Playing the drums for one band is impressive, but for two is pure talent, especially while juggling duties as a high school English teacher and cross-country coach. Tom Stukel makes it his goal to incorporate drumming and music into his life, however hectic it may be. 

“I started when I was really young. My sister’s boyfriend played the drums and I saw him playing, and thought it was really great,” Stukel said. “I was 12 years old then. I’ve been drumming ever since. I never want to let it go. It’s my passion.” 

After searching for bands on Craigslist, Stukel began playing drums for “Sadie and the Stark,” an original band in Chicago, as well as “Hollywood Bitch,” a Stone Temple Pilots tribute band. Stukel usually finds himself practicing twice a week, once with each band, but it is something he is willing to sacrifice his time for. 

“It allows me to escape the chaos of reality and to do something that I can be totally immersed in and not have to concern myself with the craziness of the day-to-day life,” Stukel said. “It’s a great outlet for me.” 

As well as practice, each band reserves time for gigs. While the Stone Temple Pilot tribute band has more popularity, and therefore more weekend gigs, Sadie and the Stark has a little more trouble finding gigs. 

“With an original band in the city, it’s difficult to get weekend gigs so usually I’m doing week night gigs, which is difficult when I’m a teacher and coaching cross country,” Stukel said. “We usually play at bars in the city, but with Hollywood Bitch we’re trying to get into more festivals. We are traveling a lot more and going to Milwaukee in November, and we’ve played in Michigan before. But the original band is more Chicago based.” 

Along with his two bands, incorporating music into his classroom is very important to him, Stukel said.  

“Mr. Stukel shows us new bands and their songs every morning before we start our lesson,” Lillian Walker ’18 said. “It’s really cool to listen to a lot of bands I’ve never heard before and since I have his class first it really helps start the day off in a positive way.” 

By playing music throughout class and encouraging involvement in the arts at LT, Stukel hopes to inspire students to find what they love to do, just as he has with drumming. 

“The biggest thing that I talk about in my classroom is trying to find a passion and holding on to it,” Stukel said. “That’s what I try to do with my music and my drumming: never let it go regardless of how old I am or whatever else I’m doing in my life.”