We recently connected with Peter Abdou and have shared our conversation below.

Peter, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Drumming is something I started to learn on my own in the MTV era “MUSIC” Television , not the “Moron” tv it is now. The “M” has seemed to take on new meaning through the years Anyway, I was a trumpet player in grade school, they didn’t offer drums at the time. I think by middle school I started to take interest and got an old junky set to start on in my parents basement. Even before that my brother David and I would put on cassettes of our favorite bands and perform for my sister and friends , banging on chairs and strumming fake guitars that we made out of cardboard and wood. As I got older and got some real drums I started to take some private lessons and watch my favorite bands on MTV to learn different things on the instrument. I participated in Marching and Concert bands through high school and formed a band outside of school with a bunch of friends, we would do covers and actually write songs as well.

I think the process I went through and how I learned was the way it should be done, no shortcuts, I wouldn’t change it. Too many musicians are in a rush these days and want all the learning to come fast and cut out what I consider the important part, the process. One of the most essential skills you can have is listening, have big ears, don’t just assume you know it all. Also, getting along with people and being easy to work with goes a long way. It doesn’t matter how good you are if you are a jerk. You won’t get asked back.

As far as me being a drumtech and now making a living at it, being a drummer helped and I didn’t start the tech/crew side of my life till age 40, I didn’t even know it was a job. I was always fascinated with how drums worked and would take them apart every month just to clean and maintain them, partially because I couldn’t afford new ones and cherished what I had. So I guess I learned the skill of teching from that process, however, it is much more than that. When you are teching, you are learning what someone else likes and how they want their drums to look and sound and how they set them up. It isn’t about you, you have to become a different drummer in a certain respect. The instrument is the same but the person is different so not all your ideas and skills will compliment or fit every situation. I believe for me that skill came from performing and recording with many different types of musicians over the years and also teaching all different age groups of students. When you are recording or writing for an artist, they have an idea of what they want from you. It might not be what you have in mind however, you have to be able to morph and bend and twist to give them what they want. No ego. If I had known about being a drumtech when I was younger I might have pursued it sooner, I guess I was just too busy being a drummer. ;)

The only obstacle that I can say gets in the way of me learning more is time. I can’t fit it all in. I have been fortunate and especially now with the internet to have all this information to pull from but man, it is a lot, I will never learn it all. So , I try to bite off what I need at the time to get me through whatever project i am working on and learn at my own pace. I am happy with that.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am from North Attleboro Massachusetts and grew up here, I have moved away a few times but I always end up back, it is my home. I got into drumming at a very early age and I immediately joined a band straight out of high school and started playing local clubs, friends parties, stuff like that. As the years went on I toured regionally and then nationally with different acts that I met through playing drums on their records. During that time I got very involved in the recording studio and recording process, paying attention to the engineer that was recording and mixing and learning that craft as well.

I started teaching in 1996 at Whites Music Education Center where I had built up to 65 students a week, private lessons so I was doing that as my day job and playing in the bands at night. I still teach today but it is minimal since I am not at home most of the year. Fast forward to 2008 when I moved to California I decided to leave all that behind and go out to the West Coast because it’s something I always wanted to do and never really made a real go of it so I decided to do that and I became a stagehand and joined a band in San Diego. Toured around the states and recorded an album with that band.

As a stagehand I would work with different tours coming through the city that I lived in and surrounding cities, meeting touring folk learning about the ins and outs of setting up a show and tearing down a show. During that time I got a call to be a drum tech for a band on tour and took the opportunity yet again and I’ve been touring ever since as a drum tech for major artists making a living doing that and traveling the world.

When I am home I make a living in my studio “Mono e Mono studios” which I run out of the Music school I mentioned earlier. I provide drum tracks for artists and other times people come in to record their songs. I can record full bands or single artists or whatever anybody needs. I think that the reason I can keep doing this is forward momentum, I’ve always tried to expand and do something beyond just playing the drums, learn things related to my craft so I can be more valuable to a client. So now I’m in a position where I could tour if I want to, I could stay home and in the studio if I want to and be happy . Happy is #1, why do it otherwise?

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I think that too many people are wanting art for free. It has been devalued by technology very quickly over the years because people have access to it without the artist who created it getting their fair share, whether it be Music, Film, Photography, it is all out there through a google search and a free download. If people really want to support artists and respect what they do, pay for it. And I don’t mean pay for a streaming service , I mean go download the songs or the albums you love, or better yet, go to an actual record store and buy a hard copy. (if you can find one, a direct result of technology by the way) People get paid for their jobs , why shouldn’t artists and creatives?

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I wish I knew that a drumtech was an actual paying job or a stagehand for that matter. Every city has a local labor company, some non union and some union. Great opportunities there to get involved in the music industry, kind of a “Back Door”. I would have started that in my 20’s not my late 30’s. Other than that I think my journey took me where it was supposed to and at the pace it was supposed to.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://peteabdou.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peteabdoudrums/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100048162859601
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuejCPF1TmayZGIMbIaAsEg
• Other: https://bumblesbounce.bandcamp.com/

Image Credits

Brittany Bowman
Dani Marshall