He next attended California State University Fresno, graduating in 1974 with a bachelor's degree in percussion performance.
Stribling began music lessons at age seven, studying violin, clarinet, and guitar, but when the Beatles arrived in 1964 he “switched to drums and never looked back,” according to his website.
Stribling lists his musical influences as including The Beatles, Jan Hammer, Vangelis, Paul Winter, J.S.
Bach, Igor Stravinsky, Jimi Hendrix Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, Peter Gabriel, and more.
Apart from his music career, Stribling has worked in many areas of the mental health field, working for outpatient mental health clinics, substance addiction treatment, foster care, and group homes.