Monday Metal Mayhem PodCast Interview with Dave Witte… {enclose dave_witte_4_28_08.mp3}
Keep up with Dave here:
www.myspace.com/municipalwaste
My name is Dave and I play drums. I only fooled around with drums in high school, while I was also heavily into BMX freestyle and halfpipe riding. Around the day I wiped out hard upon attempting a 360 flyout onto the deck of the ramp (clearing it actually and falling off the back 8 feet into trees) my interest in music and drumming was really stating to win me over, so I stopped biking for something more extreme, Metal and Hardcore drumming! Before I started playing metal and fast, I learned with the basic AC/DC & Judas Priest beats, playing along to records with headphones, mastering and duplicating everything I heard, lesson free. Along came Slayer and I haven’t been the same since. I played Reign in Blood with headphones everyday and drove my mother insane. From there things got faster and faster and so did I. My first effort to be heard was Human Remains in 1990 and that was only the tip of the iceberg for what I wanted to do and how I would grow personally and musically. These days after multiple bands and various tours around the world, I am still playing music and l am still in love with the idea. It will never die for me, through good and bad times, it’s my calling. Sooner or later my website www.davewitte.com will have all the details that I am too lazy to write here.
Dave Witte Interview:
SD.com: How old were you when you started playing?
Dave: I was always interested in the drums because my uncle Victor was a drummer. I guess there were a couple a different stages of me drumming. I got a kit in middle school and just screwed around, BMX was more my thing at the time, but in High School I figured it out that I wanted to drum around 16 or so. I became really serious at around 18 and started Human Remains.
SD.com: Did you play in a school band or any drum corps?
Dave: I joined marching band and quit the first week, I never wanted the discipline at the time, I just wanted to play drums, not a pad ya know?
SD.com: Ever take any lessons?
Dave: I taught myself up until around the year 2000 when I just kept hitting a wall and took a month of swing/jazz. It really helped me a lot. When I was growing up and started going to metal shows, I found out about this local guy named Brandon Thomas who played in a band called Ripping Corpse, I watched him very closely and I learned a lot from him, in a way he was my teacher for a few years.
SD.com: Who are your top 5 influences?
Dave: The players I learned the most from by listening are Clive Burr, Dave Lombardo, Brandon Thomas, Neil Peart and Tim “Herb” Alexander
SD.com: Assuming that influences doesn’t mean favorites, who are your favorites?
Dave: There are so many great players out their these days and my friends that make me laugh the hardest are my faves.. To name a few, Chris Pennie, Brann Dailor, Brandon Thomas (Ripping Corpse/Dim-Mak), Will Scharf (Keelhaul), Jeff Eber (Dysrhythmia), Chris Maggio (Coliseum) Elliot “The Boy” Hoffman (Spooge/Car Bomb) and the greatest drummer to ever live Buddy Rich. All of these people have so much heart and that makes them shine for me.
SD.com: Let us know 5 CD’s that are in your current rotation
Dave: I caught on late to Enslaved and have been listening to their record Ruun a lot lately. Ozric Tentacles: The Floor’s too far away, The End: Elementary Dalek: Absence Dodheimgard: Supervillian Outcast
SD.com: Do you practice any specific rudiments or combo’s regularly?
Dave: No, not really. I try to warm up before I play and that’s about it. I warm up with single strokes from slow to fast and when I’m lucky I get to warm my feet up the same way. I always say I’m going to study and practice my rudiments, but I always get distracted and never do them.
SD.com: What is your favorite part of your drum kit?
Dave: These days, the new Trick Pro-1V Drum Pedal, I love it so much, it’s the fastest, smoothest thing out there and it’s so user friendly it’s insane. It’s also built like a tank, the engineering is on a whole other level. Every drummer should check it out. http://www.trickdrums.com/
SD.com: Do you have any pre-show rituals?
Dave: Whenever I leave for tour I drink a beer before I leave my house no matter what time it is and also before I get on a plane. At the show, I always try to eat chocolate and do my single strokes warm up. I usually try and go for a walk before too.
SD.com: If you could give one piece of advice to young drummers, it would be…
Dave: Follow your heart and never give up. Play as much as possible however you are comfortable and try to find inspiration in many differnet forms of music. Try to play with musicians with more expierence than you and you’ll learn and grow quickly, that was my thing, I played with people whose skill level were much higher than than mine at the time and I grew stronger as a player quicker cause I was challenged more. Most importantly, not every performance and practice is going to be a good one, sometimes you’ll just have one of those days, don’t let those days discourage you because tomorrow is another day.
SD.com: Who gave the best live performance you’ve ever seen?
Dave: It’s hard to say. I’ve seen Neil Peart play for 3 hours straight without mistakes and I’ve also seen dudes in basements totally fuckin’ going for it, blood sweat and tears. Passion is the best performance to me, I love watching some get caught up in the moment and just letting go.
SD.com: I remember hanging out with you in the Humans Remains days, how have you progressed as a drummer?
Dave: I’ve learned when not to play. I wanted to be the fastest guy in world for a while and I worked really hard at it and loved doing it. Over the years and more recently though I’ve really discovered dynamic and tastefulness. I owe the tastefulness to Neil Peart and I can honestly say that I’m playing for myself these days more then ever. I’m not trying to prove anything anymore, I went down that road a while ago. I can be creative and still keep myself entertained and happy.
SD.com: How would you describe your style?
Dave: I guess a natural creative primative. I rely on power, speed and creativity where they are needed in a song. I try to create a tasteful drum song within the song I’m playing for using dynamic to embellish or provoke feeling for parts while being rooted in solid time, if that makes
any sense.
SD.com: What are some of your upcoming plans for 2007?
Dave: I’m trying to get my website together these days, to have all my past ad present information, right now I’m working on a full tour history and I’m missing just a few things, It’s exciting. Musically, a new Municipal Waste record with lots of touring, a new Burnt by the Sun record, a new Phantomsmasher record, maybe some Birds of Prey shows to mention a few, I usually list everything on my website when it comes about.
SD.com: If you had to stop drumming, what else would you want to do with your life?
Dave: I would cook. I love cooking and also I have plans to become a tri-athlete and compete in an Iron-Man and complete it. I already did a sprint triathlon and crossing that finish line was one of the most incredible feelings I’ve ever had.
Thanks John, it was good to speak to an old friend.
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