22 Years of Drumming Progress

[@LestatAlone]

I spotted baby Neely and, I think, baby Levin.

[@stephanvanderwoerd4405]

Yeah thats defininely Ben haha

[@Hush99]

Ben Levin ripping John McLaughlin's solo spot on Vital Transformation. Too perfect.

[@philosophiabme]

Unmistakable haha

[@quantspazar6731]

i love ben soloing so fast it looks like he's having a stroke

[@aaaMDML]

timestamps?

[@ilmaririimu7593]

Shoutout to all the parents camcording their kids’ band recitals & early gigs!

[@DannySullivanMusic]

for real. completely perfect

[@coreyaudet9656]

Imagine all that would have been lost without them!!!

[@williep3426]

True! I'm playing drum since I was 12 y/o. In all kinds of bands. Started in a marching band too. When I became 17 I got into the drum kit. I'm an auto didact on the kit. Ever since I did all kinds of (cover)bands and gigs. In various styles and opportunities. Now I'm 63. I hardly have any pics nor recordings from my music activities in my younger years. Such a shame! But I love and I cherish the beautiful moments and joy the music brought me through all these years. And still does. I couldn't do without. Hope Covid will be out of the way soon so we can go rehearsing and gigging again. Shawn, I loved your story and the way you presented it in this vid on youtube. It looks so much like mine. Compliments and kind regards from a Dutch drummer.

[@leonardoross8133]

I'll be waiting for 22 years of touch guitar progress

[@ShawnCrowder]

it's gonna be a while...

[@KoenigApfel]

@@ShawnCrowder yes, approximately 22 years

[@datboi3577]

@@KoenigApfel Wait, really?

[@brookstarkington]

Thanks for posting this. As a percussion teacher I often get discouraged at the rate at which my students are progressing. Seeing you in your formative years helps remind me I shouldn’t be in such a hurry expecting much from my beginners.

[@DannySullivanMusic]

i concur. utterly perfect

[@Xtremecarfan10188]

Same here, I have realized it takes time. I will be honest, sometimes I forget what it was like learning the basics. I forsure wasn't doing half the stuff I have some 10 year olds doing when I started. Then again, I humbly think I turned out fine as a drummer. It takes me longer to learn things than other people. I have some students playing now 4 years and technique and feel has improved suddenly. Its like once they reach a certain point. It becomes alot easier for them to continue to improve and become more independent. This happens at different ages for everyone though. Mine was definitely late.

[@Joshholbrook2024]

Ya they suck pretty bad for the first 3 or 4 years.

[@Xtremecarfan10188]

@@Joshholbrook2024 Yup, although there are some naturals that end up doing things in a year that takes others 3 or 4. And its not age limited either. I have a 6 year old reading and learning Immigrant Song, I have a 62 year old that can't play Another One Bites the Dust 😂. Its very random.

[@ianmsutherland]

Hats off to the parents who supported, believed in, and also taped every performance. Support like that early-on is crucial and amazing to see. What's the farthest they travelled to watch you play?

[@DannySullivanMusic]

this is completely perfect

[@BrandonScottDrums]

This was amazing dude. I've been thinking about making a video discussing my "drum journey" for a while now. I think you've finally inspired me to make it.

[@VehaanWadhwa]

come on Brandon you have to do this!

[@ArpitBhattacharjee]

do it!

[@chrislamaster3816]

Do it man. Recently subbed. Great stuff man.

[@eugenefender1279]

"as someone, who never felt particularly talented" is a very talented person thing to say :-)

[@vasilias2230]

We're all talented at something, It just shows his humility

[@ShawnCrowder]

haha could be, but it always felt hard to me. defining "talent" is another video entirely...

