A Drummer's Tale Part 2

 

The drummers of today probably hear this all the time from drummers my age: “YouTube wasn’t around when I was learning how to play drums.” Of course this is true for any instrument. I wasn’t fortunate to have private lessons so I relied on learning from drummers I heard on the radio and my albums. It was a lot of trial and error and a lot of playing along to my favorite songs until it sounded close enough. This method was all I did during my high school years and the years to follow.

There are good and bad things about this method. The bad is that you miss out on learning technique and someone showing you common drum licks.  The good thing, at least for me, is that you learn to listen to the music, play with dynamics and in the struggle to learn certain licks you may stumble onto other licks. I probably could have also benefitted from playing with others in bands. I was 19 years old when I played with the first groups of guys. It didn’t last long but it was fun and an experience.

When I was 20, I joined the army and I didn’t think I would play the drums again so I sold my CB 700 drum set.  Well, being without drums didn’t last long…I met some guys while I was stationed in Egypt and we jammed and played music for our friends. When I came back to the states, I knew I wanted to continue playing drums. I saw a “drums for sale” ad in the paper and that’s when I got my black Tama Imperial Star kit. On a side note, when I was in Egypt, that’s when I learned the basics of playing guitar.

Mark Palomelio trying to play my
Tama Imperial Star, Germany 1996

I was living in Savannah, GA, had a drum set and was practicing again.  I found a place downtown that had open mic nights and I started jamming with the house band and other local musicians.  The music played was primarily blues. I really enjoyed the jam sessions. It was a valuable lesson in learning to play with others, how to play in the pocket, and how to control myself from overplaying.