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I absolutely love practicing with the odd-time tracks from Jim Riley's Survival Guide for the Modern Drummer. This is the 5/8 track, and my goal here was just to find the pocket and groove. No flashy chops. Just good old fashion grooving in 5/8. Hope you all enjoy. More to come!
For you gear nerds out there... I'm using my Dixon Drums Artisan Limited Series kit (3-ply Cordia/5-ply Maple), Artisan Aluminum Snare, Bosphorus Cymbals, and some Vic Firth 8d sticks!
I had the pleasure of attending Shutterfest for the first time ever this year. The event took place in St. Louis and delivered all kinds of classes, workshops and incredible photography opportunities. Like any first-timer would do, I signed up for all the cool classes. But by the end of the first day I was already skipping them for the cool Rent-A-Human service that the event provided.
Read moreSo I came across an old play-along track that I had received with a Roland electronic drumset and decided to throw together a quick video of me jamming to it. I originally thought the bass line was super corny in the beginning, but as I dug in a little deeper I found myself wanting to play a nice, slow groove. I really liked the pocket of that groove and hope you all enjoy it too :-)
One of my biggest goals for 2016 was to grow as a photographer, and to start expressing myself artistically through this incredible medium. With only hours left in the year, I'm excited to share my first piece, "Contemplating Beauty." The timing couldn't be more perfect. As we begin the New Year, masses of people will start short-lived routines and lifestyle changes because the world tells them that they need to be more beautiful. They stare in the mirror for hours on end looking for change, looking for progress, when the real change needs to happen in the heart. Is seeking a healthy lifestyle and outward beauty a bad thing? Of course not. But finding your identity in these things can often leave you feeling incomplete, and even just a little broken inside. My hope and prayer for the New Year is that we all start looking a little deeper to find the true beauty in one another. I hope that we place more value on friendships and authenticity, rather than the superficial standards that we often are faced with every day. I hope this image challenges you to think just a little deeper on these matters, and I especially hope you have a safe and happy New Year.
"Contemplating Beauty"
Photographer: Miguel Monroy
Model: Jessica Vaurtard
Special thanks to Antonio Pantoja for his inspiration and passion for helping photographers in our community, and to Chuck Heeke for helping me along in my journey as a photographer. And an extra special thanks to Jessica for being so incredible to work with! You are a prime example of true beauty, from the inside out :-)
So I recently started a jazz/fusion group called The Sonora Project. At the end of our last practice before Christmas we had the bright idea of throwing together a Christmas song and sharing it with you all :-) We picked a tune, ran it down a couple time, stole some Christmas decorations from my wife, threw up a few cameras and just went for it! We had a lot of laughs making this video and hope you enjoy. Merry Christmas everyone!!!