If we’re Facebook friends, you may have seen my series of #Lunchbreak grooves. I’m up to like 42 of them now, and it has been a fun and interesting project… In the spirit of connecting my various paths of creativity, I thought I’d take a moment to talk about why… Read More »Lunch Break Groove Philosophy
Someone has to say it. I see it way too much – up close and at a distance – the incompatible combination of wanting to do something… AND NOT ACTUALLY PURSUING IT. Forgive me for ranting. This isn’t usually my style, and before I wander into too much lecturing, I’ll… Read More »GET OFF YOUR ASS!!!
Confidence is a strange beast. Some seem to possess it inherently, others seem to fight to find it their entire lives. Musicians are notorious for this dichotomy, many acting as their “own worst critics” or constantly chasing some sense of artistic achievement that’s always out of reach. The mighty Beethoven,… Read More »The Confidence/Knowledge Paradox
I hail from a small(ish) town called Muskegon, Michigan. We’ve got a few “claims to fame,” but for the drumming community, one of the proudest is being the hometown of Derico Watson. Derico is a powerhouse of a player with plenty of chops and super deep pocket, but even more… Read More »A Clinic With Derico Watson
I’ve been a little lost on what to write about lately. I’m not a pro drummer, I’m just working on it – so who the hell am I? Why does it matter what I have to say? …But oh so gradually, I’ve been starting to figure it out. From the… Read More »Authenticity: Social and Musical Currency
I’m no music theater pro. Not even close… I’ve done a grand total of two (Hands on a Harbody and the Seussical), but they were both such massive learning opportunities, I almost feel obligated to share some of the experiences here – and encourage you to explore it yourself. It’s… Read More »Lessons From Drumming In Music Theater
This PSA is brought to you by all of the people who’ve ever lost an important piece of gear. Thieviery of any kind sucks, no bones about it – but instruments are something else, another level of treachery. Plenty of stealable objects have monetary value… Plenty of others have sentimental… Read More »PSA: Fight Back Against Gear Theft
People seem unhappy. There are things happening in the forefront of public discourse that spark a lot of disagreement. Anger and fear, even just mild disgust, seem all the more common. As usual, it’s that much more visible too (thanks internet), but it’s hard to ignore a pervasive sentiment of… Read More »Transform Your Anger to Art
I’ve got something of a mantra: BOREDOM IS A MYTH. This doesn’t necessarily mean that people can’t be bored… Rather that they shouldn’t be. This also doesn’t mean that there’s no value in downtime, just relaxing, idle chat with friends, or an aimless wander through nature. No, I’m aimed at the… Read More »The Death of Boredom
We live in some weird times. Smartphones, YouTube, the upheaval of the music industry, vitriol-spewing trolls, more information than we can possibly digest, bombarding us from every angle, every minute of the day… This is life on the internet. These relatively new (and harsh) realities are having an effect on… Read More »A Guide to Being A Drummer on The Internet