How do I keep myself motivated?

[ageadm]

Hey guys,

I'm getting demotivated on the drums, I keep practicing regularly though, 1-2 hours a day. I'm going through my drumming road with the "Learn and Master Drums" DVD by Dann Sherill, now I'm working with rudiments & rolls.

Here are a few questions that I want to ask:
1. How to keep myself motivated with the drums?
2. I want to be a Rock/Metal drummer in the future, do I have to learn Rock/Metal drumming only, or do I have to have knowledge in other styles too (Jazz, Blues, Funk etc.)

These are the two questions that are causing me trouble lately

[Swiss Matthias]

Do you play in a band?

I believe that "real-life-oriented problems" are the best motivator. So if you find
that you want to be able to play a certain thing, or maybe you even need to,
you are motivated to reach this goal. If you just practice for practice's sake, or
if you practice if/what someone else (or a book, or a dvd) ask you to, it may be
that you ask yourself why - be it consciously or unconsciously - and lose
interest.

[paistemage]

Look.

Learn anything. The best drummers know lot's of different styles/approaches to a song. Look at Mitch Mitchell.

As far as metal goes look into your favorite drummers, favorite drummer, look at the roots.

Learning ANYTHING can be demotivating.

Listent o Maiden, Slayer, Mercyful Fate, Morbid ANgle, all types of metal for a well rounded Metal approach.

Listen to Mars Volta for some non metal interesting rock.

For intersting metal moments, go to the MELVINS, it will change the way you look at heavy music. Specifically the albums "houdini, "stoner witch," "the maggot," "the bride screamed murder," or the album "stag."

I kind of got bored/frustrated with learning some metal, Melvins opened my eyes wider.

[ageadm]

Originally Posted by Swiss Matthias

Do you play in a band?

I believe that "real-life-oriented problems" are the best motivator. So if you find
that you want to be able to play a certain thing, or maybe you even need to,
you are motivated to reach this goal. If you just practice for practice's sake, or
if you practice if/what someone else (or a book, or a dvd) ask you to, it may be
that you ask yourself why - be it consciously or unconsciously - and lose
interest.

I don't play in a band, and actually, that's my main goal now, get good in drumming and start my own indie (or alternative) rock band. I assume the reason I am demotivated is because I cannot play those Jazz beats in the DVD, that makes me sick. those patterns, triplets are in some way too much for me, so I skipped that part and now this is happening. That's why I asked if it's important to know other styles in which I'm not interested.

[Mad About Drums]

Originally Posted by ageadm

1. How to keep myself motivated with the drums?

??? ...strange question to be honest, motivation has never ever been a problem, I love drums and drumming so much, I'm always motivated to get to the kit, that's not an issue, but I've lacked dedication in certain aspect of drumming, for sure, are you not confusing motivation with dedication?

You can be a motivated drummer, but if the dedication and commitment to be better at the instrument is lacking, you're bound to stagnate a bit, there's so much you can do, rudiments, coordination exercises, indepandence exercises, feet techniques, reading skills, practicing feel, texture, sound, it's almost endless, I switch my feet techique on the bass drums after 10 years, initially it was a hard challenge, but the dedication got me were I wanted to go, now some 20 years later, I'm glad I did it.

Originally Posted by ageadm

2. I want to be a Rock/Metal drummer in the future, do I have to learn Rock/Metal drumming only, or do I have to have knowledge in other styles too (Jazz, Blues, Funk etc.)

I was a rock drummer, when I started to play in bands in different style of music, my drumming improved dramatically, you're learning to play an instrument, it make sense to explore all possible aspect of drumming, even if you're not going to be an expert in any given style, it's all good and most of it can be applied to rock drumming, it's what's going to make you sound unique, still fitting with the style you want to play, but being able to add some spices and zest into your drumming, I'd say go for it, explore other music.

[Dr_Watso]

Two words:
Shock Collar

[Swiss Matthias]

Originally Posted by ageadm

I don't play in a band, and actually, that's my main goal now, get good in drumming and start my own indie (or alternative) rock band. I assume the reason I am demotivated is because I cannot play those Jazz beats in the DVD, that makes me sick. those patterns, triplets are in some way too much for me, so I skipped that part and now this is happening. That's why I asked if it's important to know other styles in which I'm not interested.

