True! I'm playing drum since I was 12 y/o. In all kinds of bands. Started in a marching band too. When I became 17 I got into the drum kit. I'm an auto didact on the kit. Ever since I did all kinds of (cover)bands and gigs. In various styles and opportunities. Now I'm 63. I hardly have any pics nor recordings from my music activities in my younger years. Such a shame! But I love and I cherish the beautiful moments and joy the music brought me through all these years. And still does. I couldn't do without. Hope Covid will be out of the way soon so we can go rehearsing and gigging again. Shawn, I loved your story and the way you presented it in this vid on youtube. It looks so much like mine. Compliments and kind regards from a Dutch drummer.
Thanks for posting this. As a percussion teacher I often get discouraged at the rate at which my students are progressing. Seeing you in your formative years helps remind me I shouldn’t be in such a hurry expecting much from my beginners.
Same here, I have realized it takes time. I will be honest, sometimes I forget what it was like learning the basics. I forsure wasn't doing half the stuff I have some 10 year olds doing when I started. Then again, I humbly think I turned out fine as a drummer. It takes me longer to learn things than other people. I have some students playing now 4 years and technique and feel has improved suddenly. Its like once they reach a certain point. It becomes alot easier for them to continue to improve and become more independent. This happens at different ages for everyone though. Mine was definitely late.
@@Joshholbrook2024 Yup, although there are some naturals that end up doing things in a year that takes others 3 or 4. And its not age limited either. I have a 6 year old reading and learning Immigrant Song, I have a 62 year old that can't play Another One Bites the Dust 😂. Its very random.
This was amazing dude. I've been thinking about making a video discussing my "drum journey" for a while now. I think you've finally inspired me to make it.
Hats off to the parents who supported, believed in, and also taped every performance. Support like that early-on is crucial and amazing to see. What's the farthest they travelled to watch you play?
Hearing your story makes me happy, and also deeply sad at the same time. In another reality I see my life panning out very similarly to yours, and in fact I share the exact same music path as you up until exiting hs. Inevitably, my family did not support my decision to follow music as a drummer. I’m currently 21, bs’ing my way through a medical degree in college, and I’ve never felt so lost. I don’t want this path forced on to me, but I also don’t have the power to disappoint my mother and grandparents. Wish me luck. Thank you for your vid, it was put together wonderfully.
I went to music school and played a little professionally after college, but I went into programming/computers after a few years. Being a musician is really tough to make ends meet, it's a lot of hustling and playing BS gigs that feel like a waste of time. You have to love playing more than anything so that you're happy to just be with your instrument no matter what you're doing, and not make much money. Being a doctor is a very worthy endeavor, maybe you can try to shift your perspective so that you're psyched about medicine. Watch Dr. House, I dunno, but you have an incredible opportunity. If it's not right for you, then do what you gotta do, but I'd suggest at least trying to find some love for it, afterall medical science is really incredible, all the sacrifices and excellence that got us to this point. Good luck man, plenty of Doctors play in weekend bands, and they can pay their mortgages. Many musicians cannot even afford to go to the Dr. lol.
@@ShawnCrowder talent can be simply noted as: Individuals are inclined to different appitudes for learning, so while someone might be talented at the drums/music, It doesn't mean that they have built up skills around it. Someone can just as easily squander their skills by doing something they're not physically/mentally made to do, while Ignoring their given aptitudes. I think that makes some sort of sense hahaha
Talent does not mean that it comes to you easily. In fact, it can be quite the opposite of that: maybe like having a clearer sense than others of what could be, what your own inadequacies are that keep you from achieving it, and with that a strong urge to work as hard as possible to finally get there.
Very cool man. Its awesome that you were able to dig up all this old footage. Surprised we never met at Berklee, I was there 05 - 09. Keep up the good vids!
Man, this really saved me... I've been drumming for a good 1 year almost a half now... and I just transitioned from Dancing. So you could say that I had a head start when compared to other, so I continued to improve myself based on that rhythmic background I had from dancing. A year and a half later, and deep into the World of Jazz Drumming, I've been slowly getting, not depressed but frustrated, very frighteningly so... I don't know why, but I always feel desperate to get better, and I always want to find the time and play as much drums as possible, but I just can't help but feel, anxious, like I'm not good enough. I mean sure I do play in a band, and we play jazz a lot in general, but there's still this desperation to get better, like I'm not getting better fast enough, and it's been greatly affecting me mentally, since I'm in quarantine, where theoretically I should be able to play drums more, and practice more, but can't being restricted by the chain known as living in an apartment. That's why when I saw, the extent of time, it actually takes for a master to get where he got, I just feel relieved? I guess, like I'm reassured that I'm not wrong, that I'm not falling behind, that I am getting better. This really has helped me lift something on my heart and has really helped me feel less anxious. Thank you Shawn soooo much, you are definitely one of my biggest inspirations, and I hope to follow suite with your example and get better, to be a better musician.
