Matthew Seymour
Drums
"I started playing at an early age, although I'm not entirely sure what influenced me to start as I didn't come from a musical family. I do however have recollections of my dad putting on Buddy Rich records which were obviously heavily drum orientated. I spent the majority of my youth being self taught, focussing heavily on jamming to records and copying drummers I saw on video. I then began having lessons when I was about 18, and quickly realised immediately how much more there was to learn, and continued with a teacher for another 10 years."
"As a teen my influences were exclusively metal drummers from Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Maiden, Overkill, Nuclear Assault, Helloween etc. However, after having lessons I also took a lot of inspiration from Funk, Fusion and Jazz drummers such as Dennis Chambers, Dave Weckl, David Garabaldi, Peter Erskine and others, and hence I have a VERY broad musical taste. These days I love listening to new music from the likes of Leprous, Tesseract, Haken, Calligulas Horse, Avatar and many others along with the odd classic. I've spent the last 30 odd years playing in well over 20 bands (I forget exactly), and innumerable deps, playing across genres from Classical, Jazz, Blues, Funk, and Metal, in original, covers, tributes and function bands. I'm still loving learning and playing live and I also have taught hundreds of drummers over the last 20 years."
And what about future goals?
"It's fantastic to be part of an excellent creative band in my favourite genre, especially with pals I know from previous encounters. I aim to keep learning and playing as tight as possible, being faithful to the original parts whilst adding in a sprinkling of my own style."
I would like to thank...
"Thanks to my wife and family who have been incredibly supportive over my years of playing, and to my drum teacher Paul Francis who was a fantastic mentor and friend."
Live Rig
DW main kit, Ludwig Snare, Sabian and Zildjian Cymbals.