Music has been a central theme in Drew's life. Like many, he finds deep emotional resonance in music,
but unlike most, he has performed for over 25 years and nearly pursued it professionally.
Drew's first instrument was a beige Mollenhauer recorder in Kindergarten. Despite his wish to excel, he struggled with it and practiced only briefly. In 2nd grade, while visiting his father in South Korea, he received a toy harmonica and composed a song he played repeatedly. Though the harmonica was lost quickly, it sparked his love for playing music. Later, he developed a strong ability to whistle, especially through his teeth, enabling him to whistle complex pieces like "Black Horse Troop."
In 5th grade, Drew joined the new concert band program—mostly for the chance to leave class. Though he initially wanted to play drums, he failed the coordination test and chose trombone instead, simply because it looked funny. He carried it to school daily through the snowy hills of Virginia. After a break in 6th grade, he resumed band through college, eventually winning two district band chairs and choosing bass trombone.
Inspired by his sister, Drew studied classical piano with Dr. Edward J Kassouf and later placed second in an Omega Psi Phi youth talent show. After formal lessons, he taught himself New Orleans blues, boogie, and ragtime. He even practiced making himself cry while playing blues, using music as therapy.
Drew learned the tuba in a single sitting and found joy in its simplicity compared to the trombone. It led him to the baritone and euphonium—smaller, more agile instruments that shared its valve layout.
Drew joined the marching band in 9th grade under Roy Holder's direction. He learned discipline, precision, and leadership—eventually leading half the band in a critical competition-winning maneuver. At the University of Kansas, he marched with a silver and gold Sousaphone and sometimes rode to practice carrying a plastic version on his back.
During senior year, Drew sang lead tenor in a newly-formed Men's Glee Club. The group, comprised of instrumentalists, won every competition. His favorite song remains "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening."
Alongside band and glee club, Drew enrolled in AP Music Theory. The fast-paced class introduced him to his favorite opera, Don Giovanni. He learned music writing, dictation, and advanced listening skills.
After moving to Kansas, Drew joined an R&B group—not as a vocalist, but as an arranger. He also wrote original music and later majored in Music Theory at KU, the subject he knew best.
At KU, Drew built a powerful indoor car audio system to enjoy artists like Techmaster PEB and Keith Washington. He added peach oil to the speakers and burned peach candles to create a full sensory music experience.
As a bass trombonist with F and D attachments, Drew joined the KU Jazz Band and later was accepted into the KU Voice Department, ahead of a long wait list. Though he sold his trombone after college, his jazz education had a lasting impact.
Deeply moved by Deepak Chopra's “Seven Spiritual Laws of Success,” Drew memorized 30 paragraphs and recorded them over Pachelbel's Canon in D with nature sounds. He listened to the CD on loop for over a year as a form of self-reprogramming. Listen here.
At 26, Drew formed a jazz trio, playing upright, electric, and six-string bass. He also improvised blues on a porch in Atlanta, trading licks with a musician-landlord who was also a programmer.
Drew memorized six Scott Joplin compositions, including Maple Leaf Rag, which took him 20 years due to its complexity. He also loved sight-reading Christmas and classical music with his former spouse, who played violin.
While living in Texas, Drew trained for dueling piano performance. He also designed a MIDI-based software (MICK) to control a computer with a piano, aiming to bridge jazz and tech performance. A working alpha was developed.
Drew taught piano to children and developed a method based on the 13th chord to speed up learning progressions and accidentals. His FACEGBD cycle simplified key transitions.
| 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 13 |
| F | A | C | Eb | G | Bb | D |
| A | C# | E | G | B | D | F# |
| C | E | G | Bb | D | F | A |
| E | G# | B | D | F# | A | C# |
| G | B | D | F | A | C | E |
| B | D# | F# | A | C# | E | G# |
| D | F# | A | C | E | G | B |
| Gb | Bb | Db | E | Ab | B | Eb |
| Bb | D | F | Ab | C | Eb | G |
| Db | F | Ab | C | Eb | Gb | Bb |
| F# | A# | C# | E | G# | B | D# |
| Ab | C | Eb | Gb | Bb | Db | F |
| Eb | G | Bb | Db | F | Ab | C |
Drew paid someone to collect every top-25 hit from 1950–2006. At age 33, he shifted his energy to cane freestyle, finding it a better medium for expression and influence. Though he stopped playing, he plans to return to music, noting its longevity compared to juggling.
Drew edited his own music tracks for cane competitions using Audacity. He also invented the “Throwmaster 5000,” a juggling coach made of metronome mp3s aligned to beat patterns like 552, 5, 53, and 55550.