Yes! I felt the same watching this video. It gave me comfort knowing that this is a long road and it shows that the people that are really great have just been on that long road the longest. It makes me content to just get comfortable sitting down and doing the work day in and day out because ultimately, it does add up
It's passion vs. natural talent. And give me passion every. single. time! Passion = love and enjoyment. If you're passionate about something, then you love to practice, too. You may hate yourself often, but you have those breakthrough moments where you can say to yourself: I feel like I'm as good as anybody else out there.
Restart now. I played drums in high school. Then didn't rock them again for 20 years. Now I'm studying music and relearning the drums, as well as a couple of other instruments at 40. It really is about the journey.
I guess this'd be a good video for me to ask, as someone who's a senior in high school and playing percussion for 7 years, with commitments split between engineering, design, robotics, and music, I've never really had a chance to put as much time into music as I would like, simply because I've got so many different things that I love doing. So, getting ready for going to college for engineering and wanting to stick with music (from a *much* less practiced point then you were at) do you have any tips on how I can make up some of that gap without time on my side?
Start making the time. People can give you advice on how to practice more efficiently and stuff like that to make the most of your limited time but the unfortunate truth is that the only real way to make progress in a skill like this is to just invest the time and effort into it the long way, the sooner you start devoting time to it the sooner you'll get where you want to be.
maybe you can design engineering projects where robots play percussion.....!¿?¡ ... anyway it said by scientists that helps your creativity to mix different fields
I was in a similar situation! Went into Electrical Eng, but kept with music as well after playing bass/sax through high school. I'm on track to graduate this year (and go back for a master's) but I made time to play in a bunch of music groups in and out of school. You just gotta keep at it and make a habit of practicing and/or playing shows when you can (covid permitting ofc). You school might even have engineering music groups, it's a pretty common overlap for engineers to also play instruments. What I'm doing now is getting into signal processing and mixing my musical interests and eng interests.
You are a real drummer. Nothing else I can say but never stop progressing. You are awesome sir, thank you for sharing your story. 40 year journey for me and they will have to peel the sticks from my cold dead hands ! Keep on rockin in the free world brother.
I haven't watched the video yet, but looking at the thumbnail...I graduated high school in '99 and it can't possibly have been 22 years ago. Your math must be wrong. I mean...22 years? Since I finished high school? No. No. That can't be right. No. Check your math... no
Never say, "I can't". Don't even say, "I can". Say: I WILL (or "I will", actually. I think I'll point my feet thataway. ... and take the concluding One Step, too, of course.) Great illustration of this. Thank you for existing for the sake of proving me right. :D All the versions of I will, will do. It hurts but I declare myself to be intractibly obstinate. Hurt away, here I go. Or hey, this feels great again, I think I'll do it again. And again ... (like a gymnast I know who just sort of moved from the way standing on your head is more fun than standing on your feet is, to figuring out that you can spin back over onto your feet. And then back onto your hands. ... and that's much more fun than just walking from this side of the room to that ... being led by the thrill of it all). There must be another five or ten more basic kinds of getting a will to do something? And then they mix up. But in the end, whatever the outcome is, it demonstrates what you CAN do. Willing it just helped you discover what that was (or to your first discoveries, thusfar). It's an OK endpoint - a humble one, even; it's just as a starting point that it's wrong. You *do* have a talent for this. Yes, you mined it, milled it, polished it, etc, but this is just the discovery process of what was there in you to be found. (And it means it's OK for someone who doesn't achieve similar results for similar efforts - with allowance for feedback loops, and how they feed back into the effort part of the cycle - to then say, "Wow, you're good", accepting that this is not for them. Too much emphasis on the hard work aspect's importance negates the efforts of the many who give it a go and fail, not through bad character, but just because somewhere there are limits for everyone. Yes, it takes character to discover what your true limits are, but maybe good character is a kind of talent, too. It's both those things (to keep this nice and simple). Maybe in a more general sense knocking the paradiddle into your neurons is more effort dependent, and creating Sungazer songs takes a whole lot more talent than effort. Both are good. Very interesting video, anyway. It says much more than it says.
