Musician - drumandrummer
drumandrummer
- Age 35 | Musician | Maspeth, NY
Bio
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Born in the holy city of Brooklyn, I grew up in a musical family. I started playing at the age of 4. Drum corps for 12 years – parades, competitions, the whole bit. At the age of 12, I filled in for my dad’s drummer for some shows in Brooklyn and around the city. I was hooked. I did the usual things, rock bands, punk bands, blues and jazz. But I kept longing to play a bit funkier than my friends did, so I began exploring ways to bridge the gaps between genres, rock and funk, hip hop and jazz. I’m largely self-taught, but I took a few lessons with Franklin Kiermyer in 2005, these were invaluable to me. Franklin is an amazing teacher and friend.
I started out as a leftie, but after breaking my left elbow, I had to relearn drums as a right-handed player. It was tough going, the transition from leftie to rightie, but I think it gave me a good opportunity to focus on playing for the groove and I’ve never looked back.
I think the turning point in my musical path was when I hooked up with the now-defunct Subterrain. The first three tunes posted here are from a recording session that we did in 2004. Scott Kacenga plays guitar on these tracks, Joel Lederer is the bassist and the DJ is Rob Flow.
I recorded these tracks with my Pearl Masters kit (Big Red). After the Subterrain gig ended, I retired the old girl - she now resides in a recording studio. I’ll have to stop by and visit if I ever get the chance. Maybe take her home again, we’ll see.
These days I am playing a kit that I built myself in 2005 – very thin shells, very melodic sounding. I call this one Antonio.
More info and audio (including live tracks) can be found at: www.myspace.com/desdennis
Audio
Instruments Played
- Percussion,
- Drum Kit,
- Drum Machine
Genres Played
- Celtic,
- Funk,
- Hip-Hop,
- Fusion,
- Experimental,
- Electronic,
- DJ,
- Jazz,
- R&B,
- Blues,
- Acoustic
Instruments Desired
- Lead Vocals,
- Violin,
- Upright Bass,
- Pedal Steel Guitar,
- Lap Steel Guitar,
- Guitar,
- Contrabass,
- Cello,
- Bass Guitar,
- Percussion,
- Sampler,
- DJ Turntables,
- Organ,
- Keyboard
Genres Desired
- Hip-Hop,
- Fusion,
- Experimental,
- Electronic,
- DJ,
- Folk,
- Blues,
- Funk,
- Celtic
Influences
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More like a list of musicians that I admire (in no particular order): Franklin Kiermyer, Billy Martin, Chad Smith, Lenny White, Zigaboo Modeliste, Neil Peart (for his elegance, not so much the playing...), Art Blakey, Brian and Brady Blade, Will Calhoun, Dave Tough, John Henry Bonham, ?uestlove, Gene Krupa, Josh Freese, Danny Carey, Chad Sexton, DJ Logic
Experience
- Oh, plenty.
Looking For
- Something interesting
Details
- Experience: Professional
- Availability: 2-3 days a week
- Commitment: Playing gigs
- Energy: In the groove
- Smokes: Some
- Drinks: Some
Looking for - Details
- Experience: Expert
- Energy: In the groove
- Tolerates Smoking: Don't Care
- Tolerates Drinking: Don't Care