What exact moment made you want to play Drums ?

[tombo74]

Well, I too thought Peter Criss was god when I heard his solo on the Alive! album; you know the one with the phaser-type effect on the drums where he sounds like he's playing 10 times faster than he actually does...

[matricks]

My first set was the 9 piece set just like Lars! Haha. First song i ever jammed on with a friend was 'Sad but True'... used to always cut my knuckles on the cymbal chokes...

[Rhythmatist]

1956 I was 2 years old and my parents took me to see my brother play the accordion with an all accordion band. They had a guy playing drums in the center of it all and that did it (even at that age I could tell the difference between the cool instrument and geekdom). Like Andy, I played on pots and pans for a while till the folks got me one of those Sears and Roebuck toy kits. At 4 they realized I was obsessed so they took me to get lessons from the local drum guru Jimmy Brown. At 5 I played my first gig at the La Salle Il. Moose Lodge using a plastic snare drum and a "choke" cymbal. I made $10. I thought, "wow, I get to have fun and they give me money to do it? I like this." At 6 I had a savings account with more than birthday and tooth fairy money in it. But it wasn't so much the money as the wonderful feeling I had playing music that kept me in it. And that's where I am today with it. I'm having too much fun for a guy my age (I still get that 5 year old's enjoyment from drumming).

[sashal3]

My earliest memory was playing to Stevie Wonder on Innervisions. I was only 4 years old. For some reason I just knew how to play,as far as,kick,snare and hat. Been playing ever since....

[DeSeipel]

When I was about 14, my twin brother started playing and learning guitar. A few months later I wanted to learn an instrument, and actually I wanted to learn the harmonica first, but decided on drums. My first kit was a early 80's Pearl kit; a 7 piece. Been thinking about buying it back from who I sold it to. Anyway, it's strange that I wasn't really inspired by any drummer really. I had an urge to play and I could play, I think, without lessons. For the first month I didn't even have a hihat, I was keeping time on a 2 1/2 lb freeweight! I was fortunate to have my brother to play with during those first years. We played mostly 70's classic rock stuff (Led Zeppenlin). I took some lessons for a while, but I didn't get exposed to a real eye opener until I was like 20. I saw a guy from Chicago named Pat Doody, and he blew me away. I had never seen someone do double strokes on the drumkit like that. I think I led a very sheltered drum life till I was like 20. Then I started listening to Weckl and Vinnie. Now I can't listen to classic rock or the radio, it doesn't do anything for me. Guys like Weckl and Colaiuta make you want to play. Sure Bonham and the classic rock guys have energy, but Vinnie and the fusion drummers are much more exciting to listen to.

[dsleethkeppler]

I grew up in Germany. When I was fifteen I saw a drum solo by Jon Hiseman on a show called 'Superdrumming' on German Television and I was so impressed that I picked up the drums a month later. My dad bought me a Premier Resonator Kit and the rest is history...

[Groovissimo]

I met this 12 year-old drummer last November, and remembering this topic, I was tempted to ask him what made him play drums.

His answer was that he saw Marco Minnemann playing at a drum festival, went back home, asked his dad to buy him a kit, and then tried to play like Marco !!!

Talk about today's influences and how they affect youth ! [img]wink.gif[/img]

[pastor4all]

It all goes back to those 3 consecutive weeks that the Beatles performed on the Ed Sullivan show (we're talking ancient history here). The Beatles had just burst upon the scene and Beatle-mania was sweeping the land. Everyone, I mean EVERYONE tuned in to the Ed Sullivan show. All I know is Ringo looked like he was having an absolute ball! He made drumming look like such FUN. After that first show I begged my parents to buy me some drums. They bought me a Premier snare drum, and within a few months a Rogers pink-champagne sparkle 4 piece drumset. And while I played professionally and very seriously for many many years...I still play drums for the reason I began. Because it's FUN! Thanks, Ringo, for changing my life and bringing something that has been FUN for 40 years.

P.S. To all you young up-and-coming drummers out there--Don't take yourself and your drumming so seriously that the fun goes away. Something dies when your drumming loses its "fun."

[Rhythmatist]

Steve Spencer; you hit it on the head! Several years ago I decided to quit jobbing 'cause it wasn't fun anymore. There were too many anal-retentives telling me to play this play that; the venues were starting to irritate me with the treatment I was getting. The last straw was the night they let everyone else go through the front door but because I had drums I had to use a side door. I had to carry my stuff over my head to avoid hitting the parked BMW's and Mercs and trudge through two feet of snow to get to that door, only to be screamed at for having the audacity to open that door when it was cold out. I kept a smile on my face, finished the gig and caled the band leader the following Monday and said bite me I quit, and took a house gig at a bar with some dear friends and made a bit less money but had a blast playing. Yes, occassionaly I'll whore myself out for a money gig but I tend to pick and choose them carefully. I realized that this is supposed to bring pleasure to the musician and listener alike. We are not saving the world from terrorism or curing cancer here people. It's only music so f*****g lighten up! Yes, it's great to be very serious about your craft and be dedicated but please do yourself a favor and remember why you started doing this in the first place. 'Cause it was FUN!!! We don't need any more artists curling up in the fetal position pissing on themselves because they didn't do something perfect (read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance). Art is suposed to have flaws. It's what makes it art.

I now have 2 very fun gigs, one with a classic country band that is much like a group of old friends and one with a Celtic rock thing with young guys who like to enjoy the night. Oh yeah, musically they are the tightest things I've ever worked with. If you're having fun, it'll show.