my home studio with Yamaha (drums and EAD10), Zildjian, Remo, Vic Firth, LP

I teach a UArts graduate drum set class every summer at Villanova University for certified music educators who are non-drummers...so much fun!

playing with renowned bassist and great friend Thomas_Kennedy at Feinstein's in NY with the legendary and amazing Ben Vereen

hanging with friend and UArts alum renowned Adam Blackstone (not sure why I'm making that face)

hanging prior to Taylor Swift concert in Philly with her terrific drummer and very good friend Matt Billingslea

goofing with life-long friend Gerry Brown (great drummer with Stevie Wonder, Lionel Ritchie, etc.)

so proud of my former student, Jake Sommers, on tour with Grammy-winner Luke Combs

hanging with great drummer/percussionist/teacher Andy Smith during a drum set clinic at University of Texas El Paso...great teacher, program, students, city, and people...El Paso Strong!

my clinic set-up with acoustic and digital drums, latin percussion, triggers, and lots of cymbals...thanks to my amazing sponsors Yamaha Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Vic Firth Drumsticks, Remo Drumheads, Latin Percussion, MONO Cases

with drumming brothers/friends Jason Gianni, Nick Costa, and Jake Sommers

talking open-handed playing with excellent drummer, Josh Devine (One Direction)

at the NAMM show with close buds Joe Testa (Head of Artist relations at Zildjian and Vic Firth), and excellent drummers Dave Stanoch (Sheryl Crow, Jackson Browne) and Russ Miller (Andrea Bocelli, Ray Charles, studio vet)

performing with college-mate and friend, bassist Stanley Clarke

Rehearsing with the Gulfport Symphony - great players, great gig!

Rehearsing with the Army Blues Band at Ft. Myer, VA...one of the best big bands I ever played with - incredible players and men - I was very proud!

Photo taken after a concert in L.A. in August '19, with Jason Alexander (George Costanza). He came up to me after the show and wanted to talk drums - he used to play! He's a VERY nice guy, and I'll bet he can play, too!

One of the greatest recognitions I've ever received in my life was to be given the Yamaha Legacy in Education Award at PASIC in November, 2019. Yamaha has always been a huge supporter of my teaching and research, along with that of tens of thousands of teachers and educators around the world. Yamaha is a true leader and I'm honored to represent and endorse them!

Shot of me with my concert kit following sound check at the Palladium just outside of Indianapolis in January '20. Great venue and great people!

Figured I should post a pic of me in a suit, just to prove I own one! This is a formal photo for the University of the Arts in my official role as University Dean. The BEST students, faculty, staff, and alumni EVER!

Cool photo of a pair of my Marc D signature drumsticks from Vic Firth (yes, that's one of my skull rings). Thrilled to be part of the Zildjian/Vic Firth family! Hit me up if you'd like a couple pair - no charge.

Cool shot from behind my drums during sound check at the new Performing Arts Center in Vegas...played with the UNLV Big Band and Dave Loeb - great!

just prior to a performance with the Philly Orchestra...check out where they put the drum set - right in the front (of course, it's there for sound reasons, but it's still cool)!

what a thrill...playing a drum duet in concert with one of my drumming idols, the great Chester Thompson!

my HUGE set-up for my week-long drumset class for music educators...drums, cymbals, side-snare, cowbells, bongos, pedals, triggers, digital pads, DTX, etc., and 18 Yamaha kits with Zildjian Cymbals, Remo Heads, Vic Firth sticks, and LP shakers for 18 K-12 music teachers learning to play drums!

set-up for concert with the amazing North Carolina Symphony...hybrid acoustic/electronic kit (and very cool Zildjian Spiral Stacker)

the great Lenny Castro, me, and Jimmy Paxson, Jr. on their way thru Philly on the Stevie Nicks tour. Jimmy's the son of one of my dearest friends, Jimmy Sr., who recently passed...Junior's a GREAT drummer who's making his dad proud...

