A while back I had a request for lessons from someone who had physical disabilities. It was on recommendation from their doctor that they try drum lessons.

I wasn’t sure how I could help, but we started the lessons. I taught this person like any other student and a few things enlightened me on our journey of teaching and learning to play the drums.

Because of the physical nature drumming, the mind and body connection with counting notes and bars of music, and then lining up your limbs to play what you count or hear, I discovered that drumming might be a great physiotherapy tool.

With the challenge of this person’s disability, the nature of which was unknown to me,  this student had trouble using their left hand and left foot. It was as though the left limbs weren’t accepting the brain signals 100%, resulting in an impaired movement.

We started the ride cymbal first, then the hi hat with the left foot, we added the bass drum with the right foot, then the snare drum with the left hand. Slowly over a few lessons I could see these connections being made. It was amazing! We got as far as being able to play basic quarter note and 8th note drum patterns.

In two short months I witnessed some incredible improvement, and this person was learning to play despite the challenge presented by the disability.

I’m not a doctor, physiotherapist or health care provider/professional but if anyone needs physiotherapy or has disabilities, they may want to discuss drumming with their health care provider. The mind and body connection with learning to play the drums may be of some benefit.

Cheers.

Last week I was playing a show with a band that does cover songs. We play pretty much anything from ZZ top to U2.

The gig was a fund raiser for a charity choir and during one of our sets it was sprung on the band that a few people wanted to come up and jam out some songs. These were songs that we didn’t know and that our skills would be put on the spot and tested. It was pretty funny because our  bass player is pretty much a rock n roller and hadn’t really played anything but hard rock, so the look of horror on his face was pretty funny when the guest singer jumps up on stage and yells “Blues in A” and starts counting us off. Basically we had four counts to see if we would sink or swim.

Well the bass player fumbled his way through and it turned out fine. The rest of us band members have the experience of playing different styles and grooves so we played great, but the lesson here is this.

If you take the time to learn a few country music time feels, some Blues grooves and some convincing jazz riffs you not only open your mind and body to new ideas and skills but it prepares you for some intense musical situations that depending on what you have together musically and stylistically will allow you to swim rather than sink.

Two and a half years ago I was coming back home from a show at Arlene’s Grocery in New York, when after a ten hour drive, I was sitting on the couch in a semi coma, being told that we were having a baby.. Stunned silence…

I couldn’t believe it! We were going to start trying for a baby at the end of that year so I was caught a bit off guard. I had no time to mentally prepare and I guess one is never really ready for a life altering thing as the birth of your first child, particularly a musician like myself. I had some decisions to make..

I have seen this happen and I’m sure whoever reads this has also seen the same. Quite a few people who are faced with a child on the way go into a phase or panic, thinking “I need to get serious, find or stay in a career and buckle down, because I need to support my kid”. I am no different. People will stay at a job or career that just isn’t what they should or want to be doing. It’s just easy to remain where they are regardless of the fact that the work they do does not move their soul.

When thinking about the reality of a baby on the way, I really felt some dread in my life and it was not the fact that a baby was coming. (she was a planned kid, just 8 months early) It was because I was a serious musician playing in a band, trying to make a career, but also working a decent paying  job that was really sucking the soul out of me. I did not want my kid growing up knowing that her dad decided to sell his soul, and work this job up into a career that he hated so he could pay the bills, and help provide for her. I wanted to Rock! Not give it all up. I wanted to show my kid that you should do in life what moves you and makes you happy. I wanted to come home with a smile, to greet her being happy and fulfilled. I did not want her to think that paying bills and having money, means that you need to settle for something that is not fullfilling.

I feel that if you do what moves your soul, everyday has purpose and meaning. The days will not become a blur, melting into unremembered weeks and years that slip by very quickly. There’s a Confucius saying that goes like this, “Choose a job you love and you will never work a day in your life”. How profound is that!!!

Here’s what I did.

The company I worked for was bought by a major competitor, so I figured there would be some layoffs. I spoke to my manager, informing her that if they decided to let go of some staff in our dept, they could choose me and not have to bring a box of tissues to the meeting. Anyone reading this is probably saying to themselves. “This guy is nuts, he has a baby on the way”. Well after 8 months they gave me and many others the handshake. Yahoo! I was free!

I was at this company for 10 years so the package they gave me was very sweet. It was a major mining company so they’re known for giving out nice packages. I promptly took  a contract at Ryerson University, which completely cemented the fact that I hated the office working environment with all it’s politics and poison personality people. I finished the contract and split. I couldn’t get out fast enough.

I toiled around for a year on EI benefits while I was deciding what I wanted to do, but I always new in the back of my mind that I should be teaching people how to play the drums. I have taken lessons and played for 17 years, I taught drum lessons at “Just Drums” in Toronto for a while, I had always taught friends and other musicians how to play drum grooves and fills, I had decent people skills, and the patience that is needed to impart knowledge that can be a real challenge to explain.

I applied and was accepted into a government program at the “Toronto Business Development Centre”. This program helps you to become an entrepreneur, helping you with a business plan, marketing, funding, and really helping to take the fear out of being self employed. I needed this kind of help as I had seen my parents go bankrupt on more than one occasion and the thought of being self-employed came with a certain amount of fear.

In the spirit of trying not to ramble and keep this blog short, I successfully completed the program, opened up Downbeat drum studio in my home, and now I have a really nice roster of students that I teach how to play the drums. I’m quite happy, fulfilled and I am sure my little kid can sense that. Mission accomplished. I am still building my lesson roster, paying my bills, I make my own schedule, and have a lot of personal time to do what I want. I am quite lucky to be doing what my heart requires for me to be happy. With all this said..