[@eugenefender1279]

@@vasilias2230 I think we all love this about Shawn - being a total virtuoso that he is, he still seems a really nice guy

[@vasilias2230]

@@ShawnCrowder talent can be simply noted as: Individuals are inclined to different appitudes for learning, so while someone might be talented at the drums/music, It doesn't mean that they have built up skills around it. Someone can just as easily squander their skills by doing something they're not physically/mentally made to do, while Ignoring their given aptitudes. I think that makes some sort of sense hahaha

[@MrStingray1985]

Talent does not mean that it comes to you easily. In fact, it can be quite the opposite of that: maybe like having a clearer sense than others of what could be, what your own inadequacies are that keep you from achieving it, and with that a strong urge to work as hard as possible to finally get there.

[@adamschorr2301]

12:40 seeing a young Adam Neely with a fedora and chin bush singing into a vocoder has been the absolute highlight of my 2021

[@francescofadda8173]

Someone would say: "repetition legitimizes."

[@DannySullivanMusic]

this comment is utterly true

[@musicalwarrior9079]

@@DannySullivanMusic Someone would say: "repetition legitimizes."

[@ZachMcCordProg]

@@musicalwarrior9079 Someone would say: "repetition legitimizes."

[@cloudy7971]

@@ZachMcCordProg Someone would say: "repetition legitimizes."

[@honsebingus6426]

I’ve spotted an Adam Neely and a Ben levin

[@DannySullivanMusic]

agreed. absolutely perfect

[@LentilsOverkill]

The difference between 1 and 2 years is astounding.

[@DannySullivanMusic]

this is absolutely true man

[@nathanielking7481]

Hearing your story makes me happy, and also deeply sad at the same time. In another reality I see my life panning out very similarly to yours, and in fact I share the exact same music path as you up until exiting hs. Inevitably, my family did not support my decision to follow music as a drummer. I’m currently 21, bs’ing my way through a medical degree in college, and I’ve never felt so lost. I don’t want this path forced on to me, but I also don’t have the power to disappoint my mother and grandparents. Wish me luck. Thank you for your vid, it was put together wonderfully.

[@joesteyn6599]

its never too late man. Hard work is the only thing that separates us from anything in life.

[@gleventhal]

I went to music school and played a little professionally after college, but I went into programming/computers after a few years. Being a musician is really tough to make ends meet, it's a lot of hustling and playing BS gigs that feel like a waste of time. You have to love playing more than anything so that you're happy to just be with your instrument no matter what you're doing, and not make much money. Being a doctor is a very worthy endeavor, maybe you can try to shift your perspective so that you're psyched about medicine. Watch Dr. House, I dunno, but you have an incredible opportunity. If it's not right for you, then do what you gotta do, but I'd suggest at least trying to find some love for it, afterall medical science is really incredible, all the sacrifices and excellence that got us to this point. Good luck man, plenty of Doctors play in weekend bands, and they can pay their mortgages. Many musicians cannot even afford to go to the Dr. lol.

[@ashimotoakai9599]

Man, this really saved me... I've been drumming for a good 1 year almost a half now... and I just transitioned from Dancing. So you could say that I had a head start when compared to other, so I continued to improve myself based on that rhythmic background I had from dancing. A year and a half later, and deep into the World of Jazz Drumming, I've been slowly getting, not depressed but frustrated, very frighteningly so... I don't know why, but I always feel desperate to get better, and I always want to find the time and play as much drums as possible, but I just can't help but feel, anxious, like I'm not good enough. I mean sure I do play in a band, and we play jazz a lot in general, but there's still this desperation to get better, like I'm not getting better fast enough, and it's been greatly affecting me mentally, since I'm in quarantine, where theoretically I should be able to play drums more, and practice more, but can't being restricted by the chain known as living in an apartment. That's why when I saw, the extent of time, it actually takes for a master to get where he got, I just feel relieved? I guess, like I'm reassured that I'm not wrong, that I'm not falling behind, that I am getting better. This really has helped me lift something on my heart and has really helped me feel less anxious. Thank you Shawn soooo much, you are definitely one of my biggest inspirations, and I hope to follow suite with your example and get better, to be a better musician.

