The video that started it all!

Jedi Drummer: Episode 1 is back!

NAMM 2015

Who's going? THIS GUY will definitely be there!

Hit me up if you'll be in Anaheim, Friday through Sunday.

Drum Cam Footage (1.10.15)

Here I am, up close and personal at Loaded during the Cobra Venom set from my double duty gig.  This is "I Have Bomb In Trunk" from our album "Extinction Reality."

And for my second set that night, here I am with Cliff 'Em All playing "The Four Horsemen!" 

Learn drums in 2015!

It's that time again.  My next group of padawans takes their first step into a larger world on Saturday, January 31st.  Best deal in LA!

Double Duty

The year just started and I got to play with both of my bands at the same show! It was a special birthday gig for our buddy Andy Ford from The Razor KXRZ.

Here's Cobra Venom playing "Dismember Me Fondly":

Here's Cliff 'Em All tearing it up with "Motorbreath":

My buddy Adrian from Metal Warzone took some really cool drum cam footage as well.  I'll get that up in the next couple of days.  It was a show to remember for sure.

Stay tuned for more!

October

My Giants are on and winning again, my Rangers are back, lessons are in session and my bands are busy!  Any wonder why I love this month?  :)

Cliff 'Em All returns to Loaded for another round of Lara Gladstone's "Tribute To The Gods" series.  Got some Halloween surprises for everyone, too.

I also just finished tracking drums for the next Cobra Venom recording.  What will it be?  An album?  An EP?  A split 7"?  8-track?  Not sure but we're still supporting "Warriors" now and we're playing in Hollywood on Oct. 20th.

Finally, my LACC drum classes start up again at the end of the month.  Beginner and intermediate classes are available.  The difference?  Intermediate is for drummers with at least 1-2 years experience that can already read music.  If that's not you, go with the beginner option.

See you soon, Los Angeles!

Drums For Adults & Teens at LACC - starting February 23rd!

My drum classes are starting up again at Los Angeles City College.  The beginner class is for anyone that can't read music (yet) and has very little to no drumming experience.  For drummers that can read music and have some experience already, I have the intermediate class. See you in February!

Cliff 'Em All in Hollywood - 11.14.13

Here's everything you need to know. Now be there! 

My drum class at LA City College!

Sign-ups for Drums For Teens & Adults start this week and will continue through April 26th.  This is a group course for beginners and/or anyone completely new to music.  The goal is to get you to learn how to listen to and read music so you can jam with your favorite songs and other musicians.

As Lord Vader once said, "We would be honored....if you would join us."  ;-)

NAMM 2013!

I'll be there starting today!  Looking forward to reconnecting with old friends and making some new ones.  The NAMM Show is the official start of the music year for many of us and I'm really stoked about some big things in the works for myself, Cobra Venom, Cliff 'Em All, and an unsuspecting group of students in Los Angeles that are about to become padawan learners...

Say hi if you're in Anaheim!

Random Rant #4: Batman Rescues My Sanity

My gig with Cobra Venom ran late this past Sunday night and I realized that I needed my drums for my gig with Cliff 'Em All tonight at The Joint.  I decided to keep my gear in the car and bring it home rather than lug it back to the studio that night, saving a trip downtown and the gas it would take to get there.  Come Tuesday morning, I realized that I left an important piece of gear for Friday's gig at my lockout so I HAD to go back downtown to the studio to get it.  I was NOT happy that my packed schedule was getting jacked up by this nonsense.  Then through the wonders of social media, I found out that there's a Batman exhibit going on at LA Live and the price of admission is FREE!  

Now I decide to take a detour between my job and the studio on the night I go to pick up my gear.  A free thing to do always runs the risk of being lame but Batman is one of my favorite things, so how bad could it be?  The downtown LA traffic was terrible as usual, parking was tricky and for a major Hollywood exhibit, finding this thing in the LA Live complex actually took some detective work.  I got mad, thinking that all this running around was just a way to avoid going to pick up my stupid gear and then I began to wonder all if this effort was gonna be worth it.

I finally found my way to the 2nd level of the West Garage and saw this:  

And this:

And these:

There were WAY too many other good things to post here, so if you're in LA and you're interested, you have 'til December 14th to check it out.  I highly recommend it if you love Batman! There's more info here.

