Today we’d like to introduce you to Demetrius Conley.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
At the age of 10 or 11, I was to listen to tons of alternative rock music. I’ve listen to bands such as 3 Doors Down, Nirvana, Boys Like Girls, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Linkin Park, Green Day, Foo Fighters, Weezer, and many more. The first band who introduced me to drumming was the Red Hot Chili Peppers, I’d remember watching the “Dani California” music video & I just wonder who is that in the backbone, I want to do whatever he’s doing & to follow his footsteps. And his name was Chad Smith.
So after listening to all the songs from the “Stadium Arcadium” album the band released 16 years ago, I’d remember being caught in the kitchen banging on the cabinets & table. That’s when I feel like I really want to become a drummer & to share my talent to people. My parents couldn’t take much of the loud noise & that’s how I gotten my very first drum set for Christmas. It took me sometime to get familiar with this powerful instrument & how to put the pieces together, but after learning drum lessons online for beginners, I started to take it seriously like I really meant to drum.
At the age of 14, I joined my high school’s marching band & jazz band combo. I gave this one a try because I think this would be a very good start for me & people would always say “You sound very good on the drums, you should try to join the band.” So I did! And right after school I’ll always show up ready and prepare for any rehearsals, it was a very good start at first but as the time goes by, I felt like it becomes a challenge!
During college, I developed a project called “Galaxy Beat” this is the story where I met Julio Diaz Jr. I was always see this young man play his guitar by the lake & I felt like something was missing there. My mind was saying “He needs some rhythm going on, why don’t you go over there & join along?” So back then, him and I started to build such a great connection & I’d remember telling him “Are you interesting in started a project? Because you’re one of the talented ones.” Julio was in for it! And all of sudden, I found a perfect guitarist for the project! It was still missing a few things as far as the band project goes, then I’d remember going to one of the open mic nights in Miami, we saw another guitarist & he can also play bass because that was his main instrument. So he was very interesting in joining this project, then we found a bassist.
Now, this is where I start to see my gigging experiences from the time I was in college. I played live shows all over Miami, Florida with these guys. I felt like at first, this is like a “tour” you’ll be playing live shows from place to place & from city to city that’s near you. So when that happened, the band started building good connections with other local artists & bands for any type of live shows that invite the band over to play. We’ve played live shows at backyards, live bars, live restaurants, coffee bars, kava bars, and etc.
On the other hand, when I graduated college back in 2022 with an associates degree of Music Business (Creative Production), I join another South Florida band called “J.L.G.” & how I got in this project is because the bassist took a good look at all my content I post on Instagram, he showed it to the lead vocalist & that’s when I get a message from him. I said “If you need a drummer, I’m in!” Every Wednesday night I would rehearse with them at their home studio & yes it was a good vibe I was looking for when it comes to playing in a band that loves you like family! I played a lot of live shows with these guys from Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Orlando, Tampa, Kissimmee, St. Augustine, Jacksonville, & many more! I could pretty tell on the other hand, that’s where I also get all my traveling experiences from, playing live shows at different cities I’ve never been to.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
As a full-time South Florida drummer/musician, the road was tough to travel on, especially for a good talented one, who is juggling around with more than one band project. I would say to myself to “Always manage your time wisely, make time for any rehearsals, any live studio sessions (recording), & upcoming gigs I have coming up.”
There would be times when some cover band project urgently needs a drummer for their live upcoming gig they have coming up, for whoever’s in charge as far as any lead vocalist, he or she would send me the list of songs I have to listen to a couple times and I’ll just rehearse it on my own. But when it’s gig time, I’ll show up early as possible just so I can setup, soundcheck & get what’s done as soon as possible.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’ve been a drummer/musician for about 20 years, what do I specialize in as far as my work goes is if I have any ideas for the band projects I’m in, I’ll always write them all down in a journal & I’ll share it with the band and say “This is what we need if we’re going to grow, and if we’re going to be playing at even bigger live stages.”
What I’m mostly proud of is the way how I build up connections with people when they see me perform live on stage, they’ll always say “You are a very dope drummer, and I’ll love to work with you.” I get that feedback a lot from other talented musicians + artists. As a result, when they watch me play drums live on any other stage or venue, they will start to notice I can play a very cool basic, 4/4 straight groove & I’ll just stay in that pocket groove, then people just start dancing around.
Finally, what sets me apart from others is my ability to remain relaxed or during these live shows, I would make sure that I listen to the setlist of the songs a couple of times just to get familiar with them, and very important know the tempo (bpm) to each song I’ve rehearse with the band. I am a highly professional adapted drummer & know how to keep tempo (time) without even making any types of mistakes.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important biggest lesson I’ve learned along this journey is to never overplay anything that you have not heard on the song. There would be times when I play-along a song on the drums & I’ll just over play some things that has not been previously recorded on that track. So I’ve learned, listen to the song first before you go on your drum set and practice it, never lose any focus, don’t miss out on any cues, and stay on beat.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/@miamidrummer08
- Youtube: https://YouTube.com/@DemetriusConley
