What's up, everybody! Welcome to Episode #25 of The Up & Coming Drummer Podcast! This week I am joined by a phenomenal Drummer and Educator. Say hello to Mr. Jeremy Schreifels!

Most of the interviews I do on the show happen in the evening hours. It just seems to be the time that works out best for everybody! But every once in a while, I get a guest who has a pretty similar schedule as me. Jeremy Schreifels and I agreed on having our chat at 10 in the morning! So after brewing up a pot of coffee, and taking my last bathroom break, it was time to talk some drums!

Jeremy Schreifels is a drummer that I've heard about quite a bit. I didn't realize that he had been on other podcasts before. So as part of my research, I made sure to listen to his other interviews. Normally I try to stray from asking the same questions that someone else has already asked, but after hearing about some of the things Jeremy spoke about, I felt that I owed it to my listeners to ask a few repeat questions so that they would get the chance to know him as well.

After catching up a bit, we dive into that very familiar question. "How did you find the drums?" Jeremy tells us a bit about growing up and how he became involved in music. We also discuss some of the music that influenced him during those early years. Jeremy and I chat about some of our influences, and how we both found our creative ways around the drumset.

As I mentioned earlier, there were a few topics I felt were important to bring up again. I felt that the topic was only lightly touched on in his previous interviews, so I wanted to open up the discussion. Jeremy had an almost career-threatening injury some years back, which resulted in tremendous pain in his left hand when he played. After only a few years of serious rudimental drumming, a slight flaw in his technique caused a few tears in the muscles/tendons in his hand. Jeremey gives us a rundown of exactly what happened and how it almost made him have to give up the drums.

Thankfully, with the help of Drummer and Clinician Daniel Glass, Jeremy was able to slowly work his way up to not only playing drums again but being a full-time drummer! Too often I think we forget that you can actually hurt yourself if you aren't playing properly. There were times early on where Jeremey was only able to play for 2 mins per day. But through hard work and a desire to fix the issues he had, he no longer has the issues that once almost ended his career. I think too often we forget that it is possible to injure yourself. This is a very valuable lesson for everyone because you just never know! An eye-opening section of our chat for sure!

Jeremy, as I said, has been able to make drumming his full-time job. Between teaching and playing with numerous bands, he has been able to do what he loves and still be able to take care of his family. We talk about some of the bands Jeremy has and does currently play with. We share some stories about the country bands we both currently play in. Jeremy tells us about some of the different shows they have played and what is coming up next for his bands.

When he isn't gigging, Jeremy has become an adjudicator and clinician for some of the local high School contests and programs. Jeremy tells us about the process of judging young drummers on their solo performances. Essentially, these drummers are performing to get high scores which will, in turn, help them get into the music colleges they are hoping to go to. As you can imagine, Jeremy knows his stuff. He is at a level of technical proficiency that allows him to not only judge these contests but also teach the high school level drummers.

Next up, Jeremey and I get into gear and drum education. We talk about our favorite drum books/ DVDs and practice pads. I always enjoy hearing what books other teachers like to use with their students.