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BiographyName: Rob Richard (Site Administrator)
Styles/Influences: My favorite styles to play are rock and funk, but I enjoy playing jazz and latin based styles as well. The drummers who give me the most inspiration are Steve Gadd, Billy Ward, Dom Famularo, Rick Allen (of course), the Drummers of Motown, Clyde Stubblefield & John "Jabo" Starks, Bernard Purdie, Steve Jordan, Matt Abts (Govt. Mule), Jean-Paul Gaster (Clutch), Benny Greb, John Blackwell Jr., Tony Williams, Alan Dawson, John Lewis (johnnyonline) from Youtube, Andrew Hewitt, local drummers Eric Hand (die.right.mind.) & Opus (Gargantua Soul), and finally my former teachers, Don Kirby & Tom Ruckey. Of course there are many more, but these are the first ones who come to mind... History: I've always been destined to play music, as I came from a pretty musical family. My dad played guitar and banjo, my mother played guitar a tiny bit growing up, atleast two of my dad's brothers (as well as my dad) were in Drum Corps growing up, one uncle played fiddle, keyboard, and accordian (all self taught), and another uncle played keyboard, trumpet, and sang. In fact, he is currently in his own band called Java Jive (Don Richard) who play everything from weddings, cruises, corporate gigs, private parties, and even played some Boston Celtics games. I started playing drums back when I was about 10 years old, but I'm sure my interests first came about when I was banging on pots and pans like every other drummer did growing up. I wasn't OFFICIALLY interested in drums until I was about 8 years old. At the time I played electric guitar, so I was around music at school jam sessions alot and I was much more interested in getting a few minutes on the drums rather than playing the guitar (much to the disdain of the other drummers as I didn't have coordination to save my life). At this time I was wearing plastic AFO leg braces which I had worn since I was 3 years old and because of this I had no ankle movement at all. It was always assumed by my parents that to be a drummer you had to have ankle movement because especially with my dad and his experience in bands as a kid, playing heel-down was a more common technique seen by him; I knew better though. I knew that I could lift my whole leg and play the bass drum and that nothing would stop me. One day after about a year of persistance, my mother came to pick me up from school in the music room, and I was at the drums. I had been practicing for months when I got the chance and could finally play a simple 4/4 beat. I played it for my mother and she was impressed. Even after my newly found talent, I still didn't get drums, that was not until two years later. I never gave up the persistance and finally my parents caved and got me a Sunlite Drums starter set with a few used cymbals. It was then that my dad appologized for ever doubting me, and I took off running (well, figuratively). I played those drums until they started to fall apart and then I was surprised at Christmas with a red Ludwig Rocker set. It was that set of drums that would take my playing to another level. Once I entered high school I met up with a few older guys at the school and we formed a band. We were pretty lousy, I'll admit, more interested in trying to sound like our idol's than being original, but it was alot of fun and made me a more solid drummer. We played a few live gigs and made two demos and that gave me some experience in a recording studio, all experiences I'll never forget. Unfortunately, after being in the band for two years, I got the boot. The other guys had already graduated and I was still in high school. I just got my license and didn't have a job so I couldn't contribute financially to the band and couldn't get into alot of the 18+ places they wanted to play. That was what I feel was the beginning of my drumming downfall. I was so crushed that I didn't look at my drums for months. Eventually I started trying to jam with other people but it just didn't feel right and I started to not play as much. Around that time as well I had noticed that my right leg was started to cramp up an awful lot while playing. I was also getting frustrated with my non-existant ankle movement. So I decided that atleast while playing drums, I was no longer going to wear my leg braces. At first I had alot of spasticity I had to fight so my legs weren't like jello on the pedals, but I got past it. Unfortunately though I still wasn't able to gain any movement in my right ankle, and frustration kept setting in. The positive note during this time was that I decided to stop wearing my braces all together, and it was the best decision I made because now, my legs are technically better without them. Unfortunately, as I said, the benefit didn't translate well to drumming. Over the years I struggled with my lack of technique, and I still had to fight the muscle cramps in my right leg. I needed to find a solution if I wanted to keep playing drums. Around the year 2000 I came up with a new setup that would allow me to use my left leg, which is stronger and does have ankle movement, on the bass drum. This involved setting my bass drum up on the left side, with my toms setup on a stand to the right, and my snare, floor tom and most of my cymbals setup to the right of the bass drum also. When it came to the hi-hat, I had the cymbals mounted on a remote hi-hat. The cymbals themselves were mounted to my left and the pedal was on my right. (See Picture). So basically I had a setup that allowed me to play right handed in regards to my hands, but play left handed in regards to the pedals. I played this setup for about a year, but my lack of ankle movement and muscle problems in my right leg made opening and closing the hi-hat difficult, and I gave into frustration. I quit playing drums all together, sold everything, and took up the bass guitar. After about a year and a half of playing bass, I got the urge to play drums again, so I bought a new set and tried the reversed pedal setup once again. I played this way for a few years until finally I decided that it was just too complicated of a setup to use if I ever wanted to take lessons or had to use someone else's drums. So I started setting up left handed and just playing with my right hand on the hi-hat (open handed) and using my left hand on the ride. Eventually over the last few years I still never felt quite comfortable with the setup because naturally I'm right handed, and playing left handed just wasn't coming to me. I was still having problems controlling the hi-hat with my right foot. Also, I always felt like I was giving up on my right foot. I felt like if I just applied myself and worked at it, I could gain some improvement with it. It might never be like my left foot, but it would atleast be something I could work on. I would be better off using it more on the bass drum rather than just every once in a while on the hi-hat. Like the old saying goes, if you don't use it, you lose it. As of 2007, after going back and forth between setups, I officially went back to playing a right handed setup, and honestly, I have noticed some improvements in my right foot. They're subtle, but still, compared to what I could do with my right foot 10 years ago, it's a pretty large improvement. Of course, amongst all the frustration and ever changing setups I started Handidrummed. I give credit to all the people I've come in contact with over the years for inspiring and giving me the strength to keep going, which in itself is odd because that's one of the reasons why I started to the site, to do that for OTHER people. As time has gone on I've managed to find more time for the drums, and I'm trying to take my drumming to the next level. I'm trying to play with people again and improve my chops even more, but in the meantime, I'm happy just being involved with such a great community of drummers and doing what I set out to do almost 20 years ago. ArticlesRob has written the following articles for Handidrummed.com: • Tunnel Vision to Carpal Tunnel • Overcoming Limitation• Setting Up For ComfortMediaAll video/audio updated 10-30-07 Video #1 (wmv)
Recorded for the lesson Single-Handed Funk GrooveVideo #2 (wmv)
Video #3 (wmv)
Audio #1 (mp3)
Audio #2 (mp3)
Audio #3 (mp3)
GearDrum diagram updated 11-28-07 
Drums: Gretsch New Classic in Ivory Marine Pearl (except where noted)
Cymbals: Bosphorus
Hardware & Misc:
I also use two Gibraltar 8606 snare stands and three Gibraltar 8610 cymbal stands, as well as a Gibraltar cowbell holder. Heads: Evans
Sticks: Trueline Billy Ward Signature, Vic Firth Wood & Plastic Rutes, and Vic Firth Jazz Brushes Contact
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6.5x14 Gretsch Hammered Black Chrome Steel Snare Drum
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