Yellow brick road. Elton John band member returns to Canton for EN-RICH-MENT honor
CANTON − John Mahon anchored himself behind a drum kit and banged the snare and crashed cymbals.
He wasn't in his usual spot as a percussionist for the legendary Elton John. Instead, he was hammering away in an impromptu jam session with students at the EN-RICH-MENT Fine Arts Academy.
Leading the group, Mahon, a Stark County native, laid down a beat and the kids followed before improvising. The practice room boomed as Mahon flashed a grin.
"That was real high energy," he said after finishing the 15-minute session. "It's a lot of fun to just get up there and ad-lib and fool around. This was really fun just because the kids are into it and they just want to play."
Mahon has played arenas and stadiums across the globe as a member of John's band since 1997. But the joy of music was no different when performing with Canton area youth behind the walls of the EN-RICH-MENT Arts Education Center along Market Avenue N downtown.