Interview with Joel Rothman

[toddbishop]

Hey, I've just posted my extended interview with the drum author Joel Rothman on the blog. Most of you who have used his books are aware that he's kind of a mysterious cat- no one seems to know anything about him. There has been very little information about him available online, and he hasn't exactly used his books to fluff himself personally. Here he finally shares some details about his life and study, and about how he built his publishing business from nothing, eventually writing over 100 works.

You can also read my review of his book Basic Drumming here. I've also posted some recommendations for book purchases.

 

[Deltadrummer]

Great interview, Todd. Always enjoyed Rothman's books.

Here's a question for you. I first learned rock drumming out of the Monster Book of Rock Drumming. I gave my beaten up copy to a friend's brother. I went to buy it when I started teaching again. It was called the Mini Monster Book of Rock Drumming. I remember Monster Book of Rock being bigger. Are these two different books? Or is that just my imagination?

 

[toddbishop]

Thanks! I was particularly interested to learn about how he built his business, staying totally independent. I'll ask him that book- I never understood the "mini" part of the title, because the book is pretty comprehensive.

 

[jeffwj]

Thanks for the article - no picture of him, so there is still some mystery left!. I like his books Rolls, Rolls, Rolls, Roll Control, and Jazz Bible of Coordination.

The article says that he still teaches. Where does he live?

Jeff

 

[GruntersDad]

Pretty impressive teachers list for delivering papers and fruit, etc. Great article.


All the while I was studying drums from the various teachers around town such as Jim Chapin, Sonny Igoe, Joe Morello, Ed Shaughnessey, Sam Ulano, Saul Goodman et.al.

 

[caddywumpus]

I have my middle school drum students pick up Basic Drumming as their textbook to work through. You can tell Joel that someone in Portland has made about 100 sales of his book for him, with more on the way.

Great book, which covers a wide range of styles, however briefly. It covers the basics well, until a student picks their next drumming goals...

 

[toddbishop]

Jeff: He lives in London. He was concerned about receiving too much unwanted(?) attention from young women, and asked that I not post a picture.

Cad: That thing was my Bible through junior high. I've actually become really fond of the brief treatment each topic receives- it makes them nice and practice-able. One fat page and that's it.

Ken: He tells me there was indeed a Monster/no Mini book that was bigger than the current one. He didn't elaborate on why he cut it back- maybe he was giving away too much book for the price.

GD: Yeah, Saul Goodman! My old professor studied with him at Juilliard, which was kind of a big hairy deal, and here's this Brooklyn kid studying with him basically on paper route money.

 

[denisri]

I found his books to be very practical and to the point...no BS! Denis

 

[spleeeeen]

Very cool Todd--thanks for doing this. Reading the interview brought back memories of working through some of his books with my first instructor when I was a kid.

I'm always inspired to learn about people believing in/staying committed to their aspirations, even when it takes a while for their efforts to bear fruit. And, I appreciated learning of his desire to make what he saw as significant contributions to the literature even when those contributions were largely unpopular.

Love the "no photo" policy--73 and still needing to set limits with the ladies. Now that's what I call "gettin' it done." ;-)

 

[toddbishop]

I'm always inspired to learn about people believing in/staying committed to their aspirations, even when it takes a while for their efforts to bear fruit. And, I appreciated learning of his desire to make what he saw as significant contributions to the literature even when those contributions were largely unpopular.

Yes, he let me know after I posted the interview that many of his books would take a decade or more to turn a profit- some never did. He didn't just write a ton of books because he was making a lot of money and wanted to cash in. I updated the piece to add those comments- there's a couple of new paragraphs on that.

 

[mediocrefunkybeat]

Great article. I gave it a quick read, but I'm off out and will give it another read later. Thank you for posting.