Great story / lesson / parable. And I know that budding drummers have to play with anyone they can. But the only player in the first 2/3 of the video (besides our hero) that I want to hear more from is Cletus Manson Christ, at 9:41. That cat is wonderful. Shawn, what's his name?
honestly, i never saw you as a guy that would do indoor drumline, i always thought that if you did that kinda stuff, you would be on drumset in the pit lul
During high school, you say you started playing in all kinds of gigs to get more experience. What are some ways you were able to get all these gigs in high school?
Thanks for sharing your journey! Seeing the early recordings of you starting just like everyone else is really hope-inspiring for those of us who also weren’t the most immediately talented or prodigious.
I wonder if you can speak a little as to what part of your training or background, has affected your ability to play dynamically the most? I am a sound engineer and I find 1 out of 10 drummers actually play with any style of volume control. Most are replicators of Thor, swinging his mighty hammer at the skins and brass. What makes you different? You sound very dynamic. For example, at 8:20, you are playing so softly, the guy playing jazz guitar beside you, is not bleeding from his ears at all... Oh, and we can hear him...
I am working on becoming a better musician and eventually a pro, but I struggle with doubt. Did you ever times where you felt discouraged or doubtful about your future?
A Moment in Time: *Lady yelling from the floor* "Hey drummer boy! Shave it off! Shave it all off 😘 " *As he thought while drumming* "Yeah, I will someday..."
Hi Shawn, I LOVE your ability to play the "strangest" polyrhytms. Maybe you should give us a lesson how to work out such "strange" polyrhythms like 21:20 f.e. . Obviously the "old fashioned way" - looking for a common denominator doesnt work because the sbdivisions are too small. How do YOU work out such a challenge?
Wow, your family must really love you and be super supportive! You have tons of early footage! Congrats on having good people in your life, you can't put a price on that, it's so important. Sounds great!
Drumline was key to my development. I mean playing for 20+ hours a week almost every week of the year, yeah you're going to develop some chops. Add to it Jazz, concert, and percussion ensemble. Sadly the only video recordings of me on the drumset were replaced by my sister taping Dawson's Creek. But, I have 2 live audio recordings of my band when I was 17-19 and fresh off the drumline schedule. I was pretty darn good back then! At least I have those! I still jam from time to time but years of apartment living kept my kit in storage. I still have the same kit my folks got me in 1998... though slightly modified! So cool to see your path which was somewhat similar to mine. I love your videos and am really digging sungazer. Thanks for sharing with us!
11:30 "And slowly but surely (after over a decade of practicing, countless gigs, world championships? and multiple bands) we started playing out more and more." Ain't that a message of hope.
Sometimes I think I suck at drums, but this video made me remember that I've only done it for two years and that I am actually making progress. Good video!
This is really cool to see! I don't know how well this maps outside of music, but as someone with a hobby in drawing, it's really inspiring to see that I can keep improving over time! Also, Drunk is really good and I love y'all's music!!
This was awesome and whatever your playing at the end...i love it...has that progressive fusion style drumming....you must have practiced your ass off all these years....looking back wish I would have done the same....
Super video! "Life is what happens to you when you are busy doing others things." That's what happens when you live life as a destination (read stress yourself out for money). When you live life as a journey, you enjoy it for the peak experiences. I write books, same fundamentals.
You had an awesome advantage of going to Berkeley. That’s where all of the good teachers are. There’s a huge difference between your high school and college playing. Huge. Plus your white and automatically privileged……just kidding. Keep jamming and never stop practicing and evolving. There’s always something new to learn but you’re already ahead of the game.
Wild that you marched BK, but after seeing the solo with the crosses on the rack toms it makes sense lol. I forget how small the marching percussion world is, hows the back after playing quads for a few seasons?
Love the video! Could you tell me who the band is at 14:16 at The Knitting Factory(I think)? Is it Into The Moat? What's your favorite type of music, favorite type to play, and are they the same?
I've been playing music for over a decade and it feels like a long time to me... But I just had to be a dick and say that I was born in 1999 and that video made me feel young. Good as new Fresh
If I would have the chance to tell my own history, I have no video or whatsoever to show what I've been doing. When I was 10 it seemed impossible to own a drumset. Then at 15 I asked my dad to help me pay for drum lessons, the answer was a big no. Plus I didn't have a drumset. Long history short my first drum was when I was 24, and that's when I moved to the US, because before of that I was poor. Since then I have had the chance to do more than I did the previous 24 years of my life.
