Junior Zach Martinez has been playing the drums for “almost two years, coming up on three,” but his music journey started long before slapping a snare drum. “My first musical experience was in elementary school with the recorder, but if we’re talking more formally, in sixth grade I played the violin for two years,” said Martinez 

  The road to musical harmony can be a long one, especially when bouncing between all kinds of instruments. Martinez himself even stated that he “plays the bass and the guitar as well,” 

  The question is, why did Martinez stick with the drums out of all of these different instruments? 

  “[The drums are] the best instrument ever, really…you can do anything on the drums, you can play any music, from jazz to hard rock, to metal.” The versatility of the drums isn’t the only reason Martinez has remained loyal to the drum kit for so long. The sheer power behind himself and his kit has made him stick with the drums for so long. “With the guitar you can only play so hard and go so fast, but with the drums it’s so much easier to just wail on them and still sound good while you’re wailing on them.”

  Martinez sees himself as a future inspiration for the new generation of young, aspiring musicians. “I saw my first concert, and seeing [the band] up on stage performing in front of thousands of fans, it was really inspiring to me. I want to be the change in someone one day that makes them say, “Maybe I wanna do that, maybe I wanna do a little diddle on the drums or the guitar.” 

  Zach’s final piece of advice to all of you is this: “follow your dreams… anything is possible if you try hard enough, so just keep on pushing.”