Drums with David A.

DAVID began his musical journey studying piano and guitar at the age of ten. Soon to follow he began singing and performing in middle school choir and musical theatre where he excelled and found a love for performing. A connection to dance and physical movement has always been a part of David's life. At 2 years old his grandmother bought him a pair of tap shoes and started teaching him basic dance styles. The big revelation happened when David discovered the drums. With the combination of dance, rhythm and physicality, it was a perfect match, and David he knew he had found his instrument and his calling. His formal education began at California State University of Long Beach where he studied classical marimba, snare drum, Brazilian percussion, West African percussion, and Calypso. David then had a unique opportunity to study with one of his drum idols and began apprenticing with Jeff Hamilton. That experience gave David the opportunity to travel the world with the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and learn from some of the best musicians on the planet. He later went on to study with Peter Erskine (Elvis Costello), Joe Labarbera (Bill Evans), Kenny Washington (Bill Charlap), Shawn Pelton (Saturday Night Live, Sheryl Crow) and Samir Chatterjee (Indian Tabla master). David decided to relocate from Los Angeles to New York City to continue his career and quickly established himself as a freelance drummer and drum teacher. He has been played and toured with some of the top artists and groups in New York including The Klezmatics, Josh Nelson Group, Bill Simms Jr, Redlight Cinema, Brother Han, The Gentlemen's Brawlers, The Kat Gang Ensemble, The Dr. Zsa Zydeco Band, The Didge Project, The Gold Magnolias, Klezmer Juice, The Underground Horns, Dimitri Landrain Quartet, Adrian Cunningham Funktet, Chris Conly group, Adam Minkoff ensemble, Joel Frahm, Gilad Hekselman, Alan Ferber, Matt Clohesy, Mike Moreno, Brad Shepik, Andy Mckee, Clay Jenkins, Dan Pratt, Rob Scheps, Jared Gold, Norbert Satchel, and Gary Versace. David's influences include Rock n Roll, Blues, Funk, jazz, Pop and Eastern European music. David truly enjoys sharing his his passion and experience of music with others. He has students of all ages and skill levels. With all of his real world experience, David is eager to help his students reach the next level in their musical life's journey. *** Lesson Details *** I like to have fun with my students. We'll begin lesson showing you how to hold the sticks and hit the drums in a balanced grounded way. We'll then start with a fun piece of music that's easy to understand and we'll learn how to listen to what's going on with the drums. I have my students sing the drum parts with me (Boom & Bop & Boom & Bop &). Within the first lesson I will show you a basic rock beat that can be played to thousands of songs. We'll also talk about some basic independence and I'll show you how to read the drum notation for the rock beat that we learned. Everything I teach is based on the principle that what ever we learn is easy, when broken down into small, simple steps. *** Studio Equipment *** home studio---recording equipment...sound proof drum riser, speakers, printer..one drum set available parents can sit in *** Specialties *** Percussion (Djembe), Drum Set (Rock, Jazz, Funk, R&B, Afro-Beat, Klezmer, and African music)