April 7, 2015 7:00-9:00 PM Philly Drum Project's "Beats, Brews, and Banter" with Alex Maio at the Raven Lounge

Beats, Brews, & Banter is a free monthly event that gives local drummers, musicians, and wannabes a chance to network, share ideas, and learn from some of the best drummers in the area. Our guest this month, Alex Maio, is a talented performer, educator, and dedicated member of Philly Drum Project's Lessons Committee.

Since his arrival on the Philadelphia music scene in 2006, he has performed, recorded, and toured with a variety of bands ranging from hiphop to blues to jazz. As a member of Philadelphia blues band The Downtown Shimmy he has performed on WXPN's Gene Shay Show, featured on Helen Leict's Key and Local hour, as well as ABC News (Memphis). The Shimmy curently perform around The United States and Canada and have been featured at a numerous festivals inlcuding Philly Folk Fest and The Internatinal Blues Challenge in Memphis. Alex is also a member of the trad-jazz band The Fried Bananas. The Fried Bananas are also regularly featured at a variety of festivals around the country and Canada. In the studio Alex has performed on multiple recordings as well as sampling work for sound libraries and music software. In 2009 Alex joined forces with Philadelphia pianist Tom Lawton and bassist Josh Machiz for Lawton's orginial work "7 Vignettes for Broad and Lombard" This suite was commissioned by the American Composers Forum for their Commnunity Partners Grant. The trio performed concerts at several colleges and were featured on WRTI's "The Bridge" as well as the Jazz Bridge Series in Philadelphia (2013).
Alex is a graduate of Temple University's Boyer College of Music and Dance. He was a student of Dan Monaghan and Steve Fidyk. Alex taught jazz improv at Montgomery County Community College and currently teaches drums and percussion at The Shipley School and Philadlephia Music Lessons in Fishtown.
Beats, Brews, and Banter
Philly Drum Project
The Raven Lounge
1718 Sansom St.
Philadelphia Pa
FREE