The drums...Cool! I've been at it for 40 years (started kinda young) and with the exception of a few years off during college, have played the whole time. I played with bands off & on, almost all kinds. Blues, rock, jazz, but never got much of the country bug. I managed to pay for a good bit of my flight training doing it. In fact, I'm playing a lot of gigs between trips. Kinda sad, but with 22 years seniority at Shuttle, Ted, and mainline flying at the biggest airline to ever file BK, I still have trouble getting time to play a few gigs a month with the current band, a jazz trio.

Don't give up, just make some noise, and you'll eventually start grooving! I'd never admit this if I wasn't kind of anonymous here, but I have a CD of old disco stuff that is the best for finding that groove. Good for your timing and fills. Don't even worry about reading drum music until you can find your way around your kit a little bit. Eventually, you will find a good instructional book that will help you learn that stuff, but the best players can groove with their eyes closed.

Have fun. Unless you're playing for someone else, you can do no wrong!

Pick up your old fiddle and find a little music. It doesn't hurt for a drummer to know a melodic instrument or two.

Something I've learned, though, that works well for me: Playing for fun and flying for money is way better than the opposite.

tw