As I become more and more drum-obsessed, I find myself turning to all kinds of outlets for information. I’ve never really been one for talk radio or podcasts, but as I began to look for drum and music-related information to occupy my ears (usually while my hands are doing some… Read More »4 Drumming Podcasts to Keep Your Head in The Game
Damn, I almost tumbled into a terrible valley a little while back. Somewhere over the course of the day, I lost sight of work ethic, though that’s putting it a little lightly… I have this propensity, from time to time, to think too hard about the biggest questions (vast spans… Read More »Press On: Why Making Music Matters… Even When It Seems Like It Doesn’t
I recently got slapped by a few realizations… About my own ego, the role drummers play (from an audience’s perspective), self-control, and being in charge of your own mood… All stemming from some catastrophic gear failure. First, a little background: I played a Sunday gig the other night, a benefit… Read More »A Gig, A Broken Pedal, and A Few Good Lessons
The “to do” list is long, right? Speed drills, independence, booking gigs, editing videos, adding photos to your website, fixing gear, replacing heads, learning songs… And even beyond Drum Land: Do the dishes, call your mother, pay the bills, fix that leak, follow up with a friend, fold the laundry,… Read More »What to Practice: The Paralysis of Too Many Options
Let’s not beat around the bush: there’s a lot of “competition” out there… No matter what instrument you play (or really, whatever creative pursuit you’re into), you’re not the only one – and some of those other people are going to be downright awesome… …People you see at shows around town,… Read More »Drummers, Don’t Worry About The Prodigies
In a way, I’m still reeling from PASIC, dizzy from the wisdom imparted. Weeks in the rearview, some of the fine details have started to fade. In and out of the clinic halls, in presentation, and in passing comments caught walking by, talk of music… Among all those nuggets of… Read More »PASIC 2015 – Part 2: Drum Nerd Paradise
…I almost don’t know where to start. Somewhere over a whirlwind weekend of new friends, amazing experiences, and 2500 miles of travel, I soaked up an awful lot of insight about the wide, wide world of drums and percussion. My first PASIC was, as briefly as I can put it,… Read More »PASIC 2015 – Part 1: Whoa Dude
“Life gets in the way” they say, when all that minutia and micromanagement pulls us away from projects or practice, when we fall short on our promises to get together with this musician, and learn that song, and take care of x or y… They tell kids to get the… Read More »Life Gets In The Way
Ohhhh man! I don’t think I ever considered just how crucial the beater is to the overall sound of a kick drum. It makes sense, of course – just as mallets and HotRods and brushes all have different tone and attack on a head, how even nylon tips make a… Read More »Gear Review: Low Boy Custom Beaters
A little while back, I recounted the slightly silly story of some jams that happened a while back. It wasn’t very “drum specific,” just something that we all may face at one point or another. I wanted to come back to it from a drummer’s angle, though, and talk about the… Read More »Simplify To Expand
