John Black, drummer for Prince and the New Power Generation, formerly with Patti Labelle and Cameo.




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The Official Website Of Young 17 Yr Old Drummer Andy Finch.
Andy is from Leigh Park, close to Portsmouth along the south coast of the UK. He is a drummer and has been drumming since he was aged 9. He lives with his parents in the centre of Leigh Park. He attended the local "Park Community School of Arts and Drama" and left school with 10 GCSE passes. He also attended "Havant College" for half a year after his schooling ended but couldn't adapt to the lifestyle.

Now he is currently in part with an apprenticeship within I.T. His ambitions in life are to be a Professional Drummer. Of course, this costs money to participate in. Andy has a drum lesson every 2 weeks and throughout enjoys them; he is in a band Wishlist who play a more pop kind of music rather than rock. Andy likes all types of music but his favourite band is Dream Theater no 1 Progressive Rock band in the U.S. He has seen them live in concert and is inspired by the bands drummer "Mike Portnoy".

Billy Ward is from Cincinnati Ohio. When he was nine, he began formal drum lessons with well-known local drummer, Jack Volk. "Mr. Volk was a stickler for holding the sticks properly, reading music and independence. He was a great teacher." While in the fifth grade, Billy began playing with local bands. Billy listened to, and tried to play, all kinds of music; from James Brown to Miles Davis; The Who to Charles Mingus.

At the age of fifteen, Billy got his first studio experience when he became the house drummer for a local Cincinnati gospel recording studio/label. While attending The Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Billy says: "I had a technical gig mixing the sound at a Thad Jones/ Mel Lewis concert in Cincinnati and I met Mel Lewis, who said I needed to go to New York (to Frank Ippolito's Drum Shop) to get a set of K. Zildjian (Istanbul) cymbals. This was during the early 70's. In New York, I selected a set of K's with assistance from Papa Jo Jones, who was just hangin' out at the shop that
day!!!"

"I also got an extremely influencial drum lesson with Elvin Jones that, due to his generosity, lasted six hours! I will always be indebted to Mr. Jones for the many gifts he shared that day." Billy quit the conservatory in the second year when he realized that he wanted to play jazz and rock. "Counting two hundred and ten measures to play a two measure chime part wasn't my thing." His symphonic career ended, it was off to North Texas State University; a jazz school that emphasized playing ...

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The Official Website of Keith Carlock, drummer for Donald Fagen, Walter Becker, Sting, Steely Dan, Wayne Krantz, David Johansen and more.
In 2003's Modern Drummer cover story on Keith, Ken Micallef writes, "Since his arrival in New York City from Clinton via North Texas State University, Keith Carlock has scurried up the drumming food chain with an inventive style that is equal parts Zigaboo Modeliste fire, Jon Christensen finesse, and Bernard Purdie funk.... Keith Carlock's achievements prove that talent, skill, and determination is no respecter of locales."

Clinton, Mississippi is is where Keith Carlock was born and raised and where he started playing the drums at age 5. In High School, he joined the jazz band, show choir and drum corps. During that period he would also listen to a lot of rock, R&B and soul music - artists including Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind & Fire, and Tower of Power.

He would spend countless hours playing along to records from John Scofield, Michel Camilo and The Meters, to name a few. Keith also joined several top-40 bands. "I practiced all the time, so much that my parents built me a soundproof room in the garage. I began taking lessons with George Lawrence and later Quinous Johnson in Jackson, Mississippi. And they both turned me on to jazz and fusion."

After receiving music scholarships to Berklee, University of Miami and North Texas State, Keith chose to attend North Texas State University in Denton, Texas because he wanted to study with Ed Soph (pictured left). Of his experience with Ed, Keith says, "He completely changed my approach to the drums; thinking of the drums in a musical way instead of only being a timekeeper for songs. He's able to find your weaknesses. He teaches you how to play jazz standards on the drums, soloing concepts, and ways to get different sounds out of the drums. My technique changed drastically. I came from a drum corps background. I was in a really good high school band, but I wasn't loose. Soph helped me to loosen up by teaching me the 'Moeller' technique. Depending on the style and feel of music being played, I learned to change my technique to make the music hopefully feel better and have a flow" ...

Charles Connor's (Little Richard's original Drummer) Official
Web page.
CHARLES “Keep-A-Knockin” CONNOR, original drummer for Little Richard, created the unique “Choo Choo Train” style of successive eighth notes with a loud backbeat used by nearly all subsequent Rock 'n' Roll drummers and, in fact, his drumsticks are on display at the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland, Ohio.


