We have some BREAKING NEWS from the TDSC Academy Headquarters

in Colorado Springs.  

Every summer we do a camp, right?  It has varied from being a 5 week camp online to a 5 week camp in person to a week long camp for several different levels.  

THIS YEAR, we decided to try something different.  

How about spending 6 days in Colorado at The Drum Set Coach Academy with...

........drum roll please........

Plane tickets have been purchased.

Hotels have been booked.

THEY ARE COMING TO COLORADO! 😲

And YOU have the opportunity to spend a week with them and study with them. 

Hold on.  Now, you know we don't do things like every other drum school, right?  So don't expect this to be "just another drum set intensive."

First, let me tell you that this will not be a week where you are just a number.  We only have 16 spots available! 

You won't be on a practice pad the whole week. 

You will be ON the drum set, playing, practicing, and getting feedback from David, Bill and Henrique.

You won't be exhausted from long hours of sitting and listening.  It's interactive!

This is an intimate setting where we will only allow 16 people to sign up.  You will literally have up close and personal access to 3 amazing drummers for the entire week. 

Plus, you'll get to know the other drummers attending.  One of our goals is to create community and this is a great way to do that, wouldn't you agree?

We will have instruction time in the morning from 9am-Noon, break for lunch and then meet with David, Bill and Henrique for what we call the Inspire Sessions in the afternoons.  

You'll have the opportunity to have PRIVATE LESSONS with any of these guys.  What?!

There will also be a couple of evening clinics that will be open to the public and you will get free admission to those.  

FAQ's & Details:

When?  June 24-29

Where?  The Drum Set Coach Academy in Palmer Lake, CO

How much?  $1200 for the whole week - Mon-Sat

Where do I pay?  Click the yellow button!

Where would I fly into?  The closest airport is Colorado Springs (about 20-30 minutes from northern CO Springs).  It's worth every penny to fly there.  Otherwise Denver is about an hour and half away. 

What about hotels?  The best place to stay is in Colorado Springs near Interquest Parkway - Drury Suites, Courtyard Marriott, Spring Hill Suites, Hampton Inn & Suites, Great Wolf Lodge and a few more .  TONS of restaurants, movie theater, Scheels, In-N-Out Burger(!!), and lots of hotels.  There's even a bowling alley and arcade!  Also nearby is a Bass Pro Shop, Top Golf, indoor go-carts, indoor skydiving...it's a hip area of the Springs.  Plus it's about 10 minutes from The Drum Set Coach Academy.

Here's what the fee covers:

• Monday-Friday morning instruction from Bill Gibson, David Garibaldi, & Henrique De Almeida (9am-12pm)

• Afternoon practice sessions at the studio

• Afternoon Q&A sessions with Bill, David, & Henrique

• Admission to all clinics

• Special Saturday graduation ceremony

•  Admission to Saturday evening concert, The Truth Project Band

• Swag bag

This does not cover hotels, flights, meals, or any other expenses. 

There will be opportunities for you to schedule private lessons with David, Bill and Henrique and those will be at an additional cost and discussed during the first day of camp. 

We are very much looking forward to seeing you and introducing you to other drummers from the area as well as from around the country.  We will do everything we can to help you have the best experience possible.

And, I can't promise this but, you may even get to taste a little bit of Henrique's Brazilian🇧🇷 cooking.  Fingers crossed. 🤞

David Garibaldi

One of the great things for me about Tower of Power is that we share a common approach to making music. We’ve always had players who understand what it means to be a team. It’s a very “old school” philosophy. We're the sum of our parts -- that’s our strength. We take the stage as ten individuals, but there comes a time in the set when everyone locks into the moment, we’re all in the same place and we become…one person, one entity.

I started playing music in the Pleasanton Elementary School band, then in my senior year in high school I joined the Sid Reis Big Band -- my first “pro” gig. After high school I joined a funk band called The Disciples and my journey with Tower started in 1970, in Lake Tahoe, Calif. There have been so many memorable shows, but the most significant would have to be the weekend we opened for Aretha Franklin at the Fillmore West in San Francisco. When I think about watching her from the wings leading King Curtis and the Kingpins with Bernard Purdie on drums…that was awesome.

