About Me:
Playing the drums is about playing music. Playing music involves energy, emotion and creativity. The ultimate goal is to maintain these elements in the practice room as a way to stay connected to the purpose, which is to play music and have fun.

In learning how to play drumset, there is a certain amount of technique that must be mastered through practice and repetition. The development of this technique is an ongoing process that takes time. How much technique the student desires is completely up to them. Remember, the purpose is to play music. Technique should never overpower (or underpower) the ability to play good music.

That being said, there are many styles of music that can be played effectively without the possession of a lot of technique. This is good, especially for beginning students because they can play good music almost immediately, that is, if they are playing with energy, emotion and feeling.

As a teacher I can help students with not only technique, but with music. How do you play with energy, emotion and feeling? How do you groove? How do you relax and play in the moment? How do you listen? These are all concepts that I teach, and I feel that they are as important, or more important than developing good technique.

Remember, the goal is to play good music, and I help students in attaining this goal. Beyond this, I teach the basics of rudiments, playing solid time, reading, many different styles, improvisation, dynamics, soloing and other topics. Lessons are catered to the interests of the student.

Styles:
Jazz, Rock, Blues, Country, Pop, R&B, Hip Hop, Funk, Fusion, Latin

Subjects:
Harmony, Theory, Ear Training, Songwriting, Arranging, Orchestration, Jazz Music History, Rock Music History

Ages:
Elementary School, Pre-teen, Teenage, Adult

Availability:
Astoria, Jackson Heights, Long Island City, Woodside, Sunnyside, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst, Maspeth, Flushing, Corona, Rego Park, Forest Hills, Ridgewood, Glendale.

Major Influences:
Richie Hayward (Little Feat), Billy Martin (Medeski, Martin & Wood), Aaron Comess (Spin Doctors), Bill Stewart, Steve Gadd, Zigaboo Modeliste.

Experience:

• Ethos Inc. - I taught for this organization for two years. Mostly I worked with underprivileged youth, teaching them how to play music on plastic buckets. [2004-2006]
• Bolton Music Studio (2003-2006) For three years I taught private lessons to students ages 7-34.
• Robbie Laws Band (2003-2004) I played with this multi-award winning guitarist, and help the band earn "best act" from the Cascade Blues Association. We played all of the major blues festivals in the Northwest including a slot on the main stage of the Waterfront Blues Festival in front of 20 thousand people.
• Rick Welter Band (2004-2006) Rick is a "real deal" blues man. He has played with B.B. King and worked with Charlie Musselwhite for four years. I had the pleasure of being his drummer for two years.
• Ouroborous (2006) This is my modern jazz trio. We were signed to Black Lodge White Lodge Records and released a cd in 2006.

Education:

• Bachelor of Music (BA ), Plymouth State University [2002]

Studied With:

• Pat Petrillo [2006 - 2007]
• Frank Gravis [2006 - 2007]
• Peter Retzlaff [2006 - 2007]
• Leroy Clouden [2006 - 2007]
• Reinhardt Melz [2005 - 2006]
• Graham Lear [2005 - 2006]
• Tim Gilmore [1999 - 2003]
• Eric Hughes [1996 - 1999]

Certifications:

• Jazz/Funk Elective Intensive, The Drummers Collective [2006]

Awards:

• Best Act - The Cascade Blues Association [2004]

Recent Performances:

• The Bitterend [January, 2007]

Discography:

• Ouroborous - "Ouroborous" [2006]