Get a good teacher! DVDs are one-sided, they can't give you feedback, you can't have
a conversation with them - obviously :).
Listening and playing other styles are important and useful, but I think not to the point
where you lose motivation or are intimidated altogether.

[David Floegel]

Originally Posted by ageadm

Hey guys,

I'm getting demotivated on the drums, I keep practicing regularly though, 1-2 hours a day.

stop playing for a week (+/-) and get back to drums.
I always do that when I'm getting frustrated or "demotivated" - it helps :)
Imo it's a problem that you keep playing, especially if you're demotivated. You can force yourself to practice, but
you won't see big success.
Practice 2 hours demotivated: 10% success
Practice 1 hour with fun and motivation: 100% success

[dmacc]

Originally Posted by Mad About Drums

??? ...strange question to be honest, motivation has never ever been a problem, I love drums and drumming so much, I'm always motivated to get to the kit, that's not an issue, but I've lacked dedication in certain aspect of drumming, for sure, are you not confusing motivation with dedication?

You can be a motivated drummer, but if the dedication and commitment to be better at the instrument is lacking, you're bound to stagnate a bit, there's so much you can do, rudiments, coordination exercises, indepandence exercises, feet techniques, reading skills, practicing feel, texture, sound, it's almost endless, I switch my feet techique on the bass drums after 10 years, initially it was a hard challenge, but the dedication got me were I wanted to go, now some 20 years later, I'm glad I did it.

I tend to agree MAD. Sounds to me like perhaps a lack of dedication to practice.

My goodness there's not enough time in the rest of my life to practice what I want to get done before I depart.

[kettles]

I'm lucky in that I get to watch my teacher perform every few weeks for free. And he's incredibly good. Watching the stuff he plays, and knowing that those things are within my reach (if I put the work in), is a great motivator. Sometimes it's a musical idea, and other times it's simply observing that his proficient technique and strength are what allow him to play such things. I know you might not have this same luxury, but watching any drummer perform will do the same thing. In short - go to gigs, observe, then go home and practice.

Playing in a band is also good, I just spent over an hour getting comfortable with a triplet double-kick groove to go with a new riff the guitarist threw at me. The bassist gave me an odd time riff (13/16, I think), and I need to come up with a groove and get comfortable with it. That's my mission for tomorrow.

Questions like this are similar to questions like "What color set should I buy?"

If you need to ask others what to do about everything, you'll never take the initiative to progress.

No one can tell you how to stay motivated just as no one can tell you who to love or how to be creative. You do it, or you don't. You have it, or you don't.

As with anything in life, you get out of it what you put into it. In 999 cases out of 1000, music offers little other than the love of doing it. If you don't love it enough to do it-- why bother?

[ageadm]

I guess I over exaggerated a bit. I have to agree with what Mad About Drums said, I can't call it lack of motivation since I love the drums, I'm just having hard times with jazz and that makes me upset. Thanks everyone for the comments.

P.S: I never doubted in my desire to drum, it's just something I love to do!

[Bad Tempered Clavier]

Originally Posted by plangentmusic

Questions like this are similar to questions like "What color set should I buy?" [. . .] If you need to ask others what to do about everything, you'll never take the initiative to progress.

Not everyone is born with all the answers - some people have the humility to seek advice and information when they need it. Your disdain for the OP's question is not only unkind but also superfluous: if you consider addressing this question to be beneath you then, as you say, why bother?

In response to the original question(s) I would say definitely get yourself a band and a good teacher but there are some things you can do on your own to help the way you practice and play.

• If you haven't already, try a practice pad. Drums are loud and if you haven't mastered the exercise you're working on then pounding out rudiments on a full kit whilst making mistakes all the time is not only hard on the ears but hard on the soul. Your brain will find it easier to tolerate these exercises if you spend an hour of work on the pad trying to get the co-ordination right and then the second hour on the kit trying to get the whole thing to sound nice. Also, using a pad makes it easier to use/hear a metronome which, again, if you don't already use one - do.
  
  
• If you can, try playing your kit in different settings. Most people have their kits set up in a spare bedroom or a garage or something where the sound can vary from not great to bloody horrible. Take the opportunity now and then to play what you can play and try to make the kit sound as good as possible. If you can set your kit up in something like a church or a concert hall or any kind of large room and remove any muffling you may have then you can really feel the thunder of the kit coursing through you. If you've never tried such a thing I highly recommend it.
  
