Drumn' GI's Other Side
The other side... where the grass is Greener?
Okay... this page is merely a means of communicating - to those of you out there who are interested - just what it is that I do for a living and what I do for fun.
As you can tell by the photo, I am a drummer. This IS what I do, both for a living and for fun. So I guess that makes for a real quick explanation of my life. Just kidding... it gets quite complicated really.
I've been drumming in the U.S. Army Band program since 1985. I've been to a few interesting places... Ft. Leonard Wood, MO; Ft. Monmouth, NJ; Camp Casey, Republic of South Korea; Ft. Meade, MD;
The U.S. Army Element School of Music in Norfolk, VA (a few times, actually); and currently Bad Kreuznach, Germany.
My musical interests are varied, but I enjoy jazz, funk, fusion, blues, and rock drumming the most. Not necessarily in that order, either. The more technical aspects of that stuff will be found at the bottom of this page. That saves the non-drummers from suffering through the usual drum-babble!
I do have a family... OUTSIDE of the Army, that is! If you're interested in that, click on the link marked MY FAMILY at the bottom.
The rest of the fun will be explained as I add photos to the page. I intend to keep up to date with what I'm actually doing around here while in Europe. So feel free to look in on the action whenever you like!
This is Mack. He's firing the M249 SAW. Yep, we do this stuff, too!! This is the FUN part of our job!
and... we march!
28 May 2000
Well, things have been quite hectic. I spent some time at yet another Army school. A course called ANCOC (Advanced Non-Commissioned Officer Course) that lasted from 01Jan to 30 Mar, 2000. But on the upside: I also took 30 days leave- with my family- to show off the new baby in the good ol' US of A! But, everything is temporary and I had to return to work. Since then it's been go-go-go! Eventually I plan to put more pictures on here. I will include some photos from my past military duties and a few from the present.
I highly recommend that you check out the pictures of my family. My daughter is extraordinarily cute. You may think I am biased, but I think you'll agree once you see her. Just click on the link above and enjoy!
AAhhhhh... the good ol' days!! This is a ROSE between two THORNS! Mary Ellen 'JP' Souza, me, and Leslie Nock. The two best partners to have on your side!
Okay, here's the technical stuff for the drummers out there: to begin with, my influences are many: Dennis Chambers, Vinnie Colaiuta, Dave Weckl, Buddy Rich, Mitch Mitchell, John Bonham, Terry Bozzio, Neil Peart, the list goes on.
I'm currently playing on a Premier Signia kit with 8, 10, 12, and 14" toms, and a 20" Bass drum. My mainstay snare is a Baltimore Drums 13x5.5. And occasionally I bust out the Arbiter I had made. It's a 12x10. I also use a Sonor 10" effects snare (from their Jungle Kit). I'm using 14" Zildjian New Beat hi-hats, 14"Extra thin Sabian crash, 16" Zildjian A Custom crashes (x2), a 17" A Custom Crash, 22"" Sabian Medium Ride, and a 10" Zildjian K Custom Splash. My BD pedal is the Premier EDP300 Double pedal. I also use an Axis 'A' double pedal from time to time, also.Very smooth!! I also use a Rhythm Tech tambourine mounted on an Afro Perc. holder (played w/ a bass drum pedal) next to the hi-hat. Nice effect! Speaking of effects... I have a Sonor 'Jungle Snare' (10" snare that actually looks like a tambourine with a bottom drumnhead on it) mounted to my left. It's great for hip-hop stuff.
08 Sep 2000
We have been playing the typical fests that are in abundance this time of year. It's a lot of cheesy music, but the crowds love it. We do a nice rendition of Sing Sing Sing that ends up with three drummers 'violating' the drumset- one at a time- then all together!