Travis Barker

Travis Barker is quickly becoming one of the more influential musicians on the Rock scene today. Travis began studying drums and taking lessons at the age of four. He studied with a jazz teacher and was exposed to many different styles of music. While in High School, Travis played in the jazz ensemble and marching band. He subsequently gained much experience performing at regional competitions and festivals. His senior year, Travis passed up drum corps tryouts for touring with a rock band. He gained more experience as a rock drummer in a few early bands such as Feeble, The Suicide Machines, and The Aquabats.

In 1998, Travis replaced Blink 182's first drummer and came to the band’s rescue at one show by learning over twenty songs in just a few hours and performing with them later that evening. Travis quickly became a much respected and popular member of the band and solidified his position as the timekeeper with his professional attitude, rhythmic skills and talent.

Blink-182 won a Teen Choice Award, a Blockbuster Music Award, and appeared on the MTV Awards 2000 where they performed "All The Small Things" and won Best Group Video. In Europe, they received an MTV Europe Award for Best New Act. They have performed on Saturday Night Live and the Tonight Show (twice), appeared in the hit movie American Pie and opened the Billboard Music Awards. The band has also graced the covers of Rolling Stone, Alternative Press (twice) and Teen People. At this point, Blink-182 is a worldwide phenomenon, with their recordings reaping multi-platinum status and their concert tours selling out everywhere. The band's popularity has only increased since their formation in '93. In 1994 they released their first full-length album, Cheshire Cat, on Grilled Cheese (a division of Cargo Music). In 1996, they signed a joint-venture record deal with Cargo Music and MCA Records, with their first MCA release Dude Ranch (1997) setting the stage for their current success. By the end of 1998, they had emerged as one of the most popular pop-punk bands of the year.

Worldwide sales of Enema of the State are now over seven million copies, not to mention the fact that the album has been on Billboard's Top 200 for over a year. The album's three singles, "What's My Age Again," "All The Small Things" and "Adam's Song" have dominated MTV, alternative, rock and Top-40 radio. Travis will be on tour in support of Blink’s latest release and follow-up to "Enema of The State", "Take Off Your Pants And Jacket".

Box Car Racer, Barker's collaboration with Blink bandmate Tom DeLonge, David Kennedy and Anthony Celestino, filmed their second video recently with director Alexander Kostas (Filter, Andrew W.K.).


April 7, 2005
Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker of Blink 182 have started a new group named Plus 44, which features vocals from Carol Heller of Get The Girl.

The band are aiming to have a record released this year, with Hoppus telling MTV: "It's very exciting, like a breath of fresh air. It's all very electronic right now. We have a girl singing - she and I are trading off vocals.”

Barker also commented: "If Blink was the daytime, Plus 44 is the night time. It's such a departure from Blink, but it's amazing. I play all the drums, but they're electronic drums, plus I play piano and keyboard on it. And I've been making beats for it... I am just going to keep working on stuff. Everything's A-plus."

Blink 182 announced that they were to go on indefinite hiatus in February, citing a desire to spend more time with their families, however rumours surfaced that the trio had in fact fallen out.

September 2008:
Travis was hospitalized following a plane crash on September 19. Four others died in the crash. Barker was admitted to a Georgia burn center to treat third-degree burns to his lower body and returned home ten days later.



courtesy: drummerworld

DISTURBED Drummer Says DIMEBAG's Murder Has Cast Shadow Over Live Performing

DISTURBED drummer Mike Wengren, a close friend of late DAMAGEPLAN/PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott and his brother, DAMAGEPLAN/PANTERA drummer Vinnie Paul, told Launch Radio Networks that the onstage shooting of Abbott has cast a shadow over live performing. "I think one of the most scariest things is, you go up onstage, and there's this energy transfer between the band and the crowd, and you almost feel invincible. You feel very empowered," he said. "Never in a million years would anyone ever think something like that was even possible, and I think it just caught everyone off guard. It's pretty scary."

Nathan Gale, the disturbed ex-Marine who shot and killed Abbott and three others at a DAMAGEPLAN concert in Columbus, Ohio on Dec. 8, 2004, was killed by a police officer during the incident at the Alrosa Villa nightclub.

A second DAMAGEPLAN album, as well as other previously unreleased material featuring Abbott, may surface sometime in the near future.

courtesy : blabbermouth

FREE ROLAND V-DRUMS® LESSONS AVAILABLE ONLINE

Roland is pleased to announce the launch of V-Drums Lessons, a series of free online drumming videos taught exclusively using Roland drum & percussion products.

Hosted by top Roland clinicians and artists, these lessons are designed for every level of drummer. V-Drums Lessons cover various drum and percussion techniques and styles, and also provide helpful tips unique to electronic percussion instruments.

Visitors can view any of the lessons directly in their web browser, subscribe to the free video podcast via iTunes, or download individual lesson episodes directly to their computer.

“We are thrilled at how quickly these lessons have gained popularity in the drumming community,” says Steve Fisher, Percussion Market Development Manager at Roland. “With new lessons added each week, we’re confident the buzz will continue to grow.”

