Playing drums has been my passion since I was 9 years old. It started with that short drum break by Danny Seraphine on the Chicago song Make Me Smile. In just a few short bars, I was hooked for life.

Balance, flow, groove, and sensitivity are the pillars of my style. I’m a musical drummer who loves to follow the line of a lyric or solo, embellish it, and decorate it with just the right sounds and feel. I approach handpan the same way, only with that instrument, I get to accompany myself.

I first saw the handpan about 20 years ago. It was a video of someone in Europe playing one of the original pans. The instrument had only been around for a few years at that point and with only one maker in Switzerland, they were rare and really expensive. I looked around a little, but decades passed before I actually saw one in person.

In 2019, a friend in the metal forming business called me with an offer. He described this production sample of a “weird drum thing” that one of his customers made and said it had been sitting in his office collecting dust for about a year. Turns out he was making untuned handpan shells for one of the companies that’s building instruments in the US.

That call ended with an offer – come pick up the handpan, learn how to play it, then play at an industrial trade show to demonstrate some of the unusual metal shapes and sizes his company could produce. I hung up the phone and was at his office 10 minutes later to pick it up.

And so the journey began.

After about 50 years of playing the drums, the rhythm came easily. It was almost like I’d been training for the moment all my life. I felt an immediate connection to the handpan, as if its vibrations activated something inside of me. For the first time, I had a way to voice the music in my head.

The handpan has transformed the way I play music and how I live my life. I feel such joy every time I play it and love sharing its magic.

I love playing music where there’s room for improvisation and also love nailing parts down precisely. Whether playing the music of the Grateful Dead, accompanying a singer/songwriter, or swinging hard on a jazz standard or fusion tune, it’s all about the musical conversations that happen on stage.

Here are some of my recent musical adventures:

Tennessee Dead – a Grateful Dead tribute band based in Nashville

Hooteroll? – A Jerry Garcia Band tribute band based in Nashville

Tie Dye Jam – A monthly event that pairs a house band with 3 new artists each month. Each artist brings 5 songs, we all learn all of them then play together as band for one night.

DMT (Deadbeats Mahan Trio) – A trio built around the extensive catalog of guitarist/songwriter Rich Mahan.

Claire Kelly – One of Nashville’s most talented singer/songwriters

Nashville is Dead – A festival-circuit Grateful Dead tribute featuring some of the top jam band musicians in Nashville.

Don Pedigo and the New Coyotes – A blend of Americana, country and rock lead by singer/songwriter Don Pedigo.

Drew Young — Country meets N’awlins.

The Edge of the Sticker — A book I co-wrote with my brother and the associated podcast.