Jordan De Bono joined the Maxx Music family as a drum teacher in September 2020. Since then, he has proved to be a very popular and respected drum teacher at both our Rouse Hill and Castle Hill Music Schools.
Jordan started playing drums in Year 7 at school and has enjoyed playing in lots of bands throughout his school and university years. Jordan achieved a BA in Music with Specialisation in Contemporary Performance from JMC and, in addition to teaching for us, has used his knowledge and experience to become a skilled session/fill-in musician at a Sydney based private performing arts college.
We took a few minutes to have a chat with Jordan to discover more about him.
How did you get into music?
My older brother picked up guitar one day and would always share with me what he would be listening to and learning, which shaped a lot of my music taste. Once I entered high school a majority of my peers already knew how to play an instrument, and when it came time for music class no one would sit behind the drum kit. So I ended up there playing terribly with my mates until I started getting lessons, which helped me a great deal. I’d play on and off through high school until it came time for my HSC, which in my class there was one guitarist; one bass player; one keys player; and I was the only drummer so we essentially formed the house band having to play for just about everyone’s HSC performances. I decided soon after that I wanted to pursue music in a more professional sense so I started studying for a bachelor’s degree, which is when music really opened up for me. I got taught by extremely skilled musicians and even got to perform alongside Aussie rock royalty, all of whom are the most kind and generous people I’ve met and I hope to be that for others as well.
Tell us about your career as a performer?
I have been performing as a session/fill-in drummer for a few years, learning a variety of pieces in short amounts of time including performing alongside aspiring musicians at a private college.
Why did you decide to teach music?
Music is an incredible joy for me, and I know it is for others too. It brings me great pleasure to share the ins-and-outs of creating and performing music.
What has been your most rewarding experience as a musician?
Meeting all of these people who share the same passion for music that I do, whether it’s people who have been in the industry for decades or those who are just starting out and are keen to engross themselves in music. Being able to share perspectives and pick their brains is always something I try and do when meeting them as I always enjoy it. But the best thing is that it’s simply fun. I wouldn’t be playing the drums for all of these years if I wasn’t having fun with it, which I always try to share with others.
What album do you recommend everyone should listen to?
It’s really hard to pick one album to listen to, there’s an ocean of great music out there for anyone to listen to Aja by Steely Dan has some incredible songs featuring some of the best session players in history. Dummy by Portishead has some very memorable drums with great production despite each song only having like a 2 or 4 bar loop. Songs for the Deaf by Queens of the Stone Age has super beefy yet clear drums played by Dave Grohl which has been burned into my brain with how easy it is to pick them apart by ear. All of these albums are just incredible and should be listened to, but I’m gonna recommend one not a whole lot of people know. Wrong by Cleft is an album that cemented in me that playing drums and getting into performing is what I wanted to do. There’s some creative riffs, some insane fills, but the most important part of the album for me is that it sounds fun. And it is fun, I play some of these songs on my kit at home as best as I can because it is just so much fun to play and listen to.
If Jordan has inspired you to want to learn to play the drumkit yourself, why not book a FREE trial lesson. Find out more here.
