You never know what the life of a teacher looked like before being with you today, but science teacher Joe Connor shared an experience he will never forget.

As a young child, Connor aspired to be in a band and develop his skills as a drummer.

¨I started playing drums when I was in 7th grade; it’s when I got my first drum kit,¨ Connor said.

Connor started playing his drum kit for his church just before joining a Christian rock band. He played alongside guitarists/vocalists Dave Kerwood and his sister Bre Kerwood during church groups. Connor had no intention of joining this specific band but a spot opened up and he took a chance.

¨Dave Kerwood had a band called Leave Thursday, and he needed a drummer for both of those, so I filled those spots,¨ Connor said.

Leave Thursday, launching in 2006, had aspirations but had no idea it would be their biggest year for the band’s history.  

¨All in all, we played 31 shows in 2006, which is extremely busy. The three of us were playing in church every single week, and I’ve never played with a group that knew each other that well.¨

Connor loved being on the stage and performing for the crowd. He loved the feeling of hearing the band’s music while playing the drums beside Dave and Bre.

¨It was fun; it was exhilarating. It kind of feels like you are in power of something, feels like you are in charge of something, and you are all cooperating as a group, it was just a lot of fun,¨ Connor said. 

One definite highlight for Connor was in March of 2006 when he and his bandmates received the opportunity to play at the Java Cat 5 in Emporia. 

“For the first time, a fan showed up. A real fan- not a friend, not a family member. Someone who saw we were going to be playing, looked up the website, and consequently listened to the music like crazy,¨ Connor said. ¨He and his fiance showed up knowing all the lyrics to our songs, which knocked me off of my feet. To think that my songs were that good? It was gratifying.¨ 

Although it has been a while, Connor would enjoy going back and playing with Dave and Bre again if he had the opportunity.

¨If the right opportunity presented itself, I would probably go back and play with them again, but I doubt it. We played to the younger crowd, but now, they are morphing out to the adult scene,¨ Connor said.