Kinda like an interview.

----------------- Original Message -----------------
From: <A HREF='http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=8828122&Mytoken=DF475CC6-7B7D-6CA3-F5651353FB4F9B7D11527505'>SlitWristTheory</a>
Date: Nov 27, 2005 10:59 PM

heh, fun stuff. May I ask you a few personal/professional questions? Like... How long have you been drumming, and how long did it take you to find your groove? And do you like either of the bands more or less over the other one your in? Sorry, dunno just curious ya know. I've always wanted to become a drummer. Heh, do most of your shows go over pretty well??

------------ I reply with:

Heh,

Well to start off, I got my first drum set when I was six, which I used clear until my 1st senior year of high school. That really made it clear to me that I knew how to make shitty drums sound good with the right heads and a good tune job. Before I had gotten my drum set, my dad gave me a snare drum to dick around on for a while. And then a year before I got my set, he picked up a tom for me at a thrift store so I could kinda drum on those. I learned a bunch of old Metallica, AC/DC, Nirvana, Green Day, and other assorted stuff before I had hit middle school. Once I was in middle school, I joined Jazz Band (Heh, yeah. It used to be impossible to do that) mostly through word of mouth that I was a good drummer. But I don't think I really got TOTALLY into drumming until high school. I joined marching band and the jazz band that they had at Goldwater. I learned and understood time signatures, tempo and tempo changes, rhythms, different percussion instruments, and other styles of music. In jazz band, I had started learning Latin, swing, and funk. During the next couple years of this and marching band, I had started to find my groove and create a name as THE drummer at Goldwater. In fact, I think students and some teachers are still aware of a drummer named 'Monkey'. My last year of high school, I was awarded with the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award for great performance and understanding of jazz over the years. But even still as far as my groove goes, I’m still maturing it and making stronger all the time.

As far as the bands I’m in and which are my favorite, I won't bullshit you, lol. Some people will refer to them like their children or some shit: "I like them all equally!" They'd probably be lying... There are things I like more and less about the bands I’m in right now. For starters, I like Ikonoklast because I get to play METAL! I DO however like to confide to the style of music I’m playing for the most part, even though there can be exceptions, so I get my metal fix from these guys. This is the band that I have the most confidence in. With Reburn and the Skidmarks, I enjoy more the non-specific styles of their music. Like, they're not a metal, punk, or noise band. They actually have punk, metal, or noise songs. This kinda means that being in this band, I can play anything I want! There's even some jazz and surfer style shit... maybe kinda rockabilly-ish... This is the band that I get drunk, mess up, and just have fun with it band. The new band I’m in, Blyndsyte, is the band that is helping me further cross-reference my drumming. As of now, I have or do play metal, jazz, punk, and now pop/rock. They're very mainstream in comparison to ANYTHING I’ve ever played before, which also brings me to another crowd base that will experience music I’m doing, and can be turned on to my other projects. But the only thing about all of these bands is that unless you know who's playing, you probably won't be able to tell it's me in all 3. Unless you listen really carefully for things I have a tendency to play in my songs.

Most of my shows with Ikonoklast have only gotten better since I've joined them a couple years ago. Now that the music is more solid than before, it seems to be taken more seriously than it may have before. Then again, I don't remember too many Ikonoklast shows before I joined them, I hated the old drummer. We're really starting to get the ball rolling with things and we're hoping for the best for the band. In case you wanna SEE how well our shows go over (assuming you haven't already) we have one at Chaser's Nightclub on December 9th I think it is... It's on the website, but I can't remember, even though I run the damn thing.

Shit... I just realized I’ve typed a lot... Well, maybe I’ll catch you later. I gotta get to sleep soon so I can get to work. I work at Guitar Center in the drum section in case you know anyone that wants some killer deals. But only if I know that let it be known to them... Until next time Chico!

-Monkey-