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4. Who is Gary's favorite drummer?
I originally got into drumming because I like the music of particular artists and bands.
My interest in drumming comes from being able to support strong melodies, harmonies and chord progressions.

I have always preferred strong sweeping and soaring melodies over just hard driving rhythms (which I also love). This aspect is what feeds my love for power ballads, music theatre, classical music and big anthemic guitar solos.  

Many of the drummers I like are often seen as supportive players who work in bands to provide the percussive emphasis to the melody and harmony rather than the virtuosic mastery of complex time signatures and blisteringly fast tempos. 
  
The idea of virtuoso drummer worship has always been a secondary interest with that interest being purely about studying technique. Although I have great respect for the dedication, control and skill of virtuosic playing I consider much of this type of playing paramount to making ice sculptures with a chain saw. Pretty and fun to watch for a while but ultimately not something I want to partake of or watch regularly. (Apologies to all chainsaw ice sculptors) 

Some drummers I've been heavily influenced by are:

Matt Sorum (Gun N Roses)  |  Rick Allen (Def Leppard)  |  Tico Torres (Bon Jovi)  |  Rob Affuso (Skid Row) 
Mike Mangini (Dream Theatre)  |  Mikey Curry (Bryan Adams)  |  Mike Portnoy (Dream Theatre)   
Thomas Lang (Independent)  |  Dave Weckl (Independent)  |  David Jones (Independent)   


5. What bands and artists does Gary like to listen to?
The music that I'm asked to play rarely reflects my personal interest and listening taste.
My live playing often involves blues, jazz, funk, pop, classic covers and music theatre.

My personal listening taste lies more in pop, rock, hard rock and heavy metal artists. Particularly from the mid to late 1980s and early 1990s.  Bands and artists such as Guns N Roses, Bon Jovi, Skid Row, Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Aerosmith, Metallica, Yngwie Malmsteen, Alice Cooper, White Lion, Great White, Evanescence, Within Temptation and Nightwish for example.
With lighter pop / rock artists like Roxette, Belinda Carlisle, The Bangles, The Calling, Avril Lavigne, Noiseworks, John Farnham, Richard Marx and 1927 thrown in. Special mentions also have to go to Rush and Dream Theatre.

Particular pieces of music I like:
High Hopes by Pink Floyd,
Respect the wind by Van Halen,
Schindler's List theme by John Williams (From the movie Schindler's list)  
Ghost love score by Nightwish (from the 2013 live at Waken Festival)
Coma and Estranged by Guns N Roses
Wasted Time by Skid Row
Don't Drop That Bomb on Me, (especially the final guitar solo) Bryan Adams
White Lightning by Def Leppard
Dry County by Bon Jovi

The man, the legend / touchdown (From the top gun Maverick soundtrack)

6. How and why did Gary get into doing music theatre?
Like most of the things I get involved with musically, my involvement in music theatre began almost by accident.
In 2002 a local high school desperately needed a drummer to fill in, as their drummer had quit about 10 days out from opening night.  I accepted the gig out of politeness, not really knowing what I was getting into. Coming from a pop, rock, heavy metal background I hadn't even played in a school concert band before, let alone done a full stage musical. Needless to say the learning curve was less of a curve and was more a desperate vertical climb. 
After only two rehearsals and a week and half of stress to my (and other people's) surprise I managed to pull it off. 
Word soon spread around the area that I was a drummer who could read and play music in an orchestral / concert band / music theatre setting.  This led to being invited back the next year to not only play drums in the school's next musical theatre production, but as it was an original production, I was also asked to write the drum parts for the show as well, again with only a week to go before it opened. But luckily again, after a lot of stress and hard work, success.
I also began teaching drums at that particular school soon after.

My next encounter with musical theatre came several years later when, in 2010, I was asked to do a short run of the show Little Shop of Horrors at extremely short notice, (only days before opening night). As it turned out I wasn't needed in the end as the production company found someone in-house who was more familiar with the show.
But my willingness to be involved put me on the radar of regional theatre company LIVID Productions, who, the following year asked if I would be interested in playing drum set for their production of Spamalot (The Monty Python musical).
Doing this show ignited my interest in musical theatre as an art form and also put my playing capabilities directly in front of other music directors. After a few more shows I became one of the drummers of choice for musical theatre shows around the Albury / Wodonga area. This is partly because I took the opportunities that musical theatre offered seriously, and made it one of my primary performance platforms, often doing multiple productions each year.  Various shows I have been involved with over the years are;

Jungle Fantasy,  Space Quest (original),  Chicago (twice),   Spamalot (twice),  Mary Poppins,  Wicked,  Priscilla Queen of the desert,  Sweet Charity,  All Shook up,  Guys and dolls,  Annie,  Les Miserables,  Matilda,  Grease (backstage crew)  Addams family,  The last five years,  Sweeney Todd,  Seussical the musical,  25th annual putnum spelling bee (twice),  Strictly Ballroom,  High School Musical





















 


     






 

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7. Why doesn't Gary do drum covers and put them up on YouTube?
I'm in two minds about drum cover videos.
There are some songs I would love to learn, film and put up for people to watch. However to do this properly well takes a lot of time, money, effort and access to a recording studio. Add to that the fact that there are already millions of drum covers already out there played by highly skilled and dedicated players who are more passionate about doing them than I am.

There is also the issue that I am too busy playing in other situations, and finally, there is the concern of copyright. 
   


8. Does Gary play any other instruments?
My primary instruments are drum set, auxiliary and digital percussion, although I also play basic two mallet keyboard percussion.  Not amazingly well, just enough to get me out of trouble when doing music theatre productions like Annie, Guys and Dolls or Chicago - shows that have small sections of glockenspiel and xylophone in them. My skill level for mallet percussion instruments is around grade 3 or 4 (AMEB), or about middle school to high school level.
I also have some rudimentary piano skills, not enough for any sort of public performance, but enough to give me an understanding of chords, melody and harmony. Think Alfred's Adult Piano Book 1 or AMEB grade 1 or 2 level. 



9. Does Gary have any endorsements with any drum equipment companies?
Gary currently has an endorsement contract with Bosphorus Cymbals and instrument distribution company Promusic Australia.

 

 

 

10. What drumsticks, brushes and mallets does Gary use?
I use a variety of drumsticks, brushes and mallets. However, like every drummer, I have my preferences.
Drumsticks: I currently use custom modified drumsticks. They are typically a pair of Vic Firth AJ6 (American Jazz model 6) drumsticks that I personally cut down to 14 inches in length (shown below.) This is unusual and people often ask me about them.

 

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A regular Vic Firth 7A drumstick compared to Gary's cut down Vic Firth AJ6 model.

 

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I took to modifying my drumsticks due to playing music theatre shows.

The band / orchestra set ups in music theatre are often very tightly packed

and there is little room for the drums and percussion. Therefore the drums and

cymbals are squeezed as close together as possible and I end up sitting very close

to it all with very little room. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I found having regular size drumsticks in this environment caused me to unintentionally hit rims and cymbals and get my sticks

caught on things when playing.  

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Another problem was that due to the band / orchestra being so tightly packed I had other instrumentalists (often woodwind or string instruments) sitting directly next to me.  These instruments often had microphones that could pick up the drums.  So I needed to find a way to play that was just loud enough to get the drums through the drum microphones, but not so loud that the surrounding instrument's microphones would pick up what I was playing.  In other words I needed something good for playing at light volumes. The shorter, lighter stick also helped with this, especially in acoustic environments where there was little to no foldback or monitoring. 

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In regular band playing, as I often play smaller venues like bars and clubs, I find the shorter lighter stick allows me to play at softer, quieter levels while still allowing me to hit a bit harder. I feel this allows me to be more comfortable when playing. If playing larger outdoor venues such as festivals, I can either use the same sticks and let the microphones and PA system do the work, or I may decide to use a heavier set of sticks. In this case I would typically go for a set of Vic Firth 7A or 5A drumsticks.

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Another reason for my stick choice is that I prefer the way hickory drumsticks tend to slowly split as they break, giving me some warning that something is wrong with the stick. This allows me to get to the end of a song before swapping to a new pair.

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Another aspect I like about the AJ6 stick design is that it's a great stick to teach with. The smaller thinner tip allows for the ability to point to things on the page with students being able to see what is being pointed at clearly. Add to that, the shorter sticks reduce the volume of any students who just want to smash and bash on the drums and make a lot of noise. After a whole day of teaching drum set, this is essential to my sanity.
 

One last and almost irrelevant benefit I've found to modifying these sticks is that with them being 14" long, they sit well on a snare drum or floor tom and don't roll off onto the floor, because they fit inside the diameter of the drums rim.  

 

Brushes: I prefer to use Vic Firth heritage series brushes as the sound is smooth and the handle is soft to hold. However I also modify these a little as I'm allergic to nickel and holding them for too long causes nasty rashes on my hands.

I now shrink wrap the rounded ends of the brush handles to protect my hands.

 

Mallets: I prefer mallets with a soft to medium mallet head and a wooden handle, as they have less attack and help achieve a more airy, ambient type sound while feeling strong and stable.   



11. Does Gary do double bass drumming?
While I do use double bass pedals, I don't get to use them as often as I might like given the styles of music I'm asked to perform.

I currently use a set of Pearl Powershifter Eliminator pedals as I feel these are the most adjustable pedals available and I enjoy the flexibility and construction of them. 



12. Does Gary like and play Jazz?
While I don't live to play jazz as some some drummers do, I do play it reasonably often.

The type of jazz playing I am asked to do is more of the jazz standard / swing band style playing where charts are used.

The type of thing you might associate with dinner dances, cruise ships and wedding bands.

Think Jazz standard type songs like All of me, Fly me to the moon, Bernie tune, St Thomas or La Samba.

 

Although some Jazz purists may not consider this type of playing as being "real jazz", it is what I am asked to do and playing it requires not just the physical ability to play it, but the mental discipline to stay focused on the task required.

 
When it comes to virtuosic big band or bop style playing I greatly respect the skill and artistry needed to play high speed, complicated improvised jazz and high-end big band music and recommend all students study it to at least understand what's going on.  



13. Does Gary like or play heavy metal?
I like what is often now referred to as hard or heavy rock, although it was originally referred to as heavy metal.

Bands such as Guns N Roses, Metallica, Skid Row, Nightwish etc.

I rarely, if ever, get to focus on this style of playing as there is little demand for it here and few people in the area perform it. This has led to my skill set being focused in different areas to that which I am personally interested in.  



14. Did Gary study music at University or College?
I do not hold a formal degree in music and have not studied music at university or college.

I often get asked, Why not?
 

• I grew up in the remote town of Broken Hill, where there is (or at least, was) no formal tertiary music education. 

• I came from a poorer, somewhat dysfunctional family situation with no way to move to where there was tertiary music education.

• I didn't do music in high school and didn't have the subjects, marks or skills to audition for a tertiary music course.

• A university education in music would have been discouraged by most people I knew and seen as a waste of time and money. 

 
However, realising I didn't have the money to attend university I took it upon myself to scour the internet, and as many libraries, book stores and music retail stores as I could find for any and all information related to drumming. I also emailed various high profile universities and drum teachers and requested lists of books and materials they used in their teaching, and ordered copies of these to study in my own time. 
As a result, I have quite an extensive library of research material related to music, drumming and percussion. 

"Over the years, my obsession with learning about the subject caused me to collect a lot of books, videos, DVDs and magazines on the subject (basically a small library). However it always annoyed me that I had to have a library in the first place.  Why couldn’t I just go out and buy one complete book? "  Page 5 of The Drummers Vade Mecum.

