1. what first inspired you to become a drummer?

 

watching peter chris from kiss when i was a kid, He had this massive drum kit and i remember when the song " i was made for loving you" came out and he played this tom fill just before the break down and it sent shivers down my spine, i was obsessed with that drum fill and would try to play it everytime i heard it, i was given a kit by a family friend in the hope that it would keep me busy and out of trouble but it was short lived coz i would take the drums out the back yard and just practice that fill over and over but my neighbour had other ideas, the poor dear had throat cancer and had surgery and couldnt talk so she would climb up on her fence with her garden hose and spray me with it, needless to say that i was hooked from that point on hahaha.

 

2. anything that you’ve learnt along the way that’s really helped you as a drummer?

 

rudiments rudiments and more rudiments, for me rudiments helped me look outside the square at a time when i was in a playing rut, i think we can all relate to sitting down at an instrument and being really frustrated because we are just playin what feels like same old same old, when i was shown that rudiments are more than just exercises, they were possibilities, seemingly endless possibilities when you look at applying accents, and/or using different parts of the kit simultaneously, for me it kept me in the practice room and kept me interested in playing, now i am not the rudiment king or anything but there are times in my bands music where i have used them and its worked out great for the song, so my best advice to anyone down on their playing would be to learn the posibilities in rudiments and your world will open up.

 

3. who have you and/or who are you playing with at the moment and what are the bands movements?

   Anything to plug?

 

i currently play in a band called JERICCO, we are a rock band with (but not resrticted to) prog roots and middle eastern influences, we have had a whirlwind year that included being signed to new world artists and mgm distribution, touring most of the country with some of the biggest acts in australia to mention a few: karnivool, mammal (r.i.p), deadlettercircus, sydonia,mm9, the getawayplan, and we have played about 10 festivals around the country, shot a video for our single "sun" from our debut self titled e.p that you can buy on itunes or our myspace page www.myspace/jericcoband.com or at jb hifi, we are currently writing for our next recording that will be out mid year and prepairing for an eastcoast tour with deadlettercircus that begins in coffs harbour and on the 24th of feb and finishes with 2 shows in melbourne  playing the pelly bar in frankston on the 4th of march and then the gershwin room at the espy in st kilda on the 5th it should be a blast and everyones invited so come check it out.

 

4. what gear are you using at present?

 

currently i am playing a 5 piece pearl masters premium model drum kit with a candy apple red and glitter finish that consists of with out going into sizes bass, snare, mounted tom and 2 floors, i mainly use gibralter hardwear, and have an array of zildjian cymbals mainly from the A and A custom range, i am not currently endorsed although it would bloody help right now hahahaha

 

5. what would be your dream gig?

 

big festival + good time slot = a sea of people

 

6. favourite drummers and/or bands and why?

 

lately the drummer i admire most is probably ben ellingworth from mm9 he is a fantastic drummer, a consummate proffessional, and a genuinely nice guy. We have played many a show together and when I have found myself in need of help, either with advice or equipment he has always been really supportive. The logistics and expenses of an indy touring band can be a ball breaker, and its great when you realise that the drumming fraternity in this country is just fantastic, when you get to that touring level you're all just helping each other out with what ever, whether it be a lend of equipment or a pat on the back telling you you did alright, coz we know that its a hard slog but its well worth it, its a priveledge actually.

1. what first inspired you to become a drummer?

Well there are many memories and moments that come to mind to be the foundation of what first inspired me to become a drummer.

First off, I have a very strong belief that being taken to pubs, live shows and parties where bands were performing and jamming as a child, definitely had a massive effect on me.

Looking back, it was this life experience that shaped my very core as a musician. I consider myself  lucky to have a mother that nurtured her love for rock n roll music and exposed my brother and I too so much of it during my childhood. Another factor is that my father is a drummer, even though he wasn’t that supportive of me becoming a drummer, it's in my DNA.

During the early 80's when I was a little tacker, I remember my Uncle always bringing his LP's over to our house and playing all the latest rock albums that had just come out, aswell as his favourites and pummeling them really loud into my brother and I. Bands like: Van Halen, Rolling Stones, The Doors, Deep Purple and the heaps of others. He would always leave his Lp’s with us for a week or so for us to listen to. I remember really digging Charlie Watts's  drumming alot as a kid, especially the album "Under Cover". Also Songs like Billy Idols "White Wedding", Dire Straits's "Sultans of Swing and "Walk of life", not to mention Micheal Jackson's Thriller album of course. I remember being very deeply inspired then, even though I'd bearly sniffed a drumkit.

Although what really surged me into becoming a kit player was having my first lesson at age 10 by a friend of my mum's who was considered a highly talented Melbourne Rock Drummer and a great bloke. He showed me a simple 4/4 beat explaining where the kick falls and where the snare falls while counting to 4 on the hi-hats. He then said "You have 30 minutes to get it right because I won't show you again" and then he closed the door and left the room.

After every minute seeming like a second, he then returned and said “ show me “and at that moment I realised that I could now play a rock beat. It was a Gillete moment in sport..I'll never forget it.

"I use this technique on any potential newbie still to this day."

Over the next few years, I drummed on anything and everything, especially school desks, which my teachers hated. I still remember getting quite a bick kick sound on the floor with school shoes.

After starting drum lessons at the age of 13 with Peter Blick at Brighton Secondary College. I remember finally getting a drumkit on my 14th birthday and I quit drum lessons so I could jam with my brother on songs that I had dreamed of playing for years.I did this nearly everyday right up into my 20’s.Although I did return to lessons a couple of years later with Mr Blick.

Recently after a long break from drumming in bands, I saw Pinks drummer Mark Schulman’s clinic at revolver upstairs and I have to say after seeing him I was simply blown away that he was actually the guy that played on most of the songs that had inspired me as a kid. He completely re-inspired me and I now I feel I have come full circle as a drummer in the sense of inspiration.

 

2. anything that you’ve learnt along the way that’s really helped you as a drummer?

 

I think playing live shows and listening back to each performance carefully at a young age helped me more than ever. I always tried to dig as deep as I could and play as much as I could within a song, which help me build endurance and develop confidence as a player. Although I have calmed somewhat, I am very much in favour of improvising live as a player and that's how I have applied myself to drumming from the very beginning. To create a base of beats to work off and try something new all the time which really worked my nerves on stage and really helped me to improve over the years immensely.

 

Still the ultimate challenge I feel, is producing yourself to record a really good drumtrack in the studio. This is where I feel I'm learning so much from every bar of music it's almost like being a beginner all over again with each take. Overall, as I mature as a person and as a player sacrificing chops to laydown something solid always seems be the way to go.

Recording is a great teacher.

 

Some of the other tips and tricks I utilised over the years are things from other players/videos etc are:

 

# Terry Bozzio's technique's on posture and the placing of your hands and holding the sticks (Match or Orthhodox grip). I believe strongly on the importance of not being hindered by developing bad habits in your technique and posture, which is what I am always trying to niggle out. Especially after having such a long break from playing the drumkit. If your technique is incorrect I believe you can only go so far as a player.

 

# Another invaluable source was Virgil donati's "Power Drumming" exercises. Particularly the "unison" stuff and also his paradygm of getting your feet to do what your hands can do, absolutely awesome stuff!

 

# Learning how to prepare exercises and practising them to strengthen weaknesses and incorporating them in what I like to play has been an on going consensus in a good way to improve and keep it interesting.

 

# Another big contributer was learning African djembe and Congas over the last decade. It gets right down to the timekeeping aspect of drumming and also how much the world has to offer in the diversification of roles, rythyms and styles of drumming.
This definitely helped me become a more solid player and I recommend percussion to all drummers. Overall recording and listening back to to what I play on my electric kit  is my favourite way to practise at home these days. Rehearsing and playing live with a band is just a massive priveledge to improving as a drummer now.

 

# As for playing live: Lately I focus on the tempo of the song as if I was dancing to it and I concentrate on all the band members feeling a pulse. Once I get a lock with them, I adjust a nano second here or there to make it rock behind the beat ever so slightly for myself and the audience to enjoy. All in all, it's all about the “tempo”. We all waver in and out of time, some more than others and it’s the most common hiccup I see everywhere with players, no matter how much we practice, we are all human and it’s always challenging in the time keeping aspect of drumming itself.

So I focus on a strong, solid right foot, this goes a long way and it keeps the audience confident and I feel that’s what the audience needs so they can start dancing if they want. After having such a long break with playing live, the main rule with drumming for me now, is to be inspired..be very inspired and enjoy it, I feel I was way too serious back in my younger days.

