By Kiku Beaufort
Brandon Cummings never misses a beat, even while he's sitting at the dinner table. The rat-a-tat-tat that comes naturally to his drummer hands continues on tabletops or even his arms.
These rhythms are only a shadow of the talent behind Cummings' passion. A shadow, but nonetheless an indication of the consuming nature of the future he has chosen for himself: the life of a professional musician.
What started as a childhood dream is already coming to fruition for Cummings. The boy once voted 'best original dress' for prancing around school halls in pajama pants sewn by his mother can now be heard playing with Grammy-award winning artists, on a movie soundtrack 'The R.M.,' playing with BYU's Jazz Voices and Synthesis groups and touring with a band this summer.
Maybe music just runs in his blood. Cummings said his earliest memories come from rehearsals of his parents' band. His mother played the keyboard and sang backup while his father played the bass. It is no wonder then that Cummings' musical career began at an early age.
'My mom taught piano so I started taking piano lessons when I was 5,' said Cummings, his 6-foot-3, 230- pound frame intimidating, but not as intimidating as it should have been because of the faint smile in his striking, blue eyes, and a small orange-brown Chihuahua named Nacho sitting in his lap. 'I think I quit when I was 5 and a half.'
The intimidation factor comes from the fact that Cummings balances his current responsibilities with ease, as if his hectic schedule comes as naturally as the beats in his music.
'Right now, I am only in six different bands,' Cummings said, chuckling lightly to himself while picking thorns out of his brown Champion sneakers. 'I also teach at the Music School in American Fork. I run a booking agency ... and I'm a loan officer part time with my dad.'
Somehow between the hours and hours of rehearsal and teaching (and side jobs), Cummings also finds time to soak in the sun on the green, play a few hours on the court and slow the pace a bit by stargazing from the trampoline in his backyard.
These deviances from the world of music remind Cummings of the sacrifices made to pursue his dream. He gave up positions on the basketball, baseball and football teams at school in eighth grade after he could no longer ignore his calling to play the drums. This call had come two years previous, and Cummings said by his eighth grade year he realized sacrifices were necessary steps to focusing his passion.
'Some people pick multiple things to pursue and only do them halfheartedly,' Cummings explained. 'But I knew that for me to become really excellent, I had to pick just one.'
He admits that his passion is both a character strength and weakness. It is the driving force behind the pursuit of his dream, but sometimes he can get carried away in his excitement and enthusiasm.
Of his friends and fellow musicians, none could point out a tuning problem in the complicated strings and choruses that comprise Cummings' personality without claiming it as adding to the masterpiece.
'Perhaps the only thing that could be misconstrued as a negative characteristic of Brandon is that he is really tough on himself,' said Michael Huestis, Cummings' high school percussion teacher in American Fork, private instructor and personal friend. 'However, it is probably the greatest compliment I could pay him as well. He holds himself to a very high standard.'
This standard brings a tone of seriousness and personal motivation to his schooling, family life and professional aspirations. It is a balance that formed from 20 and a half of his 23 years in his parents' home. Nevertheless, living with those who know him best has also nurtured the fun-loving, creative personality Cummings is best known for.
Cummings' mother, Angi, explained Cummings' nighttime ritual of telling Tiny Tim stories to his youngest brother and sister, who are now 10 and 8 years old, respectively. They look forward to him creating stories 'on the fly,' she said. She also said Cummings is the peacemaker in the home, an innovative cook with no recipes or rules and an expert impersonator and crack-up.
Each of Cummings' friends said the harmony of Cummings' intensity and charisma is the key to his achieved successes and future successes as well.
'I have no doubt that he is going to make it because he's got the drive, and he's got the personality,' said Hayley Singley, fellow musician and Cummings' close friend. 'It's a really good business move to have him as your drummer. In any situation he can touch people. He has a sensitivity that is rarely seen in drummers.'
Cummings makes his drumming an entire experience with music, a detail that many diva artists may not approve of, Singley said. This is because some lead singers are not willing or ready to share the spotlight with a talented drummer. It is practically inescapable, however, because Cummings' personality shines through in his performances.
'For me, when I'm performing and I'm really into it, it's a very personal, spiritual experience,' Cummings said. 'It's all about sharing with the audience, expressing the emotion of the song and just living in the song and the music.'
Each performance is sincere and becomes a personal experience for Cummings because of his pre-performance ritual. He contemplates his most exhilarating memory, his best performance and his favorite peaceful escape, and then he is ready for the stage.
These memories mark events that have changed Cummings' attitude toward his career. During Cummings' sophomore year in high school, he auditioned for and made the Utah All-State Jazz Band. It was an honor and accomplishment, his mother said. The next year, however, he was denied the same privilege.
'He had so much talent that he got a little cocky,' she said. 'He had to learn that you've got to want it, not just expect it.'
This was a turning point, Cummings said. He never wanted anything more than to make All-State Jazz Band his senior year, and he did. Cummings learned to work hard and put more practice hours into the week rather than simply riding on his talent.
'There is always a common question that arises when you are teaching kids about how much is nature versus nurture,' said Michael Huestis, former teacher. 'But Brandon certainly has a little extra something that you can't put you're finger on.'