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Rusty Aceves

About Me

I am a Bay Area native and, discovering a natural aptitude for the drumset after inheriting my brother’s long-stored '67 Ludwigs, began playing seriously in junior high school. Thanks to my dad’s influence, I absorbed the jazz of Brubeck, Buddy Rich and Vince Guaraldi, and was simultaneously exposed to the funk and R&B of the Bay Area by my brother and sister.

I attended California State University Hayward as a symphonic percussion major, studying timpani and mallets under Arthur Storch and in the jazz department with Dave Eshelman. I've studied drumset with Carl Allen, Peter Erskine, David Garibaldi, Ray Merrill and John Freixas, and participated in workshops with Adam Nussbaum and the late Tony Williams.

I've been writing for music publications, blogs and website content since 1988.