About.
My music career started at The Boy’s Club Drum & Bugle Corp, when they told me at
9 years old, that I was too small to play the drums, so they made me play the bugle.
And if that wasn't bad enough, this picture came out in the Arizona Republic news
paper to prove it! Heavy sigh...So I came home crying telling my parents that I wanted
to play the drums. ðŸ˜This was the moment that would change my life forever, little did
I know...my drum career was now starting! All I remember was my dad telling me, "if I
pay to get you private drum lessons...you can't ever quit!" 😳Needless to say, for one...
you didn't know my dad back then, and two...I still haven't quit!
So my parents let me start taking private drum lessons in 3rd grade (after that horrific episode I had at the Boys Club), at the Creative Drum Shop in Scottsdale, AZ. I studied for 10 years under Jim Zupancic (pictured), Tony Ferdeber, Dale Meyers, Jim Chapin, Jeff Hamilton, Pete Magadini, Steve Smith, and Dan Tomlinson. I played in the concert band and marching band at Pima Elementary School, and even marched with the Scottsdale High School Marching Band playing snare drum while I was still in eighth grade! I placed first chair in Regionals every year, and played the snare drum at the concerts.
I went to high school at Coronado High School in Scottsdale. I was in concert band, jazz band, marching band, and made All-State and Regionals all 4 years. My junior and senior year I played percussion in the Mesa Symphony Orchestra, which was an adult orchestra…and it was a paying gig! I received a full tuition music scholarship to the University of Arizona in Tucson, but turned it down because the catch was, I was required to be in the marching band for all 4 years. After already doing that for the last 5 years, I was burnt out on marching band and I wanted to study drums and do something that would actually pay! What was I thinking! 😜
I went to Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA for 4 years, and graduated Cum Laude with
a Bachelor’s of Music Degree in Professional Music for drum set. I studied drum set with Skip
Hadden, Ed Kaspik, Larry Finn, Latin Percussion with Ed Uribe, Electronic Percussion with Steve Wilkes, and Orchestral Percussion with Dean Anderson. I did a lot of studio work at Berklee, and learned so much about recording, and all aspects of music in general. I met people from all over the world, and it was a great experience that I will remember forever. For one of my class finals my assignment was to create a business plan from start to finish with all the details. In hindsight, this still gives me the chills to this day! I created my business called "Dave's Drum Shop", where I would teach drum lessons, sell drum and percussion equipment, and have my dad work with me to run the shop while I taught lessons! You might be thinking...so what!? The irony here is this was a figment of my imagination for my class final. Then...three to four years later, it actually became a reality in real life, and my dad ended up leaving his art field to help me with the drum shop! And the rest was history! See...I just got the chills again! More on this later.
After college, I returned home to Scottsdale, and started doing freelance casual work and playing in
wedding bands. I found out that my drumming friend was leaving to move out of state, so that’s when I
auditioned for The Groove Merchants, and got the gig! It was an awesome experience to play with older
musicians, and to learn to love Rock, R&B, Soul, Funk, music with a 10-piece horn band playing songs
by artists such as Tower of Power! We played all over the state of Arizona, and occasionally out of state,
and were a very popular and busy band, considering we were a 10-piece band, with five horn players.
I learned so much from this band, and about performing live shows, and achieving the stamina to play
for hours. I had the opportunity to open for such bands as: Chuck Berry, The Coasters, Jude Cole,
Natalie Cole, The Drifters, Meatloaf, Liza Minelli, REO Speedwagon, and The Temptations. I drummed
with The Groove Merchants for 6 years, and left when Dave’s Drum Shop, Inc. got very busy.
Remember my class final assignment at Berklee? Well...in March of 1993 I opened and owned Dave’s Drum Shop, Inc. in Scottsdale, AZ for over 6 years. It was a very hectic schedule teaching over 67 students a week, running a store, doing retail, ordering equipment, displaying equipment, and running a business…all while still playing with The
Groove Merchants. My dad worked with me, and as my partner he ran the shop while I was
teaching drum lessons, just like my faux business plan! I couldn't have done it without him! I was a member of the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants), where I attended the NAMM Show convention every year in California. That's where I ordered my equipment from the manufacturers, and where I had the opportunity to meet many famous musicians! It was a great time in my life, and I’m very thankful for being able to do so, while I was still young enough not to realize what I was actually doing! 🥴
I’ve played locally with bands including: Yachtzilla! (Yacht Rock), Tina Tina & The Motown Blossoms, I Don't Know the OZZY Experience, The Groove Merchants, The Soul Solution, Broken Poets, Western Fusion, Southbound, and subbed with many others. I’ve always played Christian Music at churches all over town for the last 33+ years, and have played with great artists such as: Matt Maher, Tom Booth, Israel, Ed Bolduc, Grayson Warren Brown, Tim & Julie Smith, Jaime Cortez, Greg Hebert, Craig Colson, Dan Ballinger, Chris Muglia, and Josh Condin. I’ve recorded many songs and albums with these artists, and was able to perform concerts in Alaska, Las Vegas, Rome Italy, and in places such as: Mesa Amphitheater, America West Arena, Centennial Hall, and Balboa Beach, to name a few.
Due to being a single daddy to my 8 year old son, and the Corona Virus Pandemic, I’ve had to rethink how I could still play drums and be at home more for my son. That is what has led me to my most recent drumming adventures being a creator for my YouTube channel "DRUMMER DAVE RAHEB”. It allows me the freedom to do my drumming around my schedule, and still be at home to be the daddy my son deserves! I feel very blessed for this opportunity in my life, and I couldn’t be happier as a drummer and a dad.
Rhythmically Yours,
Drummer Dave Raheb
