Steve Rinkov, The
Accidental Drum Tech
Hear the Interview (requires
Windows Media Player)
 A lot of people seem to
wander into a career by accident and some people even manage
to turn something they love to do into their dream job.
Steve’s done both. He started playing the drums at 14 and
within days of picking up the sticks, he’d rented a drum set
and started practicing. “I just put on the head phones,
turned on the radio and started tying to find the beat.” he
said. “Making mistakes, figuring out coordination issues and
practicing with friends from school were all part of the
process of discovery.”
Steve attended the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, CA and
completed their Percussion Institute’s Performance
Certificate Program. “A lot of certificate programs have a bad rap,”
Steve explained, “but the guys who taught my classes were
practicing professionals, not people who couldn’t get a job.
One of my instructors played on sitcoms of the 70’s and
80’s, and if he had to miss a class it was because of doing
a session on one of these programs. He’d bring us the charts
for homework.”
After school, Steve started playing in bands in San Diego
and Los Angeles, focusing on gigs that allowed him to play a
variety of music, working and getting paid every night, as
opposed to working in bigger clubs that were more record
deal-oriented. To supplement his income, he joined retailer
Urban Outfitter’s Management Development program and moved
to Seattle. He missed being involved in the drum world
though and took his newly found retail management expertise
and bought a drum store called Strictly Percussion “for less
than the price of a used Honda.” He changed the name to The
Drum Garage, moved the store to a different location, and
ran the shop profitably for five years.
|
