When I was growing up, some of the best learning experiences I ever had were going to jazz festivals in Jr. High and High School. In a nutshell, each jazz band performed 3-5 tunes in front of 3 judges at a small theater filled with other bands, parents, teachers and whoever else got roped in […]…
I’ve been playing drums since 1985. When I look back at some of my past experiences, I honestly just have to laugh. One such instance was my very first “gig.” I was in 6th grade and my teacher knew I was learning to play the drums… so she had this idea. She asked me if […]…
When I was 15, my uncle decided for my parents 35th wedding anniversary he was taking all of us to Hawaii (yup, he’s my favorite uncle! J). I was very excited to go and I really wanted to hit the famous waves when we got there. Growing up in California, I would go body boarding […]…
Now that you have read about how drum competitions work, I want to tell you about my favorite competition we would go to every year. It was held at the beautiful Pepperdine University. If you can afford the $40k a year it costs to go there, you will enjoy some of the most beautiful views […]…
In a previous email I told you about the one kid that beat me my freshmen year at my first drum competition. You know “Mr. Happy Feet” double pedal guy! Well, over the next three years we ended up at almost every single competition together. We actually became somewhat friends because we were around each […]…
When I was in Jr. High, I was introduced to drum competitions. At the high school in town (which I attended), the big one was called the California Drum Fest. The way I saw it, a drum competition was basically 3 judges sitting about 15 feet in front my kit, critiquing my drum solo. This […]…
I recently came across a video produced by Steve Smith, famed drummer for the hit band Journey and jazz drummer aficionado, endorsing a product called the Samsung Zomm Q3 Handy Video Recorder. Now, whether or not you look into that specific product is irrelevant, but the point I would like to make is just how […]…
If you’re at all interested in becoming a professional drummer, there’s a good chance you aren’t really sure how to break into it. Granted there are many ways to break into the music industry and there isn’t one magic pill you can take to become a pro drummer, but it always helps to hear stories […]…
As you can probably tell, I was in a mood to find videos that featured professional drummers sharing information recently. I came across a video from Dante Roberson, session drummer and has appeared on many of the top R&B artists in the music industry, where he talks about how to be a more disciplined drummer. […]…
There’s a whole lot of insight from professional drummers willing to share their experiences. One of the most common topics discussed by drummers around the world is how to be a better drummer. I found a video taken from a drum workshop featuring Liberty DeVito,known mainly as the drummer for Billy Joel. DeVito talk about […]…