At every pep rally, game, concert, and parade, you’ll see him there keeping time with his inhumanly accurate internal clock.  Senior Tyler Sparks had been a drummer for eight years, the last four of which have been spent with the marching band, symphonic band, and jazz band here at FCHS.  If you’ve heard him it’s most likely been at a football game, where Sparks puts a lot of passion into keeping the sidelines hyped.  “Marching band is not always the most complex [activity], but it is a great experience to be a part of it and contribute to the mood of the game,” Sparks said.
“I started drumming when I was in 4th grade but I was just a dumb baby.  I was only into the normal rock bands and never had more than a nominal interest in drumming,” said Sparks.  “Then I began getting into jazz.  I find rhythm interesting  and when I started getting into jazz I found a renewed interest in drumming because it is so rhythmically interesting and complicated.  Specifically, it was Joe Morello that inspired me.  In addition to being really good technically, he was extremely innovative in Jazz.  He wrote books on dynamics and stick heights and that technical intensity was really attractive to me,” said Sparks.

Sparks’ interest in jazz drumming drew him to the school’s jazz band which requires an audition.  “I was somewhat nervous to audition and I was a little worried I wouldn’t get in, but I just played a few rhythms and Strickler told me it was good enough for him,” said Sparks.  Being in a jazz band can be intimidating, he said. “Jazz is actually my least favorite kind of music to play.  I feel so inferior in the world of jazz.  But it is also my favorite kind of music,” said Sparks.  His friend, senior Maclean Koslowski, thinks Sparks is too modest. “He is not at all inferior. I’m always so impressed with him when we play together,” Koslowski said.

Of course, expertise rarely comes naturally.  The Macklemore song “Ten Thousand Hours” is no exaggeration.  Tyler’s level of commitment to his form was significant to get where he is now.  “At this point I practice for about an hour a day but that number used to be higher.  In the summer, especially, I would play for so many hours a day.  I think I owe that to my brother Cody. He had a serious obsession with music and would play for six or seven hours a day, and he drove me to practice as much as I did,” said Sparks.

At the Flucos’ next performance, be sure to look behind the front line at Tyler sitting in the back wearing a flannel and looking as serious as can be with his beautiful hair.  If you see him, consider shaking his hand and thanking him for bringing the Fluco beat.