Published: October 30, 2009 09:11 am      

Beating a path to success

Area musician wins 3rd straight state drumming title, hoping for success in district competition

ASHLAND — It’s an occupational hazard, all the tapping fingers on tabletops, books, knees, whatever is in the way.

So is the shaking foot.

Josh Daniels seems to be in motion all the time and full of nervous energy.

He is a professional drummer.

The Floyd County resident plays in two bands — Ruby Sue’s Dancing Shoes and Lumis — and works for his friend and mentor, Jon Roy, in his company, Sunrise Productions, which provides music systems at festivals and events in the area.

Daniels isn’t just any professional drummer; he’s good, and he has three statewide championships to prove it.

For three years in a row, Daniels, 26, has won the Guitar Center’s annual Drum-Off. On Thursday, he will compete in Indianapolis for the district title. He has placed as high as 55th in the nation out of hundreds of thousands of competitors judged by celebrity musicians on originality, performance, techicality, crowd participation and appearance.

“If I win it, if I win the national, I am the number one drummer in the nation,” he said, but he added, “I’m not arrogant, but I will tell you I can play. I will tell you my accomplishments, but by no means am I above anyone else,” he said.

He even denies being a stand-out percussionist.

“Everybody that competes tries hard and works hard at what they do,” he said. “I think that everybody has nights they’re on and nights they’re off. I guess I’ve just been on.”

Roy said his friend also adds a few extras during his performance.

“He’s capable of showing off and making it work,” Roy said, urging Daniels to demonstrate with a twirl or two of his drum sticks.

Daniels said he believes he has a chance of winning the national title.

“I think the competition is pretty fair,” he said. “If you make it to that level, you’re not too bad of a performing artist.”

Like most musicians, Daniels’ interest in music began as a child, but Daniels first was a guitar player.

“I tried to form a band with a friend and there were never any drummers around, so I got a drum kit,” he recalled. “I played my first show a week after I got my set.”

As a well-rounded musician, Daniels still plays guitar, as well as bass and keyboards, but said he’s just suited to play drums.

“I won’t say drummers are oddballs,” he said with a laugh. “They count life differently. The drummer is the conductor. We have to know everyone’s part and know what everyone’s going to do — vocals, bass, guitar — because we have to keep all those things in line. Saying we’re the oddballs maybe just means we have a ton of stuff on our minds and we’re trying to keep it all in order.”

There’s another one like Daniels in the works.

His 13-month-old daughter is showing signs of being a drummer, Daniels said — playing with miniature drum sticks and a tambourine, banging on a toy piano.

“She does exactly what I do,” he said.

Even though he said he’d like to have a successful career in music, he has another goal foremost on his mind.

“Musically, I would like to make it just like everybody else, but I want to be the best father I can ever be,” he said. “Success is more or less the journey for me and I’ve gotten to do a lot of things, but I’ve got a lot of raods ahead. I just looking forward to the experience.”

LEE WARD can be reached at lward@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2661.