Rob VAndersteen

Drum Set, Booking Manager

When the drummer position opened up in the spring of 2010 we sank our bucket into the deep well of UW Band alumni which has been so good to us over the years. Out came Shortline.

Rob brings a wealth of tools to the band's workbench. The performance experience he gained from the UW Band stands on its own, but he has played with the Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra, a group of former drum corp members called Classic Reunion,  jazz bands, rock bands and pit orchestras to round out his technical skills. He also brought the discipline of hard work and teamwork while he and the band went through this most crucial of transitions.

And it's paid off well. Without skipping a beat (pun not intended, but noted,) Shortline has made the position his own.

Drumming was exposed in Rob’s DNA at a very early age. In his own words, “When I was 2½ years old, my aunt got me a small drum set for Christmas. As the story goes, I played it so much and so loud, my parents convinced me it was ‘part of the Christmas decorations’ and had to be packed up with the tree, lights, etc. One year later, when they brought out the Christmas decorations, I said, ‘Where is the drum set?!?’" He’s been hooked ever since.

Rob is a fan of most kinds of music, but leans toward Classic Rock in general and is a big fan of Rush in particular. He loves playing in the band "Because it allows me to continue to have an outlet to do something I love to do in a casual setting with a bunch of great musicians. And the free beer is a plus!"

When he manages to take his hands off the drumsticks, he dabbles home automation, cycling, forestry management and home improvement projects. Because of a small cycling mishap in 2014 which resulted in a fractured elbow, we've had to institute a "no cycling the morning of a gig" policy with Shortline. 

In the real world, Rob works for a local software company. He lives in Middleton with his wife Kelsey, daughters Leah & Ruby, and their dog Ellie.