Episode 62 | Wojtek Deregowski
Welcome back to another episode of the DrumGAB podcast! This weeks episode goes international with Polish drumming sensation Wojtek Deregowski. For the first time ever Wojtek’s unique story is told through a podcast interview and we go through all of the stages of how his career is forming and what exciting things are to come for him.
Who is Wojtek?
This twenty-two-year-old drummer hails from Poland and has only been playing for eight years. While he took private lessons early on he later decided to utilize the internet to continue his path of learning the drums and has continued to search and develop on his terms by using YouTube and Instagram for material to inspire himself and learn from over the years. He attended Berklee for one semester before finding himself having to return to Poland, however, this was good enough for him to use his experience at Berklee to his advantage. Currently he is developing online lessons that will be released sometime this year.
Key Moments in this episode
- Wojtek unravels the story of how he found drums through the popular “Rock Band” video game and shortly thereafter received a drum set for Christmas. With noise restrictions from neighbours and his parents, Wojtek spent the first two years playing very little. Eventually he and his father built his practice space with soundproofing to isolate the racket and Wojtek then began taking the drums very seriously. He would seek private lessons initially but later found that learning on his own through online resources was his preferred method to learn.
- At the age of eighteen, Wojtek travelled across the world to the coveted music school Berklee to study. Leaving his family, friends and girlfriend behind was a challenge for him and Wojtek explains some of the hurdles he had to overcome to adapt to his new environment. We also learn why he had to return to Poland after one semester of school and what followed.
- So after returning to Poland the opportunities for Wojtek became quite steady and it was apparent to him that there was an impressive “perceived value” associated with going to Berklee. Then came Instagram where he used originally to record his ideas, use his followers to help him determine whether something was cool or a good idea or not and eventually develop a massive following.
- A social media account with the proportions of Wojtek’s and also the incredible surge in popularity I must wonder “how do you manage that and is it really addictive to receive so much praise and be that popular?” We discuss at length how social media triggers us and how it can become very distracting and addictive but by managing ourselves and our socials we can remain productive in our “real” lives while still adding value to others with our content.
- We conclude our chat with some information about Wojtek’s new lessons plans that he is going to release very soon and how he is coming up with a creative way to distribute this content and package it for consumers. We also discuss how important it is to leverage our accounts to promote our own products for fans as well.
Concluding Thoughts
There are a few European “Instagram Drumming Stars” in our midst, and I plan to interview at least one other as well. These people are the next generation of young entrepreneurial thinkers that are passionate about drums and education but also realizing that with large Instagram profiles, they can focus on a specific goal and attempt to make it their job.
It is great to see young people apply themselves in a thoughtful way like this. They utilize their technological strengths along with their incredible drumming and popular socials to create opportunities for themselves. Session work and touring may be more scarce but it also just may not work for everyone. It is becoming increasingly popular for drummers to create content online and find ways to create their own path with music through utilizing the internet instead.
Wojtek's Socials
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