Keep up with Seb here:
My name is Sebastien Schacher, I live near Nyon (a small town between Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland) and I play drums. I started to play when I was at high school. A friend of mine asked me to join their hardcore band and that’s how I started drumming. Then I took courses with a jazz teacher from my local music school, which was great for learning the basics. Then I started to play in Deceit, a metal/grind band. I had my first scenic experiences with them. By playing a more extreme style, I realized how much important is the technique. So I decided to devote a lot of time to technique: snare technique (rudiments), blast beats (all kind of blast beats), double-kick, breaks etc. I worked a lot by listening bands like Morbid Angel, Napalm Death, Meshuggah, Dying Fetus, even Pantera. But I always had the idea that there’s necessary to remain open-minded and this is why I listen to many other kinds of music other than metal (rock, hip-hop, and funk). Then I took courses at a modern jazz school in Lausanne, in order to gain more technique and groove.
After a few years with Deceit, I was asked for playing with Mumakil from Geneva, a new ultra-brutal death/grind project with members of Nostromo and Knut (two famous Swiss bands). With Mumakil, I had to learn to play even faster and with a better precision. In 2005, I’ve been to Maryland for auditioning with Dying Fetus. It was a great experience for me. Mumakil is my current band and we do many concerts. I practice drums every day and I like to discover new brutal bands and drummers.
Seb Schacher Interview:
SD.com: When did you start playing drums?
Seb: I started at the age of 16, when I was at high school. At that time I hesitated between music and soccer, but I think music’s more funny. first drumkit was a Yamaha Stage Custom. I still use it sometimes for shows. It sounds really great, especially the toms. At the beginning I listened to much hardcore, punk, metal, and I thought grindcore and death-metal were too much brutal for me hehe. My interest for extreme music came naturally when I listened for the first time to Napalm Death “Enemy of the music business” and Morbid Angel “Gateways to Annihilation”.
SD.com: Do you play in a school band or any drum corps?
Seb: No, but I practiced lots of snare drums exercises like rolls, paradiddles, singles strokes, double strokes and also marching snare technique.
SD.com: Have you ever taken any lessons?
Seb: Yes. My first drum teacher (Georges Metzener) teached me the basics and thanks to him I think that I have a good snare drum technique today. We also spent much time working on the rolls. Then I needed a modern rock / funk approach. That’s why I decided to take courses at the EJMA in Lausanne (Modern School for Jazz and Actual Musics) with Antonio Di Leo. That was a good step for learning more technical grooves and patterns. I learnt extreme drumming by myself by listening CDs and watching DVDs.
SD.com: What album do you think best represents your playing?
Seb: I think Mumakil’s last album “Customized Warfare” represents my drumming pretty well (lots of blast beats, breaks, beat-downs)
SD.com: Who are your top 5 influences?
Seb:
Kevin Talley (Daath, ex Dying Fetus)
Kai Hahto (ex Rotten Sound)
Jon Engman (Foetopsy, ex Brodequin)
Dave Culross (Malevolent Creation, Hateplow)
John Longstreth (Origin, Dim Mak)
SD.com: Assuming that influences doesn’t mean favorites, who are your favorites?
Seb: There’s so much great drummers, but I’d say : Jon Engman (ex Brodequin, Liturgy), Sami Latva (Rotten Sound), Danny Walker (Phobia), Romain Goulon (Disavowed / Arsebreed), Chris Pennie, Thomas Haake, Thomas Lang (…)
SD.com: Let us know 3 CD’s that are in your current personal rotation
Seb: Phobia (Cruel), Municipal Waste (Hazardous Mutation), Deathbound (Doomsday Comfort)
SD.com: Do you practice any specific rudiments or combo’s regularly?
Seb: Yes, I practise these rudiments regularly, I think 1 or 2 times a week. It’s very important to maintain the technique.
SD.com: What is your favorite part of your drum kit?
Seb: Nothing particular, but I like my snare drum. It’s a Pearl “Dennis Chambers” signature snare, with a very thick sound and great dynamic, excellent for blast beats. I also like my double-pedal. It’s a DW-9000, very light and comfortable, powerful striking also.
SD.com: If you could give one piece of advice to younger drummers, it would be…
Seb: If you want to learn how to play extreme drumming, first work the basic rudiments then play with Cd’s. Of course that can be very long to acquire speed. So take it easy and work the technique as often as possible. The best would be to have an Extreme drumming teacher.
SD.com: Who gave the best live performance you’ve ever seen?
Seb: I already saw Max Kolesne from Krisiun. He’s undoubtedly the most impressive drummer I’ve seen to date. This guy has the speed and such a power, he really impressed me.
SD.com: If you had to stop drumming, what else do you want to do with your life?
Seb: Honestly I don’t know. I think I’d start again to practice a sport, soccer perhaps. Life would really sucks without drums.
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