I figured I would put this here because this is a true testament to the power of music and having an awesome person behind teaching it to you. It also goes to show that one man can make a difference in this world for so many people.

I attended George Washington Preparatory High School from 1991-1995. In that time I was a trombonist with both the Marching Band and the Jazz Band. Our director, Fernando Pullum (pictured above, obviously) was always insistent that we take the lessons that we've learned from music into our everyday lives.

Considering that Washington High was in a bad neighborhood (South Central L.A.) and we were around at a time when gang violence was at a peak, Mr. Pullum always did what he could to distract us from that type of activity. He made sure that the band was performing on weekends, rehearsing after school and focused on making sure we had a song memorized instead of trying to remember which liquor store to rob -- it's amazing how many of my "friends" ended up down that path.

All of the hard work, dedication, attention to academics and detail that he instilled in us paid off royally. In those 4 years, I think I've seen more than most musicians see in their entire career. We had performed at the Hollywood Bowl, met celebs like Wesley Snipes, Bill Cosby, Angela Bassett, Stevie Wonder, Marla Gibbs, amongst others; Our marching band won 3 consecutive district championships and our jazz band had won the district championship all 4 years I was there. Things were taking off so much for the performing arts program that Jackson Browne had lent us his producer and recording studio so we could make a CD.

When we were getting ready to graduate, Mr. Pullum only asked of one thing in return: He wanted us to pay it forward. He wanted us to always be sure to help others get the best out of music or whatever topic it was that interest them. I guess it's that 4-year lesson that helped shaped how I am now in wanting to talk music and help others with Zune.

But for Fernando Pullum, things only got better after we graduated. To date 98% of the kids who have gone through his music program went on to college, he was featured on Oprah and given $50,000 in new instruments from Yamaha [Side Story: A fire nearly destroyed the high school band room, so Mr. Pullum had the band borrow instruments where they could. They did and ended up winning that year's district championship].

As a cherry on top and a true reflection of how awesome this guy is, there is now a Performing Arts School named after him. I have to honestly say that he has totally earned and deserved every single accolade that he's gotten. I haven't even mentioned them all here, but suffice it to say that he's made a major impact on people, especially us inner city kids who when given the choice of music or gangs found out that music was a much better route to take.

So hats off to you, Mr. Pullum. Rock on, good sir.