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Members:
Matthew Holland (Lead Vocals/Trumpet)
Jesse Dubinsky (Lead/Rhythm Guitar)
Clark Maxwell (Lead/Rhythm Guitar)
Jason Engarde (Keytar/Piano)
Brandon Johnson (Bass)
Shaun Olsen (Drums)
Formed in 1989
Genre: Hardcore punk, ska, up-tempo reggae
Growing up in the bland suburbs of Silicon Valley gave high school best friends Matthew Holland and Jason Engarde nothing to do. At the time, both of them had been working on a video game that they would later release when they graduated. They took the game to their friend Drew Adams, who found numerous problems with it and suggested that they ditch the idea and play in his band. The three of them started playing and writing music in Drew's room in 1989 and came up with the name 'The Drummers’ before finally finding drummer Dan English in 1991. Says Holland of the name, "It was the best one we could think of, and it was ironic because we didn't have a drummer at the time." Adams and Holland later recruited guitarists Jesse Dubinsky and Clark Maxwell for songwriting help and asked them to be a full time member of the band at the end of the year.
However, with the six of them in the band, they began to outgrow their practice space in bassist Drew Adams's room. So the band spent the summer of '92 looking for someplace to rehearse. The band and their friends financed and built a practice space on an abandoned lot behind a "fast food Mecca" in the neighborhood. Originally The Drummers told nobody of this sacred space, but later on they started inviting people to come listen to their music and hang out. A number of wild parties and jam seshes were held there as well. Save for Dubinsky and Adams, the rest of the band had grown up 'geeks' so getting to party like this day in and day out was, "a new and awesome experience," says Clark Maxwell. He and the rest of the band had also lost their virginities that year. Feeling that English wasn't a good fit for the band, Holland and Dubinsky sent him on his way in favor of Ty Sorento in 1992. Sorento, whose strict parents ultimately found out about the band's wild sex and coke parties, called the police and ordered they be shut down. Police took over the band's practice space and ordered The Drummers to stop disturbing the peace. The band reluctantly agreed, but ditched Sorento in '93.
At the time, Clark Maxwell had been housing a Swedish exchange student. When it wad discovered that he could play drums, the band immediately hired him. Shaun Olssen, who already spoke a lot of English, began to learn even more from hanging with the Drummers. Olssen was even asked to play at the band's first show. It was an electrifying gig played to an audience of just eight, but three of those eight were very interested in signing the band to their labels. The Drummers chose the offer from Sony, which allowed them more creative control, but slightly less money.
The news spread like wildfire and the band, already local heroes, were heralded for their success. Olssen's family even moved out to America to be part of the band's record deal. The band was even allowed to start recording at the end of 1993. Holland, Engarde, and Maxwell went ahead and wrote two more songs, on top of the eight they had already, and planned to cover Dead Kennedys' "I Fought The Law." These songs would make up their first album, Sex & Computers (released as "The Drummers" in all regions but US & Canada) The album, released 1993, was a groundbreaking success and featured such hits as "Bombs Over Bristol" and "Rewind." Because of the album's success, Olssen was invited to be the band's full time drummer. The label sent the band on a tour throughout California, where all eight shows sold out. Sean Mathis, president of the label, had even said, "People from all walks of life had been dying to see those guys that got up in their dress shirts with their pocket protectors to play screeching punk rock with sassy reggae beats. They showed up every band they opened for, and they never intended to."
Clark Maxwell later admitted that the band's nerdy stage getups were, in fact, a gimmick put on by longtime friend and costume designer Savannah Wilkinson. Wilkinson would later design the band's Comic-Con 2001 gear when they dressed as various superheroes.
With the success of the first tour, the band became worried that they had already peaked, since Rewind had been at number one on the charts for ten weeks and the album was selling extremely well. They believed they would never top it. They became extremely sad, and angry with themselves, which the label said, "brought a new kind of intensity to The Drummers." The next set of songs gave an insight to the complex mind of lead songwriter Matthew Holland. Says Dubinsky, "We honestly didn't know Matt was that smart." The band got to work on this much heavier material through the rest of 1994 and released Neighborly Conspiracy in 1995. Critics praised the darker sound of the album and called it "just plain cool." Robert Christgau even gave it his highest rating, A+. Clark Maxwell and Jesse Dubinsky were also praised for their "back and forth style of guitar playing" and that "the two are really good at playing with each other." The album is also where the band first made use of the triple harmonies between Maxwell and Dubinsky on guitar and Jason Engarde on keytar. The song "Watch Yourself" even makes use of four harmonies, between Holland's vocals and the other three instruments. But between critics and fans alike, all deemed the album "really depressing" and many wished for a return to the original, nerdy ska sound they had originated. So unlike most, the band responded. At a show in Pacific Palisades, Drew Adams said, "Yeah, it was pretty heavy, we get you. But that's how we were feeling, so that's what we sounded like. Right now, we're happy to not be one-hit wonders so we'll gladly write some peppier music." They toured in support of Neighborhood Conspiracies until the end of 1996.
The band was largely inactive for 1997, as they grew tired of extensive touring and recording. Shaun Olssen and his family went on vacation to Sweden, and Jason Engarde left the band to go to college in 1998. The band continued with keyboard player Eric McDowell and studio appointed drummer Paul Sanz. Both of them largely kept out of the band's fun until they were finally told by the band to, "stop being so antisocial." McDowell and Sanz turned out to be "great guys that didn't really fit in as well as Jason and Shaun." Luckily, Olssen came back from Sweden in 1999, but The Drummers decided to "just stop for awhile." From '99 to early 2001, Eric McDowell assisted Matthew Holland and Jesse Dubinsky in writing songs. At the time, says Holland, "we didn't really know what to use these songs for, we just wanted to write them."
