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.

< Prev		Next >