Keep up with Maichael here:
www.myspace.com/thedeadsyndicate
I picked up drumsticks at the age of 18 (ugh, that would be 1991 if you are wondering), and was instantly hooked. I almost immediately plunked down all the money I had and bought my first kit. I played as often as I could over the next 6 years, and formed a bad local deathmetal band in the mid 90s in North Carolina called Legion. If anyone has any of those demo tapes, you could blacmail me for millions!!! I went through a stretch of about 5 years where I didn’t play drums at all. I just gave it up, due to life changes, and figured that was it. But I hung onto that kit and they stayed stacked in the corner. Then one day I saw fellow a local guy, Jim Richman, tearing it up with a band called Modulus. I got inspired to play again, and contacted Jim for a lesson. If I was going to start again, I wanted to learn to do things the right way. In the last 2 and half years my playing has progressed more than in the previous 13 combined.
I am now the drummer for Dead Syndicate, a band that I formed with guitarists Brian Magee and John Styers, along with Donny and Tommy Doss. Playing in a band will do more to advance your skills than anything else. When you are in a band, trying to book gigs, you HAVE to get good or fail. There is no middle option. Sink or swim. Well, due to the goals of the band, I got decent (I still think I have a ways to go before I am GOOD.) I am pleased to say, that we now have an album out on Black Morning Star Records, titled “The Carrion Creed”. And if you haven’t bought it yet, you’re just plain wrong (there, that’s the shameless self promotion I’m famous for.)
If a drummer has other skills, there is no reason he should just have to sit in the back and drum. I am very involved in the band (the other guys might say too much, HA!) In addition to pulling drumming duties, I design and host the band’s web site, I do all of the artwork for our shirts, etc, and the entire artwork and layout for the album. I also manage the band and take care of all the business stuff. It’s a ton of work, but I take alot of pride in what we do, so it’s totally worth it to do it right.
I’m also the admin for Derek Roddy’s forum, and that’s great because it keeps me in regular contact with tons of great drummers, both established and up-and-coming. My personal e-mail inbox is to die for…it’s a drummer’s wet dream roster! Doing D’s site is a dream job, it’s nothing but fun, and I love being a part of what he’s establishing for the drummer’s community.
I love playing live, but it’s like a drug. You get addicted, and soon a little taste isn’t enough. I want bigger shows, bigger audiences, crazier fans. We want to tour later this year, so plans are in the works. We get to play regularly at the greatest club in America, Jaxx, but it’s time to get out and play the rest of America. We’ve played with everyone it seems, all my heroes coming up, and all the new killers. Back in July we broke out in a big way, landing one of the Emperor shows in New York City. That was amazing, but it only whetted our appetites. I’m the type who won’t rest until we’re headlining our own gig in NYC, and everywhere else, so it’s full speed ahead for Dead Syndicate.
Michael Arcane Interview:
SD.com: Your new album, “The Carrion Creed” was just released January 13th. Can you tell us a little about your setup in the studio?
Michael: I use pretty much the same setup in the studio as I do live. I have an old beat up Tama Rockstar kit which consists of two 18 x 22” bass drums, 8,10,12,13 rack toms, a 16 inch floor tom, and two snares. The main snare is a Pearl Maple freefloater, 14×6 ½, and the side/alt snare is an old Tama maple snare, 14×7. I have a pretty wide array of cymbals:
18″ Sabian HHX Evolution O-Zone Crash
18″ Sabian B8 Pro China
13″ Bosphorus Antique Hi-hats
16″ Sabian AA Medium Crash
17″ Sabian Vault Crash
10″ Sabian B8 Pro China
18″ Sabian Vault Crash
16″ AAX Metal Crash
20″ Istanbul Agop Signature China
14″ Istanbul Agop/Bosphorus “Trash Hats” – my custom creation
22″ Sabian Extra Heavy Ride
8″ Alchemy Raw Bell (Istanbul Agop)
I swear by Axis pedals, I’m using a pair of Axis A Longboards in black. And my sticks are Vater Manhattan 7As. The only exception to this setup is on the title track, The Carrion Creed. The first half of that track features what I call the ‘Trinity Blast’…I have three snares going at one. On my right I play two triplet blasts on two snares….one mounted inverted over the other and I ride between the two of them. Meanwhile, I keep time on the crash and main snare with my left hand. I wanted those two right hand snares to sound very different from each other for the contrast, but I didn’t own two snares that had the sound I wanted, so we used two Yamaha electronic pads and sound replaced them. As soon as I can afford it, I’m going to get the two real snares I want and the hardware to mount them right, and then my monster kit will be truly Frankenstein!