[@eb7907]

Yes! I felt the same watching this video. It gave me comfort knowing that this is a long road and it shows that the people that are really great have just been on that long road the longest. It makes me content to just get comfortable sitting down and doing the work day in and day out because ultimately, it does add up

[@RedHair651]

9:52 I had to go back and rewatch Ben Levin shredding because that was the shit

[@MattPriceDrumming]

Very cool man. Its awesome that you were able to dig up all this old footage. Surprised we never met at Berklee, I was there 05 - 09. Keep up the good vids!

[@wilberforce95]

Damn, you sounded like a professional in high school! Jealous. Also I love that clip of you and Adam in the dorm room

[@DannySullivanMusic]

you are completely true

[@ElliottKleinguitar]

Lol at the New Years (I think?) dual guitar clip. Great video!

[@contemptcreatorarthurave4042]

Can we have a moment to respect the edited cuts? Tempos goin into eachother.

[@DannySullivanMusic]

for real. 100% true

[@mjg19981]

Ben's solo about halfway through = Super good

[@pr0r0gu3]

My god, bring back mid-2000s prog jams.

[@jessevandendoren]

But please without the clothing and hair styles lol.

[@pr0r0gu3]

@@jessevandendoren Coward.

[@DannySullivanMusic]

i agree! 110% perfect

[@junglefett]

​@@pr0r0gu3 lmao that's the best possible response to that

[@nickmonks9563]

4:18 - that's the first spot where I went, "ahh, there's the beginnings of that Shawn Crowder sound..."

[@roathripper]

damn dude your skills have taken you far and wide! And i notice at the 2 year mark it was already coming together.

[@regina2130]

Great chronology, great well illustrated story.

[@JacobS0527]

I'm studying as a music ed major right now and marching percussion was something that helped me a lot too. Even now I play with the WGI group Music City Mystique and it shows me different ways to think about and apply the things I'm learning in school.

[@mrhalfblood7080]

That's a helluva good journey that you've done through all of those years

[@elumbella]

So inspiring! I also very much appreciate how well you cut together all the muscal bits on the beat. Very satisfying to listen to!

[@cheriNYCLiveMusic]

This is brilliant Shawn, I saw your two gigs at the Blue Note. 👏👏

[@Bsloga]

Really inspiring and honest. Very genuine. Your progression is just fantastic and your metal approach to the instrument is way ahead of others your age. So yeah, the best is yet to come for you. I mean really all any of us want is our own voice and the element of it being recognized on our chosen instrument.

[@themandownstairs4765]

nothing personal Shawn but I think I might have to sample that clip of you playing the Amen break

[@ShawnCrowder]

go for it!

[@drumming.7753]

your a big inspiration for beginner drummers ❤❤❤

[@JonnEnguero]

Great video, sir! I also started playing the drums in 99. 😊

[@bulkvanderhuge9006]

I like how your hair migrated from the top of your head to the bottom over 22 years.

[@goblinondrums]

Man if only I had all the recordings from my days in marching band, winter percussion, jazz band and my college years. Good job man having all this stuff saved I'm jealous. Great video too bro.

[@Cloyd1]

"My name is Shawn Crowder and I play the drums" that's an understatement if I've ever heard one lmao

[@jordancool4853]

This is essentially my drum journey too if you end it at two minutes.

[@oldethangoogleacc8484]

god there's so much early 2000's early 2010's nostalgia littered throughout this video

[@AroCaceresdrums]

I hope to meet you some day man ! Greatings from Argentina ✨

[@soysantim]

This was a fantastic video. Comparing the things you can do and explain to us today with your early years is really inspiring to me. That's a lot of dedication and time you put in what you love. I'm 30 snd started playing drums 6 years ago but really getting into it seriously about 2 years ago; before that I would only play songs and have fun. Today I try to keep a routine of 12hs practice a week, keeping a journal, trying new stuff all the time, etc. Sometimes it's hard to stay motivated, but I try to remind myself that I'm not doing this for an end goal (which there isn't one in music, I think), for fame, money or people's recognition; I'm playing drums because making music makes me happy. I think we all have that disease of comparing ourselves with other people and that's where we get demotivated, but we forget to remember that behind that groove/chop of that cool drummer there's days, months and years of dedication. With a little practice it can transform from "I'll never be as good as X drummer" to "Oh that was a cool groove/chop, I'm gonna do that".

