Sabian is a Canadian cymbal designer and manufacturer. It is the leading manufacturer of cymbals in the world, ahead of other top companies such as Zildjian, Paiste, and Meinl.

History

The company was founded in 1981 in Meductic, New Brunswick, Canada by Robert Zildjian, son of Avedis Zildjian III, the head of the Avedis Zildjian Company. Family tradition had it that the head of the company would pass the company down to the oldest son (Armand). After Avedis Zildjian III died in 1979, Armand (who was President of Zildjian at the time) became Chairman of the Board. This eventually led to a family feud and a legal dispute between Robert and Armand that resulted in Robert leaving Zildjian to form the rival Sabian company. The companies continue to be rivals, and are both among the world's most popular cymbal brands.

The settlement gave Robert Zildjian the Canadian factory that had been producing the K. Zildjian line (all manufacturing in Turkey having ceased by this time). Armand and Robert had a major dispute over where the K. Zildjian line should be manufactured. As President of the Zildjian Company, Armand had insisted that the K's be made in the United States with input from famed drummers Elvin Jones and Tony Williams.

In the settlement, Robert agreed not to use the Zildjian name or to claim that his cymbals were the same. Some say that the most notable difference between Zildjian and Sabian cymbals is that Zildjian uses a softer, mellower sounding alloy while Sabian uses a more tin-based alloy, although this is untrue. The professional-grade cymbals manufactured by both companies use the same bronze alloy consisting of 80% copper, 20% tin and traces of silver. Others state that the cymbals of the two companies can be distinguished by sound somehow fairly easily, stating that Sabians are relatively thicker for their advertised weight, having longer sustain (with some exceptions) than their Zildjian counterparts, and Zildjian having a faster response (or attack) tending to be mellower in sound overall. All those opinions state that the differences depend on the individual cymbal models.

Robert Zildjian formed the word "Sabian" from the two first letters of the names of his three children Sally, Bill and Andy (a nickname for Armand), and initially released two lines of cymbals, HH and AA both of them of the traditional bell bronze alloy. Today, Sabian Cymbals' president is Andy Zildjian, the youngest in the family.

Cymbal line

Focused

SBr - Short for "Sabian Brass", the SBr series is Sabian's least expensive line of cymbals that succeeds Sabian's Solar line of brass cymbals.

B8 ("Focused Bright")/B8 Pro ("Focused Brilliant") - Student/entry-level cymbals made of B8 bronze alloy (92% copper, 8% tin). B8 cymbals come in a traditional finish, while B8 Pro cymbals come in a brilliant finish. For 2011, B8 Pro cymbals feature a new stylized logo.

APX ("Focused Cut") - APX is Sabian's first professional line of B8 cymbals. These cymbals are very bright and aggressive due to their "high-decibel" design, making them a favorable choice among rock and metal drummers. Comes in a traditional finish.

Note: This section was called Bronze Beginnings until 2010, where it was changed to Focused and the APX line was added.

Creative

Vault ("Unique") - Cymbals with added cut due to the addition of silver in their B20 alloy. Comes in a brilliant finish.

*Signature - Cymbals developed in assistance with Sabian-endorsed artists. Price and quality vary by cymbal.

Paragon ("Powerful") - Neil Peart's signature line of cymbals that made their debut at Rush's "R30" tour. Paragon cymbals includes a hand-hammered finish and a brass-colored ink that blends in with the cymbal. Paragon combines elements from the AA, HH, and AAX line of cymbals to create a powerful and versatile sound. These cymbals were originally developed in a traditional finish, but from late 2009 onwards, Paragon cymbals are now available in a brilliant finish in addition to their original finish. All cymbals are sized strictly to Neil's personal preference.

Vintage

Xs20 - Intermediate-level cymbals made of B20 bronze alloy (80% copper and 20% tin with traces of silver). They originally came in a traditional finish, but from 2009 onwards, brilliant finishes are added to the line. These cymbals have recently moved from Modern to Vintage for a more accurate sorting.

HH ("Vintage Dark") - Short for "Hand-Hammered". As the name implies, these cymbals are individually hand-hammered by Sabian's cymbal artisans. Each cymbal has a different style and touch applied to it, and the power and placement of the strokes vary, giving each HH cymbal a different tone. HH cymbals are essentially regarded as re-branded versions of Zildjian's K line of cymbals.

AA ("Vintage Bright") - Short for "Automated Anvil", these cymbals are completely machine-made. These cymbals project a bright and classic sound that is suitable for many styles of music.

*AA Metal-X - A subline of the AA series aimed for rock and metal drummers. Metal-X cymbals features its "Power Active" design, which gives the cymbals more tone and projection than standard AAs.

Modern

AAX ("Modern Bright") - Cymbals made with the same techniques as their AA counterparts, but features Sabian's "Dynamic Focus", which eliminates distortion and increases the cymbal's clarity, it also makes the cymbal react the same at all volumes, giving it an ability, from playing very quiet to extremely loud!

*OMNI - Subline of cymbals made in conjunction with Jojo Mayer. They are claimed to be "not a crash, not a ride".

HHX ("Modern Dark") - Cymbals made with the same techniques as their HH counterparts, but features Sabian's "Tone Projection" design, which increases projection and effectiveness.

*Legacy and Evolution - Sublines of the HHX series designed in conjunction with Dave Weckl. Legacy cymbals come in a traditional finish, while Evolution cymbals come in a brilliant finish.

Other

There are also signature cymbals within the other series which aren't part of the Vault series, such as the Groove cymbals designed in conjunction with Zoro. Several innovative products Sabian has released includes the AA Rocktagon Crashes, the X-Plosion and O-Zone Crashes, the X-Treme Chinas, the X-Celerator Hi-Hats, and many others.

