When it all began.... the drumming bug bit Bollie while he watched Ringo's stunning performance with the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan show. This lead to drumming performances for the family accompanying Beatles' smash radio hits while playing atop plastic storage bins with dowel rods. "Paying dues" while just out of diapers manifested in a natural ability to play a full drum kit as a 12 year old.

The first time 12 y.o. Bollie sat behind his neighbors Black Oyster Ringo-styled Ludwig 4 piece kit he played Jimi Hendrix's "Hey Joe" without a hitch after hearing the song merely a few times through headphones - cranked to 11, of course. Acquiring a kit at 13 lead to hours of magical musical moments. The kit, a blue sparkle pawnshop special with real Zildjian cymbals, was nurtured and loved with a passion that lead to the pursuit for knowledge on how to play all styles of drumset batterie. A pursuit that is still followed as assiduously today as it was back in the innocent days.

After a summer of playing along to the recordings of Black Sabbath, Fairport Convention, The Troggs, The Byrds, and Ian Mathews, Tom was enrolled in private lessons with an old jazz drummer who taught him from the drum bibles of the day: Ted Reed's Syncopation and Jim Chapin's Techniques for the Modern Drummer. This piqued his interests in jazz drumming that led to the drum chair in the high school stage band- the jazz band. Jazz became a new religion. Here was a music that was not scripted and lived and breathed in the moment. The drummers were incredible! The list goes on forever, but Tony Williams, Jack Dejohnette, Bob Moses, Airto, Billy Cobham, Chester Thompson, Lenny White, Jan Christensen, Roy Hanes, and all the groups they played in became the spring board for further study at Berklee College of Music upon graduating from high school.

The Berklee Years were fruitful and a bit intimidating at the same time. This is where the ground work form Bollie's current style of interpretive playing was born. Berklee was where the ethic of not learning licks but learning the instrument as a vehicle to speak the language of musical drumming was introduced. MAN, there were drummers there that KNEW THEIR INSTRUMENTS: Tommy Campbell, Kenwood Dennard, Jeff Sipe, Vinny Colautia, Lee Venters, and a myriad of other players that each had great things to offer. It was a great time to be playing drums. The Linear style of playing that is evident in everyone's playing today was being explored by the Dean of Percussion, Gary Chaffee. Everyone had his books: Rhythm and Meter and Patterns. These manuals became the next step in drumming education. Chaffee is a true original when it comes to drumming and drumset instruction. Of course, the real work came after two years when the Berklee Experience was over. The stage became the new territory for learning. Fortunately the gigs haven't ended for Bollie since.

Bollie has performed with or shared the stage with the following artists: Badge, Thadd Comstock, John Bollinger, Peter Bollinger, Oteil Burbridge, Vinny Valentino, Steve Zerlin, Danny Leonard, Denato Soviero, John Standard, Boyd Tinsley, Out of Nowhere, The Steve Morris Band, Kixs, Prince's guitarist, The David Nelson Band, Bill Lymann, Barry Sless, Mookie, David Nelson, Tommy Campbell, Charlie Hunter, Jerry Garcia's Golden Band, Duran Duran, The Simple Minds, Brad Allen, Peter Princiotto, The Urban Verbs, Carlos Garza, Marcus Esposito, Flat Broke, Mark Moore, Robbie Cooper, Jeremy Walton, Tony Morse, Tommy Keene, The Next Step, Avon Lucus, Elliot Levine, D'andre Howard, China Crisis, Kofi Burbridge, Joe Dicey, Karl Kushner, Hal Squires, Chris Marsh, Brass Alley, The Zen Tricksters, Bobby Parker.....

Bollie has formally trained with: Al Merz, Scott Taylor, Gary Chaffee, Joe Morello, Steve Fidyk, Jim Richman, Robert Kaufmann, Tiger Akoshi, Bob Wagner, Tom Teasley, Billy Reichenbach, Harold Howland, and Joe Hunt.

Bollie plays the following styles: Live and studio drumset in Jazz, Rock, Blues, Country, Fusion, Latin, and Top40.

Bollie teaches: Drumset Reading and Interpretation, Double Bass, The Moller Technique, The Free Stroke styles of Joe Morello and George Stone, Soloing, Independence, Stick Control, Chops Building, Rudiments, and The Allan Dawson Method.

Drum Students
Bollie is accepting a limited number of students and can be contacted at 301 933-3993 for an evaluation. Serious Students Only.

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