Alumnus Bruce Shutan 1979 Still Keeps the Beat

“I used to drum on the table and just tune out the teacher,” recalled Bruce. “My second-grade teacher wrote in my report card that my drumming was a distraction. To help me, my parents signed me up for drum lessons in third grade, but that was a bust. The teacher was really a clarinet teacher and had me on a practice pad, just doing quarter notes, eighth notes. I really wanted to be behind a drum kit.”

Thankfully, Bruce’s parents upgraded his practice pad to a four-piece Slingerland jazz kit and found him a real drum teacher.

“Finally, I was engaged,” said Bruce. “I connected with music, and the rest is history. It became my favorite thing in the world, my favorite outlet. I just was such a big time music fan, and — 55 years later — I can do it forever.”

As Bruce grew up, he needed to make a big decision.

“I graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor of Science in journalism and a minor in political science,” said Bruce. “I was 50/50 torn between going into journalism or becoming a professional musician. But clearer heads prevailed, and I went into journalism after coming to grips with the facts that it’s incredibly difficult to make a living as a musician, and there are too many ‘occupational hazards.’”

Bruce’s first job out of college was at a small weekly newspaper in Ludlow, Vt., called the Black River Tribune.

“It folded years ago, but that was the best training ground in journalism ever,” reflected Bruce. “I was writing articles, taking pictures, developing photos, laying out the paper, bringing the galleys to the printer to get it published, and delivering the papers. I did everything! I even emptied the garbage. It was a really small staff of about a half a dozen full-time people, but it was great.”
The cold winters in Vermont chased Bruce down to Charlotte, N.C., after two years to become the Sunday editor at a daily newspaper. He then started his career in trade journalism.

“There was a really intriguing job offer in the Washington, D.C., area that I took to become a contributing editor at Employee Benefit News, which is a monthly business trade magazine that goes to human resources executives and consultants in the field,” said Bruce. “I've been writing and editing for that publication for 37 years and counting. Since I became self-employed 25 years ago, I’ve worked with 140 clients, including Employee Benefit News.”
One of the reasons Bruce said he loves being self-employed is that it gives him the flexibility to help raise his family — and continue to play the drums in local bands.

Bruce and his wife, Gina, have been married for two and a half years, and they co-parent four children/stepchildren: Sienna, 26, Raquel, 26, Liam, 16, and Scarlet, 15.

“Parenting and love are not defined solely by bloodline,” maintained Bruce. “It's really about who shows up for your kids; be it a birth parent, step-parent, foster parent, or legal guardian. The definition of family has been turned on its head. Thankfully, there's now a much broader definition. It's really a big tent approach to love and support.”

Bruce’s family has always been supportive of his music.

“It’s fun to listen to songs on my iPhone playlist and brag a little bit to my wife and kids,” said Bruce. “I’ll ask them, ‘You hear that music that's playing in the car? That was my band from back in the day.’”

Bruce played the drums at home when he lived in Vermont and North Carolina, but things really heated up when he became a self-employed trade journalist.
“I got very busy with multiple bands and started recording music for the first time,” recalled Bruce. “I played drums for Luther Kitchen and Flowers of Evil in D.C., and when I moved to Los Angeles, I joined a band called Bright Forever. And, since I moved to Portland, Ore., I joined a band in 2022 called Charbonneau. We just released our debut album entitled Long Across the West.”

Bruce describes this debut album, which you can listen to on Bandcamp, as “a travelogue suite of road songs evoking long stretches between Lakeview, Oregon, Reno and Tonopah, Nevada, and Susanville, California, featuring an eclectic mix of rock, blues, country, and jazz.”

Bruce’s love of journalism and music flourished at Hamden Hall.

“I look back on those years at Hamden Hall as my glory days,” reflected Bruce. “I was the editor of the school newspaper. Back then we called it the Exodus. I remember Mr. Clough was the newspaper advisor. Whit Russell and Betty Lou Blumberg were also two of my favorite teachers.”

Bruce also has fond memories of performing in bands in the annual Cushing Cabaret, which was a type of variety show that featured music, theater, improv, and more.

“I remember Mr. Zibello was our bass player in one of the bands, and we had some terrific student musicians, too,” recalled Bruce. “The keyboardist was Scott Gordon, who was amazingly talented. He taught himself to play every instrument. And, we had Jeanette Cole, who was this incredible singer.”

From childhood to adulthood, Bruce feels blessed that he kept up with his drumming.

“I started taking lessons at age 10, and I'm about to turn 65,” recounted Bruce. “So, I've been playing drums for a ridiculous amount of time. Coming up on 55 years! It's just been phenomenal. What a great ride!”