New blog series, that could last forever. I began playing drums around the age of 13-14. My parents bought me a combined set of drums from a garage sale, I swear it was like a 12 piece; double bass drums, double every size tom, double cymbals, everything - a beautiful mess. I played that thing day and night, as much as I could. Today I prefer a solid 4 piece. But I’ll tell you what, the music I listened to from that era has still stuck with me & really formed who I am as a drummer.

Here’s a band that someone introduced me to that I absolutely loved. I air drummed to these guys… well, I still do. Straight up four on the floor rock. I learned from these guys that you don’t need flashy fills to be great, just stick it and use your snare more. The band is called the Smithereens and in their time, they were hot. Check ‘em out. I think every drummer ought to listen and learn.