.What is your name and what band do you play for?
My name is Frank and I play drums for Self Imposed Exile.
2.Who made you want to play drums and why?
Ever since a young age, about three or four, I was always drawn to wanting to play drums. At first it was probably just mimicking what I saw on the TV, but as time went on, it never went away. My mom listened to a lot of really good classic rock music when I was a kid and I was always trying to ‘play along’ to the songs, by tapping on popcorn tins with pencils, and other similarily annoying shit one does at that age!
3.When did you get your first kit? Tell us about it…
My first drum set was a complete piece of shit, oxidized-plastic white, 5-piece Harmony brand kit, which were commonly available out of JC Penny catalogs back in those times. Whatever wood they used to make the shells was complete crap and was likely just carpentry scraps! It had terrible, practically pencil thin stands and pie tin sounding cymbals. I had absolutely no clue how to tune drums either so they sounded awful! I got it used at a pawn shop. I was about eleven years old and worked all summer mowing lawns and delivering newspapers to save up money to buy the latest video game system of that time, which I did succeed in doing so, but I promptly traded it a couple weeks later when me and a friend saw the drum kit displayed in the window of the pawn shop! They were more than happy to do the trade with me, which years later now I of course realize how badly I got ripped off! But it didn't matter because I finally had gotten my first drum set after wanting one for many years. Of course my mom had to go with me to facilitate the trade because I was a kid, and she thought that I shouldn't do it (maybe she realized it was a cheap kit, I dunno), but she let me do it anyways since it was my money that I had earned myself, and she knew how badly I had always wanted a drumset.
4.Where your parents supportive of you and your loud / expensive new habit?
Yes. My Mom always supported my musical dreams and goals, through and through, since the first day I brought that drumset home. But truth be told, the loud noise could get to be too much and piss her off sometimes. Understandable. She was certainly glad though when I joined my first band and the drums were no longer to be kept at the house anymore! (“No one’s going to steal them over there, are they?” This was asked to me at least once a week about my drums being left set up rather indefinitely at a friend's house whom she had never met.)
5.What drum performance on an album is perfection to you?
One of my favorite drum performances is the entire album De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, particularily the 2017 live version called “Alive”. Basically anything with Hellhammer on drums.
Also, In the Nightside Eclipse by Emperor.
6.Tell us about your current kit and set up in DETAIL.
My current drumset is a PDP by DW, Maple Concept 7-piece in Black Sparkle Lacquer with 8/10/12/14/16 inch toms, 22 inch kick, and 14 inch snare. I have this all connected to a PDP rack which makes things much easier to set up, tear down, and just have good placement in general. My cymbals are Sabian AAX and XS, with a couple Zildjian Oriental Chinas. I've been playing on an Axis Long Board Double Pedal for many years now and it has been worth every penny many times over. Also Roc-n-Soc makes the best drum throne in existence. I like Vic Firth sticks and Remo Heads the best, but the other top brands are good too.
7.If you could have a dream kit tell us about it in DETAIL
My dream kit would be a DW most likely, probably maple, or maybe something exotic even, if I liked the sound of it. I'd have two 22 inch kicks and 6/8/10/12/14/16/18 inch toms running the whole span. It would go on a Gibraltar rack and hardware system. I would have a ride and set of hi hats on both sides (probably 14 inch hi hats and 22 inch ride, or maybe a 24 inch ride on the right), with about five crashes (15/16/16/17/18), four chinas (14/16/16/18), and about five splashes (6/6/8/8/10). One 14 inch snare would be just fine for me too. The cymbals would likely be either a mixture of Sabian HHX with some Zildjian K’s, or a mixture of Zildjian A Custom and K’s. The chinas would likely be Zildjain Orientals though, in either of those configurations. As for the lacquer finish, it would be some sort of blend of a cerulean blue, teal and turquoise, but more darker and with less greens, maybe sparkling too. Axis Pedal, Roc-n-Soc throne and Remo heads to finish it off.
8.Name your top 5 drummers excluding Neil Peart and Mike Portnoy
This is really hard because I like so many drummers, even if I might only know some of their work… I'll try:
Jan Axel Blomberg aka Hellhammer
Nils Fjellström
Nick Mason
Danny Carey
Frigg Henderson
9. Do you prefer Live or Studio?
Live, most definitely.
10.Do drummers really get all the chicks and if so how do we convince the guitarist?
The only people that talk to drummers after a show are other drummers! lol And also, I don't know that you CAN convince a guitarist of anything. ; )
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