from the band:
I am a Sponge: PART TWO

Two years after Santa Claus introduced me to Kenny Rogers, my older cousin Tom introduced me to two new things: checkerboard Vans slip-on sneakers and Rush. I was at his house and he played me “Tom Sawyer” by Rush and all of the sudden Kenny’s “Don’t Fall In Love With A Dreamer” wasn’t so cool. I was blown away by Rush’s sound – particularly the drumming of the great Neal Peart. So, I saved up my allowance and bought Rush’s “Moving Pictures” on cassette, and the sounds coming out of my combo stereo became much more aggressive than Kenny’s duets with Kim Carnes and Dolly Parton. For the next EIGHT years, I listened to Rush incessantly. It was Neil’s drumming that made me want to become a drummer. When I was in sixth grade, I signed up for drum lessons at Scott Tennyson’s in Tallahassee and I joined the Cobb Middle School Band. I even bought the book Drum Techniques of Rush, after which I realized I could have just as well purchased Tolstoy’s War and Peace in Russian. I still enjoyed listening to Neil’s drumming, even though I knew I would never play like him. Neil also is Rush’s lyricist, and I was impressed with the fact that even though he didn’t sing, it didn’t stop him from writing for the band. It was Rush that made me want to be in a band – to play drums with and write songs with a band of people like myself. That became more appealing (and realistic) to me than being a solo entertainer like the Gambler. So it was Kenny Rogers who drew me to music, and it was Neil Peart and Rush who drew me to the drums and the idea of playing and writing with a band. Thanks Tom for the introduction!

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