To get started with V-Drums Lessons today, visit:
www.RolandUS.com/V-DrumsLessons

V-Drums Lessons are also available at the iTunes store as a free video podcast:
itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=301964611

Dave Lombardo

performed with:

Slayer
Andy Wallace
John Zorn
Bill Metoyer
Grip Inc.
Vivaldi
Testament
Fantomas
.. and more

When I was in 3rd. grade my class had show and tell day, bashful as I was I brought a set of bongos and a Santana record and played along to a song. My parents put me in a Catholic private school where we lived in Southgate California. They had a school band, I was in that class only for a year, marching drum was not what I wanted but I enjoyed it very much. At age 10 my dad saw my persistent interest in drums and agreed to buy me a 5 piece Maxwin by Pearl drumset for $350.I was a KISS fan at the time and the first record I ever bought was KISS Alive, I taught myself to play "100,000 years". I remember being the talk of the town for knowing that solo. Some guy I knew during that time asked me if I knew the drum solo in the song "Moby Dick". I was very aware of Led Zeppelin but exposing myself to the record Led Zeppelin II showed me a side of music that I wasn't too familiar with, The Blues. An amazing amount of feeling was what this band had, and not only as a whole but the drummer John Bonham played with soo much emotion that I felt I learned that element and took it with me through my career. Later I learned this was Crescendo's and Decrescendo's.

I would listen to the radio often I would tune into a show called The King Biscuit Flower Hour, and hear pre-recorded broadcast's of live show's. I'd go to the local record store and buy 45's (records containing one song on each side.) of songs that I would hear on the radio and play along to them. I feel this was a learning period for me. I asked my parents to let me take drum lesson's. That lasted a week, I got extremely bored with LRLLRLRR.I went back to listening and playing along to records. From 10 to 12 years old all I liked was Rock music, but Something strange was happening to me and it wasn't just puberty. I was again exposed to new music. A good majority of my friends if not all were listening to DISCO. And I got into it. It was fun I went to allot of dances and parties was even a DJ for a mobile Disc Jockey called "A Touch of Class" those were great times. I would come home at 4AM And my parents would be pissed and threatened to put me in a military school. Underneath the no collar shirt, pleated pants and stacy adam shoes was a still devoted rock fan. The music I was exposed to at that time showed me the effects of rhythm on the body. The difference of Disco and Rock were so great that it intrigued me and I found that playing along to this music showed me groove. I felt this energy and it was amazing, it made people dance and not just listen, like what rock music was about.

Summer of 78 still a DJ and still drumming, I was meeting various musicians around town and they would come over and talk with me, and some would bring there guitars and we would jam in my bedroom. We would play songs by Jimi Hendriks like Purple Haze, Foxy Lady and one of my favorites,Fire.Graduating from the private school at 8th grade I went to a private high school called Pius 10th.High school. There were older students and more musicians. There I sign up to be in the talent show. I did a duet with a guitar player named Peter Fashing, we did our own rendition of Johnny B Goode complete with a drum solo. I'll never forget the dress rehearsal the night before. There was sarcasm from another band yelling from a distance calling me Buddy Rich. We brought the house down the following night. I'll never forget the roar of the crowd during the drum solo. The next day at school the word was out, my name was "David the drummer" and everybody knew who I was. Soon after that I formed a band called "Escape" we only had 2 guitar players and played AC/DC Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath songs In my garage. I had to change school's because I wasn't meeting grade expectations. I went to South Gate High School and found a singer to join the band and still no bass player we played a couple parties under the name Sabotage, nothing came of it. My parents noticed my withdrawal from everything except music I would stay in my room after school and play my drums and listen to music. They nagged me to get a job and quit the band. So I did.

I was threatened by the musicians. I was hearing they were out to "kick my ass"for leaving the group. They never did. One of the guitar players girlfriend, the so-called manager went as far as to write a poem about me leaving the band in the school news paper saying," we'll see who makes it to the top, lets place a bet". I should of made that bet.

Getting a job at the local pizza joint as a delivery boy shut my parents up for a while I was able to talk my dad into buying me a real drumset.And since I had a job I was able to pay him back the loan. I went to Guitar Center in Hollywood and found a TAMA Swingstar drumset and Paiste Rude cymbal package for $1100 I'll never forget the ride home from the store in the back of my dads truck with my drums.

One day I was doing a local delivery and I remembered one of the guys that use to come over telling me about this guitar player that lived 5 blocks away he also told me that he had all these guitars that his dad bought him. I drove by the house and he was outside watering the lawn, I introduced myself to him by saying "hey I heard you play guitar I play drums do you want to jam?" he said,"yeah, Do you want to come by later and check out my guitars?" I agreed and showed up that night, and shared music and bands that each of us liked. His name was Kerry King.

To be continued...........