Do what makes you happy. Even if it requires some risk. There’s a big chance that you will not be dis-appointed. Look at me. I am living proof of that.

Peace!

This past winter I made a seven day trip to Havana, to break up the winter and maybe gain a bit of culture at the same time.

The decision to forego a Veradero resort (If i wanted to hang by the pool drinking with my countrymen, I’d have stayed home and saved some cash) for the crumbling city of Havana was tough. We’re all about seeing different cultures and hanging out with locals, eating the food, listening to the music etc etc. But we were bringing our little 18 month old daughter with us, which meant that our trip would not be relaxing at all. Not to mention that all-Inclusive trips are a lot cheaper and less work if you have children in tow. We were not disapointed…

Havana is a fantastic city that in some ways looks like Beirut in 1980, with it’s crumbling buildings, potholes as big as manhole covers, old cars with no wheels or bumpers left on the street to rust and die and a general feeling of decay from being in a war zone. The funny thing that struck me me about the city was with all the decay, Havana was far more beautiful than Toronto (My hometown). Now this is just my opinion but Havana’s architecture is incredible. I think it’s described as “Spanish Colonial”. Whatever… It makes Toronto look cold, sterile and Lifeless.

We stayed at the Hotel Sevilla and to my surprise our room was just above Al Capone’s regular suite. Cool.. This hotel at one time looked to be quite ritzy with it’s grand hallways, High ceilings, rooftop restaurant over looking the Capitolio/downtown area and beautiful street level pool. I could just imagine the celebs and gangsters walking around the place in the pre-revolution days.

The reviews of this hotel were mixed. People were saying things like “the room was dirty”, “It took a long time for the room to be ready”, “The AC wasn’t working” etc, we also experienced lights that only worked on the first day but my thinking is that we’re in a communist country where everyone gets the bare minimum to live on, education and health care is free, and there’s no incentive to work, get ahead, or make people happy so just get over it. This is what Revolution brings, if you want luxury go to New York or Paris.

Havana’s music was mostly centered in the hotels beginning around 4pm and finishing at 11pm. I wished i had searched out some cool latin/jazz clubs but by the time it was clubbing hours, my day with the little girl sightseeing had taken it’s toll and i had nothing left. The music being played in the hotels, was the fokloric music of Cuba called “Son”. If you’ve heard of Buena Vista Social Club then you can imagine the sound. The Music of Son was everywhere and I was really starting to enjoy  it when, one evening i was clapping out the “Son Clave” Pattern (Son Clave is the pattern/pulse  that the music is built upon and is played with two pieces of wood knocked together) along with the band.

The percussionist had noticed me clapping along, he must have thought “Where did this gringo learn to play the clave” the surprised look on his face was classic and he eventually invited me to play a song. What a thrill it was to be in Havana playing with these musicians. These guys were switching around their instruments, they could all sight read and the feel they had was incredible.

I have been working out of a book from the “Drummers Collective” called “Afro-Cuban rhythms for drumset” authored by Frank Malabe and Rob Weiner and i would like to think that it helped me to prepare for this moment (actually it was my teacher Steve Mancuso from Toronto who helped me most but everyone should buy the book regardless). This book is a must for drummers who want to explore the rich music of Cuba and it’s African roots. The book is layed out nicely and is easy to study from if you don’t have or can’t afford drum lessons. Even if you can’t read music the book is great because the audio cd has great recordings of all the drum parts for the student who learns through listening.

The Food in Cuba was pretty bad. We checked out some cool restaurants like El Bodeguita but the food was just edible to sustain life. If you like ham and cheese or fried chicken with rice and beans then you’re ok. The best meal we had was $350 for 4 people that didn’t drink very much. The food was pretty good but not worth the price we paid and we had to find the place first which proved difficult, so i guess all the good food gets shipped out to the resorts. Let’s blame the U.S embargo for this. If you go to Havana the best food for the price is in “Barrio Chino” which is Chinatown. You can’t go wrong with Chinese food. Even in Havana.

Cuba was not cheap. Unless you are on a resort spending no cash, Cuba is expensive. Cuba has two currencies, one for the locals and one for the tourists. The visitor’s Peso is in line with the value of the U.S. dollar so a ham and cheese sandwich with fries and a Rum and Coke is $15…. Crazy. Tell me that Castro isn’t a capitalist and i’ll show you a guy who came home from Cuba flat broke.

The people of Cuba are incredibly friendly and life seems to be lived on the street. Havana was quite safe as well, i guess that is the by-product of a police state, (Fuck with the tourists and you go to jail). Prostitution seemed to be a huge problem because people can live quite good pandering to dirty old men from Europe and Canada although Canadians seemed to stay at the resorts. I was sitting with my daughter in a cafe when a prostitute asked me if i wanted a fuck while at the same time making a huge fuss over my cute little kid.. I guess communism doesn’t provide that much of a comfy life “Viva la Revolucion”.

In all Cuba is fantastic and i recommend staying in Havana rather than going to a resort and being with a bunch of drunken Canadians. If you want to hit the beach you can go to “Playa del Estes” just 20 minutes east of Havana and you will find a long stretch of beach that is just so beautiful. Havana will give you some great culture and will give you a snapshot of what communism and the revolution has brought, good and bad. Unfortunately you will see the effect of  the U.S. embargo as well, but i see that changing in the not so distant future.

The one thing I’ll really miss about Cuba is all the pictures and T-shirts of Che Guevara….. Just kidding!