TRACENINE

Program Information “MUSIC! Not Mischief” is a Toronto Police youth mentoring programme in which members of the Service engage youth in an extra-curricular school programme in conjunction with DOT ON SHAFT Guitars. By sharing a connection through music and the guitar, police officers will have regular group interaction with youth to share a supportive message about pursuing positive and creative ventures, such as music and academic excellence, as opposed to an idle lifestyle which may lead to exposure to gang and gun culture, criminality and drug use. Troubled Times...Troubled Kids: Youth violence and drug exposure has been the unfortunate reality to too many of today's kids. When we as adults reflect back on our own youth, we can reference those changes as we ask ourselves, "When is it going to end? Is there something more that we could be doing? Maybe kids need more opportunity to get invovled in something healthy." The same music asks them to embrace their youthful angst by engaging in fringe activities and distancing themselves further from the positivity that family and REAL devotion to music has to offer. Music has to be more than just a voyeuristic experience. And we can't allow the worst of modern music to suck our kids into a vacuum of negativity. The impact of the headline news and the modern reality of what our kids face everyday made Dot On Shaft reach out to the Toronto Police, Canada's largest municipal police service. Together with funding from ProAction and support from Dot On Shaft sponsored recording artists Tracenine,“MUSIC! Not Mischief” is exactly that mechanism to engage kids with the message that music, like life, is not about anger, power, altered states and the reckless accumulation of wealth that so much of today's music seems to embrace. Proficiency in music comes from discipline and commitment. In achievement and excellence we find positivity, opportunity and a sense of community. What better way to teach the "leaders of tomorrow" about commitment and community then by reaching out to them with some of the bravest and most committed members of our community, the men and women of our police. Growth and Achievement for Communities: MUSIC! Not Mischief” kids play guitar with police "mentors" every week. Some will prepare a piece of music to play with Tracenine at a show near the end of the school year. The timeline of show preparation allows for programme participants to dedicate themselves to their performance and be a rock star for a day. We hope that the monument of their achievement in this venture will be one of many enduring memories of their involvement in music and in their communities. Each partnership brings a unique perspective and piece of the puzzle to the “MUSIC! Not Mischief” equation. Together, we stand for growth, achievement and a life free from the negativity of drugs, violence and crime. It is our dream that “MUSIC! Not Mischief” participants will become life long ambassadors for healthy communities. www.musicnotmischief.com