Lars Urich

Besides being one of Metallica's founding members and main songwriters, drummer Lars Ulrich is also the band's spokesman. Born on December 26, 1963, in Gentofte, Denmark, Ulrich's father (Torbin Ulrich) was a nationally renowned tennis player, and it appeared as though Lars would follow in his father's footsteps, as the young Ulrich practiced hard on tennis skills. In 1973, his father took Lars to his first rock concert, to see the mighty Deep Purple in Copenhagen, which opened the youngster's eyes to hard rock and heavy metal. After he decided that the tennis life wasn't for him after all, Ulrich shifted his focus on music (namely the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement: Iron Maiden, Saxon, Diamond Head, Motorhead, Def Leppard, etc.), and took up the drums. His family relocated to California in the early '80s, as Lars promptly put an ad in the local music paper looking for other similarly minded musicians looking to start up a band (even though the NWOBHM had yet to make an impression stateside). One of the first replies he received was from guitarist James Hetfield, as the pair agreed that they should form a band that was a reaction against the glam metal that had infiltrated Los Angeles at the time. Soon after, Metallica was officially born.

Several other bandmembers came and went, until a lineup consisting of bassist Cliff Burton, lead guitarist Dave Mustaine, plus Ulrich and Hetfield (the latter also doubling on vocals by this time) moved to San Francisco, building up a solid fan base due to their shows and a heavily circulated demo tape, No Life 'Til Leather. Metallica was offered a record contract with the independent label Megaforce if they agreed to move to New York, which they did, replacing Mustaine with Kirk Hammett in the process. Over the course of three releases, 1983's Kill 'Em All, 1984's Ride the Lightning (which was the group's first to be issued by a major label, Elektra), and 1986's Master of Puppets, Metallica became one of heavy metal's most promising new bands, until Burton's tragic death nearly derailed the group. With massive success just around the corner, the remaining members decided to carry on with replacement member Jason Newsted, resulting in such blockbuster releases as 1988's And Justice for All and 1991's self-titled release, which established the group as one of the biggest rock bands on the planet. The '90s saw more sold-out stadium tours and further hit albums (1996's Load, 1997's Reload, etc.), before Newsted exited the band in early 2001.

Between Metallica tours throughout the '90s, Ulrich kept himself busy forming his own record label, Music Company (via Elektra/Asylum) and jet setting with other rock stars as well as movie actors. In the late '90s, Ulrich received criticism from rock fans when he publicly spoke out against the mp3 file sharing internet server Napster, attempting to lend a hand in closing down the server by prohibiting Napster from including any Metallica songs - going as far as giving a list of Metallica fans who had downloaded songs of the group (which resulted in the ban of nearly 300,000 users from the service).

perform with :
Metallica
Diamond Head
Mercyful Fate
James Hetfield
Kirk Hammett
Randy Staub
Bob Rock
Jason Newsted
Cliff Burton
Brian Dobbs
Mark Whitaker
Jeffrey Norman
Michael Kamen
Toby Wright
Mike Clink
S. Mark Wright
Paul Welcomer
David Teie
Anthony Striplen
Peter Shelton
Victor Romasevich

.....and many more

Source: artistdirect.com

David Silveria

David Silveria was born in Bakersfield, California, on September 21st 1972. David grew up in Bakersfield, where he learned how to play drums at the age of 9. "I think one of the reasons music became such an obsession for everyone in the band is that there just wasn't a whole lot to do where we lived."

James, Brian and Fieldy were looking for a drummer for their band. Fieldy says "I get a message on my answer machine from this kid. David's like 13... 'hey you guys looking for a drummer'. So we called him up, tried him out...he was good, man"

"David was like, so young, he used to have to get his mom to drop him off at practice" says Munky. "They called me up. And I loaded up my drum kit into the car, and took it down to the studio, and it's been there ever since" says David.


David married Shannon Bellino in April, 1997, and tattooed her first name on his back. They have a son, David Jr., born on August 22, 1997. Along with the aforementioned tattoo of his wife's name, David has three more tattoos: a Cheshire cat, a guy sticking out his tongue that has a drumstick through it, and the Korn logo. He is described as the shy member of the band.

David has a lucrative side job as a model. He has already completed a modeling assignment for skate punk clothing company 26 Red. He proved such a hit that 26 Red's biggest rivals, Grind, have now also contracted Silveria to do a series of ads for them.

Of David's influences he says "There's music that I like to listen to, but when it comes to writing our music, I don't really get influenced by anyone else's music. I get influenced as we write our music. The part comes up and it influences me to think a certain way about the part and about how to go about writing to it."

Source: kornkids.com

Metallica Up For Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction

With a lot of buzz still going strong after the release of the groups new album “Death Magnetic” (which I actually think is pretty good)…It has been announced that the group is being considered for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Billboard reports… “Metallica, Run-D.M.C. and the Stooges lead the list of nine acts up for induction next year into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Five will be chosen in January for enshrinement during an April 4 ceremony at Cleveland’s Public Hall.”

The 2009 ceremony will be the first one open to the public since 1997 and will be held in Cleveland, Ohio the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Metallica has made a lot of missteps over the years, specifically “St. Anger” and the snare drum sound that came with it. Regardless, the band is arguably one of the most important metal bands of all time and also one of the most successful. Also, contrary to what most people say about Lars Ulrich’s drumming, he definitely knows his way around a kit and how to perfectly compliment James Hetfield’s rhythm guitar.

courtesy: drumtom