JohnMearsMusic .com

BA in Business Administration

National University

July 1991 - March 1992

Studied Music Production/Engineering

Mira Costa College

June 1989 - August 1989

Studied Music Theory & Music History and Performance

San Diego State University

August 1987 - May 1990

Studied Music Theory & Music History

Palomar College

August 1986 - May 1988

AA in Radio and Television Communications

Palomar College

May 1985 - May 1991

Private Lessons and Clinics

Professional Drum and Piano Instructors

February 1976 - May 1984

Music Instructor - Drums, Piano and Guitar

Independent Private & Band Lessons

January 1996 - Present

In Studio and Online

Drum Instructor

Drum Flip Drums, Vista CA

June 2016 - February 2019

In Store Music Instructor for Private Lessons

I began teaching drums after college in 1993 in Colorado Springs, CO. I relocated from San Diego on a wing and a prayer, and with quality jobs thin at that time I decided I could start my own business doing something I knew and loved, drum instructor. I transformed my basement to a studio and ran classified ads (no internet then) and the phone started ringing and friends told friends and before long a nice cliental emerged and I landed myself in a great band to boot.

 I was always looking for new and fun teaching ideas/techniques in the private lessons, and during these years I really learned a lot about customizing each lesson for each personality and ability. This kept (and to this day still keeps) things fun, interesting and makes for a great learning environment. After nearly five years of consistent teaching and performing in Colorado I returned to San Diego County and I picked up where I had left of with bands I performed with prior.

 I continued my teaching but on a lesser scale do to the demands of performance and recording for the next ten years. The experience gained during this period elevated my drum, music, performance, etc. knowledge to a new level and I began my passion again, and continue now, teaching all ages - with a full arsenal of fun! For beginning students my method of teaching combines a balance of learning the fundamentals such as rudiments with notation, stick control, dynamics, meter, etc. while also teaching the student to play by ear, which is imperative for a drummer perhaps more so than any other instrument.

Lessons are always designed to be fun, interactive and engaging -never tedious or mundane. For practicality, drum practice pads are used to learn rudiments, but since the whole idea of learning drums to play a drum set/kit I get the student on the set on day one, and every lesson. I discuss what music styles the student is interested in and work on learning rhythms and songs by performing with the actual recordings. Also, with a practice pad set and a drum set in my studio I am able to play side by side, or I can also step into the role of guitarist or keyboardist and the student can perform songs with a live musician - a very valuable teaching technique I have found. 

Finally, I often employee computer based programs such as Spotify, Soundcloud, Ultimate Guitar, Garage Band, etc. to assist with fully hearing and dissecting the music and keep playlists they can access to practice and perform with.

Methods I use for teaching Piano & Guitar will be added to this site shortly...

Bands, Performances & Recordings

June 1984 – Present

Currently I perform Drums for the Americana/Country band "Sunday Morning Sidewalk" an intriguing combination of Drums, Baritone Acoustic Guitar, Fiddle/Violin and Mandolin. Other notable bands I have been a member of include Crash Carter, Michael Tiernan Trio, Los Beautiful Beasts, The Standards, The Surf Chiefs, The Late Walter Phobicman (w/ Matt Beckley), Life of Wryley, Tom Yermak's Tomfoolery, Head Full of Zombies plus many others. 

Notable Musicians I have performed with Live on Stage: Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, Chad Forman & Ryan Fischer of Switchfoot, Surf legend and musician Brad Gerlach, 

Cella Blue of The Squirrel Nut Zippers, Paul Johnson of the Surfari's (Wipe Out!), Joe Wood (TSOL), Paula Nelson the daughter of Willie Nelson, Ryan Montana of The Ike Turner Band, Matt Beckley son of Jerry Beckley of the 70's super group America as well as a current LA Producer, Doug Allen of the The Mar Dels, Chris Swan of The Tom Curren Band, International Jazz flautist Bradley Leighton and former Frank Sinatra pianist Ron Igarta among others. 

