Keep up with Brian here:
http://www.myspace.com/toxicepidermalnecrolysis
Growing up, I’ve always been musically talented one way or another. My parents always told me that I should take up an instrument, but I looked at them as if they were crazy. My parents told me that I had a sense of musical talent, but never followed through with what they said until I was older. When I was fifteen years old I was asked to be a drummer for a band. I kept telling the guys in the past that I was a drummer when I knew full well that I didn’t have a lick of talent on the drums. The guys that were looking to form a band remembered what I said before and asked me to be their drummer. Not wanting to back out of the offer, I didn’t want to seem like I was intimidated so I said yes. Showing up at the bands first practice, I made an idiot out of myself and it appeared to the guys that I couldn’t keep a steady rhythm. When I left later that night after practice, as frustrated at myself as I could be, I went home and told my parents that I needed a drum set immediately. They bought me a drum set off a kid that I knew from high school and brought it home to practice. The kit was a TAMA Swingstar with two B8 crash cymbals, B8 hi-hats, and a B8 ride. After I brought it home, I practiced for six hours straight. Knowing next band practice I had to show up with steady drum patterns, it gave me a week of four-hour practice time after school every night. With no drum lessons ever given to me, even till this day, I taught myself the basics of drumming and showed up next band practice ready to go. That’s how it all began for me.
After being in the band for four months, I was offered to be in different one called Text of Annihilation. This offer did intimidate me because I only knew how to drum the basics, and style of music they played was death metal. My friend told me that if I kept playing with him, I would be able to build my speed and technicality as a drummer. I took the motivation and practiced with him for a couple of weeks before we had our first practice. Sure enough I noticed a huge improvement in my playing and so did everyone else. This was the birth of me becoming a metal drummer. I was able to experience a lot of things that I never thought I would have been able to back when I first started. I was playing shows, recording my first CD and also gained a lot of recognition as a local drummer. After a year of playing together, we broke up due to complications in the band. I busted my butt to get to where I was, and I wasn’t about to stop.
Going on hiatus for nearly four months, it gave me a ton of time to get better. I was always listening to metal none stop. My biggest influence on the drums and always will be is Chris Adler from Lamb of God. I studied the technical side of drums through books and magazines on Adler and also on many other drummers and their styles. Luckily this hiatus was mostly during the spring and summer so I was able to drum nearly seven hours a day. Each week I noticed that I was improving and couldn’t wait to start up another band. In the mid fall of 2005, a friend and I called up some people and we formed our current band called Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis. We have done a good amount of shows together and just finished our five-track demo. I will never forget how it all started and who helped me progress along the way. At first I was clueless and had no confidence. Now I feel I have enough confidence and skill to call myself a drummer.
Brian Durost Interview:
SD.com: How old were you when you started playing?
Brian: I’ve always had opportunities to play drums growing up, but I never took it seriously. When I decided that I wanted to become a drummer, I was fifteen years old, and begged my parents to buy me a drum set off of a kid that I knew in high school. That kit was a TAMA Swingstar and that’s what I learned on for my first year as a drummer.
SD.com: Did you play in a school band or any drum corps?
Brian: In high school, I was always asked to play in the orchestra and marching band by my music teacher, but I never took advantage of the offer.
SD.com: Who are your top 5 influences?
Brian: Without a shadow of a doubt, my first on that list is Chris Adler. Adler has a very unique style in his playing. He is originally a left handed and footed drummer, but trained himself to play right handed and footed because that’s how he thought a drummer was suppose to drum. With his advantage of being able to lead with his right and left, he incorporates it with his style of drumming which makes it that much harder for other drummers to follow.
Jason Bittner has always been known as a double bass guy and it couldn’t be any truer. If you take a chance to listen to Shadows Fall, you will hear his extremely progressive double bass patterns. Bittner is a very influential drummer to learn from and has broadened my horizons as far as playing the double bass.
Bobby Jarzombek is the drummer from Spastic Ink and plays the craziest progressive metal that I have ever heard. With cymbals surrounding his head, the speed that he portrays in his drumming is out of this world. Watching many video clips of him throughout my years as a drummer has taught me speed with my hands and off-time snare and cymbal patterns. I will always work with Jarzombek’s tips, as I grow into a better drummer.
I always respect old school drumming. Now days, it seems as if the younger generation of drummers are caught up in double bass and rapid snare and cymbal pattern. It’s always good for me to veer from my metal style of drumming and concentrate more on a single pedal and hi-hat metronome. In my personal time, I like to train my left foot to use a constant hi-hat metronome while using my right foot to accent bass patterns on the bass drum. Practicing the basics of this unique drum form was possible by admiring Neil Pert from Rush and Bill Ward from Black Sabbath.
SD.com: Assuming that influences don’t mean favorites, who are your favorites?
Brian: Chris Adler from Lamb of God, Jason Bittner from Shadows Fall, Bobby Jarzombek from Spastic Ink, Josh Kulick from Through the Eyes of the Dead, and Justin Foley from Killswitch Engage.
SD.com: Let us know 5 CD’s that are in your current rotation
Brian: The five CD’s that I listen to and learn from are Ashes of the Wake and Sacrament by Lamb of God, Alive or Just Breathing by Killswitch Engage, The Price of Existence by All Shall Perish, and Fallout From the War by Shadows Fall.
SD.com: Do you practice any particular rudiments or combos on a regular basis?
Brian: Before a show or band practice, I always warm up for a half hour. I always practice my doubles over doubles and triples over triples and any other combination of rolls that can loosen me up and make me feel more comfortable before performing. I also like to warm up with any kind of double bass pattern that I’m comfortable with and also step it up a notch and hold out my double bass as long and as fast as I feel the need to also help loosen up my legs and ankles. After I feel confident in myself, I goof around for a little while longer with just simple rhythms and patterns that I think of off the top of my head.
SD.com: Do you have a favorite brand of drums?
Brian: My first kit, which I mentioned previously in the interview, was a TAMA Swingstar and after that I moved to PDP Drums, which are made by DW Drum Co. The PDP Drums that I am currently playing sound very good and is quite a steal for how inexpensive they are. They have a warm and phat sound fresh out of the box and sound like a DW kit, which I’m hoping to purchase very soon.
SD.com: If you could give one piece of advice to young drummers, it would be…
Brian: When you’re frustrated at your playing and you don’t feel confident in yourself, don’t quit. It takes very hard work and determination to be a successful drummer and me myself, am still learning that. With hours of practice a day, you will improve, just give it time.
SD.com: Who gave the best live performance you’ve ever seen?
Brian: The best live performance that I was able to see was John Godbolt, the drummer from a local band named The Beauty, The Blood.
SD.com: If you had to stop drumming, what would you want to do with your life?
Brian: Right now, I am currently enrolled in the Bradley Academy for Visual Art in York, Pennsylvania. My major is Graphic Design and I will be making CD covers, T-shirt logos, and advertisements for either local or world wide known bands. With an Associates Degree in graphic design, I will always have something to fall back on.
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