Drums: All We Need is Just a Little Patience (and mad dedication)

Hi, it's Marina. I had my first El Paso drum lesson from a super cool and super patient fellow named Blake.  Some people, no matter how young they actually are, are old souls. Blake is an old soul. To be blessed with that kind of patience and eloquence and to be able to transmit that cool-calm-wise energy to others is a gift.  I thank Blake tremendously for taking me on.

Rock Camp gave me the power of knowing that yes, I can play drums. Blake is giving me the power to think about the sound I want to make and then make it happen. Sounds easy, but getting all of my limbs to talk to each other is really complicated. He said something that makes a ton of sense: good drummers are good not because they get all fancy, they're good because they are confident and in control, no matter how simple or complicated the beat.  Watching drummers, I think that all the sweating comes not so much from actually playing, but from all the thinking that goes into being a bad ass on the drums.

The plan is this: Blake comes over once a week for a lesson, I spend the rest of the week practicing my butt off.  At the moment, it's all about practicing to move my limbs at different times.  He gave me a few beats that were simple and I was able to do, but then we found one that had me stumbling all over the place.  It is now my job to practice until I don't stumble--but it doesn't stop there. It's to practice that beat until it feels natural.  So here I go...

Here's my Franken Kit being kept company by our cats Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie. My kit is missing a few pieces (notice I'm using a crash as my high hat), but it's a good kit for where I'm at. Note: I will NEVER be that drummer with monkey bars.