Who inspired you to take up drums?
I come from a pretty musical family. Ever since I can remember there were
always guitars and keyboards lying around the house. My main influence was my
older sister Lynn. She started taking drum lessons and would come home and
teach me all the rudiments she had learned. I think I was just as excited as
she was when she bought her first drumkit! A Pearl Export. The first songs I remember her
teaching me were Strange Little Girl by The Stranglers and Strange Currencies
by R.E.M. Along the way, I taught myself some Manic Street Preachers, Alice In
Chains, Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, then onto some slightly heavier stuff,
like Placebo, Kittie, Marilyn Manson, Slipknot etc.
Who are your favourite players?
I love drummers who ask themselves, what does the song require? They don't
bash everything in front of them just because it's there!
I have a lot of different favourites for various reasons and all have
inspired me in some way or another. Sean Kinney (Alice In Chains), Joey
Jordison (ex-Slipknot), Jerome Dillon (ex-NIN), Dave McClain (Machine Head)
Dave Lombardo (ex-Slayer), Steve Hewitt (ex-Placebo), Mercedes Lander (Kittie)
to name just a few off the top of my head.
Your favourite songs or albums?
The Holy Bible by Manic Street Preachers will always be a favourite of
mine and I still listen to it frequently, Everything Must Go from them also.
Dirt by Alice In Chains, Marilyn Manson's Antichrist Superstar, NIN's The
Fragile, Slipknot's Iowa and their self-titled album, I love Gary Numan, some
Smashing Pumpkins, Hole, Garbage, Soundgarden, a lot of 90s grunge.
What’s your current drum gear setup?
Standard kit, 1 rack tom, 2 crashes and a ride. I'm saving up for a new
kit, but the Tama Swingstar I bought second hand years ago is still my
baby!
22" kick, 16" floor tom, 12" rack tom. Zildjian hihats, a
vintage Zildjian 16" crash, Sabian AAX X-Plosion Crash 17", and
I use a 20" Sabian AAX X-Plosion crash for my ride instead of an actual
ride cymbal to get the tone, that I like! My kick pedal is DW 9000. So reliable
and solid, I love it. Sticks-wise I'm using Vater 5a at the moment.
Can you tell us what projects are on the horizon?
Our next gig is on 23rd Aug supporting Stiff Little Fingers, alongside
our good friends Paranoid Visions, in the main room Academy.
We play Electric Picnic for this first time this year. We have our own
headline shows in Limerick on the Friday 27th September in Dolans, and Dublin's
Grand Social on Saturday 28th will be for our EP release.
Our EP entitled Dye Me Red, will be out on 10" vinyl through FOAD
records with a new single soon after.
That's all I can say for now ;) there are always plans happening in the
Vulpyne camp!
Currently Vulpynes is a duo, do you feel that gives
you the freedom to experiment with your sound?
I love being a 2 piece! Molly and I get on so well and we work together
quite efficiently, getting our songs together and ready for a live
setting.
Since Vulpynes has no bass player, I usually tune my drums low to fill
out any low ends that may be needed. We're constantly experimenting, trying new
things and bouncing ideas off each other in rehearsals. There is definitely a
nice sense of freedom being a duo.
And finally Kaz, what advice would you give someone
wanting to take up drumming?
My advice would be
to start jamming with other musicians. It's the best way to learn, to find out
what your own style is, and what style you like.
Always be open minded and open to try different drum styles too! In
music college, I learned Jazz, Reggae, Pop, Blues beats etc. It's always good
to keep challenging yourself. But the main thing is to play with passion. If
you enjoy what you do, others will too!. Then practice, practice and finally
practice!
**Photos credit** - Glen Bollard Photography
- Golden Plec