My whole thing is that I practice all the time and I still do practice all the time. All day every day. And I just wanted to be so good that I could play anything. I think that’s really important. And it’s also really important to have your own style. If you just try to be someone else that may be cool but that’s not going to get you noticed or get people to want you to play drums for them.
I practice a lot of stick control on my practice pad. Using a metronome I start with 60 bpm and move up to 120 bpm and keep going back and forth from 60 to 120 with paradiddles, triplets, 16th notes, etc.
Yeah, gospel is more about “pocket”. When I was coming up gospel music was solid. That’s what it created in a lot of drummers like me and others that stay out in L. A. They learned how to be solid. In gospel there’s different genres. I grew up under the quartet gospel feel which is more old school.
I really like to explore different sounds and see what kind of possibilities I can get out of the drum set. I’m more of a percussive player. I like to add textures and different sounds. I really love exploring that area of drumming as opposed to only a simple set up with a few options for sounds. For me it helps push it to a different level.
Ronald Darden is what I’d consider a pocket drummer. He learned to play in the church and you can tell that by listening to his solid funky groove. He’s a drummer forging out a musical career by hard work and perseverance
“When I was having so much trouble breathing the doctors were telling us if we can’t get this under control it could go south really quickly and we are actually talking about my funeral..”
Some music inspires you to move your feet, some inspires you to get out there and change the world. In any case, and to move hurriedly on to the point of this article, it’s fair to say that music moves people in special ways
Of course, this list is just a start. Wynton Marsalis, Tony Iommi, Dick Dale, Eric Gales, Albert King, Nick Bowcott — there are countless left-handed musicians out there. Who’s your favorite left-handed musician? Who would you add to this list?
The results are undeniable. These exciting discoveries should empower all of us to be proactive in promoting the art of drumming as the ultimate tool for health and healing. Old stigmas are dissolving, and we, as drummers, have the opportunity to not only create great music but change the world for the better.
Some people see things others cannot, and they are right, and we call them creative geniuses. Some people see things others cannot, and they are wrong, and we call them mentally ill. And some people, like John Nash, are both.