MAD T: My name is Mad T and I play drums for Corners or Sanctuary.
2. Who made you want to play drums and why?
MAD T: I really got into Judas Priest and there was a drum set laying around the house, so I started playing it…really badly [Laughs]. I knew, from school’s guitar class, that I wasn’t interested in or really good at playing the guitar, so drums were my next logical choice! There was something about hitting the drums and having the whole body moving to create a beat…the rhythm…making music really appealed to me.
3. When did you get your first kit? Tell us about it…
MAD T: My first kit was a Mapex Mars Series – that was the kit that was lying around when I first started back in high school….a five-piece set with two toms (12” and 13”) over the snare (14”) and one floor tom (16”) to my right…but that was all I needed in the way of drums. Of course, like all beginning drummers, I began playing single pedal but then I got a double pedal for Christmas and I became enamored with playing double bass. It was a Pearl double pedal and I still have that to this day. Still plays fantastic! But as a beginner would, I placed my hi-hat stand much too far away from the slave pedal to get that double bass drum feel…that kind of hindered some of my playing for the next few years, unfortunately. But it wasn’t until I got myself a two-legged hi-hat stand that I played with the hi-hats much closer to me and the slave pedal.
4. Where your parents supportive of you and your loud / expensive new habit?
5. What drum performance on an album is perfection to you?
MAD T: That’s really hard to narrow down because there are many great albums I have in my collection and I don’t solely look or listen to just for the drums. I think some of the most variety in a one person’s drumming I have listened to has to be on Sabaton’s most recent release, The Great War. I mean, that guy [Hannes van Dahl] has a groovy and versatile drum style that brings out the accents when the band plays its history-themed Metal! Unleash the Archers’ Time Stands Still is another that encapsulates the power of Metal drumming in my opinion. Then there’s Judas Priest’s Defenders of the Faith with drives forward each and every song to allow the listeners to head bang to their delight. Then there’s basically every Ramones album where the drumbeat is steady and gets your foot a’stompin’. That’s the dilemma with me. It’s not about technical skill, it’s about how can the drums help push the music forward and compliment it.
6. Tell us about your current kit and set up in DETAIL.
MAD T: My current kit is a Vintage Tama Rockstar from the 1980s…giant power toms. The whole kit is a double bass drum (standard), five tom (rack toms: 10”, 12”, 13”, 14”, floor tom: 16”) monstrosity that takes up way too much space. The hard part was keeping the four rack toms in line with each other while mounted directly on the bass drums. That and making sure my hi-hats didn’t hit the 10” tom next to it. Regarding the cymbal set up: I had too many and they were all on stands. I don’t use a rack system, so you could image the hardship of placing the stands just right to make sure I can hit the cymbal without having it hit the drums. As I played the kit more and more, I quickly found that this kit was not suited for the bands I was playing with and for live performance…I was running out of room and time was always a factor. I striped down the kit, very similar to the Mapex Mars Series set up I had when I first started but with the toms mounted off to the side. I lessened my cymbals to the minimum as well…just what I needed to play. I have plenty of room now to move stands, drums, and myself to fit wherever I’m playing now with time to spare! [Laughs].
7. If you could have a dream kit tell us about it in DETAIL
MAD T: My first dream kit was the massive double bass drum, four rack toms, and two floor toms beast. Something you would see Iced Earth’s drummer use. I got that type of kit early on, as I mentioned previously, so I was content with that kit. When I began playing out more, I didn’t want to bring out the entire kit every single time. It wasn’t feasible! [Laughs]. My dream kit went back to the basics. I took the 12” and 13” toms and paced them above the snare, keeping my standard sized bass drum and 16” tom. From there, I use a double pedal (on the road I use a Gibraltar G-Class) and only five Samsun Cymbals. It’s very versatile and I love it! It does what it has to do and delivers. It even saves space in the truck when the band is on the road…leaves plenty of room for extra guitars! [Laughs].
8. Name your top 5 drummers excluding Neil Peart and Mike Portnoy
MAD T: Yoshiki of X Japan, Scott Travis of Judas Priest, Hannes van Dahl of Sabaton, Tommy Ramone of the Ramones, and Nicko McBrain of Iron Maiden.
9. Do you prefer Live or Studio?
MAD T: Each has their own qualities about them. I love playing live ‘cause it gets the blood pumping and allows me to bring the music to the people. With studio, I gotta be calmer and more precise. I still have to have the same energy as I would if I was playing live, but the energy is channeled differently, like making sure I don’t do so many takes that the recording goes over-budget [Laughs]. I’m the type of person who is very mindful with what I bring and what’s need to do. If we are playing live, then the energy is there and I’ll give it my all. If we need to record, then I’ll be there giving it my all as well but focused, engaged and critiquing my parts to make sure it sounds right and it complements the music.
10. Do drummers really get all the chicks and if so, how do we convince the guitarist?
MAD T: Nobody gets the chicks anymore unless they bring them to the show! [Laughs]
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