Notable Artists

Neil Peart - Rush

Dave Weckl - Solo artist

Dom Famularo - Drum teacher, Solo artist

Daniel Adair - Nickelback

Phil Collins - Genesis, Solo

Steve Hass- John Scofield Ravi Coltrane Manhattan Transfer

Chad Smith - Red Hot Chili Peppers

Mike Portnoy - Dream Theater

Todd Sucherman - Styx

Carmine Appice - Vanilla Fudge, Carmine Appice's Guitar Zeus, Solo

Terry Bozzio - Frank Zappa, Missing Persons, Solo

Billy Cobham - Solo artist

Jimmy Cobb - John Coltrane, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Solo

Jen Ledger - Skillet

Jack DeJohnette - Miles Davis

Joe Morello - Dave Brubeck Quartet

José Pasillas - Incubus

Bernard Purdie - Session musician

Tony Royster Jr.- Solo artist

Vinnie Paul- Pantera, Damageplan, Hellyeah

Ed Shaughnessy - Recording artist

Ed Thigpen - Recording artist

Chester Thompson - Phil Collins-touring band, Genesis

Bill Ward - Black Sabbath

Kris MacFarlane - Great Big Sea

Mike Wengren - Disturbed

Roy Mayorga - Stone Sour, Abloom

Neil Sanderson - Three Days Grace

Chris Crippin - Hedley

Chris Pennie-Coheed and Cambria

Jojo Mayer-Nerve (Band)

Bob Bryar-My Chemical Romance

References

External links

Sabian's official website

Category:Percussion instrument manufacturing companies Category:Cymbal manufacturing companies Category:Companies based in New Brunswick Category:Companies established in 1981

Name	Mike Portnoy
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Michael Stephen Portnoy
Born	April 20, 1967Long Beach, New York, US
Instrument	Drums, vocals, bass, guitar, keyboards
Genre	Progressive metal, progressive rock, heavy metal, hard rock
Years active	1985–present
Label	Roadrunner
Associated acts	Dream Theater, Avenged Sevenfold. Liquid Tension Experiment, Transatlantic, OSI
Url	MikePortnoy.com

Michael Stephen "Mike" Portnoy (born April 20, 1967) is an American drummer primarily known as the former drummer, backing vocalist, and co-founder of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. Known for his drumming prowess and technical skill, Portnoy has won 23 awards from the Modern Drummer magazine. He has co-produced the last six Dream Theater albums with guitarist John Petrucci, starting from . From A Change of Seasons onwards, Portnoy had been writing a substantial amount of Dream Theater's lyrics. He is the second youngest person (after Neil Peart) to be inducted into the Modern Drummer's Hall of Fame (at 37 years of age).

On September 8, 2010, it was announced that Portnoy had left Dream Theater. Portnoy cited conflicting interests as the reason behind his departure.

Pre-Dream Theater history

Portnoy was born April 20, 1967 and raised on Long Island in Long Beach, New York. According to a post made by Jordan Rudess on his forum, Portnoy is ethnically Jewish but does not practice. His father worked as a DJ at a local radio station, helping Portnoy gain an appreciation for music at an early age particularly, as Portnoy has pointed out, because he had access to his father's collection of LPs. He developed a preference for bands including Rush, Queen, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Iron Maiden, and The Beatles, among many others. Portnoy claims to be self-taught as a drummer, though he did take music theory classes in high school. During that period he began playing in local bands, two of which (Rising Power and Inner Sanctum) recorded and released independent albums. He left Inner Sanctum (his last high school band) after being awarded a scholarship to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston. There, he met John Petrucci and John Myung. They formed a band, initially taking name "Majesty" before changing the name to Dream Theater. They left Berklee soon after.

Influences

In the April 2001 edition of Modern Drummer & Portnoy's website, he names Neil Peart, Vinnie Paul, Carl Palmer, Bill Bruford, Terry Bozzio, Nicko McBrain, Billy Cobham, Alan White, Stewart Copeland, Phil Collins, Chester Thompson, Simon Phillips, Nick D’Virgilio, Andy Sturmer, Dave Lombardo, Jon Fishman, Vinnie Colaiuta, Ringo Starr, Peter Criss, Tommy Lee, John Bonham, Keith Moon and Lars Ulrich as influences.

Awards and recognition

Portnoy has won 23 awards from Modern Drummer magazine, including "Best Up & Coming Talent" (once), "Best Clinician" (two times), "Best Educational Video/DVD" (two times), "Best recorded performance" (6 times) and "Best Progressive Rock Drummer" (for 12 consecutive years), and, at 37, was the second youngest person (behind Neil Peart, at 31) inducted into the Rock Drummer Hall of Fame.

He has co-founded several progressive rock groups and projects, including Transatlantic, Liquid Tension Experiment, and O.S.I. (with former Dream Theater keyboardist Kevin Moore).

He has released three instructional videos, "Progressive Drum Concepts", "Liquid Drum Theater", which has won awards from Modern Drummer Magazine, and his latest "In Constant Motion". He has released many "Official Bootlegs" on his website, including footage of the studio sessions for the Dream Theater albums Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, Train of Thought, Octavarium and the Transatlantic release Bridge Across Forever. He has released bootlegs of his tribute bands Hammer of the Gods (a Led Zeppelin tribute), Yellow Matter Custard (The Beatles), Cygnus and the Sea Monsters (Rush), and Amazing Journey (The Who).

On September 18, 2006 within his website's forum Portnoy cagily stated that he had finally met one of his drummer heroes from youth from the band Rush; drummer Neil Peart (one of the few heroes from his youth Portnoy had never met, owing to Peart's legendary privacy), that "Neil and I have finally met and we spent some time together this week and had a great time...", and that a possible collaboration was underway/had been discussed with the teasing statement of "Patience everybody... all will soon be revealed!" It has now been revealed that this meeting was for an interview Portnoy did for his stint as guest editor of Rhythm Magazine. Portnoy had previously written the liner notes for the Japanese pressing of Rush's 2002 release Vapor Trails, but publicly denounced Peart in 2000 after Peart called the people involved in the Rush tribute "bar bands" .

In the October 2009 issue of Rhythm Magazine, Portnoy was listed as #5 in their list of the Top 50 Drummers of All Time.

