A Dream Come True: Writing the Cover Story for the World's Greatest Drum Magazine

I have spent countless nights working my butt of to get where I am. For the past few years now I've been going to school full time, teaching drumset and percussion for the Community Music Program at the University of Louisville, writing for  Modern Drummer, building my own educational website, and doing freelance videography on the side, all to pursue my dreams. But the simple fact is that all of my hard work was made possible by the sacrifices of others. My wife has been the most supportive and loving person a guy could ever ask for. She has devoted herself completely to loving me and our three beautiful boys, all while working night shift every single weekend as a pediatric nurse. There is probably a special place in Heaven for people like her. To my beautiful Southern Indiana Princess, thank you so much for your love and support. In addition to my amazing wife, is my amazing mother and mother in-law. Raising children and pursuing your dreams often times don't work well together. The balance sometimes is simply too difficult to obtain. But with the tremendous support of my mom and Kathy, my mother in-law, we have been able to get closer and closer to that balance. Especially since I have been in school full time, their help and support has been one of the biggest blessings that I have received. We will all be celebrating in May when I finally graduate!

I would also like to thank all of the amazing people at Modern Drummer for believing in me and giving me opportunities to provide what I hope is some of the best drumming content around! To my brother from another mother, Mike, you have been a dear friend and mentor. Thanks man. It's been such an honor to be a part of such a beautiful community of people, and I look forward to many more years of working together. Last, but certainly not least, I would like to thank my father. Papi, you have been such an inspiration. If I even had half of your passion for drums and life, I would literally be glowing as the joy coursed through my veins. After meeting some of the world's greatest drummers, I still haven't met anyone as dedicated and passionate about it as you! Just being around you helps me to fall in love with drumming all over again. It's awesome to take a step back and realize that I could keep writing about all of the people that have supported me over the years. I am truly blessed. The reason that I chose to make this such a public statement is that I hope to encourage you all to keep pursuing your dreams too. It's never too late to start over. It's never too late to dream big. And sometimes, when you can't dream big enough, life has a way of doing it for you. Dream big friends, Miguel

Live Coverage of The NAMM Show 2014 for Modern Drummer Magazine

I had an amazing opportunity to provide live coverage of The NAMM Show 2014 for Modern Drummer Magazine. The convention for the National Association of Music Merchants is the biggest of its kind and takes place in Anaheim, California. Manufacturers and businesses from all over the world gathered to show the latest products in their lineup. My job was to provide video coverage of the drum industry's top manufactures. I was there for about three and a half days and was able to shoot, edit, and upload 27 videos. Below are just a few examples of the videos I did. For the complete playlist of videos from NAMM click here. 

Promotional Videos for Dixon Drums & Hardware

I recently had the opportunity to create several promotional videos for Dixon Drums and Hardware to highlight the different series of drums that the company offers. I traveled to their US base of operations in St. Louis and embarked on a multi-day shoot in Sawhorse Recording Studios. We captured live performances on each series of drums from two local drummers, Steve Bunck and Tony Barbata. The final result was a great mix of demonstrations to help the viewer truly experience what each series has to offer. Below are a couple examples from the shoot. For more information on these drums and everything Dixon has to offer, visit their website at PlayDixon.com. The bumper for these videos was created by the incredibly talented EJ DeCoske. For more information about EJ and his services visit his website at EJDeCoske.com.

Shooting PASIC 2013 for Modern Drummer Magazine

I had such a good time providing video coverage of PASIC 2013 for Modern Drummer Magazine. By the time I was finished, I had shot and edited 16 videos of amazing performances and interviews. Everyone was so great to work with, from the artists to the people of the Percussive Arts Society. Below is just a sample of the videos that I did. For the complete playlist click here. The killer bumper in the beginning of each video was created by EJ Decoske, the Digital Media Director for Modern Drummer Magazine. For more info about EJ and his work, you can visit his website here. For more info about the Percussive Arts Society and their convention, check out their website here.

I never knew we were saying goodbye.

Cameras have two very important purposes in my life. They are used to capture something, or to communicate something. I'll never forget the day I got my first real camera, and captured something that I'll never forget. It was a Canon T3i. I bought it with the intention of starting to do my own videography and photography work on the side. I had spent countless nights reading and watching tutorials, but never had an actual camera to apply what I was learning. The day came when I was finally able to purchase my own camera, and it just happened to be on a day that we were visiting my wife's parent's house as well. The family dog, Kacee, had always been one of my favorite dogs I had ever known. She was incredibly playful, sweet, and you could always see so much through her facial expressions. As I was taking my camera out of the box on the way there, I had already decided that I was going to practice shooting video with Kacee to figure out how to use my camera, and if I was lucky enough maybe even capture some special moments with Kacee too. It was such a special time. My youngest son would come running into the shot, half naked, and just so happy to be close to her. Little did we know it would be the last time that either of us would get to see her. Kacee's health deteriorated so quickly that she had to be put to sleep before we ever got a chance to see her again. I'm incredibly thankful that we got my practice footage of Kacee in her final days. I pieced it together and made a video for our family just to help us say goodbye.