Mike Johnston

Sopranos

Senior Member
I want to nominate Mike Johnston for a profile/gallery page on DW. He is a phenomenal educator and is quickly becoming a force in the online drumming community world wide.

I was surprised to find that he is not yet featured on this site.

Bernhard - Have you already considered adding Mike to the gallery?
 
Re: Mike Johnston nomination

Have only heard of a Mike Johnson in Ohio somewhere that represents a handful of drummers. Who is your guy? Web site?

Bermuda
 
Re: Mike Johnston nomination

Besides being a fantastic player and teacher (a rare combination), he has also accomplished something pretty revolutionary in offering live video lessons which are streamed to hundreds (now, maybe thousands) of students around the world. To my knowledge, regular, live instructional video lessons are not offered by any other drummer, or any musician in any category for that matter. So, he truly is revolutionizing how music education can be offered.

With his YouTube presence and his growing student base around the world (both through YouTube and his live lessons), his influence is increasing by leaps and bounds. And if all that weren't enough, he's got a great personality. He's completely at ease in front of the camera, friendly, lively, energetic, enthusiastic and has a great sense of humor. Best of all, he genuinely cares about his students. I know it's only a matter of time before his face is on the cover of Modern Drummer. In the meantime, I think he is definitely worthy of being on the Watchlist page at least.

(I'm not only one of his live lesson students, but I'm a big fan of his, if you couldn't tell. :)
 
Re: Mike Johnston nomination

Definitely add him. He's made a name for himself in the CA area. I actually got to see him on the morning Sacramento news show this morning. And damn he's got a gorgeous kit.
 
Mike is a great player and educator. He sucks you in to what he's playing and what he's got to offer. You can learn a lot from this man.
 
I've seen Mike recently on Youtube. Never heard of him before, and I was suprised of his sound and groove. Definetly one of coolest guys around.
Could enyone tell me ( I'm from Croatia so not vary in the core of heppenings in USA :D ) some of his bands and/or projects. Didn't find anything on the web. TNX!
 
Well I'm glad this thread is here!

I second the motion to have Mike Johnston listed as one of the featured drummers on this site. So here's my contribution.

I recently interviewed Mike for TheParadiddler.com. It was a blast! He is so insightful, focused, and is genuinely interested in the betterment of the student. Plus, as has been duly noted, he is a phenomenal drummer. World-class, in my opinion.

Interview - Mike Johnston

I think many drum students are fortunate that Mike has chosen to share his skills instead of play in a band. His enthusiasm is infectious, and he's inspirational to boot. Have a listen to the interview (it's a podcast), and let us know what you think!
 
I am one of Mike's online students and I can't agree more about having him profiled on Drummerworld. I was ready to quit drumming altogether when I stumbled across some of his youtube videos and decided to sign up for the online lessons. I am so glad that I did. Mike really does care about his students and providing high quality content for his lessons. I am sure he is making a good living off of his site but you can tell that it is not about the money for Mike. I have heard that when he does clinics and private lessons at a drum shop, he doesn't even take the money from the lessons. The drum shop covers all of his expenses and he gives the lessons basically for free. The shop keeps the money from the lessons. This may not be totally correct but it is what I have heard and with corresponding with Mike, I believe it to be true. I will be attending one of his week long camps next June at his studio in Folsom and I have heard it is a "must do" for any intermediate or even advanced level drummers. During the camps Mike's drumming day (I am sure he must wake up around 7 am) starts at 9am and runs till about midnight. He then stays at the studio till about 1-2am editing each "campers" personal video. He's getting around 3-4 hours of sleep a night for the week! While the camps are running he still has to teach his local students, prepare his lessons for the online lessons, teach the online lessons while also teach individual lessons with each camper, teach group lessons and everything else related to the camp (his wife Amber also works with him to help out). 15 hour days of drumming for a week, once or twice a month depending on the camp schedule! Heck he even gives out his personal cell number so you can talk to him one on one if you are having troubles with the lessons! While all of this is going on he still finds time to post his free video lessons on Youtube. The man is a machine! That is the level of dedication Mike has to his students. And, like has been said before, he has a great personality and makes the lessons fun! He is more than qualified to be teaching as he is an amazing drummer in pretty much any style of music. If someone wants lessons in an area that he is not well versed, he will bring in a guest teacher to cover that material and at no extra cost to the students. He also has started running online clinics with guest drummers as well as camps with guest drummers. So far Dante Roberson and Benny Greb have participated in the online clinics. Dante is also a regular visitor to Mike's camps and to the online chat room during Mike's lessons. He is always ready to share some of his extensive drumming knowledge with anyone who asks for help. Benny recently held a week long drum camp at Mike's studio and also held 2 clinics during the week. He was only scheduled for one but added another later in the week due to the overwhelming response from the students. Mike makes all of this possible and does it with a smile. He is the real deal!
 
And don't forget Johnny Rabb is part of the troupe of drummers contributing to the Mike Johnston experience!!!

Davo
 
Well I'm glad this thread is here!

I second the motion to have Mike Johnston listed as one of the featured drummers on this site. So here's my contribution.

I recently interviewed Mike for TheParadiddler.com. It was a blast! He is so insightful, focused, and is genuinely interested in the betterment of the student. Plus, as has been duly noted, he is a phenomenal drummer. World-class, in my opinion.

Interview - Mike Johnston

I think many drum students are fortunate that Mike has chosen to share his skills instead of play in a band. His enthusiasm is infectious, and he's inspirational to boot. Have a listen to the interview (it's a podcast), and let us know what you think!


I thought the interview was great, very inspirational and interesting. Good Job! Well worth the time to listen to the entire interview.
 
I want to nominate Mike Johnston for a profile/gallery page on DW.

I second that notion

I "third" that notion.

Definitely add him.

I second the motion to have Mike Johnston listed as one of the featured drummers on this site.

I am one of Mike's online students and I can't agree more about having him profiled on Drummerworld.

He's not even on the "wishlist". Anyone care to nominate him?
 
Have to agree Mike is awesome...spent hours watching his stuff and will eventually join in on his lessons as well...too much going on right now with shoulder recovery to do lessons though...but the guy is great!
 
I thought the interview was great, very inspirational and interesting. Good Job! Well worth the time to listen to the entire interview.

[+1] I really enjoyed the interview as well. It helped me learn more about one of my favorite drummers as a person, musician and entrepreneur.
 
I've seen Mike recently on Youtube. Never heard of him before, and I was suprised of his sound and groove. Definetly one of coolest guys around.
Could enyone tell me ( I'm from Croatia so not vary in the core of heppenings in USA :D ) some of his bands and/or projects. Didn't find anything on the web. TNX!

Mike used to be in a band called "Simon Says". Check them out.

He was the most physical drummer I have ever seen. I've seen him play a SImon Says track up close and his power is off the scale.

Davo
 
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