If I had to pick only one instrument to listen to it would have to be the drum. I love the drums and could listen to drumming all day long, so long as it's played by someone with a bit of rhythm in them, of course. And I've noticed with the drums, as with other instruments, that younger players (as in ages five and under) are often quite adept at playing the instrument.

So I recently went online to find a slew of young drummers aged one (yes, a one year old!) to five and I was surprised at the number of talented young kids out there with some serious raw rhythm & funky drumming talent. Of the five videos below many were shot two or three years ago, so obviously the players have grown up considerably since.

The first drumming clip below is 5 year old Kendall. The 4 year old is Igor Falecki from Poland and you can read more about him here. Three year old Levi Eschelman's video below has already gotten nearly nine million hits on YouTube and was originally featured on the Be a Drumhead  DVD featuring Will Kennedy & Bob Gatzen. The amazing two year old drummer is Zaiven (well, he is actually 2 years, 3 months old). He was captured in the video below playing his first public performance in Denver, Colorado in 2007. And from that same year is the (then) one year old  Baby Charli. Wicked!

One of the many highlights of the recent Amoebapalooza North 2009 at the Mezzanine club in San Francisco (August 2nd) was the power-duo-- the $helbyville $helbyvilllains' all too short set in which talented San Francisco Amoebites Josh Pollock (guitar/vocals) and Kaitlin Layher (drums, above) effortlessly channeled the White Stripes. Even more impressive was the fact I later learned: that Kaitlin had only been playing the drums for a relatively short time and that this was the first time that she had ever played drums out in public. I recently caught up with Kaitlin to ask her about her personal experiences as a drummer, as well as about female drummers in general as part of the long running In Celebration of the Drum Amoeblog series.

Amoeblog: Who are among your favorite female drummers and why?

Kaitlin: My favorite female drummer currently drumming is Adrienne Davies of Earth. I love watching her controlled, deliberate movements.  She's hypnotizing. Moe Tucker of the Velvet Underground was amazing as well as Karen Carpenter. And, of course, I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for Meg White of The White Stripes. But you can't forget the all-girl groups, too! The Bangles and The Runaways were simply solid bands with solid drummers.

Drummer and Texas transplant Simon has been working at the Hollywood Amoeba Music store for a little over a year now. Recently I caught up with the SoCal Amoebite, whose "best of" lists include AC/DC and Iron Maiden, to ask him about his all time favorite albums and films and the first album he bought (and if he still likes it? -- he doesn't). I also talked with him about living in LA as an artist, about his experience working at Amoeba, and what he sees as the future of the music business. Simon also offered his recommendation for a good spot to grab a bite to eat near Amoeba Hollywood.

AMOEBLOG: How'd you end up working at Amoeba and what exactly is your job there?
 
SIMON: Well, I was working in the service industry for about a year fixing security systems when I found Amoeba Music. I didn't like my job at all and always liked working in record stores. I decided to give Amoeba my resume and in three months I was hired. I was hired April 10th 2006 and I work in the video department, new rock, and on the registers as a clerk.

AMOEBLOG: When not working at Amoeba, what music or other creative type things do you do?

SIMON: When not working at Amoeba I play drums in two metal bands:  Lethal Acts Properly Demonstrated and Mercenary Angel.

AMOEBLOG: What makes working at Amoeba unique compared to other jobs you've had?

SIMON: Amoeba is unique due to the fact that everybody is great to work with and there is no stress at all. I've never worked in a job where i can relax around the owners and managers. They are awesome!