Life after drums
We received an email out of the blue recently from a guy named Dave, saying he loved the concept of Drops. As I was writing him a fist bump emoji response, something in his email caught my attention. Dave wrote “If I still played, I would be a customer”. I read it again – “If I still played”? What did that mean? Why doesn’t Dave play drums anymore, I wondered?
I decided to ask him. What I learned is that he can’t. Dave is a cancer survivor. A few years ago, he beat cancer, but in the battle he lost his ability to play drums. I can’t imagine what that must be like for Dave.
In 2004, I had the blessing of attending Elvin Jones’ final performance. It was at Yoshi’s in Oakland. My wife surprised me with tickets. (Elvin was my dad’s favorite drummer.) We were given a gentle heads up at the doors that Elvin was in poor health, and that this wouldn’t be his “typical show”. Like everyone else there, we were just happy and honored to be there.
Elvin was escorted to the drums by his wife, trailed by an oxygen tank connected by tubes. The awkward silence as they made their way across the stage was broken by an eruption of cheers and shouts of love and support. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. He slowly got situated behind the kit, looked out at us, smiled big, and off they went. A masterful performance. Less than a month later, Elvin left us and moved on.
What was so beautiful about that show was that we all got to witness Elvin Jones doing what he loves best, all the way to the finish line. I, in my mid-twenties at the time, vowed to do the same. But the reality is, most of us encounter a chapter of life we didn’t anticipate: a life after drums.
Our new friend Dave isn’t the first drummer I’ve met who can no longer play drums. It turns out, for many of us, this is a necessary and natural part of the drummer’s journey. Whether the cause is due to physical health, mental health, or other life factors, a lot of players have had to figure out what life after drums looks like.
But once a drummer, always a drummer. I suspected Dave might have some important wisdom, perspective, and inspiration to offer players on both sides of the journey. At the very least, I wanted to hear his story. Here’s an interview with Dave.
– DK (founder)
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DK – You sent an email to us out of the blue about Drops. Does that mean what I think it means – that even though you can’t play anymore, you are still looking at gear online?
DJ – Oh, yes I do. I look at new and used equipment quite often. Although I can’t play as I want anymore, if I ran across an old Ludwig silver sparkle set at a ridiculous low price, I would buy it. I had two sets of them in the 70’s which I foolishly sold. If nothing else, I would set them up and look at them as a reminder of fond and fun days gone by.
DK – Drums are obviously still a passion for you. Tell me about your drumming years. What style of music did you gravitate to?
DJ – Being old as dirt, I was nine when the Beatles first performed on the Ed Sullivan Show. I know very few people who didn’t want to become a musician after seeing that performance. That next Christmas my father surprised me with a brand-new set of Sears red sparkle drums. I know that I drove my two brothers and parents crazy attempting to play along with The Beatles, Beach Boys, Dave Clark 5, etc. I was very fortunate to play with some very talented people. We did cover songs, but they were good songs by good bands. Allman Brothers, J. Geils, Joe Walsh, Led Zeppelin, Little Feat, Chicago, Wet Willie, on and on.
DK – Let’s talk gear. What’s your setup?
DJ – I prefer older maple Ludwig drums but after a 22-year break, I bought a set of Gretsch drums to use playing in a church band. However, if I were to take it seriously again, it would need to be the old Ludwig set. I could possibly use an old Rogers set, and apparently you couldn’t go wrong with DW. For sticks, 7A. As for cymbals, years ago I was strictly Zildjian, but over the past few years I found a liking to Paiste. My setup for a long time was a simple Hollywood setup: One snare, bass, two mounted toms, and one floor. As our band grew I added another bass drum. If I were to do it all over again, I would have a snare, one mounted and one floor, a ride, high-hat, two crash cymbals, and one splash. With all of the other drums in front of me, I tended to over play.
DK – Did you play professionally, or was drumming something you did on the side?
DJ – For a few years, yes, being a drummer was my sole income, playing in the band. I never joined the Musicians Union though.
DK – Who are the musicians that inspired you most in the early years?
DJ – I was self-taught and became a fairly solid drummer. My strengths were good meter, and the fact that I was very appreciative of dynamics within the songs. That made a big difference in our sound.
My biggest influences were:
Ringo Starr – The Beatles
Richie Hayward – Little Feat
Jon Bonham – Led Zepplin
Butch Trucks and Jaimoe Johanson – Allman Brothers
Danny Serphine – Chicago
Buddy Rich
DK – Can you share a story about your favorite gig?
DJ – In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on the University of Alabama campus there is a quad where bands would play free concerts on Sunday afternoons. Our band, Sawdust, had played there a few times when it was convenient for us. One Sunday, which followed a Saturday night Allman Brothers Concert in Tuscaloosa, we were scheduled to play. Our band’s library of songs consisted of 40 percent Allman Brothers, but we weren’t going to play their songs after they had played in town the night before. Our third song in was “Me and Baby Brother” by War, and there was a break in the song where the bass player and I would do quite a few measures of a funky groove. We may have gotten two measures into it when I looked up, and right in front of me, Allman Brothers' drummer Jaimoe (one of my drumming idols) was boogieing in front of the stage to what we were playing. That was a HUGE ego boost for me and something that obviously I’ll never forget. That was in 1974.
