There is a moment when music stops being sound and becomes a necessity.
For Andrea Marchese, that moment arrived at 25, when a motorcycle accident tried to silence his world. But for a drummer, rhythm is felt in the chest, head, and fingers.
Andrea’s story is not a chronicle of giving up, but one of an extraordinary rebirth, thanks to music.
The birth of Drum Different
Since he was a little kid, music has been his passion; he started playing the drums at 13 years old, combined with various sporting activities.
After the accident, when everything seemed to have stopped, something inside him started to beat: the sound of his drums.
Everything started when he was hospitalised, and he began to design a way to play his beloved instrument. For almost one year, he studied, experimented, and developed Drum Different, a method that allows him to unleash the full power of the drums using only his upper limbs.
He decided not to keep this method just for himself, but to share it.
Yes, a method indeed.
Because, as Andrea says: “From a limit, a method is born”.
A concept that is valid not only for drumming, but can be extended to all areas of life. Each of us, in fact, can encounter a limit, and from this limit a method must be born: a method for being happy.
Today, Andrea travels across Italy, from music schools to Spinal Units, to share his message (and his music), reminding everyone who listens that a physical limit is just an opportunity to change your perspective.
When technique meets the soul
To play with that energy, however, stability is needed. You need support that is not an obstacle, but an invisible ally. This is where the paths of Andrea and Aria Wheels crossed.
On the advice of Pierluca, his devoted technician at the Centro Ortopedico Siciliano, he discovered Aria and, in particular, the Speciale model, which has been helping him not only in his everyday life for 4 years now but also in integrating perfectly with his set.
However, given the many stresses while playing, the need arose for greater trunk support.
For this reason, we provided Andrea with the FitBack Aero postural backrest, designed to offer him the trunk solidity fundamental for discharging force onto the drums, while maintaining the lightness necessary for his continuous tour movements.
It is not just a technical component; it is the piece of the puzzle that allows him to focus on only one thing: the next snare hit.
Teamwork in the region
This collaboration has deep roots in local professionalism.
A special thanks goes to the Centro Ortopedico Siciliano, our technical partner of excellence, which followed Andrea with extreme care in the setup and installation phase, ensuring that every millimetre of the backrest was perfectly tailored to his needs as a musician and active user.
For years, COS has been our point of reference in Sicily, offering all users in the region maximum competence and support, from the configuration phase to after-sales.
The journey continues
Andrea’s project is also a book, “Drum Different”, a guide that is half heart and half score: the first part is dedicated to his story and how his project was born; the second, instead, is a real technical manual to introduce people in wheelchairs to the drum instrument.
The book has already met with huge success and is now being translated to reach drummers all over the world.
Now we are ready to shake the stages together with him.
Stay tuned to see the videos of his drum covers and to follow his next stops, which bring hope and music everywhere.
Welcome to the family, Andrea.