He was featured on Fuse TV's Talking Metal where he joined with Bobby Ellsworth and the show's hosts in covering Motörhead's "Overkill."

As voted on by 6,500 drummers worldwide, Portnoy won the Drummies Award for Best Progressive Rock drummer in 2010, while Joey Jordison of Slipknot/Rob Zombie/Murderdolls won the award for Best Metal drummer.

Drum kits and percussive equipment

When Dream and Day Unite/Images & Words Kit - This Tama Imperialstar (the previous model of the Imperialstar, unlike the 2007 Imperialstar, which is an entry level kit) kit and Zildjian cymbals which was bought originally by Portnoy himself through working three jobs. It was used until the end of the Images and Words tour when Portnoy got signed by Sabian and Mapex.

Awake/A Change Of Seasons kit - This Mapex USA Maple kit was used on the world tour supporting the album Awake. It had two bass drums, one snare, six toms, two small timbales, a section of various percussion instruments, and four Octoban-sized drums in a 2x2 formation. This marked Portnoy's first use of Octobans on a record, which were custom-made by Mapex using maple as opposed to Tama's more traditional acrylic, giving them a slightly different, more "natural" tone.

The Purple/Green/Red Monsters - These were Tama Starclassic kits which marked Portnoy's signing with Tama in the late '90s after his endorsement deal with Mapex fell through (they took the kit he was using off the market, meaning that he was endorsing a product the public could not buy.) Used for the recording of Falling Into Infinity" and "Scenes from a Memory and the North, South American, and Asian tours for said albums, they are so named because of their striking color/white/color fade finishes. The reason for three identical drum kits were for two copies held in storage in different parts of the world to avoid the shipping costs one extremely large kit around the world; the "Green Monster" in use for European tours and a "Red Monster" for Asian-market touring. It is similar to the "Awake" kit but features many more cymbals, the left-side octobans in a four-inline configuration (as opposed to his last kit which held them in a 2x2 pattern) and two more "low"-tuned octobans on the right side of the kit held overhead of the floor toms. This kit featured a snare drum with a foot-operated snare strainer mechanism which allowed for different snare drum sounds without having to use his hands to adjust it. On the Purple Monster Portnoy used DW 5000 Pedals, instead of the Iron Cobra Pedals. He uses this kit in his 1999 Instructional DVD "Liquid Drum Theater".

Liquid Tension Experiment kit - A comparatively modest kit used in his supergroup project Liquid Tension Experiment. The bass drum and toms of this kit (not the snare, timbales, and cymbals) were the first Portnoy ever purchased used according to an interview where he gave a tour of his basement and this kit showed up. This kit was unique in that it used a pair of small timbales where the two smallest toms would normally be. It was otherwise a normal "seven piece" rock kit with three toms (five if you count the timbales), and a single bass drum with a double kick pedal. It marks the first time Portnoy uses a floor tom on either side of the kit for a recording (during footage from their Fan Club Show in 1998 featured on 5 Years in a LIVEtime, Portnoy's "Unplugged" kit contained a left-hand floor tom used heavily during that performance) with a 14" floor tom on the left and an 18" floor tom on the right. It is the first time Portnoy used his MaxStax cymbal line in the studio. Portnoy notes in his Liquid Drum Theater instructional video that the reason behind the smaller kit is that when Liquid Tension Experiment went into the studio to record the first album, The Purple Monster kit was still being shipped back from some shows they had played immediately prior in Brazil.

Transatlantic kit - The kit used to record and tour behind the first Transatlantic album was the same as the Liquid Tension Experiment kit, but with five regular toms. When recording and touring behind the second Transatlantic album, Portnoy added his new Melody Master snare drums for the first time and some different cymbals including a set of custom made 15" hi-hats. The smaller Melody Master displaced the 14" floor tom, which was moved back to the right of the kit for the Transatlantic recordings. For the filming of Portnoy's 2007 "In Constant Motion" instructional DVD set, the Transatlantic kit was reproduced in Tama drums' new line of acrylic shells named Starclassic Mirage in the "Black Ice" finish. The original recording was done with more traditional Starclassic wood drums.

The Siamese Monster - This kit was an amalgamation of two individual kits. The left side of the kit is laid out similarly to the Liquid Tension Experiment kit, with a floor tom on his left side, a modified tymp-tom on his right side, and three rack toms. The right side is laid out as a normal five piece kit but with the two rack toms reversed, a gong bass drum in place of a floor tom (with modified floor tom legs), and the ride cymbal in front of the hi hats, which allows him to share some of the cymbals and toms between the two kits. It has two stools, and while is not capable of being played in its entirety by one person, Portnoy often invites other drummers to sit in on the unplayed half during shows. It is a predominantly black kit with Majesty symbols around each individual drum. Much like the Colored Monsters, there were three identical versions of this kit for use when touring different continents, the North American kit being the "featured" kit with purple markings as was the case with the Colored Monsters. It was built by Tama for the recording of the Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence album and tour.

The OSI kit - Portnoy used the small (right) side of his Red Siamese Monster kit for the recording of the first Office of Strategic Influence album. For the second he downsized even more to a four-piece consisting of his signature snare, one timbale as a tom as previously used on his Liquid Tension Experiment kit, one floor tom, and a single 18" kick drum with a double pedal.

Yellow Matter Custard kit - A specially designed set for use in Portnoy's Beatles tribute band, Yellow Matter Custard. It is modelled on Ringo Starr's kit, and is quite simple compared with his Dream Theater kits. Its in the sizes: 12"x8", 14"x14" & 20"x14". The cymbals are an 14" AA HiHat, an AA Crash on the left and a HH Crash/Ride on the right.

Hammer Of The Gods kit - A John Bonham-replica kit that was used in Portnoy's Led Zeppelin tribute band. Custom-made acrylic shells were used (transparent amber), and the kit is always played while wearing the obligatory bowler hat.

