Tony Royster Jr.

Tony Royster Jr. is only 21 years old and has been playing drums since the age of 3. Often referred to as a "prodigy" by his fans, he has participated in numerous drummer events and contests worldwide including the 1995 Guitar Center National Drum-Off competition in Hollywood, CA which he won at the ripe old age of 11!
Tony is becoming accustomed to high-profile performances that include TV's Nickelodeon House Band (lead by Paul Shaffer of the David Letterman show), the Jenny Jones show, the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards show, and an international tour in 2001 backing #1 selling Asian artist, Hikaru Utada. Additionally, he is regularly invited to perform at prestigious events worldwide such as PASIC (Percussive Arts Society International Convention), Modern Drummer Festival, the Montreal Drumfest, and the Florida Drum Expo.

Proficient in numerous styles, Tony excels at Funk, R&B, Latin, Rock, and Jazz. He has performed alongside such notable drummers as Dennis Chambers, Billy Cobham, Steve Smith, Sheila E., and veteran drummer Chester Thompson. He has also graced the stage with legendary musician's Branford Marsalis, Paul Shaffer, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, among others.

Tony Royster Jr. was voted #1 Up and Coming Drummer by Modern Drummer magazine 2000 readers' poll and has been voted #2 in the UK 2001 readers' poll. He has appeared on the cover of the millennium issue of Modern Drummer magazine with Dennis Chambers and continues to receive high marks that earn him endorsements with companies such as DW Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Vic Firth sticks, Evans drumheads, LP percussion, Drumframe, Shure microphones, Warner Bros. Publications, HQ percussion products, Drumometer, and Specialty Cases.

Tony's talents have carried him across the globe to Europe, Japan, and Asia but in 2001 he achieved substantial international acclaim with the Warner Brothers video release of, "Common Ground", featuring Tony with his mentor, and favorite drummer, Dennis Chambers.

Most importantly, Tony is a positive role model for all kids. His motto is "Be cool, stay in school" and he sets the standard for personal achievement among his peers.

Dirk Brand

Dirk Brand born in Germany.

Studied (Percussion Institute of Technology) and played for about two years in the California area. He was taught by Ralph Humphrey (Zappa), Joe Porcaro (famous teacher), Takashi Numazawa (13 Cats), Casey Scheuerell (session great), Joey Heredia (latin great), Steve Houghton (session great) and many more! Published four Drum Books "1.000 Faces of Drum Styles" and "Future Drumming, Drum`n`Bass, House, Jungle" and "Chartreading for Drummers" and two separate Play Along CD`s "Jamtracks for Drummers" through the AMA Publishing Company. They got all international best reviews! His latest book "Pocket Rhythms for Drums" is recommended by Thomas Lang, Wolgang Haffner and Steve Smith!

In Mai 2003 he introduces the DVD "A Band Concept" through the Company "Acoustic Music Records". This DVD is about how to play in a Band, demonstrated by guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, vocals, harmony and rhythm theory.

As a sideman he works a lot for national and international artists like: Sax Legend Charlie Mariano, Deborah Watson, Touring with the Gregor Hilden Band (outstanding european blues guitar player), Stevie Woods, Rock Legends Geoff Downes and John Wetton (ASIA), Gloria Gaynor (soul legend), Isabell Farell, Catherina Valente, Gitte Hennig, Angelika Milster (Cats), Al Copley (former piano player of the Blues Brothers), Touring with the Prog Rock Group Leez (supporting Queensryche or Dokken), Touring with Jeff Richmann (guitar player along Weckl, Novak, Colaiuta, Shapiro) Touring with Johnny Rogers (international famous Blues Singer), Phillipe Caillat (French guitar player), Touring for the Goethe Instiute (Israel, France, Russian), Touring with Big Jay McNeely (honking sax legend from BB King) or playing different musicals like Evita, Star Light Express, Hair, and many more.

He is a Tutor of the Westfälische Wilhelms Universität Münster and of the Modern Drum School.

