What got you started playing drums?

I was always interested in music. I'm not gonna' say I did the pots and pans thing, but the radio was always on and my folks had a good record collection. Though I do remember asking my dad to keep rewinding the drum fill in "In the Air Tonight". For whatever reason, at my elementary school you could start strings in 3rd grade, but not brass/woodwind/percussion until 4th grade. Because I just wanted to do music, I asked my mom if I could play the violin. She wisely asked me to wait one more year, and said if I really wanted to do it in 4th grade I could. Once brass and percussion was on the table I quickly forgotten about the violin. I was leaning drums, but was torn between that and trombone. When my uncle, who was/is a weekend drummer in bar bands caught wind of this he showed up one Sunday at my grandparents house with a snare drum and a pair of sticks, set it down in front of me, and told 9-year-old Adam that "trombone players don't get any pussy". And here I am.
 
toddbishop said:
He was a grad student at the U. of Oregon-- he was just a big charismatic dude. Part of the U of O/San Jose State/Charles Dowd/Tony Cirone axis, a lot of people went to both schools. I was about 8.
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Todd a question if I may. What is the story about the San Jose state program? Are those two names the drum set teachers in San Jose state? I ask because I live close by.
 
striker said:
Todd a question if I may. What is the story about the San Jose state program? Are those two names the drum set teachers in San Jose state? I ask because I live close by.
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Dowd ran the percussion department at the U. of Oregon from the early 70s until he died about 15 years ago. Tony Cirone ran the perc department at San Jose for many years, I think since the 60s. Both were/are classical percussionists, Dowd did more drum set, and played jazz vibraphone.

The two schools formed kind of an axis, with a lot of interchange of people, both with a lot of interchange with the Santa Clara Vanguard drum corps, including with Ralph Hardimon and Fred Sanford. There was a little culture there very influenced by Cirone's teachings, and Saul Goodman's, and some other figures.

I'm not close to either school any more, I don't know the current state of San Jose, just it is a long time center of percussion education on the west coast.
 
Wow, this thread is 20 years old and I'm just seeing it for the first time! (I also moved it from"Introduce Yourself" to "General Discussion")

Music- big band (Gene Krupa), The Beatles, other pop music on the radio c1964.

Drummer- Gene Krupa, Ringo, Hal Blaine.

Person- My brother. He had taken drum lessons then switched to guitar. I had been taking accordion lessons (!) and switched to drums when I inherited his kit.

Style- Pop & rock, generally very straight-ahead stuff.

Inspirations- Emerging music styles in the '60s and beyond always held my interest and helped me grow as a player/musician. I stuck with it because I got a taste of performing with other players and started to make some money by my late teens. I never gave up, and later reached my childhood goal of being a professional drummer. But at the core was always that I simply like playing the drums.
 
My parents were professional musicians, so music was always there. My dad was a drummer and tried to get me to focus on rudiments at a very young age. Too young to be interested in the boring fundamentals. My mom, a guitarist, showed me how to play a basic rock beat. That caught my attention for a while, but I wanted to be "cool" and play guitar.
I played guitar all through high school and semi-pro locally into my early 20s. I went through a rough breakup with a band and wanted to change things up, so I auditioned for a band playing drums. I got the gig and have focused on playing drums ever since. I still play guitar, and have done some bass gigs for money, but I only want to be a drummer.
 
At 14 YO , First there was Ringo, then Charlie Watts who piqued my interests to playing Drums. I knew I would not be able to play a guitar or keyboards. Then when Dino Danelli with the Young Rascals came on the scene about a year later, I was more Hooked. I too lessons at the local Music Store in Flushing Queens NY for a number of weeks. Although the lessons involved reading and writing Drum Notes on Music Sheets, and practicing the Parradiddles, after a few months I purchased a Drum set form that Music store. Then joining one friend from HS who was into Guitar playing (he too was learning) then another fellow HS, we became a Basement Band. He had the basement where I could put my drums and where we practiced. By then I was playing by ear. That was around 1968 or so. By June 1969 we graduated HS and by fall all went different ways. The drums were sold and Hung Em Up in 1969. Then 50 Years Passed..... I resurrected playing again at 68 years old. Now retired, I play as a Hobby about 1 hour , 4-6 times a week with the aspirations I will meet up with some local Geriatric Musicians to Jam with.
 
My elder brother was a guitar player. He brought the music into the house.
When I was in elementary school, I took a month of Accordion lessons, but did not like the instrument.
I started to play along with my brother with a toy drum. Bought the first real set at high school. I was self taught. Played a few gigs.
Listened to Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Rare Earth, Rolling Stones, Iron Butterfly, Pop, and Disco.
I listened to a little bit of Jazz because my brother occasionally listened to guitarists like Wes Montgomery and Joe Pass.
After many decades I am back playing and taking lessons. I am not in a band and that makes me an orphan drummer.
Quitting drums for such a long time was one of the worst moves that I ever made.
 
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