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Dave Merritt is an accomplished drummer of many talents and interests who has been playing drums for over 30 years. Among the various groups he has performed with are the Road Runners Blues Band, Catfish and in 2007 joined the Paul Plumeri Blues Band; the traditional Celtic bands Kintail, Cwn Annwn and Browne Jenkyn, in which he plays Bodhrán, Hammered Dulcimer and other percussion. Mr. Merritt has also been a Snare Drummer with the Revolutionary War re-enactment group First New Jersey Volunteers and the First Highland Watch of Pennsylvania Bagpipe Band. In 2004 he, along with Kim Leary, formed Groove Merchant Drum & Dance Ensemble, which led them to open the Drum & Dance Learning Center in May 2005.

Since 1980 he has taught drum technique in a variety of styles including Drum Set, Rope Tension Snare Drum, Scottish Snare Drum, Bodhrán, Djembe Orchestra, Dumbek and Middle Eastern percussion. As a drum teacher, his casual approach allows students the relaxation and freedom necessary to learn at their own pace, and his enthusiasm and appreciation of the instrument is both contagious and motivational.

Mr. Merritt has taken master classes and clinics with various drum set artists including Billy Cobham, Tommy Campbell, Rod Morgenstein, Ed Shaughnessy, Terry Bozio, Greg Bissonette and Pat Patrillo, as well as Scottish Snare Drum workshops with Sam Hall, J. Reid Maxwell, Jon Quigg and Gordon Bell. Dave learned to play the Bodhrán from Phil Smiley of the Tannahill Weavers and has taken classes / workshops with Francisco "Fuyo" Gomez to learn Conga, Victor Marshall and M'Bemba Bangoura for Djembe technique and learned Dumbek from Kim Leary, Souren Baronian, Issam Houshan, Amir Naoum and Bill Koutsouros. He continues to refine and expand his own technique on these instruments, finding inspiration and new ideas everywhere he goes.

The history of the instruments that he plays is also important to Mr. Merritt. He continues to study their origins, cultural and social signifigance, historical impact and evolution. One of his hobbies is the restoration of vintage drums and drum sets. He has even designed and built a few snare drums and various folk instruments.

 Definition of a bodhran?  Taut goat skin played by an untaught goat!


Dave Merritt   *   drum.dm@gmail.com   *   609-324-7383   *   PO Box 264, Bordentown, NJ 08505