After rising to international stardom with the Police, Stewart Copeland largely rejected his pop music past to pursue a career as a composer, authoring a prolific series of film scores, operas, and ballets. Born July 16, 1952 in Alexandria, Egypt, Copeland - the son of a CIA agent - spent his formative years in the Middle East but attended college in California before settling in England in 1975 and playing drums with the progressive rock unit Curved Air. Following the group’s dissolution, he founded the Police with singer/bassist Sting and guitarist Henri Padovani (the latter soon replaced by Andy Summers). Beginning with their first hit, 1979’s “Roxanne,” the trio emerged as one of the most popular and innovative bands of the post-punk era, drawing upon reggae, funk, and world music to create a uniquely infectious yet cerebral brand of pop which generated a series of smash singles including “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,” “Every Breath You Take,” and “King of Pain.”
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Mike Portnoy was born on April 20, 1967 and raised in Long Beach, New York, where his interest in music started at an early age. “My father was a rock n’ roll disc jockey, so I was always surrounded by music constantly. I had this huge record collection when I was real young and loved the Beatles and then later on Kiss. It was inevitable that I’d become a musician.”

Although Mike taught himself how to play the drums, he did take music theory classes in high school. During that time he began playing in local bands Intruder, Rising Power and Inner Sanctum, the latter of which released their own album. Mike left the band after being awarded a scholarship to attend Berklee Music College in Boston.
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Rarely in the history of rock has a musician switched bands and instruments simultaneously with such a high degree of success as Dave Grohl. Born on January 14, 1969, Grohl grew up in Washington, D.C., teaching himself to play drums and guitar. While still a teenager, he joined his first real band, independent D.C. punkers Scream, and toured the world as their drummer. After Scream broke up in the late ’80s, Grohl relocated to Seattle and tried out for a little-known band who had a drum vacancy - Nirvana.
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“Ultimately what’s most impressive about Ringo Starr isn’t what he’s been, but rather who he is,” wrote Rolling Stone rock critic David Wild. “The man’s great heart and soul, his wit and wisdom.” Ironically, the story of Ringo’s evolution from former Beatle to successful solo artist is still best told from the beginning.

“When I was thirteen I only wanted to be a drummer”, remembers Ringo, and four years later at age seventeen, he joined the Eddie Clayton Skiffle Band. In 1959, Ringo hooked up with the Raving Texans, which later became Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. In 1962, while playing a summer gig with Rory, Ringo was asked to join the Beatles. Worried that he might cost his bandmates the summer gig if he left, Ringo delayed his departure until after they found themselves a replacement, and on August 18, 1962, Ringo Starr officially became a Beatle.
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After recently seeing Nine Inch Nails play live and seeing Josh Freese perform for the first time I was more than impressed with his performance at the gig and what better way to show that appreciation but a feature on Drummers Republic!

Josh Freese was born on Christmas Day, 1972 in Orlando, Florida but has lived in Southern California since he was 6 months old. Having been brought up in a musical family (father conducted the Disneyland Band and mother was a classical pianist) he was surrounded by music from an early age and began playing the drums around the time he was 7 or 8 years old. He started playing professionally at the age of 12 (in a Top 40 band at Disneyland) and starting touring and making records at the age of 15. First with Dweezil Zappa and then the Vandals, pretty much simultaneously. Still a member of the Vandals, Josh has gone on to work with some pretty bitchin’ folks in the last 10 years; ranging from Devo to Guns n’ Roses, Suicidal Tendencies to Perry Farrell, Paul Westerberg to Chris Cornell, A Perfect Circle to Juliana Hatfield, Mike Ness to 311, etc. He’s appeared on close to 100 records (see Discography page for an almost complete listing). Aside from being an L.A. studio musician (what he calls his “day job”) He’s a member of A Perfect Circle, The Vandals, and Devo.

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In honour of Velvet Revolver’s latest album release Libertad, Drummers Republic would like give you an insight into the power behind the rock drummer powerhouse that is Matt Sorum.

Matt Sorum was born in Long Beach, California sometime in the 1960’s, to Joanne and David Sorum of English and Norwegian descent. Having been steeped in Viking lore from his father (David) and classical music and opera from his music-teacher mother (Joanne), Matt’s path led him to the drums after seeing Ringo Starr of THE BEATLES on the Ed Sullivan Show. Matt’s two older brothers (Mark and Mike) also turned him onto rockers like Jimi Hendrix, Cream and The Doors.