The son of a chief chef Merchant Marine seaman and father from Santo-Domingo and a Louisiana-born mother, CONNOR reveals, "I was born in New Orleans, in the heart of the French Quarter, the very hub of Cajun, Blues and down-island rhythms. My mother told me that whenever music was played, I kicked really hard in her womb.” He grins and exclaims, “I was born to be a drummer!” He winks and continues, “Probably 'cuz of that exotic Creole and Dominican blood coursing through my veins,” then laughs mischievously.


As a toddler, CONNOR was drawn to marching parades and the “second-line funeral bands” playing Dixieland jazz through the streets of New Orleans and loved to hear his father, home on a three-month leave, sing Calypso songs around the house. Imitating the drums, CONNOR banged on pots and pans all-day and cried hard when his mother had to take them away to cook family meals.


Although his parents had two other sons and a daughter and could not afford expensive gifts, they saved enough money to buy CONNOR his first drum set when he was five. When his drumming became “a loud nuisance” to the neighbors, he practiced with his drumsticks four to five hours a day on a practice pad.


Inspired by such notables as Bob Alden, Art Blakey, Charles Otis, Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich and Max Roach, CONNOR dreamed big and diligently spent all his spare time working towards his goal of becoming “a professional drummer.” His hard work paid off at age 12 when he began playing drums for local parties and wedding receptions, but his “professional” career began at 15 when Roy “Professor Longhair” Byrd hired him as a last-minute replacement for the 1950 Mardi Gras in New Orleans.


With family blessings and his mother's sage advice, “never use your skin color as an excuse; never doubt yourself; if you believe in yourself, everybody else will, too,” CONNOR went on to drum for Smiley Lewis, Guitar Slim, Jack Dupree then Shirley and Lee.


At 18, CONNOR joined flamboyant Little Richard's original road band, The Upsetters, his joy marred only by the deep racial intolerance the band had to endure. CONNOR says, “[Black] musicians back then didn't have Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr to motivate them. We had to find inspiration from our faith and within our hearts.”


CONNOR cocks his head and says, “Little Richard was an ingenious promoter. To draw attention to his band and ensure they could perform on stage, he had to show bigots that the band wouldn't threaten their way of life. Little Richard promoted the band and avoided racial prejudice by insisting the musicians wear thick pancake makeup and act effeminate!”


CONNOR pulls at his chin, and then smiles as he admits, “ I really had fun. I worked with artists like Lloyd Price during vacations from Little Richard and, since Little Richard and James Brown shared the same booking agent, on "off-nights" I appeared with “The Godfather of Soul,” who coined the phrase, “CONNOR was the first to put the funk in the rhythm!”


CONNOR continues: “I was 20 when Little Richard's band toured the United States in 1955. We played all the major theaters, including such prestigious venues as the Turner Arena and Howard Theater in Washington, D.C.; the Royal Theater in Baltimore, Maryland; the Apollo Theater in Harlem and the Paramount Theater with Alan Freed in Brooklyn.” He says in awe, “In New York, the white teenagers saw blacks having so much fun that they would dance in the aisles with them! Man, those were heady times,” and chuckles aloud.


While on a 1955 tour of Japan and the Philippines, a young girl approached CONNOR, and asked for an autograph, but he had no idea then that she would later influence his life. The years disappear as he grins and, in wonderment, says “[For some reason] I wrote: I hope you come to America someday. Keep Rock 'n' Roll in your life.”


Gaining momentum in 1956, Little Richard's band appeared in such popular feature films as “The Girl Can't Help It” with actress Jayne Mansfield; “Don't Knock the Rock” and “Mr. Rock 'n' Roll.” Then, as Rock 'n' Roll exploded on the music scene, the band recorded several hit songs like “Keep-A-Knockin',” featuring CONNOR'S first four-bar drum intro on a Rock 'n' Roll record; “ Ooh! My Soul,” also featuring CONNOR'S distinctive "Choo Choo Train" beat; and “She's Got It,” with a regular backbeat. CONNOR reminisces, “The Civil Rights Act may have been passed in 1964, but Rock 'n' Roll music brought young people and the world together a decade earlier.” He concludes proudly, “We got respect and power; our popularity cut across racial lines” ...