My aunt’s husband was a musician. He would have all these cats come over and jam. There was always a set of drums, a piano or a guitar lying around the house. I instinctively gravitated to the drums. I just thought the drums looked really cool. I tried all of the instruments and the drums and piano were the only two that I could hold down with any kind respectability. I remember my aunt’s husband telling that I just didn’t have what it takes to be a drummer, but it was something about the instrument that I just loved. I was five or six at the time. Well, I didn’t listen to him. I took lessons in the fourth grade at my elementary school and started blossoming. There were always kids who were better than me, but I would spend my summers practicing and getting better. Before long I was surpassing those who were better than me.
After high school I bought into the lie that if you were not famous or playing in a famous band, you really could not make a living as a musician. So I joined the navy. I even had the opportunity to join the navy band once I got in the military, but I refused because I didn’t want to be a starving artist. Are you ready for this, I even had a set of a drums on the ship. Once I left the military, I entered the work force.
I received training from a trade school in computers and ended working for a major computer company in Houston, TX. Although for the most part, it was great company to work for, I was miserable inside. I was making good money and miserable on the inside. I bought myself a set of drums and I really didn’t play them all that much. I was working on building myself a corporate career. A close co-worker’s husband was drummer who was playing with a nationally known singer and I would listen to the financial struggles they had as a couple because her husband wasn’t working enough gigs on a regular basis. I would always say to myself “what a lucky guy at least he gets to do what he loves. “ After the bottom fell out of the tech industry, I started my on insurance business.
I threw my heart into the insurance business because I had gotten married and didn’t want to put my wife through the starving artist thing. Plus I had worked in corporate world and figured I might fare better on my own. I landed a nice small business account after two years. I got myself an office and little did I that of my neighbors was a minister at a church that I use to attend and play drums for. I will never forget the first words he said to me “are you still playing the drums.” My other neighbor was a producer by the name of Elliot Keith. I mentioned to him that I played drums, but was rusty because I really hadn’t played in quite some time. Plus at the time, he already had a drummer. We were always cool with one another and we just kind of left things at that. Well my wife started getting sick of the struggle, and I was once again miserable on the inside with my insurance business. We spilt and I closed the doors to my insurance agency. I did a lot of soul searching and decided that I wanted to play drums for a living.
I took a job as you guessed it a waiter. I did that for two years and got fired. Again, I was miserable on the inside. However, I did do some volunteer work with a music therapist and that started a spark in me. I went back to college and failed miserable. I just kept thinking what does this have to do with me playing the drums.
I landed a part-time job working for an independent contractor for major symphony in Houston. I discovered that I liked being paid to discuss music with people and it gave me lot of flex-ability. I started practicing again. I started going to blues jam sessions, drum circles, and I received training in hand percussion. I even started taking lessons briefly and found a church that worked for me.
I started calling a few people around town and one of them was Elliot. I knew he had a drummer, but if he needed a back-up drummer, I asked him to give me a call. About a year later he gave me a call.
Xavier Keys is the drummer/percussionist and all around gofer for the E.K. Sound.
He is also the drummer/percussionist at Emerson Unitarian Church. He truly loves teaching percussion. He teaches private-lessons and teaches in the after-school programs. He also works for an independent contractor for a major symphony in Houston. Xavier will be returning to college to study percussion, not biology. I’m doing it for my soul and personal development, not for a high-paying job. About twenty years later my aunt’s husband heard me drumming to a song on the radio, He said “I been listening to you, you act like you know what you’re doing.”
You can find Xavier teaching, playing or talking about music somewhere in Houston. Otherwise, he is frantically practicing making up for lost time he spent in the military and corporate life.
Also, HE IS A LOT HAPPIER.J
Xavier Keys
Percussionist
