Chuck Mauk, of Toledo, OH, has spent his life playing drums in the belly of America. He's recorded in Studios from Texas to Michigan and performed in clubs, arenas, ...
He is a drummer's drummer, a bass player's dream, and a studio engineer's best friend, but has been in charge of every measure performed and recorded ...

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” ...

Sito personale di Elisa Pilotti, batterista, lezioni di batteria, percussionista, insegnante di batteria, batterista donna, drummer, drummer girl,drum lessons, percussionist, drum teacher, drums.
Elisa Pilotti: drummer-percussionist.

Photo courtesy of Yamaha Drums

Peter Erskine began playing the drums at the age of four, and has now been at the forefront of world-class jazz ensembles for thirty years. His first major professional work was with the Stan Kenton Orchestra, which he joined in 1972. After a three year stint with Kenton and a two year stay with Maynard Ferguson, he joined Weather Report in 1978. The excellence of the partnership between Erskine and bassist Jaco Pastorius was an integral part of that group's success.

Following his 4 years in Weather Report (having recorded five albums with them including the Grammy Award winning "8:30"), he began to play with Mike Brecker, Mike Mainieri, Don Grolnick and Eddie Gomez in the group Steps Ahead . His other touring and recording credits (400 albums) include Steely Dan, Diana Krall, Chick Corea, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Gary Burton & Pat Metheny, Joni Mitchell, Kurt Elling, Sadao Watanabe, Eliane Elias, Mike Stern, Miroslav Vitous and Jan Garbarek; the BBC Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Ensemble, Ensemble Modern, the ASKO, Avanti & Absolute Ensembles; "Bass Desires " (with John Scofield, Bill Frisell, and Marc Johnson), the John Abercrombie Trio, the Kenny Wheeler Quintet & Big Band , the Bob Mintzer Big Band , the Yellowjackets as well as his own groups, including Trios with John Taylor, Palle Danielsson, Rita Marcotulli, and his current band with Alan Pasqua and Dave Carpenter ...

Online biography of drummer Joshua Jacobsen.
The first percussive sounds began with card board boxes, ice cream buckets, and old pans. Joshua, a mostly self taught musician at the age of 13 had realized his dream to become a drummer and pursued it.

Joshua began his first musical learning career in the musical setting at the Benton Community Middle / High School. At BC he performed in Jazz Band, Pep Band, Marching Band, Show Choir, Musicals, Concert Band, and even Concert Choir as a percussionist. He received numerous honors in Jazz band at Eastern Iowa Contests. One of the most notable awards is the most outstanding performance and Solo award presented by N.E.I.B.A. (North Eastern Iowa Bandmasters Association). Joshua has for over 8 years and is currently the drummer for the Billy K. Murray Parade & Concert Band based out of Atkins, Iowa.

The problem with high school was finding a band of his own. Since the school was a community school of about 400 people, there were few serious musicians interested in a rock band. As a result, A large amount of time and free time was devoted to focusing on technique and skills of various percussion instruments.

Upon enrolling at Iowa State University, Joshua begins to seek out musicians in order to fill the musical band void he had desperately craved throughout his life. Unfortunately, as a result of college dorm life Joshua was forced to abandon his drums and leave them to sit unbeaten at his childhood home. Practicing on pillows, boxes, trash cans, & Dorm Chairs with various acoustic guitarists in the dorm was his only way to practice and continue to develop as a drummer.
Joshua's first band was born in 2001. Mechanistry, a progressive rock group that surprised the local scene with a totally new sound and technically advanced musicians was born. Mechanistry performed throughout Iowa for 2 years. Unfortunately, it was inevitable that it would not succeed as guitar and singer turnover was high. The loss of drive to continue finding and training new members and no practice place, ultimately ended the group.

After the first year of playing with Mechanistry, Josh began playing with a local band named Atrophy. Atrophy was a simpler style of music that won over the bar crowd and nearly anyone that listened to the group. They also had the chance to open for Momento (Sony Records label). Atrophy is still performing today. A full length album is due out by 2005.

Today Josh is actively performing in the Des Moines based Heavy Metal band, Anubyss! He has also bridged over into the studio & recording realm as a Drum Technician at the Dawg House Recording Studio based in Nevada, IA and been sharing his knowledge and style through drum lessons since 2003 ...