Dejan Nikolic is mostly known as a long time drummer for rock starguitarist/singer/songwriter and multimedia artist Alexandra Sladjana Milosevic. He startedhis musical education at age of 6 playing violin, later switching to viola, and along theway he developed love for drums and drumming.
Dejan took lessons from reputable drum teacher, professor at "Belgrade Music Academy" Miroslav Karlovic. "Karlovic is fantastic teacher. He is also a great human being. He played with many top jazz and pop artists in ex-Yugoslavia. I learned a lot, not just drum wise. I'm trying to pass some of that knowledge and wisdom to my students." Nikolic also attended drum clinics and masterclasses of: Zoro, Dom Famularo, Virgil Donati, Marko Djordjevic, Ed Tighpen...
In his professional career, (15 years by far), he played with many top Serbian artistsin various musical fields. Jazz saxophonist Ivan Svager, rock guitarist Bata Kostic,heavy-rock guitarist Borislav Mitic, thrash metal band Rapid Force and Di Luna Blues Band,just to name a few. He also played with American guitarist/singer/songwriter Alex Chilton(of The Box Tops and Big Star fame). He's known for his ability to shift between differentmusic styles with ease, and playing what is right for the music. Also when needed he canblast flashy fills and chops, accompanied with superb double bass drum skills.
Nikolic is also accomplished drum teacher, giving private lessons for the last 12 years. "I love teaching. I am a constant learner myself, and I enjoy passing knowledge to younger players and watch them growing. Teaching is something that I love almost equally as playing. I am very serious and methodical about that. I'm teaching my students not just how to play drums well, but to be good musicians in general. I am inspired by people like Steve Smith, Gregg Bissonette, Dom Famularo and Jo Jo Mayer to name a few, and I'm trying to approach my instrument and my students with the same amount of enthusiasm and passion as those guys do."
As a member and co-founder of "Ars et Norma Association"(www.arsetnorma.com), he participated in other activities such as fight for Musician Rights and Intelectual Property Rights in Serbia, organizing workshops, seminars and TV pannel discussions as well as organizing and producing various cultural events.
Dejan is well skilled "all around" drummer. Over the years he played rock, pop, blues, funk, metal, jazz, latin, disco...
"I like to play different music. I love music in general, and I like challenges. I like soloing, fills and double bass kicks. On the otherhand, I enjoy simplicity as well. Every music style has its own rules, so it is really
important to play what is right for the music.Everything is connected, so the more you know, the better."
Most recent, hetoured with new incarnation of legendaryhard-rock band "Vatreni Poljubac", new project of Milic Vukasinovic, "Mitch Valiant Band", and blues band "Don Giovanni & Friends". Currently, Dejan is involved in studio and live session work. Dejan also working on a new (electro/acoustic/experimental) project he formed with live act "A.l.a.v.u.x", called "Electro Plot"
Dejan plays YAMAHA drums and hardware, PAISTE cymbals, VIC FIRTH drumsticks and REMO heads.
For more info, audio and video clips, please visitwww.dexdrum.com