Keep up with Dirk here:
https://www.facebook.com/DirkVerbeurenDrummer
I started out playing drums with some not-so-serious and short-lived bands/projects such as Larsen, Shred, and Meltdown. My first real band was Scarve which I co-formed in October 1993. We recorded four full-length albums, the most recent one being The Undercurrent released in 2007 on Listenable, and toured widely throughout Europe in support of bands such as Meshuggah and Nile.
In February 2004, I stepped in as a replacement drummer for Soilwork on their first European headlining tour. I did all of their following tours as well and played drums on their sixth album Stabbing The Drama. Finally, in December 2005 I joined the band as their full-time drummer. Our new CD Sworn To A Great Divide comes out in October 2007 on Nuclear Blast.
Besides Soilwork and Scarve, I’m also currently a full-time member of Phaze I and Manu Livertout Band. Over the years, I recorded with Aborted, Yyrkoon, Lyzanxia, Sybreed, Sublime Cadaveric Decomposition, Phazm, No Return, Mortuary, and Infinited Hate among others. Current projects include the Nuclear Blast All-Stars “Out Of The Dark,” Warrel Dane of Nevermore’s solo album, and an instructional DVD which will hopefully see the light of day sometime next year.
Dirk Verbeuren Interview:
SDM: What do you do to prepare for a tour? Please talk of personal and drum kit prep…
Dirk: I can’t usually take my Tama Starclassic on the road, but I do always bring my Iron Cobra double pedal, my signature Tama sticks, my Meinl cymbals, and some spare heads. Playing wise, I like to rehearse the set for at least a week or two. It can’t always happen but that’s ideal to be physically prepared. Before shows, I play rudiments on a practice pad for 20-30 minutes. I also warm up my ankles, wrists, shoulders, and arms, and drink (too much) coffee.
SDM: When did you start playing drums?
Dirk: At age 16, when my parents got me my first kit. It was a second-hand 5-piece Maxtone without resonance heads on the toms. A friend of mine gave me an old kick drum to set up next to mine so I could play double bass. But prior to owning real drums, I built my own homemade “kit” with big Tupperware boxes and cardboard, and I used wooden rulers as sticks. Good enough to play blast beats!
SDM: Do you play in a school band or any drum corps?
Dirk: My first live show was with some friends from high school. We played covers by Metallica, Slayer, Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I think I also played part of a Gorguts song as a “drum solo.” At that time, I felt really uncomfortable being on stage and it took quite a few years of touring to change that.
SDM: Have you ever taken any lessons?
Dirk: I started out playing on my own for a few years. I practiced every day, either with friends on guitar or to my favorite albums in the headphones. After a while, my routines started to get boring, so in 1993 I enrolled in the MAI (Music Academy International) in Nancy, France. For 18 months I studied rock, jazz, fusion, metal, and Afro-Cuban music with a bunch of extremely talented teachers such as Franck Agulhon, Alain Gozzo, Patrick Buchmann, André Charlier, and Denis Palatin. It was definitely a big step forward and a mind-opening experience.
SDM: Who are your top 5 influences?
Dirk: Listening to Dave Lombardo and Mick Harris is what initially motivated me to pick up the drums. Their playing just blew my mind, and still does to this day! Sean Reinert (Cynic, Death), Steve Flynn (Atheist), Mike Smith (Suffocation), and Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) were major influences in my early years as well. I also want to mention some of the albums I had on heavy rotation at the time: Consuming Impulse (Pestilence), Speak English Or Die (S.O.D.), early Nuclear Assault and Metallica, Symphonies Of Sickness (Carcass), World Downfall (Terrorizer), Darkness Descends (Dark Angel) and pretty much everything Earache released in the late 80s/early 90s.
SDM: Assuming that influences doesn’t mean favorites, who are your favorites?
Dirk: I really enjoy the playing of Morgan Agren (Fredrik Thordendal’s Special Defects, Mats & Morgan), Gene Hoglan, Mario Duplantier (Gojira), Tomas Haake, Peter Wildoer, Brann Dailor, Morten Lowe Sorensen (Submission, The Arcane Order), Tomas Lang, Per Möller Jensen, Virgil Donati, Danny Carey, Steve Smith, Tony Laureano, Reno Killerich, George Kollias, Hellhammer, Henry Ranta, Janne Säärenpää (The Crown), Brian Mantia, Dave Grohl… I could go on forever!
SDM: Let us know 3 CD’s that are in your current rotation.
Dirk: Sometimes They Come Back… To Mosh (F.K.Ü.); (A) Senile Animal (The Melvins); Xecutioner’s Return (Obituary).
SDM: Do you practice any specific rudiments or combos regularly?
Dirk: Yes. I usually warm up with single paradiddles, double paradiddles, paradiddle-diddles, flam accents (or triplets with flams), flam drags, double stroke rolls (with and without accents) and triple stroke rolls. I adapt most of those to reading exercises as well.
SDM: What is your favorite part of your drum kit?
Dirk: Probably the 16” and 18” floor toms. You gotta love that deep rumbling impact! I use them in many different ways and try tuning them as low as I can.
SDM: If you could give one piece of advice to younger drummers, it would be…
Dirk: Open up to all good music that you can get your hands on. Don’t stay limited to just one style, but try to learn basic beats and rhythms in any genre. From there, you can build a style that’s truly your own. Also, play with as many different musicians and bands as you can. Even the shittiest gig will teach you something valuable.
SDM: Who gave the best live performance you’ve ever seen?
Dirk: That would have to be Morgan Agren with Mats & Morgan in 2003 in France. A perfect show at every level, and some truly astonishing drumming! Also, Tony Laureano really blew my mind on Nile’s In Their Darkened Shrines tour in 2002.
SDM: Aside from drumming, what else do you do with your life?
Dirk: I love to spend time at home with my wife and cats, have dinner at healthy restaurants, and play poker with my friends. Despite all the touring, I still enjoy visiting different places around the world whenever there’s some spare time. I also have a tendency to turn into a computer geek when I have nothing else to do.
Leave a Reply