Rosedale Center
(A Division of the South Bronx Educational Foundation)

1724 East 174^th St., Bronx, NY 10472 *** Tel/Fax: 718-328-4090
rosedale@sbef.org

For the Love of Drums 

By Amanda, Student

(The full article can be found in the first edition of the Rosedale Star, published in July 2003.)

William Everich came home after 8:30 p.m. from a night of playing drums, his hands a little rougher than they were that morning.

Mr. Everich plays Latin-Jazz music, a combination of Caribbean and American music.

The music is different because it's a hybrid of European melodies and African-style percussion.  The common instruments are all types of drums, the piano, and the bass.

"I couldn't see myself living without drums," said Mr. Everich, a tall, husky man with thick, white hair.  "The hardest part of learning to play was learning that I had to devote so many hours to what I was doing," he added, sitting in his living room, a few feet away from a well-worn conga drum.

Mr. Everich started playing drums to Latin music 30 years ago when one of his friends introduced him to them.  Mr. Everich was 23 years old, living on the Grand Concourse, the borough's historic boulevard known for famous restaurants and clubs like Jimmy's Bronx Café and The Wild Palm, both places where Mr. Everich has since played.

At the time the would-be drummer worked to help people improve their living situations, many in infested apartments, where the paint was falling off of the walls and ceilings.  After six years he didn't want to do this anymore.  He yearned for a way to be creative and enjoy his free time.

He learned to balance his life between a family, a career and music.  He and his wife, Justine, had one daughter, 13-year-old Amanda, and three sons, Jason, 24, William, 26, and Sean, 27.

...When he first started he was taught by many different people including John Trevisong, a high school friend who became a very busy drummer and later played with famous musicians like Gloria Gaynor and Sergio Mendes.

...A typical day in the life of Mr. Everich goes a little something like this.  First, he will go to his day job at the New York State Psychiatric Institute in Lower Manhattan.  There he supervises his fellow co-workers who go out into the street to get research on what topic his job is covering, such as what kinds of services Puerto-Rican children want and need. 

Then he comes home and pulls out one of his Latin Jazz records hidden among thousands lining the bookshelves, or he may grab one of his tapes stacked high in the corner. 

...Later in the evening, Mr. Everich takes a seat on a stool in the middle of the living room and begins to practice his drumming.

Sometimes this annoys his family.

When he plays, "it is so loud it begins to sound more like noise than music," said Justine.

But Mr. Everich's son, William, said growing up with a drummer for a dad "was cool" because he enjoyed the many shows he went to and he liked being exposed to a new culture.

On performance nights, Mr. Everich completes his day by packing up his choice of drums for the evening, and heading off to one of his usual clubs.

When he begins to play, the beat of the drums takes Mr. Everich and his listeners into a state of celebration for Latin Jazz.

published August 2003