John Yost

John has been facilitating rhythm-based events since 1990 with his company Rhythm Revolution and attended the very first 6-day VMC Training in Hawaii. Since that training, John has facilitated interactive music-making for conferences, corporations, schools, and at major events worldwide. He is a leader and performer in Kaiju Daiko (Japanese style drumming group) and Sound Magic, (gong and bowl immersions) and has consulted as an entertainment coordinator on world-class events. He teaches ongoing West African drum classes, Japanese Taiko classes and facilitates a monthly community drum circle. John is currently the co-chair of the Interactive drumming committee for the Percussive Arts Society, a member of the Drum Circle Facilitators Guild, and is a Remo endorsed facilitator.

John has performed and recorded internationally. He has studied in Africa, Japan, and in the USA with master drummers and facilitators and is degreed in Percussion from Northeastern University in Illinois (1992). John is a certified park and rec. professional and obtained a certificate in Leadership and Organization Change from Northwestern University.

Clients include Abbvie, ADP, AGFA HealthCare, Anheuser- Busch, Leo Burnett Advertising, The City of Chicago, Discover, Glaxo Smith Kline, Hangout Fest, Hitachi, Honeywell, Lexus, Lollapalooza, John Nuveen Corporation, Takeda Pharma, University of Chicago, DePaul University, Northeaster Il University, Northwestern University, and many others.

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How have you incorporated the principles of the Arthurian Triplicities into your Drum Circle Facilitation practice?

1. I have incorporated the principles of Arthurian Triplicities into my facilitation practice in many ways but mainly in
   assessing, preparing and planning for the gig,
2. implementing the plan as it fits in the moment and facilitating on my personal edge taking chances.
3. Sharpening the saw by reassessing and trying to learn and something new every time. I may call this my professional growth triplicity.

What does the "Trust" Triplicity mean to you as a Rhythm event facilitator?

Honesty, Rapport, Congruency are the crucial elements of the trust triplicity. As an event facilitator or just a human being, relationships cannot go well without trust. Honesty is essential in running your DCF business and gaining trust of participants. Rapport can be started but not sustained if a facilitator is not being authentic and honest. Congruency is the follow through of the honesty and rapport. The "walking the talk" that builds and sustains the relationship built.

How does incorporating the elements of the “Intuitive Skills” Triplicity improve your Drum Circle facilitation?

The elements of intuitive skills are embodied in awareness, adaptation and rapport. It really comes into play the most when you are facilitating on your edge. When I am totally in the moment and on my edge, I feel alive and it is a special place to be. I can only act using my intuition as to what the next opportunity will be. This comes from being in the moment and seeing what the circle is gifting me at that moment. Who is showing up in their uniqueness and how can I showcase this to the group to raise them higher in their opportunity to share more of their spirit as I share mine. How can I adapt all the elements of this moment to co-create the elusive opportunity that is only present in the now. Without the rapport of the group they would not trust me to bring these moment sand might be more in to what is better for "me" instead of what is better for "we." Incorporating this is the art and heart of DCFF'ing.

Evaluate where you are in developing a professional Rhythm event facilitation career using the “Career Development” Triplicity.

I feel I have been through stages in the career development triplicity. When I started it was all about sharing my bliss. Being able to share the love of drumming, music making and in the moment experiences. I then set about building my community drum circle into a thriving scene interacting with all the other drumming scenes in Chicago land. Then I went into building my business and as I built it, I had to let go of the community building job as my life had changed to a married family man through the 20 year journey and also had the job of music instructor and park supervisor (community builder) These are all parallel and in and around the path of DCF. Now as my life is evolving I will need to be better at marketing and as that evolves to be more and more immersed with online I will need to learn many new skills and adapt to the changing business landscape depending on which parts of my business I want to grow. The main focuses for the next 5 to 10 years will be facilitation trainings, gong immersions and corporate programs. We will see if these move to online or hybrid or who knows, virtual reality?