LEVI PRICE / Scroll
Ricky Mercado, a freshman from Merced, Calif., practices drums with Sir Rupius band mates on Nov. 11.

Mercado and over 3,000 other drummers turned out at l83 Guitar Center locations across the country to compete in the Guitar Center National Drum Off. Each store held preliminaries and finals where each drummer was judged on originality, stage presence, style and technique. Mercado placed first in the Boise Guitar Center store finals, and he was invited to move on to the next round of competition.

“It’s kind of like a tournament,” Mercado said. “The more you win, the more prizes you get and the more places you go.”

Mercado competed in the Drum Off district finals in Seattle on Nov. 8.

“I got third place, out of eleven other drummers,” Mercado said. “And there were some good drummers there.”

Mercado plans on competing in the Drum Off again next year.

Since Mercado is one of the top 183 drummers in the nation, it may come as a surprise to some that he is completely self-taught. “I’ve never had a lesson before,” Mercado said.

Mercado said he first became interested in percussion by watching his older brother’s performances. “We used to go and watch him, and I’ve just wanted to do it ever since,” Mercado said.

Shortly after, he began playing the drums and hasn’t stopped since.

“I started playing marching drums in the third grade,” Mercado said. “And then I started playing drum set in high school.”

When Mercado goes home for the break, he will teach high school percussion ensembles to play music he has written. He also plays drums in the BYU-Idaho Marching Band and in the Percussion Ensemble.

In addition to his school projects, Mercado also plays drums with the local punk band Sir Rupius, which is currently finishing an album at Rockhouse Studios, slated for release in the next few weeks.

Interested students can visit www.myspace.com/sirrupius.