My Excuse for Playing Drums

I've never really needed a reason to play drums...they've just been a part of me since I can remember. I heard, or at least felt Joe Morello playing drums when I was still in the womb, so it's no wonder. I'm into music first, before drums or anything else, and I love all instruments, but drums floated my boat more than anything, so I picked drums as my main ax. Of course it means that I can never call myself a real musician, but that's no problem. I'm not a real anything so it doesn't matter.

 Not that I ever needed an excuse either, but if I ever thought I did I had a stellar one, once I read Psalm 150:5 that is. It says: "Praise Him upon the loud cymbals; praise Him upon the high-sounding cymbals." I remember thinking "Fuckin'-A!" I'm a cymbal freak anyway but that just rocked, as it were. There was the greatest reason to ever play drums, and it was in the Bible of all places.

 When I discovered this verse, in my early teens, I was having some internal issues because of my church upbringing, and knowing that I was playing the "Devil's music," but here was a dang Psalm about it. It took a weight off my shoulders and I thought it was pretty great in general. So, I could be playing a song by a band that was named after the Devil, but I was still cool. Problem solved. 

 In all sincerity the Book of Psalms is beautiful to read anyway, but finding a verse about playing cymbals, and forcefully at that, was just fantastic, and it was actual praise. Too much. You could say it was a sign from God, but that'd be too easy, seeing as how it's in the Bible. That was a breakthrough. Thanks Psalms!