[@DiamondLifer]

Very cool to share this with everyone and you’re absolutely right about everything. Talent is not enough. You have to stay motivated and I find playing with as many musicians as possible at all levels helps expand your patience, ear, wants and needs as a player. 👍🏻

[@gaddmatt]

This is the way. Thank you for sharing this great story

[@AidanMmusic96]

Loved the Proto Cosmos fragment! Great guitarists in all the Berklee videos too, dang!

[@killmoreturtles]

It's passion vs. natural talent. And give me passion every. single. time! Passion = love and enjoyment. If you're passionate about something, then you love to practice, too. You may hate yourself often, but you have those breakthrough moments where you can say to yourself: I feel like I'm as good as anybody else out there.

[@Enthalpiste]

Funny to see young fellow youtubers. Also funny to get the song covered through the years... Wait is this Alien hip-hop? Oh shit...

[@anthonysonetti3924]

This is a great video. Thank you for sharing!

[@tonycarpenter-Makzimia]

Very inspiring story :). Sadly I never had the opportunity, or the desire, to really chase my music all my younger life. I am now 60 and a jack of all trades and master of none, but, I picked up Drums at 41 and like guitar I started at 10 and Piano at 17, I am totally self taught on drums. I enjoy jamming at the moment on Jamulus, first time playing with other people after practicing and recording on my own for the past 20 years. Thank you for sharing :). You're awesome.

[@-iIIiiiiiIiiiiIIIiiIi-]

A Moment in Time: *Lady yelling from the floor* "Hey drummer boy! Shave it off! Shave it all off 😘 " *As he thought while drumming* "Yeah, I will someday..."

[@atlassolid5946]

4:40 hey, i played that same mallets part in high school as well! very fun but difficult for sophomore-year me

[@8varium5]

Great story man... Thank you for sharing.

[@guang-wen]

Damn dude. It's crazy to think you've been drumming as along as I've been alive. Wonder where I'll be in 10 years 🤔

[@joecostello1624]

Same here man

[@gonzalopias8092]

Very inspiring

[@steverman2312]

honestly, i never saw you as a guy that would do indoor drumline, i always thought that if you did that kinda stuff, you would be on drumset in the pit lul

[@xchasef]

You can tell Shawn is a working drummer by how much cajón footage he has.

[@reptilianTy]

this is what happens when parents actively facilitate their kids interests at and early age.

[@vajjujjav]

Thank you!

[@seanwright6931]

I've been playing for about 3 years. I know zero theory but I just play. Honestly this makes me feel very positive about how much I've progressed. Also Congrats on 22 years my man!

[@KasbashPlays]

8:20 - I was _not_ prepared for a young Adam. 9:11 - Fives was an excellent choice of song.

[@deathofrats2000]

Where do I go for more footage of you and Ben Levin shredding Mahavishnu? Awesome

[@ShawnCrowder]

One of my oldest videos is a cover of Vital Transformation with Ben. It's still on YT. :)

[@deathofrats2000]

@@ShawnCrowder Oh, great! Thanks

[@technopepper9450]

6:44 CARAVAN!!!!

[@SamuelHopeOfficial]

This is a fantastic story Shawn! What a legend 🙌🙌🙌

[@ArielBenichou]

Journey before destination!

[@oneapratclown]

love this! super inspiring man, love your drumming!

[@skrawpie]

This video is fantastic, but also makes me lament the fact that after graduating high school I didn't really continue to pursue music.

[@kingbingbong1920]

never too late! opportunities come to those who make them.

[@Sami-Gantz]

Restart now. I played drums in high school. Then didn't rock them again for 20 years. Now I'm studying music and relearning the drums, as well as a couple of other instruments at 40. It really is about the journey.