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Bill Ward was born in Birmingham, England, in 1948. His interest in drumming began as a toddler and by age 15, he was playing gigs. Ward played in several bands before meeting up with Tony Iommi in 1964. The two of them worked together in the group Mythology before they met up with Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler in the band Polka Tulk Blues. The blues band later changed their name to Earth, but that moniker was destined not to stay with them long. Instead, in 1969 they became Black Sabbath and that would prove to be a change that would transform Ward’s and the rest of band members’ lives forever. In 1970, they released their self-titled debut and their fame began. It was only a few short months later when Paranoid was released and the true glory would really begin. Ward stayed with them through what many consider to be the classic period of the group, even when Osbourne was ousted in 1978. He was a member of the band through the first album to feature Ronnie James Dio in Osbourne’s place, 1980’s Heaven & Hell.

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With names like Madonna, David Bowie and Sting under he’s belt its easy to see why Omar Hakim is such an in demand drummer. The legendary Omar Hakim takes advantage of every hot, new percussion option out there, from acoustic drums, to Roland’s electronic V-Drums—which he MIDIs into his Power Mac when he plays drums for and produces for the greats of pop and jazz fusion in modern music.

Not just a drummer, Omar Hakim is a well-recognized percussionist and producer in these two distinct worlds of music.
“I had a natural affinity for drums and rhythm very young,” says Hakim. “I started playing drums at about age five, when I got a toy drum as a Christmas gift from an uncle. They strapped that thing around my neck and I immediately started playing one of those marching cadence kind of beats.”

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Metal Hammer magazine recently conducted an exclusive interview with METALLICA’s drummer Lars Ulrich about the progress of their recording sessions for the group’s new album, as well as few other subjects. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

Metal Hammer: You’ve already recorded the drum, guitar and bass tracks for the new album, with the rest to be added some time in August.

Lars: “The backing tracks are done, yeah. But Rick [Rubin, producer] likes to keep things organic and work in a way that can be described as ‘of the moment.’ If we continue in August we should be done by October.”

Metal Hammer: Rubin isn’t known for being too giving with his time. What role has he played in the sessions?

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In honour of Roger Taylor’s 58th birthday, what better way to celebrate the man himself than with a look back on the fantastic career of the drummer of Queen and stadium rocker himself!

Since first teaming up with Brian May, and later Freddie Mercury, in the late 60s, Roger Taylor has become one of rock’s most successful musicians, combining his role as the world-renowned drummer/singer for Queen with that of accomplished singer and songwriter in his own right. Born in Kings Lynn, Norfolk, on July 26th 1949, Roger became fascinated with music in the early 50s, when his family moved to Cornwall. He learned his first instrument, the ukulele, at a tender age, and enjoyed a brief taste of things to come in a pre-teen skiffle band whose collective talent survived just two public performances.

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2007 will mark the 40th anniversary of the beginning of legendary drummer, Carmine Appice who to this day continues to astound and inspire listeners and indeed drummer alike with the originality of his licks and utter dedicate to the art of music and drumming. Breaking new ground in every facet of his career
as a writer, a teacher and of course a performer. It was clear even from the early days of Vanilla Fudge that Carmine Appice was creating a new standard in rock drumming.

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Louie Bellson is without a doubt one of the greatest drummers of our time. One of the few whose name can be said in the same sentence with Buddy Rich, Louie has been captivating and entertaining audiences his entire life. Not only with his rare ability to continually hold one’s interest throughout a 15-minute solo but also as a prolific creator of music, both written and improvised, his compositions and arrangements (in the hundreds) embrace jazz, jazz/rock/fusion, romantic orchestral suites and symphonic works.

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Gene Krupa was born in Chicago, Illinois on January 15, 1909 and was the the youngest of Bartley and Ann Krupa’s nine children. His father died when Gene was very young and his mother worked as a milliner to support the family. All of the children had to start working while young, Gene at age eleven. His brother Pete worked at “Brown Music Company”, and got Gene a job as chore boy. Gene started out playing sax in grade school but took up drums at age 11 since they were the cheapest item in the music store where he and his brother worked. “I used to look in their wholesale catalogue for a musical instrument - piano, trombone, cornet - I didn’t care what it was as long as it was an instrument. The cheapest item was the drums, 16 beans, I think, for a set of Japanese drums; a great high, wide bass drum, with a brass cymbal on it, a wood block and a snare drum.”