Man that's a wonderful inspiring video! I absolutely have to hear full version of 16:42, is that some kind of "Drunk" live version? I couldn't find it. Is there any way to listen to it?
Really inspiring and honest. Very genuine. Your progression is just fantastic and your metal approach to the instrument is way ahead of others your age. So yeah, the best is yet to come for you. I mean really all any of us want is our own voice and the element of it being recognized on our chosen instrument.
I'm studying as a music ed major right now and marching percussion was something that helped me a lot too. Even now I play with the WGI group Music City Mystique and it shows me different ways to think about and apply the things I'm learning in school.
Look up Brian Stang. I had more training than he did, but he surpasses. For someone who started out on marching and base drum, he now screams on his kit with sticks.
Shoutout to all the parents camcording their kids’ band recitals & early gigs!
for real. completely perfect
Imagine all that would have been lost without them!!!
True! I'm playing drum since I was 12 y/o. In all kinds of bands. Started in a marching band too. When I became 17 I got into the drum kit. I'm an auto didact on the kit. Ever since I did all kinds of (cover)bands and gigs. In various styles and opportunities.
Now I'm 63. I hardly have any pics nor recordings from my music activities in my younger years. Such a shame!
But I love and I cherish the beautiful moments and joy the music brought me through all these years. And still does. I couldn't do without. Hope Covid will be out of the way soon so we can go rehearsing and gigging again.
Shawn, I loved your story and the way you presented it in this vid on youtube. It looks so much like mine.
Compliments and kind regards from a Dutch drummer.
I'll be waiting for 22 years of touch guitar progress
it's gonna be a while...
@@ShawnCrowder yes, approximately 22 years
@@KoenigApfel Wait, really?
I spotted baby Neely and, I think, baby Levin.
Yeah thats defininely Ben haha
Ben Levin ripping John McLaughlin's solo spot on Vital Transformation. Too perfect.
Unmistakable haha
i love ben soloing so fast it looks like he's having a stroke
timestamps?
Thanks for posting this. As a percussion teacher I often get discouraged at the rate at which my students are progressing. Seeing you in your formative years helps remind me I shouldn’t be in such a hurry expecting much from my beginners.
i concur. utterly perfect
Same here, I have realized it takes time. I will be honest, sometimes I forget what it was like learning the basics. I forsure wasn't doing half the stuff I have some 10 year olds doing when I started. Then again, I humbly think I turned out fine as a drummer. It takes me longer to learn things than other people. I have some students playing now 4 years and technique and feel has improved suddenly. Its like once they reach a certain point. It becomes alot easier for them to continue to improve and become more independent. This happens at different ages for everyone though. Mine was definitely late.
Ya they suck pretty bad for the first 3 or 4 years.
@@Joshholbrook2024 Yup, although there are some naturals that end up doing things in a year that takes others 3 or 4. And its not age limited either. I have a 6 year old reading and learning Immigrant Song, I have a 62 year old that can't play Another One Bites the Dust 😂. Its very random.
This was amazing dude. I've been thinking about making a video discussing my "drum journey" for a while now. I think you've finally inspired me to make it.
come on Brandon you have to do this!
do it!
Do it man. Recently subbed. Great stuff man.
Hats off to the parents who supported, believed in, and also taped every performance. Support like that early-on is crucial and amazing to see. What's the farthest they travelled to watch you play?
this is completely perfect
12:40 seeing a young Adam Neely with a fedora and chin bush singing into a vocoder has been the absolute highlight of my 2021
Someone would say: "repetition legitimizes."
this comment is utterly true
@@DannySullivanMusic Someone would say: "repetition legitimizes."
@@musicalwarrior9079 Someone would say: "repetition legitimizes."
@@ZachMcCordProg Someone would say: "repetition legitimizes."
The difference between 1 and 2 years is astounding.
this is absolutely true man
Hearing your story makes me happy, and also deeply sad at the same time. In another reality I see my life panning out very similarly to yours, and in fact I share the exact same music path as you up until exiting hs. Inevitably, my family did not support my decision to follow music as a drummer. I’m currently 21, bs’ing my way through a medical degree in college, and I’ve never felt so lost. I don’t want this path forced on to me, but I also don’t have the power to disappoint my mother and grandparents. Wish me luck. Thank you for your vid, it was put together wonderfully.
its never too late man. Hard work is the only thing that separates us from anything in life.
