Drumlessons in LA or San Francisco?

[swedishdrummer]

Just throwing this question out there. I am a swedish drummer, who's coming to California on vacation this spring and wonder if anyone can recommend ways of taking drumlessons in either LA or San Francisco? Anyone had experience of this? What does it cost, and how does one go about it and which teacher would you recommend?

Thankfull for any response! [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]

[spaceotter]

I know that both Pete Magadini and David Garabaldi at least USED to give lessons in SF (both live out in the hinterlands and may actually require a journey). I seem to remember the drum guy at Haight Street Music being pretty well hooked in with them; it's worth a call. It's been a little while since I checked though. I'm sure they are not cheap--Tony Williams was something like $150/lesson when I asked in 1999 (did not have that kind of dough then). But then, come on, it's Tony Williams.

Also, isn't Steve Smith supposed to be in the Bay Area? I have no idea if he gives lessons even if so.

Other guys here know more about teachers in LA. The obvious people there would be Weckl, Bissonnette, Gruber and our own Steve Holmes, if they're in town.

Best of luck--

[zmorton]

Lemmon Percussion in San Jose has a few good teachers. San Jose is about 40 minutes south of San Francisco. Look them up if you're in that area of CA.

Oh, Tony Williams died in 1997 btw.

[Suspiria]

Originally posted by Zak Morton:
Oh, Tony Williams died in 1997 btw.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">That is funny, yet sad at the same time [img]rolleyes.gif[/img] [img]eek.gif[/img] [img]confused.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/cry.gif[/img] [img]wink.gif[/img] [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[spaceotter]

Oops--must have been early 1997 then, just after I moved to SF. I'm batting about 0 today. Sorry, guys.

I do remember that he died a few months after I visted the place--it was when Drum World was still down on Mission, before they moved to San Mateo. I found it crazy that such a big name was teaching in a local shop.

[Henry II]

Look for a cat by the name of Idalberto Perdomo, a monster Cuban drummer.

[Groovesmitty]

I heard through a few musical peers that Steve Hass has a facility in Los Angeles and will be in L.A during his time off the road.

I'm not certain if this is the case, his website has not been updated since December.

I highly recommend a few lessons with him if anyone get's the chance. He can basically prepare you for any situation as he did with me. You must know what you want out of him though. I found I was a blank page at my first lesson, and he was not sure what angle to take with me. When you have so many options with one teacher, focus is important. Unless you are a once a week student.

We worked on cuban drumming, playing rock to a click, and big band chart interpretation in four lessons.

[drum4fun]

In the Los Angeles area, you could try Paul Kreibich or Joe La Barbera. Both of these gentlemen are highly regarded for jazz drumming instruction.