Bret profile picture

Bret

Tasty, tasty duck.

About Me



Most people call me Bret, although I will also respond to Phil, EDDIE!!, Shiney, Elvis, and "hey!"

When I'm not drumming, I'm a pretty quiet guy.

My Interests

Music, audio engineering and production, theatre, drums, viola, guitar, photography, film, Buddhism, meditation, animals, aviation, kayaking, motorcycles, marksmanship (sporting clays, paper target, IPSC), drumming on the steering wheel, forgetting to shift, daydreaming, learning, loving, living.

I'd like to meet:

Fellow musicians, artists, creative people, honest people, passionate people, genuine people, you, and...

I never wanted to become
Someone like him, so secure,
Content to live each day just like the last,
I was sure I knew
That this was not for me,
And I wanted so much more,
Far beyond what I could see

So I swore that I'd
Never be someone like him

So many years have passed
Since I proclaimed
My independence,
My mission,
My aim,
And my vision, so secure,
Content to live each day like it's my last
It's wonderful
To know that I could be
Something more than what I dreamed,
Far beyond what I could see

Still I swear that I'm
Missing out this time

As far as I could tell,
There's nothing more I need
But still I ask myself,
Could this be everything?

Then all I swore
That I would never be
Was now, so suddenly,
The only thing
I wanted
To become

To be someone just like him.

(From "Octavarium," Octavarium, Dream Theater)

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Music:



Dream Theater

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Todd Snider

Joseph Childress

OSI

Days of the New

Blake & The Family Dog

Liquid Tension Experiment

Yellow Matter Custard

Seer

Dormlife

Vincent's Ear

The Champagne Charade

Barenaked Ladies

Amanda West

Stephen Trask

Rush

Nirvana

Earth Eatz Dog

Porcupine Tree

Dominici

The Trailer Park Troubadours

Led Zeppelin

Rage Against the Machine

Ben Harper

Gregory Douglass

Alice in Chains

Young Royals

Spoon

Green Day

Leo Kottke

The Dresden Dolls

Tim Reynolds

Marcus Eaton

Van der Graaf Generator

Stevie Ray Vaughan

The Eagles

King Crimson

Pain of Salvation

The Who

Let Go

Katatonia

Bjork

A Perfect Circle

Cowboy Mouth

Bobaflex

Pain

Frank Zappa

Terry Bozzio

The Beatles

Marillion

Pink

Godsmack

No Doubt

Van Halen

Kansas

Metallica

Pantera

AC/DC

Iron Maiden

Johann Sebastian Bach

P. D. Q. Bach

Billy Joel

Herbie Hancock

Chris Cain

Opeth

The Black Crowes

Alter Bridge

Creed

Kasey Chambers

Dave Matthews Band

System of a Down

Musical Theatre

Shows I've drummed for:

Anything Goes (PCS)
Side Show (KOB)
Guys and Dolls (KOB)
Li'l Abner (KOB)
Footloose (PCS)
Mame (SVRT)
Jane Eyre (PCS)
Charlie Brown (AAT)
Oliver (AAT)
Pippin (MCT)
42nd Street (AAT)
Honk! (AAT)
How to Succeed...(AAT)
CATS (PCS)
Annie (AAT)
Seussical (AAT)
A Chorus Line (AAT)
Thoroughly Modern Millie (AAT)
Wind in the Willows (AAT)
Urinetown (AAT)
Les Miserables (PCS)
West Side Story (AAT)
Hedwig & The Angry Inch (PP)
Side Show (LPRT)
Princess & The Pea (SSC)
Anything Goes (AAT)
Helen of Egypt (UCSC)

CURRENTLY:
Insignificant Others

Coming soon:
The Rocky Horror Show (ATC)

Movies:

Severance
Fight Club
Stranger Than Fiction
Conspiracy Theory
Hedwig and The Angry Inch
Requiem for a Dream
The Bourne Series
Pirates of the Caribbean
The Usual Suspects
Chasing Amy
One Flew...Cuckoo's Nest
Amelie
American Beauty
Lethal Weapon series
Die Hard series
Payback
The Game
Hamlet (Branagh's & Zeffirelli's)
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead
This is Spinal Tap
The Evil Dead
The Fifth Element
Braveheart
The Terminal
Python - Holy Grail
Dogma
The Breakfast Club

Concert DVDs & Docs:
DT: SCORE 20th Anniversary
DT: Live Scenes from NY
DT: Live at Budokan
Portnoy: Drumavarium
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster
Frank Zappa: Baby Snakes

Television:

If I had cable...

