fbpx

The Percussionist With Magic Hands

The longtime Los Angeles-based musician has known what he wanted to do since he was a kid growing up in Coney Island.
[additional-authors]
February 10, 2023

The drummer might be the most important member of a band; without the steady boom of the kick drum and the snap of a snare, the music will feel dull and lifeless. But they’re easy to forget because they sit in the back, behind the guitarists and singers who get most of the attention. 

That’s not the case when it comes to Dean Rubin. Rubin, a professional percussionist – which is technically different than a drummer – plays at the front of his bands, getting the crowd pumped and feeding off their energy.

“People always said I was better being at the front of the stage instead of at the back of it,” said Rubin.

Dean Rubin

The longtime Los Angeles-based musician has known what he wanted to do since he was a kid growing up in Coney Island. “I remember playing on my desk when I was in the second grade,” he said. “I had speed and rhythm.”

Everyone in Rubin’s family was involved in music: His brother played the flute, his dad was a violinist and his mom was a professional dancer. Rubin gravitated toward the drums, and got his first set for his bar mitzvah. He soon figured out that he wanted his hands, not his drumsticks, to hit the drums, and learned the bongos, congas, doumbek, cajón and timbales. 

“You get to create more rhythm and ethnic sounds with those instruments,” Rubin said. 

When Rubin was 10, he and his family packed up and moved from Brooklyn to L.A. After graduating from college, he worked at a Chabad counseling center on Fairfax, and then went on to become a Teamster in the film industry for studios like Warner Brothers. While working on “Xanadu,”  he met the movie’s stars, Gene Kelly and Olivia Newton-John.  “Working with Gene Kelly was one of the highlights of my career,” said Rubin. “There were very few celebrities that I didn’t get to see or meet.” 

While working as a Teamster during the day, Rubin played gigs with bands at night and on weekends around town, and booked shows around the world, including Thailand and France, around his off time and vacations. In 2017, the 60-something Rubin retired from his job and focused on music full-time. 

Things were going well. Rubin was picking up gigs and wrote and performed with Stigol, a local Spanish guitar and rumba jazz band. He also got gigs at Chabad houses in LA and community events for the holidays.

Then, when COVID hit, all his performances were canceled. Rubin decided to pivot: it was time for some introspection, and he wanted to become more engaged with his Judaism. 

“Since my bar mitzvah, I’d gone to synagogue for the holidays and to say kaddish, but that was it,” he said. 

During COVID, Rubin met with Chabad rabbis, and they encouraged him to start wrapping tefillin. Now, he’s doing it six days a week – except Shabbat, when nobody wraps tefillin. He also tries to go to his synagogue, Knesset Israel Congregation on Robertson, as well as Shabbat dinners as often as he can.

“I’m amazed that there is this kind of magic in my hands.” – Dean Rubin

These days, his gigs are back up and running, just like they were pre-COVID. He has regular shows every weekend in Malibu, where he’s a member of a band that plays Israeli, Greek, Persian, French, Russian and Spanish music, and he recently played at The House of Blues. Since tapping into his more spiritual side, Rubin feels like he’s bringing Godliness into the world through his music.  “I’m amazed that there is this kind of magic in my hands,” he said. “Something comes out of my hands I can’t even believe I’m doing. It’s like God is putting it in my soul.” 

Along with continuing to pursue his passion, Rubin hopes to meet his soulmate in the Jewish community. “I’m single, and my life would be totally complete if I met my besheret, or my other half,” he said. Until that happens — and Rubin has faith it will — he is focusing on bringing happiness to people with his magic hands. 

“God gave me a gift to play music and entertain people,” he said. “When I’m up on stage, I feel like I’m bringing light into the world. I see people dancing and smiling. They’re happy. I’m doing a mitzvah because I’m giving them joy.”

For information on booking Dean Rubin, find him on Facebook or email him at Drumguy2@sbcglobal.net.

Did you enjoy this article?
You'll love our roundtable.

Editor's Picks

Latest Articles

Difficult Choices

Jews have always believed in the importance of higher education. Today, with the rise in antisemitism across many college campuses, Jewish high school seniors are facing difficult choices.

All Aboard the Lifeboat

These are excruciating times for Israel, and for the Jewish people.  It is so tempting to succumb to despair. That is why we must keep our eyes open and revel in any blessing we can find.  

More news and opinions than at a
Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.