Chad Ja

Chad, who grew up in Florida, spent his high school years in St. Augustine and Naples. He studied concert snare drumming and tympani under James Perronto, and marching and jazz drumming under Oliver Phipps. He attended Florida State University where he studied marching drumming with the Marching Chiefs, played drum kit with the FSU Chiefly Brass Band, and learned blues-based drumming from Blues piano legend Charles Atkins. While at FSU, Chad was the bandleader, singer, and drummer of many original groups in the vibrant Tallahassee music scene. There he honed his craft through writing, performing, recording, engineering, and producing.

In 2000, Chad relocated to Atlanta to further his music career. After leading a few original projects, he joined Ancient Harmony and toured the country with them in 2002.

With Ancient Harmony and his other groups, Chad has performed over 800 shows and drummed on over 20 albums and EP’s. Chad is also the assistant engineer at Wonderdog Sounds, a recording studio run by mentor, Mark Michaelson. His other musical interests include playing guitar, recording in his studio, writing music, producing young artists, and singing.

Chad has been teaching 2nd grade to adult students since 2003, with an emphasis on hand technique and drum set technique. Chad’s enthusiasm for drumming and music shows through his passion to inspire young and old drum students to reach their musical potential.