bassist Tom Kennedy warming up before one of our two sold-out concerts with the Edmonton Symphony...great orchestra, great city, great people, but REALLY cold weather

hanging at PASIC, Nov. 2019, with collegaue Jason Gianni, and former students Nick Costa, and Jake Sommers (Luke Combs). Three incredible drummers and people!

my big set-up for a concert at Centre College in Danville, KY. Great people, great bourbon, and a very cool Mayor Mike, who also plays drums!

after sound check in a VERY cool little town with some of the friendliest people anywhere - Corsicana, Texas... talking with my drum tech - a VERY cool dude with a VERY cool Texas name - Reece

surrounded by great drummers and good friends Rich Redmond, and former student Jake Sommers who's KILLIN'it on tour with Luke Combs - so proud!

I invited superstar singer/songwriter P!nk to the University to speak to our students. She is a very sincere, honest, and hard-working performer, who is true to herself and her beliefs. I admire her alot, and I like to look at her, too!

always great hanging with my Yamaha Drum fam, Joel Tetzlaff, Dave Jewell, and Prudence Elliott (not pictured Steve Fisher, Greg Crane, and Jim Haler)

with Zildjian friends Marie San Fillipo and cymbal master Jeff Westhaver following a Whitesnake performance with legendary drummer Tommy Aldridge

with one of my longtime great friends, Bruce Jacoby from Remo Drumheads, after my concert at Catalina's in L.A.

hangin' and talkin' with an equally incredible guitarist and person - Pat Martino

terrific drummer and good friend Tom Hoey performing with Olivia Newton John in South America, under the watchful eyes of a large security guard. He, and the plexiglass, are probably there to keep Tom away from ONJ! I'm not in this picture, but I wish I was...she still looks and sounds amazing! :-)

following a sound check at the PNC Center near New York. Great set-up - thanks to all the support from Yamaha, Zildjian, Remo, Vic Firth, LP, and MONO!!

some of the drum faculty at KoSA 2008 International Drum/Percussion Festival: Chester Thompson, Memo Acevedo, Jonathan Mover, MD, and Bobby Sanabria. KoSA is a great annual event for drummers, and the faculty hang together like a big family!

with J.R. Robinson at Yamaha in Burbank...JR and I used to play basketball together at Balboa Park in Encino years ago just after he moved there from Iowa, and I from Philly

a weird moment on my way to Doha, Singapore, and Seoul for clinics when I looked on the screen and saw where we were flying

very proud to be part of the Remo family...here's a poster from the JEN conference in San Diego in January 2015

at an outdoor rehearsal in a very hot Sonoma, CA, at the Transcendence Theater...one of the best places to play with some of the best staff anywhere...including brilliant owner/managers

I'm playing a solo in Topeka, Kansas with no sticks...alot of fun and def challenging (that's bassist Tom Kennedy off to my left)

one of my paintings...I've no clue what I'm doing, but I REALLY like doing it

drum techs are truly invaluable on tour...here's one of the absolute best techs I've ever had the great pleasure to work with, Steve Senn. He did a few dates with us on a swing thru the south, including this outdoor concert in South Carolina. I think Steve's based near Atlanta, and if you get the chance, hire him, he's amazing!

a truly gifted pianist and condctor Dave Loeb and I outside of the Kennedy Center in D.C. after we played a concert with the National Symphony Orchestra

I took this picture of the actual tombstone of Eleanor Rigby in a cemetary next to a church outside of Liverpool. Behind the church was a small meeting room where Paul and John first met. Eleanor Rigby was long thought to be a 'fictional' character...this tombstone and a document recently released by Paul prove otherwise.

Every time I go to Seoul I'm invited and honored to play with the amazing Korean guitarist Sang Won Han at the Once in A Blue Moon Club

Here's my big concert set-up on stage in Hawaii before four days of sold-out performances with Ben Vereen and the Honolulu Symphony in Fall 2009...terrific place, terrific orchestra!

I'm very lucky to have great friends who are incredible drummers. Here's a Philly contingent of Joe Nero, Barry Plevinsky, MD, Jimmy Paxson, and Ed Shea...I've known these guys from when we were in college. Very very sad that we lost Jimmy in Fall 2010...sleep well, my friend, catch you down the road.