SD.com: Dead Syndicate just signed to Black Morning Star back in August 06′. Any plans for a tour this year?
Michael: We are currently kicking around some ideas for a tour…a short tour, maybe three weeks in the late summer early Fall. Hopefully we can get something done. We might do some one off festivals or trips here and there as well, but we all really want to get a tour together to help promote the album, and get out there and play for our non-Virginia based fans. We’ll see how that pans out.
SD.com: For those who don’t know, you run the Derek Roddy website and forum. Through this experience, what have you learned about the drumming community?
Michael: The drumming community is so rich. I never realized until I got into the forum how insular my own tastes were. I thought I had a diverse view of drumming, but from a fan perspective had only scratched the surface. Now I realize there are all these drum gods out there you never hear about, who make me look like a rank amateur. And it’s amazing!!!!! A lot of these guys are on the forum as well, and not just metal guys either. So here’s a chance to rub elbows with some of our current living legends. Hell, I got an e-mail a few weeks from Johnny Rabb….I just stared at it in my inbox…I think drummers unite and bond more than any other instrument brotherhood. That’s a great thing. Besides that, my personal playing has really skyrocketed in the last year of running the forum. I learn new things every week, and we all keep pushing each other and pushing the bar. What could be better than that?
SD.com: How old were you when you started playing?
Michael: I came to drums very late. I picked up my first pair of sticks when I was 18. I was in the Marine Corps, and the post I was at had a rec facility with 4 band rooms and drums. I had always wanted to be a drummer. Most kids play air guitar in their bedrooms. Not me, when I was in high school, I sat on the edge of my bed and I was Lars, man. I think all that air drumming actually helped at first, cause I picked up basic kit playing very fast. Unfortunately I never took a lesson then, so I taught myself the worst techniques and habits. That hindered my playing for the first 10 years. I look back and wow….I sucked hard!!!!!!!
SD.com: Did you play in a school band or any drum corps?
Michael: I really wish I would have, I’d be a much better drummer today. I wasn’t a band geek in high school, I was a choir geek. Two reasons for that. One, I have a really good singing voice (and I’m gay for karaoke to this day!) Two, in my high school there were 4 guys in choir, and over 25 girls in choir. Do the math. I’m not stupid.
SD.com: Ever take any lessons?
Michael: I took one lesson, and it changed my playing forever. I actually quit playing for about 5 years…just gave up on it, and my drums stayed stacked in the corner. Then Divine Empire came through town, with Misery Index. Jay Blachowicz is a good friend, and DE usually stayed at my house when they would tour. He and I were watching the openers (Modulus) and I’m watching Jim Richman go berserk on the drums. Watching him, and then the drummer then for MI, and then watching Duane for DE. I just got inspired to play again. I found Jim later in the club and wanted to talk drums, and he told me he gives lessons. I don’t know why, but I bought an hour lesson from him. He broke me down, man. I didn’t touch a drum, just a pad. He took me back to square one, showing me how to properly hold a stick, basic finger technique etc. That’s all I needed. After that I devoured every video, every bit of info I could. And I began looking for a band to join, and that’s when I found Brian and John and formed Dead Syndicate. If I would have taken lessons back when I started….whoa. I wasted so much time man, so much time. Kids, TAKE LESSONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SD.com: Who are your top 5 influences?
Michael: All my influences are old school, cause I’m older than dirt and I was listening to death metal since almost the beginning. All my influences are straightforward groove based players who crush, and might stick some flash in there. But basically, they make your head bob. I’d say guys who influenced my playing are: Ken Owen from Carcass. He never gets any props, but Necroticism just crushes. He was never the tightest drummer in the world but EVERYTHING he ever did was so tasteful for the part. Necroticism is the only 100% perfect album ever made. Nothing is wrong with that album, it could not have been written and arranged better.
