Making A Difference
Introducing ‘Making a Difference’ with Melissa Clark, a new show that shares the compelling stories and voices of well known AND everyday people who change the world in big and small ways. Enjoy our guests, call in, or just listen to be inspired.
Please join us every Saturday 2pm EST with our special guests or listen to our recast https://melissaclarkshow.com/
Join me in exploring ‘making a difference’…an open conversation and live dialogue with guests, and you our listeners , who have experienced—and embraced—both the demands and benefits of positive change. The stories are real, the people authentic and the outcomes memorable. We can all find a way to make a difference! We invite you to hear, participate, and share in the journey.
As the poet David Whyte wrote: Sometimes everything has to be inscribed across the heavens so you can find the one line already written inside you.
Making a Difference with Melissa Clark.
Guest, Alex Shumaker
Alex Shumaker was born May 16, 2006, he resides in Punxsutawney, PA.
Alex was interested in Classic Rock bands such as Journey, Foreigner, Reo Speed Wagon and Styx since age 4.
While most 5 years were headed to the Toy section at Walmart Alex would ask to go to “look” at the CD’s. On February 10, 2012 while browsing the CD’s Alex found a DVD of the band Journey with their new lead singer Arnel. Alex became fixated on drummer Deen Castronovo, he went and got an exercise ball and put it in front of the TV and grabbed some kitchen utensils for his make shift drum set. He watched the video over and over again and broke every kitchen utensil his parents had so when his dad came home from work he cut a pair of plastic coat hangers for him to use.
That evening Alex’s mom posted a picture of his drum “kit” on Facebook with the heading “you gotta do what you gotta do when your parents won’t buy you a drum set!” The phone soon rang and it was Alex’s Nana wanting to speak with him. His parents weren’t all that thrilled when he started screaming “Nana and Papa are buying me a real drum set on Saturday”. Alex received that little drum kit and played it for hours on end, at least 3-4 hours a day watching the Journey DVD over and over trying copy Deen’s every move.
Every time Alex went to Walmart he got a CD. One day another DVD appeared, this time it was the band Foreigner with then drummer Brian Tichy. Alex became obsessed with Tichy’s theatrics of stick throwing/bouncing.
After a few months of playing Alex’s parents enrolled him in drum lessons once a week with teacher Brian Rowan with whom he is still under the instruction of.
To date along with Castronovo and Tichy the most influential drummers for Alex have been: Todd Sucherman of Styx, Brian Hitt of Reo Speedwagon, Chris Fraizer of Foreigner, Peter Criss of Kiss, John Bonham of Led Zeppelin, Neil Peart of Rush, Sean Fuller of Florida Georgia Line and Rich Redmond of Jason Aldean, Lucky Lerner of the Circle Jerks, Glen Sobel of Alice Cooper, and Troy Luccketta of Tesla to mention a few.