MythBusters

Battlestar Galactica

24

Books:

Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe series (The Big Sleep, The Lady in the Lake, The Little Sister, The Long Goodbye, etc.); Wm. Shakespeare's Hamlet; Noah Levine's Dharma Punx and Against The Stream; Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club and Choke (I'm about to read Rant, then Lullaby).

Heroes:

John Lennon

My Blog

It’s Time to Ramble On

Hello fellow freaks and musicians,I'm posting this here bloggythingy to inform you of my upcoming departure from Santa Cruz. Fret not; I won't be going far, and I will be back. I am moving to the Ea...
Posted by Bret on Tue, 12 Feb 2008 05:33:00 PST

Carpe Diem

From "A Change of Seasons" Lyrics by Mike Portnoy.   I'll always rememberThe chill of NovemberThe news of the fallThe sounds in the hallThe clock on the wallTicking away "Seize the Day"I heard h...
Posted by Bret on Mon, 03 Dec 2007 02:00:00 PST

Hot Patootie, Bless My Soul!!

Come see The Rocky Horror Show - HALLOWEEN at THE RIO!!More info and datesĀ at www.myspace.com/RockyAtTheRioI'm playing Eddie!! :)...
Posted by Bret on Tue, 16 Oct 2007 05:24:00 PST

Another HEDWIG date added - 8/18!!

After packing the house at 12 Galaxies last month, they've asked us to return for an encore performance!Come see Hedwig & The Angry Inch LIVE at 12 Galaxies this Saturday, August 18th!Tickets and info...
Posted by Bret on Mon, 13 Aug 2007 03:36:00 PST

Hedwig and The Angry Inch - LIVE!!

Don't miss this masterpiece of a rock musical! It just might change your life. (No kidding.This has been one of the most moving experiences I've had working in musical theatre.)Written by John Camer...
Posted by Bret on Sat, 30 Jun 2007 11:52:00 PST

Everybody can find meaning in these words...

A dear friend of mine sent me this poem, and I'm passing it on to you. It touched me deeply and helped me to look within myself for the strength and guidance I needed.Thank you, Danae.After a while y...
Posted by Bret on Sat, 16 Jun 2007 08:15:00 PST

Something Special...

My band (Stormy Strong) is performing at the Northern CA Special Olympics Summer Games.We are proud to support and perform at the 2007 Summer Special Olympics! There are over 1,000 athletes who have t...
Posted by Bret on Thu, 31 May 2007 01:59:00 PST

ROCK for a GREAT CAUSE!

Come rock with my band (Stormy Strong) at the beautiful AVALON nightclub in Santa Clara!Show Time: Thursday June 14, 2007 - 8:00 PMVenue Name: The Avalon ClubAddress: 777 Lawrence Expressway, Santa Cl...
Posted by Bret on Thu, 24 May 2007 09:30:00 PST

CORRECTION! (Someone buy me a calendar, please.)

Disregard my last blog... for whatever reason, I thought May 11th was THIS Friday, not NEXT Friday. Durrrrrr.So, here's the low down, on the down low, for real:My band (Stormy Strong) is playing a FR...
Posted by Bret on Thu, 03 May 2007 11:59:00 PST

TWO great shows this week!!

My band (myspace.com/StormyStrong) has two shows in the Santa Cruz area this week. Come rock with us, bring all your friends, and have a great time!!Wednesday Night: We are on the bill to support a ...
Posted by Bret on Tue, 01 May 2007 11:34:00 PST