DK – You mentioned you lost your ability to play after a recent battle with cancer. Would you mind sharing more about this?
DJ – Certainly. In 2008 I was diagnosed with cell cancer. It was stage four and I had a 35 percent chance of survival. My doctors did some great work and after five months of 40 radiation treatments the cancer was gone. Sadly, six months later, it came back. So I bellied up to the bar to six heavy-duty rounds of chemo. Let me just say, it changed me.
After the chemo, my arms, hands, feet and legs felt as if they were asleep all of the time. Yep, those needles were beating away at me 24/7, but I learned how to sleep, grin and bear it. I asked my doctor about it quite often and did a lot of reading about it. This sensation is usually temporary, and the feeling in the arms and legs often returns to normal. Well, that didn’t happen.
The constant tingling did go away, but I was left with approximately 50 percent of the feeling in my hands, arms, legs, and feet. For quite some time I couldn’t tell, when reaching into my pants pocket, if I was holding a quarter or my car keys. As for playing drums, if I was asked to play a simple 2/4 beat I could do it. But I couldn’t control my hands well enough to play any rudiments that were fun, and I lost my bass drum foot. There’s not much worse than hearing a drummer play who has a lousy foot. So for now I am a spectator rather than a participant, but I do love it so.
DK – Did you know going into it that losing your ability to play was a possibility?
DJ – No, not at all, but I did know that if I hadn’t I most likely would have died. I had other things planned ahead that dying would have messed up.
DK – After you beat cancer, the reality that you could no longer play drums must have been tough. How did you react to that realization?
DJ – I kept trying and hoping that the feeling in my extremities would return. After 11 years I finally faced the reality that it wasn’t coming back, so I finally sold my gear. It wasn’t easy but I made peace with it. I still meander into music stores from time to time, to briefly fantasize. I am no longer relevant as a drummer but I am appreciative and aware.
DK – Where do you direct all of your creative energy now? Have you found new loves?
DJ – Thankfully, I’ve had a lifetime and another love in the game of golf. I began a business where I help young high school golfers in player development, game management, and in how to gain a college coach’s attention for potential recruitment. I also consult with college golf coaches with their golf teams on player development, where those coaches are not trained to do so. I started playing drums at nine but I started playing golf at five. I still play golf. Not anywhere close to the ability that I could before cancer, but I’ve learned how to utilize my core muscles much more than in years past to help me stay fairly good.
DK – How has not playing drums affected your ear as a musician? Has anything changed in your musical taste?
DJ – In 1976, there was still a lot of good music being written and played but disco was getting hotter and hotter. Early disco drumming was mindless in my opinion. I was given an opportunity to take a college golf scholarship, or to continue to play drums. I chose to cut my hair and hit golf balls.
Holy cow, I never imagined what Jonathan Moffett would do for Michael Jackson and disco. Then to see Santana kick a little sand in the box of disco as well? Later came Prince, and the whole box of wax was changed. I started listening more and more and realized that all of those albums shouldn’t be burned.
Now I can listen to a C-plus band with an A-minus drummer and be happy. But I can’t stay in the same room with a B-plus band that has a D-minus drummer. When listening to music I find it very hard to listen to a song as a whole. I don’t know if it happens to all musicians or if it’s just me, but I dice up the band, listening to the drummer, the bass player, the guitarists, the horns, the keyboard player – all individually. I can tell if the group is tight or not, but I have a hard time relaxing and simply listening to songs.
DK – Do you have a favorite drum video that you keep coming back to?
DJ – In 2005 I ran across a few videos of Tony Royster and became an instant fan. So periodically I’ll replay some of his performances.
DK – Looking over your life as a drummer, what role would you say drums played in your life? What did the craft provide you with? What did the community provide you with?
DJ – If nothing else, being a drummer taught me about “timing and tempo”. These two traits are not reserved just for musicians. Timing and tempo are used by every high-level athlete. They are used in sales. They are used in management of people. Hell, they’re even used in romance.
Being around the community of musicians did teach me quite a bit and some very important life lessons. As a young guy, I watched a lot of young musicians work very hard at their trade to improve and make something of themselves. Being a musician at this young age taught me to never qualify a person’s talent and ability by what or where they may be at the moment. They may choose to work their asses off and become something special.
DK – What advice would you give to those who can still play? Any words of wisdom?
DJ – Keep on Smilin’! Please work well with your bass player. Be tasteful rather than loud. Remember, when you’re playing, you’re driving each song!
DK – And what advice would you give to those who have also lost their ability to play, for whatever reason? Any words of inspiration?
DJ – Fall in love listening to those special drummers who move you. Wear your thighs out playing along with your hands to songs when the urge hits. If someone asks you to stop tapping the steering wheel while a song you like is playing, simply smile at them and say, “No thank you!”
( DJ – This is me with the oncologist who saved my life.)
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These are for you, Dave: