Health
Due to medical problems after the age of 24, I had to decide to stop performing live with bands and even put drumming itself on the back burner for a long time.
I only playing my carnival band that I enjoyed for 37 years.
So I was still drumming with my snare drum for my belly all this time. This has also allowed me to develop myself further. Not only on the snare and technique ,but also musically.
The problems with my health have now become a lot less due to the invention of the right medication.
Anyway, we are now many years later and a career as a rockstar is no longer there ;-)

E-drums

The interest in music has of course always remained and in 2012 I decided to take a look around what drum kits were for sale now. Because my children had already flown out. I had a room left and I could put a modest drum kit in it, so that I could make some active music again.
While browsing the internet, I saw other drummers on the latest models of electric kits. I have to say, these looked impressive ,so my curiosity was piqued.
The Roland V-drums in particular looked interesting and I discovered the many possibilities of these great kits.

I drove to a music store to look at the possibilities and play on various E-kits.
For me, Roland's V-drums turned out to be the best choice. I bought a TD15K. I thought this was a nice kit to start over with and get used to the digital world.
Electric versus acoustic drumming are different disciplines.

Acoustic versus E-drums

The additional disadvantage of an acoustic kit is the adjustment of the sound of your toms and cymbals, whether or not in combination with mics. Very important for live performances and studio work. With acoustic kits you often only have one adjustment for the style of music you play. Normally you can't just suddenly switch from e.g. heavy metal to a Jazz or funky style. This requires extra knowledge and lot of time to correct adjustments for the right style.
The nice advantage is that your drum kit looks larger, more robust than an E-kit. The dimensions of your drums are also proportionally much larger compared to E-kits. But that is only a matter of time, because manufacturers are already busy adjusting the size of the E-kits, so that they will no longer be inferior to the acoustic kits. In terms of sound, certainly not. You have the same acoustic sounds as a regular kit and even much more.

The big advantage of E-kits is the ease way of setting up, plugging in the right style or programming and playing. Mics are superfluous. You plug your kit in with jack plugs or XLR to your mixer, so that the sound comes over the PA. Something that also happens during a live performance with an acoustic drum set with mics all around. There is even an USB connection for your PC or mixer.
You can program a whole new sound that you want to use within a project. You not only set your head of your tom , but you can also give the rim a special sound. The possibilities are endless. It does require a bit of a different way of drumming. You have to get the digital technology under control and use its possibilities.
You just have to play the same way on your drums as an acoustic kit. It doesn't happen by itself. If you want it to go without playing, I advise you to buy a drum machine and forget everything about drumming.

My inspiration(s)

One of my sources of inspiration was discovering demo drummer Craig Blundell online. He performs demonstrations for V-Drums, works as an educator and author, and plays in countless bands and projects. He is currently the drummer for Steven Wilson’s band. Another major source of inspiration for me right now is Gavin Harrison. An amazing progressive rock drummer. In my opinion, he is currently one of the best in the business. Feel free to take a look at his work on Social media.

Electronic drumming opens up a whole new world and a completely different way of playing.
Drumming suddenly becomes far more creative, offering possibilities for every drummer, regardless of their style. Anything is possible, without the need for modifications or extra equipment.

Online

The internet has not stood still either.
I did first my "drum covers" and I posted them on YouTube. Very nice to do, educational and the reactions were also fun to read. I kind of wanted to know where I actually stood as a drummer in the big music world.

And yet I still missed making music "together".
I thought if only there was a community on the internet, where I and others could send in their own track(s), so that you could get nice music projects or covers.
Until I received an invitation via email from someone to participate in a cover via the Bandhub community. She had seen/heard me on YouTube.

So I went to this website and I was very active on it. What a great medium. This was what I was looking for. Not only me ,but also other musicians as it turns out. Everyone has a lot of respect for each other and you all speak the same language. From semi pro's to beginner(s) and vice versa. Don't matter as long as you enjoy it.
And sometimes great beautiful covers come out that you want to share with the whole world. You also have nice chats with each other. The more advanced ones also help the beginners to cross the threshold. Wonderful!  

The internet
offers a huge advantage for musicians.
Unfortunately, we didn't have this medium in the past; you had to perform live here and there to build a reputation through word-of-mouth. Or you’d record yourself using a simple tape recorder. If you were lucky, you’d land a gig or a series of them and get the chance to show what you were capable of. Or you might record a single, something I did myself with the Carnival band "De Leutige Binken" at a nearby studio, sometime around 1979 or 1980.
That is why I am increasingly delving into this area: I no longer perform live, but I can certainly take on other projects, such as studio work or online activities.
The advantage of this is that you can share your projects. You receive feedback,positive or otherwise ,but it’s something you can actually work with. You get to know musicians on the other side of the world who share your passion. Americans, Brazilians, Ukrainians, Germans, French, Japanese, Russians, and so on.They all love making music. They feel exactly the same way about making music as you do. This brings you the recognition you’ve been seeking for so long. And believe me... it feels great. Think of it as thunderous applause after a live performance.

Bandhub stopped

Unfortunately, "Bandhub" stopped using it in 2019.
Every member of this community spent a few years looking for other possibilities. Everyone went their own way in search of alternatives. So everyone has his own projects.

Fortunately, there was someone who started a similar platform as a bandhub in 2020. After some initial problems, this site now works well and it is wonderful to make music together again. The name of this platform: "BANDHUG". I've being very active on this platform.
See my collabs on my Youtube-channel: ftFonz

BUT....

At the time of writing, the "BandHug" platform is experiencing severe network connectivity issues. It isn't working very well right now, and the problem appears to be affecting Europe. Consequently, work on it has been put on the back burner. Fortunately, however, the team is working on another platform called "World-Wide-Band." We are still in the testing phase with this platform, but the results so far are excellent.

I hope that my story and/or my work encourages everyone young or old, beginner, advanced or professional and who likes to work with music, to do what comes from your heart and most importantly: have fun in what you do! Who knows, maybe we'll see each other on the net.
                                                                           

Music is emotion,
and your emotion determine your choice of music

Making music is sharing your emotion.

Cheers