational degree in music.
“I knew that I wanted to study music, so I kind of did the best of both worlds, you know,” Carroll said.”I was able to play music, but I didn’t believe that it was sustainable for me to try to be a professional musician. I didn’t have that drive. I’m more of a practical person, so I went for the education route.”
Carroll has been teaching music for 17 years in the Chicago area and has been a member of District 65 for 11 years. He devotes most of his time to teaching, yet he also devotes time to playing drums for Mucca Pazza, Paper Mice and 88 Fingers Louie.
He said balance is key to being a drummer in multiple bands and placing a boundary with his full-time job. It’s something he is still working on, but is important to maintain during the school year.
“I try to divide my time evenly,” Carroll said. “If they’re all on at the same time, I would not be able to do it. Teaching at Nichols is my full-time job. That demands all of my energy. If every band is playing gigs and I’m trying to teach, I don’t think that I would be able to handle it.”
He said weekends and summer break are ideal times for playing. Yet, he does make occasional exceptions including opening for Iggy Pop at The Salt Shed in Chicago during spring break. He also felt it was right to join another band when asked by Evanston musician Jason Narducy.
Joining Verböten was a complete coincidence, as was being at the right place at the right time. The two met through a mutual friend at Electrical Audio studio in Chicago as Narducy was looking for a drummer. Carroll was recommended for his time as the drummer of Paper Mice and also working close to where Jason lives. Coincidentally, Nichols Middle School was where original band members Chris Kean and Zack Kantor attended.
Although Carroll has never met Kantor, he knows he gave the band his blessing to find a new drummer. Despite an already busy schedule, he knew that joining Verböten was a good decision and could sense Narducy’s passion for bringing the band back together.
“It was one of those things where I knew Jason and his work and I knew that I would regardless make time [for] whatever was going to come of this. I wanted to make time for it because it sounded really cool and it sounded like a good opportunity.”
Verböten’s first show in more than 40 years was at Riot Fest last September. The irony of their first show together being at a major festival instead of a small club wasn’t lost on the band. Carroll recalls the excitement to take the stage with his newest band.
“We were just so excited and really grateful to be playing on that stage,” he said. “I mean, we played on the same stage as Beck and St. Vincent. For our first show, it was very special. I mean, it’s also kind of surreal because we were on this huge stage for our first show.”
Carroll played drums on their first official album, which came out last year. Knowing the history of the band that formed when the members were between 11 and 14, Carroll knows that music can impact people at a young age. Now that he teaches middle-school students, he feels honored to guide them on their musical journey.
He shared a group of eighth grade students even started their own jazz band, which he said is a special thing to see.
“It’s what you could hope for, you know. You help the kids in their development, and then when they want to do their own thing, that’s all you could ask for. You’re like, ‘Okay, I helped them, you know, with some structure’, but then they take it upon themselves to [start a band] just like Verböten did.”
He has discussed his drumming, but only with his older students. He shared a video of him playing drums with Verböten earlier this year to give a snippet of what he did that weekend. He said students think it’s cool, or they’re at least polite about it if they don’t like the genre of music.
“I think they all know that I’m passionate about what we’re doing in class,” Carroll said. “You know, it’s not just a thing I’m trying to push on them. I’m pretty serious about the love of performing [music].”
The opportunity to meet his musical inspirations like Iggy Pop and Frank Black still feel surreal to him. Although it can be challenging to balance his different worlds, Carroll feels grateful he can do both and share his passion for music on stage and in the classroom.
“I just kind of take it all in. I don’t try to lose my cool over it, but I definitely know that it’s special and I just want to enjoy every minute. I feel very lucky.”
His next goal: playing a show with Dave Grohl.
Nichols Middle School band director rocks out on stage is from Evanston RoundTable, Evanston's most trusted source for unbiased, in-depth journalism.