by Allison Schiff
Special to Twin-Boro News
June 14, 2006 - Even when he was working as a top-level stockbroker and consultant on Wall Street, the love of drums always lay dormant within Danny Britt.
A psychology major in college, Britt, a resident of Dumont, ultimately went into finance, taking on assignments for companies like Prudential, Ernst & Young and the Mellon Financial Corp.
Though swept up in the heavy-hitting "New York minute" speed and excitement of the corporate world, something inside him never forgot about his childhood passion.
"Sometimes I would find myself sitting there, slapping my knees like this," Britt said, drumming the palms of his hands on his thighs. "I'd miss the drums in my heart; but I didn't pick up sticks and play."
"I got really into the corporate life," he said. "There was a time in there when I was working on the executive floor of a Fortune 500 company."
"But then there also came a time when I just wasn't happy with what I was doing anymore," said Britt. "I didn't feel like I had something to look forward to as much doing that."
As a boy of 10, Britt was enthralled by the folk music ensemble, of which his siblings were members, that used to play during Sunday services at St. Therese R.C. Church in Cresskill. He especially admired the group's drummer.
"My brother was also in a rock band," Britt said, "and I thought that they were just the greatest."
"What were they called again?"
"Oh yeah!" he said after a moment, "the International Silver Street Submarine Band."
When he was 12, Britt began to take lessons from a local teacher.
Unbeknownst to him at the time, he would soon be wearing the teacher's hat, instructing children and adults alike how to fulfill their own personal goals through the medium of drumming.
The decisive moment for Britt came in 2001 when he decided to take a lesson with legendary Long Island-based drum teacher and motivational speaker Dom Famularo, known as drumming's "global ambassador" for his tours of China, Europe and the Americas.
"I was working as a consultant at Prudential when I went for my first lesson with Dom," said Britt., "and I was totally blown away by him as a person, by his philosophies on life and on drumming; and I saw that he and many of his students were able to make a living teaching drums."
"Dom would always say that life is short and feels even shorter now, especially after 9/11, Britt said. "And you know, hearing that said makes you realize that you should do what you can to follow your passions, even if it's just on the side. Dom inspired me to do that."
"Dom is a guy who really enjoys his life and who does what he wants and what makes him happy."
"I've never met anyone quit like him," said Britt, who calls Dom his "mentor."
"Once we were in a coffee shop and he said, 'I love my life.' And that's amazing, because there are so many people out there who don't."
His love of drumming rekindled, Britt slowly began to phase out his consultancy work, finally procuring only a few assignments here and there to receive medical benefits and supplement the new source of his livelihood -- teaching the drums.
"Dom is the author of a book called 'The Cycle of Self-Empowerment' about developing your strengths and trying to find the positive things in your life and then sharing that with other people." said Britt. "That's what I'm trying to do with my students."
Turning to his background in psychology, Britt uses his lessons as a way to help his students get in touch with themselves and fulfill their personal goals.
"Drumming, beside for the technical part of it, is a very positive thing for people to have in their lives because it gives them a mode of expression," said Britt.
"When my students are drumming, they're able not only to do something that they enjoy whenever they want," he said, "but once they've developed skills, they can go out and play with a band, play for their friends, play for themselves."
"Someone could be in a bad mood, but when they pick up drumsticks and play the drums or even just beat on a rubber pad, their stress is gone," he said."
"But most importantly, drumming gives them something to look forward to every day that they can also share with other people."
A typical lesson includes instruction in hand and foot coordination techniques, music reading, double bass and how to play with the metronome, a mechanical device used to synchronize music with a specific tempo.
"Sometimes I play along with the student on the keyboard or guitar," said Britt. "I try to give them a lot of positive reinforcement and encouragement."
Britt has recently started providing a new therapeutic service he calls "affirmation-incantation-drumming" to help students fulfill objectives by combining focused statement with the physical movement of drumming to create positive results.
"Say someone wants to quit smoking," Brit said. "We have them make a positive statement, an affirmation, like 'I am a non-smoker' or 'My breathing is getting better every day'."
"And then they say their statement while they pound the drumsticks on a pad, and the physical action of doing that enhances what they're saying," he said. "It deepens the meaning of the statement and inserts it into their identity so that, ultimately, when they say 'I am a non-smoker,' it becomes true."
"It's behavior substitution," said Britt. "This service is basically a marriage between my psychology background and my drumming background, so in that sense, the goals is to start a healing process for the person."
According to Britt, drumming is a safe outlet for aggression, acting as a powerful counterbalance to possible bad influences.
"Drumming puts you totally in the moment so that when you're doing it, you don't think about the past or the future -- you're right there," said Britt. "It's almost visceral."
"And from a physical standpoint, I believe that drumming can raise serotonin levels and release endorphins that stimulate the part of the brain the control creativity," he said. "They also say that people who take up drumming, or music in general have higher SAT scores."
For Britt, the most satisfying part of his new career is the reaction he gets from students and parents alike.
"I have students who told me that they felt coming to drum lessons was like their therapy," said Britt. "Some of my students have been on medications and feel that drumming is as powerful as that."
"I also get some great feedback from parents," he said. "So, to me, it's not just about drumming, it's about having someone like a coach or a mentor in my students' lives. It's about these kids coming here, not only to learn a skill, but to see that there is someone on their side, like an ally."
Since beginning his second career, Britt -- whose favorite bands include Lynyrd Skynyrd, Creed, Three Doors Down and The Spin Doctors -- has rubbed elbows with many drumming greats.
He is a regular guest on "The Drum Radio Show", an education drum program broadcast over the Internet, featuring big-name drummers like Carmine Appice, known as the first rock drummer in history; drum clinic innovator Thomas Lang; and Art Verdi, a world's fastest drummer champion.
Going by Dan "The Man" Britt, he is also a permanent fixture on "Fun with Drums: The Drum Education Variety Hour," an instructional-based television show aired weekly on Cablevision of Bergen and Comcast in northwest New Jersey.
He presents at the annual New Jersey Music Educators State Conference (NJMEA Convention), puts on frequent drum clinics at local schools and is currently recording with Frankie Cheez, a former guitar tech and sound engineer for Three Doors Down, who happens to also be his old high school classmate.
Since launching his Web site, which was voted as one of the top four best sites of 2005 by DRUM! magazines, Britt receives e-mails from all over the world with questions and comments about his drumming.
Through his online global community, Britt is in contact with drum aficionados in India, Norway, Australia, Canada, Mexico and Ireland.
"It's such a great feeling to wake up, to check the computer sees that I have e-mail waiting for me from all across the globe; people telling me that I've inspired them," said Britt. "I learn about geography from all the places they write me from."
Looking back on his success over the past five years, Britt considers himself a very lucky man.
"My passion and my purpose are constantly in my life," he said. "I have so much to look forward to now because of this positive thing in my life."
"And," Britt said with a laugh, "When else do you get to hit something and not get in trouble for it?"