MATT RAMERMAN

MY TEACHERS

I have decided to put this section here to pay homage to the people who have brought me to where I am now. Learning lasts a lifetime and these are my guides, my teachers, my mentors. Great teachers are special people, and I have been lucky to have several. The best teachers are the ones who purely guide you to your goals, leaving you to do the real work, to achieve your own results. To them I say... "Thank you."

Ralph Humphrey

Ralph Humphrey is involved in a variety of sessions, including those for television, motion pictures, record albums and jingles. His work can currently be heard on the soundtracks of "Deep Space Nine", "Voyager" and "Dawsons Creek" with Dennis McCarthy. He’s also been involved in most of the animated shows for Warner Brothers over the last 5-6 years, including work on "Animaniacs", "Freakazoid", "Pinky and the Brain", "Tweety and Sylvester" and "Histeria". Other animated television programs he’s worked on include "The Simpsons" and "King of the Hill".

Ralph has also recorded sessions for the motion picture, "A Civil Action" and a new movie about the cartoon character "Doug". Live television performance credits include "The People's Choice Awards" with Dennis McCarthy and the "Grammys" with Jack Elliot.

Ralph’s musical ventures don’t stop at the end of a recording session or TV taping. He also teaches at the Los Angeles Music Academy and gives private lessons as time allows. The Los Angeles Music Academy is a one-year vocational guitar, bass and vocals. It attracts students from all over the world. Some of the faculty members include Joe Porcaro (Ralph’s partner), Mike Shapiro, John Robinson, Aaron Serfaty, Dave Beyer, Mark Shulman, Glen Sobel, Sherman Ferguson, Mike Packer and Tony Inzalaco. The guitar department is headed up by Frank Gambale. The bass department includes Jerry Watts, Jimmy Haslip and other young upcoming greats.

To satisfy his taste for live performance, Ralph plays in a band with Mike Miller and Jimmy Johnson. The band features Mike's eclectic mix of music, as well as originals written by Ralph. They’ll occasionally even throw in a Zappa tune. The material is quite challenging but always a lot of fun to listen to.

If by now you don’t believe that Ralph is quite busy enough, he would agree. When the time can be spared, he also writes for Modern Drummer Magazine. Ralph likes to say, "It's always a pleasure to do good music...".

Joe Porcaro

Joe Porcaro is originally from Hartford, Connecticut, and now resides in Los Angeles where he is one of the most recorded percussionist/drummers on the music scene. His musical spectrum ranges from Jazz and Rock to Opera and Symphonic.

In the Jazz field, Joe has recorded with Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, Freddie Hubbard, and Don Ellis. He has also made albums with Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughn, Natalie Cole, TOTO, and Madonna.

In the Operatic and Symphonic area, Joe recorded with Luciano Pavarotti, Rise Stevens, Lily Pons, Andre Kostelanitz, Pierre Boulez, and the L.A. Philharmonic and Hartford Symphony Orchestras.

Joe has also played on many Hollywood film scores with many top composers such as James Newton Howard, John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner, Danny Elfman, and Steve Porcaro.

Joe is currently co-director of drum studies at the LOS ANGELES MUSIC ACADEMY in Pasadena, and is one of the most highly regarded drum and percussion teachers in the world.

Dom Famularo

His sensational drumming and brilliant communications skills have earned Dom Famularo a reputation of being the world's leading motivational drum set artist / educator. Through history-making tours of China and the Far East, and with standing ovations to capacity audiences at virtually every major drumming event in Europe and the Americas, this vibrant performer from Long Island, New York is renowned for delivering entertaining and awe-inspiring performances unlike any other.

Tutored by legendary greats Joe Morello, Jim Chapin, Al Miller, and Ronnie Benedict, Dom combines the masterful techniques of the past with the parameter-pushing concepts of the 90's for a highly creative and uniquely personal style of drumming. With hands powered by the famous Moeller technique and feet dancing through high-speed double-pedal bass drumming patterns he delivers performances that dip and dive through dynamics and styles with energy and ease. Elements of jazz, funk, fusion, and latin rhythms permeate his sound, while every stroke speaks to the inventiveness that makes his drumming so exciting, entertaining, and inspiring.

The first Western drummer to perform clinics in China, Dom is accustomed to making headlines. He was a special guest performer at the first-ever Buddy Rich Tribute Concert, an event which he helped organize. He was a highlight as host and performer at the Pacific Rim Drum Invitational (the first drum event to be simulcast live on the Internet), and he's a primary attraction at star-studded drumming events such as the Koblenz International Drummer Meeting in Germany, the Florida Drum Expo, the Paris Music Show, the massive Drummers Day in Australia, the Heartbeat World Rhythm spectacle for Canadian TV, and the Montreal Drumfest.