Alex Marquez from Solstice/Malevolent Creation/Demolition Hammer. He is the king of the fill. I wish I could play his fills man. And I love how he switches his beats in mid-riff, alternating the counts for the snare hits in his skank beats. I makes the music so frenetic. Retribution is one of the all-time great drum performances.
Steve Ashiem. Especially the drumming on Once Upon the Cross. The whole album is no-nonsense, balls to the walls, constant DB. And it crushes. The drums don’t really jump out at you on that album, you just enjoy the album as a whole. But the entire experience is pummeling for some reason. That reason is Ashiem.
Gene Hoglan. I wish I could say I play anything like him, but that would be an insult to Gene. But his playing for Death was groundbreaking for metal, and I worked on a lot of stuff because of him. He is the drummer who most makes me want to experiment and mix stuff up. There are a few little things on the album I definitely owe to him.
SD.com: Assuming that influences doesn’t mean favorites, who are your favorites?
Michael: Well, Gene is my all-time favorite for sure. He is god. And Alex Marquez is also a fav, so they make both lists. Derek is also a fav, and not because I run his forum, because he really is the best. He amazes me, and watching him drum frustrates me, cause he just smokes me. Even though it equals six total, I’ll give you three more. Tony Laureano, Geroge Kollias, and Inferno. I know Tony, and he is the nicest drummer you’ll meet. And he is a phenom. Watch him play and your jaw just drops. He might be the most fun guy to watch play, just the way he moves etc. It’s a joy. Geroge is also eye-popping. He’s the fastest looking drummer out there (and one of the top 5 fastest period.) By fastest “looking” I mean watching him just looks like watching a Formula 1 race. It’s amazing, and he sounds so good. Geroge rules. And Inferno is also a pleasure to watch. Behemoth is insane live. I got the chance to meet Inferno when we opened for them here in VA. Super nice guy. We talked drum gear for a while before the show. All the guys in Behemoth were great to us.
SD.com: What are 5 CD’s in your personal rotation?
Michael: I have an iPod now, so it’s tough to say. I have over 550 CDs in that thing (I buy almost all of my music, I don’t download stuff off torrents or whatever. Support your bands people!!!!!) Besides my own album (I have a huge ego, hahaha) I repeatedly go back to I, Monarch, Annihilate the Wicked and Demigod. Those three albums are like a trinity of death metal elite for me right now, and that’s held long after their release. I also like to go back to the old stuff, so the other day in the car it was Seasons in the Abyss, and today it was Persistence of Time and Among the Living. I also listen to a lot of non-DM stuff. This morning it was Soundgarden. The other day it was Alice in Chains and the Beatles. And I also pop in Aurora Borealis’ Relinquish, cause Tony kills on it, and it’s just such a fun album.
SD.com: Can you remember a night you think was your best playing ever? If yes, when and where?
Michael: I am so self critical, I usually think every night sucked. After every show it’s almost like a ritual. I’ll be breaking down the rack behind the club, and I get a few fans come up to me and tell me it’s the best they’ve ever seen us play. I look at them in disbelief, and tell them I think it’s the worst I’ve played. I have fun playing, and I’m totally relaxed, but mostly I think I suck, haha. Our last show, the CD release party I played very well. I played “Dead Syndicate” the fastest I ever have and it was totally tight. On the album it’s 230 bpm, it wouldn’t surprise me if I played that song at over 240 that night. I probably couldn’t do that again in 10 years…it was just on for some reason, and effortless. I wish I could bottle it. I’m just one of those people, if you asked me what my worst show was, I could list 20 with specific details without batting an eyelash. My best show ever? I don’t think I could tell you. Maybe that’s what drives me to get better. Maybe I’m just nuts.
SD.com: Do you have a favorite brand of drums or cymbals?
