Drum Teachers

Glenn’s a Michigan boy turned Seattleite dad and husband. He loves metal, long walks on the beach, singing loudly, and playing guitar, bass, keys, and drums. A lover of all music types, Glenn's playing focuses on rudimentary grounding more than being flashy. His solo metal act is Freeze, plays bass and sings in the band Slothrider, and he does musical soundtracks as Glenn Aaron Smith.

From a small town in Ohio, Adrian has been drumming since the age of 5, playing on pots and pans as a toddler until eventually owning his own kit in his early teens. Wanting to play with others and gain experience, he then started playing for the church he attended as well as playing with small groups around his hometown for several years until pausing his musical endeavors after high school to join the Air Force. After serving his term, and moving around for a little while he ended up in Los Angeles, California, to attend Art School until ultimately deciding to continue his musical education at Musicians Institute for Drum Performance.

From there, Adrian has toured and worked in the Los Angeles/Hollywood area with artists such as Green Jelly (Bass), 9Theory, Hannah Ureste, and Darryl Swann, among others. Adrian believes self-expression is key in any artistic endeavor and wants to empower others to believe that they are far more capable than they may have been told or believe about themselves.

Always pushing forward and seeking self-discovery, he’s constantly seeking to learn from new teachers, peers, and students. Most importantly he wants everyone to remember that regardless of your level of study, music and artistic expression is fun and freeing.

Spencer Johndrew is a multi-instrumentalist, recording engineer, and record label co-owner. Born and raised in Santa Cruz, California, he started his music journey playing guitar at the age of 9. After taking guitar lessons for a few years, he taught himself how to play bass, drums, piano, and ukulele before moving to Tacoma, Washington to attend college. It was there that he started playing in local bands and created an independent record label with his best friend (Youth Riot Records). In the years since graduating and moving to Seattle, Spencer has been lucky enough to tour the country (and Canada!) playing guitar and drums with his bands Hell Baby, Titanic 2, and Scorn Dog. Outside of his music career, he also has 6+ years of experience working in Seattle Public Schools, where he managed a variety of after-school enrichment programs for elementary and middle school students.

Spencer has a strong passion for learning and playing music, one that he gained from his guitar teacher as a child, and one that he hopes to be able to share with his students. This passion is based around the idea that playing music is something that should be thought of as a hobby, not an obligation. Music is something that feeds all of us and tapping into those feelings of joy and fun is a key focus for Spencer in his music lessons. Learning from every student’s unique musical preferences and tailoring his classes to those preferences is important in helping each of his students establish their own connection with playing music. Spencer aims to create a fun, easygoing environment where students feel comfortable and inspired to explore their own passion for music!

Although Neftali’s musical journey started on the guitar, they have spent most of their adult life branching out from strings and finding the musicality in many more sounds and art forms. Before finding their way behind the kit, Neftali developed a love for rhythm in middle school when they and their best friend at the time started teaching each other how to break dance. That led to building a crew in high school of kids all looking to express, to learn, and to find a safe space to be themselves through the arts.

On the stage, in the community, and in battles, Neftali started honing their skills as an MC and also as a teaching artist as the head of their high school hip-hop club. In breaking, every dancer is a teacher and everyone has something to share of their style and from their experiences. Neftali has carried this as one of their core principles as a teacher: any learner who is passionate and is ready to speak in their own voice and listen has something valuable to share with us all! Around the same time, Neftali started making beats, encouraging their friends to rap/sing on them, and taking music classes at school such as guitar and marching/concert band.

After high school, Neftali continued their education at Cornish College of the Arts where they received their BFA in Film Directing/Writing. After departing from dancing during college, Neftali started to find a place among some of the punk musicians in Seattle where being on the drums gave them a very natural outlet to fill the space that breaking created for them. Finally having a space to practice on acoustic kit, Neftali started jamming and playing with anyone who would take the time to with them. This eventually lead to them joining one of the bands they currently play in called The Molly Sour.

They have played with groups such as Hell Baby, OK Bucko, and singer/songwriters such as Ron Gallo. Neftali is excited to work with kids of all ages and helping them all find their voice to play through. Neftali believes that music is a great resource for finding and building community which is a great skill to develop through something we all love.

Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @Neftali-Kirkland / Paypal NeftaliKirkland@gmail.com / Cash App $NeftaliKirkland

Ricky Hoyos was born in Seattle, but moved to Naples, Florida at a young age. Ricky started playing music at the age of 14, inspired equally by Metallica and his cousin’s local band Vega Under Fire. Music education opened his mind to all different genres, with a particular emphasis on classic rock and metal, as he took drum and guitar lessons, joined his school drumline, and attended any music-based after school programs he could find.

