Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeremy Sheehan.
Jeremy, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
One of my earliest memories, from about four years old, is of walking around with my AM transistor radio and listening to music, so music has been a part of my life from as far back as I can remember. I have an older brother who is five years older than me, and he got me into all the classic rock bands such as The Beatles and The Who. We used to give each other a record album for our birthdays and Christmas, so I had a pretty good record collection from an early age.
When I was in 7th grade, I went to a talent show at the local junior high and saw a band play the song “China Grove” by The Doobie Bros. The drummer in that band had his drums set up on two cafeteria tables, and he did a drum solo in the middle of the song, and that was it for me, the drum bug had bitten me! I was about 13 at the time, and I started taking drum lessons at Vater’s Music in Norwood. This was before Vater became the drumstick manufacturer that they are known for today.
I studied with Joe Blake and Dan Busler, both great local teachers. Around this time Vater was transitioning into the drumstick business, and they sold the store, which became Norfolk County Music. I did not really connect with the new teacher, so I left lessons and played and practiced on my own. I played many jam sessions and joined some local bands.
We played all the local parties and eventually bars and other gigs. After a while, I felt as though I wanted to do lessons again with a serious drummer/teacher, which is when I found my first mentoring teacher. His name was Bobby Borg, and he was a very active Boston drummer and teacher. I was very serious about my drumming, and I studied with Bobby for a few years before he went on the road with the band Warrant and eventually moved to LA.
By this time I was playing in 3-4 bands simultaneously, doing original and cover music, recording demos, and playing pretty heavily around the Boston area. I had decided that I wanted to become a professional drummer and make my living by drumming, and I had read that as a professional drummer, many drummers do teaching in addition to playing, so I decided to start teaching.
My father-in-law made me a custom sign that I hung in front of my house to christen my new JD Drum School. I started to get a roster of students going, and the students would come around my yard and down the back steps into my downstairs studio to do their lessons. Pretty soon it became obvious to me that I was a pretty good teacher, that I enjoyed it immensely, and that I had a really good connection with my students.
So I continued playing in bands and teaching drums and was lucky enough to be able to support myself doing it. Around this time is when I found my next great mentoring teacher, Dave DiCenso. I studied with Dave for a few years, then his dad, the great Dick DiCenso, who was a renowned teacher in the South Shore area.
More recently, I have studied with Dean “The Dux” Johnston, another great Boston drummer, and teacher who plays in the band Club d’Elf. I have always liked to study with teachers, and I tell my students that you can never stop learning and that teachers can be students also.
Eventually, I built a stand-alone building outside of my house, which is the current home of JD Drum School, and also allows me a place to rehearse with bands in addition to having a dedicated facility to do my teaching. I currently teach a roster of about 35-40 students a week and have been lucky enough to have some former students become quite successful themselves in regard to their drumming and music.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Trying to make a living these days as a musician is tough, and I think like a drummer it is even tougher, so there have definitely been some struggles along the way for me personally. Just getting a roster of students going took time, and trying to get my reputation out there.
I was and am lucky enough to have a great support system in my wife Julia and my two sons Zack and Ben. Their support allowed me to brave the “lean times” and keep plugging forward. So I have been lucky enough to build a good reputation over time and have benefited from a strong referral base.
Another thing that I would say that was a struggle for me personally was that fact that I decided kind of early on that I did not want to be a touring drummer. My family life is important to me, and I decided that I wanted to be a local/regional drummer and try to make my living as a professional drummer without being in a touring band.
So while I was building up my student roster, I was also trying to stay busy playing in bands locally to be able to pull it all off, so to speak. Most important to me was finding the balance between being a professional drummer and my family life. Early on in my career, those two things were a little out of balance.
One of the most important things that Bobby Borg gave me was the ability to learn how to balance my drumming and my family life. Dave DiCenso was another important person in my life who helped me let go of what he would call “our drummer baggage.”
Sometimes it is very easy to get all wrapped up in your music persona, and Dave DiCenso helped me learn how to unwrap that way of thinking. All the important lessons that I try to teach my students as well as just drumming techniques.
JD Drum School – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
At JD Drum School, I am the only teacher, because I am selling myself, my teaching style, my reputation as a teacher and player, and almost more important to me, my abilities as a mentor. I give lessons mainly Monday through Friday but will teach any day or time that is needed usually.
The studio is a state of the art learning facility. It is fully equipped with a student drumkit, a teacher drumkit, a practice pad area, FIOS internet, all FIOS TV music channels, and a full PA system with a mixing console. The student has the ability to play along with recorded music from any portable music player, streaming internet, cable TV. CD, Cassette, DVD, VHS Video. Monitoring options include speakers, monitored headphones, or noise isolation headphones.
Video recording of the student and uploading to the JD Drum School website and the JD Drum School YouTube channel is also available, which is great because not only do the students get to showcase their drumming skills, but they also get to share their video with extended family members and friends. I believe my main strengths are my ability to approach every student as an individual, with their own strengths and weaknesses being different from all other students, and my ability and desire to positively motivate students to be the best they can be, not just in their drumming, but in their everyday life as a good person.
I think these traits are what allowed me to reap the greatest reward of all from my teaching, the thing I am most proud of, and that is the relationships that I have developed with many students that continue long after they stop studying drums with me. Many of my students play or have played in local bands over the years, and I try to go see them and support them as often as I can. I am proud of all of my students, and I have some success stories that are very dear to me.
A couple off the top of my head would be my former student and friend Sheel Dave of the very successful band Bad Rabbits, former student Gordon Williams who earned his degree in music, works for Boston Ballet and himself is a private teacher, and former student Tim McCarthy, who just filmed his own indie film called “Bent On Somnolence”, which incorporates some of his composing and drumming skills into the film.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
For me, that is a very easy question to answer. For me, success is to be the best husband and father that I can be, to be the best drummer and teacher that I can be, and to keep supporting myself and my family by doing the thing I love the best, which is drumming and teaching.
I am looking forward to meeting new students and making new friends, continuing my teaching and mentoring of students, and banging my drums all day!
Contact Info:
- Address: 586 Bay Road Stoughton, MA 02072
- Website: www.jddrums.com
- Phone: 781-341-1396
- Email: jd@jddrums.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/jddrumschool
- Other: www.youtube.com/JDDrumStudio
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
