When did you first realize
you wanted to be a musician?
I come from a very musical
family. My mother is a classically trained pianist and baroque singer and my
dad loves listening to his music, especially his old LP's. My brother's been
playing guitar since he was four and it was with him that I started my first
band, so I've always been around music in some way.
Who were some of your
influences growing up?
My earliest memory is
sitting on my parents sofa in the living room, I would turn plastic bins upside
down and arrange them around me as a makeshift drum kit and I'd have wooden
spoons and use them as drumsticks.
My parents had video tapes
of top 40 hits. I'd put them in the VCR and just play along with them for
hours, as you can imagine I broke quite a few bins along the way, but my
parents were always supportive and never made an issue about it, so I guess my
earliest influences would have to be the session players on records. Phil
Collins did a lot of his own work, but he also had Chester Thompson, Pelle
Alsing who played for Roxette, Debbi Peterson from Heart, Steve Ferone and
Steve Gadd. Then as I got older I started getting into my parents record
collection. My dad is a big fan of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Yes and Jethro
Tull. My mum listened to The Beatles, ABBA and John Denver, and listened to all
of it!
In my teens I got into
Green Day, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, The Smashing Pumpkins, a lot of American bands.
But I also listened to British bands like Blur, Ocean Colure Scene and Muse. It
wasn’t until in my 20’s that I started listening to jazz and R&B, which had
a major impact on my playing style.
What are your thoughts on
being a professionally trained musician compared to a self taught musician?
Being trained has
definitely made things easier, having been taught the rudiments early on,
they've kept me in good stead. I don't keep up with my reading as much as I
should but it’s always there and always useful if I go into a session with no
prep time, I can write out the charts as I go and I usually have it written out
in one listen. These days though, it's rare that I get asked to read charts but
it can still happen from time to time.
As a drummer, do you find
yourself listening to the actual music in the song more than the lyrics or
both?
I have to say both. I’ve
always thought that the music is the driving force for the lyrics. It’s a
supporting instrument just as the drums are, which took me most of my teenage
years to figure out. There's a push and pull with the music whichever way you do
it, it can have a drastic effect on the way the lyrics are received.
What has been one of the
biggest achievements of your career so far and why?
One would have to be
working on the AHK-toong BAY-bi Covered album. A host of famous names,
including The Killers, Jack White, Nine Inch Nails, Snow Patrol, Patti Smith
and Depeche Mode, re-created U2’s Achtung Baby album in celebration of it’s
20th anniversary. I worked with Declan Gaffney and Gavin Friday on The Fly
which was an amazing experience to be part of. To contribute something to an
album that has so many incredible artists on it was a dream come true for me.
Though I didn’t get to meet any of them in person it did open a lot of doors
for me which is worth more than anything.
What are some of the concepts
that help you when writing new music?
For my own music it really
depends, I tend to write instrumental stuff more than anything. Emotions do
play a part in my writing though, I guess. I like to write music that makes me
happy, but to be honest I've never really given it much thought. If it's in a
band situation. I'm not the only one writing, one of the other members might
have a core idea that they want to get across. Personally, I like to bounce
ideas off other people to gauge their reaction in those situations.
What would be one
of your ideal collaborations if you could choose?
Neil Young. Next question
What projects or shows do
you have coming up?
I'll be heading into the
studio in a couple of weeks to work with Tim Despic. He's a British composer
who recently finished work on a soon to be released Robert De Niro film and
who's currently working on a new project involving Bruce Willis. I'll also be
collaborating with an Irish singer songwriter/Ghost writer turned LA native
named Lauren White whom I'm particularly excited about working with. She's just
finished writing a sound track for the American Horror Story series. In the new
year, I'll finally get around to starting a new project with my brother that
we've been trying to do for a while, but schedules have always got in the way.
There's also a few local bands that I sit in on from time to time as well just
for a bit of fun, where we play some covers and maybe an original or two
What are your plans
for the future as a musician?
To keep doing what I'm
doing. Things have been going so well for me since I moved to LA that I
wouldn’t change any of it. I want to play with as many bands and artists as I
can. The more I work the more I learn, so much so that I've begun learning
other instruments such as the cello, and pedal steel is something I've always
been interested in using for my own music. So I'm trying to find someone who
could teach me that.
What would be your best
piece of advice for aspiring musicians?
Start a band with your
friends and just jam. After a while you'll have some songs, go to your local
venue and ask them if you can put on a show. If they say no, keep asking till
they say yes. There will be hard times and lots of them, but there will also be
great times. The ones who make it to the top are the ones who never give up
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