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Drew is a soul music lover, who has been playing drums and percussion since the third grade. He has played with The Four Tops, Lenny Pickett, The Dramatics, The Miracles, The Contours, The Vandellas, Freda Payne, Harold Melvin’s Blue Notes, Dennis Coffey, The Velvelettes, Spyder Turner, Melvin Davis, Eddie Kirkland, and countless orchestras, jazz ensembles, and gospel choirs. He has studied under Uriel Jones, Bill Ransom, Mike Clark, John Blackwell, Tony Moreno, Jamey Haddad, Lenny Pickett, Mike Richmond, and Dafnis Prieto. In the summer of 2009, he worked at Motown / UMe under Harry Weinger as a ProTools intern and Pre-Production Engineer. He is currently touring with his favorite band, The Four Tops, working on songs for his own debut album, and writing articles for Modern Drummer Magazine. For more information, go to www.DSdrums.com, or e-mail him at Drew@DSdrums.com

Drew’s first encounter with music came through his mother, a piano accompany / voice major who began teaching him piano at an early age. On the weekends, she sang in the “No Name Band,” a cover band consisting of Cleveland lawyers. While the songs by the Beatles and the Stones were nice, the songs Drew really fell in love with were those by the Tops, the Tempts, Martha Reeves, and Junior Walker. Looking to get away from the monotony of scales, he found himself watching Brent Buckley play the drums. While trying to learn all of the beats, he started listening to more and more Motown music. In fourth grade, he began taking lessons from Cleveland drummer Scott Flowers. In fifth grade he began playing drums in school, starting with orchestral percussion, and moving to the jazz ensembles. Throughout high school he played drums for various ensembles and choirs. During his senior year, Drew led the drumline, playing tenors in the marching band. Under the instruction of Bill Ransom, he began to dig deeper, learning everything from marimba to merengue, in both private lessons and Bill’s Cleveland Music School Settlement percussion ensembles. Throughout his high school years, Drew’s love and appreciation for soul music continued to grow.

He fell in love with the music of Earth Wind & Fire, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Tower of Power, Smokey Robinson, the Funk Brothers, and many more. After studying during one summer with John Blackwell at Berklee College of Music in Boston, he was presented with a difficult choice. He knew that soul music was what he wanted to pursue, and preferably in a formal educational setting. He narrowed it down to continuing R&B studies at Berklee, or learning the ins and outs of jazz at New York University. With the help of Cleveland drummers Bill Ransom and Jamey Haddad, Drew chose New York. He has since played in ensembles with Lenny Pickett, Mordy Ferber, Ron McClure, Joe Beaty, Mike Richmond, Dave Pietro. Some of the teachers he has studied under include Mike Clark, Dafnis Prieto, Lenny Pickett, and Tony Moreno.

While trying to glean as much as he can from the professors at NYU, Drew has also surrounded himself with the music he loves, playing with his R&B outfit Drew Schultz and the New FAMF, and the NYU All University Gospel Choir. In 2007, the New FAMF was accepted as an All Square organization, becoming the official R&B Ensemble at New York University. In the summer of ‘07, the Mortal Quintet, a group Drew played with consisting of five NYU freshmen, traveled to Costa Rica to play under the direction of the NYU Jazz Department head Dr. Dave Schroeder.

Drew currently plays drums with his role models, The Four Tops. Longtime Tops and Temptations drummer Benjamin Corbett, original Funk Brother Uriel Jones, and musical director George Rountree have provided welcome guidance and inspiration. Drew is greatly enjoying playing and learning all he can from his fellow students, teachers, and the musicians that inspire him to continue.

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