Drums with Steve G.

Hello, my name is Steve. I'm a graduate from The Philadelphia College Of The Performing Arts with a BA degree in the Performance of Jazz and Percussion. I started drumming at the age of 11 and first got the bug to play drums when I saw Buddy Rich, the worlds greatest drummer on TV. Some of my favorite drummers are: Steve Smith (Journey), Ian Paice (Deep Purple), Carter Beauford (Dave Matthews), Steve Gadd (Session player), Jon Bonham (Led Zeppelin) and Ringo Starr (The Beatles) to name a few. Some of my other drumming influences are Travis Barker, Mike Portnoy, Jojo Mayer, Thomas Lang, Joey Jordison, Carl Palmer, Max Weinberg, Liberty DeVito, Kenny Aronoff, Steve Jordan, Bill Bruford, Terry Bozzio, Simon Phillips, Phil Ehart, Alan White, Carmine Appice, Anton Fig, Steve Farrone and the list can go on. I have performed a variety of music in my career including dance and pop, new country, blues, jazz, grunge, progressive, alternative, classic and always straight ahead rock and roll. In 1986, I settled in Los Angeles. There I recorded and showcased with original bands until I joined up with Candye Kane and the Swinging Armadillos, who were a blues band from San Diego and signed to the Antone's label out of Austin, Texas. I recorded on three of Candye’s CDs, "Knockout", "Diva La Grande", and "Swango". I toured with the band domestically and internationally playing club dates, television appearances and major blues festivals over a period of six years. The band shared the same bill with such greats as The Neville Brothers, Dr. John, Ben Harper, John Lee Hooker, Johnny Lang and David Lindley to name a few. In 2001, I joined SixtiesMania - A tribute to the 60's. It was a full production show that had extended engagements in a variety of showrooms around Las Vegas. I also traveled with SixtiesMania to Bali, Indonesia to perform corporate events. Finally, I performed & toured with Sony and Epic recording artist Bertie Higgins from 2008 through 2011, who in 1982 had the hit "Key Largo". We toured domestically and recently went to the Far East playing in Malaysia and Singapore for a series of shows. I am a professional with very good work ethics, great stage energy, and am an excellent time keeper. I am considered a pocket player with chops but is groove minded. I takes great pride in the integrity of the music I perform. The audiences response to me has always been positive. Younger fans say "He's so much fun to watch" or "He looks like he's having a blast!" and the thing is .... "I AM!" It wasn't till 2006 when I discovered my passion for teaching. I love sharing my knowledge as a drummer and performer. I want to pay it forward to the next generation of drummers. I have had great success with a number of students who are now taking their drumming skills to the next level. It gives me great gratification to see my students and ex-students blossom into wonderful and masterful musicians. I hope to continue passing on my knowledge & experiences to the drummers of the future. I am endorsed by and play MapleWorks Drums, Soultone Cymbals and use Beato Bags  *** Lesson Details *** Drum lessons can be fun and should be fun. Why else would we learn to play music. All you need is a pair of drum sticks and a practice pad to get started. I offer private drum instruction from your home and have been working successfully with kids ages 7 to 16 years old for over 10 years. I primarily work in the Summerlin, Centennial Hills and Northwest Las Vegas areas. I provide comprehensive studies for the drum pad and drum set including reading, rudiments and rocking the kit. I make the lessons fun & entertaining while the student learns the essentials of drumming. I can have your son or daughter playing in no time. *** Travel Equipment *** I bring a drum pad, drum sticks and drum music to my drum lessons. I would like my drum student to have their own practice pad and drum sticks to start out with. A drum set can come later. I hand out music accordingly so the student knows what to practice and prepare for his or hers next lesson. I also use CDs to teach drum parts from songs that my students like. Now they can play along with their favorite songs like they are in the band. *** Specialties *** I enjoy teaching beginners and intermediate students. I teach technique, learning the 26 drum rudiments, reading snare drum music as well as drum set music. Warm up exercises on the practice pad as well as drum set beats, grooves and fills around the drum set. Also I like teaching songs from CDs so my students can play along with. I enjoy watching my students progress and see them turn into promising musicians.