I went to music school and played a little professionally after college, but I went into programming/computers after a few years. Being a musician is really tough to make ends meet, it's a lot of hustling and playing BS gigs that feel like a waste of time. You have to love playing more than anything so that you're happy to just be with your instrument no matter what you're doing, and not make much money.
Being a doctor is a very worthy endeavor, maybe you can try to shift your perspective so that you're psyched about medicine. Watch Dr. House, I dunno, but you have an incredible opportunity. If it's not right for you, then do what you gotta do, but I'd suggest at least trying to find some love for it, afterall medical science is really incredible, all the sacrifices and excellence that got us to this point. Good luck man, plenty of Doctors play in weekend bands, and they can pay their mortgages. Many musicians cannot even afford to go to the Dr. lol.
9:52
I had to go back and rewatch Ben Levin shredding because that was the shit
Damn, you sounded like a professional in high school! Jealous. Also I love that clip of you and Adam in the dorm room
you are completely true
I’ve spotted an Adam Neely and a Ben levin
agreed. absolutely perfect
"as someone, who never felt particularly talented" is a very talented person thing to say :-)
We're all talented at something, It just shows his humility
haha could be, but it always felt hard to me. defining "talent" is another video entirely...
@@vasilias2230 I think we all love this about Shawn - being a total virtuoso that he is, he still seems a really nice guy
@@ShawnCrowder talent can be simply noted as: Individuals are inclined to different appitudes for learning, so while someone might be talented at the drums/music, It doesn't mean that they have built up skills around it. Someone can just as easily squander their skills by doing something they're not physically/mentally made to do, while Ignoring their given aptitudes. I think that makes some sort of sense hahaha
Talent does not mean that it comes to you easily. In fact, it can be quite the opposite of that: maybe like having a clearer sense than others of what could be, what your own inadequacies are that keep you from achieving it, and with that a strong urge to work as hard as possible to finally get there.
My god, bring back mid-2000s prog jams.
But please without the clothing and hair styles lol.
@@jessevandendoren Coward.
i agree! 110% perfect
@@pr0r0gu3 lmao that's the best possible response to that
Can we have a moment to respect the edited cuts? Tempos goin into eachother.
for real. 100% true
Great video, sir! I also started playing the drums in 99. 😊
Very cool man. Its awesome that you were able to dig up all this old footage. Surprised we never met at Berklee, I was there 05 - 09. Keep up the good vids!
Man, this really saved me... I've been drumming for a good 1 year almost a half now... and I just transitioned from Dancing. So you could say that I had a head start when compared to other, so I continued to improve myself based on that rhythmic background I had from dancing. A year and a half later, and deep into the World of Jazz Drumming, I've been slowly getting, not depressed but frustrated, very frighteningly so... I don't know why, but I always feel desperate to get better, and I always want to find the time and play as much drums as possible, but I just can't help but feel, anxious, like I'm not good enough. I mean sure I do play in a band, and we play jazz a lot in general, but there's still this desperation to get better, like I'm not getting better fast enough, and it's been greatly affecting me mentally, since I'm in quarantine, where theoretically I should be able to play drums more, and practice more, but can't being restricted by the chain known as living in an apartment. That's why when I saw, the extent of time, it actually takes for a master to get where he got, I just feel relieved? I guess, like I'm reassured that I'm not wrong, that I'm not falling behind, that I am getting better. This really has helped me lift something on my heart and has really helped me feel less anxious. Thank you Shawn soooo much, you are definitely one of my biggest inspirations, and I hope to follow suite with your example and get better, to be a better musician.
Yes! I felt the same watching this video. It gave me comfort knowing that this is a long road and it shows that the people that are really great have just been on that long road the longest. It makes me content to just get comfortable sitting down and doing the work day in and day out because ultimately, it does add up
nothing personal Shawn but I think I might have to sample that clip of you playing the Amen break
go for it!
god there's so much early 2000's early 2010's nostalgia littered throughout this video
It's passion vs. natural talent. And give me passion every. single. time! Passion = love and enjoyment. If you're passionate about something, then you love to practice, too. You may hate yourself often, but you have those breakthrough moments where you can say to yourself: I feel like I'm as good as anybody else out there.
