Between shots of heroi...coffee, and
reading Batman comics I think about good articles. This makes me think about
good records, then good bands, then good musicians. My mind spins off the
tracks until a neon laced nucleovascular (does that actually mean something?)
explosion takes place at the intersection of Bitchin' and Appropriate.
I set out on a quest, I didn't need
to take anything, it wasn't dangerous to go alone, but it was a quest all the
same. I would interview some of my favorite musicians making music today.
Ryan Van Poederooyen was the first
obvious choice for me. He's a great drummer and, being a drummer myself, I
notice things like that. He has a new album out with Devin (Townsend, if you're
uninitiated to things that are heavy and awesome), and he's just a fucking cool
dude. So I hit him up and he was more than happy to oblige my drug induced
fancy. What follows, here, is a short sequence of questions and answers. Enjoy.
What got you into drumming, and
music in general?
RVP - My Father is the biggest reason I took an interest in
drumming and music. My father played keyboards and sang in a cover band for
many years when I was younger. My brother and I would always show up and watch
him sound check for shows. Whenever they finished sound checking I would always
jump up on the drum kit and smash around. My father took note of it and asked
if I wanted to play drums... from that point on my interest in music and
drumming took off!
Who
are your biggest influences?
RVP - My biggest influences since I started drumming, other than
my father, would be Neil Peart (Rush), Vinnie Paul (Pantera), Tim Alexander
(Primus), Thomas Haake (Meshuggah) and my biggest influential drummer the past
6 years has been Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree). Any great groove or
interesting drum pattern truly influences me on the drums. I'm open to all
styles of music and drumming.
How
did the hookup with Dev happen?
RVP - Dev had Gene Hoglan drumming in Strapping Young Lad and
all his solo material at the time. He wanted to separate SYL and his solo
material with a different band, since the SYL guys were doing both bands at the
time. So Dev got the band together and tried out a bunch of drummers and then
asked people he knew around Vancouver who would be a great fit for his solo
material. I was playing in a popular Vancouver metal band called God Awakens
Petrified at the time. Dev told me that he asked a bunch of local musicians he
knew who would be a good fit for his solo material and my name came up every
time he asked. He also asked Gene Hoglan about me and Gene gave me the thumbs
as the story goes. So Dev got in touch with me, I went out and jammed with him
and the rest is history as they say.
If
there was one record that you could recommend everyone listen to, what would it
be?
RVP - That is a very hard question to answer, as I love so many
bands and styles of music. I'd have to say it would be Sgt. Peppers Lonely
Hearts Club Band - The Beatles. That album has so many great songs and I think
it was a ground breaking album for music in general. It's such a versatile
record being that it came out in 1967. Everything from the sample being used in
the middle of 'A Day in the Life' to the heavier grooves incorporated in
some of the songs were pretty heavy for its time and the overall vibe of the
album is brilliant and very original compared to what was going on in that era
of music. The Beatles are one of my top three favourite bands of all time. I
grew up listening to them because my parents were such huge fans of them and played
their music all the time. The Beatles really struck a chord with me.
How would you describe your own
style?
RVP - I would describe my own style as powerful, yet dynamic
while based on groove, precision and versatile chops/fills. I always play for
the song, not myself, unless I'm doing a drum clinic. I can do a little bit of
everything not just Metal. I like people to know that. I try to be as versatile
as possible.... I think that's important for up and coming drummers to
know. That is why I get varied Session work from Pop Sessions to Country
sessions to Rock to Metal Sessions. I'm always working on my own style and
learning while trying to make what I learn my own, instead of sounding like
someone else.
Why
did you choose to endorse Pearl drums?
RVP - I chose Pearl Drums because since I was a kid they always
seemed to be the coolest drum company to me and the fact that they have always
made consistent quality gear for years. All the big Rock Drummers played Pearl
when I was growing up in the 80's, so I wanted a Pearl Kit and it stuck with
me. The first kit I bought with my own money was a Pearl BLX (Birch) Kit that i
still have to this very day and it still sounds amazing. We even used that same
kit on the Devin Townsend Band's - Accelerated Evolution and Synchestra. So
when it came time to choosing a company that would hopefully endorse me, Pearl
was my first choice. I applied and got in with them in 2005 and have been super
happy endorsing Pearl ever since! They treat me very well world wide.
What
is the coolest place you've ever played?