[@DannySullivanMusic]

this is 100% correct

[@yo_grrt]

Wild that you marched BK, but after seeing the solo with the crosses on the rack toms it makes sense lol. I forget how small the marching percussion world is, hows the back after playing quads for a few seasons?

[@dbeast03]

I guess this'd be a good video for me to ask, as someone who's a senior in high school and playing percussion for 7 years, with commitments split between engineering, design, robotics, and music, I've never really had a chance to put as much time into music as I would like, simply because I've got so many different things that I love doing. So, getting ready for going to college for engineering and wanting to stick with music (from a *much* less practiced point then you were at) do you have any tips on how I can make up some of that gap without time on my side?

[@benricok]

Same situation, but I play the keyboard since 2012.

[@TheSquareOnes]

Start making the time. People can give you advice on how to practice more efficiently and stuff like that to make the most of your limited time but the unfortunate truth is that the only real way to make progress in a skill like this is to just invest the time and effort into it the long way, the sooner you start devoting time to it the sooner you'll get where you want to be.

[@theuntapstep7789]

I’m doing a major in biology and a minor in music it’s a great solution if you’re good at switching

[@personayo6018]

maybe you can design engineering projects where robots play percussion.....!¿?¡ ... anyway it said by scientists that helps your creativity to mix different fields

[@nicholaspopowich7944]

I was in a similar situation! Went into Electrical Eng, but kept with music as well after playing bass/sax through high school. I'm on track to graduate this year (and go back for a master's) but I made time to play in a bunch of music groups in and out of school. You just gotta keep at it and make a habit of practicing and/or playing shows when you can (covid permitting ofc). You school might even have engineering music groups, it's a pretty common overlap for engineers to also play instruments. What I'm doing now is getting into signal processing and mixing my musical interests and eng interests.

[@andrewlazar4804]

Curious question, when in all of this music did you move to Berlin?

[@aries_9130]

That was pretty dope.

[@zzzz-sf5lr]

All my parents did mostly was try to stop my talent. But I overcame that part of my life and currently doing more than I ever thought possible

[@matthewbenedict5923]

9:50 damn Ben Levin shredded hot back then

[@FunctionalBreadMachine]

Damn son. Awesome. I’m never going to make it lol. I know that now.

[@bradenrigling7745]

Cleannn

[@Xellinho]

Is that my man Ben Levin at 09:03??

[@floraduu]

You can see the drummer progression by looking at the drum set progression

[@hectatusbreakfastus6106]

Ahh Yes I remember being a youngster like that before I discovered the love of hearing protection. Wish I discovered it earlier.

[@magoodrummer1462]

You are a real drummer. Nothing else I can say but never stop progressing. You are awesome sir, thank you for sharing your story. 40 year journey for me and they will have to peel the sticks from my cold dead hands ! Keep on rockin in the free world brother.

[@bikershark9]

I haven't watched the video yet, but looking at the thumbnail...I graduated high school in '99 and it can't possibly have been 22 years ago. Your math must be wrong. I mean...22 years? Since I finished high school? No. No. That can't be right. No. Check your math... no

[@9-bitradiation161]

You’ve drummed longer than I’ve lived

[@giovanni21mas]

ok but that Somebody That I Used To Know cover was fire

[@donalmaguire6099]

yeah, I need to see the rest of this.

[@DannySullivanMusic]

you are completely right!

[@ramirod8269]

I need to listen to the complete gig

[@TheWrestlingFamily]

Was that Adam Neely on bass in one of the Berkeley vids?

[@rocfeatherj498]

10:02 dat Planet X tho

[@AnyFactor]

How would you break 22 years in hours of practice?

