November Update

It has been a very long time since I updated my news blog!  This has been an extremely busy year.  In the time since my last update, I've picked up my performance schedule again.  I'm now playing in three different projects (one of which I run myself) which take up a good portion of my Friday and Saturday nights.  It feels good to be playing more to keep my gigging chops up and stretch a bit.  I'm very grateful to be playing with some very talented musicians.  I always post my performances (both public and private) so anyone wishing to see me perform can just check my performance calendar here:

Rob's Performance Calendar

I've made some recent upgrades to my teaching studio that I'm excited to share.  I recently outfitted my teaching set with Remo SilentStroke drum heads!  These are the very same heads found on high end Roland electronic drums.  They are wonderful for practicing on as they feel like real heads, produce beautiful tone AND reduce sound level by 80%!  Here is a picture of my teaching set with the SilentStrokes:

I'm also very interested in field testing Zildjian's new L80 Low Volume cymbals at this year's NAMM  show in January.  When I field tested the SilentStrokes at the Remo booth at last year's NAMM show, they had a set of Zildjian Gen16s which were amazing but very pricey.  The L80s are much more economical and geared for practicing whereas the Gen16s are geared for use with triggers.

Lastly, I was just notified that I had been included in Dom Famularo's Drum Teacher List!  What a great honor!  Dom is an amazing drummer, educator and motivator.  His positive vibe and enthusiasm are unmatched!  He is known as the Drumming's Global Ambassador!   You can check out his link here:

Dom Famularo's Teacher List

As we enter the holiday season, I'm once again reminded about how grateful I am to be able to teach and perform for a living.  I'm thankful for all the wonderful relationships I have with the companies I endorse.  I have an amazing roster of students who keep me on my toes and many have become dear friends.  I hope all of you have a happy holiday season and that 2016 is a year of health, happiness and prosperity for us all!

Flam & Paradiddle Exercise

This is a quick video demonstration of a really great exercise to warm-up with as well as to help with the development of the non-dominant hand.  It combines flams and paradiddles.  I also use a left handed pataflafla to help with my non-dominant left hand!  Hope you can find some use from it!

Flam & Paradiddle Exercise

February 2015 Update!

It has been FOREVER since I updated my blog! I have been so busy with my students, family and home improvement projects that I've neglected my news/updates terribly! 2015 has started out wonderfully! I'm so thankful for all my amazing students. My roster is full and each student brings a new challenge as well as a new blessing. I still have to pinch myself from time to time to really make sure I get to do what I love for a living. It has its challenges as I said... namely teaching 6 days a week with nary a chance to relax! But all in all I wouldn't trade it for a thing! NAMM 2015 was one of the best NAMM shows for me. The show is a bit of a double edged sword for me. I get the privilege to attend and see all the new gear, meet friends and company reps I only see once a year and rub elbows with my drumming heroes. I can only attend one day (Friday) and I have to cancel students to attend. That is the drawback... and the fact that I have only one day to do all I need to do. This year I was able to do everything I needed to do in a reasonable amount of time and still have time left over to relax with my family! The highlight of this year's NAMM for me was seeing two of my most influential teachers! I started studying with Roy Burns back in the very early 90s as I was having troubles with my elbow and wrists. I also decided that I wanted to pursue drumming as a career. Roy taught me as much about life and the music business as he did about drumming. He also cured me of all my technical ailments that were leading to my health issues. Here's a pic of Roy and I at the Aquarian booth. He's still going strong at 79 years of age!

The other teacher I got to see after many years was Tony Pia! I attended a NAMM show back in the day and really wanted to study with Gregg Bissonette. A friend of mine had hired Gregg to play on his solo album and I was a HUGE fan of his drumming and instructional video. I met Gregg at a NAMM show and hit him up about lessons. He very graciously told me that due to his crazy schedule, he was only offering group lessons. I told him I wanted private, one-on-one lessons as I was looking for a mentor. He told me about his roommate, Tony Pia. At the time, Tony was playing with Edgar Winter (along with the aforementioned friend who hired Gregg.) He told me Tony was a beast. Long story short, I studied with Tony and Tony encouraged me to start teaching! If it weren't for him, I may not be the teacher I am today. Here's an awesome pic of Gregg, Tony and I at the Dixon Drum booth. Gregg is playing with Ringo Starr and Tony is playing with the Doobie Bros. Not bad work if you can get it!

Seeing these hugely influential teachers/roll models reminded me what a great privilege and responsibility we drum teachers have. We don't merely impart drumming technique. We listen, encourage, motivate, provide a shoulder to cry on, share mistakes and wisdom we've gleaned over the years. I never take it for granted.