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Born in St. Louis Missouri, January 8th, 1960, to a mother who loved music and a father who played the piano as a hobby, Dave started playing drums around the age of 8.

For more than 20 years, Dave Weckl has developed and maintained a reputation among his fans, peers, and the international music community as one of the great living drummers. For this, he has received numerous accolades and honors; Modern Drummer inducted Dave into their Hall of Fame and named him “one of the 25 best drummers of all time.”

But these honors, in addition to many more bestowed by the music community, are the product of Dave’s undying commitment to making great compositions. Dave’s incredibly dynamic and diverse drumming, which has inspired musicians worldwide, is built on a solid foundation of knowledge and respect for music.

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Without a doubt Bernard “Buddy” Rich was and still is arguably the greatest jazz drummer of our time, Buddy Rich exhibited his love for music and entertainment through the dedication of his life to the art. With a career that would span seven decades, beginning when Rich was just 18 months old and continuing until the time of his death in 1987. A gifted genius, Buddy Rich could play with incredible speed and dexterity despite the fact that he never received a formal drum lesson and refused to practice outside of his own performances.

Birth of a Legend - Buddy Rich Biography.

Born Bernard Rich to vaudevillians Robert and Bess Rich on September 30, 1917 Buddy was introduced to audiences at a very young age. By 1921, he was a seasoned solo performer with his vaudeville act, “Traps the Drum Wonder.” With a natural sense of rhythm, Rich was performing regularly on Broadway at the age of four. At the peak of Rich’s early career, he was the second-highest paid child entertainer in the world.

In 1937, Rich’s jazz career began when he started playing with Joe Marsala at New York’s Hickory House. By 1939, he had joined Tommy Dorsey’s band, and he later went on to play with such jazz greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Ventura, Louis Armstrong and Gene Krupa. Rich was regularly featured in Jazz at the Philharmonic during the late 1940s. He also appeared in such Hollywood films as Symphony of Swing (1939), Ship Ahoy (1942) and How’s About It (1943).

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Rich toured with his own bands and opened two nightclubs, Buddy’s Place and Buddy’s Place II. Both clubs were regularly filled to capacity by fans of the great master drummer. After opening Buddy’s Place II, Rich introduced new tunes with elements of rock into his repertoire, demonstrating his ability to adapt to his audience’s changing tastes and establishing himself as a great rock drummer as well as a jazz master.

Rich was a favourite on several television talk shows including the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Jerry Lewis, the Mike Douglas Show, the Dick Cavett Show and the Merv Griffin Show. During these appearances, audiences were entertained by Rich’s constant sparring with the hosts and his slights of various pop singers.

This famed musician received outstanding recognition throughout his career. The Downbeat Magazine Hall of Fame Award, the Modern Drummer Magazine Hall of Fame Award and the Jazz Unlimited Immortals of Jazz Award are just a few of his numerous honours. Rich gained international attention for such master compositions as his 10-minute West Side Story medley. During his lengthy career, Rich toured around the globe, performing for millions of fans and several world leaders including the King of Thailand, King Hussein of Jordan the Queen of England, and U.S. presidents Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.

The passing of Buddy Rich.

On April 2, 1987, Rich died of heart failure following surgery for a malignant brain tumour. Long-time friend, Frank Sinatra, spoke a touching eulogy at Rich’s funeral. Today, Buddy Rich is remembered as one of history’s greatest musicians. According to jazz legend Gene Krupa, Rich was “The greatest drummer ever to have drawn breath.”

Buddy Rich Legacy.

Since Rich’s death, a number of memorial concerts have been held. In 1994, the Rich tribute album Burning for Buddy: A Tribute to the Music of Buddy Rich was released. Produced by Rush drummer/lyricist Neil Peart, the album features performances of Rich live staples by a number of famous rock and jazz drummers, such as Kenny Aronoff, Dave Weckl, and Steve Gadd, with all being accompanied by the Buddy Rich Big Band. A second volume was issued in 1997.