Damn dude. It's crazy to think you've been drumming as along as I've been alive. Wonder where I'll be in 10 years 🤔
Same here man
Where do I go for more footage of you and Ben Levin shredding Mahavishnu? Awesome
One of my oldest videos is a cover of Vital Transformation with Ben. It's still on YT. :)
@@ShawnCrowder Oh, great! Thanks
this is what happens when parents actively facilitate their kids interests at and early age.
This video is fantastic, but also makes me lament the fact that after graduating high school I didn't really continue to pursue music.
never too late! opportunities come to those who make them.
Restart now. I played drums in high school. Then didn't rock them again for 20 years. Now I'm studying music and relearning the drums, as well as a couple of other instruments at 40. It really is about the journey.
this is 100% correct
Lol at the New Years (I think?) dual guitar clip. Great video!
You can tell Shawn is a working drummer by how much cajón footage he has.
Curious question, when in all of this music did you move to Berlin?
I guess this'd be a good video for me to ask, as someone who's a senior in high school and playing percussion for 7 years, with commitments split between engineering, design, robotics, and music, I've never really had a chance to put as much time into music as I would like, simply because I've got so many different things that I love doing. So, getting ready for going to college for engineering and wanting to stick with music (from a *much* less practiced point then you were at) do you have any tips on how I can make up some of that gap without time on my side?
Same situation, but I play the keyboard since 2012.
Start making the time. People can give you advice on how to practice more efficiently and stuff like that to make the most of your limited time but the unfortunate truth is that the only real way to make progress in a skill like this is to just invest the time and effort into it the long way, the sooner you start devoting time to it the sooner you'll get where you want to be.
I’m doing a major in biology and a minor in music it’s a great solution if you’re good at switching
maybe you can design engineering projects where robots play percussion.....!¿?¡ ... anyway it said by scientists that helps your creativity to mix different fields
I was in a similar situation! Went into Electrical Eng, but kept with music as well after playing bass/sax through high school. I'm on track to graduate this year (and go back for a master's) but I made time to play in a bunch of music groups in and out of school. You just gotta keep at it and make a habit of practicing and/or playing shows when you can (covid permitting ofc). You school might even have engineering music groups, it's a pretty common overlap for engineers to also play instruments.
What I'm doing now is getting into signal processing and mixing my musical interests and eng interests.
You are a real drummer. Nothing else I can say but never stop progressing. You are awesome sir, thank you for sharing your story. 40 year journey for me and they will have to peel the sticks from my cold dead hands ! Keep on rockin in the free world brother.
I haven't watched the video yet, but looking at the thumbnail...I graduated high school in '99 and it can't possibly have been 22 years ago. Your math must be wrong. I mean...22 years? Since I finished high school?
No. No. That can't be right. No. Check your math...
no
You seemed to get a lot better from year 1 to 2
agreed. 100% accurate
ok but that Somebody That I Used To Know cover was fire
yeah, I need to see the rest of this.
you are completely right!
I need to listen to the complete gig
Never say, "I can't".
Don't even say, "I can".
Say: I WILL
(or "I will", actually. I think I'll point my feet thataway. ... and take the concluding One Step, too, of course.)
Great illustration of this. Thank you for existing for the sake of proving me right. :D
All the versions of I will, will do. It hurts but I declare myself to be intractibly obstinate. Hurt away, here I go. Or hey, this feels great again, I think I'll do it again. And again ... (like a gymnast I know who just sort of moved from the way standing on your head is more fun than standing on your feet is, to figuring out that you can spin back over onto your feet. And then back onto your hands. ... and that's much more fun than just walking from this side of the room to that ... being led by the thrill of it all). There must be another five or ten more basic kinds of getting a will to do something? And then they mix up.
But in the end, whatever the outcome is, it demonstrates what you CAN do. Willing it just helped you discover what that was (or to your first discoveries, thusfar). It's an OK endpoint - a humble one, even; it's just as a starting point that it's wrong. You *do* have a talent for this. Yes, you mined it, milled it, polished it, etc, but this is just the discovery process of what was there in you to be found. (And it means it's OK for someone who doesn't achieve similar results for similar efforts - with allowance for feedback loops, and how they feed back into the effort part of the cycle - to then say, "Wow, you're good", accepting that this is not for them. Too much emphasis on the hard work aspect's importance negates the efforts of the many who give it a go and fail, not through bad character, but just because somewhere there are limits for everyone. Yes, it takes character to discover what your true limits are, but maybe good character is a kind of talent, too.
