Don Shultz

My musical journey began in fifth grade. Once I realized that football wasn’t
for me, I signed up for band instead. By that time all the other instruments
were taken so the teacher handed me a pair of drum sticks and proclaimed
‘OK, you’re a drummer’.
Well, 60 years later I am still a drummer and glad of it. I’ve had the privilege
to perform with so many great musicians. I started playing Rock and Folk,
then progressed through Pop, R & B, Jazz, Punk, Country, and finally
Blues, which is my forte to this day. One highlight was playing with the JJ
White Band opening for Sawyer Brown on their Buick tour, another was
being invited to play on Delbert McClinton’s ‘Sandy Beaches’ cruise. I was
the house drummer at Living Enrichment Center, and have been with PCSL
for over 20 years, backing up Karen Drucker, Eddie Watkins Jr, and many
others.
Since landing in Portland in 1995 I have performed with Paul DeLay, Janice
Scroggins, Stevie Zee (we opened for Bad Company, Blue Oyster Cult and
others). Robbie Laws, Dub DeBrie, Duffy Bishop, Fiona Boyes, and Geoff
Achison to name but a few. I was honored to be nominated ‘Best Drummer’
by the Cascade Blues Association and have performed for 100,000 plus
people at the Portland Waterfront Blues Festival. I am currently performing
in the Portland, Oregon area with Kevin Selfe and The Tornadoes and
various other bands.
I have owned and operated my custom drum building, repair, and
modification business - Portland Drum Company (www. portlanddrum.com)
since 2005, and offer drum instruction as well.