ike Michalkow has been performing, recording, and teaching drums for more than 20 years -- with a storied career that has him connecting with hundreds of thousands of drumming students and brushing shoulders with many of the most recognized performers in the industry.

Mike started playing the drums at 17 years of age under the direction of Mitch Dorge (Crash Test Dummies) and quickly made a name for himself when he started his performing career. Soon after, he attended Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton where he majored in Latin and Jazz and graduated at the top of his class.

During the summer of 1993, Mike spent his time in New York City where he took private lessons on the drum set and conga at the “Drummers Collective”. During the evening, he would hang out at local jazz clubs where he could learn and see many of his favorite artists perform including Marvin “Smitty” Smith, Max Roach, and Tony Williams.

Mike’s journey then goes in each and every direction: playing in original and cover bands, playing as the orchestra drummer for a popular cruise line, and taking lessons from legendary teachers including John Fisher, Jim Chapin, Chuck Silverman, Peter Magadini, Virgil Donati, and Dom Famularo.

Music was no longer just a career, but a way of life. And Mike applied the lessons he learned along the way by recording and playing with bands ranging from progressive rock, latin, jazz, blues, pop, folk, celtic, country, metal, and R&B -- along with performing at drum festivals, playing in symphonies, and sharing the stage with some of the greatest drummers of our time including Chad Smith, John “JR” Robinson, Cindy Blackman, and many others.

For the past 10 years, Mike has been committed to sharing the knowledge that he was so grateful to receive from others -- creating popular drum lesson DVDs and online lesson packs including “The Moeller Method Secrets”, “The Jazz Drumming System”, “The Latin Drumming System”, and his newest & largest video project to date: “The Drumming System”.