My earliest recollection of music is playing a black metal stove with purple Tinker Toy sticks. I had a Lincoln Log cylinder as a drum, a Tinker Toy cylinder as a cymbal, and an Indian drum. Hitting the edge of the stove produced different sounds as well. I remember, for one Christmas, my parents bought a pair of drumsticks. In their parental wisdom, one stick was for my brother and one was for me. Ironically, I didn't like the sticks as they were too big for the stove and cylinders I had assembled. Plus they were heavier, weight-wise, than I liked. I think one was broken hitting the stove at some point. This 'set' was situated in front of our 8-track stereo. I don't remember how, but somehow, my mother bought the Gene Simmons solo release. I used to listen to that release repeatedly. With the 8 track, I could skip the songs I didn't like and repeatedly listen to "Living in Sin" and "Tunnel of Love." I remember mimicking the drum pattern of "Tunnel of Love."
Years later, I was in 4th grade. I remember, vividly, that we had to choose what instrument we wanted to play. I chose drums and told my mother that in the car on the way from our old house on Red Bud Road to the house we were moving into on Sally Drive. Soon after, I began taking drum lessons, didn't practice, didn't have any desire to learn my rudiments and now, frankly, I wish I could go back in time and actually practice. I didn't have a big picture as to how important rudiments are to drumming. I routinely play the paradiddle and am working on trying to play that faster and faster. A paradiddle is "RLRR LRLL"
The next to last one is Virgil Donati. I paid $10 for a ticket to see his drum clinic on Wednesday night @ West Music in Coralville, IA.
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