I began playing the drums at 10 years old, and have loved it ever since. While attending North Hagerstown High School, I began studying with Brad O’Connor (Garfield Cadets, Mobile Percussion Seminars) to work on rudimental snare drumming. Brad was the drum instructor at our high school and studying with him gave me the opportunity to excel in our drum line. While in high school, I had the honor of working with Thom Hannum (Garfield Cadets, Star of Indiana, University of Massachusetts) on rudimental studies as well, and was a participant in many Mobile Percussion Seminar activities, of which Mr. Hannum is the main organizer. My high school drum line was also a demonstration line for the Mobile Percussion Seminar at Towson University.
After high school, in 1999, I began studying drum set with Keith MacMichael (Deanna Bogart, Barry Gurley Trio, Royce Campbell) and had continued studying with Keith until 2007: working on various musical styles and situations. Keith also helped me work on putting together a career in music: that involves playing and teaching individual lessons. He helped me put together materials and ideas that have later turned into the teaching program that I use today. After studying with Keith, I sought out a professional drummer whose playing I’ve admired for years to study with: Billy Martin (Lounge Lizards, Medeski Martin & Wood). I am currently studying with Billy, when he’s not touring, and am working with him to develop various musical ideas and styles. I believe in learning more about my instrument, and I think that’s one thing that keeps me motivated to teach and give back what I’ve learned to others who are in the same positions that I have been.
I currently teach lessons in the Hagerstown, MD area at my home and I also work for the Music and Arts Center stores in Hagerstown and Frederick, MD and in Sterling, VA. I started teaching for Music and Arts Center in 2002, but I began teaching individuals and drum lines in 1996. Teaching drum lines is what got me into teaching and I have worked with a few high schools both as an assistant and as a head instructor. I have the ability to teach all types of percussion, including concert, mallet, rudimental, and drum set, and I welcome students of all levels. Whether you are an extreme beginner or a working drummer, I believe I have the experience and ability to help you get to the level you want to be on the instrument.
“Whether you are an extreme beginner or a working drummer, I believe I have the experience and ability to help you get to the level you want to be on the instrument.”
I have played in the Western MD, Northern VA, and Washington DC areas with various projects. Currently, I’m playing with a few different groups, and highlighting with some friends in the Western MD area. I have my own jazz trio, called Trent Renshaw & Friends, that I created in early 2010. I play in the KB Project, a Frederick, MD based groove jazz group, Mudcracker and the Beat, a Hagerstown, MD folk-rock duo or trio, and The Hello Strangers, a Mercersburg, PA based Americana band.
I have played:
- with Backroads Blues Band, a local Hagerstown,MD blues group, from 1998-present. Backroads Blues Band has played in the Western MD BluesFest (one of the largest Blues music festivals in the Mid-Atlantic) twice in 2000 and 2001.
- with the Ken Bussey Group, a jazz group with a trio or quartet set-up from 2001-present.
- with Teach, a Hagerstown, MD based pop rock group, from 2006-2009, in venues in the Western MD and Southern PA areas.
- with Gubment Cheese, a Hagerstown, MD based jam rock group, from 2006-2007 in venues in the Western MD, Southern PA and West Virginia areas.
- at the Gaylord Convention Center and Hotel at the National Harbor in Maryland with the Bob Strain Trio as a featured group, in one of their restaurants, from spring to fall of 2008.
- with Riverknot, a Hagerstown, MD based jazz quintet, from early 2009 to summer 2009.
I have also lent my abilities to other acts in the area like: Josh Morningstar, the John Doe Project, Big Whiskey, Justin Kalk Orchestra, Pamela Parker, the Boro Boogie Pickers, A.D. Chandler, and John Adam Thomas.
