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Many people, including students, got their hair cut during the month solely to contribute to the cause. "School band departments always having budget problems and they always having fundraisers just to do simple things like take the band on a trip or get new instruments, so I wanted to give back to the Parker community," says Shapiro.
He understands firsthand the importance of music in one's life. His parents made him play two years of piano before he was even allowed to get his first drum set. He says it was the best thing they could have done for him. In school, he picked up the saxophone in addition to the drums because his band director encouraged everyone to be as well rounded as possible. He participated in school band programs in both high school and college. Shapiro is currently the drummer in a local cover band, Groove 22, which covers artists like Katy Perry, Maroon 5 and Bruno Mars.
A good music program teaches kids discipline, structure, and responsibility, says Shapiro. "You are part of a team. If you don't fulfill your duty during a certain song everyone's going to know you didn't practice. You're bringing down the entire band because you didn't do what you're obligated to do which is to rehearse and sound good and do your best." It requires hard word, and Shapiro says, it works all the sections of your brain at the same time. Being part of a band also forms a community and a sense of family. Shapiro already knew the band kids before he started college. "The only people in the dorms that met before college were athletes and musicians."
He plans on making the fundraiser at Roosters of Parker an annual event.
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