It's both those things (to keep this nice and simple).
Maybe in a more general sense knocking the paradiddle into your neurons is more effort dependent, and creating Sungazer songs takes a whole lot more talent than effort. Both are good. Very interesting video, anyway. It says much more than it says.
Way better than that knob Steven crowder
Great story / lesson / parable. And I know that budding drummers have to play with anyone they can. But the only player in the first 2/3 of the video (besides our hero) that I want to hear more from is Cletus Manson Christ, at 9:41. That cat is wonderful. Shawn, what's his name?
honestly, i never saw you as a guy that would do indoor drumline, i always thought that if you did that kinda stuff, you would be on drumset in the pit lul
During high school, you say you started playing in all kinds of gigs to get more experience. What are some ways you were able to get all these gigs in high school?
Sungazer playing bluegrass music is like McDonalds selling keto food
Hey, didn't know you played with Ben. Great video! And yesterday was very entertaining in Amsterdam! Will see you next time.
How would you break 22 years in hours of practice?
Thanks for sharing your journey! Seeing the early recordings of you starting just like everyone else is really hope-inspiring for those of us who also weren’t the most immediately talented or prodigious.
I wonder if you can speak a little as to what part of your training or background, has affected your ability to play dynamically the most? I am a sound engineer and I find 1 out of 10 drummers actually play with any style of volume control. Most are replicators of Thor, swinging his mighty hammer at the skins and brass. What makes you different? You sound very dynamic. For example, at 8:20, you are playing so softly, the guy playing jazz guitar beside you, is not bleeding from his ears at all... Oh, and we can hear him...
I saw Adam in a bit from 2009/ I guess you've met in uni? Love your stuff man!
I have never fully comitted to anything in my life which makes me stuck in perpetual mediocraty in everything :|
You can see he really becomes a pro once he starts having to play cajon all the time
I am working on becoming a better musician and eventually a pro, but I struggle with doubt. Did you ever times where you felt discouraged or doubtful about your future?
Yep!
16:48 If all humans had the capacity to feel as the dude in the front row does, there'd be no evil in the world
this is totally true!!
This is brilliant Shawn, I saw your two gigs at the Blue Note. 👏👏
13:25 Adam Neely with a pick exposed
At 4:13 you startin to sound pretty tight. Dude how thin are your drumsticks at Berkeley? They look like long pencils.
What was the Berkley band? That KILLED!!! JaZZY CHUNK DJENT Before DJENT! Awesome collection of your stuff, thank you so much for sharing!
10:02 Alien Hip Hop. Dude it was so cool watching the whole journey! :)
Me watching Shawn playing a drum solo from the year 2000: Creative use of polyrhythms and metric modulation. Nice!
22 years of balding
this is 100% perfect
A Moment in Time:
*Lady yelling from the floor*
"Hey drummer boy! Shave it off! Shave it all off 😘 "
*As he thought while drumming*
"Yeah, I will someday..."
Hi Shawn, I LOVE your ability to play the "strangest" polyrhytms. Maybe you should give us a lesson how to work out such "strange" polyrhythms like 21:20 f.e. . Obviously the "old fashioned way" - looking for a common denominator doesnt work because the sbdivisions are too small. How do YOU work out such a challenge?
Wow, your family must really love you and be super supportive! You have tons of early footage! Congrats on having good people in your life, you can't put a price on that, it's so important. Sounds great!
ショーンさん、まだ日本語を話せますか？ Just wondering because of your Japanese in 12 months channel.
Drumline was key to my development. I mean playing for 20+ hours a week almost every week of the year, yeah you're going to develop some chops. Add to it Jazz, concert, and percussion ensemble. Sadly the only video recordings of me on the drumset were replaced by my sister taping Dawson's Creek. But, I have 2 live audio recordings of my band when I was 17-19 and fresh off the drumline schedule. I was pretty darn good back then! At least I have those! I still jam from time to time but years of apartment living kept my kit in storage. I still have the same kit my folks got me in 1998... though slightly modified!
So cool to see your path which was somewhat similar to mine. I love your videos and am really digging sungazer. Thanks for sharing with us!
yeah, fuck the 10k hours rule, you need like 20 years to become decent...
11:30 "And slowly but surely (after over a decade of practicing, countless gigs, world championships? and multiple bands) we started playing out more and more."
Ain't that a message of hope.
