EXCHANGE: Drummer to finish CD after graduating high school

Drummer to finish CD after graduating high school

The 18-year-old plays the drums in an instrumental band with his 13-year-old brother Jonah, who plays guitar.

Jackson hopes to continue recording music as a studio drummer in the future.

Jackson's mom remembers him making plans to become a professional drummer at a young age.

"When he was in middle school, he just looked at me in the eye and said, 'Mom, I just wanna play drums and get paid,'" Barber said.

Jackson has been interested in music since his dad, John Hallquist, introduced him to The Beatles music and movies like "A Hard Day's Night."

Jackson started playing with his first band, called Victory Friday, when he was a student at Liberty Middle School.

Last year, he auditioned for the Illinois Music Education Association all-state jazz band and was accepted, which he said had been his goal during high school.

According to those judges, I am the third best drum set player in the state that's in high school.

In the fall, Jackson will begin studying jazz performance at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, where he received two scholarships: the St. Louis Jazz Club Jean Kittrell Award and a music department talent award.

[...] my mom played percussion in the high school band and piano, but she doesn't do music for a career.

A: I took piano lessons before I took drum lessons just because it's a good thing for any kind of person that plays an instrument to understand the key signatures and cords. ...