Simon had graduated from an art school and played in a number of bands since then, before he joined Mirai. He has just returned from his first music hall tour across the Czech republic. In the following lines, he shares his story of becoming a drummer and also explains what he means by the “vibrator” on his drum stool.
1. What is the story of you getting to play drums?
I was six when I started playing violin which kept me until about thirteen when I was hit by puberty. My violin teacher, who had probably had enough of me by then, recommended me to try drums, he thought my sense of rhythm remarkable. And so I did.
2. How long did it take you to drum your way into MIRAI? What other bands had you been a member of before that?
Can’t count it anymore, I’m afraid. I had played in a lot of bands before Mirai, there were days I would play with seven different bands at a time. Then I found my way to Dolls in the Factory which later transformed into Mirai.
3. What other bands are you playing in these days?
None, at the moment. I substitute for my pregnant wife in a cover band named BT. It’s a pleasant change.
4. How did you find TRX cymbals?
I saw a drummer who calls himself Cobus play on them and I was immediately intrigued by their pleasant warm sound.
5. What do you appreciate about TRX cymbals?
I really like that they’re handcrafted in Turkey where they have the longest tradition of cymbal making. I also like the variety of product lines, the sound and reasonable prices.
6. What made you choose the TRX X series?
I feel this product line has a very versatile use in the music genre I play. I think it’s the sweet middle. I’m definitely going to get some softer jazz cymbals too though. I also kinda took fancy to those vented pieces.
7. How do you select your cymbals for live performance and how about those for use in studio?
It doesn’t usually make any difference to me if I’m to play live or in a studio. I simply choose cymbals which sound good to my ears. When we go to a studio, I try to take as many as I can, cause you never know what will fit that particular song best in the end.
8. Which songs on MIRAI’s playlist do you enjoy most from your drum stool?
Right now I enjoy playing almost every song from our latest album, Arigato, as they’re all fresh and new.
9. Guitar players often boast about their sets of effect boxes; which part of your gear do you feel particularly proud of when talking to other players?
Sadly, the best piece of my equipment is not any one of my cymbals 🙂 but the vibrator on my drum stool. Sounds weird, for sure, but that’s the truth of it. I have a speaker built into my drum stool, which gives me the very feeling you’d get from a twenty-metre-high bass speaker. Pure class!
10. Which drummers have inspired the way you play?
There have been quite a few, really. I’ve been following some drummers on Instagram lately. My favourite ones are Chris Coleman, Ash Soan, Tony Roister, Matt McGuire, but there are many more.
11. Is there a piece of drum kit you dream of getting one day?
No, not exactly. I mean, there’s no particular piece I’d dream about, but I find pleasure in collecting cymbals and snares, probably because I have no room for collecting whole drum sets. So, I’d say it’s my dream to have about 50 top of the notch snares and cymbals in my collection one day.
12. And a quick one before signing off: Do you use rim-shots when playing on snare?
Yes, I usually go for rim-shots when I want to play it loud.
