Yoo, my name is Joe Pelletier and I play drums for PeelingFlesh from Oklahoma City. I’ve done a handful of session work and been in quite a few online and local projects over the years. Started messing around with drums around 12 years old in 6th grade band. Got my first kit around 13 or 14 years old and immedietly started playing heavy music!
I started my first metalcore band in 2016 and did plenty of shows and 2 runs on the road. But NOW my main band PeelingFlesh did our first run last year with Ingested, Devourment, etc and it was INSANE! Later last year we did a month long North American tour with Suicide Silence, Chelsea Grin and I AM. PeelingFlesh has released EPs, Promos, Split EPs and now were are working on our first full-length album. LETS GO!
Joe Pelletier Interview:
SDM: How old were you when you started playing?
Joe: I started in the 6th grade band playing snare drum around 11 or 12 years old. Got my first kit at about 14 and started playing metal almost immedietly. I have never looked back!
SDM: Did you play in a school band or any drum corps?
Joe: Only in 6th grade. Did 2 showcases with the school band on snare drum only. Also went to the Academy of Contemporary Music in downtown OKC.
SDM: Who are your top 5 metal influences?
Joe: David Diepold, Milan Moskon, Neil Peart, Wanja Groger, and probably Aaron Stechauner.
SDM: Who are some of your other favorites?
Joe: Drummer from Byonoisegenerator, Jon Rice, Drummer from Viscera Infest, Kevin Foley, Mike Heller, Lille Gruber.
SDM: Let us know 5 bands in your current personal rotation.
Joe: TORTURE, Traumatomy, Fractalize, Disfiguring the Goddess, Diphenylchloroarsine.
SDM: What do you do to warm up before a show?
Joe: I usually do single stroke rudiment warmups to get the hands right for blasting, depending on how my legs feel i’ll do three 2-minute sessions of double strokes to warmup the calves. And weed (if I can say that, lol)
SDM: Do you read music? Regardless of answering yes or no, please tell us how it might have affected your playing.
Joe: I used to have to read music when i was in music college like 5 years ago, regardless I can tab out myself and make time sheets for music I don’t quite know yet, for example when I had to fill in for Snuffed on Sight.
SDM: Can you tell us about the gear you use?
Joe: I use Axis AL2s, best pedals ive ever used to be honest. I strictly use Evans heads for all my drums except the kick drum (I sometimes use a mesh head on the kick). Evans are just easier for me to tune most of the time. My shells are a Mapex Armory Series, black, blue, and very slight tan combo. The snare is a Mapex Tomahawk 14-inch. My go-to ping snare!!! Last but not least I use a combination of Zildjian for crashes and ride, and Saluda for other cymbals like china and Hi-hats. Our IEM rig is a QSC Touchmix Pro 30, I usually let my guitar player set that up lol.
SDM: If you could give one piece of advice to younger drummers, it would be…
Joe: Never stop grinding. There were times when i thought about quiting or just not caring anymore and that would have destroyed me if I knew where I’d be by now. Hard work ALWAYS PAYS OFF!!!
SDM: Who gave the best live performance you’ve ever seen?
Joe: In my personal opinion, Chelsea Grin played some of the best live sets I’ve ever seen. From stage presence to overall live sound, it was TOP NOTCH! Watching those guys was super insperational to me everyday.
SDM: Aside from drumming, what else do you like to do?
Joe: My only other hobbies are recording and tracking my friends, skateboarding very rarely, and cannabis. Cannabis has been a very big hobby of mine for the last 3 years. I work at a hydroponic warehouse so growing was a very big part of my life for a while.
Joe’s Links:
Personals
Facebook-Joe Pelletier
Instagram-@joepelletier99
Youtube-@JoePelletierPF
Band
Facebook-PeelingFlesh
Instagram-@peelingfleshok
