Memoirs of a Percussionist

- by Wally

I gained a lot of my knowledge of various percussion instruments during the time I spent with Maharishi Dalhi Rama Shankar in Tibet from 566 AD to 681 AD.

From there I moved to Egypt in 1066 AD where I learned about acoustic sound from playing drums in those big pyramids. They echo quite a bit don't ya know.

After leaving Egypt in 1269 AD, I decided that a small hiatus was in order and did not play again until April 10, 1912, where, through a good Irish friend, I was fortunate enough to land a gig playing on a luxury liner called the Titanic. Since my name was somehow omitted from the passenger list, you will not find any information in the 200+ books available on the Titanic referencing the percussionist of the band. It was only through the kindness of a young lad named Jack Dawson, that I was able to launch my bass drum into the Atlantic and paddle to Newfoundland with the broken neck of a stand up bass.

After that close call, I decided that maybe drumming was too dangerous, and began experimenting with the trumpet. This proved to be a fruitful adventure; having had the opportunity to play with the likes of Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, and Dave Brubeck.

I felt as though drumming was long behind me. Then, 1958, I met a young John Lennon who persuaded me to sell my trumpet and buy a set of Ludwig drums. I then joined his group - Johnny and the Moondogs. The Moondogs had several personnel changes, and several name changes. After the Moondogs, we became The Quarrymen - then The Silver Beetles - and then The Beatles.

After several years of bad gigs and tough road trips, I came to the conclusion that these boys were going NOWHERE! So I quit The Beatles in the summer of 1962.

Things were quiet until 1972 when I met a refreshing young man named Neil Peart. I thought back to many years before, when I, as a young percussionist, had looked up to, and admired Maharishi Shankar as my guide and mentor. Now it was my turn to teach the apprentice!!

Neil spent the next three to four years absorbing everything he could from me, before we finally had to part when he pursued a career with a relatively unknown Canadian band called Rush.

It wasn't until 1987 that I realized my ultimate calling! It was at this time that I bumped into two friends that I had attended high school with just 1421 years earlier. After learning that we had all kept our musical prowess polished, we decided to form a group. We played gigs under several names - The Three Piece Charlie Band, The Sealed Weasels, and Echo.

After having dealt with several disgruntled band members, the original three, Paul, Bill, and myself, banished all outsiders from the band, and in 1998, re-established the new band under the name SEALED WEASELS. The rest as they say, is history.