Member Since: 31/01/2007
Band Members:
1. What do you like about Atomic Drums?
Man, Atomic drums are awesome! The drums are personally made by Jimmy, no factory lines here, and the quality and workmanship, along with the sounds are just excellent. His choice of lugs and hardware are very cool and hardy, and just the general uniqueness of his ideas and designs with the drums are eye catching. There’s a little of something for every drummer at Atomic. Man I'll tell u what, if anybody can test a drum it’s me. I take these things out and just kill 'em on the road, and I have to say Atomic drums are definitely made to take a beating!
2. How long have you been playing drums?
I got kind of a late start playing, I think I was 14 when I got my first kit. I'm 26 now so I guess that's roughly 12 years. But man the first day I beat that thing I new that drums were not just a phase, it was in my blood!
3. Who are your favorite drummers?
I have so many favs, but the guys that really did it 4 me were the rock showman style drummers. The drummers that put just as much emphasis on looking cool as they did sound. Just to name a few, Tommy Lee, Eric Singer, Tommy Aldridge. I love to hear someone lay down a simple rock power grove and just KILL IT!
4. Where did you study, because after hearing you play, it’s obvious you’ve had rudimental training?
For many years I was self taught, basically just stealing things off of records and figuring things out on my own, by watching other drummers. I definately took to the rudiments, but mainly the essentials, like paradiddles and doubles and flams. When I was maybe 19 I took lessons 4 a while from Billy Mason who plays drums 4 Tim McGraw. Oddly enough, later on I took a lot of lessons from Charlie Adams of Yanni, who was actually Billy's teacher. Charlie's influence definitely made my hands stronger! Charlie used to talk about "power doubles", a concept I loved which was basically working your double stroke roll up to such proficiency that u could kill ur lowest tuned floor tom with bombastic doubles. As a matter of fact, I haven’t practiced that lately, I think I going to woodshed my power doubles! I also most recently took some lessons from Ralph Pace who is a fantastic local jazz player. Jazz is sort of a foreign style to me because I grew up bashing to Motley Crue records, so I hooked up with Ralph to sort of try and half way get into that jazz headspace.
5. What are some of you hobbies and interests besides the drums?
I love to lift weights. That’s something I try to do at least 3 or 4 times a week. I also love collecting bootleg cds and videos of my favorite bands. One of my strangest hobbies though has to be my love of exotic tarantulas! I currently own 10 tarantulas, used to be 11(Andi, R.I.P.)
6. Tell us about the spiders!
This will take a while, I have so many! I guess I'll start with the South American species. Rosie is a female Salmon Pink bird eater. She is considered the second largest species of spider in the world and should reach an impressive 11 inch leg span. Right, now she’s at about 6 and a half inches with a nasty disposition. Ace is a female pink toe and a very sweet spider! Me and my girlfriend Valarie actually get her out and let her crawl on us! Peanut is a juvenile giant black and white and is beautiful, reaching 8 inches with black and white striped legs a red abdomen(butt) and black carapace(head). Steven is a female stripe knee tarantula who is a cool blue color and comes from Costa Rica. Rudy is a female Haitian giant who should reach an impressive 9 or 10 inches, and she is just as hateful as can be if u dare to disturb her. Andi, bless her heart, just died in a molt, an unfortunate turn of fate that often happens to large tarantulas. She was the spider of all spiders, a goliath bird eater that reaches 12 inches across the legs!! Now we'll do African species. Cooper is a juvenile starburst baboon who is an awesome bright orange color and will readily attack u if u even look at her! Spike is a juvenile curved horned baboon who is cool because of the giant horn that grows on its carapace(head). Now 4 the Asian species. Godzilla is a giant Malaysian Earth Tiger from Malaysia and should reach an impressive 9 or 10 inches with an attitude to match. She has beautiful tiger stripes on her abdomen(butt). Malaya is a Tai Tiger from Thailand and also has stripes on her abdomen. Last but not least is Gene. Gene is a male Indian ornamental, a giant tree spider from India. He is large, mean, and fast and his venom is very toxic so I always have to use great caution with him.
1. Tell us about your drumming influences.
My first influences stem from my uncle, Doug Melanson (Gimantis). He was the one that gave me my first drum set too. (A 70's Ludwig Blue Vistalite 6 piece). From there my influence shifted to the professional level. Gerry Gaskill (Kings X), Phil Rudd (AC/DC) to indie rockers Glen Kotche (Wilco), Chris Layton (Double Trouble) and the biggest influence in my playing comes from Mike Levesque (www.MikeLevesque.com). Check him out and you'll see & hear why.
2. What are some of your interests aside from drumming?
Aside from drumming I enjoy playing my bass, mandolin, piano and guitar. With music being my livelihood, it leaves me a bunch of time to do other things. I'm an avid pc gamer and enjoy playing 'first person shooter' games.... I could turn anyone into a total noob. (people are going to think I'm a sicko now... lol). I also enjoy raising my 2 year old son... he's a pretty talented kid too.
