[LkyCZX]

It feels kind of weird "toot'in you own horn" like this but I enjoy reading about everyone else's experiences so here's mine
I started at 6 yrs old in St. Brigids Fife Drum and Bugle Corp in Ridgewood Queens, New York..lessons consisted of learning all the rudiments with traditional grip...I was the only kid big enough to carry the bass drum back then so it was my job in parades and competitions...I felt cheated at the time ..hey ..who didn't want to be the snare drummer.!!!! ...but as life went on I realized how valuable this experience was when it came to Time, Tempo, and Meter...it is something that sticks with me today at 52 and I'm ever thankful for it...We moved to Bethpage Long Island and there I played throughout high school in various rock bands...played at partys and a few benefits at the school for the music dept to raise money for trips and equipment..My first kit ever was a blue sparkle, cheap Japanese kit ..a kick, snare,1 rack tom and a floor tom...I managed to save up and in 1974, just before I graduated high school, I had Dad take me to a place called the Farmingdale Music Center and bought my first real kit...a seven piece Ludwig Vistalite kit in blue tint...man I LOVED those drums...and I still have them today
I moved to Virginia in 1981 and hooked up with my first club gigging band playing a wide variety of classic and current rock songs with some alternative mixed in as well...we had quite a band following and we played every single week Thurs, Fri, and Sat night and made damn good money..!!!! We were lucky and had 4 guys who got along as did our wives, girlfriends and families so there was no "band drama" to live with...in 1983 I started working in the automotive business as a salesman and I ended up meeting a guy who had his brush with fame in the music business ... his name is Bill Paolicelli and he was the front man for a band called Artful Dodger in the late 70's ...they had done 5 albums and all the major tours...Skynard, Heart, Kiss, Queen, and a bunch of others...We worked together at the dealership and I became a manager along with Bill and we got closer working as partners and by 1989 we had put together 11 songs and took them to his old management company in New York...Leber/Krebs.. they had another band under contract when they had Bill and Artful Dodger ....but those guys didn't end up in the car business...they went on to write a couple of hits like ...."Walk this Way".."Sweet Emotion".."Dream On"...yeah ..those guys...Bill had the opportunity to sing some background vocals behind Steven Tyler and he returned the favor for Artful Dodger....anyway ...we went to the studio and recorded these 11 songs and then spent the next 6 most frustrating months of our lives and the opportunity simply did not materialize so that was it.....The band that recorded these 11 songs was only assembled to get a deal...if it didn't happen it was not going to be a bar band ...so we all packed it in and NEVER played together again...When this wound finally healed I went back to the bar band I had been in and stuck it out with them for a few more years...It was 1990 and I got the 2nd real drumkit in my life...I bought a 7 piece Pearl CZX (Custom Z) kit which I also still have and use right now...I hung with the bar band until I got a call to hook up with a guy who was the bass player in the re-runs of the Outlaws and Molly Hatchet....He had a band together that was touring and writing and opening up for national acts and having a blast....but hmmmm it was Country...well a the time I had never even listened to a country song ...so I had called my wife and got the OK and told him I'd do it .....they sent me tapes..gave me two weeks and a truck showed up at my house and picked up me and my Custom Z's and took me to the load in somewhere in Maryland and I did my first gig with the band that night ...no rehearsal...nothing but hi..I'm Joel and Rob..Rob..and Rob ..yup three Robs in one band ....all with nicknames and some of them not pretty....this band was special...we all ended up like brothers and really got along great.....we ended up doing shows with some great bands ...Sawyer Brown, Tracy Lawrence, Shenandoah, Confederate Railroad, Kentucky Headhunters, Tracy Byrd, one night Alan Jackson and his band showed up at a club we were at and he got up on stage with us and did a couple of songs and then his band came up and played for an hour....I got everyone to sign my snare head...it was the longest loadout ever...he left but the band hung out and we traded war stories until the sun came up and had a blast.....well this lasted a year and a half and then my wife and I had our first daughter...life at home for her was no fun ..working and taking care of the baby by herself and I knew the touring days were numbered...the last show had a teary-eyed band that knew this was a like family being broken up....I went back to the bar band that I had started with when I first moved to Va...and after a while that couldn't stay together but a few years more because of the hectic pace of life ....so now I'm in a new gig...MYNX...our very first show is this Feb 21st and I'm looking forward to getting back out ...it's been 4 years since my last live show and I am more than anxious to get going again ...these guys are really good musicians and this is my first gig with a woman front man..??!!! Hmmmmm how do you say that ???