A friend of mine took me to Memphis advised me that I should get in the musicians' union. He gave me a set of drums and said, Stay on the job, son.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
The many sounds of Memphis shaped my early musical career and continue to be an inspiration to this day.
I wanted to be a professional drummer.
Then I tried out for the Fontana High School drum line, in Riverside, and I did really well. I got second chair, and played snare in that drum line for three years.
I finished high school, moved to Nashville for college, and set out to break into the music business. Every night when I called home with news of my experiences, my mom and dad would encourage me to keep taking those small steps.
I used to have friends come on tour and work as my drum tech, but they get bummed out when I have to tell them what to do. This time I'm just going to fly them out and let them hang. It's all good.
As you know, I played a little trumpet with Elvis. I overdub a few drum licks here and there on a session, but I'm not a drummer by any means.
The end result of my personal story is that I became a really good drummer, and I know myself well enough to know that I wouldn't have without this really tough conductor and this really cutthroat hostile environment I was in.
First and foremost I am a drummer. After that, I'm other things... But I didn't play drums to make money.
I moved to Nashville at 17 to make music, and since then I've put everything I have into doing it right.
Most studios in Memphis had a house set of drums; the drummers just brought their own sticks.