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Drums Have Always Caught My Attention

Everyone who knows me, knows that I am passionate about music. I like most genres of music, but my favorite would have to be rock. I like it because of how it sounds. Ironically, I grew up listening to country and western music before the “and western” was shortened to just country music.

But I developed a keen interest in music at around age 6. I had heard songs on the radio, but “Joy to The World,” performed by Three Dog Night, really caught my ear. Actually it was the way the drums sounded. And from then I loved the drums and wanted to be a drummer. So, around 1975, I began to take lessons at Persell Elementary School. Yes, it was an elementary school back then. My mom said I could sign up for lessons, and my dad agreed. Whether seeing them in a parade, on TV, or at a concert, drummers made it look easy. It wasn’t. Drummers need to be ambidextrous because what can be played with the right hand, can be played with the left hand. For a fifth grader, that drum case was heavy to lug to school.

I was lucky because my parents allowed me to play an instrument for which I had a passion. At first it wasn’t fun practicing because I had to learn rudiments, and how to hold drumsticks — traditional grip. This was a skill that I did not possess. So, I kept on taking lessons in school until the end of sixth grade. In seventh grade, at Lincoln Junior High School — you guessed it, the school was a junior high school back then, and so were Washington and Jefferson — I played in the Varsity Band which was made up of seventh- and eighth-grade students. I learned how to play different percussion instruments from claves to tympani. Because of hearing “Joy To the World,” I wanted a drum set, so in eighth grade, my parents purchased a used drum set from my brother’s friend’s brother.

I was in heaven because I finally got to learn how to play a drum set. Because the instrument is rather loud, I had a set practice schedule. I couldn’t practice past 7:30 p.m. on school nights. On weekends, I had more time, so I would start at 10 a.m., and sometimes go to 7:30 breaking only to eat. And my mom never complained about me practicing — either did my dad. But a neighbor complained to my mom once and only once. The neighbor told my mom: “Is that Michael I hear playing the drums?” My mom gave a clever reply: “Yes, it’s Michael. When he plays, I know where he is.”

I tried to learn a lot of drum set parts to many songs, and I found out what sounded and looked easy, actually was not. Some of my friends would say that I played the same beat (pattern) over and over.

I did.

But what they didn’t know was that some songs actually do have the same drum beat as other songs. So, I never explained to my friends why my playing sounded that way. I thought if they heard the song, they would know the beat. In their defense, if the other instruments were silenced, then yes, one may hear the same beat.

So, from eighth grade until I was a senior at Jamestown High School, I practiced to a lot of rock songs trying to learn the parts. There was a lot of music to choose from, but I always chose rock because that music just seemed to be natural. I had a hard time with jazz music, especially big band jazz because I was used to playing duple meter, not triple meter like how most big band music was written. In 1983, I saw the best drummer in the world — Buddy Rich — play at the Palace Theater which is now the Reg Lenna Center. He played with such intensity, finesse, and control, that I attempted to practice what I saw him play, and it was too much, so I put down my sticks for a week, not playing drums at all. But I vowed to learn jazz, and truthfully, I am still learning how to better play jazz.

If someone were to ask me who my influences are on drums, I would include Rich for jazz. But for rock music, three drummers come to mind. Ringo Starr, of The Beatles; John Bonham of Led Zeppelin; and Steve Smith of Journey, all hand a hand, no pun intended, in how I play the drums.

Ringo — I listened to Beatles’ songs since I was young, and he set the pace. Ringo’s parts were not hard, but his parts held the songs together.

I found it rather easy to learn his parts. And because of the ease of learning his parts, I learned how to listen more for the drums.

Bonham– Soon I was trying hard songs, and listening to Bonham, I instantly fell in love with his groove. My favorite groove of his is on “Fool in The Rain.” The half-time shuffle feel is difficult to learn, but once you understand the concept, the pattern becomes easier to play. He died too soon and unfortunately, there are not many videos of him playing. Imagine if he would have made an instructional video?

Smith — His part on “Don’t Stop Believin'” is incredible. Watch his instructional video where he breaks down the drum part, and see exactly how intricate and detailed it is. He influenced me not only because he is a great drummer, but because he crossed over from playing jazz, and how he teaches what drumming is about. It would be great if I could sit down for a two-hour lesson with him. I could learn so much.

I am still acquiring knowledge on how to be better on the drum set and better with rudiments. Ironically, learning how to play electric bass guitar made me a better drummer. More on that in a future column.

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