3. How many shows do you think you play a year?
Conservatively, I play about 260 gigs per year. But I'd put it more in the 310 gigs per year range. I enjoy a full schedule. If I have a day or two off a week, I get bummed out... lol. Don't get the wrong impression, I very much do enjoy spending time with my family.... but the gigs allow me to be at home to raise my son.
4. What's one of your most memorable road stories?
Wow, I have a few.... to pick one, it would have to be.... Back in 2000, I was touring with 'Wheat' (www.WheatMusic.com). We had just finished a gig in Stockholm and were headed up to Oslo. Well, at about 5am our bus stopped at a service station to refuel. I felt the bus stop, so I got up, grabbed my bag and went to go brush my teeth and whatnot. *If your bag is not on the bus, that means that you're not on the bus*. Ok, so I get back from doing my thing and realize that we ran out of peanut butter and jelly from the night before... so I thought I'd go get some more... at which point, I put my bag down, grabbed some money from my bag and went into the store.*BIG MISTAKE*... in the process of getting my money out of my bag, I had left my bag on the bus. I find some peanut butter and jelly fairly quickly. Got in line, paid for the stuff and walked back outside.... no bus. The bus was gone. All my info was in my bag, on the bus. My money, my contact numbers, my intinerary... EVERYTHING was on the bus. So, being the only english speaking person at the service station, I buddied up with a CocaCola display and a postcard rack for about 4 hours. (Did I mention that I was in my pajamas?) These guys drove all the way to the venue... they say, "Wow, Bob must have been really tired.... he's not snoring or anything... Ricky, go check on him". Ricky goes over to my bunk and asks for me... no reply. He pulls the curtain to reveal that I was not there. This is when they said.... Holy $%1T!! Where the hell is Bob??? Ring, Ring... "American"???... I say "YES!" I get on the phone.. it's the bus driver. (Thank God the driver saved his gas reciept!). He explained to me not to worry and that the show promoter is travelling the same route from Stockholm. Woohoo!! So, a few hours later (the cocacola display and myself have become very good friends by this point), the promoter pulls up in a convertable MG. I'm a big guy, I'm in my pajamas consisting of flanel pants, slippers and a t-shirt. It's 30 degrees out. I very graciously get in the car and ask... does the top go up? The promoter says that it's broke and asks where is my jacket... lol. So, I freeze for a few hours and get to the club 5 mins before soundcheck. Nice huh? What would you have done?
5. What was it about Atomic Drums that first got your attention?
The first thing that grabbed my attention about Atomic Drums was that I was looking for a particular design and sound which no major companies have offered for decades.... I wanted a single tension wood snare so I could quickly change the snare dynamics on stage with a few quick turns of the lugs. Atomic drums actually offered this option. I couldn't believe it! Besides that, Jimmy doesn't have 50 guys working for him, he does it all himself and that's when you'll find nothing but exceptional quality with a personal touch and critical eye to customer satisfaction. He believes in the working man and his gear. That's a quality that very few instrument makers take into serious consideration these days. Having pride in the term "Made In The USA" is back.
1. How long have you been playing the drums?
29 years.
2. Who are your drumming influences?
My first influence as a drummer was my dad. My dad played in the Dallas Symphony and toured with big bands. I started taking lessons from him when I was six years old. I grew up listening to Buddy Rich, Grady Tate, Carl Palmer, etc. One of the bands I’m in covers Tower of Power and I really enjoy the drumming of David Garibaldi. He is slick and musical. I really enjoy the drumming of Jeff Hamilton. He makes playing with brushes exciting. I steal ideas from everybody I listen to.
3. What are some of your other interests besides drumming?
I work out 4 to 5 times a week. I like wakeboarding and knee boarding. I’m also involved with my church.
4. Do you have any fun road or gig stories?
I really don’t. The worst things that happen to me are having a hard time finding parking or a difficult load in. I work with some solid people.
5. What do you like about Atomic Drums?
I like how quickly I can set up and tear down. I really like the shallow bass drum. I just played a musical and the pit was crowded, the kit was perfect. The other musicians loved the set and commented how perfect it was for the job. I took it to a rehearsal the other day and the trombone player was saying how sweet the kit was. I get a lot of complements on this kit.
1. Who are your drumming influences?
My biggest influences are Billy Cobahm, Keith Moon, Buddy Miles, Stewart Copeland and Jimmy Chamberlain.
2. How long have you been playing?
I played off and on since I was 10, but I am a guitar player by experience. Your drums have been great to record with and provide excellent percussion for the songs I write.
3. What are some of your other interests?
Songwriting, singing and playing the guitar are my favorite musical hobbies besides drumming. I also like eating good food and trying new beers.
4. What do you like about Atomic Drums?
The price point and sound of Atomic Ddrums is great. Also, I have done many hundreds of transactions on Ebay since 1998 and you are probably the nicest person I've ever dealt with. But for me, the greatest advantage is being able to have a full acoustic drum set in my small studio.
Record Label: King Baby Records
Type of Label: Indie