Sick Drummer Magazine

Keep up with Danny here:

www.myspace.com/dannyisaterrorist
www.myspace.com/giganmusic
www.giganmusic.com
www.myspace.com/vomitizedpusband

My Dad has been playing the drums since he was 11, so there were always drums around me growing up. When I was 7 I got a conga drum for Christmas, thats when things started to go downhill.... I picked up the sax and bass for a few years, but none of them really "did" it for me. When my first band SEARBH was recording I started messing around with my Dad's 10 piece Slingerland when no one was around and I loved it! One day after school I was playing and my Dad popped up out of no where and showed me my first 2 drum beats. It was there that I fell further down the rabbit hole....

The next month I started playing in bands. My first band I played drums in was a neo-soul duo named Drizzle, then an alternative rock band Integen for a few years, and then I got into a local metal band called Burial Rites. Burial Rites got to open up for Hate Eternal one night at the Masquerade and from then on I was addicted to extreme music. Following my departure from B.R. I was involved in a local comedy/grind band PORK! and death/grind band VOMITIZED! Unbeknownst to me my childhood friend Joe Payne (Divine Heresy, ex-Nile, Domination Through Impurity) was whoring out my name and had mentioned me to his friend Randy Piro (ex-Hate Eternal). Joe told me of Randy's band GIGAN, so I checked them out on Myspace and was blown away! GIGAN was exactly the kind of music that I wanted to play; extreme brutality without the cliche horeshit everyone else has been spitting at me. I contacted Their other guitarist Eric Hersemann (ex-Diabolic/Hate Eternal/Lord Blasphemer) and he auditioned me. Three weeks and 11 songs later I was playing my first show with them in Chicago where we then recorded our full length at Volume Studios with Sanford PARKER which will be out mid-July. Since then, I have also played two shows in Canada with the viking metal band TYR. This was one of the greatest experiences of my life and I hope to have many more....as I fall further down this here rabbit hole.......

Danny Ryan Interview:



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

Danny: 16. I am 22 at the moment

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

Danny: With drums, no. With sax, I was in both concert and jazz bands from 6th to the 10th grade.

SD. com: Who are your top 5 influences?

Danny:

1. Gene Krupa
2. Art Blakey
3. Keith Moon
4. Chick Webb
5. Tony Spargo

SD. com: Assuming that influences doesn't mean favorites, who are your favorites?

Danny:

1. Buddy Rich
2. Dennis Chambers
3. Papa Jo Jones
4. Brain
5. George Kollias

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

Danny:

Gorguts: Obscura
Tool: Opiate
Primus: Brown Album
Tyr: Land
Dillinger Escape Plan: Miss Machine



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

Danny: Stretch, stretch, pray, stretch, stretch....

SD. com: Can you remember a night you think was your best playing ever? If yes, when and where?

Danny: 4/26/08 - Probably playing the Medley in Montreal, Quebec with Tyr at Paganfest. Though I attribute that to the 2,000 crazy french canadians giving me a very warm welcome!

SD. com: Do you have a favorite brand of drums or cymbals?

Danny: Ludwig drums and Zildjian cymbals. I love Zildjian! On my last recording I used an 80 year old turkish ride that my Dad played when he was a young lad.

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

Danny: DO NOT LISTEN TO ANYONE. For the longest time I was too worried about what other people thought made a good drummer. From how fast a drummer should be to what he should look like when he plays and what brands to play. To hell with that. Do your own thing and you will be able to play with a lot more freedom.

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

Danny: Though I haven't seen too many, one that sticks out is watching Pete Sandoval go off on the Masters of Chaos tour 2006 at the Masquerade.

SD. com: If you had to stop drumming, what would you want to do with your life?

Danny: Well I wouldn't have a life. But I plan on becoming a Union Representative either way.