New York, NY — Carl Fischer Music is excited to announce a new addition to the popular I Used to Play series: for former drummers who miss jamming on the kit, it’s time to dust off the old sticks and revisit those good times with I Used to Play Drums: An Innovative Method for Adults Returning to Play (DRM136 — $19.95), by Liberty DeVitto and Sean J. Kennedy. This book will reacquaint people with their instrument by providing them with the kind of music they want to play in a variety of styles, from rock, to jazz, and more! Starting with a review of the basics of music theory and continuing with a wealth of exercises to get players back in shape, I Used to Play Drums will get people drumming away again in no time. Plus, the enclosed CD contains audio MP3s of full-band performances for each song, with and without drumset, allowing players to learn from demo tracks and play along with the band like no time has passed at all!
Best known as Billy Joel's longtime drummer, Liberty DeVitto has also appeared as a session drummer on recordings for a variety of other artists. Born on August 8, 1950, in Brooklyn, NY, DeVitto grew up in Seaford, Long Island; and, after catching the Beatles on their infamous Ed Sullivan Show appearance in early 1964, was inspired to play the drums. Entirely self-taught, DeVitto began playing in local bands during high school, before landing gigs with Mitch Ryder and Richie Supa; the latter of whom invited the drummer to play on his obscure 1970 release, Supa's Jamboree. After thirty years with Billy Joel, and countless other projects, Liberty is still going strong. He has recorded and preformed with Sir Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Ronnie Spector, Billy J Kramer, Stevie Nicks, Meatloaf and many others. He can be seen live with his Atlanta, Georgia based band featuring Derrick St Holmes (Ted Nugent) Ed King (Lynyrd Skynyrd), Jeff Carlisi (.38 special) and Jimmy Hall (Wet Willie) as well as his New York City based group with Ricky Byrd (Joan Jett and The Blackhearts), Joe Lynn Turner (Deep Purple, Rainbow), Hugh McDonald (Bon Jovi), Christine Ohlman (Saturday Night Live Band) Will Lee (David Letterman Band) and others.
Born in Philadelphia in 1971, Sean J. Kennedy is a graduate of the West Chester University School of Music where he was awarded a B.S. in Music Education and an M.M. in Percussion Performance, and studied drumset with the late Ron DiStefano at Temple University, mallet percussion with Christopher Hanning, and Timpani with Joe Goebel at WCU. Recently,Tirdad Derakhshani of The Philadelphia Inquirer recommended “…his intense and sometimes far-out live performances…” as a top pick in its Best Bets section. While still doing the occasional freelance date, Sean’s present focus is on building the audience for his quartet, The Sean J. Kennedy Quartet, which focuses on his original compositions and new arrangements of time-honored standards. With Sean on drums, the group regularly features Erin Stroup on saxophones and John Stenger on piano. As stated in a recent review on Jazzreview.com, Kennedy’s quartet is “creatively new, but built on solid foundations of traditional jazz.”
Carl Fischer Music has been a leader in providing quality educational and performance print music for more than a century. For more information about new publications from Carl Fischer Music or to locate a dealer near you, log on to www.carlfischer.com or e-mail us at cf-info@carlfischer.com. For a review copy of the publication listed in this release, please contact Heidi Vanderlee at 212.777.0900 ext. 230 or send an e-mail to heidiv@carlfischer.com at your convenience.