In 2001, bookers for the Comic-Con expo asked the Drummers to play at the festival, hoping they were not officially broken up. At first, Holland said, "never." But Jason Engarde, who had just graduated with a degree in particle physics, was ready to play with the band again. Eric McDowell was dismissed, Olssen was back, and Adams was told to get playing again. The other five ultimately convinced Holland to play the show and they all donned the stage dressed in fully authentic DC superhero costumes. Holland dressed as the Joker, Engarde was the Flash, Dubinsky was Batman, Maxwell was Superman, Adams was the Green Lantern, and Olssen was Martian Manhunter. The promoters didn't tell anybody that the Drummers would attend Comic-Con, which gave them the ability to surprise their fans by starting Rewind in dead silence and darkness. Aside from playing a bang-up show, the band won the costume contest to boot. The award was ultimately passed down to their friend Savannah Wilkinson, who designed their costumes. When asked if it would be their final show, Olssen replied, "I don't think we're done just yet." They certainly weren't, as they went back into the studio just a month after.
They recorded 2001's Checkin Yourself Out In Your Friend's Cool Shades just in time for the 2002 Grammies, where they snagged Best Vocal Performance and Best Short-form music video for the song Land Stander and the video for I Can Drive Really Fast. Their performance at the Grammies was made special by Stevie Wonder's guest appearance, a five minute guitar battle between Clark and Jesse in the middle of Sir Duke, and a keytar/piano solo between Wonder and Jason Engarde. Engarde and Wonder eventually came back to play a dueling piano song that Holland scat-sang to. It was a night to be remembered.
That was the night that broadened their audience. With their Stevie Wonder collabo, many older people gained interest in the Drummers, and ska as a whole. It even inspired a new set of Old Guys Rule t-shirts that read, "Old Guys Rule and so do The Drummers." In 2003 they extended their contract with Sony and headed to the studio to record another album. Known for it's huge production delays and stark changes in songwriting, the album actually took an entire year to record and was titled numerous different things before it's actual release in spring 2004. It's final title was Way Of The Master, with two singles, Nowhere But Here and Don't Be A Bitch. The album dealt with concepts pertaining to The Drummers' personal lives including romance, depression, car crashes, county fairs, and killing sprees, which all took place near the band's hometown of Palo Alto. The album's lyrics are also heavily influenced by the breakup of Matthew Holland and his longtime girlfriend, Lauren Hartman. Hartman was often inattentive and neglectful of Holland, regularly sleeping with other guys behind his back. Holland found out the year they recorded the album an dedicated the song 'Don't be a Bitch' to her. The album went 6x platinum because of that song's popularity, which drove her insane. Hartman was eventually killed by her boyfriend in a domestic violence case in 2005. The band attended her funeral and all six of them urinated on her tombstone in Matt's honor. The event sparked media backlash, with some even requesting that the Drummers apologize to Hartman's family. To this, Drew Adams responded, "Yeah, apologize to the girl who hung our singer out to dry for three years of his life! That bitch used him for years and he fell hard for her. Her dying is probably the best thing for him. Sure, peeing on her grave was a little much, but it was intensely fun." Adams, Dubinsky, Holland, Maxwell, Olssen, and Engarde have still never apologized to this day. While all this happened, Don't Be A Bitch skyrocketed in sales and was ranked 9th on the list of the all time most controversial songs.
In 2004, Drew Adams announced his departure from The Drummers, citing his family as his primary reason. "My mom's real bad sick," he said. "And my kids are lonely without me there. I've gotta go back home and lay low for a bit." Thus, the search was on for another bassist. The Drummers made listings and sent calls across the entire world looking for listings. To enter the contest, one would have to film themselves playing bass to a Drummers song of their choice. It took until well into the next year, but the band found 27-year-old American Brandon Johnson and started recording with him on the low-end. Johnson's distinctly reggae-esque style of playing was ultimately what drew them in. That, and, he knew how to party. Johnson was the driving force behind a new set of sex and coke parties in the Palo Alto area that the band hosted. Some would even suggest that the heavy amounts of cocaine turned their record into a ska album, rather than the slower, softer reggae they had intended. The album was called Bassment (2005), named after Brandon Johnson's basement where he kept his basses. The album also marked the Drummer's first go at a hip hop song. "Girl Won't Let Me Be," released as a single in 2006, it featured keytarist Jason Engarde rapping the verses and Matt Holland singing the chorus. The song was praised for "innovating the genre" and the band were praised for their versatility. "Girl Won't Let Me Be," stayed popular for years after it's release, with some stations featuring it well into 2008. It was also the first #1 single for The Drummers since "Don't Be A Bitch," itself the first #1 since 1994's Rewind.
By 2008, everyone was firmly settled once more in Palo Alto. The Drummers, now in their thirties, had gained so many life experiences throughout their massive careers. In an interview that same year, Matt Holland said, "I feel like we have reached a point in our careers where the band has overtaken us. We are now not just a band, but an extended family. To each other, our wives, and our other family, we are all united. I am no longer myself because I have put the band first on so many occasions. But I think we're all embracing that. It's fun to hear 'Oh, you're the singer of The Drummers' because of the irony of the name and because of the recognition." Holland wrote even more about his experiences in his autobiography, "Hi. My Name's Matt: The Legend Of the Drummers's Lead Singer," which came out in 2008. The band also released their sixth studio album, Do Not Place In Mouth. The album was not as commercially successful, but the band had minor hits with "Bang" and "Something Always Missing." In 2009, they released a Greatest Hits album entitled I Can't Believe It's Not Better: The Greatest From The Drummers. In 2012, their most recent album, Ladytron was released.
The Drummers live in Toronto
Edited by user 18 November 2012 02:36:45(UTC)
| Reason: Not specified
