rick BooM steel
“Most musicians make choices about how to live their lives”, explains Drummer rick BooM steel.” They can starve and take a boring day job, or they can concentrate all their time and efforts on music”. The latter is exactly what BooM has chosen to do and he has managed to forge a number of lucrative careers.
BooM’s master plan began with his own training as a drummer. He studied with greats like Roy Burns, Casey Scheuerell, John Xepoleas, and African Talking Drum Master Francis Awe .”These guys all know the intricacies of rhythm and music”, explains BooM. Combined with music courses in college, this background and training has allowed BooM to build his reputation as a very creative and unique-styled drummer. Highwire Daze magazine called BooM,”….one of the best Drummers in Los Angeles”.
Since he was sixteen, BooM has been teaching other drummers, passing on his craft and style.” Not only is teaching a fun way to make a living”, he explains, “but it’s great practice. Having to show someone else how to play in a way they can understand forces me to really understand what l’m teaching”. lt’s not so surprising that BooM finds the understanding of music so important. He applies music theory in all his lessons. ln Los Angeles, BooM is known as “A Teacher of teachers”.
BooM is well known for his Drum clinics. He created, hosted, and produced his own cable Drum show: “Drumst6” (later re-named DrumTV). “lt’s been a real sense of satisfaction and excitement for me to do the show”, says BooM.” My guests have been great! Being able to sit down and discuss things drummer to drummer is fun”. Producing over 80 shows, DrumTV has become so successful that over the years, similar formats have appeared around the country produced by people who admit to being turned onto the idea after seeing BooM’s show. With his TV experience, BooM has produced some major drumming video. DrumTV has created 4 broadcast quality videos, “The Buddy Rich Memorial Scholarship Concert #5 and #6”, “The Legends of Drumming: The Jazz Era”,and “Basic Drumset Tuning featuring Roy Burns”. His success has created a buzz within the drumming community. ln 1999, Liberty Films began co-producing DrumTV episodes. Liberty Films has produced movies, “l Love You to Death”, “Foxfire”, and HBO’s “State of Emergency”. Recently, Liberty Films filmed the 5 minute promo for BooM’s new drum book, “The Footiments”.
Between teaching, clinics, appearing on behalf of the companies he endorses, and his almost full time schedule doing sessions and/or gigs with other artists, it is not surprising BooM has found time to work on his own projects. His first was”KVK”. The band was created to feature BooM’s ambidextrous style of playing. KVK was privileged to write and record a song for the movie,”Those Darn Vampires”. Even in BooM’s spare time, he is involved in Drumming. He was the co-founder of “The West Side Drum Club”. Members included Black Sabbath Drummer, Bill Ward, Survivor’s Marc Droubay, and famous Latin Drummer/Educator, Chuck Silverman. They met regularly to share knowledge and experience as well as to compare equipment and technique. “The club came together because Drummers are not that competitive by nature. These guys are her to help one another”, said BooM.
Bill Ward remembers the first time he saw BooM play. “He sat behind his rig and began to loosen up. ln a matter of seconds, it was obvious to me the man could definitely play drums. l watched him play and work out with enjoyment. The experience was most inspiring and interesting”. Bill was so impressed, he asked BooM to help him develop a clinic tour called, “Connecting the Years”. BooM and Bill toured California doing clinics to packed houses. After extensive soloing, each artist explained how drums, drummers, and drumming have changed through the years.
After KVK, BooM began his next project, performing J.S.Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D minor” on his monster Drumkit. This was the premise for BooM’s “Drum Songs” clinics, playing drumbeats with his feet and melody with his hands. BooM debuted Drum Songs at the 1998 Montreal DrumFest in front of a thousand Canadian drummers. Later,BooM joined the band MSG featuring vocalist Robin McAuley(Survivor) and bassist Bjorn Englen(Yngwie Malmsteen). BooM also played drums for the actress, Fairuza Balk(The Craft,The Waterboy).
In 2000, BooM formed the band, Thirty Round Clip. The band’s single, “Gunfighter” (co-written by BooM) was featured in the movie,”Playground of Power II”. BooM followed with the band’s second CD, “…on Target“. ln 2009,”…on Target” reached the #6 spot on the most played new CD on the CMJ and FMQB national charts.
BooM continues to thrill Drummers with his memorable drum clinics. He has done clinics with Simon Wright(AC/DC, Dio), Bun E.Carlos(Cheap Trick), Tony Franklin(The Firm, Whitesnake), and Frankie Banali(Quiet Riot). BooM has just released his new book,”The Footiments”. “Taking 26 Rudiments, putting them on the Double Pedal, and making beats from each has been challenging”, says BooM. His latest project is “MB3:Mozart, Beethoven, Bach….then BooM!”. Here,BooM plays his Drums to intense Classical pieces with contemporary instrumentation.
BooM is a successful Drummer with a unique style and sense of music. He’s an artist, musician, clinician, entertainer, and educator…
BOOM IS AVAILABLE FOR SESSlONS, TOURING, MASTER CLASSES, AND PRIVATE LESSONS.
BooM is an authorized endorser of:
GIBRALTAR PEDALS, RACKS, AND HARDWARE
AQUARIAN DRUMHEADS
VAMPIREWEAR CLOTHING