Too Many Drummers

Official Tumblr for the band Too Many Drummers (but really Dave the singer's Blog)

[toomanydrummers]

Time to hit the road w Dad. The boatwork countdown begins....ready to get or hands dirty and make some fiberglass shiny. . . . #toomanydrummers #adventure #livingthedream #boatwork #family

[toomanydrummers]

I have officially run out of time so I guess it’s done:) it’s 230 am, I’m driving to Florida in seven hours, I haven’t packed yet, and I’m currently sitting in the middle of a room that closely resembles a post apocalyptic wasteland. No regrets at the moment. I’ll save those for when I wake up in a few hours and begin the long drive to Florida. . . . #toomanydrummers #guitar #custom #paintpens #posca #poscapens #guitarart #stratocaster #strat #bathysphere #livingthedream #create #painting #geartalk

[toomanydrummers]

This was a tough one....Dismantling and repainting the studio today. Its the necessary price to have a new adventure. I’m a little sad but so grateful for all the musical radness that happened in this room. It really was a dream come true! #toomanydrummers #recording #livingthedream #sharethelex #recordingstudio #adventure

[toomanydrummers]

The end of an era. . I just played my final service at Quest Community Church (at least for this season of life). . For the past ten years, I’ve had the privilege of watching lives change from this seat (I also had the opportunity to play guitar, bass, and sing, but drums remain my lifelong anchor). It's ironic that drummers call this seat a “throne”. That metaphor cannot long withstand the brunt of scrutiny in a band of servants. My own transformation from a “would-be musical king” to a servant happened in this very chair over the course of hundreds of worship services. . From this seat I witnessed the rise and fall of a well-intentioned but ultimately dysfunctional church culture, then marveled at the aching bloom of restoration and breathtaking power of grace. I learned how to surrender to a moment and lead a room into vulnerability by baring my heart. I learned to listen. I learned humility. I fell in love with God and humanity. . Over the past ten years my Sunday morning prayer evolved from “God, please don’t let me screw this song up” to “Lord, make me invisible”. Musicians, for all our pomp and circumstance, lead worship best from the shadows. . I mess that principle up all the time, which is why playing on a worship team has been such a powerful crucible in my life: It’s the one stage I step on where the events are unequivocally not about me or my artistry. For an ego-hungry artist, that notion is a bitter pill to swallow. One of my mentors told me “God gets no more pleasure out of a song played horribly than he does out of a song played with the highest of skill”. That statement continues to challenge me every day. The notion that art’s value is not inherent to its execution…what a diabolical concept. . As with most things, God’s viewpoint and values confound my own. . At this risk of sounding overdramatic, this seat saved my life as an artist. It is a north star that reorients me while I explore musical wildernesses with Too Many Drummers. Playing from here has been a privilege, a challenge, and a blessing. I’m grateful. . Thank you. . . . #toomanydrummers #drums #worship #worshipteam #churchmusic #livingthedream #sharethelex #church

[toomanydrummers]

It lives!!!!! After many months, the Skyship Tele is finished! So stoked:) . . . #toomanydrummers #telecaster #customguitar #guitar #posca #paintpens #guitarart #airship #teletuesday #create #poscapens

[toomanydrummers]

My daughter really gets me. It’s a drawing of Daddy standing on the hood of a “too many drummers”- emblazoned SUV, holding a pizza in the air and singing the “naaaaah subenyah” Lion King “baby Simba” song. Which may or may not have happened in real life yesterday. . . . #toomanydrummers #kidart #dadlife #livingthedream

[toomanydrummers]

Good painting progress today. I’ve seen a lot of open ocean sailing over the years and I want no part of this sea state. Gnarly. Waves breaking like this means storm conditions in open water or else you are over a dangerously shallow bottom. This scene is giving me the heebiejeebies while I’m working on it, honestly. My sailing instincts keep telling me that something has gone terribly wrong for someone to end up in this situation. That fellow in the bathysphere is having a rough time, I guarantee. Hope he’s strapped in.

[toomanydrummers]

Took the plunge and started painting. The good news is that it’s coming together. The bad news is that I just ran out of the blue paint. So......yeah.

[toomanydrummers]

And so it begins....finally starting the stratocaster paint job! First some sketching, then it’s time to commit. If all goes according to plan, this strat will pair with the skyship telecaster for a complete thematic piece. If nothing goes to plan, I’ve painted a bathysphere on this guitar for no discernible purpose.