  
• Lastly, if you like rock but are curious about other styles then try listening to artists who are ostensibly rock acts but tend to have blues/jazz/funk sensibilities. Off the top off my head I'd recommend Jeff Beck, Steely Dan, Dave Matthews Band, Deep Purple, (early) Black Sabbath . . . and so on. Someone like Stevie Wonder* (again, early stuff) tended to do a bit of everything. If you happen to like any of this stuff then try playing it. If any of these other styles seep into your rock/metal playing then so much the better. Check out Igor Cavalera's playing on Chaos AD by Sepultura: he brought a lot of his latin/tribal influence into that record and I consider it to be a high point of metal drumming and music generally. Definitely something where triplets came in handy . . .

Good luck and have fun.

*Not rock, but you get my meaning I hope.

[Ian Williams]

A hot sexy lady near your drumkit. If She doesn´t motivate you...Sorry! then you are a dead weight mate!

Originally Posted by Bad Tempered Clavier

Not everyone is born with all the answers - some people have the humility to seek advice and information when they need it. Your disdain for the OP's question is not only unkind but also superfluous: if you consider addressing this question to be beneath you then, as you say, why bother?

I
*Not rock, but you get my meaning I hope.

Completely unanalogous. It's not a question that requires a specific answer. It's asking how to do something intangible. It's like asking "How do I become creative? Or how can I not give up?" It has NOTHING to do with being born with answers or even having knowledge.

In other words, it isn't something that requires an answer. it's something that has to be found within. Hence, my response. And it's a valid one.

[hvymtlmike]

1. One of the things that always motivates me is going to live shows. I am a metalcore drummer and I and is always a huge push to see someone else up there hammering it out. A lot of times,depending on location and funds, you cannot attend live shows. For this remedy I collect band DVD's. I collect both documentary (mostly), and live DVD's of my favorite bands and sometimes bands that I want to just check out. Watching those dvd's gives me a lot of motivation. You can also find a lot of 'in the studio', or 'behind the scenes' clips from a lot of the dvd's on youtube.a Sometimes, you also just need to take some time off. Take a few days or even a week, after long stretches, and get that fire back.

2. Metal drumming is VAST. I really don't see there being a limited metal style of drumming. You don't have to focus on 'I need to learn jazz now, then I will learn rock'. Just learn to play the drums. Do not limit yourself to a style of genre because then when you do play in a metal band or whatever you do, your creativity will also be limited. Learn what you want to learn. You don't have to know the ins and outs of specific genres. Draw from what you like and play YOUR style. Best of luck.

[ageadm]

Originally Posted by plangentmusic

Completely unanalogous. It's not a question that requires a specific answer. It's asking how to do something intangible. It's like asking "How do I become creative? Or how can I not give up?" It has NOTHING to do with being born with answers or even having knowledge.

In other words, it isn't something that requires an answer. it's something that has to be found within. Hence, my response. And it's a valid one.

I guess this is an answerable question, buddy. Check all the comments by every user, all are very helpful and helped me a lot. Thanks a lot everyone. I'll try put in use everything that was suggested. Although, I guess I'll keep the Jazz part for later, when I get more "advanced" :)

Originally Posted by ageadm

I guess this is an answerable question, buddy. Check all the comments by every user, all are very helpful and helped me a lot. Thanks a lot everyone. I'll try put in use everything that was suggested. Although, I guess I'll keep the Jazz part for later, when I get more "advanced" :)

Great. Let me know how it all works out for you.

[Anduin]

End every practice session with a few minutes of just goofing around having fun on the kit. Leave with a smile and you’re more likely to come back to it sooner.

[Anthony Amodeo]

if you have to ask how to stay motivated....I have to question whether you should be playing an instrument at all

if motivation doesn't come from within .... outside motivation ...if found....will be very short lived

[SticksEasy]

Watch your favorite drummers play. If I feel like I need to practice I'll watch a Buddy Rich video, or more recent, Longineu Parsons III. I always get the uncontrollable urge to practice new things when I see their videos. Actually, watching any skilled drummer inspires me. Just seeing drums in general. If being on these forums, watching videos or studying doesn't make you wanna practice, then you should probably question your desire to play.

