This month’s business highlight features Miles Ryan from 7DrumCity (1506 & 1508 North Capitol Street NW). Miles founded 7DrumCity in 2010 as a one-man show teaching drum lessons out of his living room. His goal back then was to work with hobbyist musicians, encouraging them to keep doing the fun things in life to stay balanced. Since then, 7DrumCity has left Miles’ living room and planted roots on NorthCap. His team has grown to 20+ teachers and administrators offering lessons in drumming, voice, guitar, and more. They still focus on hobbyists, and even present live music at their venue “The Pocket.” Read on to learn more about what 7DrumCity has to offer.
Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get into music, and what led you to start 7DrumCity?
I grew up in central Massachusetts in the woods and always played drums as a hobby, performing and recording with bands in high school and college. I loved learning languages and tutored other students in those years and also founded the Connecticut College Italian Club. I studied Italian and Environmental Policy in college and had an operations manager job prior to starting 7DrumCity. When a career change happened in 2010 at age 24, I took a leap of faith and made a website to advertise for drum lessons and began taking students.
What makes 7DrumCity unique?
We provide services for the musician’s life cycle:
- LEARN – Our lessons are mainly targeted at hobbyist adults as students rather than children. Our teachers are all hip, gigging, musician entrepreneurs in the DMV that students can go watch perform.
- REHEARSE – We are the only place in DC proper offering band practice space. We have 16 fully-equipped rooms that people can book online.
- PERFORM – Our in-house venue “The Pocket” is intimate and funky with exceptional acoustics and lighting for a small space.
Catch a show streaming live from The Pocket!
What do you love about the neighborhood you serve?
Bloomingdale and Eckington have a nice community feel. Several of our staff members and students live in those neighborhoods. We love Mundo Verde across the street on P street and all the families involved there. North Cap has treated us well and we like being on a busy street in the heart of the city.
How can the community support you right now?
Follow us on Instagram @7drumcity and @thepocket_dc for all the latest info, and go to our website if you’re interested in our services. We are open for lessons and rehearsal space, and we’re doing 6-8 live stream events per month, all with a $1 minimum donation. Folks can get live stream tickets to shows of genres they’re into, or spread the word to folks they know who may want lessons from our inspiring teachers. Folks can also mention us as an option for rehearsals or performance space. If you just like the concept of an arts space with an ethos like ours, we also have t-shirts, guitar picks, and 7DC-branded drum sticks you can take home with you!
Miles with our program manager Cristine!(images: 7DrumCity, NCMS)
