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Police, teachers, student join forces to make music Mail Tribune / Drew Fleming The D.A.R.E. band plays for elementary school students from Medford on Thursday afternoon during festivities at Emigrant Lake. Young student Abby Whitman, front right, got to play tambourine with the band during this number. By JILL BRISKEY When this band plays, don't expect to hear any rap music. Forget about heavy metal and punk - the band doesn't take requests. But this seven-member crew has pulled out all the stops for a group of 700 local sixth-graders celebrating their graduation from the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program this week. Wednesday, Thursday and today, the band - made up of four Medford cops, two teachers and one North Medford High School student - debuted at Jackson County D.A.R.E. Days in Ashland. Rogue Valley students who completed a 17-week D.A.R.E. course celebrated by watching police demonstrations, playing games and looking over law enforcement equipment at Emigrant Lake. Medford police D.A.R.E. officer Joe Ajhar was happy to bring along the unnamed band and provide the event's entertainment. Since you won't find the band playing in bars or pubs, Ajhar said D.A.R.E. Days provided the perfect venue for the group's brand of cop rock, which included upbeat oldies such as "Wild Thing," "Twist and Shout" and "Louie Louie." "The kids love it because we're a bunch of cops up here on stage playing," Ajhar said, adding that the group plans to play at other community policing oriented events. "We're just a garage band. We're doing this because it's fun." The group has been practicing out of Medford patrol officer Brandon Bloomfield's garage for about four months. "We just all kind of fell into this together," said Bloomfield, who plays electric bass. Talent isn't the driving force that holds these musicians together, Medford Officer Kim Sorrels admitted. "I'm not a good singer. I'm not a good player, but this is great," Sorrels joked. "It's a blast playing for these kids. That's why we're here." Medford community service officer Josh Clark, who plays guitar, and his wife Alisha Clark, a teacher who sings backup and plays the tambourine and maracas, agree with Sorrels' statements. "We're planning to play on (the television show) 'Unplugged,' " Josh Clark joked. "Yeah, because somebody wants to unplug us after hearing us play," Alisha Clarks added. Guitar player and North Medford student Ben Jennings said the band isn't quite ready to take requests from its audiences. "They ask if I can play Blink 182 or Metallica, stuff like that," Jennings said. "At this point, I have to say no." Thursday afternoon, the group recruited new talent. Sharing a microphone with Sorrels, Lone Pine sixth-grade student Abby Whitman was pulled on stage to sing "Twist and Shout" with the band. "They are so awesome. They're cool," Whitman said. "I've been singing for pretty much my whole life and I love it." Ajhar's wife Patricia, a school teacher who plays keyboards, said she enjoyed watching the kids dance and sing to the music. "It's for a great cause," she added. "These kids worked hard for this." Joe Ahjar, a 23-year veteran Medford cop, said he played in a band while growing up on the East Coast, and it made a difference in his life. "We were too busy playing music to get into trouble or do drugs," Ahjar recalled. "That's the positive message we're trying to get across here today." Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.