Dean currently holds the throne and is touring with Good Charlotte behind their latest release, Good Morning Revival. He also appears on The Used’s latest disc, Lies for the Liars. Prior to that Dean has worked with Donavon Frankenrieter, and more prominently with Ben Harper and The Innocent Criminals on several discs, including one of my favorite disc’s of all time, Burn to Shine.
Dean was willing to take some time out of his schedule to answer a few questions for us. Read on!
Drumrock: At what age did you start playing?Dean: 12 years old.
Drumrock: What musical style most captivates you (outside of what you currently play and love)?
Dean: Latin grooves.
Drumrock: Do you incorporate any of your rooting in jazz/fusion from your younger years into your music or do you try and approach each song differently and adjust your play style to that particular groove
Dean: Not as much with GC, but I will if I'm working on a record that needs those feels. I just played a samba groove on the bridge of a tune on the new "Cute Is What They Aim For" record for example.
Drumrock: What was your run with Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals like? (Burn to Shine is one of my favorite CD’s by the way!!!)
Dean: I recorded "The Will to Live”, "Burn to Shine", "Live from Mars”, and the live DVD "Pleasure & Pain", with Ben Harper. Ben is awesome!! He's one those artists that’s in a league of his own.
Drumrock: When did you join Good Charlotte and how did you land the gig?
Dean: I started paying with GC March 2005. I had been friends with Benji & Joel Madden and we had worked together on other projects. Joel is a huge fan of Morrissey who I was playing with at the time. He called me from London to see if I could help GC out and I did. Then later that year I joined the band full time.
Drumrock: What’s it like working with the rest of the guys in GC?
Dean: Billy our guitarist, Paul our bass player, Benji our guitarist and vocals & Joel our singer are the greatest guys in the world. We have a really good time playing music and being in a band together.
Drumrock: What do you find most satisfying about playing in a band like GC – it’s certainly different than The Innocent Criminals?
Dean: The energy we have on stage with the music we play.
Drumrock: What’s in the works for you guys currently? Writing? Touring? Resting? All of the above?
Dean: We will be on tour most of 2008 on our current record "Good Morning Revival".Drumrock: When you’re playing do you prefer being onstage in front of large crowds, smaller more intimate settings, or studio work and why?
Dean: I love big stadiums for the simple fact of the energy. There is nothing like playing a set and having 20 thousand kids bouncing to you. Small clubs are great too. It's awesome to be right in people's faces. I love the studio. The cool part about recording is that it’s always new music. It’s always a great learning experience.
Drumrock: What do you do when you have “down time” and aren’t on tour or actively working with the rest of the band?
Dean: Practice drums; write songs, do session work and surf.
Drumrock: What hobbies outside of the music world occupy your time or is music your hobby?
Dean: Surf
Drumrock: Tell us about your kit setup, make, models, sizes of everything, etc..
Dean: Tama Bubinga/Birch, Paiste, Evans, Pro Mark Sticks
Drumrock: Is there anything about your kit that you want to change or try differently?
Dean: No
Drumrock: Do you use an identical setup when you record or do you use a variety of drums to augment your core kit?
Dean: Usually only different snare drumsDrumrock: Do you use electronics/triggering at all? If so do you use them as an enhancement or to get sounds you may not be able to find or get out of traditional acoustic drums?
Dean: No
Drumrock: What do you find most satisfying about playing drums?
Dean: The way it makes me feel. It’s the best high in the world.
Drumrock: What do you find most frustrating about playing?
Dean: I don't look at drumming ever as frustrating. Everything is a challenge from the simple groove to a crazy fusion groove in 7/4. My goal is to always learn and always work hard. Even more so on the simple grooves because that's what supports every hit song.
Drumrock: If there’s one “bad” habit you have behind a kit, what is it; and is it something you’d want to change or at this point leave alone?
Dean: Not that it’s a bad habit but always be relaxed when playing. It makes everything feel better.
Drumrock: If there’s one thing you could impress upon someone picking up a set of sticks for the first time, regardless of their age (4 or 40) what would that be?
Dean: Learn Rudiments. Always work with a click track. Practice every day. Find out who the drummers are that changed the course of drumming and study their playing. Listen to tons of records.
Drumrock: If you could record an album outside of what you currently or traditionally play style wise, what type of music would that be and why?
Dean: I'm always working in the studio on different things, so for me I'm into anything!
Drumrock: Where do you see yourself in 10 years professionally and musically? (Personally if you want to toss that in there!)
Dean: Doing the same thing: Playing drums, writing, sessions and surfing. I will just be doing it all better.
Thanks to Dean for taking some time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions. We wish him nothing but success and the best on tour throughout the year. Should they come through the Seattle area I will definitely be going to see him perform with Good Charlotte!
You can find links to Dean's endorsers above and links to Good Charlotte and Deans MySpace in the related links block on the front page and this page!
Source: Drumrock.com
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