Little Drummerboy brings rootsy music to the Pacific Northwest

By Laurie Morrisey

Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum.. No, not that Drummerboy--the other one--from the Pacific Northwest. You’ve seen him at local gigs and at many CBA events, but he actually hails from the Seattle area. He’s also known as Jeff Hayes, but most people call him Drummerboy.

“I’ve never lived in the beautiful Rose City, but I spend so much time here performing that a lot of people think that I do. That’s ok with me too. I LOVE Portland and its people.

I was born in Renton, Washington. Aside from five years on the eastern side of Washington State, I’ve lived in the Seattle area all my life” he said. “I run into people all the time who tell me that it’s unusual to meet someone who lives in Seattle that was actually born here. I hope that’s true because the last thing that I want to be is usual.”  And usual is not a word that comes to mind when I think of Drummerboy.

A professional musician for the past 11 years, Drummerboy says his first play-for-pay gig was a New Years Eve thing in the lounge of a Mexican Restaurant. It wasn’t pretty, but no one got hurt so it was a success.

“I ALWAYS wanted to perform professionally, but I thought that it would either be behind a turntable as a radio station DJ or as an engineer in a recording studio. The vocational counselor at my high school asked me what I wanted to do with my life. I told her that I wanted to be in the music industry. Her sage advice was to ‘get a ride to LA’ and hang out at studios.”

He says music has always played a big part in his life. “My childhood wasn’t always pretty and music was one of my escapes.”

Aside from his musical aspirations, Jeff also has a full time day job as a Captain in the Seattle Fire Department. “I’ve been a firefighter for 29 years. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished in my career as a firefighter and it gives me a feeling of worth in this world.

I’ve done quite a bit of research and reading about the blues and the migration from the Delta north and it seems to me that most of the folks that I look to historically for inspiration all had day job’s. They HAD to have day jobs to support their family. So they’d work all day ‘to make their pay’, and then play music all night. Sounds awful familiar” Jeff says with a smile.

When asked about musical influences, Jeff becomes philosophical. “I can’t site one specific person or thing that has influenced my music. It’s an amalgamation of every musical note, every experience, every conversation, and every bit of pain or joy that I’ve ever felt. You mix that all up and run it through the DRUMMERBOYatron and what comes out is my music.

I will say that since I started taking music a bit more seriously that I try and only put quality music into my head. The idea being that if I put quality in, that quality will come out. I’ve also consciously increased the scope of my listening to include a very wide range of genre’s and styles. I’ll give anything a listen. I mean anything, as long as it’s good”, he says.

When describing his music he calls it rootsy. “The tag line for my DRUMMERBOY project is ‘A REVOLUTION in ROOTS music.’ I stand by that statement. I listen to all the fruits, but I only play the roots”

Obviously, by the name, Jeff plays the drums—all types of percussion, but mainly the drum kit. “I started taking guitar lessons about six months ago to help out with my song writing. I’ve always written lyrics, but had to depend on someone else to help me with the music. I want to be able to create the whole song in the near future. I also hope that by taking BOTH guitar AND drum lessons my early-onset dementia will be held in check”  he says with a laugh—“That’s a joke y’all”

Jeff’s had formal training from day one and has had some of the best teachers anywhere, including Steve Smith, Jimi Bott, and Dave Jette. “I’ve taken a break from lessons every now and then, but there is nothing like a teacher to recognize your inherent weaknesses, call you on them, and then design exercises to help you to improve. I still take lessons twice a month and probably always will. I just want to get better.”

Jeff’s discography includes a recording with Pinetop Perkins and Sons of The Delta called Made In Mississippi. That was recorded in Jimbo Mathus’s studio in Clarksdale, Mississippi; an album with John-Alex Mason called Live Fire that was recorded in Seattle; three CD’s with Becki Sue & her Big Rockin’ Daddies!, the last of which was recorded in Oregon City with Steve Murray co-producing; and an album with Brian Lee in a band that was known as The Blues Orbiters at the time.

He is currently in the process of writing material for an eventual DRUMMERBOY disc that will be all original material played by the awesome talent that he’s assembled for the DRUMMERBOY roster. “And I’m always interested in working on other people’s recording projects” he said.

When discussing people he has played with, Jeff says, “I’m so grateful to everyone who has ever allowed me to play music with them. I’ve been very fortunate in that regard. Pinetop Perkins, T-Model Ford, John-Alex Mason, Peter Dammann, Brandon Santini, Tom Boyle, Rick Welter, Karen Lovely, Robbie Jordan, Eric ‘Two Scoops’ Moore, Rae Gordon, Franck Goldwasser, Jim Miller, David Vest and that’s just a partial list, but thanks to everyone who has ever shared the joy of playing music with me.”

“The DRUMMERBOY principle is to play roots oriented music with all of the best players and nicest people in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. So I don’t have any regular band members per se. If you’re a top roots musician and I can get your phone number, then you may be a DRUMMERBOY bandmate in the future.

The one former band member that I’d like to mention is John-Alex Mason. John-Alex and I were never really in a band together, although we did play several gigs together in several states. He passed away recently and the world will suffer because of this loss. He was an extraordinarily decent young man and a very talented musician who played and sang with soul and integrity.”

In closing, he said, “Thank you so much for allowing me to share my story with the CBA membership. I have nothing but respect, admiration, and affection for the fans and musicians of Oregon. Next time that you see me give me a handshake or a hug.”

For more information and a list of  upcoming shows, visit Jeff’s website at http://drummer-boy.org

Bookmark with: