I LOVE STPUID PEOPLE...ESPECIALLY STUPID CRIMINALS
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Whats to say about me...well, for starters I am a musician in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia and I've been playing drums and percussion for over 20 years. Along the way I have learned how to play saxaphone and I try (big emphasis on try) to play a little bit on the bass, guitar, and piano, mostly coming up with different rythym ideas.
I am the drummer/writer/co-founder of Hampton Roads' progressive metal band Diapason. Sharing my vision in music is Gerry Visyons, guitarist/writer/co-founder. Music is and has been since a very early age my life, blood, and longest,deepest running passion. I started learning drums and percussion seriously at approx. 07 years old. I have learned and played many different styles of music consisting of Rock/Metal, Classical, Jazz, Funk, Fusion, Blues, Latin, and even Modern Country. My heart has always turned back to Metal, however needing to break out of the confining writing structure of typical rock/metal I switched my focus to more progressive writing as such acts like Dream Theater, Symphony X, Vanden Plas, and Fates Warning. Along with instrumental writing I am somewhat of a poet and lyricist some of my works can be found in my blog section.
Other than that I am a pretty laid back, fun lovin' kind of guy. Some would say a regular comedian. I think I am more of an extreme smartass with sarcastic intent. I love to laugh and makes others laugh. I try to get out with friends and just have a great time even if it is just chillin out enjoying a laugh.
I enjoy life to its fullest without having to resort to the likes of illegal drugs or activities. That is not to say I dont get high. I have found my two greatest highs to be music and the sensual touch of a woman.
I guess you could say I am a curious soul. I am always in search of new things. I am also on a never ending quest for knowledge of both old and new. You can never learn or know too much. I firmly believe knowledge and understanding is power. Sometimes the search I am on brings me to the next inspiration for my writing.
Well that's it for now, see you round town or somewhere in cyber space....Carpe Diem!!!
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
I have played a variety of different drumkit set ups, percussion, cymbals, heads, sticks, and drum brands.
My first drumset (no available pictures) was a 5pc. Ludwig Rocker II's with an old Yamaha concert snare.(Which was my first real drum ever. No more practice pads.) The snare was a 14" and the toms (power toms) 14" and 15" mounted with a 20" Ludwig Classic floor tom, and a 22" bass drum. At that time I was using an old set of 14" Camber II hi-hats and 16" Zildjian Scimitar crash and 22'' Zildjian K ride. Eventually I picked up an 8" Sabian B8 splash. I also had a small LP cowbell. Back then I used Remo Pinstripe heads. Occasionally I used the Ebony Pinstripe heads. I played them for 10 years until they fell apart. I did however keep the floor tom.
Then came the Pearl Export Select 5pc. Fusion kit (no pictures available) with added Ludwig Classic from first drumset. Bass drum was your typical 22" The mounted toms were 10" and 12" and a 14" mounted floor with the 20" Ludwig Classic and a 14" snare. On this kit I incorporated a double kick pedal. It was the Pearl Power Shifter II. All pedals and hardware were Pearl. My cymbals were all Sabian. The Pro Sonix series made up a set of 14" hi-hats, a 16" crash, a 16" china, and a 20" ride. The B8 series offered a 16" crash and a 8" splash. At this time I used Aquarian drumheads on top and Remo heads on bottom. This was the time when I fell in love with Sabian cymbals (Can ya tell?)
You can see pictures of other drum kits I have played in my time in my pictures. I managed to hang on to the 20" Ludwig Classic floor tom for many years, but finally had to say farewell after selling the Pearls labled "Frankenstein." That particular kit was pieced together just to start playing again after a 2 year hiatus after selling the Pearl Export Selects to pay for lawyers.(Don't ask!!) Pearl Exports - 12/13" toms, 16/20" floors 14" snare. Sabian B8 19" crash/ride, B8 14"crash, XS20 18" china, Paiste 302 16"crash, 14" hi-hats, 20" ride, Wuhan 12" mini china, and Zildjian 8" Zilbel made up the cymbals. Also on this kit using a Pearl Powershifter II double kick pedal, again all Pearl hardware and pedals, and here I started using Evans G2 coated heads on the toms, Aquarian Superkick II's on the bass drums, and an Evans EC2 coated snare.
The last kit I played I have nicknamed "The Monsters." They were a 9 pc.Tama Superstar kit dating somewhere in the late 70's or early 80's. These things were huge, all power toms. The mounted toms were 14/15/16" (yes a 16"mounted tom) the floor toms were 18/20'' and the bass drums were both 24" Yeah they were quite massive. I had two snares on this kit that I used. One was a 14" 1963 Gretch (solid and lots of sound) and the other was a Tama Metalworks 14" snare. All pedals were Tama Iron Cobra, kick pedals were Iron Cobra Power series and the hardware was all Tama Roadpro. Cymbals were 21'' AA Raw Bell Dry ride, 17'' Vault crash, XS20 18" china, 16" AAXtreme crash, 16'' AA crash, B8 8" splash, B8 Pro 14" Rock hi-hats, and a Wuhan 12" mini china. On this kit I also had some new percussion as my writing styles had changed and I was incorporating new sounds. My auxiliary percussion consisted of all Latin Percussion(LP): a mounted Vibra-Slap II, an orange Piccolo block, blue and red Jam blocks, a purple Guiro block, yellow and a green Blast blocks , a Rock Ridge Rider Cowbell, a mounted black Cyclops tambourine, and I have two Egg Shakers(wait, where did I get these??? I guess I'll use them somewhere.) I continued with the Evans G2 heads for the toms, EC2 reverse dot for the snares and Evans Emads for the bass drums and Remo on the bottom heads.
My newest kit is the Tama Rockstar series. This one is also a 9pc., its black, and consisting of three mounted toms 8/10/12" two floor toms 14/16" and two bass drums 22" with a Rockstar 14" snare and a Metalworks 14" snare. All pedals are Iron Cobra, kick pedals still the Power series, and all hardware is Tama Roadpro. The throne I now use is the Tama Ergo-rider with the back rest (the finest throne out there in my opinon) I now use nothing but Evans heads, EC2 clear on the toms, EC2 reverse dot for the snares, and EQ4's for the bass drums with the Evans EQ bass drum patches (I finally found my perfect sound) I stuck with the same line up of cymbals from "The Monsters" : 21'' AA Raw Bell Dry ride, 17'' Vault crash, XS20 18" china, 16" AAXtreme crash, 16'' AA crash, B8 8" splash, B8 Pro 14" Rock hi-hats, and a Wuhan 12" mini china(it was a gift). I also still have the auxiliary percussion from "The Monsters" : All Latin Percussion(LP): a mounted Vibra-Slap II, an orange Piccolo block, blue and red Jam blocks,and yellow and a green Blast blocks , a Rock Ridge Rider Cowbell, a mounted black Cyclops tambourine, and two Egg Shakers. I have a feeling this kit will continue to grow.
So long story short, my weapons of choice are: Tama, Sabian, LP, Evans, and I also use Vater 5B drumsticks with the nylon tips, (maybe I'll get some endorsements one day :-) )
You Are Animal
A complete lunatic, you're operating on 100% animal instincts.
You thrive on uncontrolled energy, and you're downright scary.
But you sure can beat a good drum.
"Kill! Kill!"
The Muppet Personality Test
