Welcome to Kane's World

     When a person writes, they reveal themselves in a way that no other communication can.  When we write, we put our thoughts and feelings into words.  In between the words lies the spirit, that something beyond words, open to our interpretation.  Writing is powerful.

     With that in mind, I'm starting this blog to write about many topics in music in hopes that those who read it may get a better idea of what I am all about.

     Music has been a constant force in my life.

     I have loved music since before I can remember.  I sat in a circle of LPs and a record player when I was 4,5,6 years old, watching the vinyl spin, hearing the otherworldly sounds come thru the speakers.  There was and still is a mystery about that.  Even tho I know how music is recorded, there is an intangible spirit in music that still gets me.

     I got interested in the drums around the age of 6.  First, it was playing on plastic butter containers, then a conga drum, then my uncle found a used drum set for 40$ and sent it to me from Florida to Missouri, one piece at a time.

     In my town of Hannibal, Missouri, I dreamt of someday being a musician.  There was no manual on how to do it.  There were few, if any, musicians playing around town to learn from.  It was a total mystery to me as to how one would even become a musician, let alone get good enough to someday move away from Hannibal and go play in big cities, tour, record, write and live the dream.

     I kept asking myself one key question:  "How can I get better at music?"  Even in Hannibal, Mo. the answer to that question was there, and the answer was "Keep at it".

     I kept at it all through grade school and jr. high.  At 15 I got into a band, with grown men who were easily 10 years older than me, and I began making money and playing gigs.  I worked at it in the school jazz band and found myself in the all-state jazz band at 17.  I took it as far as I could in Hannibal and left five days after high school graduation for Kansas City.

     In KC, I learned a lot of truths.  A lot of what I had thought was true in Hannibal, was not real.  The music business and playing jazz worked totally different than I had thought.  I was almost starting over, on my playing, my concept of music and really, my concept of myself.  But, that was ok, because I was still asking the question "How can I get better?"

     I asked that question constantly:  in the practice room at UMKC putting in hours and hours, on the bandstand, listening back to recordings of gigs, watching videos of gigs, at jam sessions, even just lying in bed at night and thinking about music and how to get where I wanted to go, how to get better and play like I knew I could play.

     After moving to NYC, I started over again, which seems like a theme in my life, always pursuing something further.  I've put in 19 hard years in New York in which I constantly ask that question "How can I get better?"

     It continues to this day and much of it feels the same as it did when I was six years old.  The fascination with music, the feeling of the drums and rhythm, playing with the best musicians possible, staying grounded and moving forward, building, being disciplined.

    Through my playing and teaching, I funnel my experience in music and life.  I always thought that if I was going to do something, I wanted to do it to the fullest expression possible, weather it's playing or teaching or going to the gym or writing.

     So, welcome to Kane's World, hope you enjoy the journey.

Best,

Matt