I think this is a very cool shot of my drums against a colorfully lit background taken just before a concert and recoding of a live album with Ben Vereen (Tom Kennedy on bass) in Hartford, CT.

I was a guest at a terrific jazz festival in Oneida, NY and got the chance to play with a great band of local musicians and an amazing trombinst and funny guy, Steve Turre

conducting a brush clinic for these terrific students at ProJazz in Santiago, Chile

with incredible bassist Tom Kennedy before a concert at a summer music fest in Oklahoma...Tom's got equally ridiculous chops on electric and upright.

One of my favorite places in the world...the beach house in Sea Isle City. Here's my garden with basil, mint, peppers, and tomatoes...family, friends, seafood, and of course - a "drink of the day"

Ignacio Berroa is an exceptional drummer, latin percussionist, and teacher, and I'm proud that we've been good friends for many years...here we are after a joint clinic

while on tour with Death Cab for Cutie, Jason McGerr stopped in to say hi... he had actually come to UArts a couple years before this, but he'd forgotten to email me a printout of what he was demonstrating during a clinic, so he made a special trip and brought it to me in person...that's intergrity - and a good memory!

My Dad, who recently passed away, is the greatest man I've ever known. He was a P-51 fighter pilot during World War II, and the smartest and most honorable man, and the best father I can imagine. You can't choose your parents...I lucked out...BIG time.

two of my favorite jazz drummers... the late great Jimmy Paxson - for his sensitive brush work and ferocious stick work, and Carl Allen - for his remarkable musicality and use of space in his soloing

over the past decade there have been so many great drummers come onto the scene having developed sensational feel and technique while playing in churches and with gospel groups...here was one of the best - Marvin McQuitty...rest in peace, my friend

on a recent trip to Santaigo, Chile, a few musicians and I visited this band of young jazz musicians, known as the Conchali Big Band, rehearsing in a ghetto outside of the city. Against all odds these amazing young kids were playing some of the best big band jazz I've ever heard anywhere for students that age...it was an emotional experience - they were inspiring!!!

each summer I teach a beginning, and now an intermediate, graduate course for K-12 music educators in playing the drums...here's a shot from my expanded kit overlooking a sea of 18 (!!!) drum kits...each student gets to sit and work on their own drum set...thanks to Yamaha, Sabian, Remo, Regal Tip, LP, and MONO for their continuing support of music education

in Vermont, I had the privilege to meet and hear this 16-yr old female tabla sensation from India, Rajna Swaminathan. An even bigger rush for me was playing an unrehearsed duet with her in front of a thousand people...the piece included lots of time and meter changes and improvisation...I tried to keep up with her...you gotta check her out!

fellow Yamaha drum artist, author, educator, and writer John Riley. His articles in Modern Drummer are always well-written, researched, and informative...a world-class player and true educator

with friend Tony Verderosa after our clinics at Yamaha's DTXplosion. TV's not only an extraordinarily innovative acoustic and electronic drummer, but a GREAT guy!

hanging with good friend and amazing drummer Dave Weckl

with two awesome musicians...one of my best drumming friends, and ultimate Californian, Gregg Field (Sinatra, Basie, Ella), and one of the baddest lead trumpet players anywhere, Matt Gallagher... we're hanging on the Ave of the Arts in Philly before going to a party

doing a clinic for some very enthusiastic (and well-dressed) young students at Gateacre Middle School in Liverpool

I've always been a huge fan of Steve Smith's playing from his early days with Journey. Now I've come to equally respect his important work as a composer, author, and consummate student of the instrument. His DVDs are must-haves for all drummers.

with David Garibaldi at UArts before we went to eat at The Saloon - one of my favorite South Philly Italian restaurants

at a party with some...'friends'...

in concert with Jon Faddis, the late Charles Fambrough, and Elio Villafranca

Check this out...I met 1980 World Series Champion Phillies pitcher Larry Christenson on a flight from Phoenix and he let me try on his world series ring...for a huge Phillies from when I was 2 yrs old, it don't get cooler than that!

rehearsing for concert with pianist and Philly Pops Conductor and Musical Director Peter Nero

in concert with Equity Records' country music singing sensation, the beautiful Laura Bryna

Yamaha Artists Marvin McQuitty, Akira Jimbo, Tony Verderosa, and I following our electronic drum clinics and performance for a Yamaha event called "DTXplosion". We had alot of fun playin', hangin', eatin', and drinkin' Limoncello!

in concert with a big band in West Palm Beach...it's a little hard to read with my eyes closed!

hangin' with guitarist Steve Vai after we played together for a Grammy Conference in Hawaii

My dad taught me the love of airplanes and flying and I take lots of photos...this is taken just after takeoff at dusk from Tokyo in a 747.

at the International Trumpet Guild Conference during a concert with 'Trumpets East' - ELEVEN trumpets (!) and a rhythm section - pretty wild!

in L. A. for some product testing with the Japanese product development team. VERY cool guys who are also phenominal at what they do - that's 'Shin' Shinsuke Irisa on the far left, he's head of Artist Relations for Yamaha.

here's a shot from behind the drums druing a concert with Ben Vereen. That's guitarist Brian Nakagawa doing a duet with Ben (which is why, I guess, I'm able to take a picture during the show!).

after a jazz gig with Jimmy Bruno, Jennifer Leitham, me, and Robin Eubanks

during a clinic on Yamaha's DTXtreme II for students in England.

with a couple friends and Yamaha family members Dafnis Prieto and the late and great Ndugu Chancler

checkin' out Penny Lane in Liverpool...I'm a HUGE Beatles (and Ringo) fan

mugging after a performance with Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist, and very smart and funny guy, Kurt Elling

my student ensemble at UArts - "Rumble", playing bucket drums during a
music and dance piece for 3,000 guests at the Arts and Business Council in Philly

I was honored and thrilled to spend some time talking heads and sound with a true legend and pioneer - Remo Belli

with renowned jazz bassist and Philly friend Christian McBride

with friend and tremendous drummer Russ Miller at Yamaha in L.A. Russ has been touring with Andrea Bocelli and recording with Steve Perry...he's also a dedicated student of the instrument

Check out my bud and former Senior Editor of Modern Drummer Magazine,
Rick Van Horn, playing his REALLY LARGE clinic kit. It's hard to believe how comfortable he is
behind that kit and how musically he plays it!

playing at a very cool jazz club in Santiago, Chile with pianist/vocalist Justin Binek and saxophonist Ron Kerber, along with a young local bassist.

I had the honor to talk drums with the legendary Jimmy Cobb,
who has recorded with everyone including Miles and Coltrane.

some of my Yamaha family and friends: back row, from left - Jordan Barth (artist relations), Ralph Humphrey, MD,
Daryl Anderson (artist support), Russ Miller, JR Robinson, front row - Makoto Katsura (head of electronic drums),
Joe Testa (head of drum artist relations in US), Shinsuke "Shin" Irisa (head of drum artist relations world-wide).

I took this shot just before coming on stage to play drums with the Long Beach Symphony Pops at the Long Beach Arena
just south of Los Angeles for more than 8,000 people...that was a good rush!

here's one of my favorite shots - my amazing kids (Nick and Allie) with one of my real-life heroes, Ben Vereen, after we played a concert in Connecticut

Remo is a great company full of great people...here I am with my friend and the head of education at Remo, Bruce Jacoby,
on a recent visit to their headquarters in Valencia. Bruce is a tremendous advocate and supporter of music education.

I recently played on a giant cruise ship...just 2 nights in 7 days - easy gig. Hard to believe this huge 1,500-seat showroom is on a ship!

during a rehearsal with the symphony orchestra in Los Angeles - incredible musicians

after a performance with a rock group in Seoul, South Korea...half originals and half Hendrix covers!

Yamaha is an incredible company with great support of their artists. Whenever I do clinics in Asia not only do they send drums for me, but they also send their reps to make sure everything is cool... AND they have my equipment specs and pictures of my set-up on file so when I get there everything is perfectly set-up and tuned. Here I am in Seoul with Eu Sung and Hyoung Joon