I’ve had a guitar in my hand since I was four. When I was twelve, I was over at my uncle’s house and discovered he had a snare drum and a cymbal. That was it……I was hooked. I begged my dad to get one and he got me a snare and one cymbal. It was enough to get me started and I soon added cardboard boxes to the mix so I could have a few toms. It wasn’t long after that I convinced my dad to buy me a full drum kit. It was a used, red sparkly tama kit that kind of sucked, but I didn’t know any better and I was in heaven anyway. We had a jukebox in our basement at the time and I started playing along to as many records as I could.
When I was thirteen, a friend of mine introduced me to RUSH; the Moving Pictures album and after listening to that album for a month straight I decided I needed lessons and started studying at the local college on weekends. I studied drums seriously for about five straight years and in the midst of that I began taking guitar lessons, bass lessons, singing lessons & piano lessons. I couldn’t get enough of it; it filled a void in my soul that is still filled to this day.
At around fifteen I started playing in rock bands with dreams of money and fame. The money and fame haven’t come (yet), but playing in a band with other good players provides something fame and money can never equal; a glimpse into GOD.
There are those rare times while playing in a band when everything is just right; the playing is relaxed and flowing, everyone’s energy is on the same page, the sounds are great and the groove just can’t be stopped. It is during those times when you lose yourself completely to the music. As an individual you longer exist, it is a higher energy that you are tapping into that flows right through you; you are one with the universe and nothing else exists at that moment. In Yoga terms, it would be best described as a Kundalini experience. It is a rare and amazing experience that I find difficult to describe in words.
I've been playing music now for over thirty years. The work can sometimes be hard, with roadblocks in the way to success, but once you define success as a spiritual one, trying to get a glimpse into GOD (the universe), those difficult times become much easier to manage.
D
