Drum Lessons in Ventura CA

I’m currently accepting students of all ages and levels of ability! My teaching schedule is Mon -Thurs 4pm-8pm. I have openings right now on Mondays and Tuesdays primarily but, there are a few other slots available as well! For more info please click on the Drum Lessons link at the top of the page. Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you!

Review of Dry Rot!!

This was a fun and challenging record to do but well worth it in the end! Took me a while to warm up to the final mixes but, more importantly, Drew and Jordan are awesome people and totally committed to what they are saying with their music so, ultimately, I was honored to work with them……..

Here’s a review that was forwarded to me…..

Dry Rot “Philistine” LP
I don’t want to say Dry Rot are controversial, because to me they’re not. But their personal religious beliefs somehow get a lot of people’s panties in a bunch for whatever ridiculous reasons. Who cares if they thank God on their insert when they’ve released what is probably the best hardcore full length of the year. For Christians they certainly are some weird fucking dudes, and that’s all that matters to me. ‘Philistine’ racks up some serious points for unrelenting and furious hardcore rippers, but it’s the stuff that happens in between that makes them a special band. Strange instrumental passages that sound as if they could’ve come from some Nineties alternative band, a surprising array of odd guitar and bass sounds, the mellow jam of “Can A Game Kill Time?” and it’s tape-tricked vocals, some weird-punk breakdowns, some post-hardcore Touch&Go-ish moves, there are unconventional touches all over this LP. It’s not often you get a hardcore record with this much character, and it makes you enjoy the crushing Die Kreuzen-like bring-the-hate moshers even more. A band has to be pretty good at the basics to pull off the weird stuff. And Dry Rot are just that, not some generic punk band trying to play the weird card (or using their religion to stir controversy/sales, but even if they are, who can blame ‘em?), they are a genuinely blistering outfit at the base level which allows them to fit all the unusual moments into their work seamlessly. Nothing seems forced or contrived, no shoehorned in eccentricity just for the sake of it. The most interesting and individualistic band in hardcore punk today, they’ve gotten better with each release and this LP is certainly and rightfully the high point of their path so far. I can’t recommend this record enough, even to all you garage rockers out there who think you outgrew hardcore years ago. Dry Rot and their debut LP rise above genre confines and should appeal to all and any who appreciate idiosyncratic rock music in general. Scum stats: test/tour press version of 100 copies has been floating about for a bit with alternate silk-screened sleeves. Regular release should be widely available. And as a footnote, the drummer of Saccharine Trust plays on this LP.(RK)
(Parts Unknown Records // www.partsunknownrecords.com)

Welcome to 2010!

Well…2009 was an amazing year for me and many of my fellow musicians! Some of the highlights for me were..performing with Big River at the first annual Johnny Cash festival held right here in Ventura, CA..I was personally saddened, as we all were,  to hear of Cindy Cash’s loss of her husband in a tragic motorcycle accident just days prior to the event. I got to perform some awesome shows this year with Warning!-a tribute to early Black Sabbath, Jeff Hershey & the Hearbeats, The Dave Gleason Band, Delaney Gibson, Travis & Amanda Marsh, Black Love… I got to record the new tracks in Dallas at TomCast www.tomcastic.com with Johnny Lloyd Rollins for his upcoming 2nd release…and alot more…I’ll try to get some links and photos in here asap….Cheers for now! T

Back in the saddle!

It’s been awhile but, boy do I have some good stuff to share! More to come asap!

Drum Lessons w/ Alex Acuna, Cindy Blackman Clinic

I’m excited to share that Alex has accepted me as a student, sort of. What i mean by that is that he really doesn’t teach so it’s more of a hang i guess and sharing drumming together. It is so awesome that a player like Alex will make the time to do this. He is constantly doing movie scores and other studio work in Hollywood so….you get the picture..I’ll have more to share on this later as we get together at his home…

And now for other news….Cindy Blackman (drummer for Lenny Kravitz) will be giving a free drum clinic at Mike’s Drum Shop in Santa Barbara on Tues May 15th at 7pm!!!!

She is one of my favorite drummers and I would add that, to me, her jazz band sounds excellent as well…Tony Williams would be proud.

I’ll post after the clinic for those that can’t attend.

Caio

Drum Lessons in Ventura

I’m back teaching at my own studio located at Goldmine Recording Studios in Ventura.

