I took the kit home, quickly rearranged furniture in my bedroom and set it up again. An older drummer friend of mine told me to use Pledge on all the parts
(hardware and the shells) to keep it clean and dust free. To this day, I still use pledge, but I don't look forward to polishing them anymore!
I had a neighbor who was about the same age as me (Joey) who played guitar. He and another guitarist would come over for jam sessions - boy did we stink!
It didn't stop us from trying, though. We kept at it and managed to get through a song or two.
I was going into my freshman year at high school the following year. There, I met Scott O'Dell - a bass player. He lived close by and would come over
to jam quite a bit. We became pretty good friends and eventually recruited others to jam with us.
Scott knew Mike P., a singer, who knew Bob Barrett, another guitarist. Scott and I both knew Jim Block from school, so we all decided to start a band.
Jim had a cool room in his basement, so we decided to jam at his house. Plus, his parents were really cool about us playing in their basement. Our first goal
was to play at the McKinley High School Rock Ensemble. An English teacher at the school would organize this yearly event and students would put together
bands to play their favorite songs.
We eventually played the Rock Ensemble (we actually played "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC) and we were hooked! There's nothing like the feeling of being on stage with the crowd yelling and clapping to your songs!
As time moved on, I progressed on to a larger kit: a Pearl Export Series 9-piece. What a challenge it was to learn double bass. I used to sit there at the kit
for hours practicing 16th notes - over and over. I felt bad for my neighbors who had to put up with that! I eventually got to the point where I could hold your
standard, run-of-the-mill 16th note heavy metal double bass pattern (you know, like Red Hot from Motley Crue?). Unfortunately, it was right around this time that
I got heavily into Metallica. It was all over! Lars Ulrich totally blew me away!
If that wasn't enough, I then discovered Neil Peart (Rush).
Wow! The way he was able to piece together rhythms and fills was like nothing I'd heard.
And to top it off, he also wrote all (almost all) the lyrics. What an inspiration
he's been over the years. If you get the chance, check out his book Ghost Rider.
It's the story of the process he went through while healing from the deaths of his daughter and wife.
The Beat
Rosanna, Toto - Jeff Porcaro. Need I say more? That is the most awesome beat! My friends and I have spent hours debating about how he
played it, where the ghost notes are, etc. Jeff was one of my favorites for sure. The feel he gave to a song was unbelievable and
unmistakable. To settle the "debate" I had to go out and purchase a DVD where Jeff demonstrated the beat. Unfortunately, he only
discusses the basics of the beat. He didn't play the song in its entirety, so I guess we'll never know what magic he used!