Watching all of this shows the contrast of how much of sungazers music is set around the drums
your comment is completely right dude
Sometimes I think I suck at drums, but this video made me remember that I've only done it for two years and that I am actually making progress. Good video!
This is really cool to see! I don't know how well this maps outside of music, but as someone with a hobby in drawing, it's really inspiring to see that I can keep improving over time!
Also, Drunk is really good and I love y'all's music!!
11:15 You were roommates with and in a band with Andy Samberg? Shalom!
This was awesome and whatever your playing at the end...i love it...has that progressive fusion style drumming....you must have practiced your ass off all these years....looking back wish I would have done the same....
Super video! "Life is what happens to you when you are busy doing others things." That's what happens when you live life as a destination (read stress yourself out for money). When you live life as a journey, you enjoy it for the peak experiences. I write books, same fundamentals.
I thought he was benny greb from the thumbnail lol
You had an awesome advantage of going to Berkeley. That’s where all of the good teachers are. There’s a huge difference between your high school and college playing. Huge. Plus your white and automatically privileged……just kidding. Keep jamming and never stop practicing and evolving. There’s always something new to learn but you’re already ahead of the game.
Jealous that you got to play the Chicken in HS... I wish my Jazz Band director would have us play it (bassist)
Wild that you marched BK, but after seeing the solo with the crosses on the rack toms it makes sense lol. I forget how small the marching percussion world is, hows the back after playing quads for a few seasons?
Love the video! Could you tell me who the band is at 14:16 at The Knitting Factory(I think)? Is it Into The Moat? What's your favorite type of music, favorite type to play, and are they the same?
I've been playing music for over a decade and it feels like a long time to me...
But I just had to be a dick and say that I was born in 1999 and that video made me feel young.
Good as new
Fresh
If I would have the chance to tell my own history, I have no video or whatsoever to show what I've been doing. When I was 10 it seemed impossible to own a drumset. Then at 15 I asked my dad to help me pay for drum lessons, the answer was a big no. Plus I didn't have a drumset. Long history short my first drum was when I was 24, and that's when I moved to the US, because before of that I was poor. Since then I have had the chance to do more than I did the previous 24 years of my life.
I can easily understand that you love Turkiye from this video ahahaha
damn dude your skills have taken you far and wide! And i notice at the 2 year mark it was already coming together.
Do you have any tips for navigating the vices of the music Industry? Drinking, drugs, women etc. sometimes I feel it getting the best of me...
Man that's a wonderful inspiring video!
I absolutely have to hear full version of 16:42, is that some kind of "Drunk" live version? I couldn't find it. Is there any way to listen to it?
Really inspiring and honest. Very genuine. Your progression is just fantastic and your metal approach to the instrument is way ahead of others your age. So yeah, the best is yet to come for you. I mean really all any of us want is our own voice and the element of it being recognized on our chosen instrument.
Wild to find out that the drummer of a band I enjoy is also marched BKPE, it's a small world.
8:20 - I was _not_ prepared for a young Adam.
9:11 - Fives was an excellent choice of song.
Thank you for sharing that journey! What made you moving to Berlin though? Was that after this video was made?
Funny to see young fellow youtubers. Also funny to get the song covered through the years...
Wait is this Alien hip-hop? Oh shit...
I'm studying as a music ed major right now and marching percussion was something that helped me a lot too. Even now I play with the WGI group Music City Mystique and it shows me different ways to think about and apply the things I'm learning in school.
Drums are a good choice, everyone is looking for a good drummer. Nobody needs another guitar player.
As a learner of 1.5 years... this gives me so much hope and inspiration!! :)
Look up Brian Stang. I had more training than he did, but he surpasses. For someone who started out on marching and base drum, he now screams on his kit with sticks.
I hope to meet you some day man ! Greatings from Argentina ✨
4:18 - that's the first spot where I went, "ahh, there's the beginnings of that Shawn Crowder sound..."
That's a helluva good journey that you've done through all of those years
Was that Adam Neely on bass in one of the Berkeley vids?
Middle school and high school music/band teachers have some god like patience.
I guess I really need to sort out my mental health or I’m never going to find something I’m passionate about like this...
This is essentially my drum journey too if you end it at two minutes.
Is that my man Ben Levin at 09:03??
"My name is Shawn Crowder and I play the drums" that's an understatement if I've ever heard one lmao
you're a fucking inspiration man, i'm proud to watch that video
possible to post some inside outside and sungazer links??? i love that electro blend sound ya'll had going.