Introducing the band

On Drums: Jason Noffsinger

My first recollections of playing drums go back to the fourth grade in Fremont, California as a friend and I were looking to get out of class. At the time, music was only offered to grades four through six. That didn't last long, as the music teacher couldn't tolerate us 'class cutters'. In the seventh grade I studied guitar for a very brief time but relocated to a school district with a lower budget. However, later that same year I bought my first drum set and formed my first garage band with some friends from my former school.

Upon acquiring that first drum set my mother arranged for private lessons. She had studied music performance in college and was a natural to nurture such an endeavor. She played trombone. Whereas I found many drummers and musicians to be of inspiration, my mother will always make the top of the list. I have many fond memories as a preteen sitting through her jazz band rehearsals during her time with the Ohlone College Community Evening Jazz Band.

Since I never went out for school bands during my Junior and High School days I concentrated on various garage rock bands in and around the San Francisco Bay Area, playing at parties and local clubs. But while in college I signed up for a jazz combo performance class with 99% music majors and myself, an undergraduate in History! Six years after college and a four year break from drumming I joined the percussion section with the Ohlone Concert Band. A year or two later I joined the Pleasanton Community Concert Band and gained valuable playing experience. I left that band in the Summer of 2006 when I relocated to Arizona. I'm currently a member of the Tucson Concert Band and two rock and roll cover bands. I also play with the Rhythm Gang and look forward to a continued relationship with that group's pool of talented musicians.