STEEL DRUMMING AT THE APOLLO: THE ROAD TO SUPER TOP DOG- Trish Marx and Ellen B. Senisi

STEEL DRUMMING AT THE APOLLO is the story of a group of seven teens who attend the John Sayles School of Fine Arts in Schenectady, New York. Talent scouts from the world famous Apollo Theater in Harlem (Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Stevie Wonder, and lots of others have launched their careers at the Apollo) arrive in Schenectady, the boys form a steel drum band and win their local competition, then several regionals, finally making it all the way to the Super Top Dog Competition at the Apollo. The book traces the band from its formation in early 2005, all the way to the finals in December of that year.

The band's story is told in a series of short chapters, accompanied by lots and lots of eye-catching, full-color photographs. The chapters include the stories from the competitions, and also biographies from each of the seven musicians/dancers in the band. Sidebar articles fill in helpful background about steel drumming, the Apollo Theater, playing music by ear, etc.  The book also comes with a CD.

I played the CD, then left this book on the table,  thinking it would be a sure winner with my sons, who have always loved making beats and spend hours on end on my computer writing songs on Garage Band.  They didn't seem that interested at first, but I've caught them flipping through it several times since then. I also caught their friend, Eddie, reading it one morning when he was waiting for our car pool to depart. I can definitely see this book attracting the interest of the "musically-minded set."