Notable Bands that I have been on the same bill/opened for: Jack Johnson, Dick Dale, Jason Mraz, Etta James, Macy Gray, Slightly Stoopid, The Heartbreakers, The English Beat, Dread Zeppelin, Venice, Desmond Decker, Tower of Power, Third World, Karl Denson, Mikey Dread,The Tom Curren Band, The White Buffalo, The Mar Dels, Dovavon Frankenreiter, Peter Sprague, Jack Tempchin, Jeremy Kay, Common Sense, +++ 

Performance Venues: Hollywood's Fonda Theater, N. Hollywood's Palomino Club, The Belly Up, The La Paloma Theater, Rusty's on the Santa Monica Pier, The Casbah, Humphrey's by the Bay, DiPiazza's, The Hard Rock Café, The Del Mar/San Diego County Fair, Festival Del Mar, San Diego Rock n' Roll Marathon, Canes, Fiesta Del Sol, The Sony Art Walk, Winston's, The Bacchanal, The Underground - Colorado Springs, Hansen's/Machado Surf Classic, Lowe's Coronado, St. Regis Resort in Dana Point, Falkner Winery in Temecula, The Calypso, Amalfi's, Local Roots, La Papagayo, The Del Mar Plaza and numerous other venues, events, corporate shows as well as live performances.

Air Play and/or interviews on Television (NBC, FOX, KPBS, KUSI) and Radio (91X, 94.9, KPBS, KGB, KPRI, KKSM and many others in and outside the San Diego area). 

Notable Recordings: Over 50 recording sessions from Burbank/Los Angeles to San Diego. Sunday Morning Sidewalk, Crash Carter's release "Red Buttons Blink", Michael Tiernan's "Jumping In" and Life of Wryley studio recordings are all available on all digital streaming sites such as iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, etc.

Billboard World Song Contest (Top 1500 Globally)

Billboard Magazine

July 2007

Drummer, Percussionist and co-song writer/co-producer for the original pop/jazz/soul band Crash Carter, which received Honorable Mention in Billboard Magazine's World Song Contest (Top 1500) for performance on the track "Play On".

Triple A Album of the Year

Los Angeles Music Awards

August 2005

Performed all drums on original artist Michael Tiernan's release “Jumping In” which was awarded winner of the Triple A Album of the Year from the Los Angeles Music Awards held at The Fonda Theater in Hollywood. Review of album in The San Diego Reader states that the “musicianship on the album is flawless”.

National Association of Music Merchants

March 2022- Present

NAMM is the not-for-profit association that promotes the pleasures and benefits of making music and strengthens the $17 billion global music products industry. NAMM's activities and programs are designed to promote music making to people of all ages.

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers

January 2005 - Present

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is a membership association of more than 480,000 US composers, songwriters, lyricists and music publishers. The ASCAP is committed to nurturing music makers throughout their careers.

Laura

Teacher's studio

John is an awesome teacher! He is super knowledgeable and gives us customized instructions on what to practice each week. We play drums along to fun music while learning technique. If you want to try drums, you should definitely book a session with him.

Posted Jan 30, 2024

Zach

Teacher's studio

Fantastic instructor. John uses songs to teach each technique which keeps each lesson fun and engaging. Such a fun time, highly recommended.

Posted Jan 9, 2024

Christina

Teacher's studio

Amazing, my boys love John!

Posted Jul 1, 2023

Christina

Teacher's studio

Excellent!

Posted Jun 26, 2023

Erin

Teacher's studio

My son has been a student of John's for over 5 years. John is a fantastic teacher, supportive, positive and encouraging and has taught my son a variety of techniques on the kit. My son now can accomplish more advanced techniques due to John's experience and skill level. Our son continues to look forward to his lessons. Not only is John encouraging during the lessons, but he is super supportive, attending my son's high school and personal band gigs. We couldn't be happier with John as our son's drum teacher.

Posted Apr 26, 2023

John

Teacher's studio

My six year old son is already off to a great start! John is very organized and adaptive to my son's learning style.

Posted Apr 20, 2023

Fred

Teacher's studio

John is the best instructor. I have returned to drumming after 52 years and to have someone as knowledgeable as John is tremendous. He is great teacher, with patience and motivation for the student. He follows up on any question that you may. He is dedicated to making you a better drummer. Excellence is the word that describes John.

Posted Apr 20, 2023

Sam

Teacher's studio

John is a caring and patient teacher. He's got a great positive attitude and has continued to inspire me to keep practicing! Worth every penny!

Posted Mar 16, 2023

Nikki

Teacher's studio

John is a very patient and friendly instructor. He has a lot of drumming knowledge and experience and can even give gear tips/recommendations. Also he’s able to customize the lesson to my specific needs.

Posted Feb 1, 2023

Alex

Online

John is a great teacher and helped me really get into the drums! Highly recommended!

Posted Feb 9, 2022

Colette & Eli

Teacher's studio

Mr. John is the best! My kids love him and he’s so great at teaching them and patient with my kids as they are learning and young. I recommend him to everyone!