[Bad Tempered Clavier]

Originally Posted by Gvdadrummasum

if you have to ask how to stay motivated....I have to question whether you should be playing an instrument at all

if motivation doesn't come from within .... outside motivation ...if found....will be very short lived

Wow . . .

that has to be the . . .

most insightful thing I've . . .

ever read . . .

Nice to see such encouragement on this forum: if some of us stopped admiring ourselves in the mirror every now and again we'd know that the OP has only been playing drums for about 2 months. I know some members of this forum have always been amazing and are very proud of the fact that they are self-made virtuosos who worship their creators but this habit of dumping on beginners is in extremely poor taste.

[Dr_Watso]

Originally Posted by Gvdadrummasum

if you have to ask how to stay motivated....I have to question whether you should be playing an instrument at all

if motivation doesn't come from within .... outside motivation ...if found....will be very short lived

I don't know. I think in our case, and even for me, it wouldn't be hard to get constantly motivated just by listening to lots of music. Always makes me want to play. In general, I literally can't stop myself from at least tapping out a beat on my knees when I hear good music.

Beyond that, though, making music is just plain fun, and "fun" has always been a good motivator for me.

[Dr_Watso]

Originally Posted by Bad Tempered Clavier

Wow . . .

that has to be the . . .

most insightful thing I've . . .

ever read . . .

Nice to see such encouragement on this forum: if some of us stopped admiring ourselves in the mirror every now and again we'd know that the OP has only been playing drums for about 2 months. I know some members of this forum have always been amazing and are very proud of the fact that they are self-made virtuosos who worship their creators but this habit of dumping on beginners is in extremely poor taste.

I think it's a valid question to some degree. There must have been motivation in the beginning unless you are playing drums at gunpoint (which is also technically "motivation"). If that's already gone after a few months, maybe drums aren't for you?

[Rock Drummer]

You have to think about where you want to be, and what you have to do in order to achieve that goal. That is how you approach anything in life. I too want to be a drummer as my profession, and currently this summer, since I have no school, I am and will continue to practice four hours a day, five days a week, and I try to squeeze in an hour or two on the weekend, but I am usually out of town. It is quite hard to do four hours, and I often want to quit, but I push through it thinking about how it will all be worth it when I am older

[dmacc]

Originally Posted by ageadm

I guess I over exaggerated a bit. I have to agree with what Mad About Drums said, I can't call it lack of motivation since I love the drums, I'm just having hard times with jazz and that makes me upset. Thanks everyone for the comments.

P.S: I never doubted in my desire to drum, it's just something I love to do!

One thing that I found motivating for jazz is to read a jazz history book.

There are many out there. Perhaps some people here can recommend a good read on the topic.

[Anthony Amodeo]

Originally Posted by Dr_Watso

I don't know. I think in our case, and even for me, it wouldn't be hard to get constantly motivated just by listening to lots of music. Always makes me want to play. In general, I literally can't stop myself from at least tapping out a beat on my knees when I hear good music.

Beyond that, though, making music is just plain fun, and "fun" has always been a good motivator for me.

thats all coming from within you

[Anthony Amodeo]

Originally Posted by Bad Tempered Clavier

Wow . . .

that has to be the . . .

most insightful thing I've . . .

ever read . . .

Nice to see such encouragement on this forum: if some of us stopped admiring ourselves in the mirror every now and again we'd know that the OP has only been playing drums for about 2 months. I know some members of this forum have always been amazing and are very proud of the fact that they are self-made virtuosos who worship their creators but this habit of dumping on beginners is in extremely poor taste.

the truth is not always sugar and roses

...and it was insightful....the truth is insightful ...always

lets all tip toe around the truth just to make people feel good about themselves......see how that goes

the world can be a cruel place when you are lied to your whole life

Im not here to be in good taste ...im here to give my honest opinions ....

we can leave the sugar coated lies to you i guess?

go ahead....give him the old win one for the gipper speech......

and I dont dump on beginners...I teach them everyday

when some one says they cant stay motivated I question their desire to play at all......you have to.....thats what they are doing themselves

if you are not a young child your motivation should come from within ....

a desire to play
a desire to seek out inspiration

if you dont have that.....maybe you shouldnt be playing

[hvymtlmike]

I think the question is being distorted because of the way it is presented. My guess is you are looking for ideas on how to gain motivation, because truthfully, everyone faces those times where motivation is needed. There is no right answer, nor did I try to solve your problems. My response was geared tward simply giving you ideas on how to breed motivation. Everyone needs motivation.