The Albino Monster - The previous kit used by Portnoy is similar to the Siamese Monster. Aesthetically, it is white with silver sparkle Majesty logos instead of the black/colored logos of the Siamese Monster. In layout it is almost exactly the same, the only differences being the right side of the kit mimics his earlier Hammer of the Gods kit; two of the timbales were removed, the 10" tymp-tom was changed to a 14", and the gong bass drum was replaced with a floor tom. He kept some of the cymbals from the right side of the Siamese Monster, including the 13" HHX Groove Hats, and the 19" Hand Hammered Fierce Crash, so there's more distance between the two sides in the Albino Monster, than there were in the Siamese Monster. So far it has been used for the Gigantour (a tour that Dream Theater participated in alongside Megadeth, Symphony X and several other bands) and throughout the Octavarium 2005-06 World Tour. The modification to the right side stemmed from sessions for Dream Theater's Octavarium album, where what began as an experiment became the inspiration behind most of Octavarium. When recording of Octavarium began, Portnoy brought along the Hammer of the Gods kit, resulting in the kit being used for part of the album: he ended up using it on five of the album's eight tracks. The kit utilizes larger "Rock" sizes, with a 14" rack tom, a 16" floor tom, an 18" floor tom, and a meaty 6.5" x 14" snare drum, much reminding of the drum sizes used by John Bonham of Led Zeppelin. Additionally, Portnoy only used a few crash cymbals, and used a splash and china sparingly. When touring began, Tama had the shells changed to traditional Starclassic Maple shells, because they didn't want Portnoy touring with a kit featuring shells that Tama didn't mass-produce for public acquisition. The touring kit includes two new limited-edition Mike Portnoy signature snare drums with the same matching finish used on the rest of the kit. On Tama's official website, Portnoy released details about changes to the kit for his upcoming tours, beginning with G3 in March. He says the left side will stay the same, but the right side will change. The sizes will change to more conventional sizes-22" kick etc. and will have three rack toms as opposed to the 'Bonham'-size, one rack tom kit of before. The shells would be Starclassic Mirage acrylic shells instead of the Starclassic Maple he has always used. He used this kit in his DVD In Constant Motion.

The Mirage Monster- Revealed at Gods Of Metal 2007, this kit is made up of two kits once again, except built out of Tama's new Tama Starclassic Mirage acrylic drums in clear "Crystal Ice" finish. The left side is virtually identical to his previous kit, except made with clear acrylic shells. The new configuration of the right side of his kit has replaced the "Bonzo Kit" of "The Albino Monster." His new right side of the kit includes: a 22" kick and 3 rack toms (8", 10", and 12") "so it's going to be a little more of a conventional, small kit." (Click on "Interview" link button) The snares used are his Signature Melody Master snares. He uses 2 12x5" steel snares (one on the right side of the kit as a main snare and one on the left as a side snare) and uses one 14x5.5" maple shell snare. These snares are the same snares used in the last 2 kits (Albino Monster and Siamese Monster) and they are in the original black color. This kit has been scaled down to a relatively small double-bass kit for several shows taking place in smaller venues.

Black & Silver Monster- Similar to the Mirage Monster, this kit is made up of two different kits, this time with the new Bubinga wood drums with a black and silver finish.

Several of Portnoy's drum kits make use of Roland electronic drum pads. Portnoy uses these as what he calls the "secret cowbell", to count off the songs in a way that only his fellow band members and the technicians can hear it. An example of this can be seen on the Score DVD, where it can be seen in the background that Portnoy counts off the song "Under A Glass Moon" on the pad. Portnoy explains the use of these pads in the commentary track of the "Drum Cam Only" version of the Live At Budokan DVD, as well as the "Mike's Stage Tour" featurette on the Chaos in Motion 2007–2008 DVD.

Tama has marketed two different sized Mike Portnoy signature snare drums, known as "Melody Masters" (named after Melody, his daughter), since the late 1990s. The smaller of the two has a 12x5" steel shell and the larger has a 14x5.5" maple shell. Both snare models have a unique three way snare strainer mechanism. Portnoy and Tama have custom-made versions in various colors to match the color schemes of the kit he was using at the time (i.e. The "Purple/Red/Green Monsters", "Siamese Monster" "Albino Monster", etc.). For 2006, in recognition of his 'Albino Monster' kit, he released only 250 of these snares worldwide in a white, gloss finish. The older colour (black) is not limited edition.

Sabian has marketed three different sized signature cymbal stacks, known as "Max Stax" (named after his son, Max). They consist of a hand hammered china kang-style cymbal on top of a splash (or crash) cymbal that can be played much more like a drum than a cymbal, used much more in traditional drum fills than most quickly decaying cymbal tones. Their sizes are 8/8", 10/10" and 12/14". Sabian has marketed odd-sized 7, 9, and 11" "Max Splash" cymbals which have a fast decay and can be used in fills and drum patterns that have the same namesake.

Portnoy has endorsed Promark sticks since the early 1990s. His signature stick is the TX420N. It is made of hickory 5A sized stick, with a white nylon 747 sized taper and has purple print to match the Purple Monster's motif. The "420" in the model number, which is printed on the sticks, is a reference to his birthday (and not a marijuana reference, as has been suggested). He is known for gripping his left stick on the reverse side to attain a different sound on the snare drum.

Other instruments played

Portnoy played John Myung's bass when Dream Theater performed as the fictitious band Nightmare Cinema. Before live performances of "Trial of Tears", he would sometimes switch instruments with John Petrucci and play "Eruption" by Van Halen. He was seen playing a sunburst 4-string Music Man Stingray belonging to Myung on The making of Systematic Chaos. He plays bass guitar during a jam by Liquid Trio Experiment 2.

Avenged Sevenfold

In spring 2010, Portnoy filled in for Avenged Sevenfold's former drummer, Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan, who died during production of the band's latest album Nightmare.

