Jerry's first exposure to Drums was seeing a used, brown parade Drum on the shelf at a local music store. Each night he and his Mom would pass the store on the way to the train station to pick up his Dad from work. That drum was eventually purchased and a drumming career began.

Formal drum training started with lessons from Al Kanner when Jerry was 13 and continued for 2 years. He started drum lessons after high school with Ronnie Benedict, a former student of Henry Adler and one of the premiere drum teachers on Long Island. Jerry became one of his top students, and took over his teaching practice 3 years later when Ronnie moved to Florida.

Jerry continued his studies for 2 more years with famed teacher Al Miller, concentrating on reading and hand developement. He then spent an additional year working on advanced hand techniques with the internationally renowned drummer, author and clinician Jim Chapin.

Jerry's piano lessons started at the age of 11 with Virginia Ebert. He studied with her for 2 years, stopped lessons for 3 years, started with another private instructor for 6 months, stopped again and finally re-started playing in college.

Musical Biography

In Junior High, Jerry played in his first band called The Tempo's. During High School he was a member of the New Breed. This group was the top band in town due in large part to their singing. They played at most of the dances and usually won the Battle of The Bands.

After graduating from Calhoun High School, Jerry attended Nassau Community College, where he answered a "Drummer Wanted" ad during his first week of school. This led to him joining The Sun, a rock trio which attained success playing major clubs throughout Long Island and Queens. Jerry stayed with the group for several years.

After leaving The Sun, Jerry formed the band Southern Parkway which became a staple at colleges and clubs, performing 4-5 nights a week for 4 years.

After leaving Southern Parkway Jerry formed his next group, Trick Shot, which became one of the top disco-dance bands in New York. The group released a single on the legendary Chess Records label called "Sexxy Soul" which was produced by Gold Record engineer Don Casale. The song charted in both the US and Japan.

During this time Jerry also became the house drummer for Quad 5 Recording Studios. His drumming education came into good use since he was asked to play many different styles of music at different recording sessions each week. During this time he also recorded the music for many of the daytime soap opera's at some of New York City's most prestigious recording studios.

After Trick Shot, Jerry turned his sights to the business world and co-founded, with his brother Dennis, The Long Island Drum Center. This shop grew into a chain of 5 Drum Centers throughout New York. Today, the original Long Island Drum Center of Plainview, is the largest, most influential Drum shop in the world.

Musical & Business Resume

Private Studies:

Drums: Al Kanner 2 years; Ronnie Benedict 3 years; Al Miller 2 years; Jim Chapin 1 year
Piano: Virginia Ebert 2 years
Percussion: Carroll Parvis 2 years

Education:

Calhoun High School
Nassau Community College; Liberal Arts Major
Hofstra University ;Music Major

Current Activities:

Staff Instructor- Long Island Drum, Piano and Percussion Schools
Director- National Drum Association
Drummer with The New Trick Shot(New York's #1 Dance Band), Camille Rotollo and Cool Cat, The Dennis Pennenga Band
DJ for DJ's & Bands Entertainment

Accomplishments:

Co-founder and former owner of The Long Island Drum Center retail chain
Founder and co-owner of Casino Percussion which became HQ Percussion.
Co-founder and owner of DC Publications
Co-founder of On Broadway Night Club
Co-founder of National Drum Association

Performance and Recordings:

Live performance with The Tempos, The New Breed, The Sun, Southern Parkway, Trick Shot, Trick Shot Orchestra, Sweet and Low Band, Sweet Sound Band, Camille and Cat, The New Trick Shot.

Recordings with:
Southern Parkway "Virginia" Independent
Trick Shot "Sexxy Soul" Chess Records
Futuristics "Keep The Faith" Independent
BJ Taylor "Elvi's Tune" RCA Records

Drumming and Piano Education