Quick Resume: Rob Ferrell has been playing drums for over two decades and has garnered awards, accolades and experience that has helped him become a much sought after player and teacher in his area. Since first becoming serious about the drums, Rob studied with three of the biggest names in the drumming world. First he studied with Roy Burns, famed clinician and drummer for Woody Herman, Benny Goodman and Lionel Hampton. Roy’s teaching focused on the basics of proper technique and reading skills. Then Rob studied with Tony Pia who played with Maynard Ferguson, Edgar Winter, Larry Carlton, Bobby Caldwell and Englebert Humperdink. Tony’s impact can be felt in Rob’s versatility in that he emphasized being a well-rounded player, able to comfortably play different styles of music. Finally, Rob studied with Chuck Silverman, famed drum educator and master of Afro-Caribbean styles. Chuck helped Rob develop a feel for world beat and ethnic rhythms that again contributed to Rob’s versatility. Rob attended Long Beach State University and graduated with honors with a Bachelor’s degree.
Since becoming a professional drummer, Rob has achieved many of his goals. Besides being able to make a living pursuing his dream, he has accomplished many noteworthy achievements. These include performing in music videos for a Warner Brother’s country artist and an Interpol Records pop rock band. He won the California Country Music Association’s “Drummer of the Year” award in 1995. He has toured regionally and nationally with acts ranging from country to pop rock to alternative rock to hard rock. He has opened for extremely visible headlining acts such as Berlin, Missing Persons, Dave Wakeling, Martha Davis, Dishwalla, LA Guns and Gene Loves Jezebel. Rob has toured nationally with Liaison, a Contemporary Christian hard rock band and with Scotland Yard, a female fronted pop rock group. Rob was also profiled in the May 2000 issue of “Modern Drummer” magazine. He is very busy as a freelance drummer gigging and recording with countless local bands.
Prior to becoming a full time drummer, Rob spent eight years as a deputy with the Orange County Probation Department working with troubled teens. This gave him much experience working with teenagers and their parents. Rob began teaching privately many years ago at the prodding of one of his teachers. Since that day, Rob has found teaching to be an extremely rewarding part of his career that he takes very seriously. He focuses on proper technique and the basics of reading drum notation. The Forty International Drum Rudiments are used as a tool to not only focus on proper grip and technique, but also to start developing a vocabulary for the drum set. Rob teaches out of the same books that were used by the “greats” who taught him. He teaches in a comprehensive manner attempting to cover all the major aspects of drum set playing: grip, technique, reading, time and styles. He is patient, friendly and able to adapt to each student’s particular needs and desires. This adaptability helps Rob to customize each session to help the student maximize his/her lesson and practice time more efficiently. He has found this method to be extremely productive and rewarding for the students.
Rob is a member of the following organizations: Vic Firth Education Program, Percussive Arts Society, and the Professional Drum Teachers Guild.