Michael: Maybe I shoudn’t say, cause I hope to get an endorsement someday…hate for tis interview to bite me! Oh hell, I gotta tell the truth. I love Sabian, and have played them for years. I went 13 straight years without cracking a Sabian cymbal. I finally cracked my O-Zone crash. I bought that sumbitch 13 years ago. And it still sounds great, even with the ¼ inch crack. Sabian is fantastic. Their Vault crashes are the best crashes on earth. No crash sounds sweeter, they are essential. However, after playing Sabians exclusively for over 13 years, lately I’ve wanted a slightly different sound for color. Something non-typical. I want to have my own sound for deathmetal. With modern micing, I don’t think you have to have these brash nasty loud cymbals to be heard over a rock band anymore. You can have classy cymbals and still hear them. So mixed with my Sabians, I have incorporate hand made Turkish cymbals, from Bosphorous and Istanbul Agop. My hi-hats sounds so sweet now. And my “trash hats” are the coolest hats in the world. So those three companies for me really have it going on. Sabian is my workhorse, the other two are my color.
For drums, I have always played the same kit, those old Tama Rockstars. Tama makes a damn fine drum, but I’m ready to move on. I have a Sonor drum kit on the way, and I am very stoked. Sonor sounds ridiculous, they shame most everything out there. This is my “next level” kit, and I have a feeling once I really get the feel for them, I will be hooked for life.
I have no allegiances when it comes to the snare drum tho. I currently have 3, but am about to give one up in a contest giveaway. I am a snare sound chaser. I constantly tweak, and if I had the budget I’d own 100 snare drums. I will scroll through my iPod just listening to different bands’ snare sounds. It’s retarded. My Pearl freefloater is awesome, and my Tama just won’t quit. That’s old faithful. I’d like to get an 8” stave shell in some exotic wood for the floater. The perfect snare sound is the holy grail, my white whale.
And I play Evans heads. I won’t touch anything else. Vater sticks too. They feel like an extension of me. I used to play ProMark, and I switched models a lot, cause I always felt something was off, be it balance or grip or weight. I thought it was me. The clerk at Guitar Center recommended the Vater Manhattan 7A, and I have never thought about the stick since. That’s when you know you have your stick, when you cease to think about it even being there.
SD.com: Do you have any pre-show rituals?
Michael: I usually just do the same stretches I do right before a hockey game. I’m a goalie, so it’s a lot of groin stretches. It probably does nothing for my playing, but it gets me in a frame of mind to attack. I never warm up, because it never get the chance to. I warm up with the first couple songs of the set. I’ve always had that ability, to sit and go. Lucky me.
SD.com: If you could give one piece of advice to young drummers, it would be…
Michael: Practice and Learn. The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know squat. Absorb. Devour everything. But don’t try to conquer the world all at once. It takes time. If you rush and try to be Joey Jordison overnight (don’t all the kids want to be him today? Hahaha) then all you will ever be able to do is a couple of his tunes. I’ve seen drummers who can blast better than I can, who can’t hold a simple 4/4 beat at half the speed. If you can’t play slow, you can’t play. Period. It doesn’t matter if you can blast all day, if you can’t play an AC/DC song. You know why? Cause those beats in that AC/DC tune will serve as the foundation for more of your music than anything else man. Don’t be in a rush to learn to be a death metal drummer. Learn to just be a drummer. The speed and the double bass mayhem will come with time. I wish I had learned so many things the right way early on. I’d be a much better drummer today.
SD.com: Who gave the best live performance you’ve ever seen?
Michael: Gene Hoglan, Symbolic tour. I watched him play Symbolic. At the time, listening to the CD, I couldn’t figure out how he was playing that fast ride/snare pattern. I watched him play it live, and I mean I studied him like a hawk. Still couldn’t figure it out. He was all over the damn place, but yet so calm and relaxed. If god decided to post up on the drum kit during the rapture, he’d just be ripping off Gene.
SD.com: If you had to stop drumming, what else would you want to do with your life?
Michael: I have too many hobbies. Drums aren’t my life, and that’s why I enjoy them so much. You gotta be well rounded. I had a blast producing our album, and I could do that again. I also had a blast doing all the art for the album, and the web site, etc. But I also love playing ice hockey, and never want to give that up. I love fast cars, and traveling and such. Life is too short to just focus one thing. I want to be a modern day renaissance man. I want to do it all, write a book, direct a movie. I can guarantee you one thing. When I die, there won’t be anything on my list that I didn’t check off. Live each day like its your last, and don’t apologize for that. Ever.
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