Just finished my last show of the weekend just a few hours ago. This was one of my favorite blocks of shows this past year as I saw many familiar faces in the crowds. This past Thursday was the Saint Bernadette Parrish Festival in Monroeville, which I’ve performed at the last 3 years straight. This has become one of my favorite shows of the year as I see so many students & their families in the audience, most of which are either members of the church or live in the area. There seemed to be more students present this year than any other. :) Always a good time & the festival set up (stage, booths, games, etc.) keeps getting better every year.
This year was extra special because I arranged for a Traveling Drum School student to sit in and play a song with the band. Her name is Laura Trozzo & she’s been playing drums for a few years now. A few months back we were working on “I Love Rock N’ Roll” by Joan Jett as she was prepping to play in her talent show. Unfortunately scheduling was an issue with her band therefore they couldn’t do the show. So I mentioned that maybe she could sit in with The Satin Hearts at the Parrish Festival since the song was in our set list. She agreed and we quickly reviewed the song together. Laura played it awesome! Hit the drum intro at just the right speed, held a steady tempo, did a great job with all the fills, & ended with a solid crash!! The crowd ripped up with applause!!! Here’s a pic mid performance;
On Friday the outdoor show @ the Waterfront (homestead area of Pittsburgh) was moved inside Rock Bottom due to inclement weather. We played a mellower set inside for a packet house of people. No familiar faces at first but three songs in I saw Joshua Odom walk in out of the corner of my eye. He’s a little guy so he’s definitely easy to miss! He was stage left hanging out & jamming along to the songs air drum style. Josh has been a Traveling Drum School student for around 9 months now. He started when he was 2 1/2!!! Now 3 years old he is still currently my youngest student!! Josh is a natural though, possessing tons of ability and above average concentration for his age. Not only does he do well during his lessons but we have great drum conversations afterwards while I’m packing up. Here’s a pic of him during the set break, checking out my drums & entertaining the crowd!!
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