If I didn`t buy these sticks, I prolly would be playing a horn.

I remember clear as a day. I was in second grade and the school's band were practicing for the Fall Festival. I was 7 years old and I couldn't believe my ears. They were great! But for some reason I kept looking at the drummer and paying attention to what he was doing there. They were like 16 or 18 years old kids and I was just a little mr. nobody from second grade. Then "Papelucho" (That was the drummer's nickname) went to the bathroom and I just couldn't help myself and jumped on his seat and started a pretty decent 4/4 beat. The other guys started playing without knowing it was this little kid on the drums. It was like the gates of heaven have opened for me for a second…Then Papelucho grabbed the sticks from my hands and pushed me away pretty badly with a "Get out of here, little brat!"…The other guys smiled and one of them said: "You're pretty good!"…I couldn't erase the smile from my face for weeks after…

For nearly as long as I can remember, I just seemed to gravitate towards the beat of the song. As a small child I remember patting along to the beats of songs on the radio. Once I entered the 6th grade, I signed up for the school band and the director tried to make me play a horn.. I think a Tuba or something. So my mom, who had already been told I'd be in the percussion group, heads up there and yells at the right people and I was switched over to percussion! I've been in paradise ever since!!! My natural feel for rhythm helped me succeed greatly and I was always in within the top 2 chairs or so through high school graduation.. I think if you have it in your soul, it's just there. I never wanted to play anything else.

Bongos as a teen... Maynard G. Krebbs style... then in the army a mate played piano and I accompanied him with a "bottle top stick".. Used to drive everyone crazy with my solos on steel army lockers.. Later some civilian mates bought guitars and wanted me to play bass... I said no thanks "I don't like the Bass"... So I said I'll buy a drum kit and that was that... I actually had a 4 piece MIJ jammed into my army bedside wardrobe.. Inspections weren't a lot of fun..

Cheers

John

I never played an instrument before my 24th. Then out of nowhere I played drums. A friend set up an old kit in his work shop, I sat behind it and played a 4/4 just like that, and pretty tight for a beginner too. He called up some friend and an hour later we were jamming. Three months later I was in my first band, we played straightforward garage-rock.

But actually this is an answer to "how did it happen?", not to "why am I a drummer?".

I think I am a drummer for the following reasons:

- My deep love for rock. If I would deeply love classical music instead (which I don't), maybe I would be interested in another instrument. In rock the most driving thing is the drums, and I like driving things, pushing things forward etc. That's a natural role for me to play, in all other parts of life as well (for instance on a party, or working in group of colleages).

- Let's use a metaphore. If a rock is a house, I feel most natural in the role of architect. My view on things is generally quite penetrating. Mostly I tend to look throught the outer facade and see the inner structure of the whole thing. Drumparts in rock (the kind of rock I like) have to do with this inner structure more than the other instruments. Second is the bass I guess.

- I like the fact that as a drummer you use your whole body. If I would have to learn the guitar I would have to think too much. With drum the're is less thinking. At least that's how I experience it.

That's a very interesting answer, but let me counter it with this, maybe the reason you don't have to "Think" so much when you play the drums is because it comes naturally to you. I know that's one reason I started to play the drums, I could listen to a song and play it, especially rock songs. I've seen talented guitar players do the same thing, it takes no time for the good ones to pick out the notes and play a song. Now, when I played original music, I had to think more, I had to create a drum part that was not there, so it forced me to think more than when I'm just copying what someone else had created.

After reading all these stories about how and why we all started, I've come to the conclusion that we all must love this instrument so much, that we put up with the negative aspects of choosing the drums.

I heard this group of tribal drummers and thought that I gotta try it. The beat! Oh yes

Because a beautiful woman on a white horse appeared out of the sky and said "You are a drummer"! You don't ever question a beautiful woman on a white horse.