Today we’d like to introduce you to Ezra Kessler.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Ezra. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
When I was in 3rd grade, the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus came to visit my school PS69 in Queens, NY. It was here that I first saw and got to play drums. I had played piano and violin the year before but I was pretty hooked on drums immediately. My parents got me an electronic drum kit used on craigslist for $35.00 (included drumsticks and a throne!) I studied with Jessie Wallace for several years – and got involved with the rock bands at school. When I changed schools, I tried to get some other students to make a rock band but it wasn’t quite panning out… so I invited some interested kids from the neighborhood to join me in my basement. It was here (I was about age ten by this time) that we started the rock band E3. We got to perform in local cafes, and then at Battle of the Bands contest as a finalist at Colden Auditorium with a capacity of 2000+ people – it was there that I realized I loved to perform.
I was also getting curious about jazz as well as rock since I started playing with the Jazz Standard Youth Orchestra at Jazz Standard on Sundays. It was a tough decision, but I parted ways from E3 and then my drum teacher Jessie got an email – saying that a cast member from ‘School of Rock Broadway’ wanted to start a kids’ rock band. That’s when I met Matthew Jost and we hit it off immediately. The first time we met was in the subway on the 6 lines and we just started playing music together. We started ‘The Mischief Boys’ – and before the pandemic, we were doing shows monthly at GreenRm42 with other Broadway performing kids in my age range. It was so exhilarating to be around so much talent and have so much common ground with other kids. I got accepted to LaGuardia High School – the school that the movie ‘Fame’ is based on – and based on my zoom and hybrid classes, I feel like I’m with my people. It’s so great.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has not always been smooth. I was enrolled in a school that really didn’t have a band before I asked for one.. and I quickly realized that most of the kids there just didn’t appreciate music and singing. They thought I was odd and quirky for wanting to do it as opposed to say – wanting to do sports. It led to a lot of bullying – and I felt like no one understood me. When I was accepted to Louis Armstrong Middle School however, it all changed. So many more kids appreciated the arts and were open to people being unique and I think I flourished there because I wasn’t afraid of being myself.
I tried on singing/vocal lessons right after my Bar Mitzvah. So many people approached me after that and told me I had a nice voice, so I tried this new skill on top of my already existing love of drumming. When I applied for High School, I applied for both percussion and vocal programs. I got into Frank Sinatra HS for drums, but LaGuardia HS for vocals and I really wanted to attend LaGuardia. It was a hard choice, but then I heard from so many working musicians that learning to write original music and sing (at least as backup) were skills that would really round it all out for me as a drummer – so I choose LaG. Other challenges this year is – of course – trying to play with other musicians during a pandemic. The upside is that I’ve connected with other musicians my age from California to Australia and we’ve played online together/via Instagram. I have also gotten do collaborations with incredible professional musicians like Jeff Coffin (Dave Matthews, Bela Fleck) and Robert Walter (Greyboy Allstars). This normally wouldn’t have happened if we weren’t all in a Covid shutdown. Also, I’m performing more outdoors now while the weather is nice on the east coast.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
My Instagram feed @ezdrumsnyc has first and foremost my drumming clips. I’ve been carrying my drumsticks everywhere, even when I traveled to France, Portugal, Montreal, Israel and Jordan – or to DC or Massachusetts. I always try to find street musicians who are willing to have me join in, and then we collaborate. It’s opened up a whole new world to me to meet performers on the NYC subway system – I meet the most interesting people with the most fascinating life stories and skills, and once they realize I don’t want any money from their hat 😉 they settle into talking to me about what we both love – music. I think I’m unique in wanting to just find that connective tissue between musicians over and over again. We get into this groove where we are harmonizing or synchronizing with each other musically/with instruments and we don’t even yet know each other’s names. It’s an amazing secondary language that I’m always pleasantly surprised by and enjoy.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success for me is finding that common ground and language in music, even if me and the other musicians are not familiar with each other. I still get that same ‘buzz’ when I perform – like I did at age ten on that big stage at Queens College. And it’s not about ego looking for a big audience – it’s feeling like I’m sitting in the perfect place at the perfect time and doing what comes naturally to me AND being surrounded by other people who are feeling and doing the same.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCha8hq9mndSIvQiKoaZRnUg
- Phone: 718-930-3942
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @ezdrumsnyc
Image Credit:
http://www.gregkessler.com/
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