When the opportunity allowed, I attended as many private lessons, seminars and masterclasses as I could, many of these were put on on by world class international players who lectured on the subject professionally. On top of this I took every playing opportunity that arrived.  Due to my educational disadvantage I have always taken every opportunity I can to further my education in music.
 
I feel that since I have collected information from many different sources it has given me a much broader insight into music and music education than may have come from attending one specific university or college. I haven't been limited to the curriculums, ideas, traditions and expectations of an educational institution or their associated lecturers or examiners.  

All of this led me to having much of the knowledge, skills and insight a university education would offer. Minus the student fees. While I may lack the formal qualification many consider to be necessary to be taken seriously in the academic world, I bring a well rounded and open-minded view of music and education to my performance and teaching roles. 

Ultimately I would like to complete a university qualification in music someday if only to tick a box that some expect of me. However at this time due the fact I'm already working in the field I see little need to do so as it would it only give me a qualification to do what I have been doing for the last 21 years. 
    


15. If Gary had to describe his playing style, how would he describe it?
I find it very hard to describe my playing style because I have a strange crossbreed of playing styles. I'm aware that my approach to drumming is quite different than many other players I see and talk to. There are several reasons for this.

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1. I didn't attend one particular school of music that pushed their ideas of technique and musicianship on me. I've had a lot of different teachers and therefore been exposed to many different styles, techniques and teaching methods.

2. I haven't been able to specialise in one particular genre of music as much as people might like because I've always needed to be versatile and jump between musical genres to do the work I do.

3. I have pulled information from lots of different places and played lots of different things.

4. My interests and influences are quite different to what I am often asked to play.

5. I have the ability to read music and play from written scores allowing me to study and play things many other drummers can't or don't want to.

6. I took up studying music later than most other professional players.

One highly respected drummer I met described me as very good at a lot things, but not great at anything. He basically classified me as a Jack of all trades.

I realised after a long time that he was right. Although most musicians will play a variety of styles, they tend to have one particular style that they focus on most.  I haven't really been able to do that in the same way. It was suggested that I pick a genre and stick with it if I wanted to be seen as great. That's more easily said than done given my situation, so my playing style often falls in the cracks and gaps between all of the different musical styles.

I'm not rock enough for the rock fans. I'm not metal enough metal fans. I'm not jazzy enough for the jazz fans. My classical percussion skills are not good enough for a serious dedicated orchestra.  However, the list of skills and the general knowledge I have is more than that of a lot of other drummers who do specialise.
 
I've found this wide playing capability is really valuable when I have to jump from genre to genre as I have to in broad genre cover bands like Sweet Buzz or when I'm doing music theatre productions that rely on the ability to read music and play in a variety of styles without hesitation.  However, it does mean that I get a lot of negative criticism from people who expect highly specialized skills or expect techniques that come from people who play in one genre all or most of the time.      

For example having memorized the structures of all the jazz standards, or being able to blast beat with high speed double bass drumming for 30 minutes straight in a metal band, or doing perfectly consistent ghost notes and rims shots all night in a funk group.  And yet with all of this still I get asked to do gigs and get compliments like "You're the best drummer I've ever played with, I can actually hear myself and it makes me sing better, you make me a better singer" and "Playing with you was the first time we've ever been able to hear our harmonies properly". I've even had people invite friends from interstate to see me play because they wanted them to see what "a real drummer plays like".  So to be honest I'm just very confused about my playing.

In the end I do what I do and hope people like it. 



16. What does Gary want to do study in the future?
I have a variety of things I'd like to do, but whether I will ever get to do them depends on many things out of my control. 

1. Study and develop my classical percussion skills and work through some of the AMEB classical percussion grades. 
2. Work through the ANZCA (Australian New Zealand Cultural Arts) drum set grades.
3. Eventually study a diploma or degree in music. 

I'm also very interested in flying and would one day like to undertake glider training and fly regularly as a hobby.