About Dr Sham Rock 

Preamble…

Born in an aristocratic f

amily in north Kerala (India) as the eldest son of a planter, Shyam had a keen interest in drumming from the age of 10. During those early days, he got very little exposure to music from the media. But that didn’t stop him from pursuing his dreams. Whatever beats he heard on Radio Ceylon, he would experiment on chairs, plates and anything that could resonate sound. That’s when his love for drumming began.

His formal training began at school from Mr. Suhas, his first drum teacher, and later from his college teacher Mr. Rajiv. He was growing so passionate about drumming that he would get on any instrument, day or night, to practice drumming. Though his father encouraged drumming as his passion, he wanted Shyam to become a doctor. Despite that, Shyam chased his dream to pursue his passion as a profession.

The most fascinating aspect that Shyam truly believed in is that as long as you are crazy about drumming, you don’t even need a proper drum to play the music. Any object that resonates sound could do the job. His constant search for improvisation led him to be a part of the college band and many local orchestras.

The twist….

Following one’s dream is not often very easy. While he was forced to look after the family business post his studies, his mind kept wandering into the world of music. He succumbed to the pressure when his friends encouraged him to work for an MNC in Dubai. But that turned out to be a blessing in disguise for him as he met the one and only Julie Ann O’Dell, the founder of Dubai Drums, while working at the MNC.

The world of opportunity opened up to Shyam as Julie Ann took a liking to him seeing his drumming skills. He performed with her at times and it helped him learn a lot about African drumming and drum circles. Yet another blessing in disguise happened when the financial recession hit companies in Dubai and he decided to return to India and follow his passion.

Before starting out on his own, he did his thorough research on the industry, regarding musicians, music forms and everything related to drumming. He set out on his own despite his family believing that leaving Dubai was not a good choice.

The journey…

Drum Events India and the band “Afro de Asia” were born in Bangalore as a result of Shyam’s dedicated efforts. Shyam transformed to Shamrock as he overcame obstacles and established his footprint in the industry. To add cherry to the cake, he brought over a traditional drummer from the National Dance Company, Ghana, along with a set of traditional African drums and trained him to facilitate drum circle.

His very first performance was for the corporate giant Infosys that gave him a big break in his career. Not only was the event a huge success, he also got references from that programme. Calls started pouring in from big companies like HP and IBM. Since then, he has done over 1000 shows till date. He was lucky enough to be trained by Arthur Hull of Village Music California who is known as the Guru of drum circle facilitators.