He played on different drum festivals like "Zildjian Rhythm Night" (along Sonny Emory, Andy Gangadeen), "Drums&Sounds 2000" (along Colaiuta, Weckl, Bisquera), "Superdrumming Festival Nonnweiler" (along Mike Shapiro, Marc Schulmann), "Brandenburg Trommelt" (along Michael Küttner, Hakim Ludin), or recently "Drums`n`Percussion Paderborn" (along Steve Smith, Marco Minnemann, Rene Cremers), "Tribute to Jeff Porcaro Germany" (along Bissonette, Gadd, Zoro), "Drums`n`Percussion Paderborn 2003" (along Chester Thompson, Adam Nussbaum), "Le Bag Show Paris" (along Christophe des Champs) or "Festival TamTam Montlucon" (along french session great Löic Pointhieux), Rhythm in Marktoberdorf (along Hakim Ludin, Johnny Rabb, Russ Miller), and many more!

He is a product specialist for world renowned Roland V Drums and Groove Gear. He is doing clincs for Roland worldwide like Japan, China, Belgium, France, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea.

He is proud to be now endorsing Sabian Cymbals. He was always looking for a Cymbal sound that matches his style of playing in a lot of different music genres. With Sabian, he says, he finally founds Cymbals that inspire his creativity and that fit perfect in his daily musical work!!!

The perfect drum company to go along with is Mapex. The Orion and Saturn Series blend perfect to the Sabian Cymbals and make it easy to find the right gear for different music performences.

Jim Gordon
Jim Gordon was one of the top session drummers in the '60s. After backing the Everly Brothers in 1963 at age 17, he went to California. Hal Blaine, king of session drummers, began to send Gordon his overflow work.

During this period, Gordon appeared on Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers (Columbia, 1967) and Notorious Byrd Brothers. Later, Gordon was a member of Derek and the Dominoes, where he had the good fortune to co-write the song "Layla" with Eric Clapton.

Gordon worked with Hillman again when he was the drummer in the Souther Hillman Furay Band from 1973 to 1975.

Gordon also played with John Lennon, George Harrison, Frank Zappa, Traffic, Delaney & Bonnie, Joe Cocker, Leon Russell, and Jackson Browne.

Though he was initially known for being a straight-laced guy, Gordon eventually began to use heroin and cocaine like many of his colleagues in the music business.

Sadly, in the '70s, severe psychological problems began to manifest in Gordon's behavior. He complained of hearing voices, especially the voice of his mother. By the late '70s, Gordon's mental difficulties - later diagnosed as acute paranoid schizophrenia - had ruined his musical career.

Then, in 1983, Gordon brutally murdered his own mother.
The insanity defense having been narrowed in California, Gordon was convicted of second-degree murder in 1984 and sentenced to 16 years to life. Most of his time has been served in Atascadero State Hospital.

Gordon remains wealthy, thanks to royalties from "Layla" and a handful of other songs.

Trevor Lawrence Jr....
Trevor Lawrence, Jr. (a.k.a. TrevBeats) is one of R&B and hip-hop’s best and most popular drummers for sessions and touring.

He toured the world with Snoop Dogg in 2006 and just completed the new album for Alicia Keys (2007).

FACT:
TREVOR’S WORK AS A DRUMMER/WRITER/PRODUCER HAS BEEN NOMINATED OR WON A GRAMMY EVERY YEAR SINCE 2000

In addition to his own group, the TrevBeats Band, Trevor’s played with artists as wide ranging as Mariah Carey, Lionel Richie, Dizzy Gillespie, Ashanti, Jennifer Lopez, Taj Mahal, Dr. Dre, Macy Gray and The Temptations.

According to the man himself, his career highlight was playing with Stevie Wonder in front of a million people at Live 8 in Philadelphia.

In addition to being super talented in his own right, comes from quite a musical pedigree. His father, Trevor, Sr. is one of music’s most renowned tenor saxophone players and horn arrangers, having played with artists as diverse as Marvin Gaye, Lynryd Skynyrd, B.B. King and Ringo Starr. Trevor’s parents also both performed on Stevie Wonder’s landmark 1970’s album, Songs in the Key of Life, with Dad on sax, Mom on background vocals. Mom was also a member of The Supremes.

Trevor Lawrence Jr. endorses Meinl Cymbals and performed at the Meinl Drumfestival 2007 with Concert and Masterclass Drumclinic.