Writing “What Is Hip?” with Doc (Kupka) and Emilio (Castillo) -- boy, that sure turned out OK., didn't it? (Laughs.) So it’s hard for me to appreciate it’s impact in a socio-cultural way – give me a break! (Laughs.) It was so much a song for the times. That’s how I think of it, coming at a tumultuous time of change and upheaval in the Bay Area in the early Seventies. Because that’s the environment we were born into, the time we came of age. And we still have that attitude in our music, I think. We’re still just…doing our thing.

We spent a lot of time “searching” in the Seventies, striving to realize our goals, as people and as musicians. There was lots of self-examination. (Laughs.) And you learn that, if you play enough music and work with enough people – if you experience enough life -- you find out what’s really important. In retrospect, I must say, accepting where I’m at came more easily, more quickly, than I thought it would. It’s a satisfying feeling, actually.

Not that I want to get complacent! (Laughs.) I’m never totally satisfied with where I’m at, personally -- or where Tower is at, artistically, because I’m an advocate for change at all times. That’s me, always pushing the envelope. That’s how you grow. So Tower can be a difficult place for someone like me to be working, but I relish my role as a catalyst for change! (Laughs).

It’s kind of interesting – the dynamics of writing and putting our music together is a very creative thing, yet the nuts and bolts of gigging day after day – well, it’s difficult to stay creative in a situation like that. It’s almost the enemy! But the thing that we do to keep the process artistic is the way we go about performing our business. That requires a different kind of creativity. It means concentrating on the business at hand. People say, ‘I don’t see you smiling? Are you enjoying yourself?’ And I think, ‘That’s kind of weird.’ Because I’m smiling on the inside!

I admit, I like the reputation of being…enigmatic, if you will. The idea that my close friends know me well, and those who don’t aren’t sure what to think! (Laughs.) Which either makes me an incredible human being or -- more likely -- a royal pain in the ass! (Laughs).

Now, how about some props for some of the people who’ve allowed me to become “myself.” James Campana was my high school band teacher and he got me started in the right direction. Eugene Graves was my college band teacher, a great man with a passion for life and music. Chuck Brown was my first private drum teacher; he taught me so much about the value of discipline. In later years I studied with Murray Spivack who mentored me with love and respect - he was the best. And Sandy Feldstein. He believed in my work and published my first instructional book.

There are friends I’ve made for life, like Skip Mesquite –- without question, absolutely the best friend a man could have. And Michael Spiro, who was one of my former band mates and is truly one of the great men in this world. Whenever we’re together I learn something. And what can I say about our fearless leader? Emilio gave me the opportunity to find my voice, absolutely.

I love being at home to cook, run and generally stay in shape. And I just became a father again, to Marco Giovanni Garibaldi. Music lessons will be starting soon, Gio! (Laughs).

I’m very appreciative of my gift and happy to know I’ve inspired so many people. It’s just hard for me to process. I mean, let’s face it -- the story is still being written. Which is why I don’t really like to talk about my gift because I understand my shortcomings better than anyone else. I still have so much more work to do -- what I do is only a portion of what I’m attempting to do. But every artist is like that, I guess. Realizing your full potential…is it really possible? Or is it just a pot dream –- you know, hippie talk?! (Laughs).

This much I do know: the first hundred years are the toughest!

All band member biographies were compiled by Leo Sacks.

Leo Sacks is a freelance record producer in New York. With Emilio Castillo, he co-wrote “Happy ‘Bout That” and “Stranger In My Own House” for Tower of Power’s Oakland Zone (Or Music, 2003), and the bonus track “Nothing Like It” for the European edition.

Bill Gibson

Bill Gibson was born in Sacramento, California and began playing music last century at the ripe old age of 7. Wanting to be a Saxophone player, his elementary school band teacher gave him a clarinet to become familiar with the mouthpiece. Bill played the clarinet but never graduated to the Sax. At age 12, Bill’s dad, an architect by trade but also an amateur drummer, gave him his first pair of drumsticks and took him to see all the great big band jazz artists of the day. The Count Basie and Duke Ellington big bands were favorites to go see, along with Buddy Rich’s band. Bill became obsessed with the drums, and at the age of 14, got his first set of drums.

Bill began to hone his craft by playing for hours on end and started his first high school band at age 15. He was influenced by players such as Mitch Mitchell from Jimi Hendrix’ Experience, Bill Bowen from the local group Sons of Champlin, Lenny White from Chick Corea’s Return To Forever, and Billy Cobham from The Mahavishnu Orchestra.

