Music is a Universal language that can heal the world and it starts with the heartbeat of the drums.
Mike Rumore
About Me
A little about me...
Mike has played it all: Funk, Reggae, Bluegrass, Country, Blues, Latin, World and Rock. Starting at the age of 6 years old, the self-taught beat machine has been playing drums professionally since 1995 and has played all over the United States spreading good vibes in popular bands such as Positivity, Juanjamon Band, Matt Winter Band, Will Erickson & Local Roots, Sunset Bridge Band, Smokehouse Rats, The Stadleman Brothers Band and Buffalo Strange. He has played in everything from dive bars to major music festivals; even spending time performing in Thailand. Along with his deep love of the Jedi in the Star Wars Saga, his beats are truly One With The Force!
A history told by Mike...
For the drums, it all started with wooden spoons as sticks and pillows (after my mom took away all her pots and pans) as drums sitting in front of MTV trying to emulate every drummer on screen. It didn’t take long before my parents started to take notice and say to themselves, “Hey, he is kind of keeping the beat right along with them.” They then made a decision, that I will always be grateful for, by getting me my first drum set. This was a kid’s drum set. Not made for serious players in mind, and was definitely not made to withstand the powerful hits of future rock stars. In between jam sessions, I was enthralled with the Star Wars movies and used everything I could find as a lightsaber; even my drumsticks! Playing drums was a great escape for me and an easy way to let off frustrations. I could sit on that kit for hours, put on headphones and tune to a local 50s, 60s and 70s radio station and play every song that came on. Even though we were smack dab in the middle of the 80s & 90s, I had a connection to those eras through my parents and the simplistic but powerful style that was used. It wasn’t until I got to junior high school that I really started to take an interest in learning more about music and the technical side of things like reading music and some basic theory concepts; but I knew that I had a love for playing drums that most of my peers didn’t exactly share.
High school is when everything changed for me. Star Wars wasn't exactly at the forefront of my mind but I had other hobbies like little league baseball, playing in the marching band, (slightly) increased social life and a job that was filling the schedule up. I had to start making some cuts. I really loved playing baseball but it was going to be something that I would have to commit a lot of time towards. I really loved the band and was also something that was a huge commitment, so I had to decide.
Needless to say, when I closed my eyes to picture my future, I was playing in stadiums in front of massive audiences. The only difference was it was from behind a drum set instead of a catcher’s mask. I fully committed myself to music and began my journey of expanding my music knowledge. I started out playing heavy metal, which was what I listened to the majority of time, playing in a few Metallica tribute garage bands, playing some battle of the bands, even writing some originals. As time went on, I was further influenced by learning about Jazz & Funk/R&B which also lead me to hearing the connections of these genres to Hip-Hop. It was this era that I learned the bond of a band. How people can come together and have a good time playing music as a group.
I began to see that drums were universal to every type of music. The heartbeat was in every song no matter what genre. Once out of high school and in college, I started playing with a group of friends (FETA) and lead to my introduction to Jam Band music, most notably Phish, and again my life was changed. I saw how complicated drum beats interwoven with meandering music could make magic happen and started to take notice of how music can influence emotions in people and by creating a positive vibe during live shows could increase the energy levels of a venue. I learned how to read crowds, how to read other musicians and most importantly how to play drums. It’s more than just beats, its organic, it’s a feeling deep in your chest and everyone is connected by it. I’ve carried this thought process and approach with all of the projects I get involved with now. It has to be fun and positive and the people will love it.