After graduating high school, he sought any chance to perform around Naples, particularly as a guitarist. He played in cover bands, and worked as the lead guitarist at multiple churches. When he began teaching guitar and drums at the YMCA, he discovered that his passion for music extended to a passion for teaching music to others.

Ricky enjoys teaching basic theory, technique, songwriting, and tips and tricks he likes to do on his instrument. He strongly believes in the importance of keeping lessons engaging and fun, so that students are inspired to continue playing their instrument.

In 2018, Ricky moved back to Seattle to pursue his dream of being part of the historic local music scene. In 2019, he formed a band called Tio Nacho’s House, and the band released their first EP “Here’s to You” in 2022. He and the band play venues all around Seattle, and he’s so excited to fill his life with music through playing live, recording, and teaching the next generation of musicians here at Mode.

Scott is a multi-instrumentalist with over 20 years of experience on drum set, mallet percussion, hand percussion, piano, guitar, bass, ukulele, and various percussion instruments. A native of Bremerton, Washington, he was exposed to music early in childhood, thus developing a deep familiarity with music from day one. After high school, his musical passion led him to Washington State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Music: Percussion Performance with a Jazz Emphasis degree.

After a year teaching and performing in the countryside of central California, Scott returned to the Puget Sound to continue pursuing his career. He’s been an instructor for the Northwest Percussion Festival, a clinician at the Northwest Percussion Project, and a clinician for the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in Idaho. He has played throughout the northwest with The Gods Themselves, Purple Mane, Nowsterday, Halley Greg, and Trick Candles, as well as freelance work.

Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @ScottLangdonMusic / Cash App $ScottLangdonMusic

Gianni Aiello is a Burien-born multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and performer. He is driven by a strong musical curiosity which has taken him from learning Beatles tunes on the piano as a child to touring across the country in his rock band Naked Giants. In addition to his bass work with Naked Giants, he has played guitar and piano with Car Seat Headrest on such stages as Madison Square Garden, the Tonight Show, and Primavera Sound in Barcelona, and he also plays drums in the Seattle-based band Pablo’s Legs.

The desire to be a lifelong student of music keeps Gianni reaching for the next steps, and he believes that the same desire can be found in anyone. His lessons focus on exploring what excites each student about music - whether it’s personal expression through songwriting, intellectual development through theory and analysis, or just the sheer fun of jamming! While basic techniques are fundamental to any field, Gianni seeks to create a low-pressure learning environment where a student’s progress is determined not by their technical skill but by their enthusiasm for music.

Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @Gianni-Aiello / Paypal gianniraiello@gmail.com

Brian is a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter who grew up in Seattle. He has been playing drums since he was 8, and learned from legends including Michael Shrieve and Jerry Garcia. He has been touring for a dozen years with bands including Isenordal, Impulse Noise, Endorphins Lost, Wilt, and Asymmetric Warfare, among others. Brian volunteers at local all-ages DIY venues and loves encouraging and empowering young people to build their own joy, freedom, and culture through the egalitarian DIY approach that has always been so important to him. He is fun-loving, non-judgmental, and has worked with students from the ages of 4 to 64.

A lesson with Brian usually focuses on a song (or some parts of it) that the student has identified or expressed interest in. Brian loves the opportunity to help students connect not only with what an artist played but also the music theory and culture that informs how and why they played it that way. During lessons, he often makes quick observations about the theoretical structure or cultural tradition of the song so his students are able to naturally pick up important music theory concepts from multiple different examples without feeling lectured. Brian has great success relating to and working with students who have attention disorders or learning disabilities.

Brian has a broad taste in music ‒ he likes everything from Brutal Deathgrind to Funeral Doom. Sometimes he even listens to music that isn't some obscure subgenre of heavy metal! Actually, Brian loves all kinds of music and is happy and able to dive into any style students are interested in. Some of his favorite styles include post-punk, black metal, '70s jazz fusion/prog, and modern opera.

Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @Brian-Spenser / Paypal brian.spenser@gmail.com

Brandon has been a working musician, producer, and engineer in the Seattle/Tacoma area for the past decade. He regularly plays in and around the Seattle area and sometimes tours in other countries. Brandon frequently collaborates with many professional musicians in the area. Recently, he's played bass with prog-rock band Bone Cave Ballet and alt-rock band Starry-Eyed Samurai, and drums with both new-wavers Trick Candles and pop-fusion band Nitrogen Lion Society.

Brandon believes that consistency, versatility, and attitude are the traits that make great musicians. With his interactive-guidance teaching approach, the student controls the pacing of each lesson, which alleviates classroom anxiety and helps the lesson material become more comprehensible. With a heavy emphasis on creativity and technique, Brandon will improve their understanding of rhythm and the ability to perform in many styles of music by sharing his 20+ years of composition and performance experience.

Tip Your Teacher! Venmo @Ezekiel-Lords