Posted Sep 28, 2021

Lucas

Teacher's studio

John personalized the lesson to focus on the songs my son was interested in while he also covered the important fundamentals to start off right!

Posted Jun 30, 2021

Jacob

Student's home

Just had my first drums lesson with John. He is great at breaking the instrument down into manageable pieces and building confidence quickly. I am very excited for future lessons!

Posted Jan 11, 2021

Serena

Online

Great instructor! Great communication

Posted Nov 14, 2020

Royce

Teacher's studio

Best instructor ever!

Posted Oct 20, 2020

Payten

Teacher's studio

Payten has absolutely flourished under John’s instruction. It’s the highlight of her week and her skills improve weekly.

Posted Sep 17, 2020

Fred

Online

I looked until I found the right instructor for my husband...and it was John!. He is very skilled as well as endowed with the ability to teach! Great personality and is a great fit!

Posted Jul 22, 2020

Willy

Online

I bought these lessons for my 15yo nephew and like others, he is spending most of his time during this social distance, with video games, being cough up in a game he wanted to delay drum lessens, plus I think my nephew loves the drums but he didn't think he had a drummer in him so, anyway, I had my nephew call John and make arrangement for the lesson schedule ..well,, after John talked to my nephew, my nephew was so excited to take the lessons that he schedule for the next day,,, what ever John said got my nephew excited about music and my nephew realized that he does have a drummer in him,,, bc,. after his lesson,, my nephew has been practicing ,,, and taking a break from his video games,,, thanks John,,,

Posted May 2, 2020

Ronald

Teacher's studio

John, Is a knowledgeable and friendly drum teacher that is eager to help you reach your drum performance goals. Being a guitar player first, my lessons with John have been at a sporadic beginner pace as I attempt to generate time for both worlds. That being said John has been very patient and accommodating, and I'm sure he will help me dial in my drum skills.

Posted Nov 5, 2019

Larry Yarchever

Teacher's studio

I really liked John's patient approach to me as a rank beginner. He jumped right into it which I liked so we could take good advantage of our hour together.

Posted Nov 14, 2018

Max

Student's home

My 15 year old son is very happy with his electric guitar lessons. He looks forward to his lessons with John.

Posted Sep 21, 2018

Jay Campbell

Teacher's studio

John is terrific. I'm an adult learner, and John does a great job tailoring my lessons for the kind of instruction and music I'm most interested.

Posted May 15, 2018

Caroline Dinges

Student's home

John is an amazing teacher. His ability to comprehensively synthesize complex ideas and explain them in easy-to-understand terms makes learning guitar approachable and fun.

Posted Apr 25, 2018

Maxton

Online

John was patient, very helpful, and met my son where he was in his journey. Already after the firs lesson, he was well improved and excited for the next lesson.

Posted Jan 14, 2018

Miles

Student's home

John was patient, kind and very encouraging with My 7 year old son. He was able to keep him engaged, interested and inquisitive the entire 30 minutes. We are looking forward to his next lesson.

Posted Nov 3, 2017

Sarah

Student's home

John has been a great drum instructor for our 9 year old son. In a short period of time, John has taught him tons of skills and also helped develop his love of drumming. He keeps it fun, easy and motivational, but also has challenged our little drummer. He is very encouraging and positive with our son's progress. John is always on time and is a great communicator. We definitely recommend John!

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Posted Oct 16, 2017

Lynne

Online

I picked the perfect instructor for me! John is genuine, fun, extremely knowledgeable on drums and a great communicator! He took time to learn about my goals and has given me direction for achieving them. I feel like I am in great hands and look forward to future lessons!

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Posted Apr 13, 2017

Kim

Teacher's studio

John is an excellent drummer, but most of all he is an amazing teacher! Referred by a friend, my son can't wait to "jam" with John every week :)

Posted Jan 18, 2017

Melinda

Student's home

We feel like we hit the teacher jackpot with John! He really knows music & has a passion for sharing this knowledge. Plus he can REALLY hit those drums. He was patient, flexible, & 'made it fun' with my 12-year-old son picking up drum sticks for the first time. So grateful we booked with 'Mr.John!'

Posted Nov 1, 2016

Katja

Teacher's studio

We would like to thank John for becoming our all time favorite drum teacher. In just 7 lessons John managed to not only give our daughter the support and teach the techniques she needed for her upcoming concert, but also boost her self-confidence tremendously. Our daughter is a quite girl and as the only percussionist in the school band, she needed and needs to learn from someone with John's experience at teaching children. Thank you, John. We can't wait to take more lessons soon!!!

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Posted Jun 17, 2016