Art

A little about who I am and what I do.I was born in a small town at the foothills of the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania. I started playing drums in the school band in the fifth grade and continued all the way through high school staying involved in every possible situation I could from concert band and marching band to jazz band. Through that whole experience I learned the essentials of reading music and rudiments. My father is also a musician who did it professionally for 30 years. Occasionally he would impart his great wisdom concerning the music profession. My brother Aaron and I never listened and both grew up to be musicians. His biggest mistake was letting both of us sit in with his band on gigs from time to time. For me that was all it took to get hooked on performing. When I wasn't playing I would just sit and watch the drummer, trying to absorb as much as I could.After high school I enlisted in the Army and attended The Armed Forces School of Music in Littlecreek, VA. which was by far the most challenging formal training I'd had up to that point, but inspiring nonetheless. In the Army Band I was exposed to a lot of great musicians who were into a lot of different kinds of music. It was during this time that I developed a deep love for jazz. A couple of highlights of my military band career were being given the opportunity to perform in Germany for three weeks as well as playing for President Bush (George H.). After the army, I attended Mansfield University in Mansfield PA., where I received a BA in Music.I got into teaching in 1994 when I got hired as a percussion staff member at a high school in northeastern PA, teaching both outdoor and indoor marching percussion. I guess you can say I teach in the manner in which I learned. I start beginning students with reading, rudiments and basic technique before moving onto the drumset. Even after students begin drumset studies I still require them to practice snare drum literature. I feel that any vocabulary you learn with your hands on the snare can be easily translated onto the drumset.I relocated from Northeastern PA to Atlanta in 1996. Since that time I've kept busy playing and recording with various local bands and singer/songwriters around metro Atlanta. I was a member of an original rock band called Acres for a few years with whom I recorded two CDs, as well as being a regular at Northpoint Community Church for three years where I played drums and occasionally percussion.I currently teach privately at Attina's Music Store, Inc. in Fayetteville, GA (since 2000), work as a freelance drummer in metro Atlanta, playing everything from rock to jazz, do some occasional session work, and lead J.C. and the Sonshine Band, a youth praise band at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Fayetteville. I have written a couple articles for Modern Drummer magazine and am currently writing a book series on beginning to intermediate drumset.