Danny Carey...
Danny began playing drums at the age of thirteen. As Danny progressed through high schooland then college at the University of Missouri in Kansas City he began supplementing his studies in percussion with speculation into the principles of geometry, science, and metaphysics. A commitment to life as an artist brought Danny to LA where he was able to perform as a studio drummer with projects like Carole King and play around town with Pygmy Love Circus. He would later find an outlet for addressing a fuller scope of his potentials in Tool and another project operating under the title of Zaum. Despite not becoming a Mason or aligning himself with any other school of religion, Danny has maintained his heritages interest in occult studies. Endeavors into this realm have manifested periodically, such as the time he achieved insight into a hidden aspect of the unicursal hexagram utilizing an astral journey initiated through meditation and DMT.

Danny then set up his drums into proportions utilizing the circle and square of the New Jerusalem and uttered a short prayer relating to the principles of the ace of swords from the book of Thoth. He then performed a ritual utilizing his new found knowledge of the unicursal hexagram to generate a pattern of movement in space relating to Fuller's vector equilibrium model. The resulting rhythm and gateway summoned a daemon he has contained within "the Lodge" that has been delivering short parables similar to passages within the Book of Lies. Danny recommends as a device of protection and containment a thorough study and utilization of the underlying geometry of the Temple of Solomon for anyone purchasing their next record.

Jimmy DeGrasso...

With a resume boasting Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osbourne, Suicidal Tendencies, Lita Ford and Y&T, Jimmy DeGrasso was also the mega-powered, driving force behind one of hard rock's most revered outfits of all time, the multi-platinum, Megadeth.

Jimmy moved from Pennsylvania, to the bustling musical Mecca of Los Angeles more than a decade ago. "I moved to L.A. hoping that someone like Ozzy would be looking for a drummer, and lo' and behold, I landed the gig with Ozzy playing on the Ultimate Sin album" says DeGrasso. Though the Ozzy gig was short lived, Jimmy spent three years with the critically acclaimed Y&T, before leaving the band in 1990. The skate-punk flavored, Suicidal Tendencies followed in 1992 (who co- incidentally opened for Megadeth in 1992 and 1993) as did a ‘fill–in’ tour with Alice in Chains in 1993. DeGrasso then toured the world with Alice Cooper from 1995 to 1998, played on the Fistful of Alice album in 1996 and returned to Alice briefly in 2001. Jimmy played on Dave Mustaine’s (Megadeth Vocalist/Guitarist) solo album, MD-45 in 1995 and then received a call back from Mustaine, in 1998, to join Megadeth as a permanent member and continue the bands’ Cryptic Writings Tour. DeGrasso recorded and toured behind Megadeth’s Risk album in 1999-2000, The World Needs A Hero in 2000-2001 and was featured on Megadeths’ first ever live CD and DVD offering, Rude Awakening in 2002.

Since the demise of Megadeth, Jimmy has performed at the prestigious Modern Drummer Festival in 2002, Ultimate Drummers Weekend in Australia, Drummer Live in the UK and toured with Stonesour [Slipknot Vocalist Corey Taylor’s side project], guitar legend Ronnie Montrose and is a highly sought after session player and drum clinician around the world.

Bun E. Carlos...

Bun E. Carlos is the amiable and adroit drummer, archivist, and set list writer for Rockford, IL's illustrious Cheap Trick. Leaving behind the oldies circuit, Carlos fine-tuned his avuncular charm and steady beat as Trick became local heroes and then mega-stars rising to a brief platinum period in the late '70s. An obvious high point came working with John Lennon in 1980. The band weathered some hard times until 1988, when "The Flame" became Trick's only number one (all four members hated this factory ballad). Carlos held drum clinics, produced the Blues Hawks, and lent his talents (along with guitarist Rick Nielsen) to Jim Peterik's World Stage. Carlos quit smoking cold turkey in the '90s, losing his trademark dangling cigarette.

Jeff Porcaro...
Jeff Porcaro was born on April 1, 1954, in Hartford, Connecticut and first got interested in drumming due to the influence of his father. He began playing seriously at age seven though he is sure "I was playing even earlier than that. Only my father would actually know when I got started." Formal lessons initially came from papa Joe, followed by further studies with Bob Zimmitti and Rich Lapore.