Originally Posted by hvymtlmike

I think the question is being distorted because of the way it is presented. My guess is you are looking for ideas on how to gain motivation, because truthfully, everyone faces those times where motivation is needed. There is no right answer, nor did I try to solve your problems. My response was geared tward simply giving you ideas on how to breed motivation. Everyone needs motivation.

Don't buy it. When I first started playing, you couldn't keep me from the instrument. When it got too late to play, I'd wrap a phone book in a towel and practice on it till all hours of the morning. When I started bass, I'd bring it to the gig (where I was playing drums) and play on the breaks. Then I'd practice when I got home.

I would have KILLED to have all the available information today -- lessons on line, youtube vids of your favorite players. Personally , I think it takes balls to whine that you can't stay motivated. It's an insult to people who wish they had more time to play. And yes, they should be told that. Maybe that'll give them the kick in the ass they need as opposed to placating them.

Hey, I'm a father too.

[Anthony Amodeo]

Originally Posted by plangentmusic

Don't buy it. When I first started playing, you couldn't keep me from the instrument. When it got too late to play, I'd wrap a phone book in a towel and practice on it till all hours of the morning. When I started bass, I'd bring it to the gig (where I was playing drums) and play on the breaks. Then I'd practice when I got home.

I would have KILLED to have all the available information today -- lessons on line, youtube vids of your favorite players. Personally , I think it takes balls to whine that you can't stay motivated. It's an insult to people who wish they had more time to play. And yes, they should be told that. Maybe that'll give them the kick in the ass they need as opposed to placating them.

Hey, I'm a father too.

thank you!!!!!!

I just got ripped for speaking the truth

[Midnite Zephyr]

I think coming to this forum has motivated me somewhat beyond my normal self-motivation. I've learned so much since October. Mostly, I've humbled myself because I've realized that I really don't know crap about the drums.

[hvymtlmike]

Originally Posted by plangentmusic

Don't buy it. When I first started playing, you couldn't keep me from the instrument. When it got too late to play, I'd wrap a phone book in a towel and practice on it till all hours of the morning. When I started bass, I'd bring it to the gig (where I was playing drums) and play on the breaks. Then I'd practice when I got home.

I would have KILLED to have all the available information today -- lessons on line, youtube vids of your favorite players. Personally , I think it takes balls to whine that you can't stay motivated. It's an insult to people who wish they had more time to play. And yes, they should be told that. Maybe that'll give them the kick in the ass they need as opposed to placating them.

Hey, I'm a father too.

I can agree with that. I guess I didn't really evaluate it from the eyes of the early days. In the beginning, I to was addicted and couldn't be pulled away. That was 13 years ago. Now I'm in a band and practice upwards of 20-25 hours a week. I still love it and have a blast playing, but sometimes it is nice to feel feel rejuvinated by a live show, or sometimes watching the documentaries (dvd's) as a reminder of why I love it and what I am striving for. I don't disagree with you in that sense. I do find external motivation in other places to help push me to the extreme times.

[Anon La Ply]

Not offended by your dip in motivation here :)

In the end we do what we want to do - be it play drums, percussion, other instruments, pads, books, legs, tables, surf the net, watch TV, socialise, make babies etc. I lost motivation in the 80s - and played sporadically, never with practice until 1998 when I stopped altogether for almost a decade.

That's what I wanted to do at the time and there's no regrets. I would have been a better player now but I might not have been a better person. Get on the kit and just be yourself. If you're not all that great, that's fine IMO.

You have three choices - to settle, to settle and incrementally improve or to practice hard (maybe with lessons) to improve more rapidly.

The first two are good options if you are comfortable with your limitations as a musician. If you choose to push your development then you need to be happy to play rudiments on a rubber pad to a metronome and tricky coordination exercises from nerdy books for many hours to gain the pleasure of being a strong player in the future.

It doesn't much matter - only to you. It's your life.

You don't have to learn jazz or funk to play rock and metal, although those genres can help your groove and feel.

I reckon you should find some other developing musos who are happy to jam and try to make them sound good. I find it 100% easier to play along with musicians than records because the record already sounds good - it doesn't need me. Band totally need us.

[Swiss Matthias]

You guys know you're just discussing over nothing, or for the sake of discussing?

