Starting Dec. 5, local musician Andre Boyd will be rehearsing in Montreal, Canada with the world’s largest circus.
Cirque du Soleil hired him to perform as a full-time drummer on its permanent world tour.
For any musician who’s been living gig to gig, it’s an opportunity of a lifetime. He’ll be making a plump, consistent salary. He’ll travel all over North America in 2011, and then perhaps Japan the following year. And he’ll be surrounded by top musicians and performers from around the world.
But rewind to March 2009.
For three days, Andre and his wife, Gwendolyn, slept among the homeless in the LaGuardia airport in New York City – broke and waiting for the audition with Cirque du Soleil. They had no money for a hotel room. He and Gwendolyn flew in with $60 in their pockets.
“It was a humbling experience,” he said. “We would try to find little areas to be by ourselves. We were constantly moving around for three days.”
Andre had been making his living as a full-time local musician for 11 years, but when the recession hit, his three or four regularly weekly gigs turned into one gig a month. Gwendolyn, who married Andre in June 2008, remembers counting change in the ashtray for gas money.
“We were just the ‘working poor’ and knew life had more to offer, but you have to put your feet on the floor and go for it,” she said.
Andre was the last person to audition out of about 100 people. And he got the gig.
“They were really happy with the skill I presented,” Andre said. “They said out of the three days, I was the best audition.”
Andre played five songs he had rehearsed. Then the talent scouts called out different drumming styles at random.
“They wanted me to play the style in its authenticity, and they were overwhelmed by that as well,” Boyd said.
Boyd got his first taste of drumming when he was two years old, sitting on the lap of the pastor’s son at church. Drumming for church services became his life as soon he was able to reach the floor of the stool.
His mother, Pastor Linda Boyd, founded the New Life Outreach Ministries, 3833 Saint Ferdinand Ave., in 1998. Linda said as soon as Andre could pick up a butter knife he started banging on everything in sight, including the furniture.
“Everything was a mess,” she said. “I told him, ‘You’ve got to stop.’”
In school, Andre was constantly getting in trouble for tapping on his desk because his hands were constantly moving. To punish her two sons, both drummers, Linda would refuse to let them play at church service.
“Some parents would punish you by saying you can’t play video games or go to the mall,” Andre said.
Linda knew how to get her sons’ attention.
“It was hard, because everything is going on – the services feel good and you can’t go on and play,” Andre said. “There’s not drummer at all, so you have to sit in the audience going, ‘Oh, man.’ She’d punish us like that.”
Andre’s brother, Chris Boyd, who is seven years older, started performing at a young age as well and has worked with Nelly. Chris remembers when Andre was first starting out.
“I left the house one day and forgot something so I went back,” Chris said. “I heard from outside someone playing the drums. I was like, ‘I know he’s not playing my drums.’”
Eventually they began sharing equipment, and Andre found a teacher at home.
Not only is Andre a drummer, he is also an organist who has provided many small struggling churches with a Sunday musician, Gwendolyn said.
At church, people call Andre and Chris the “Blood Brothers,” Linda said, “because when they get on the instruments together – Andre on the organ and Chris on the drums – our services go to super heights. They are extremely talented.”
One of Andre’s proudest achievements is traveling with the Golden Gospel Singers in Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Austria in the fall of 2009. Many of Andre’s friends began touring right out of high school. By comparison, at 28, Andre is the late bloomer, he said. But being stationed in St. Louis, Andre has performed with some rich talent, including jazz divas Denise Thimes and Mae Wheeler.
Though Gwendolyn will not able to travel with Andre, she can meet up with him whenever she likes.
“I’m still in awe concerning Andre’s new journey, trying to wrap my mind around all the details, the travel schedule,” Gwendolyn said. “All the perks leaves me shaking my head from time to time because I’m so proud of him.”
If he ever wants to settle down, he can choose to live in Las Vegas or Berlin, Germany.
Andre would tell anyone who is just starting out as a musician, “Place yourself in a situation where you can grow. Learn from the old musicians, like blues, something to make you seasoned.”
Andre himself studies all day, even in his sleep, Gwendolyn said.
“He will be successful because he has such a story to tell about how he got there,” Linda said. “He grew up with a gift that God already gave. He has a very tender heart.”
