Humans of CF: Surrat has always followed his own beat

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Geoffrey Surratt, now a ninth-grader at Peet, started his drumming career on the stage of Orchard Hill Elementary in kindergarten. Since then, he has played at countless venues and is always “cool as a cucumber” when he rocks out on stage. He is a Human of Cedar Falls.

“I got my first drum set when I was 1. It was really small, but it was taller than me. The snare drum was over my head. I finally grew into it when I was 6, so I could play on it and then went straight into lessons.”

He was taught by his father, Jason Surratt and went straight into metal, like Black Sabbath songs. “My dad taught me the basics of drums. I started off with the simplified version of ‘Iron Man,’ and then I eventually by the time I was 9 or 10 I could do  a lot harder songs,” he said.

After he outgrew his father’s drumming skills, he took lessons at West Music from his father’s musician friends.

While he was in elementary school, Surratt was part his first band, Minitallica, and was already gaining a reputation as a drummer in eastern Iowa by age 11. When Surratt is on stage, he said feels truly at home. “I feel excited. I don’t really feel scared anymore. I was more scared at first when I started playing. Now I don’t have nerves,” he said.

Surratt is a drummer with passion. In class he drums his pencils against the desk, always thinking of something. “A lot of the time I just freestyle,” he said.

Outside of school percussion, Surratt is also currently in a band called Five Dead and Counting. “It’s with my cousin AJ, my friend Coltin and his uncle Chase who is 17.”  They have played at The Wedge and Spicoli’s Bar and Grill a couple times and play mostly covers but are also working on original music.

Surratt is generally a quiet person at school, but with a pair of drumsticks in his hand, he is transformed. “I love the drums because it allows me to be very creative,” he said.

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