Mario Calandrelli:
Mario Calandrelli, drummer, percussionist, educator, clinician and " computer - drum machine programmer ", was born in Venosa, a small pleansant town lied in the bed of a lake - basin, in the north - east of Basilicata (a region in the south of Italy). His beginnings are very similar to a lot of other famous music mates' ones, drummers and no drummers. While still very young he demonstrated a gift for rhythm and music. The " fateful meeting " with drums occurred when he was only three years old.
The " fateful meeting " with drums occurred when he was only three years old.
While attending a family wedding he was dazzled by the sight of the drums. There was, in fact, the typical band cheering up the party. The next day, using pot lids, boxes and washing powder bins he began practicing ...

Steve Bowman:
I try to capture the "spirit" of a song by listening to the lyric, melody, progression and tempo, and by working with the songwriter, producer or band to find the best parts, tones and feel for the track.

Phil Collins once said "If the drum track is solid everything else seems intentional." He's right.

My favorite drummers are Ringo, Mick Fleetwood, Bun E Carlos, Steve Jordan, John Bonham... I also love Jeff Lynn's drum production. And Steve Gadd's ghost notes, and Karen Carpenter's voice (AND drumming)...

I am located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Sometimes a simple change can make a big difference. Maybe you have a song that's missing something or a great song that isn't working live. Maybe you have stalled out on a song you think has potential.

Maybe I can hear something you are missing.
Great songs are a must, but you have to play them well too. Combining attitudes, egos, skill levels, and musical preferences are all part of the challenge we face when creating a band. Sometimes it takes hard work for players to gel together.

I can save you time (and pain) by working with your band to identify any weak spots in the songs or the set as a whole. Whether you are trying to improve your live show or preparing to record, I can help your band groove better, play more dynamically, and try to get everyone "playing for the song".

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” ...

Drummer and jazz icon Chico Hamilton's official website .
CHICO HAMILTON had his first brush with Hollywood in 1957. Riding high on the popularity of his adventurous quintet of the time reedist/flutist Paul Horn, bassist Carson Smith, cellist Fred Katz, guitarist John Pisano - he and the band were case in Sweet Smell of Success, a gritty black-and-white film about a ruthless Walter Winchell-style York City tabloid-gossip columnist, J.J. Hunsecker, played by a dour Burt Lancaster, who wields his power like a club. The plot of this sharp-edged media satire thickens when J.J.'s younger sister, played by Susan Harrison, begins dating the clean-cut young jazz guitarist in the Chico Hamilton Quintet, Steve Dallas, played by Martin Milner.

The film was a landmark for its time, a model of street-smart cinematic cynicism that preceded Network by almost 20 years. And in choosing the Chico Hamilton Quintet as its in-house group for the nightclub scenes, the filmmakers not only demonstrated unusually hip taste in music, they also proved to be quite progressive in depicting an interracial band on-screen. But then, the Chico Hamilton Quintet had always been progressive in that regard since its inception in 1955: the original lineup featured guitarist Jim Hall, reedist Buddy Collette, bassist Carson Smith and cellist Fred Katz.

"Being a mixed group was not too cool out there at that time," Hamilton says in his penthouse apartment on Manhattan's Upper East Side. "We played our first gigs at a club on the boardwalk in Long Beach, which at that time was really redneck country. Plus the fact that the kind of music we played was so different made it a very unique, almost unheard of experience. But man, it worked."

As word of mouth spread about the new band playing a savvy brand of chamber-jazz on the boardwalk in Long Beach, the in-crowd soon followed. And gradually the nature of the club itself changed dramatically. "The first gig we had, man, you wouldn't believe. There was nothing but sailors and sawdust on the floor. You couldn't get no funkier than this joint. And can you imagine us going in there with a cello, flute, guitar, bass and drums? We had the gig for a week and that turned into two weeks and then went on into three weeks. Next thing we know, people were coming in from LA to check us out. Within a month, the whole thing changed around. They remodeled this place: and it looked great. The joint was packed every night" ...

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".