 

 

3. who have you and/or who are you playing with at the moment and what are the bands movements?

 

I have played and recorded with a quite a few bands over the years, Bands I have officially drummed with over the years are:

"The FarmyardVandals"(Progressive Rock), "Premonition"(Heavy Metal Power Groove),

"Bo Jenkins"(Country Rock), "Galactic Bathfoam"(Electronic Lounge Fusion/Funk), Congas and percussion for “Mixed Business” (Jazz/Fusion/Funk) and have played African Djembe with "Blue Turban Percussion". As well as doing sessions with many artists and experimental musical projects over the years. Recently I have been recording some new drumming compositions which I hope to release as a new chapter to my solo ambitions as a drumming folio for producers and artists and friends to enjoy.

 

After a long break from playing the drums in bands regularly, In May 2009, I was asked to fill in temporarily for a group called "Tony Johannsen & The Land of Plenty". Tony is a dear friend of mine since high school and has also been the bass player next to me for most of my musical carreer. This has been an ongoing project of Tony’s and he recently reformed his band and released his debut album  last year called “The Gardner”.

Tony is a witty and very entertaining front man for all types of audiences, Tony is the main songwriter and lead vocalist/acoustic guitar player for the group. Also the band features Glenn Ford on Electric Guitar/Vocals and Andrew Beaumont on Bass Guitar/Vocals.

 

I feel Tony's band is just what the doctor ordered for me as a player right now, and all the boys can play too, so it’s great fun. It’s an Aussie style country progressive rock group “Tour de force style”, with a very witty and entertaining aspect to it. Before joining the band I was also a big fan of the music, so to have recently become the bands permanent stickman.

I feel very honoured and excited to be playing live again and record on an album soon.

Since playing with the band in May 2009, we have played at Northcote Social Club and have toured to Castlemaine with Root (X Tism).We played 3 monthly residencies at “Pure Pop Records Beer Garden” in St kilda and have had great response there and I have enjoyed every show every time. We then finished up 2009 at Gertrude’s Brown Couch and we are now beginning pre production for Tony Johannsen and The Land of Plenty’s new album for 2010.

 

As for gigs in 2010, we have a residency booked for March at Pure Pop Records on Saturdays at 6pm till 8pm. 221 Barkly st, St Kilda and I’m really excited to get cracking on the skins more and more.

 

4. what gear are you using at present?

 

Currently I am playing a Gretch Blackhawk with Zildian and Ufip Cymbals. Gibraltar hardware, Remo Heads and Vater Sticks.

 

5. what would be your dream gig?

 

I have always dreamed of playing the main stage at St kilda festival on the beach, but the big dream for me is to play in Japan.

 

6. favourite drummers and/or bands and why?

 

Well over the years I’ve been heavily influenced by Heavy rock/metal and funk etc and always loved a huge sound and tasty chops, especially with a meticulous approach to the composition of drumming on an album recording.

Some of these guys are:


 

 

Chad Smith: The Red Hot Chili Peppers”

Have loved The Chilli Peppers since Mothers Milk, Chad is the guy in every sense of the "fun and happiness" side to funk on the drumkit and I have learnt so much from listening to his stuff.

 

Will Calhoun:”Living Colour”

Well Living Colour inspired me so much to get as good as I possibly could at one stage, more so, Will's drumming gave me great ideas on approaching heaps of styles and genres of music..

 

Lars Ulrich “Metallica”

I respect his drumming so much and his energy is unsurpassed, his compositional approach to drumming inspires me still to this day.

 

Vinnie Paul “Pantera”

The Cowboy from hell is just a monster.

Utilises a big sound so well.


 

Charlie Benante “Anthrax”

In my early days I found his intro’s and build ups in his writing, unbelievable..the ultimate drum intro build it kinda player, especially “Indians” on Among the Living”

 

Virgil Donati “On the Virge”

Without his videos and the Stretch album, I don't think I would have got my feet happening as much, the guy is just amazing.

 

Mitch Mitchell “The Jimi Hendrix Experience”

The core foundation player that made me caress the idea of expressing myself as a drummer.

 

Charlie Watts “The Rolling Stones”

Just a great tasty player with a real slappy style, always enjoy his snare sounds too.