[@julioestrada3111]

You seemed to get a lot better from year 1 to 2

[@DannySullivanMusic]

agreed. 100% accurate

[@sicko_the_ew]

Never say, "I can't". Don't even say, "I can". Say: I WILL (or "I will", actually. I think I'll point my feet thataway. ... and take the concluding One Step, too, of course.) Great illustration of this. Thank you for existing for the sake of proving me right. :D All the versions of I will, will do. It hurts but I declare myself to be intractibly obstinate. Hurt away, here I go. Or hey, this feels great again, I think I'll do it again. And again ... (like a gymnast I know who just sort of moved from the way standing on your head is more fun than standing on your feet is, to figuring out that you can spin back over onto your feet. And then back onto your hands. ... and that's much more fun than just walking from this side of the room to that ... being led by the thrill of it all). There must be another five or ten more basic kinds of getting a will to do something? And then they mix up. But in the end, whatever the outcome is, it demonstrates what you CAN do. Willing it just helped you discover what that was (or to your first discoveries, thusfar). It's an OK endpoint - a humble one, even; it's just as a starting point that it's wrong. You *do* have a talent for this. Yes, you mined it, milled it, polished it, etc, but this is just the discovery process of what was there in you to be found. (And it means it's OK for someone who doesn't achieve similar results for similar efforts - with allowance for feedback loops, and how they feed back into the effort part of the cycle - to then say, "Wow, you're good", accepting that this is not for them. Too much emphasis on the hard work aspect's importance negates the efforts of the many who give it a go and fail, not through bad character, but just because somewhere there are limits for everyone. Yes, it takes character to discover what your true limits are, but maybe good character is a kind of talent, too. It's both those things (to keep this nice and simple). Maybe in a more general sense knocking the paradiddle into your neurons is more effort dependent, and creating Sungazer songs takes a whole lot more talent than effort. Both are good. Very interesting video, anyway. It says much more than it says.

[@charliepalmer2443]

During high school, you say you started playing in all kinds of gigs to get more experience. What are some ways you were able to get all these gigs in high school?

[@krienmineel]

I saw Adam in a bit from 2009/ I guess you've met in uni? Love your stuff man!

[@lanebutlermusic]

I am working on becoming a better musician and eventually a pro, but I struggle with doubt. Did you ever times where you felt discouraged or doubtful about your future?

[@ShawnCrowder]

Yep!

[@Microtonal_Cats]

Great story / lesson / parable. And I know that budding drummers have to play with anyone they can. But the only player in the first 2/3 of the video (besides our hero) that I want to hear more from is Cletus Manson Christ, at 9:41. That cat is wonderful. Shawn, what's his name?

[@goobystuff3333]

You can see he really becomes a pro once he starts having to play cajon all the time

[@Tillerino]

16:48 If all humans had the capacity to feel as the dude in the front row does, there'd be no evil in the world

[@DannySullivanMusic]

this is totally true!!

[@mil3ston3s]

wait i'm not the only one who did a cover of "eye of the tiger" in their high school ska band??

[@BirthdayQuake]

BK Open! :)

[@ShawnCrowder]

yeah dude, good times :)

[@michamarkuszewski4546]

13:25 Adam Neely with a pick exposed

[@amarkavazovic7330]

I want to go to berklee itsy dream collage but i cant attend to it cause of finances congrats to you

[@andrewsickler8466]

Thanks for sharing your journey! Seeing the early recordings of you starting just like everyone else is really hope-inspiring for those of us who also weren’t the most immediately talented or prodigious.

[@IlliterateBreadsTV]

Sungazer playing bluegrass music is like McDonalds selling keto food

[@ramijarrous1983]

I thought he was benny greb from the thumbnail lol

[@jibster5903]

Watching all of this shows the contrast of how much of sungazers music is set around the drums

[@DannySullivanMusic]

your comment is completely right dude

[@andsuaz]

22 years of balding

[@DannySullivanMusic]

this is 100% perfect

[@SchnitzelKraft]

Hey, didn't know you played with Ben. Great video! And yesterday was very entertaining in Amsterdam! Will see you next time.

[@SyntheticFuture]

I have never fully comitted to anything in my life which makes me stuck in perpetual mediocraty in everything :|

[@andre3808]

This is really cool to see! I don't know how well this maps outside of music, but as someone with a hobby in drawing, it's really inspiring to see that I can keep improving over time! Also, Drunk is really good and I love y'all's music!!