By age 18, Bill had formed the band Sound Hole, which included hometown friend Mario Cipollina and a young Sax player/ singer from Suisun City named Johnny Colla. Sound Hole was a favorite Marin County bar band that later backed Van Morrison on a short tour in 1974. Sound Hole disbanded in 1976 and Bill started to play with legendary San Francisco bassist Jack Casady, Nick Buck, and Brian Marnell in a punk band called SVT.

In 1977, Huey Lewis and Sean Hopper’s band, Clover, had disbanded and Huey put together a lively jam session/variety show called “Monday Night Live” at a local Marin County club called Uncle Charlie’s. The band featured the core of what was to become The News. The Monday Night Live band began to record demo tapes in hopes of getting a record deal and in 1979, Huey Lewis and the News was formed with Bill as a founding member. The rest, as they say, is history.

Besides performing on every HLN release to date, Bill has also performed on albums by Alex Call and Chris Isaac. 

Henrique De Almeida

 Professor at The Berklee College of Music/Music Director – The Drum Set Coach Academy/Music Director – TheDrumSetCoach.Com

Professor De Almeida holds a master’s degree in Music Performance from The University of Southern Mississippi. He is also a graduate of The Berklee College of Music in Jazz Composition. He is the leader of his own groups. The Agora Jazz Trio and the jazz fusion super group, The Truth Project Band.  Henrique endorses Humes & Berg drum cases. He is a clinician for The Berklee College of Music, Sonor Drums, LP Percussion, DW, Vic Firth Sticks, Zildjian cymbals, Evans drumheads, and Earthworks Microphones. An accomplished author and published clinician, Henrique’s educational products are often ranked high in Modern Drummer Magazine (most recent 4.5 star - Double Bass Integration for The Jazz Fusion Drummer).  His books are an integral part of the Berklee College of Music curriculum and are currently available through the top publishing companies such as Berklee Press, Hal Leonard, Carl Fischer, Amazon.com and online schools such as Drumeo-Canada.  In 2017, Henrique became the music director and president of the online school TheDrumSetCoach.com and in the Spring of 2020 he opened his own music school in Palmer Lake Colorado, USA, The Drum Set Coach Academy.

Henrique is in high demand as a teacher, producer/composer, and a sought-after artist.  He has been approached by shows such as ABC’s “Dancing with The Stars” and other enterprises.  He is constantly delivering high-praised products to the music industry and designing courses for the Berklee Percussion Department.  Henrique works with some of the biggest names in the TV industry, such as HBO and the commercial enterprises, to include writing original music for TV campaign with companies such as Victoria’s Secret and the Australian David Jones Department stores.  He also recorded and toured nationally and internationally with the acclaimed USAFA (United States Air Force Academy) Falconaires Contemporary Jazz Big Band, and The USAFA rock band Blue Steel. Henrique has performed several times at the prestigious Carnegie Hall.  He writes articles for Modern Drummer Magazine and has appeared on other publications such as the cover pf Drumhead magazine with legendary drummer Steve Gadd.  Henrique performs at music conferences such as PASIC (Percussive Arts Society International Convention), JEN (Jazz Educators Network), and numerous jazz festivals around the world.  Henrique has performed for The President of the United States, Vice President, and Secretary of Defense. He has performed with an enormous range of artists: David Ellefson (Megadeth), Victor Wooten, Leo Blanco, Steve Hunt (Allan Holdsworth), Bruce Gertz, Dave Samuels, Jerry Bergonzi, Gloria Estefan, Nat Adderley, Bill Cosby, Antonio Hart, Christopher Holiday, Donny McCaslin, Chris Speed, Igor Butman, Dave Valentin, Scotty Barnhart, Tiger Okoshy, Larry Coryell, Jeff Berlin, Nelson Rangel, Jeff Narell, Ira Sullivan, Victor Mendonza, Danilo Perez, Phil Wilson, Baron Brown, Matt Garrison, Bill Summers, Hilton Ruiz, Betty Carter, Willie Williams, Nando Lauria, (Pat Metheny Group) Brazilian Pop Stars: Alceu Valenca, Gilberto Gill, Raul De Souza, Luiz Gonzaga, Hermeto Paschoal, also Brian Lynch, Ronnie Matthews, David Williams, Luciana Souza, Katy Webster, and Oscar Kartaia among others. For information regarding studying with Henrique,  and for a complete list of music educational products visit: TheDrumSetCoach.com.