Music has always been my biggest passion. I've always enjoyed listening to music; my earliest memories are of hearing children's songs, back in the day. I started learning how to play drums when I joined the Greece Cadets Drum & Bugle Corps at age 11. Music truly affects my emotions. I have never felt the need for alcohol, weed, or anything else. Music can make me high, mellow, sentimental or excited. I laughingly frame myself as “the deaf guy who loves music.”
Although I have been drumming for over 50 years, much of my drumming has been in the background while I tended to higher priorities in life, such as working in my career or taking care of my family. I have seen friends progress in their bands to sometimes large local followings while I have remained relatively unknown. I appreciate my friends who invite me to sit in for a song or two with their bands; it’s always an honor.
I have reached a point in my life where I can make music a higher priority. I have been in marching bands again since 2005; primarily Mark Time Marchers and Excelsior Brigade Fife and Drum Corps. I'm excited about my new blues band, Blues Circle. It's a wonderful group of people, and it is expanding my repertoire further into blues music.
Stacey M Pakusch got me into karaoke. That's something that I truly never felt that I would do. Being hard of hearing, I have been extremely sensitive to whether I'm on key or not. I have found ways to help me figure out whether I'm on key. Sometimes I am, sometimes I'm not. I'm not a great singer by any means. Stacey and a few others have told me they’re amazed that a person with the amount of hearing loss I have would try this. I appreciate that feedback; I also don’t expect people to tell me I’m better than I really am. I appreciate the fact that people love my attempts at the Monster Mash. I agree, it is my go-to song. Anything else is hit or miss.
For the last several years, I have been trying to put together a solo drum show. I now have a couple shows available, involving rudimentary and ancient style drumming. It's never going to be big and flashy like “Stomp.” I do what I like. Once I started singing, I tried to figure out how to work that into a drum routine, so that’s available too. I choose songs that I enjoy, not necessarily what is going to bring in the crowds. If people like what I'm doing, they can get enjoyment out of it. Otherwise, they can go somewhere else. My shows so far have been private. My next ambition is to pick up where I left off years ago on learning more piano.
