Talking drums with Young Drummer of the Year 2018, JJ Wallace
Posted: 15 November 2019
We caught JJ Wallace for a chat about what life has been like in the year since he won and how he balances his time between his music and his studies.
Read time: 10 mins
What encouraged you to get into drumming?
My whole family are musicians. My mums a singer, my uncles play, and my cousins are in the industry as well, so they encouraged me to work hard and get into music as well. Being around it I naturally enjoyed it. It just kind of went from me smacking my dads head when I was younger to him getting me a drumkit and then it just evolved from that. They never forced me to learn because otherwise I don’t think I’d have enjoyed it as much. It was more of my initiative than anyone else telling me to do it.
Has it always just been drumming for you?
It was in the beginning, but as I’ve grown up and matured, I wanted to explore different avenues. I play keys at quite a high standard and I play bass as well. I do this mainly because I’m working on my own project so I wanted to be able to understand music from a different perspective, not just being a drummer. When I’m in a band I know what other people want and I know how the music should play out. I’m not just a drummer, I can compose, I can score out. It makes sense to not limit myself to the one thing because I’m young and it’s worth putting in the time now.