 

John Bonham

Rock’s essential drumming master, love his patience as a player. I don’t know how many times I’ve jumped the gun wanting to do that opening fill into “Stairway to Heaven”, while airdrumming.

 

Jeff Burrows “The Tea Party”

Fell in love with his style and still enjoy his wickedly fat beats, he’s a master that is not of high profile, but I recommend the Tea Party to anyone especially the first two albums. “Splender Solace and “Edges of Twilight”.

 

Fallon Williams “Relax with Max”.

My friend and drumming mentor, I love his playing and I try and see him around town whenever I can. Melbourne’s funk master.

 

Mark Schulman “Pink”

His drumming is great, he’s played on all the songs that shaped my childhood and love for drums, he is also a really hard hitter with awesome dynamics, which I love.
He fired me up at his clinic that Steve put on for us at Revolver upstairs.

 

Cheers Steve, you rock dude!

1. what first inspired you to become a drummer?
Trying to catch a glimpse of Steve Adler (Guns n Roses) on late night TV back in the 80's is one of my earliest memories of wanting to play drums, and it just snowballed from there. The obvious Lars Ulrich (Metallica), Stewart Copeland (The Police), Nick Mason (Pink Floyd), Tim Alexander (Primus), Phil Collins (Genesis/solo), were all drummers that gave me the early inspiration for one reason or another. The real ‘influences’ came later down the track once I started learning more about drums and… METAL!

 

2. anything that you've learnt along the way that's really helped you as a drummer?
I think my favourite little "lesson" that I find myself thinking about, and telling others, is "don't play by the rules". It’s something that I had to learn over time though. There isn’t any “10 Commandments” that you must follow when it comes to playing drums, you don’t have to go to the naughty corner if you play something you're not suppose to. Just let go, and let it flow! Some of my favorite drummers are those that surprise you with strange beats, fills & rolls that are totally unexpected. BUT, with all that said, you have to make sure what you play still fits in with the rest of the music, and to me, that is the real art.
 
3. who have you and/or who are you playing with at the moment and what are the bands movements. Anything to plug?
I’ve been playing in the same metal band (Frankenbok) for about 10years now. We are currently writing new songs for our 6th release. We have heaps to choose from so far, so the ones that make the album will be the real cream of the crop. We’ll be smashing it our early 2010 with the one and only Reggie Bowman behind the desk… what a guy! We’ll also be supporting the release with another Australian/N.Z tour, and are looking at a Japan Tour as well.

4. what gear are you using at present?
Pearl Masters Studio (birch, w/natural finish), 7pce (w/2 kick drums), Pearl Brass Free Floating Snare, Zildjian (mostly Custom Z's). Vic Firth sticks, DW9000 pedals, Evans Heads, Ragone Cases. Shure Beta 52 Bass Drum Mics x2 (w/MAY Internal Mounting System – priceless! Sound engineers want to have my babies when they see that I have 2 internal kick mics ready to go.)
 
5. what would be your dream gig?
Surely this is impossible to answer?? How about this: Slayer opening (w/Paul Bostaph), followed by Testament (w/ John Tempesta), then P!NK as an interlude (w/me on the pig skins of course), and finishing up with old school Machine Head (w/Chris Contos on the kit). And while we are at it… bring the exuberant brilliance of Keith Moon back from the dead for the craziest, most energetic drum solo you could ever imagine! EXPLOSIONS EVERYWHERE!
 
6. favourite drummers and/or bands and why?
- Paul Bostaph (Forbidden, Testament, Slayer,): such a unique way of complicating things, yet it all "make sense" in the end. I was lucky enough to watch him close up four nights in a row when he toured with Slayer back in 2001! Great stuff!
- Keith Moon (The Who): Every time I see footage of this guy, I think to myself “THAT’S ME!” Let’s face it, he was an absolute idiot behind the kit! Pulling ridiculous faces, and bouncing round like Yoda in Star Wars The Phantom Menace… I see a bit of myself in him and I guess that’s why I like him so much. It’s time to get COOKEY! If you haven’t seen him play, get on to youtube RIGHT NOW! Pure Brilliance!
- Thomas Haake (Meshuggah): our theory is that this guy was born with a mathematics book in his hand, and he also wrote that mathematics book himself before he even popped out! Then he thought to himself "how can I express this book to the world... i know, i'll act it out whilst sitting behind a drumkit." I’ve transcribed some of his stuff onto paper – it’s crazy and he’s a freak!
- Big Raymond (Fear Factory): If you want power and precision, Raymond’s your man. This guy is a giant but when he’s smashing through a 64th note snare roll at full pace, you can’t help but wonder how he keeps up such great power in his stroke at such a cracking speed. I guess it’s all the Cheeseburgers that him & Dino use to demolish for breakfast!
- Suds R.I.P (Dreadnaught/Atomizer): I can’t speak highly enough of Aaren ‘Suds’ Suttil as a drummer. At one stage, I was lucky enough to share everything with this guy before he passed away; stages, drumkits, tour van seats, beers and burgers, and most important… the passion for rockin out! He played hard, fast, but more importantly, didn’t miss a beat and was solid solid solid! He specialised in “Four on the Floor” whilst doing 100 clicks in 3rd gear, sure he could have gone faster, but this was living on the edge. Check out Dreadnaughts “DOWN TO ZERO” for Suds at his very best.

