About Steve
President of Saint Louis Drum Lessons
Steven was born in 1970, raised in St. Louis, Missouri and has been drumming professionally since 1987.
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Although he does not posses a music degree, Steve was taught privately by the head of the percussion department at Webster University, Kevin Giannino. While working at local 5-star drum shop, Drum Headquarters, Steve was exposed to the best of the best drummers who came to the store to do private lessons while they were in town. For over 10 years at Drum Headquarters, Steve absorbed instructional videos, tuned drums, and took private lessons adding up to a wealth of drumming knowledge that Steve passes on to his current students.
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His first taste of being a professional musician came to him when he was 18 years old performing on the Lt. Robert E. Lee Riverboat.
From there, he went on to be a founding member of a St. Louis Alternative Rock band, "The Finns" which resulted in sold out shows across the Midwest. The group was also featured in national music magazines such as "Billboard" and "Mojo". Steve has been performing live and recording for 30 years with various groups that feature rock music as well as Blues, Jazz, Brazilian & electronic music. He currently works with three local bands of various styles. He is also a freelance studio/ live drummer and performs one-off shows filling in with numerous acts.
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In 1999, Steven began teaching drums and percussion at local 5-star drum shop: Drum Headquarters. Rob Birenbaum (owner) noticed how Steve was teaching various stickings to customers who inquired, and offered Steve to teach once per week to see how Steve felt about it. Steve immediately found teaching very rewarding and quickly became the teacher with the most students and least turn-over.
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Photo by:
Greg Lappin Photography
In 2010, Steven opened his own teaching studio "Saint Louis Drum Lessons" where he currently enjoys much success.
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Discouraged with most basic drum method books, Steve created three separate method books introducing drum set, snare drum notation and basic drum fills to fill this void. These three introductory books are available to students at Saint Louis Drum Lessons.​
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He presently lives in South St. Louis County with his wife, Aurora and their son Matthew.
I began lessons with Steve several years ago, and found him to be professional & attentive to my interests, with a focus on teaching the basics upon which I could advance my knowledge & ability. He truly enjoys teaching the drums & always shows a strong commitment to his students.
I have since retired and moved out of St. Louis, however, the knowledge & confidence I gained working with Steve enabled me to join a local group immediately upon my relocation.
I highly recommend Steve for anyone wishing to learn to play the drums."
-Larry, Student
