Scott Gillis
About
Scott has been drumming in and around Chicago ever since he moved here from Colorado at age 14. He played with hard rockers PUSH and Eastern Front in the early 90’s. After his metal phase was over he cut his hair and joined Coin. Playing a few thousand shows with Coin between Chicago and LA and recording an album was the mileage he needed to land other great gigs with Kat Parsons, Slink Moss, and Patrick Capone. He has performed live at the legendary Cavern Club in Liverpool and Lollapalooza with Tiki-Punk rockers Suzy Brack & The New Jack Lords. He also recorded with former Miss America Kate Shindle and local songsmiths Adam Fitz and Ed Marek. In the early 2000's Scott toured with an East Indian Theatrical troupe and appeared in a video with rap artist Trudell. Since then he's played with Gretchen and the Love Cats, the Pantone Trio, and The Jeremy Greer Band and done lots of other cool stuff (radio, TV, etc....). He is currently the drummer for the Chicago band JETDRIVER.
As the only private drum teacher at Modern Music in Lisle, Illinois for almost 30 years, I have enjoyed the journey of improving as a teacher and performer.
If the student is a beginner, I thoroughly cover all the basics; reading, rudiments, stick control, time development, foot control.
If they are already playing I ask where they want to go with their playing and guide them towards achieving their desired results. I had great teachers as I was coming up and I try to be that great teacher for each of my students.
My basic approach is to keep lessons/exercises musically useful. Reading, counting out loud and verbalization are very important for any instrument. "If you can say it, you can play it" is something my students hear a lot. I ask that my students do their assignments as directed, but then to also be creative with what they are working on. I love those "lightbulb" moments when a student realizes that they've internalized a concept and they can be creative with it.
A few recommended texts:
Syncopation by Ted Reed
The Drumset Musician by Rod Morgenstein
150 Rudimental Solos by Charlie Wilcoxin
Groove Essentials 1.0 by Tommy Igoe
There are a few dozen others I can recommend based on the student's level/needs.