Work Hard and Rock Hard to Make Dreams Come True

    Who says that dreams never come true? 

  

         Never doubt yourself or your dreams. To make your dreams come true, you must work hard and keep an open mind to lots of possibilities. I never want to give up my dreams and I encourage people not to let their dreams go. I have been fortunate to have had quite a few of my really big dreams come true so far.

                                                            

                                          

         I always dreamed that I would the have the right girlfriend in my life and that dream came true on January 15, 2016 when I met Melissa at the Count Basie Theater during an Elvis Presley tribute artist concert. Another big dream that came to be a reality was to take a transcontinental train trip with my father. In the spring of 2014, we left Newark, New Jersey and traveled to sunny California. 

                             

       Recently a completely different kind of dream came true for me. I got to perform on stage with one of my drumming heroes, Max Weinberg.      

                 On July 17th of this year, I went on a very special date with Melissa. We went to Suneagles Golf Course in Eatontown, New Jersey to see Max Weinberg's Jukebox band.  Max Weinberg is the famous "Mighty Max," the man behind the kit, keeping the beat for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band for the last 47 years. I've been to many Springsteen concerts and always admired how crisp his sound is. He always looks like he's just kickin' back and having a good time playing with his Jersey guys. When he's not touring with The Boss, Max has his own gig called Max Weinberg's Jukebox. It is an all-star line-up featuring members of The Weeklings, a Beatles'-like band from New Jersey. 

        

                Scrolling behind Max is a setlist and the audience chooses songs they want to hear. Fans can also write down their choices on paper and put them on stage. My favorite member who plays in The Jukebox is Glen Burtnik of The Weeklings. He's a great musician and a nice person. Glen started his musical career playing Paul McCartney in the Broadway and touring casts of Beatlemania. He has played with Styx and even has his own productions which I have also enjoyed.    

                        

                 I have been lucky to see The Jukebox four times, including at the legendary Stone Pony in Ashbury Park, where I had the chance to meet Max twice. Once he even signed a drumhead for me. This time, we were sitting in the front row and I was air drumming constantly just like I do at a lot of concerts, especially at Ringo Starr events. Before The Rolling Stones song "Honky Tonk Woman" was about to be played, Max called out for someone to join the band on the cowbell. I quickly raised my hand and said, "Me!" Max looked down at me and said, "Ok come on up. This guy's been air drumming all night and I can tell he's a drummer too." I was thrilled to hear that and I ran up on the stage and joined the band on cowbell to the classic hit song from 1969. I was not nervous at all facing the big crowd and I enjoyed hearing some of them call my name. Because I knew the song well, I even joined in on the cymbals. After the performance, Max gave me a drumstick to keep and I went back to my seat with a very big smile on my face. I couldn't believe it was happening and I was glad my dad was recording it so I would have it to remember forever. Melissa met me at the bottom of the stage and told me how proud she and my parents were of me. 

                                        

                Maybe my next big dream can be that someone will need me to sit in on the throne for an entire song! Like Aerosmith says, "Dream On, Dream On, Dream On, Dream Until Your Dream Come True!"