What’s your role in Pyroclast?
Drums.
Where you from, man?
Born in London. Grew up in East Kilbride.
When did you join the band, and what brought you to this wonderful group of awesome people?
January 2024.
What drew you to your instrument originally?
I picked drums in music class at school genuinely because everyone else picked guitar. I guess I wanted attention.
Who would you say were your greatest influences? Not necessarily for your own instrument, just in terms of writing, performing, and style?
I grew up obsessed with Lars Ulrich, Nicko McBrain, Mike Portnoy, Neil Peart and Gavin Harrison. You can hear me wishing I was them whenever I play.
When you want to chill the fuck out, who would be the first three bands you’d likely want to listen to?
Elder, Steven Wilson, Pink Floyd
Who are your past bands and/or projects?
Mactallica (Metallica tribute. Obviously.), Necropolis way back in the day.
List your main gear (e.g., guitars, amps, drum kit, pedals), etc.
Mapex M Birch drums and hardware
Sabian cymbals
Tama Iron Cobra pedals
Promark sticks
What’s one piece of gear you’d never give up?
My 22″ HH Rock Ride cymbal has a ping to it like you won’t believe. Had it for 15 years, I love it.
What’s one piece of gear you don’t have but would sell your granny for?
Some sick Tama Starclassic drums. But my granny is long deceased, so forget it.
Are you a tone-chaser, fannying around with your gear all the time, or do you plug and play?
I just hit things babe.
What song are you most proud of and why?
Scarred – from No Place for the Damned. My first recording with the band. New era.
What’s the weirdest/funniest thing that’s happened on stage?
There is a brief silent break in The Judge where I normally ping my ride cymbal, but I sneaked a kazoo to the gig that night and blew that as loud as I could instead.
What do you do when you’re not making music?
Hanging with my partner and our dog, going adventures or cuddled up playing video games on the couch. I also like to read. Heavy metal bastard.
Guilty pleasure artist or song?
I realised recently that I fucking love Paramore.
What’s your ultimate one-day festival lineup? Doesn’t matter if they’re not around anymore.
From early afternoon to headliner:
Elder
Porcupine Tree
Opeth
Mick Gordon making random noises
Dream Theater
Mastodon
Metallica
Rush
What’s the best gig you’ve been to? Ever. Hands down.
Roger Waters performing The Wall at Wembley Stadium. What a show.
What would you like to see from Pyroclast over the next three years?
A tour bus.
Any funny technical difficulties on stage?
I once played in Dunfermline with my Metallica tribute band. When we started playing the song “One”, my drum stool collapsed on me and I fell off it backwards! The guys kept playing (while laughing, of course) and that worked out well as the first half of the song is quite clean and sounded great without drums. I ran around the venue trying to figure something out and somebody eventually gave me a chair from behind the bar. I got back to the kit and sat down right on time for the famous machine gun double bass part which the crowd seemed to get a real kick out of. That ended up being a great gig.