He's got the beat

MGMA Connexion, Aug 2005 by Pope, Christina

Ronald Menaker, FACMPE, ACMPE* Board member and administrator, Psychiatry/Psychology Department, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

The Rolling Stones has Charlie Watts. U2 has Larry Mullen Jr. And the Mayo Clinic has Ron Menaker.

Menaker has been drumming as long as any of the others (since he was 11), though his performances tend to rock basements and community halls rather than Madison Square Garden.

He's on his third band as an adult. Yet unnamed ("trying to name a band is one of the most painful exercises ... "), the band was organized in Rochester, Minn., this spring after Menaker started work at the Mayo Clinic. His first group was The Pointless Brothers in Marshfield, Wis., where he joined a rheumatologist and Parkinson's dis ease expert looking for a drummer (to start a band, not diagnose). His first public performance with The Pointless Brothers took place at a 1987 Halloween party. "It was just so much fun for me; it was such a release."

Menaker's second band was Alter Ego in Green Bay, Wis., where he moved for a medical practice position. An inspirational highlight was the day the band performed for the 2003 unveiling of the newly renovated Lambeau Field, home stadium of the NFL's Packers football team.

The most memorable gig, however, came closer to home when Menaker's daughter asked him and his band to perform for her 2000 high school graduation party. "That was particularly fun. Who knew I was so cool?"

All four of his children, ages 21-36, play music "at varying levels and capacity." His wife, Linda, knits and collects dolls, though "we're in rhythm, so to speak," Menaker says, all puns intended.

Faithful to his one major hobby, Menaker does not hunt or fish - "heresy" in Minnesota and Wisconsin. "I also golf, but I shouldn't," he says.

In Menaker's book, there is only one type of music: classic rock. He favors the Eagles, Beatles, Eric Clapton and Doobie Brothers. However, he says, like working in medical group practice, he knows he needs to listen, understand, compromise and try new music. Like what?

"We're trying some Rod Stewart. The rest, I have no idea what the songs are. I'm just really focused on the rhythm," Menaker says. "I spend lots of energy paying attention to the guitarists and singer. The drummer is the pulse of the band. The drummer is the most important member of any band," he says, wryly joking. Or maybe not.

"People have told me that drummers are egomaniacs or schizophrenics," Menaker says. "Really, we're just Type Bs."

Hmmm, now about that band name ...

* The American College of Medical Practice Executives is the certification body of MGMA.

By Christina Pope

about the author

Christina Pope, MGMA senior writer, cpope@mgma.com

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