DAVID MENDOZA

My music training began at the age of 8 with piano lessons.  It was my mom's idea. But I didn't care to play those "pretty pieces" as they called it.  I would rather go run outside and play football.  But those lessons introduced me to the basic concepts of music and rhythm...reading and understanding the notes on paper.  A few years later I was allowed to take  drum lessons at San Antonio Music...MY idea!

Watching the older guys hit the drums and seeing bands like the Beatles and Elvis play on TV looked like way too much fun. So I decided  I wanted to play the music the kids were hearing and dancing to on the radio.  Other instruments such as piano and guitar are played primarily with one's fingers, but I could get my whole body into this thing they called the drumset.  The very same day I got my first drumset the neighbor kids all came over to my house with their guitars.  We struggled, we learned from each other...and we had fun! We formed bands with other teen musicians and played at the dances and parties in middle schools and high schools.  My school had a music department  so what the heck, I applied and they let me join the orchestra.  I played the tympani, snare drum, and the other percussion instruments.  Later I attended San Antonio College  to pursue an Electronics degree, minored in music, and played in the our college Jazz band.  Our band played in front 350,000 people in the San Antonio Fiesta River Parade on a river barge (talk about rocking)!  It was most fun I've ever had in my life!

In college I looked to band jobs for spending money and to help pay expenses.  They needed a drum instructor at a local music store and since I was in college and could read music, I got hired.  Meanwhile I continued to gain work with the semi-pro bands in the hotels and nightclubs of San Antonio while trying to find time to study. 

When Las Vegas show group Coco Grove came to town looking for an all purpose drummer, I auditioned.  The show called for exotic rhythms from Hawaii, Samoa, Jamaica, Tahiti, plus a variety of dance cover music was needed. I learned, practiced the parts, and got hired! Suddenly all the lessons, struggling, and practicing was worth it. I was young, 21, and yeah...getting paid to play floor shows and music across the country was a dream come true!

 Coco Grove entertains San Antonio before taking it nationwide

When the Coco Grove tour ended, I returned to Texas to work with  Elvis impersonator John Hawk in his popular 50's & 60's review.  While playing the country club circuit I worked for national recording artists The Diamonds ("Oh Little Darling",  and "The Stroll").

 The Diamonds

Austin soon developed into a major music & technology center and seemed like a good place for a drummer with a technology degree to settle down.  I found work in the computer industry, bought a home,  and continued to play in Austin.  When a musician friend could not find the right drum teacher for her pre-teen, she came to me.  Then more kids found out about the drum lessons and wanted to try.   Soon I began to realize how important music and music education is to this town.  It inspired me to create the ideal music classroom for Drumset education in Central Texas...the Oak Hill Drum Studio!