Rock Drummers

People must be very bored these days. The rumor mill went into overdrive this month stating that Drummer Travis Barker had been found dead in his home. Sometimes-wifey Shanna Moakler posted a bulletin on her MySpace refuting the hoax.

“I’m not quite sure who would start such a sick rumor, even if it was done as a joke. I am happily laying next to my husband who is alive and well and it brings me great pleasure to stop a rumor as horrific as that. It is indeed FALSE.”

On November 15th, reports sweeped the Net claiming the Blink-182 drummer had been found dead in his garage.

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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It has been announced on the Official Placebo Band web site that Placebo have parted company with their drummer of 11 years, Steve Hewitt, due to personal and musical differences.

Brian Molko has commented “Being in a band is very much like being in a marriage, and in couples - in this case a triple - people can grow apart over the years. To say that you don’t love your partner any more is inaccurate, considering all that you’ve been through and achieved together. There simply comes a point when you realize that you want different things from your relationship and that you can no longer live under the same roof, so to speak.”

The split is said to be amicable and a sad time all band members. Steve Hewitt replaced Robert Schultzberg behind the drum kit in 1996 whilst the band were promoting Placebo’s eponymous debut album and went on to record the following 4 studio albums ‘Without You I’m Nothing’, ‘Black Market Music’, ‘Sleeping With Ghosts’ and most recently ‘Meds’.
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Foo Fighters frontman and ex Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl has spoken of his desire to drum for the newly reformed Led Zeppelin. The star explained to NME.com that he is “at their beck and call,” should they want to get in touch about performing with him.

“Ah, if I got that call, what the f–k do you think I’d be saying?” Grohl said. “I’d say, ‘Hey [Foo Fighters bandmates] Chris and Taylor, let’s take a little break for a few days, I’ll see ya later!’ But I don’t expect that to happen.”

Grohl explained that, although getting to play with Led Zeppelin would be unlikely, he would at least be trying to get into the band’s forthcoming gig at London’s O2 Arena on November 26.

He also acknowledged the contribution of Jason Bonham, son of original Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, who would perform with the band at the gig.
“Jason should be the one,” he said. “Everyone knows that. He’s a f–king phenomenal drummer.

Courtesy of NME.com

He never lost it. Wonderful ideas and concepts around the kit.
Ginger Baker, Cream drummer playing one of their finest; “Toad”.

“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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It was confirmed today during a press conference by promoter Harvey Goldsmith that the surviving members of Led Zeppelin will reunite in aid of the Ahmet Ertegun education fund for a show at the O2 Arena in London on 26 November 2007, with Jason Bonham filling in on drums.

Led Zeppelin fans the world over unite!

Danny Carey, the drummer with progressing rock band TOOL began playing drums at the age of thirteen. As Danny progressed through high schooland then college at the University of Missouri in Kansas City he began supplementing his studies in percussion with speculation into the principles of geometry, science, and metaphysics. A commitment to life as an artist brought Danny to LA where he was able to perform as a studio drummer with projects like Carole King and play around town with Pygmy Love Circus. He would later find an outlet for addressing a fuller scope of his potentials in Tool and another project operating under the title of Zaum. Despite not becoming a Mason or aligning himself with any other school of religion, Danny has maintained his heritages interest in occult studies. Endeavors into this realm have manifested periodically, such as the time he achieved insight into a hidden aspect of the unicursal hexagram utilizing an astral journey initiated through meditation and DMT.
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Muse Drummer Dominic James Howard, better known as Dom, was born on 7th of December in Stockport, not far from the more famous Manchester. His “childish” and funny looks deceive him, in fact he’s the oldest member of the band, though not the wisest, even if Matthew and Chris describe him as the trio’s boss. He considers himself ’sad, negative, pessimist’ but also ‘happy, honest and optimistic’. He’s definitely the most accessible member of the band. Always ready to tease and make others laugh, he’s got a great sense of humour. In fact his favourite thing about being in Muse is the contact with people they meet on the road. According to him, when he’s on tour he misses nothing.
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Myles Heskett, the drummer with the band Wolfmother was born November 21, 1977. Growing up in Sydney, Heskett attended Barrenjoy High School was always surrounded by creativeness. His father was an artist and his sister studied costume at NIDA.

Its not surprising that prior to Wolfmother, Myles was a graphic artist and even came up with the design for the band’s first album.

Myles endorses Ludwig drums and Zildjian cymbals.

Style of playing:

“Heskett’s playing seems to directly follow, and at some times improvise upon, the rhythm laid out by Ross & Stockdale. Often in Wolfmother songs, Heskett will switch from a triplet orientation, to a typical quarter note or eighth note pattern, depending on what Ross and Stockdale are playing. This can be seen particularly well in the song ‘Joker & the Thief’, in which a triplet oriented intro leads the quarter note oriented first verse, allowing for Heskett to switch between triplet fills,
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Stephen Morris was born 28 October, 195 in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. Morris first made his name as the drummer with the highly influential post-punk rock group Joy Division. The band consisted of Ian Curtis on vocals, Bernard Sumner on guitar, Peter Hook on bass, and of course Stephen Morris on drums. With their dark sound, use of distorted guitars, throbbing bass lines, and electronics, they pioneered the post-punk sound of the late 1970s.

Stephen Morris used what could be described as quite extensive drum kit set up to achieve a great range of rolls, rhythm shifts and beats. Morris was an active drummer, especially on the tracks “She’s Lost Control” and “Transmission” where the pounding insistent beat fuelled Curtis’ gyrations. Morris also used Simmonds and Synare electronic drumpads and a BOSS DR-55 drum machine on the songs “Insight,” “She’s Lost Control,” “Isolation,” and “Decades”, in combination with conventional drums to broaden the tonal palette.
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Without a doubt Travis Barker owes most of his fame to his time as the drummer for Blink-182. While he is currently drumming with post-blink +44 he has always played on a number of side projects such as Box Car Racer, The Transplants and Expensive Taste.

Born in a poverty stricken neighbourhood in Fontana, CA. Travis Barker was given his first drum set from his mother at the tender age of four. He began taking drum lessons at age five, when he studied under a jazz teacher named Miachel Mai. Here, Travis was exposed to many different styles and genres of music which would shape his drumming style in the years to come. Barker’s mother also took the lessons along with him and when each lesson was over, she would re-teach Travis on her own time.

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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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Sometimes referred to as “The Wembley Whammer” by Mick Jagger. Rolling Stones Drummer, Charles Robert “Charlie” Watts was born 2nd June 1941 in London, England. As well as being the drummer for one of the biggest bands in the world Charlie Watts is a tireless jazz bandleader and also a commercial artist.

Charlie attended Tylers Croft Secondary Modern School and Harrow Art School. It was in 1960, while working with a local band that he met Alexis Korner, who convinced him to join his own band, as the drummer for Blues Incorporated. And later in that same year, the band picked up the vocal talents of one Mick Jagger, as well as guitarists Brian Jones and Keith Richards.

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