Rich Scannella, a drummer of seemingly unending energy and enthusiasm, is a man of many musical accomplishments.

He’s armed with an insatiable hunger for knowledge, and passion for imparting it to a new generation of creative — and has worked with a laundry list of legendary names over his career.

Scannella did a tour of Canada with Hubert Sumlin, the original guitar player for Howlin’ Wolf. He’s worked with everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Bon Jovi, and he’s made music a way of life.

“I don’t know if I can pinpoint it, but I’ve always associated with that idea of — call it beatniks, call it hippies, call it being a punk — that was just something I always identified with,” said Scannella. “And the idea of kind of rejecting the norm or kind of going against the grain, the minute I found out about music and drumming, that’s really all I wanted to do.”

As a musician, Scannella found himself thriving outside of the norm with a long-term drumming commitment and a career spanning four decades. Scannella’s father — a Juilliard graduate and accomplished musician — taught for 25 years in public school and private lessons. It was music, and the teaching of it, that formed a bridge between father and son.

In high school, Scannella started teaching neighborhood kids drumming out of his parents’ basement, and in 2014, Scannella began teaching at Rider University in Lawrenceville, N.J. – where he still is an adjunct professor.

“… I’ve not heard any differently due to COVID-19,” Scannella said. “I hope to be back in the fall, hopefully on campus — but if not then, remotely.”

According to Scannella, he is working on “some summer projects/programs” for his private students over the summer, since — as of right now — gigs aren’t occurring. But he’s still working on some projects of his own.

Scannella’s new album – “Another Fine Mess” – was slated to release right about now. The company he was going to work with to get the album pressed, however, is currently closed.

“I was really excited to get it out now,” said Scannella, “But I’m just going to kind of wait, it’s no big rush to get out.”

Describing it as “a garage rock record,” one could expect “Another Fine Mess” to shape up in the style of The Stooges – and with Scannella writing, singing, and playing every instrument on the record (save for a sax solo, played by a friend from the Bon Jovi Band)

Scannella has also tried his hand at writing – penning two articles for Modern Drummer magazine, maintain a blog – and he’s also got a memoir in the works, plus some potential poetry. In the meantime, though, he’s always open for a private lesson over video chat – giving the sort of lessons that only a drummer with over 40 years of experience can provide.

 


Writer and artist Miles Bates became infatuated with the arts at an early age. A former student of The Kubert School, a sequential art school in Dover, N.J., his entertainment loves include television, film, video games, books and comic books. Since having been introduced to Metallica in middle school, music has remained a key conversation starter and puzzle piece in his life. His joy is to expose others to all things art related, particularly music.  


 

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees. You can support local journalism and our mission to serve the community. Contribute today – every single dollar matters.