On the May 5th, 2010, Portnoy released a statement on his status with Avenged Sevenfold on their official website saying: "Although I wish I could stay on board with A7X in a more permanent capacity, the reality is that I am committed to Dream Theater as my main priority and I will need to resume work with DT to start a new album at some point in 2011.....However, I will be able to join my brothers in Avenged Sevenfold for at least the duration of their touring throughout 2010.....You can look at me like the band's "rebound drummer" to buy them some time until they are comfortable and ready to make a commitment to somebody new for full-time relationship in their future!" On Wednesday, September 8, 2010, Mike Portnoy announced he would be leaving Dream Theater. In his official statement he said:

The rest of the band did not agree and decided to continue on without him. Because of this decision, Portnoy decided he will be leaving Dream Theater. How the production of the 11th album or the future world tour will continue on without him is still unclear. According to John Petrucci's Twitter account, auditions to find a new drummer began in October. An interview with James LaBrie conducted on October 8, 2010 confirmed that there were seven world-class drummers lined up for auditions, which would be taking place through the rest of October. LaBrie is confident that their new drummer lies within these seven.

On December 16, 2010, Portnoy announced via Facebook that although he would have liked to continue working with the band, Avenged Sevenfold had decided to stop using him as their drummer. He later announced that he had asked to rejoin Dream Theater, but had been rejected.

New Project 2011

In December 2010, Steve Morse stated in an interview that he is working on an album with Mike Portnoy, Dave LaRue and Neal Morse. Whether this album will become a full-time band remains unknown.

On January 3, 2011, Portnoy confirmed the beginning (Jan 4th) of the project on Facebook.

Since the start of the project, he has been posting regular updates on his website.

Personal life

Portnoy and his wife Marlene (née Apuzzo) live in the Lehigh Valley with their children, Melody Ruthandrea and Max John. Marlene used to be a drummer in the all-female band Meanstreak, and two of the other members, guitarist Rena Sands and bassist Lisa Martens, are married to Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci and bassist John Myung, respectively.

Discography

With Dream Theater

1989 - When Dream and Day Unite

1992 -

1994 - Awake

1997 - Falling into Infinity

1999 -

2002 - Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence

2003 - Train of Thought

2005 - Octavarium

2007 - Systematic Chaos

2009 - Black Clouds & Silver Linings

With Avenged Sevenfold

2010 - Nightmare

2010 - "Welcome to the Family EP"

With Transatlantic

2000 -

2001 - Bridge Across Forever

2009 - The Whirlwind

Tribute Shows (CD and DVD)

One Night in New York City - Yellow Matter Custard (2003) (The Beatles) with Paul Gilbert, Neal Morse and Matt Bissonette

Two Nights In North America - Hammer of the Gods (2006) (Led Zeppelin) with Paul Gilbert, Daniel Gildenlöw, and Dave LaRue

One Night in Chicago - Cygnus and the Sea Monsters (2006) (Rush) with Paul Gilbert, Sean Malone, and Jason McMaster

One Night in New York City - Amazing Journey (2007) (The Who) with Paul Gilbert, Billy Sheehan and Gary Cherone

With selected musicians

1984 - Rising Power: Power for the People (out of print)

1986 - Inner Sanctum: 12 A.M. (out of print)

2001 - Andy West with Rama: Rama 1

Instructional DVD Releases

Portnoy has released several instructional drumming videos/DVDs. These include:

"Progressive Drum Concepts" (Rittor Music 1995 1 VHS/DVD)

"Liquid Drum Theater" (Hudson Music 2000 2 DVDs)

"In Constant Motion" (Hudson Music 2007, 3 DVDs)

Portnoy's self filmed performances

Portnoy has self-released "drum-cam" DVDs of the last several Dream Theater and side project recording sessions through his own "MP4" production company. These are "in-studio" recordings typically consisting of Full Band, Isolated Drums tracks, and an Audio Commentary.

"Asian Clinic Tour" (MP4 Productions 2001, 1 DVD) (out of print)

"Ten Degrees of Turbulent Drumming" (MP4 Productions 2002, 1 DVD)

"Drums Across Forever" (MP4 Productions 2002, 1 DVD)

"Drums of Thought" (MP4 Productions 2004, 1 DVD)

''"Live at Budokan" (MP4 Production 2005, 1 DVD)

"Mike Portnoy - Drumavarium" (MP4 Productions 2005, 1 DVD)

"sysDRUMatic chaos" (MP4 Productions 2007, 1 DVD)

"SCORE" (MP4 Productions 2008, 1 DVD)

"Black Clouds & Silver Drumming" (MP4 Productions 2009, 1 DVD)

"Whirlwind Drumming" (MP4 Productions 2010, 1 DVD)

References

External links

MikePortnoy.com

VIDEO Interview with Portnoy on BackstageMusician.Com

Interview with Portnoy in Drummer's Digest web magazine

VIDEO interview with Portnoy at DrummersDigest.com

Metal Sludge 20 Questions with Portnoy

Progressive Nation 2008

Portnoy discusses his memories of the now-defunct New York record store, Slipped Disc

Mike Portnoy named the 5th best drummer of all time

Category:Avenged Sevenfold members Category:1967 births Category:Living people Category:American Jews Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics Category:People from the Lehigh Valley Category:People from Long Beach, New York Category:Berklee College of Music alumni Category:American heavy metal drummers Category:American heavy metal singers Category:American male singers Category:Jewish American musicians Category:American record producers

Name	Jojo Mayer
Landscape	Yes
Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth name	Jojo Mayer
Born	January 18, 1963Zurich, Switzerland
Instrument	Drums
Genre	Drum and Bass, Jazz, Jungle, Fusion
Occupation	Musician
Years active	1981–present
Associated acts	Screaming Headless Torsos, Intergalactic Maiden Ballet, Nerve, John Medeski, Dizzy Gillespie, Nina Simone
Url	/ Official website
Notable instruments	Sonor Drum kit

Serge "Jojo" Mayer (born 18 January 1963) is a highly acclaimed Swiss drummer born in Zurich and currently residing in New York City. Son of a touring musician, Mayer began his career as a drummer at an early age, receiving his first drum set at the age of two. Having taught himself throughout his childhood, Mayer broke out into the professional music scene at the age of 18, joining the Monty Alexander group. Touring with the group would launch him into the major jazz music scene, playing at the North Sea Jazz Festival, Montreux, Nice, and Athens etc, and leading to his gigs with jazz-greats such as Dizzy Gillespie and Nina Simone. Eventually, after playing with a great variety of artists, Mayer would move away from jazz and into Drum 'n' Bass electronica.

Jojo Mayer is known for bringing together jazz, drum and bass, jungle, and other influences. He is also famous for his ability to play the rhythms of programmed jungle drum 'n' bass music on acoustic drums, terming this technique "reverse engineering", a phrase borrowed from computing. He executes this approach using various methods such as the Heel-toe bass drum technique, the Moeller stroke, and the "pull-out" or "push-pull" accent which takes the beat on the rebound. Using this technique he can play beats at astonishing speeds. A few of his main influences are Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette and Buddy Rich.

He plays with the guitarist David Fiuczynski in the avant-garde pop rock band Screaming Headless Torsos and in the fusion jazz band Intergalactic Maiden Ballet.

He is the founder of the Prohibited Beatz clique in the NYC underground live music scene.

Discography

With Intergalactic Maiden Ballet:

1992 - Square Dance

1994 - Gulf

With John Medeski:

1994 - Lunar Crush

With Screaming Headless Torsos:

1995 - Screaming Headless Torsos

Sulfur:

1998 - Delirium Tremens

With Depart

2006 - Reloaded

2008 - Mountain Messenger

Jojo Mayer & Nerve:

2007 - Prohibited Beats

2010 - EP1

2010 - EP2

2011 - EP3

Media

He was featured as the cover story of the January 2008 issue of Modern Drummer magazine. His DVD, Secret Weapons for the Modern Drummer, is a bestseller worldwide.

Jojo Mayer was interviewed by DrummerConnection.com - May 2010 - Jojo Mayer Interview by DrummerConnection.com

Jojo Mayer was interviewed by Linus Wyrsch on "The Jazz Hole" for breakthruradio.com in July 2010 - Jojo Mayer Interview by breakthruradio.com

Gear

Mayer is a long-time Sonor endorser who also uses Sabian cymbals and Vic Firth sticks. He has also collaborated with Sabian to create his own line of "Fierce" cymbals, part of Sabian's top-tier Vault line. His Vault Fierce cymbals feature a raw, unlathed finish, and extensive hand hammering. Mayer usually uses birch Sonor drums in the following sizes:

14" and 13" Snare Drum

10" Tom Tom

14" Floor Tom

8" Tom to the right of the Floor Tom

20" or 18" Bass Drum

Sizes may vary primarily based on local drum availability.

For drumheads (all Evans):

14" Hybrid Coated

14" Hazy 300

12" G Plus Clear

12" G Plus Coated

12" Hydraulic Black

12" Hydraulic Glass

For cymbals, he's recently been using (all Sabian):

21" Prototype AAX Omni

18" Fierce Crash

18" Prototype AAX Omni Crash

13" El Sabor Splash

13" HHX Evolution Top Hi Hat over 14" HHX Evolution Mini-China

10" Fierce Hi Hats

13" Fierce Hi Hats

10" Chopper

External links

Jojo Mayer’s homepage

Jojo Mayer's Nerve Info at Basitours

Myspace Page

JoJo Mayer Interview by DrummerConnection.com - 5 May 2010

References

Category:1963 births Category:Living people Category:Swiss musicians Category:Swiss drummers

Name	Chad Smith
Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth name	Chad Smith
Born	October 25, 1961 in Richfield, Minnesota, United States
Instrument	Drums, Piano, Guitar, Oboe, Saxophone, Didgeridoo, Flute
Genre	Alternative rock, funk rock, punk rock, hard rock
Years active	1982–present
Associated acts	Red Hot Chili Peppers, Chickenfoot, Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats, Glenn Hughes, John Frusciante, Rhythm Train, Toby Redd

Chad Smith (born October 25, 1961) is best known as being the longtime and current drummer of Red Hot Chili Peppers. He is also the drummer of the hard rock band Chickenfoot and the instrumental band Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats.

Biography

Chad Smith was born to Curtis and Joan Smith in Richfield, Minnesota. He has two older siblings, Bradley and Pamela. He grew up in Homewood-Flossmoor, Illinois where he attended Homewood-Flossmoor High School for two years. He then moved to Oakland County in Southeast Michigan and graduated from Lahser High School. Prior to joining Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smith was in a local Detroit band called Toby Redd, playing on their second album In The Light. He joined RHCP in time for them to put out the album Mother's Milk in 1989.

In an interview he stated that he had been influenced by many of the musicians who came from those British bands in the 60s and early 70s, includingJohn Bonham, Mitch Mitchell, Ginger Baker, Ian Paice, Roger Taylor, Keith Moon, and Bill Ward.

In 1991, Smith had a small role in the short film Session Man, which won an Academy Award for Best Short Subject.

In 1995, Smith and Dave Navarro formed a side project, called Honeymoon Stitch. They recorded one song for a Joy Division tribute album and produced a successful remix of the Traci Lords single, Fallen Angel.

Smith has released an instructional DVD with Hal Leonard entitled Eastern Rim, which includes footage from his clinics in Melbourne and Tokyo, footage from various live performances, and interviews.

From 2004 to 2008, Chad played drums on one live album and three studio albums by Black Sabbath and Deep Purple bassist/vocalist, Glenn Hughes.

In 2008, Chad formed Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats, a jazz instrumental funk-rock band. The band released their second album, More Meat on October 19, 2010.

Smith is involved in a supergroup/side project called Chickenfoot. He is joined by guitarist Joe Satriani, as well as former Van Halen members Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony. Their album was released by Best Buy in the U.S. on June 5, 2009. Smith plans on recording a second album with Chickenfoot sometime in late 2010 after the next Chili Peppers album and tour are finished.

In the May 2006 issue of Doell & Ford Magazine, Smith was named the number one rock drummer alive.

In 2006, Chad played drums on the Dixie Chicks album, Taking the Long Way. The album won five Grammy Awards including album of the year.

