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MY NAME: Jeff aka JMFDrums

MY LOCATION: IL (north suburb of Chicago)

MY OCCUPATION: I have 10 drum students and am the session drummer at Music Workshop; I also work as a Compliance Officer for a small mortgage company and am studying to become a high school teacher.

MY BAND: I am in two bands and I play at Willow Creek Community Church. I play for Jade Sholty www.jadesholty.com who is a contemporary Christian artist, and Second Time Around www.secondtimearoundmusic.com who plays classic rock 60's to 90's. I also play with Hunter Prendergast, who also attended Berklee. We play a bit of jazz, funk, and fusion...we love odd time signatures

MY WEBSITE: I may need to hire Bill for this

MY FIRST INSPIRATION: Bill Bruford followed soon by Buddy Rich, John Bonham, Steve Gadd, and Billy Cobham (Mahavishnu Orchestra). Then followed soon by Peart and a few others.

MY INSPIRING/FAVORITE DRUMMER: That's a hard question since I would say that I am inspired by almost every drummer I see - new and old. Right now, though, I am listening to a lot of Chambers, Lang, Minnemann, Smith, Mayer, Bozzio, Bissonette, and Colaiuta. I try to pick a little something from all of the drummers I listen to and find a way to incorporate it into my style. I am also trying to work TB's exercises into my schedule...it's hard to relearn when there is a great deal of unlearning to do first.

MY MUSIC STYLES: I play everything from Polka, country, and rock to funk, fusion, Latin, and jazz. I am working on my double bass chops so I can start playing on some metal tunes just so I can say I can play that too

MY SUPPORT/MENTOR: I had a vast network of supporters from my music ministry band members to my family and friends. My wife is always telling me to go find a gig so I can make some money...

MY STORY: YOB 1961 in Batavia, NY
Picked up my first set up sticks at the age of seven and have never stopped. I was a Monkeys freak, and as I would watch the TV show at that age I knew Mickey wasn't really playing. I told my mom I could play better than him...
I didn't take my first formal lesson until I was 12. I studied under Jake Jerger all through HS and then went on to study under various mentors, gleaning as much information as I possibly could and making it my own. I have recorded and toured with with Expose, The Rob Zettl Trio, Numbers, Elevate, Second Time Around, and a few other bands. I've also had the privelege of playing drums and percussion for Alvin Slaughter and Darlene Zschech.

MY PICS - GEAR - AUDIO/VIDEO If someone would be so kind as to to explain how to do this, I will start adding them. I have three kits - I play a Pearl Maple kit most of the time, but own a Bison kit, and a Yamaha stage series as well. Since I couldn't find a sponsor I play Sabian, Paiste, and Zildjian...I buy by sound, not manufacturer. I have six different snares drums and use whatever I feel best fits the gig.

MY AUDIO - I use an in-ear headset with an 8 channel mixer for my loops/drum machine, my metronome, and feeds from the band so I can mix my own sound.

MY VIDEO - none to date - but am working on getting a setup for my students so they can take home DVD's of themselves playing.

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Jeff
Drums - what else...???
JC loves U-n-me