Greetings!

For me, 2005 was a whirlwind of activity with gigs all over the world. The gigs were all very interesting, from touring with Buddy’s Buddies, Vital Information, Summit and Steps Ahead to clinics, master classes and sessions. The touring took me to India, Russia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand (with the Rodger Fox Big band), all over Europe and the USA. It was exciting to make my first trip to India to perform with Zakir Hussain, and a pleasure to get back together with my old friends Mike Stern and Michael Mainieri from Steps Ahead. There is a tour diary and photos from some of the highlights of 2005 online.

2006 looks like it may be just as busy. The year started on a high note. My long-time girlfriend, Diane, and I got married. We’ve been together 12 years and decided to get married on New Year’s Eve. It was a beautiful event, at home, with the light being provided by over 100 candles. We started the ceremony shortly before midnight and could hear fireworks going off as we were saying our vows!

There are a lot of live dates in the works for 2006. Vital Information has a USA tour coming up for March/April. In May we have gigs in Mexico and are planning on touring the summer jazz festivals with special guest Greg Osby joining Vital Info. There are Buddy’s Buddies and Summit dates in the works and the possibility of some Steps Ahead gigs later in the year. Sonor is working on a South American clinic tour and I have quite a few clinics and guest appearances already booked. 

In late 2005 I also started writing a column in Modern Drummer Magazine entitled Indian Rhythms, An Intro for Western Drummers, I will continue writing this column in 2006.

Look for my new Vic Firth Tala Wands in music stores and drums shops. There is a story about these on my News page.

Check in from time to time for news and updates on the touring pages of both the Vital Information website and my own website.

Steve