By Heidi Bitsoli, Special to The Macomb Daily
What were you doing when you were 5 years old? In Julian Pavone’s case, he was banging out a Guinness World Record as “Youngest Professional Drummer.”
The designation became official when young Julian was 5 years, 10 months, 3 days old, on March 21, 2010. Julian beat Japan’s Tiger Onitsuka’s record age of 9 years, 289 days.
Julian, who turned 7 on May 14, performed a mini-concert for the press and Guinness officials on July 28, pounding the skins to an assortment of rock jams, from Rush to Jimi Hendrix and plenty in between.
Besides donning the
drummer boy title, Julian is busier than most adults. He’s been on more than 150 TV shows, including “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and “Good Morning America.” He’ll head to London for a television spot for Guinness. He’s traveled extensively, including to L.A. and New York for appearances. He’s been covered heavily by the press, recorded CDs and featured in books. He’s an inventor — patenting “Abracadabra” Stain Cover-Up and Julian’s Drum Gloves — and young entrepreneur, with his own healthy snack, Julian’s Go Bar, an all-natural fruit bar that will be hitting the market in coming weeks, distributed by Richmond-based GO eRx, LLC. Julian also has artist and product endorsements, plus causes he backs, including his recent partnership with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
Julian continues to learn. He’s taking drum, vocal and dance lessons, sometimes drumming three or more hours a day, learning from Dennis Sheridan, William Winfield III and many others. Julian’s been taking lessons with George Dunn for more than a year now, and the Sterling Heights instructor says of meeting Julian the first time: “It’s unbelievable how good he was.”
He started playing by ear, but is now learning to read music. Julian loves playing Beatles, Rush, Led Zeppelin songs and more. He also says he is interested in composing his own rhythms.
It’s surprising someone so young could get hold of drums and bang out a nifty niche for himself, especially since a drum set is usually one of the last things most parents want their kids to have.
In Julian’s case, his father Bernie and mother Lisa were supportive from the start. Bernie says when Lisa was pregnant, he playfully would tap a bit of rhythm on her stomach or put headphones by her belly so the baby could listen in utero. After Julian was born, he showed an interest in percussion as young as three months, and soon Bernie equipped him with a little drum kit, and it snowballed from there. Bernie said he used to joke he’d have the world’s youngest drummer, and now it has the Guinness seal of approval. “It’s been a whirlwind,” he said.
Michael Whitty, a photo editor with Guinness, was at the Pavones’ Macomb Township home capturing photos of Julian on his 22-piece custom drum kit with 17 cymbals. “Imagine him in 10 years’ time,” Whitty said.
Asked what he thought of all the attention he was getting, he simply comments, “It feels good.”
For more on Julian Pavone, visit www.littledrummerbaby.com.
Posted on www.grossepointemusicacademy.com by Grosse Pointe Music Academy Staff
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