What got you started playing drums?

Hi everyone!

At my web site, I have an 'About' page describing a little bit about what the site's about, and a little blurb about me. I decided to expand on that and write an article about my 'drumming' life, that I hope you all will find interesting. Here's the link to the article:

The Paradiddler - Origins

I hope you enjoy it!
 
my dad got me started at the tender age of 6 and started teaching me stuff more and more everyday. i remeber that after only 1 weeks i was playing one handed rolls!!
 
my buddy had one and he let me play sumtimes. then i saved up some cash and bought one.
 
Music, just becoming a good musician and good drummer

Passion for Music
Dedication.

and a heap of other things


Drums for Life.
 
That ONE fill in Stairway to Heaven.

it still gets me, every time.

That fill during the bridge...yes. bonham made me wanna play and bonham is who i try to play like. along with other inspirations like keith moon, mitch mitchell, and stewart copeland.
 
Envy I guess, a classmate had a drumset and he sucked at drums so bad... He always took it to music class and he wouldn't let me play his drumset at all (and he let others ''play'' it) and that just made me so mad, I started air drumming using screwdrivers as drumsticks (that was the closest I would get to a drumstick at the time) at home some time before that ''incident''. Basically what started me I guess it was this douche that just let me play once and Queen's ''Fat Bottomed Girls'' huuge and exagerate fill, I just love it xD
 
Well, my mom had all the old Beatles albums and that started me on my love of rock'n'roll. Then, growing up in the 1970's, many of the cartoons featured the characters playing in bands: Josie and the Pussycats, The Archies, Fat Albert, The Partridge Family in Space, The Brady Kids (I'm not making these up),,.. I always thought the drummers seemed the coolest--especially Jughead on The Archies. So, when I got to 5th grade and could play in school band, I chose the drums. Not knowing any other real drummers by name yet, Ringo became my favorite. Later I really dug John Bonham, Keith Moon, Ginger Baker, Mitch Mitchell, Neil Peart, etc. Since my teen years were the 80's I got into all the loud, bombastic, fast metal drummers. Now, though, I prefer to keep it simpler and play what compliments the song. Looking back at some of the bands I played in during my younger years, I realize I was hijacking the songs with my fancy stuff.
 
Led zep's stairway to heaven! my ma practically raised me listening to led zep in the car, and whenever stairway came on, i was determined to nail that starting drum fill :p always found myself air drumming frantically rather than air guitaring and when i was about 9 or 10 i really got into reading up on drummers and drooling over cymbal catalogues, despite having never laid a stick on a head in my life! then when i got to secondary school, we got letter sent around asking if we wanted to start learning how to play an instrument and low and behold the drums were on the list! i guess the rest is history, 8 years on and im still going strong
 
Well, I grew up in a house filled with music, my dad was in a couple of southern gospel bands, and owned home studio. So i would always be surrounded with music. As a child I was always fascinated with the drums, playing on the clients drumsets, and playing every sunday after church. So my parents finally recognized my interest and bought me a tama stagestar. I played the heck out of that set. My father taught me, not how to play the drums, but how to go out and buy DVD's. I've never taken a lesson, Just worked with my dad in the studio and watched teaching DVD's. I owe my fascination to my father and all the great drummers out there!
 
Funny story actually. I entered in a lucky draw and actually won some money. It wasn't much, but money is money. I remember how I didn't know what to do with it, and just got this urge to buy a drum kit. So I bought an second hand set with the money, sat infront of the kit and learned myself to play, until, 2 years later, I got some lessons.
 
i'm a big fan of listening to music.Later i just wanted to make my own music and my school had a band so i thought i might as well play the drums my favorite drummer if joey jordison from slipknot
 
Music- ( The music and bands who got you into drums) Rock & Roll-The Who,Beatles ,Stones,Zeppelin,Clash,Eagles,Fleetwood Mac,Steely Dan.
Drummer- (The drummer who got you into the drums) Keith Moon~ Ringo Starr.
Person- ( A specific person you know who got/helped get you into drums) High School friend who also played drums
Style- ( The style you enjoy playing most on drums) Anything with a groove..Kick-Hi Hat-Snare..Its all about the groove . I realized a long time ago I'm not Neil Peart..lol!
Inspirations- ( Anything that inspired you to play in the first place and keep on playing to the best of your abilities)
My refusal to comform to the corporate 9-5 gig.(I have a decent gig in radio) . Cant take this skill away from me ..I learned how to play on my own ..
 
Hmmm a lot of things. music was always in our house and im thankful for that i guess. my dad played everything from the piano to the violin (well, i guess the way he played it it was a fiddle). As long as i can remember my mother sang. step brothers that played guitar, all my family members played some sort of stringed instrument. guess i wanted to be different.

even as a lil kid i remember always watching the drummer of any type of band i saw. i used to stay up late so i could flip between lettrerman and carson to see if either of the bands were playing or they had a musical guest...so oddly enough, they were influences to me (well, the drummers). i learned a lot watching anton figg on letterman. guess my biggest influence was a local kid named brian watkins. he played in one of my dads bands when i was real young...he was a few years older than me so i always looked up to him.

What got me started? my dad forking over some cash to buy me a cheap set of NEW slingerlands and some sabian b8's. probably around 1980 ish?? it was a hunk of money back then, there was no internet deals (or internet for that matter)...just full on retail prices. He did it anyway...gotta love him forever for that.
 
Almost all of my favorite bands have phenomenal drummers that get a ton of freedom, and I find that what they do has a huge effect on the songs as a whole. Also, I need to learn another instrument and I don't want to learn guitar.
 
I need to learn another instrument, and I love drums. My favorite bands all have wonderful drummers, and I think drums sound and look cool.
 
Music- the first rock bands I ever really listened to were christian rock bands because thats just what my dad listened to alot and i would just play there songs over our amp systems and drum along
Drummer- The first drummer that I was really inspired by when I got serious about drumming was WUV from P.O.D
Person- My dad is a really good guitar player and can play other instruments and he taught me how to play the basic beat on our drumset one day and from then it slowly grew on.
Style- At first the only style I really even wanted to play was rock but about 2 years ago I started getting into funk and latin styles of drumming after listening to drummers such as Thomas Lang and Benny Greb.
Inspirations- I learned how to play drums when I was 6 years old but didn't really get into it until I saw the movie School of Rock because it made me want to start my own band.
 
Music- I always liked the 80's music and that's what I've been listening to my entire life. (I'm 18)
Drummer- The first drummer I really liked was Max Weinberg from the E Street Band (Bruce Springsteen) I started playing drums after listening to Born in the U.S.A.
Style- I prefer just plain old rock and roll. (Classic Rock)
 
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