Oliver Shillito

Keep up with Oliver here:

www.myspace.com/wearenumbernine

I was born in Stretford, Manchester. When I was 7 I owned my first half sized drum kit, and that’s when I started getting a sense of rhythm and playing along to my dad’s old records…well trying to! It wasn’t until i bought my first full size kit at the age of 13 that my playing really started to take shape. I had lessons in High School for a few years and then continued to teach myself the works, watching drum videos and band DVD’s and playing along to all my favourite Slipknot tracks.

I moved  to Buxton, Derbyshire and after being in a High School band called presoulnation for about 6 years, we eventually split up and I moved back to Manchester where I had originally been born. It was then that I started searching for something new and a bunch of insane dudes like myself that were looking to start a new band and that’s how my current band Empires Fade were formed.

We’ve just released a new EP called “Journeys” which is available to buy at any of our shows or off our Merch store.

We play a blend of Melodic Hardcore and Metal, sort of a Killswitch/Acacia Strain/Black Dahlia mix of music, it’s interesting for me because I get the vary the way I approach the tracks and mix it up a bit instead of sticking to the norm. In the new songs we’ve been writing I am always trying to up my game and push the bar higher and higher. I’ve got a lot more to learn yet and I do not intend on stopping any time soon!

Oliver Shillito Interveiw:

SD.com: How old were you when you started playing?

Oliver: Since i was about 7 years old so I’ve been playing about 13 years!

 

 

SD.com: Did you play in a school band or any drum corps?

Oliver: I played in a high school Jazz band for a while, and did some after school drum lessons and stuff for some of the younger kids.

 

 

SD.com: Who are your top 5 metal influences?

Oliver: It’s got to be Shannon Lucas, Andols Herrick, Joey Jordison, Marco Pitruzzella and Dan Foord.

 

 

SD.com: Who are some other of your favorites?

Oliver: Carter Beauford is an awesome drummer, lots of style and charisma to his playing, also Manu Katche, when he played with Peter Gabriel on the secret world tour, I bought the video and thats what drove me to start fully learning the drums! I also respect and appreciate the classic "Hall Of Fame" drummers like Buddy Rich and Dave Weckl etc.

 

 

 

 

SD.com: Let us know 5 CD’s that are in your current rotation

Oliver:

The Black Dahlia Murder – Nocturnal
Deftones – Deftones
Neil Young – Harvest
The Acacia Strain – Continent
For The Fallen Dreams – Changes

 

 

SD.com: What do you do to warm up before a show?

Oliver: I like to bend and stretch my fingers a lot, warm my hands up, there’s nothing worse than playing with cold hands!

 

 

SD.com: Do you read music? Regardless of answering yes or no, please tell us how it might have effected your playing?

Oliver: I used to be able to read it fluently, but I haven’t read music for a while now, mostly due to not needing to. I should really revise that kind of stuff! I think being able to read music has definitely affected my playing, it helped me a lot when I was initially learning rudiments and the basics, some things are easier to learn when they are written in front of you in notation. Some of the more difficult things become clearer quicker.

 

 

 

 

SD.com: Can you tell us about the gear you use?

Oliver: I could go on forever about gear! I currently use a Mapex Pro-M with a 22" kick, 10" & 12" rack toms and 14" & 16" floor toms. I find that kit sounds awesome in any situation, with the right heads on it the toms really sing! I don’t stick to a particular brand of cymbals, I tend to go for whatever I like the sound of at the time, I am currently using a mix of Paiste, Sabian and Meinl. I currently use a Tama Iron Cobra but I would like to upgrade to an Axis soon! However I recommend Evans to anyone! Their heads are awesome, truly awesome and I am not even endorsed by them.

 

 

SD.com: If you could give one piece of advice to young drummers, it would be…

Oliver: I know it sounds Cliché but PRACTICE, it is truly the only way to improve. I am currently working on building my hand speed and I practice every day!

 

 

SD.com: Who gave the best live performance you’ve ever seen?

Oliver: That’s a horribly tough question! I think it has to be Shannon Lucas the first time I saw The Black Dahlia, that guy is insanely good! His timing is impeccable!

 

 

SD.com: Aside from drumming, what else do you like to do?

Oliver: I do like to play the guitar, but I suck at it. I also love computers! I am a bit of a geek at heart!