The Drummer

 
The Drummer, February 7 1965, Alexandria, VA

 

Ernie Page, having been born on 7 February 1965, has somehow managed to survive for 45 years. Go figure.

He first became interested in drums as a youngster, and like many, spent his formative years putting dents in his mom's pots and pans. He got his first drum, a Ludwig marching snare, in 1978 for $100. Since then, he's gone through about a dozen snares, but that Ludwig is still among his favorites. Ernie got his first full set, a CB-700 5-piece and a couple of Camber cymbals, in 1979 for $350. Unlike the snare, though,  those drums are complete crap, and are not among his current favorites.
  		 

Ernie played in a number of garage bands while attending Pound High School in Pound, VA. If you said, "where?" you are correct. And later, during a lengthy, if not societally-enhancing career at Virginia Tech, Ernie played in such well-known Blacksburg, VA bands as: The Elastic Waste Band and Styx (Ah, just kidding about that last one. Wanted to make sure you were paying attention.)

Ernie arrived in the DC-metro area in 1995, and has had the opportunity to play with many great musicians since then, in groups like:

bullet Joe Phiz (1997-2002)
bullet Zipper (2003-2005)
bullet Five Too Many (2005-2006)
bullet Bluestone (2007-2009)
bullet Rivers Edge (2006-present)

In addition to these full-time gigs, he has had the opportunity to sit-in with groups like: Grin N Bare It, Swifkick, Radio Mime, and Type A. And while bands and gigs come and go, the music, memories and friendships are long-lasting.

 


The Best, Pound, VA, 1981


The Elastic Waste Band, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 1983.


Joe Phiz
bullet Brian Wilson

Zipper
bullet Summer of 69

Five Too Many
bullet Hard to Handle
bullet Take Your Mama Out
bullet Eddie's Concubine

Craig Toomey Album
bullet Candy on a Stick



Bluestone
bullet Voodoo Woman
bullet Wayfaring Stranger
bullet I Don't Need No Doctor
bullet I Got Lucky
bullet Some Kind of Wonderful

Now playing on youtube ...
bullet Wayfaring Stranger (Bangkok Blues, Sept 2007)
bullet Voodoo Woman (Takoma Park Folk Festival, Sept 2009)
bullet Chevrolet (Takoma Park Folk Festival, Sept 2009)



River's Edge at Riverside Presbyterian
bullet In The Name
bullet Power of the Lord
bullet Open Your Eyes

Ernie's current influences are: Dave Weckl, Dennis Chambers, Carter Beauford, Steve Gadd, Simon Philips, Stuart Copeland, Eddie Hartness and, of course, that guy in the Saturday Night Live house band. He plays a Yamaha Recording Custom kit in acoustic settings, and a Roland V-Pro kit for electronic gigs.

Boring bits about Ernie's day job are documented at thesimguy.com

Apart from his family, work and music, Ernie enjoys golf and referring to himself in the third person.
Ernie gets a lesson from Ernie III, Reston, VA, 2000.

Last updated: May 6 2010