Dom doesn't rely on major band affiliations as a claim to fame, but performances with the Buddy Rich Big Band, B.B. King, Lionel Hampton, Chuck Leavell (Rolling Stones), T Lavitz (The Dixie Dregs), and the Louie Bellson Big Band reveal the pedigree of his playing. He has shared the stage with Dave Weckl, Steve Gadd, Vinnie Colaiuta, Simon Phillips, Billy Cobham, Bernard Purdie, Rod Morgenstein, Chester Thompon, Terry Bozzio, Will Calhoun, Deen Castronovo, Russ McKinnon, Chad Smith, Mark Schulman, Denny Carmassi, Liberty DeVitto and Jim Chapin in worldwide drumming events. Dom fondly remembers performances with both Jeff Porcaro and Larrie Londin, both of whom he is proud to have had a chance to meet and perform with.

In addition to large drumming expos and clinic tours, Dom is an active educator at colleges, drum schools and camps. He has performed at the Percussive Arts Society Convention (PASIC), Percussion Institute of Technology (PIT) in Hollywood, California, KOSA Camp in Vermont USA, North Texas State University, the Graham Cole Percussion Camp in England, and Drummers Camp in the Black Forest of Germany. In addition, he is an in-demand consultant to major music corporations, and serves as Education Director for Sabian Ltd., Vic Firth inc., and Premier Percussion Ltd..

(courtesy of Sabian)

Dave Beyer

Dave Beyer is an in-demand professional drummer and educator in the Los Angeles area. He toured and recorded for 3 years with Melissa Etheridge, and has played or recorded with The Motels, Jewel, Joan Osborne, Gregg Allman, Michael McDonald, Christopher Cross, Stephen Bishop, Helen Reddy, Jango, and Debra Davis. He has performed at major venues worldwide, including the Greek Theater, Universal Amphitheater, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Woodstock, Madison Square Garden and Royal Albert Hall; and has played on The Tonight Show, David Letterman and Ally McBeal, to name a few. Dave also stays busy as a session player, a producer and runs his own recording studio.

Tony Inzalaco

Tony Inzalaco received his bachelor's degree at the Manhattan School of Music in New York. He then received his Masters of Arts in Music Education and Bachelor of Arts in Percussion. He has played with many musicians, including Billy Taylor, Johnny Smith, Buddy Rich, Vinnie Burke, Maynard Ferguson (with whom he recorded in 1964-65), Jim Hall, Chris Connor, Ben Webster, Jaki Byard and Lee Konitz. Until 1974 he worked in Germany as a staff musician in radio, television, and record companies. He also played percussion with the Clarke-Boland Big Band, recording in 1968 and 1971. He returned to the USA in 1978 and worked as a freelance in and around Boston. He has many television appearances with the following artists: Chris Connor, Maynard Ferguson, Ben Webster, Oscar Peterson, Clark Terry and Carmen McCrae. Tony has also performed at the countless Jazz Festivals around the world.

Kristen Shiner-McGuire

Kristen Shiner McGuire is the Percussion Instructor at Nazareth College of Rochester. In 1998 she received the Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award, a college-wide honor. Following her graduation in 1980 from the University of Illinois (BM with Highest Honors in percussion performance), she studied marimba for a year in Tokyo at the Toko School of Music with Keiko Abe. In 1983 she completed requirements for her MM degree and Performer's Certificate in percussion at the Eastman School of Music under the guidance of teacher John Beck. Since 1985, she has been an Artist-In-Residence for the Aesthetic Education Institute of Rochester. Shiner McGuire is a published author and composer and performs regularly as a soloist, recording artist, in chamber ensembles, and in a jazz quartet throughout New York State. She has performed with Johnny Mathis, Mickey Rooney, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Margaret Whiting and Clark Terry. Shiner McGuire has served on the PAS Education Committee, PAS Board of Directors, and has been New York State PAS Chapter President since 1990. In 1993, she received the PAS Outstanding Chapter President Award. In 1996, she became the Percussion Editor of School Music News; this position has forged a new link between PAS and MENC.

(courtesy of Regal Tip)

"NANA" Stephan Collins

Known for his ability to inspire students and audiences with his talent and deep appreciation of music, Stephan plays the congas, bongos, kpanlogo drums, djembe, Afro-Brazilian berimbu, dondon (squeeze drum), pandeiro, didferidus, bells and the cuica. He has lectured, performed, taught, and led workshops all over the world, and is dedicated to the enhancement of personal achievement within art education, pan African music, theatre, and the international community. Stephan has taught at the following institutions:

The Actors Gymnasium: Cirus and Performing Arts School (Evanston, IL)
Afena Akoma (Rochester, NY)
Happy Child Studios (Evanston, IL)
Marshall High School (Rochester, NY)
SUNY Brockport (Brockport, NY)

Pete Wrue

Coming Soon...

John Bagale