Smith was a judge for the 7th annual Independent Music Awards.

Many consider Smith and actor Will Ferrell to bear a striking resemblance. Smith was seen to be wearing a t-shirt bearing the slogan, "I am not Will Ferrell" when Chickenfoot appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien in 2009.

In April 2010, Chad teamed up with singer, Leslie Bixler and legendary actor, Dick Van Dyke to record a children's album, titled Rhythm Train. Van Dyke raps on the album and plays various characters including a pirate. Smith too plays numerous characters, the drums, several instruments and sings. In April 2010, Rhythm Train was named by MTV as one it's all time favorite children's records and in June 2010 RED/Sony began distributing Rhythm Train. Smith's son Cole was the inspiration for the project. In June 2010 Rhythm Train performed at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation's, A Time For Heroes celebrity family picnic which benefits the Foundation. Rhythm Train is scheduled to headline a PS ARTS fundraiser in November 2010. A portion of all proceeds from Rhythm Train go to Children's Hospitals in The United States benfiting uncompensated care. A follow up project is much anticipated both by the media and the public. No word as to a release date.

On September 13, 2010, after eleven months of writing, Smith along with his Chili Peppers bandmates entered the studio to begin work on their tenth studio album, which is due out in 2011.

On October 15, 2010, Chad talked about his future with Chickenfoot during a interview and stated that he planned on recording the second album with the band around January 2011 after his work is complete on the next Chili Peppers record (which he said is due out by the summer of 2011). Chad mentioned that because he will be touring with the Chili Peppers in support of their new album, he would be unable to tour with Chickenfoot, so the latter band is planning on finding a replacement touring drummer.

Personal life

Smith is the father of 5 children. From 1992-1997 Smith was married to Maria St John and together they have a daughter named Manon. Smith is also the father of a son Justin and a daughter Ava both from previous relationships. On May 8, 2004 in Hopetown, Abaco, Bahamas, Smith got married for the second time to architect Nancy Mack. They have two sons together, Cole and Beckett Cash. Smith, Mack and their boys split their time between Malibu, CA and New York. Smith is a diehard Detroit Pistons fan and loves playing golf, riding motorcycles, and watching Saturday Night Live.

Smith regularly contributes to the following non profit organizations: MusiCares, Surfer's Healing, an organization which provides aid to children facing Autism, Right Turn in Boston, and Children's Hospitals across the United States.

Equipment

The kit used by Smith is a typical example of a rock drum setup. He endorses Pearl Drums and Sabian cymbals. Smith has designed two signature crash-cymbals and a China cymbal with Sabian, as well as a signature snare drum with Pearl. He uses a 21" AA Rock Ride and a 20" AA Rock Crash. Smith endorses Vater drumsticks and bass drum beaters.

In 2005, Pearl and CeeLite created a drum kit incorporating CeeLite's lighting technology to illuminate Smith's Pearl Masters kit on stage.

Selected discography

Jam Sessions - Jamming with Linc (1977)

Pharaoh - Point Of Entry (1982)

Toby Redd - In the Light (1986)

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Mother's Milk (1989)

Second Self - Mood Ring (1990)

Twenty Mondays - Twist Inside (1992)

Queen Remix (1991)

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991)

Wild Colonials - Fruit of Life (1994)

General Clusterfunk - Starin' Straight at the Sun (1994)

Various Artists - (1995)

Red Hot Chili Peppers - One Hot Minute (1995)

Original Soundtrack - Grace of my Heart (1996)

Wayne Kramer - Dangerous Madness (1996)

Thermadore - Monkey on Rico (1996)

Howard Stern's Private Parts (1997)

Lili Haydn - Lili (1997)

John Fogerty - Blue Moon Swamp (1997)

Leah Andreone - Alchemy (1998)

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication (1999)

Fishbone - (2000)

Various Artists - Loud Rocks (2000)

Dave Navarro - Trust No One (2001)

Red Hot Chili Peppers - By the Way (2002)

Johnny Cash - Unearthed (2003)

Glenn Hughes - Songs In The Key Of Rock (2003)

Hughes Turner Project - HTP 2 (2003)

John Frusciante - Shadows Collide With People (2004)

Glenn Hughes - Soulfully Live In The City Of Angels (2004)

Glenn Hughes - Soul Mover (2005)

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium (2006)

Dixie Chicks - Taking The Long Way (2006)

Glenn Hughes - Music For The Divine (2006)

Glenn Hughes - First Underground Nuclear Kitchen (2008)

George Clinton - George Clinton and His Gangsters of Love (2008)

Chickenfoot - Chickenfoot (2009)

Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats - Meet The Meatbats (2009)

B'z - Ichibu to Zenbu/Dive (2009)

Rhythm Train with Leslie Bixler, Chad Smith'' and Featuring Dick Van Dyke - (2010)

Paul Oakenfold - Pop Killer (2010)

Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats - More Meat (2010)

Kid Rock - Born Free (2010)

Red Hot Chili Peppers - TBA (2011)

Chickenfoot - TBA (2011)

References

External links

Red Hot Chili Peppers Official website

Rhythm Train

Drummerworld

Chad Smith on Drum Channel

Category:American rock drummers Category:Red Hot Chili Peppers members Category:Chickenfoot members Category:1961 births Category:Living people

Name	Bernard Fowler
Landscape	no
Background	solo_singer
Born	New York, United States
Instruments	Vocals, percussion, guitar, bass guitar, trombone
Genre	Rock, rock and roll, funk, R&B;, blues, country rock, reggae, blues-rock, gospel
Occupation	Musician, producer, Songwriter, Actor
Years active	1974 - Present
Label	Atlantic, Rolling Stones, Sony
Associated acts	Rolling Stones, Herbie Hancock, Bootsy Collins, Tackhead, Charlie Watts, Mick Jagger, Waddy Wachtel, Little Axe
Url	Bernard Fowler.com

Bernard Fowler is an American musician, songwriter, producer, and actor. He has provided backing vocals with The Rolling Stones for over 20 years on recordings and tours, and has been a featured guest vocalist on the majority of solo albums released by the members of that band. He has also been a regular featured singer on other musicians' recordings and tours. He has appeared on over 30 albums.