Currently accepting students for private drum lessons ( 1/2 hr sessions ) on drum kit.

Full professional kit, all styles taught, all ages, affordable, flexible schedule.

Please click on the above “Drum Lessons” page link for more info.

Touring Drum Workshop & meeting Terry Bozzio

A few fridays ago I enjoyed the awesome priviledge of getting to tour the Drum Workshop facility in Oxnard CA. What an incredible experience to be able to share with my 12 year old son who came along with me. Right from our arrival as we entered the front office, we saw the most amazing display of pedals dating back to the early 1930’s (or earlier possibly) from many well known companies and of course leading right up to the present with the gold plated titanium DW9000 pedal.

I just bought my 9000 a little while back and have to say it is the best pedal I have ever played. period. Up til then I used a Tama Iron Cobra which was great but nowhere near the smoothness and speed of the 9000. I totally recommend saving your money and getting one.

Back to the tour….

I’ll give you the highlights so as not to take up 10 pages….

Our tour guide, Brandon was really cool and took us through the whole history and process of making drums at DW.

We got to see (and touch) Neil Peart’s new 24 pc kit being made for his upcoming tour with RUSH supporting the Snakes and Arrows CD. What a beautiful red lacquer finish with black arrows encircled by a 36 carat gold leafed snake eating it’s own tail. This symbol appears several times around each shell. Absolutely beautiful!!!

The new shell wraps are awesome as well as the natural finishes we saw being applied to other custom kits.

The making of a drum shell was super cool to see and learn about. The people making the drums were friendly and you can tell they love what they do!

After walking through the finish/ inspection area and visiting the hardware assembly section we went to the showroom where we got to try various kits, pedals and even a prototype pedal with no heel plate!!! very cool!

Brandon then took us over to the other building where we got to check out the new jazz kits (my personal fave) and the 6000 series hardware which is awesome. I hear that’s why Peter Erskine got interested in DW. Apparently the flat-based, aluminum legged stands actually allow the cymbal to resonate better like the old flat-based stands and he also loves the 9000 pedal.

We were just hanging out there for a few minutes when Brandon announced he had one more thing to show us. So, he takes us down the long corridor right past the office of the man himself, Mr. Don Lombardi. Continuing all the way to the end of the hall to an unmarked door, we step inside the room and as we enter, I see a drum set that looks just like a Terry Bozzio set-up. As we turn to the left we see Terry himself in the midst of constructing an enormous rack/cage for his upcoming tour with KORN!! There was also a film crew documenting the whole thing for television!!!

Wow! meeting Terry Bozzio was way beyond anything I expected for that day!!

We talked for 15 minutes about his days with Frank Zappa, UK, Missing Persons and his new instructional website coming soon as well as the KORN tour.

He was very gracious to stop his work and chat a bit. Thank you Terry and DW!!!!

All in all a great afternoon was had and I have to say that although I have been a vintage drum preferring guy for alot of years, I love the new DW jazz drums and that will most likely be my next kit.

Ciao for now…

Idle Hands?

Not here! it’s been a busy month or so since I last posted. Lot’s of gigging and my student list has grown as well. Teaching drums is teaching me so much! I have the best students. They are all at different levels and into different music so it really keeps me on my toes.

Goldmine Recording Studios continues to grow and we’re looking forward to many new projects already booked for the coming months. Big River has promo packs out to all the larger venues in the region and look forward to a busy year. Big River will also be performing to thousands at this year’s annual Rat Fink Reunion.

Joe Baugh and I are writing tunes for our avante- jazz duo, FreeFish,  and will be performing soon. Park Bench Prophets (our other funky jazz project) will also be busy this year.

If that’s not enough, The Phantom Riders are gearing up for another year of blistering Surf-a-billy madness all over So. Cal.!

See you at the gigs!!

Big River at the Chocolate Festival

A good time was had by all at this year’s festival which raised money to mend the faulty hearts of children born in the Chernobyl area of Russia. Big River drew an enthusiastic crowd including a group of line dancers who added some extra flavor to the show. A fan shot some video of the performance. Check it out here.

Drum Lessons in Ventura

I’ve returned to teaching from my studio and doing house-calls. It’s a much better set-up (with full kit) for learning at the studio and my students are really enjoying it. If you’re looking for a drum teacher in the Ventura County area please shoot me an email. You can learn more about my credentials here.