I’m tellin’ you. Ubuntu Studio with either VMWare , VirtualBox , Cooperative Linux or Xen will get you where you need to go.
Here’s a walkthrough on how to do it with virtualbox. There’s even a site that has pre-made virtualbox images for you. Here’s the Ubuntu Studio image.
If you’ve ever used a computer you can use Linux. If you’ve ever used a Mac you’re 10 steps ahead of everyone else. If you’ve ever used a program built with Gnome you’re 20 steps ahead of everyone else. I’m tellin’ ya. It’ll be the best thing you ever did. It’ll solve your drum program issue in less than an hour.