Background

It all started for me when I had a 20min drum lesson at school (20mins shared with 3 other pupils!) where I first sat down and played a drum kit.  I was about 12 years old and the kit was the school’s new Pearl Export – it was 1988.  This coincided with me starting to get into rock music in a big way – Appetite for Destruction had just been released and I had just heard Metallica’s Ride The Lightening for the first time (still their best album in my opinion) – this was life changing stuff for me!  The school drum teacher was Keith York who was the drummer in Doctor Phibes And The House of Wax Equations – he was equally inspirational not only as an awesome player, but also an incredibly cool dude!  I had a couple more lessons to nail the 4/4 beat, but after that went my own way, basically just learning from listening to great drummers and trying in vain to imitate some of their chops – still trying I’m afraid…​

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Drumming (& Musical) Influences​
Early
Bill Ward (Black Sabbath), Lars Ulrich (Metallica), Dave Lombardo (Slayer), Igor Cavalera (Sepultura), Mitch Mitchell (Jimi Hendrix), John Bonham (Led Zeppelin), Tommy Aldridge (Ozzy Ozbourne), Randy Castillo (Ozzy Ozbourne), Dave Abbruzzese (Pearl Jam), (Matt Cameron) Soundgarden, Chad Smith (Red Hot Chilli Peppers)
Mid
Phil Collins (Genesis), Neil Peart (Rush), Phil Rudd (AC/DC), Chester Thompson (Genesis), Pierre Moerlen (Gong), Nico McBrain (Iron Maiden), Mike Portnoy (Transatlantic), Keith Moon (The Who), Manu Katche (Peter Gabriel),  Nick Menza (Megadeth), Nick Mason (Pink Floyd)
Current
Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree), Dominic Howard (Muse),

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Equipment

​Drums - Pearl: Masters MMX (Emerald Mist finish) c1999.
o 8x7" Rack Tom
o 10x8" Rack Tom
o 12x9" Rack Tom
o 14x11" Floor Tom
o 16x16" Floor Tom
o 22x15" Bass Drum
o 14x5.5" Slingerland Brass Snare
o 14x6.5" Mapex Maple Black Panther Snare
 

​Cymbals – Sabian & Zildjian mix (left to right)
o 14" Sabian AAX Hi-Hats
o 8”Sabian AAX Splash
o 14” Zildjian Avedis Crash
o 16" Sabian AAX Crash
o 15" Zildjian Dark Crash
o 22" Sabian Chester Thompson Ride
o 20" Sabian AAX Oriental China
 

​Drum Heads - Remo
o Toms: (8", 10", 12", 14",16") Coated Ambassador X - batter, Clear Ambassadors - resonant
o Bass Drum: (22") Powersonic Clear- batter, Standard Pearl Head - resonant
o Snares - Coated Ambassador  - batter, Hazy Ambassador – resonant
 

​Hardware
o Gibraltar 3 sided Rack & Pearl stands
o Tama Iron Cobra Bass Drum Pedals
 

​Sticks - Promark
o 747 Hickory

Electronics – None!​