Students get to show off talents at drum show

Mike Semerau was just 4 when he first picked up a drumstick.

"I've been drumming since Christmas Day 1979," Semerau says.

That was the year he received a toy drum set as a present.

"I played on that for three months and broke it," he said. A few months later, his "real" drum set arrived and he hasn't stopped drumming since.

By the time he was 20, he was teaching aspiring drummers, offering lessons through several area music stores and other venues through his company, Chicago's #1 Drum Lessons.

When he realized his young students needed a place to be heard and seen, he began renting out performance spaces to present drum showcases.

On Sunday, April 28, 23 of his students will perform a drum show featuring Queen's greatest hits at the Studio Movie Grill in Wheaton. The show is free, but tickets are required.

"It's something that's going to be a real cool show. Unlike a typical recital, it's a bit different with drums. You can't do a recital with just drums," he says.

As each solo drummer takes the stage, their presence will be accompanied by a video backdrop featuring concert footage, scenes from music videos and even a few bits from feature films.

The seventh of its kind that Semerau has produced, the show will highlight how drums are the backbone of musical composition.

"Without the drummer, you don't have music. We create the tempo, we create the feel of the song, we create the speed of the song," he says.

The 90-minute show will include performances by drummers ages 7 to adult.

"The videos will be some clips from live footage Queen made, Queen music videos and clips from the new movie," he says, referring to the film "Bohemian Rhapsody."

The audience also will see footage from "Wayne's World," a 1992 comedy that features Queen music.

Eight-year-old Aidan Nebelski of Libertyville will drum to "Stone Cold Crazy" at the Wheaton show.

"Listening to Aidan play really energizes me," says his mother, Irina Melnik, who plans to be in the audience with her husband.

"We always go. We never miss," she says.

Nebelski takes lessons from Semerau in Deerfield.

"He started just before he turned 5. He loves it. It's his passion. It's his everything," Melnik says.

She says her son's learning style meshes well with Semerau's teaching methods.

"He's like, 'Mike inspires me, pushes me out of my comfort zone.' Mike was just able to reach him on another level. He piqued his interest. He was sold. He's a good teacher. He's a super cool guy," she says.

Bridget Gannon of Downers Grove says her daughter Kathleen, 22, has been taking lessons with Semerau for about 10 years. She also occasionally helps Semerau with his students.

"He is just an amazingly talented drummer. He has sort of his own method he's developed. It's amazing to me how fast she was playing actual music. Once they're done with the lessons, they take the DVD home and play it. He pre-installs the lessons on the DVD."

Gannon says she plans to attend the Wheaton show to see her daughter, a graphic design student at North Central College, perform.

Semerau, of Bolingbrook, says he has been schooled in the art of drumming by drummers from White Snake, Styx and Johnny Carson's band, among others.

It's his driving desire to learn and improve that gives him his drumming edge.

"I'm what's called a natural," he says.

His private lessons are 30- and 60-minute sessions geared to each student's pace.

"I teach all styles of music," he says. "Everybody has a different learning curve. Teaching, for me, is more than just making money."

He also does all the video and showcase production himself, he says.

Semerau says the theater seats about 200 and tickets are limited and are available only in advance.

"I just rent out the theater so my students have the experience," he says. "Some of these students are so young and talented and they're not in a band. They just need to be showcased."

If you go

What: Queen Drum Showcase

Where: Studio Movie Grill, 301 Rice Lake Square, Wheaton

When: 10 a.m. Sunday, April 28

Admission: Free, but advance tickets are required

Info: chicagodrumlessons.com and (630) 410-8600