If drummer Jeff Porcaro had never co-founded the immensely popular group TOTO his stature as an artist would nevertheless be assured. At age 28 Jeff has achieved a pinnacle of expertise and recognition accorded few players in a lifetime. Since leaving high school during his senior year to accompany Sonny and Cher in Las Vegas Jeff has toured and recorded with Seals and Crofts, Boz Scaggs, and Steely Dan.

Jeff Porcaro never had visions of being the world's greatest drummer. He didn't believe in putting that kind of pressure on himself. And even though drums have shaped and molded virtually every facet of his present life, he's never once been controlled by them.

From the start of his career, Jeff Porcaro was viewed as one of the music industry's top drummers. Porcaro possessed an impeccable sense of rhythm as well as a versatility that bridged virtually every style. Among the hundreds of albums he played on were Boz Scaggs' "Silk Degrees" (for which he wrote "Lowdown" and "Lido Shuffle") [sic], Dire Straits" "On Every Street", Michael Jackson's "Thriller", Elton John's "Jump Up", Don Henley's "End Of The Innocence", Warren Zevon's "Excitable Boy", Rickie Lee Jones' debut, and Bruce Springsteen's "Human Touch".

A partial list of other artists he played with includes Bonnie Raitt, the Bee Gees, Jackson Browne, Michael McDonald, Lowell George, Hall & Oates, Etta James, Joe Cocker, Nils Lofgren, Manhattan Transfer, Greg Lake, George Benson, Larry Carlton, Paul McCartney, Pink Flyod, Elton John, Michael Jackson, Peter Frampton, Airplay, Peter Allen, America, and Stanley Clarke.

Jeff Porcaro suffered a heart attack and died on August 5, 1992. He was using a pesticide in his yard and an allergic reaction to the substance triggered the attack. An autopsy revealed a serious heart condition that had been previously undiagnosed. A report issued by the office of the Los Angeles County Coroner a month later also mentioned that a minute trace of cocaine was found in his body. Although traces of cocaine can remain in a body for years, the media latched on to the drug reference and widely reported that cocaine abuse was the cause of death. Unfortunately this rumor persists, in spite of repeated statements by those who knew him well that he had not used the drug for many years.

Jeff's funeral, attended by an estimated 1500 people, was held August 10th in the Hall of Liberty at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills), where he was buried. The Jeff Porcaro Memorial Fund was established to benefit the music and art departments of Grant High School in Los Angeles where Jeff was a student in the early 70s. It also provides four scholarships each year to Grant High School seniors. A memorial concert took place at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles on December 14th, with an all-star line up that included Boz Scaggs, Donald Fagen, Don Henley, Michael McDonald, Eddie Van Halen, and, of course, Toto. The proceeds of the concert were used to establish an educational trust fund for Jeff's sons.

Jeff was survived by his parents Joe and Eileen, brothers Mike and Steve, sister Joleen, wife Susan, and sons Christopher, Miles and Nico, and by many, many friends and fans who will never forget him.

Mike portnoy
Mike Portnoy was born on April 20, 1967 and raised in Long Beach, New York, where his interest in music started at an early age. "My father was a rock n' roll disc jockey, so I was always surrounded by music constantly. I had this huge record collection when I was real young and loved the Beatles and then later on Kiss. It was inevitable that I'd become a musician."

Although Mike taught himself how to play the drums, he did take music theory classes in high school. During that time he began playing in local bands Intruder, Rising Power and Inner Sanctum, the latter of which released their own album. Mike left the band after being awarded a scholarship to attend Berklee Music College in Boston.

An avid collector of many things, Mike has a vast array of Dream Theater memorabilia including bootlegs, posters, clippings and everything else under the sun with the band's name on it. He is also responsible for capturing everything the band does on video tape and DAT. His huge video collection includes favorite films as 2001, A Clockwork Orange, Jacob's Ladder and The Wall along with episodes of The Simpsons and memorable boxing matches.

Mike says his biggest influences are Rush drummer Neil Peart and the late Frank Zappa. Other favorites include drummers Terry Bozzio, Vinnie Colaiuta, Simon Philips, John Bonham and Keith Moon and bands such as The Beatles, Queen, Yes, Metallica, Jellyfish, Iron Maidon, U2 and Jane's Addiction. He is also a fan of rap music.

Mike and his wife Marlene live in Rockland, NY with their daughter Melody Ruthandrea, new son Max John, dog Bongo and cats E.T. and Cypress.

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.