Kevin Mendes

My name is Kevin Mendes and I am a drummer based in Toronto, Canada. Sitting behind a drum kit and playing music with others is my favorite thing to do in life.

I love to play but I also have a passion for teaching. I love to share my own knowledge of drumming with people all over the world. It has given me a lasting sense of purpose and fulfillment in my life, which I am grateful for.

A little about me...

Although I love all aspects of music, I’ve always felt that my calling was to be a drummer. Playing the drums allowed me to escape teenage pressures and I enjoyed the feeling that I was getting “good” at something.

After my post-secondary studies in music, the name of the game became the gig “hustle”. I spent most of my 20s and 30s meeting other musicians, playing gigs and generally trying to make the most out of a career as a drummer-for-hire while teaching drum lessons. It was not easy but very rewarding.

I sometimes had the opportunity to tour internationally, play music, meet tons of interesting people and get paid more than I needed. Other times, it was rough with hardly a gig at all. I knew I needed to diversify myself.

It was at this time that I began filming video lessons in my basement with the intent of starting Simpledrummer. It took time, learning and experimentation over the course of 9 months to make my first 80 videos. I had to learn about lighting, camera technique, video editing and post-production. I spent hours almost every night watching tutorials and editing the clips I had filmed. My goal was to make professional looking videos that captured the viewer’s complete attention on the drums and instruction.

Fast forward a few years, a ton of work and a boatload learned and I now perform live on the drums and continue growing my website Simpledrummer.com.

About Simpledrummer®

Simpledrummer® is an online drumming resource for learning drummers. The site features over 1,400 lesson and play-along videos accessible via membership. It also includes stand-alone courses that don’t require users to pay for a membership and virtual 1-on-1 lessons via video conferencing. Lesson materials are also available as drumming textbooks in the shop and at select musical instrument retailers.

You can contact Kevin here:

• YouTube
• TikTok
• Facebook
• Instagram