drum solo 2026-03-22

Original video: https://youtu.be/7YE456BsElU

This is one of the first times I've ever improvised a drum solo and publically performed it (for an earlier one, see here)! For pretty much the entirety of the time I've been a drummer and up until very very recently I've been absolute trash at improvising drum solos. Like godawful. I would just go nowhere. I couldn't pull up ideas fast enough or execute them. To try and improvise a drum solo felt like stumbling and falling. So starting last year, in 2025, I started dedicating more time to it, practicing soloing and getting the ideas to flow and really trying to make it feel as natural as speaking, which is how improvisation should feel. And voilà. Not bad, right?? I fucked up a couple times but I feel like I brushed it off pretty well.

Astral Cascade is Joe's punk rock band. Their ordinary drummer is out of town so they recruited me to help them out this time. It was a lot of fun! Thanks to T-KILA Place for having us.

And yes, I did break my stick. This marks 3 times now that I've broken a stick while performing or recording something. Once on my cover of Mother, once on I Warned You About Stairs!!!!!!!!, and now here. I hope this trend stops right now and does not continue. I don't like spending money on sticks.