This experience taught me (once again) that when you're dealing with an inconvenience, find a way to make it awesome!  I'm fortunate that I live in a big city with a lot going on.  If that's not the case for you, always try to find something that you want to do on the way to something you HAVE to do.  I'm a big fan of stopping for food at a place you don't get to go to regularly if there are no lifelong passions nearby.  Also, never underestimate the joy of something FREE.  Not many things in life are, so take advantage when they happen - especially if they're this cool!

Cobra Venom - Saturday 12/8/12 - Hollywood

Cobra Venom will be at Vicious Reasoning Studios this Saturday night, tearing it up with our friends Viscera and welcoming Slave State, which features Cliff 'Em All's bassist, Menno!  More info available on facebook.  Come drink, mosh and be merry.

This Week In Drums (12/4/12)

The holiday season is in full swing.  Trees and candles are being lit, presents are being bought, parties are being planned, and in my case, drums are being played!  

Twice.  This week.  Once with each band.

Come hang out when you need a break in the action!

Friday Dec. 7th - Cliff 'Em All at The Joint

Saturday Dec. 8th - Cobra Venom in Hollywood

Cobra Venom in OC next Friday Nov. 9th!

Cobra Venom will be joining some friends behind the Orange Curtain for a killer show at the Doll Hut next Friday, November 9th. More info on the facebook event page. We'll have all our records plus the new shirts at the gig so come say hi, drink, listen to music and buy our stuff. It's awesome, I promise! :)

FREE show with Cobra Venom on Friday 2/17!

The details are above and a sample of what you're in for can be seen below.  This song also appears on the upcoming Cobra Venom album.  Come thrash with us!

Do What Matters Most

"...have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." -Steve Jobs

It's obvious that the man absolutely loved what he did. The money could make anyone happy but Steve Jobs was genuinely passionate about Apple and its innovations. Jobs suffered setbacks most of us couldn't imagine but he kept doing what mattered most to him until his body literally gave out.

Many of my fellow musicians, artists and entrepreneurs are passionate in the same way. The ones who are getting the most out of it (personally, professionally and otherwise) are the ones that are completely dedicated to it the way that Jobs was completely dedicated to his vision. My people have lost money, jobs, friends, homes, relationships and more than half of their sanity doing it but because they're doing what matters most to them, they've influenced the lives of so many people and they become even more successful as they continue.  It's hard for my people to recognize their success sometimes because they're in it every day, but it's happening and it's VERY inspiring to me and many others.

I can't imagine that all Steve Jobs' days were good ones but I'm certain he was satisfied. The fact that our time is so limited is the main reason why I play the drums and pursue music as fully as I do.

Do yourself a favor and do what matters most to you. Whether it's a job, a creative calling or any other big dream, do it. Go all in. Make your life about it. You just might end up changing the world...

Happy Anniversary, Jedi Drummer!

For as long as I've been a drummer, I've always thought about what kind of videos I could make of myself playing.  I'm a big fan of live performances and instructional videos but I also like behind-the-scenes stuff, shot in the studio during the production process.  I'm also a major Star Wars fan and wanted to find a way to incorporate my love for the Lucas legacy into my love for this awesome instrument.  Most importantly, I wanted to do something different and unique that would showcase my playing but also give people a taste of my personality and stage presence.

With a little (ok, A LOT of) help from my good friend and mentor, Charlie Waymire, the first Jedi Drummer video was created and unleashed on my YouTube channel at the end of July in 2010.  The immediate response from my friends and family was awesome so I decided to promote the video at the Star Wars Celebration V convention in Orlando and The 2011 NAMM Show in Anaheim as well as online through the usual channels.  I'm glad I did it because after each of those conventions my views went up considerably and I started getting comments from people that I didn't know personally.  It seemed they loved it just as much as my friends and family did and so the video began making its rounds through the inter-webs.

Many of my friends have told their friends about the video, posted links on their facebook pages, twitter feeds, etc and Jedi Drummer still gets great responses from people over and over again.  I'm lucky that John Williams gave us such an amazing and inspirational cue (and that Lucas' lawyers tend to look the other way on these kinds of things) but I'm even luckier that I was able to do my thing musically and have it be so well-received by musicians and Star Wars fans alike.  I hope you guys continue to have as much fun watching it as I did making it.  To all those who have been asking - yes, there will be another one.

May The Force Be With You!