American Drummer Jason Gerling | Inspirational Musicians | Musicians with Disabilities

Jason Gerling

Location: Minneapolis, MN

Challenge: C6/C7 vertebrae incomplete quadriplegia

At 23, Jason was an aspiring drummer with a promising future. Drumming professionally since he was 16, success seemed no more than a beat away. In 1994, while driving home from a late night performance, Jason fell asleep at the wheel of his car. The course of his life changed immediately upon impact. Along with a decompressed skull fracture, concussion and punctured lung, Jason became a C6/C7 incomplete quadriplegic.

Over the next several years, Jason invented an entirely new way of playing drums from his wheelchair that does not require him to use his feet. By 2004, Jason was not only drumming again professionally, he also realized that his unique position enabled him to inspire and encourage.

Jason anxiously started his own music production business, Jammin’ Grooves LLC, where a unique drumming opportunity suddenly emerged.

Despite his wheelchair, Jason cleverly designed his own state-of-the-art drum kit and pioneered new playing methods that catapulted him into live/session drumming, producing and composing.

Now, branded with a global mission to promote encouragement through innovative drumming & speaking, Jason is demonstrating that disabled artists can overcome impossible odds while spreading encouraging to others in the process!

Jason's technology:

Jason’s kit features a bass drum that is actually a powerful speaker cabinet that amplifies a kick drum sample. A handful of miscellaneous triggers are strategically placed around the the kit so the kick samples can be fired from different locations, with some of them even placed on the underside of cymbals. Jason is able to recreate full kick/snare patterns, complete with fills, using only his arms. Everything else in the drum kit is acoustic. Jason even uses two sets of hi-hat cymbals (one closed, and one partially open) to create the open/close effect.

Jason's drums don't discriminate either! If an able-bodied drummer wants play them, they can simply plug in a kick-drum trigger pedal and go to town!

While Jason's rig works with any drum module, he primarily uses an Alesis DM-5 and SampleRack together which allow a multiple assortment of trigger options — all of which trigger the kick drum.

Jason will be showcasing his playing methods & technology in a video series called, "REINVENTING THE WHEELchair Drummer".

Jason Gerling: Wheelchair Drummer