A man has two lives.
His second begins when he
knows he has only one.
ROAD TO RECOVERY
Though I spent my whole life obsessed and frustrated with music, I didn’t begin drumming until I got out of rehab in 2017. I had always wanted to play the drums, but was intimidated by starting something new without any resources. However, with some trash and sticks, I discovered that when I locked into the groove, it was the form of meditation that I needed to escape the noise of my mind and heal from the traumas that led me into my addiction.
LEARNING IN PUBLIC
Without a place to practice drumming, I decided to strapped a bucket to the front of my bicycle and practice while riding my bike to my new job, in a new city, completely alone and far away from my past life. While kinda silly, this acrobatic display helped me grow in ways nothing else could. Most importantly, it taught me to forgive myself for failing, stop caring about what anybody thought of me and become ok with just being me, regardless of how unconventional I was.
OUT OF THE OFFICE
After I got a minivan, I stopped drumming on a regular basis and became obsessed with my office job. For years, worked 70 hours a week for a salary barely above the poverty level. Eventually, my project was abandoned by the company and my position eliminated. While it was devastating, I learnt that I would never work for anyone with the power to destroy everything I had created. I recommited to living life on my terms, rather than in service to something that believed I was disposable.
PASSION IS CONTAGIOUS
Months after committing to living in my van and working as a musician regardless of what it took, the nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic began. For those who remember, this was a time of great uncertainty, anxiety and fear; many “non-essential” workers in the tourism, hospitality and entertainment industries where suddenly completely out of work. Additionally, they were out of unable to find employment even if they wanted too. Undeterred and without any other options, this is when I began drumming on the side of highways in Utah.
This is how I became The Road Drummer.
