There's a lot of people I need to thank. First of all my teachers. John Wedemeyer, my first real drum teacher, Enzo Cimino at Poland Central School in upstate NY who got me started with all the percussion instruments, Sandy Feldstein at Potsdam who was my mentor throughout much of my career and helped me in more ways than I can count, and BobTilles at DePaul University in Chicago where I went to graduate school. I also need to give special thanks to Donald Jenni, my composition, orchestration, and counterpoint teacher at Depaul who taught me more about music than anyone else I ever met, and was directly responsible for hipping me to contemporary music, polyrhythms, and all the other related concepts that were the basis for the first of my PATTERNS series of books.

I also want to thank the literally thousands of students I've had over the years, both in schools as well as in my private practice. Many have gone on to become world famous performers. Countless others of equal talent have distinguished themselves in a variety of settings, from college teaching to recording to performing. Some have become involved in other aspects of the industry, such as publishing or working for one of the major companies in our industry. I'm equally proud of all of them and feel honored to have had the opportunity to participate in some small way with their careers.

Finally, I need to thank all the companies who have supported me over the years, especially Zildjian, Yamaha, and Remo without whose help I would not have been able to achieve many of my goals. I hope to have a BIG retirement party next June, and you're all invited. Until then, take care and don't be afraid to drop a line if you have a moment.

gary