[toomanydrummers]

Reason #183 why you never should get rid of the guitar you bought when you first started and just wanted to shred: Sometimes a client needs you to transpose a song two steps up after you wrote a hook that took you to the 20th fret in the old key. 24 frets for the win. Long live Schecter! Quality and frets for days. . #toomanydrummers #oldfaithful #schecter #guitar #recording

[toomanydrummers]

The perils of playing a “Sarlaac” brand amplifier. . (Tried to make a GIF of the amp explosion from Fast Asleep and accidentally played it backwards. Surprised me and made me laugh. Amazing how reversing a clip tells an entirely different story.) . . . #toomanydrummers #sarlaacpit #sarlaac #starwars #guitar #animation #musicvideo #stopmotion #amplifier #slowmotion #livingthedream

[toomanydrummers]

SO rad. Got invited to speak to upper middle school students about the creative process today. Absolutely awesome to have the chance to connect with and inspire kids, maybe even convincing them that they matter. I never anticipated the opportunities like this that have come from the Fast Asleep. Love it. So rad. . #toomanydrummers #livingthedream #thankful #stopmotion #filmmaking #animation #sharethelex #dragonframe

[toomanydrummers]

I animated this scene to demonstrate the best way to solve conflict in a band. Link to full video in profile. . . . #toomanydrummers #stopmotion #animation #3dprinting #greenscreen #dragonframe #guitar #band #rockandroll #conflictresolution #sharethelex #musicvideo #indie #aftereffects #livingthedream

[toomanydrummers]

I'm not going to say that the fight in Verse 2 is a metaphor for passive aggressive band rehearsals, but anyone who has played in a band knows what's up. We've all been here:) Link to full video in profile. . . . . #toomanydrummers #stopmotion #dragonframe #animation #greenscreen #sharethelex #indie #musicvideo #localmusic #sharethelex #brothers #livingthedream #guitar #create #3dprinting #rockandroll

[toomanydrummers]

After over three years of work in my garage, I'm THRILLED to release this Kraken of a stop motion music video. Link to full epic-length video in profile . . #toomanydrummers #stopmotion #animation #claymation #greenscreen #musicvideo #dragonframe #sharethelex #3dprinting #rockandroll #guitar #airlineguitars #backtothefuture #livingthedream

[toomanydrummers]

Dad and I visited Monument Valley in Arizona when I helped him move across the country a couple of weeks ago. The valley features a particular stretch of road from a famous scene in Forrest Gump. . Lots of people stop to take a photo, but Dad busted out his iPhone and we took it to the next level. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you......this ridiculousness. . Sarah watched it with her hand clamped over her mouth in horror. . Fast Asleep is releasing online TOMORROW! . . . #toomanydrummers #musicvideo #forrestgump #monumentvalley #stopmotion #animation #livingthedream

[toomanydrummers]

THIS. I don’t have words to adequately express my gratitude to all the people who supported and cheered me on through this 3 year stop motion project. Last night’s premiere was a lot of things…..but THIS is what it was ultimately about to me: People. . I’m still blown away and humbled by the love last night. So many friends, peripheral and proximal, came together to share in and create a joyful experience....as thrilling as it was to see my creation on the silver screen, YOU are what I will remember about the premiere. . I loved reconnecting with former music students who told me their memories of seeing the stop motion set when I first built it and their incredulity when they heard the video was finally finished. I loved sharing the stage with some of my best friends, making music like we were vandalizing the halls of our old high school. I loved watching my daughter Zoe leap fearlessly into singing alongside me for a huge room full of strangers. I loved watching my friends perform their own music in an amazing venue to a receptive crowd. I loved having my family at the show. I loved the generosity of spirit on display. . And I won’t lie, I absolutely LOVED seeing the music video on a cinematic screen with full-on theater fidelity. That was SO rad. . Thank you so much for celebrating with me. Some of you weren’t able to make it due to the cruel vagaries of time and distance (freaking laws of nature…can someone invent teleporter technology already?), so you cheered us on digitally from afar. Thank you. . I am grateful and humbled. . I’m going to post a link to the FB livestream in my profile and in the TMD FB page profile for anyone who missed it live and wants to check it out. . The music video will officially premiere online next week. I still need to edit a credits sequence together showing some of the earliest animation tests, so I’ve got a little work to do. I’m taking today off, though:) . Again, thank you. Much love from me to you. . . #toomanydrummers #kentuckytheater #sharethelex #animation #musicvideo #stopmotion #livingthedream #dreamcometrue