John Blackwell is no stranger to success. Having played with such artists as Patti Labelle, Prince, and Justin Timberlake, John has made his stunning presence felt across the globe. His arduous schedule is a never ending cycle of concerts,music festivals, clinics, and teaching private lessons at Seminole Music and Sound, one of Florida's finest music retailers.

Despite the fact that John teaches at the store and has been a part of several past clinics this was the first since aquiring his long awaited endorsement with Zildjian."Ever since I started playing drums I've always been looking for a certain sound in my crashes. With Zildjian, I finally have that sound." Tonight's performance concluded the tour which started in Columbia,SC and across LA,MS,OH,and NY. After a very brief rest it's off to France and then Japan. With a new DVD planned to be released this year, Blackwell has kept the momementum going-which is why he is one of the most sought after musicians in the industry today.

The spectacle began with John playing along to a few funk tracks he brought along in his arsenal. He then moved on to an incredible drum solo for about 10 minutes just blowing the doors off the store. Everyone was shocked to see Blackwell perform on the exact same kit featured on Justin Timberlake's last tour. At one point he was playing the kick drum with his right foot on the left pedal.(kinda like playing side saddle) Afterwards he awnsered questions about his playing technique,family life, and the music buisness in general. One point that he stressed was you have to be patient in this buisness and persistance pays off. We as an audience were also persistant about hearing a few of his times on the road with Prince.He actually auditioned off and on for 7 months before getting the gig. A funnier moment was when he shared a childhood story about what his father said when his son was being heavily influenced by Neil Peart's amazing drum fills-

John Blackwell: I remember going into the room and putting on the Rush album and just telling my dad to listen to this guy and check him out cause he was just playing things that nobody else played at the time. And my dad looked at me.....and he said "Yeah...that stuff is cool and he can play....but if you want to make money in this buisness you better play on the 2 and 4. Now get out of here."

Afterwards John met up with everyone for pictures and autograph signings. While at the store I couldn't resist sitting behind the kit. The spring on the kick drum pedal is so tight I don't see how anyone can play on it...seriously. I would personally like to thank John Spinelli and the rest of the staff at Seminole Music and Sound for continually providing their customers and community the very best in musical education and entertainment.