The OP just mentioned that he actually made poor word choice, and his troubles
aren't with being motivated to drum generally, but with practice content he's tackling
at the moment (jazz), ok?

edit: I didn't really mean you, Polly, just saw your post.

[ageadm]

Looks like I need to mention it again: I have no problems in playing the drums in general. I can do couple of Blues beats and lots of Rock beats with the straight 8th or 16th notes, shuffling works only in Blues beats. It's Jazz that's giving me hard times! Actually that's why the topic is all about - I was at that part in the DVD where I had to learn about Jazz Coordination and I couldn't really do all that stuff, so for a few weeks straight I went to my kit, tried and failed. This is how I started to feel "demotivated" and I couldn't figure a way out of that blockage. Now, I moved and left Jazz behind without knowing a single Jazz beat. This is the real purpose of this topic, I just couldn't figure out a better way to explain it in the first post. Damn, words can be so misleading sometimes. I even mentioned that I never questioned my desire to drum, it's something I love to do and never doubted in that - all that some of you guys missed is reading through the comments, not only the first post, as said, it can be misleading. I didn't really expect some of the comments to be so harsh. It would've been a real hit to a novice if you actually said to him what you said to me - I think not replying at all would have been a better solution.

Originally Posted by Swiss Matthias

You guys know you're just discussing over nothing, or for the sake of discussing?

The OP just mentioned that he actually made poor word choice, and his troubles
aren't with being motivated to drum generally, but with practice content he's tackling
at the moment (jazz), ok?

edit: I didn't really mean you, Polly, just saw your post.

Thanks buddy. This is what I've tried to say in a shorter version.

Originally Posted by Anon La Ply

You don't have to learn jazz or funk to play rock and metal, although those genres can help your groove and feel.

This is also an answer I was looking for. Thanks.

[Mad About Drums]

Originally Posted by Swiss Matthias

I didn't really mean you, Polly, just saw your post.

Womaniser!!! :)

[Swiss Matthias]

A man must do what he has to do. LOL

[Dre25]

OP I am (or was) in a similar situation. I played in the jazz band in high school but beyond the standard beat I couldn't really expect to do much because I never listened to jazz, but I still practice it almost every day 1: for coordination and 2: so that when the time comes I'm prepared.

Check out Benny Greb's alphabet system and play through all the 'letters' with the ride + hi hat pattern going. Do this with the left hand and right foot and then play snare and bass together in various patterns. This will give you the vocabulary to place notes anywhere in the bar which is important if you want to mimic jazz drumming. I think this systematic approach will give you the help you need to get started.

As for motivation - there are many days that I don't want to practice, but I still do. I find that alot of the time I change my mind once I'm warmed up and pleased with what I'm playing. If I play like crap, and trust me it happens, I just go though my practice routine to the best of my ability and I know that's as hard as drumming is ever going to get, and it will be better tomorrow if not the next day. You cannot feel confident at all times in life, this applies to everything, just keep trying and as time goes on you will be rewarded for your efforts.

[mikeyhanson]

When I was around 20 (I'm 48 now) I signed up for a jazz improv class at the local city college. I wasn't sure what I was getting into, but the word "improv" gave me an idea I could wing it a little bit. The first thing they did was gave us an assignment to test our jazz chops. Brubeck's "Time Out". First, we needed to prove we could play jazz before we were allowed to improv to it. Makes sense now. Don't know why I didn't think of it back then.
I didn't really know what to do, so I went down to a local jazz club and watched a guy go through stuff. It was pretty eye-opening to see it done by someone else. Gave me all kinds of tips on technique and such without every asking a question. I just watched him. After that I was motivated to tackle Time Out.
Of course, being the material it is, it's a little rough for someone going in first-time, but I learned a lot from doing that. The pressure I put on myself to figure it out was huge, and it forced me to not only learn, but research, which ultimately motivated and inspired me.

After that happened, my appreciation of jazz grew, and I found things that I could play first, then tackled things that I didn't think I could later. And being a nut about all things music, I wanted to learn as much as I could. It wasn't until I had the confidence up to do that, though.

For the record, I never played in any jazz groups afterward. I play mostly punk and rock stuff. The closest I ever got was a duo I did with a Hammond B-3 player. But that adventure in city college stuck with me and turned out to be huge in my appreciation for jazz.


++1 on Melvins. My old band shared a practice room with them for 2 years in S.F.. Dale Crover is incredible!