drums...drums in the deep...

(I just like how Gandalf reads that line in "The Fellowship of the Ring", when they are in Moria...)

I play drums. (Duh, you say...just look at your profile picture!) I'm not a particularly good drummer (I am my own worst critic), but it's something I enjoy. I mean, I suppose I can hold my own on many songs (and can-in often "simplified" versions, mind you, imitate certain styles and drummers when needed), but I'm definitely not some guru like my friend Aaron. If held down and forced to give "personal influences" (aka, drummers that are my "default style" when I'm not overtly trying to imitate someone, or when I just add some personal flair to a song), I would say Alex Van halen...I just notice his style, intensity, fills, etc., sounding a bit like what I tend to do...

The funny thing is how I catch myself truly "losing myself" in a worshipful (of God, not me...hopefully...) sense as I drum. I certainly think worshipping God is WAY BEYOND just songs/music (Romans 12:1-2 is a "life-verse" of mine that I prayerfully seek: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans%2012:1-2&version=65), but I do enjoy a good worshipful moment in song. Yet, I've never been a singer, guitarist, kazooist, etc. But with drumming, I just seem to lose myself. It is a funny feeling...almost second nature...very cool but hard to describe...

I started drumming at age 15 (essentially figuring out the basics of drumming on Aaron's new "Thunder" set from Sears...before he even did ha!), but did not actually own a personal drum kit until I was...28? 2002 I think it was... I essentially did not drum AT ALL between 1993 and 2002...but my wonderful wife Missy surprised me for my 28th birthday by rounding up some cash from family members and purchasing a used Tama Superstar set. A black one :-). It wasn't new, and had some "pieced together"-ness to it, but I love it. It has character. Aaron even did some research beforehand and learned that my type of set was one of the premier sets of arena bands in the 70s and 80s...so I figured it was a good one. Over the years I've added stuff (like a splash, double-bass pedal, and I now would like to acquire an additional crash cymbal...someday...), and I've had to add some duct-tape in places (I'm calling it "FrankenDrums", kinda like Eddie Van halen's pieced-together guitar he built and used exclusively back in the day), but like I said, I still love 'em.

Lately, I've had the privilege of teaching two teens the very basics of drumming (coordination, basic beats/rhythms, fills, transitions, tempo, etc.)and it's been a joy to see their confidence and creativity grow. Ultimately, even though I DO have a ball playing drums for our youth band, ParadigmShift, I would love to transition out of the primary drum throne and hand much of it over to one of these two (or other teen drummers). But for now, I get to be the old guy who rocks out with the kiddoes.

Someday, though, I would LOVE to be in a garage or cover band with some other folks refusing to stop the rock despite advancing age :-). In fact, I was drumming on the dash of Missy's car recently to a Metallica song ("Wherever I May Roam", if you must know) as Missy drove down the highway...and I saw a smile on her face. "You want me to be in a band, don't you?", I asked. "Uh-huh" she said.

So if anyone in the Parker County/W. Tarrant areas wants to jam to bad 80s arena rock, let me know! Muwahahaha....