Jim Beyer has been playing drums and percussion for over 25 years. He began his music training in 1975 with the school band program in his hometown of Avon Lake, Ohio. There he participated in Concert, Symphonic, Jazz and Marching bands. During this time he was also a member of several local rock bands.
In his senior year in high school, Jim auditioned for and was accepted into the U.S. Marine Corps Band program. Upon completion of Marine Corps boot camp at Parris Island, S.C. he attended and completed the 6-month Armed Forces School of Music Basic Program. On his final audition, Jim scored a 3.85 out of a possible 4.0 rating. Jim was then assigned to the 4th MAW/4th MARDIV Headquarters Band in New Orleans, LA. His first "gig" with that outfit was performing at the 1984 World's Fair in New Orleans, with singer Natalie Cole.
For the subsequent 3 1/2 years, Jim traveled the country performing many styles of music including marching, orchestral, jazz combo, big band, latin styles, country and rock. Having a travel budget, the 4th MAW Band was on the road an average of 215 days each year. In addition to the performance duties, Jim also became responsible for accounting duties and running the stage sound system for many performances. After a lateral transfer into the computer field, Jim continued performing music in the Kansas City, MO area. In addition to local rock and blues bands, he performed with a gospel choir and taught students privately.
Recently, in addition to performing with the band Torque, Jim's been combining his love for music with his technical skills using Cakewalk's Sonor 2 and Pro Audio 9 for digital audio / MIDI recording and video post-production. Now residing in Albuquerque, New Mexico (USA) he's still teaching drums, and expanding his performance skills to the studio and composing music for use in digital presentations and the internet.
For more information see the New Drumming Demo Online! (Services) and Equipment sections of this site, or contact Jim at info@newspiritmedia.com
Jim's New Drums
Visit the Torque Website (Jim's band).
