Who taught you to play? How much influence did your first drum teacher have on the way you play today?

My first 'teacher' was a good friend of mine. I should have paid him for all he taught me, but we were friends and it was all given to me freely. The guy that taught me was something of a prodigy on the drums who, in turn, was one of the students of, Bobby Columby. (Blood, Sweat & Tears)

Bobby lived in our neighborhood in Manhattan. He was very selective about who he took on as a student and my buddy, Lou was one of the lucky, talented ones. Bobby Columby is the Godfather/early developer of 'Fusion' drumming. He infected Lou's playing with it and Lou in turn infected mine with it. It was a 'free' feeling, creative way to approach the instrument and learning was fun. At the core/foundation of my playing style is all that stuff/ideas/approaches that I got from Lou and Bobby. I am very much a mix of that and so much other stuff that I copped from great drummers over the years. We are all a 'mix' of our influences with a healthy dose of our own individual strengths and weaknesses making it, our own style.

I credit my teacher(s) for a lot of it. Did any of your teachers have a strong influence on your 'style' along the way? Not just dry technique, I mean your approach to the instrument.

John