1. what first inspired you to become a drummer?

I’ve always had a passion for music.  From a young age my Dad had me listening to U2, Fleetwood Mac, Phil Collins etc.  I started playing piano when I was five and never stopped really, I still play almost every day.  When I was in high school a few of the kids from my church formed a band so we could play guitar music at church, not just hymns.  At the time I was listening to a lot of house and electro music and I thought that learning how to play beats would help me when I became a DJ.  A year later when the Strokes released Is This It? I realised that rock wasn’t actually dead and I’d made a pretty good decision choosing the drums.

2. anything that you’ve learnt along the way that’s really helped you as a drummer?

I was in a workshop with Dave Weckl once and he was talking about having the independence and control to be able to play whatever fill or lick came into your head while you’re playing as opposed to having a repertoire of fills and licks that you stick to and use over and over again.  I’m not saying that I’ve got the independence and ability to play whatever I want to, but it’s something I’m aiming towards, and I believe the closer I get, the more my drumming will add to the musicality of the band.

3. who have you and/or who are you playing with at the moment and what are the bands movements?  Anything to plug?

This week I’ve been playing with Sean Feucht and his band.  They came over from the States without their drummer so I was given the chance to play alongside them while they were in Melbourne for two nights.  They’re a great bunch of guys and it was an awesome experience playing with such talented and professional musicians.

I play weekly with the worship band at Melbourne International Fellowship either on a Friday night or Sunday Morning.  The worship leader and pastor Mike Morris has written a bunch of songs and we’re hoping to record an EP soon.

I’m also practising with a band called Children of The New Forest.  The lead singer and guitarist, Anthony Barton, is a super talented song writer and he’s got about thirty songs that we’re slowly working our way through.  We’ve been playing together for a while but we recently recruited a bass player, Mickey, and Anthony’s cleaned out the mountains of stuff that used to cover the floor of his bedroom/studio so I guess things are starting to get serious.  We’re planning on doing some studio time next year and seeing how many songs we can lay down.  You can hear some pretty rough demos at myspace.com/monnests.

4. what gear are you using at present?

I play a Gretsch renown maple five piece which I picked up at the Ultimate Drummers Weekend a few years ago.  It’s an unreal kit but I’ve never been able to get the sound I want out of the snare so I’m currently using a Pearl Chad Smith snare.  I recently put Evans EC2 coated heads on the toms and an Evans Genera HD Dry on the snare and now they’re absolutely smoking.  For cymbals I’m using a 16” Meinl Byzance traditional thin crash and a 16” Meinl Byzance traditional medium thin crash, a 20” Paiste 2000 ride and Zildjian A Custom hi hats.  And Vater 5As for sticks, always.

5. what would be your dream gig?

Children of The New Forest rocking out a packed Hammersmith Apollo supported by Ryan Adams & The Cardinals.

6. favourite drummers and/or bands and why?

Ronnie Vannucci (The Killers) – He has such a feel for the music and really brings the songs to life.  Nathan Followill (Kings of Leon) – Nathan is rock solid and so relaxed when he’s playing.  He’s basically the driving force behind the band and it’s great to watch.  Adam Willard (The Offspring, Angels & Airwaves) – Thinks outside the square, he’s so creative and uses so many beats and fills that I haven’t heard anywhere else.  I’ve learnt a stack from playing along with Angels & Airwaves at home.