Fowler has toured and recorded with the bands Tackhead and Bad Dog and occasionally with Nicklebag and Little Axe. He released his first solo album in 2006, and has produced some of the albums upon which he performed.

Biography

First cuts 1970s

Fowler's first recordings were for the group Total Eclipse in 1974. In the early 1980s he was a member of The New York City Peech Boys with DJ Larry Levan and keyboard player Michael De Benedictus. The group had dance hits with tracks like "Don't Make Me Wait" and "Life Is Something Special". He provided vocals for the songs "I'm The One" and "Come Down" from the Material album One Down, where he was credited as a songwriter on several tracks. Fowler guested on Herbie Hancock's 1983 album Future Shock, as well as the 1985 albums Compact Disc by Public Image Ltd, Language Barrier by Sly & Robbie, and She's the Boss, a Mick Jagger solo effort. In 1986, he sang a song written by Paul Simon which appeared on Philip Glass's Songs from Liquid Days. In 1987 he sang backup for James Blood Ulmer on America:Do You Remember the Love?, and the next year he appeared on Bootsy Collins's What's Bootsy Doin'?. In 1988 Fowler found himself touring with Steven Seagal.

Rolling Stones

In 1985, Fowler was hired to record backing vocals on Mick Jagger's first solo album, She's The Boss. This proved to be the beginning of a lasting business and personal relationship, not only with Jagger, but with all the current members of the Rolling Stones, as he has performed on the solo albums of Watts, Jagger, Richards and Wood. After Fowler had already performed as a session musician with individual members of the Rolling Stones on their solo projects, he was chosen to join the Stones on their Steel Wheels world tour, in 1989. Mick Jagger spoke about his choice of Fowler to sing backing vocals saying that Fowler impressed him because he had a wide vocal range, many musical influences, and stamina.

"He is also very strong and can sing for ages. He's got a lot of range and a lot of stamina vocally. You have to have that if you're going to do long nights and lots and lots of shows, all in the open air; he can easily keep up with me." -- Mick Jagger, 1998."

"He is also very strong and can sing for ages. He's got a lot of range and a lot of stamina vocally. You have to have that if you're going to do long nights and lots and lots of shows, all in the open air; he can easily keep up with me." He has also appeared on albums from Herb Alpert, Little Axe, Todd Terry, and Michael Hutchence, (formerly of INXS).

Songwriting and projects

Fowler has been asked to collaborate on songs from other artists. One such person has been Ron Wood in writing and composing songs for his solo albums. Fowler and Wood have co-written several songs together and recorded them on Wood's albums.

In 2006, Fowler released his first solo album, Friends with Privileges, on Sony Japan. This is his first entirely solo effort, however, he has had a significant number of rock and roll and R&B; heavyweights in the music industry working with him. They include Ron Wood, Darryl Jones and Lisa Fischer of Rolling Stones fame; studio session musician and record producer Waddy Wachtel, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Robert Plant, Dave Abbruzzese, formerly of Pearl Jam, Joe Elliot of (Def Leppard), and Ivan Neville. His newest project is called the IMF's.

Discography

With the Rolling Stones and their solo projects

(1985) She's The Boss (Mick Jagger)

(1989) Steel Wheels (Rolling Stones)

(1991) Flashpoint (Rolling Stones)

(1992) Tribute to Charlie Parker With Strings (Charlie Watts)

(1992) Slide On This (Ronnie Wood)

(1992) Main Offender (Keith Richards)

(1993) Warm and Tender (Charlie Watts)

(1993) (Ronnie Wood)

(1993) Jump Back (Rolling Stones)

(1994) Voodoo Lounge (Rolling Stones)

(1995) Stripped (Rolling Stones)

(1996) Long Ago and Far Away (Charlie Watts)

(1997) Bridges To Babylon (Rolling Stones)

(1998) No Security (Rolling Stones)

(2000) Live and Eclectic (Ronnie Wood)

(2002) Forty Licks (Rolling Stones)

(2004) Live Licks (Rolling Stones)

(2005) Rarities 1971-2003 (Rolling Stones)

(2008) Shine a Light (Rolling Stones)

With others

(1982) Don't Make Me Wait Peech Boys

(1982) One Down Material

(1982) Future Shock Herbie Hancock

(1984) Sound-System Herbie Hancock

(1985) Starpeace Yoko Ono

(1985) Language Barrier Sly & Robbie

(1986) Futurista Ryuichi Sakamoto

(1986) Media Bahn Live Ryuichi Sakamoto

(1986) Songs from Liquid Days Phillip Glass

(1986) Album Public Image, Ltd.

(1987) Do You Remember the Love? James Blood Ulmer

(1988) What's Bootsy Doin'? Bootsy Collins

(1990) Strange Things Tackhead

(1990) Liberty Duran Duran

(1991) Videohead Tackhead

(1991) Johnnie B. Bad Johnnie Johnson

(1992) Onobox Yoko Ono

(1994) Jazz Passengers in Love Roy Nathanson's Jazz Passengers

(1996) 12 Hits and a Bump Nicklebag (Iguana Records)

(1997) Power Inc. Tackhead

(1999) Michael Hutchence Michael Hutchence

(1999) Colors Herb Alpert

(2000) Hot Night Tonight Barbara Lynn

(2001) Best of Material Material

(2008) Along Came a Spider Alice Cooper

(2008) Ever changing times Steve Lukather

(2010) All's well that ends well Steve Lukather

(2010) I feel like playing Ronnie Wood

Personal Discography

(2006) Friends With Privileges Bernard Fowler (Sony Japan)

References

External links

[ Bernard Fowler] at Allmusic.com

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Category:American male singers Category:African American singers Category:African American singer-songwriters Category:American funk musicians Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:Living people Category:1950 births Category:American session musicians Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:1980s singers Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers