Mark Virga profile picture

Mark Virga

Drums / Percussion / Electronics

About Me

Mark began hitting things at a very young age, even before he could walk. His first kit was a Fisher & Price electronic toy - Complete with mesh pads, rim triggers, midi, 192kHz 24bit samples, 2 racks of synths... haha just kidding! At the age of 14 he started drumkit lessons at high school. He persisted to practice every day @ his home made studio "the egg" with a view to follow in his father Paul's footsteps as a confident session player - driving the old lady over the fence crazy in the process (Although rumour has it she used to come outside just to listen!)
After various bands, projects and the completion of high school, Mark decided to study his "practical" skills in IT; Computer Systems for 2 years, while continuing to juggle gigs around town. Mark is a qualified Computer Technician for both Mac and PC.
Following this, he decided to broaden horizons and build his musicianship skills at Box Hill Performing Arts; working on all facets of percussion - groove, timing, ensemble, reading, feel, technique and music business under instruction from some of Melbourne's most respected tutors and players. Over 3 years, Mark completed Foundation studies, a Diploma of Jazz/Popular and gained a valuable perspective of the Music Industry.
One of Mark's recent endeavors was Melbourne Acoustic/Rock act Lacuna from 2003-2005. Lacuna independently released the EP "Fate", which can be heard on this site.
In addition to writing, Mark works continually around town, establishing himself as a solid, reliable and versatile kit player; performing with various cover/tribute/corporate acts within the Melbourne scene.
Thanks for taking the time - Keep on groovin'

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 9/21/2006
Band Members: Some Original acts I've worked on :

Kass Crawford 2003
Lacuna 2003-2005

Some cover bands I've worked with around Melbourne :

Krunch
Passion Fruit Pulp
Andrew Hosking & Coupe DeVille
Activate
Tarko
No Code
Random
SMIRC
Loco
Kasif
Crave
Prank
Xcite

+ more

Primary stage kit :
- DW Collectors Specialty Lacquer
- Zildjian Cymbals
- Roland SPD-S
- LP Percussion

+ some other gear & gadgets, depending on the gig

Influences: Paul Hester, Rob Hurst, Rick Allen, John Farris, John Bonham, Nate Morton, Steve Jordan, Stuart Copeland, Travis Barker, Chad Smith, Steve Gadd, Pharell Williams, Dominic Howard, Adrian Young, Jose Pasillas, John Blackwell, Dave Grohl, James Brown, Phill Rudd just to name a few.

This is of course, in addition to the well known wealth of talent gigging around Melbourne.
We have some world-class players right here in our backyard, sporting musicianship and creativity matched only by their humility.

Get out to as many gigs as you can!
Record Label: unsigned
Type of Label: None

My Blog

Finally hopped on the band wagon!

Hey all, I finally got round to getting this thing going and I'm pleasantly surprised to see so many 'friends' online. Thanks for all the adds guys, I'm excited to join the MySpace club and keen to se...
Posted by Mark Virga on Fri, 22 Sep 2006 08:09:00 PST