RVP - The coolest place I ever played to date was definitely
headlining The Tuska Festival in Helsinki, Finland back in July 2011. It was a
20,000 person sold-out festival on an enormous stage. The crowd was singing
every song while the sun was setting, it was a magical night. I'll never forget
it. I have a feeling that this headlining Sold-Out show - "The Retinal
Circus" at The Roundhouse in London, England that we're
performing on October 27th, 2012, could give the Helsinki show some competition
for the coolest show we've ever played..... we'll see.
What
gets you through the tough times while on tour?
RVP - Staying positive and being grateful for the career I have,
the family I have, the health I have and all the things that make my life a
happy life. We all go through challenges and tough times in life and I think
people should welcome those challenges, tough times or fears and take them head
on. We're all born to succeed, that's what I believe. So I don't have time to
look at anything negatively and if there is a tough time in front of me, I always
look at what I already achieved from the past challenges I've conquered and
know that I'll persevere and succeed in the end. There really is no other
choice unless you want to fail. Who wants to fail ? Be positive, be grateful
for what you have and believe you can get through anything challenging and then
the tough times won't seem so tough. It works for me.
What's
the best part about being in a world touring band?
RVP - The best part for me is seeing the world and meeting the
fans from so many different countries. The world is an amazing place and it's a
shame that a lot of people don't get to see as much as we do. I think everyone
should travel and see how many amazing places and cultures there are on this
planet. We're lucky and grateful that we get to do what we do for a living and
I definitely don't take seeing the world for granted. Wherever i go I got my
Canon 60D Camera with me to take pictures of the places I've been. I got quite
the picture collection now.
What
are your top 5 albums?
RVP - The Beatles - Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Clubs Band, Pink
Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon, Pantera - A Vulgar Display of Power, Faith No
More - King for a day... Fool for a Lifetime, Bob Marley - Greatest Hits.
What's
your favorite album, that you've played on?
RVP - Epicloud. Plain and simple. Not because it's the newest
record but because I think it's the best record from Devin that I've been
involved with (in my opinion) and one of the best records I think he's ever
released along with Ocean Machine. I love Deconstruction for the technical
parts i got to play on that record, same with Synchestra from a Proggier point
of view. Accelerated Evolution and Addicted were great Rock records too. But in
the end.... Epicloud is just a perfect record to me. It has a little bit of
everything that Dev does and every song feels very honest to me. From a
drumming perspective, I like Epicloud because it shows that I can do the proggy
stuff, lay down some simple Pop or Rock grooves with big, powerful simplistic
fills or whip out some crazy fun double bass with crazy fills in other songs.
It covers a little bit of everything which is fun to play and listen to and
most of all it shows that I can play for any type of song whether it's crazy or
simple.
What
is one artist we should be listening to, but aren't?
RVP - To be honest that is a very tough question once again. I
listen to so much music and different styles that it really is hard to nail
down one artist. So, I'll name a couple that deserve more attention. Karnivool
from Australia - Brilliant prog band. Stolen Babies from the USA - Kind of a
Ska, Reggae, Rock and Metal band with a female singer who plays an Accordion.
Both bands are very original with cool ideas and songs, the definitely stick
out with their respective sounds. There are more I could list but these two
bands should really be heard by more people.
Anything
else you'd like to mention?
RVP - I would like to
thank all the fans and supporters of the Devin Townsend Project, Terror
Syndrome (my side Metal project) and the different projects I do. I can't do
what I do for a living without all these awesome people and their support. For
more info, videos, pictures and much more on my happenings with the DTP and
outside of the DTP.... you can go to www.rvpdrums.com and get everything you
need to know about me from that website including links to my YouTube Page,
Facebook Page, Twitter Page and more. Thanks for the support and see ya' on
tour! Thanks for the interview Dustin!
There you guys have it. I really can't emphasize how much
you need to get Epicloud, it's a great album. All the thanks in the world to
RVP for taking the time to answer these, I got my fanboy panties all wet.
You can catch him on tour with Dev (and, oh yeah, GOJIRA) in
the US soon, check out Blabbermouth for tour dates.
You should buy some other stuff too, I really recommend the
"Contain Us" box set. I have it, it is wonderful.
His websites: http://www.rvpdrums.com/
Some videmers:
(Planet of the Apes) http://youtu.be/NCFINl1Sxzs
(Terror Syndrome - Stupidity for All) http://youtu.be/1dreH7rppIY
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