You know you are a drummer if.....(pt1)

So you think you are a drummer? Most non-musicians believe that simply owning a drum kit, and playing a couple of beats qualifies you as a drummer. Well I’m here to tell you that they are wrong! Here are a few of the reasons that I have come up with that show there is a lot more to it than that. These views are based upon my life and experiences. See how many sound familliar to you.

Rule # 1: A drummer, must drum.

If he(or she) does not have a drum kit, then he is planning to get one and is patiently drumming on anything he can find until he gets his own. He may not know where to put the kit when he gets it, he might not know where he is getting the money to BUY the kit. All that he knows he needs a kit and he will have a kit. That is all that matters.

My real life example: I slowly awakened to drummer status in my early teens. I did not have a kit, I did not own a drum. In the beginning I was lucky to have a pair of sticks. Still I was driven to become a drummer. I read magazines, drooled over catalogs, visited all the music stores I could, and spent weekends at my best friend’s house because the lucky bastard had a kit in his basement. I slowly acquired hardware, cymbals and gear bit by bit, but I never wavered from my goal. I learned songs with headphones, a cd player, and a pair of sticks drumming on my bed! At those early gigs I performed on a kit provided or my friend’s kit. In the end it took me close to four years before I actually owned my own drumkit, but I never gave up.

Rule # 2: A drummer never stops drumming.

You do not “quit” drums, ever. A drummer like an alcoholic is a drummer for life (just don’t be an alcoholic AND a drummer). You may need to sell the drums if times become hard -and I mean really hard, but you are still a drummer (simply return to rule number one and start over again). Anyone can buy a kit and even learn to drum, but that alone does not make you a drummer. I’ll even venture that there are “drummers” in bands that are making a living at it. However, if you know anyone who has done it all, but in the end sold his kit and quit drumming, I maintain he was never REALLY a drummer in the first place. Don’t be fooled! There are far too many, of these fake drummers out there in the world today.

My real life example: Anyone you meet who says “I used to play drums in high school but….”.

More rules to follow……

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