Born October 27th 1968 in the bustling metropolis of Fort Wayne, Indiana, I didn’t pick up a set of sticks until I was 10. Learning to play what I could on my own, I jammed frequently with other kids in my neighborhood on my father’s 4 piece kit, breaking a cymbal or two, and never really coming to my full potential…
At 18 I went into the US Navy and put drumming on the back burner until I realized that I was being slightly retarded and, after my first six month deployment on an aircraft carrier in the Indian Ocean, took that hard earned, long saved cash and plopped it down on a 5 piece jet black Pearl Export. That was 1989. I "borrowed" some drums from a friend to make the kit bigger....bigger was always better, right?
I played on and off for the next 13 years, never in a band, never making progress, for the most part my drums sat a lot. Then, I hooked up with some co-workers and they started jamming on a regular basis. Suddenly my 13 year old Exports found new life, and were soon joined by a myriad of Zildjian cymbals past the ones I had been pounding on for the last few years…
Then in 2003, after a medical scare, I purchased my first new kit since buying the exports 14 years earlier. The Pearl Sessions were played religiously for seven years then as GFY picked up more gigs I was able to purchase a more professional level kit and made the move to Mapex Saturns. Both the Pearl kit and the Mapex kits are amazing kits and each has it's place in my drumming life...
Along the way I got a wild hair and decided to drop Zildjian and switched to Sabian and in 2010 began endorsing Soultone Cymbals...
Since the original kit and cymbal outlay I have steadily expanded my kit to the pictures you see below. I have added a Popcorn snare and a 16” floor tom to round out the acoustic aspects of my kit and it all blends together nicely. The photos show Evans heads which I have since replaced with Aquarian heads, which I love.
I fully endorse and recommend Soultone Cymbals. Hand crafted Turkish bronze - excellent sound and a great company to support. Saw them at NAMM in 2010, played every single cymbal in the booth, went back a SECOND time, which is rare for me. The end result was my willingness to endorse their product (thus removing myself from any cymbal reviews going forward on Drumrock).
Musically, I am playing in the same cover band I started playing with a few years ago, playing songs ranging from Zep to Green Day and everything in between. I listen to wide range of music from classical to metal.
2003 was also the year Drumrock was conceived and in early 2004 it took off. Since it has peaked and lulled here and there but as it’s a free endeavour, and I love playing drums, it’ll stay up as long as I draw air. I’m expanding the scope of what Drumrock is and does over the course of the next 5 years so expect to see and hear more from us than just a web e-zine.
I’ve also started taking the lessons I never had the opportunity to take when I was younger, even though I’ve been playing for a long time now. Lots of new doors have opened in my playing and the improvements I’ve seen and heard are well worth the effort!
My Gear:
Main Kit
Mapex Saturn, Transparent Cherry Red, Black Hardware
8x7,10x8,12x9,14x12FT,16x14FT, 22x20 Kick
Secondary Kit
Pearl Session SRX Marine Blue Fade
10X8, 12X9, 14X12, 16x16ft*, 22x18 Kick
*SMX Floor Tom
Fun Kit
Restored mid 80's Slingerland Spirit , Sparkle Black
14x10, 18x15, 24x14 Kick
Snares
Mapex Saturn Walnut/Maple 14x5.5
Mapex Black Panther Blaster 13x7
Self Built 10 Ply Maple Keller Shell 14x6.5 - Rocknwraps Blue Fire Snare
Cymbals - Soultone (Endorses)
14" Custom Hats
8" Moffett Signature Splash
10" Extreme Splash
15" Custom Brilliant Crash
17" Custom Brilliant Crash
18" Extreme Crash
22" Custom Brilliant Ride
13" Extreme Hats
18" Vintage China
Hardware
Pearl DR-503 Icon Rack
Mixed Pearl/Tama/Gibraltar Booms
Pearl Eliminator H2000 Hat Stand
Pearl Eliminator RH2000 Remote Hat Stand
Pearl Demon Drive Double Pedal
Mixed Pearl/Gibraltar Grabbers/Mounts
Electronics
Audix Fusion 7 Piece Mic Pack
Audio-Technica AT2020 Overheads (2)
AKG D112 Kick Mic
Shure SM57
Alesis Multimix Firewire 16 Mixer
Alesis DM4 Drum Module
2 x 10.5" Pintech Single Zone Triggers
Art Tube MP Tube Preamps
Reaper DAW Software on Windows 7
Core i7-860 8GB Ram 60GB SSD 1TB HDD
