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INFO

First and foremost, I do not consider myself a "lord of the drums". It started off as a play on "slum lord" because I had so many drums. It just kind of stuck.

 

I have been playing professionally for 40 years. I started playing drums when I was 9. I don't get into how fast my hands and feet are or what amazing fills I can pull off.  The job of a drummer is time-keeping, not fills. My timing is solid and my style really is all my own.

 

I do not do drugs, I am not an alcoholic, have my own reliable transportation and I hate to be late. I come to practice prepared, know the material and never miss a show. I've been told that, with an attitude like that, I have no right to call myself a musician.

The Drumlord live!

I maintain a SPL Velocity acoustic drum kit that I have converted to electronic powered by a Pearl Mimic Pro drum module.

I much prefer electronic drums to acoustic, simply because you have so much more control and variety with an e-kit.  I can change the sound of my set with the touch of a button to suit a song, add percussion or other noises and it is so much easier to record. 

One of the best pieces of advice I received early in my music career is "People hear what they see".  That is why I like to use acoustic looking kits on stage.When people see an obviously electronic kit they tend to "hear" "beewww beewww" like the sound of a Simmons SDS8.  When they "see" an acoustic kit, they "hear" a good sounding drum set.  To the casual listener, they don't even notice that the sounds drastically change.  They just know that it sounds "right".

I can't tell you how many times I have been told (mostly by acoustic purist drummers) that "sound guys don't like electric drums".  I have found this to be nonsense.  I've had a few sound engineers balk about only getting a stereo feed from me, only to have them come back later and tell me how much they love my drums and how easy it was to make them sound great.  I do spend a great deal of time setting up my sounds and am very familiar with my module if I need to make changes to accommodate a particular sound system.  

I take pride in the fact that I have had numerous drummers, even some hard-core A-Drummers, come up to me at shows and tell me how great my drums sound.  Some have even been shocked when they realize that my drums are electronic.  I want people to be able to enjoy whatever music my band is playing and not even notice whether the drums are acoustic or electric.

Standard Stage Gear

 

  • SPL Velocity acoustic kit converted to electronic.  I use Yamaha electronic hi-hat and cymbals.  

  • Pearl Mimic Pro electronic drum module powered by Steven Slate drums.  This is the latest, cutting-edge drum module on the market.  Basically, it is Steven Slate Drums 5.0 VST in a box. I have converted VST kits from EZ Drummer, Addictive Drums and BFD Drums to the Mimic, as well, plus numerous custom samples.

  • EV 15" powered speaker with a Harbinger powered sub for stage monitor.

  • I maintain all my own power, instrument and speaker cables.  Everything from my kit to the FOH is mine.

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