About me

- USA here I come!

Nashville was my home for the last 3 years. A city with a big music scene and unique bands. The Rebel Surfers (Surf Rock) and the  Goldy Locks Band (Hard Rock) were one of the first bands I played with. Jenn Franklin, Mary McGilray’s Ante M Band and Melanie Shelley are 3 songstresses with their unique sound. Captain Midnight is an all original Jam Band making “Waterbed Rock and Roll.” I loved playing with all of them on stage and in the studio. In 2012 the Replacement Killers a German Punk Rock Band came to Nashville to record. I co-produced their album and loved this new experience. The guitarist and singer Jamal Pridgen started the funk project Free Humans. I played drums and sang on his EP and arranged his songs. Some great musicians are featured on this recording. Norwood Fisher from Fishbone on bass, Ron Ford from Funkadelic/Parliament as a guest singer and Kenny Olson on guitar. And now it is time for another change. Next stop: Los Angeles with it’s many sounds. Here are my latest bands so far Stealing Silence (Hard Rock) The Dutchess (Funk R&B) Lynette Skynyrd (all female Lynyrd Skynyrd cover band) and a traditional Mexican brass band and a world music project the Alien Dance Band in the making…I’ll keep you posted.

Cologne and Bavaria, Brazil and Australia

I moved to Cologne for 2 years and played with Tri-State Corner, a Hard Rock Band with Greek, Polish, and German roots. Each band member brought their own cultural background to the table for this unique sound. Die Madämchen were a group playing classic parlor and cafe music from Vienna and Paris of the 1920s. I loved to play in two bands which such extreme differences. Then I got the offer to play with the group Isartaler Hexen and moved back to Bavaria. I toured with them for 3 years had a great time being back in beer tents and Volksfests. In 2008 I got the chance to stay in Salvador Bahia, Brazil to study the local music style: Axé. In 2009 I attended the Australasian world music expo as a delegate. After being in Senegal, Brazil and Australia and exploring so many different styles of music I had the wish to move to another country.

Black Grooves

In 2001 I spent half a year in Senegal with a family of drummers. I wanted to feel how it is to life in a foreign country and my passion for West African music grew ever stronger over the years. The family of Mamadou Seck, who played traditional Senegalese music, invited me to stay with them. I loved learning, playing and living with Mamadou’s family. They taught me how to speak Wolof, the main language of Senegal and how to play sabar, the traditional Senegalese drum. I could not speak the language at first and it was not easy to communicate. Everything felt very different. The air, how things look, how people act. Even walking felt different. I felt different. I realized how much of myself existed in a certain way because of my environment. The process of learning a new culture was not easy, but it made my life so much richer. Back in Munich I started playing for Mamadou Fall, a former dancer and choreographer of the Senegalese state ballet. He performed with his dance ensemble and gave African Dance lessons. It was a great honor for me to work with him and I learned a lot being in his band.

I wanted to know more about culture and languages too. At the University of Munich I studied Cultural Anthropology, Portuguese and Spanish and even got my Master’s. At the same time I played for Kariba, a group led by Juanito Heldman, who created his own sound he called SALSOCA BEAT. Influenced by Caribbean, Latin American and African music, Juanito’s band was very unique in Munich. Musicians from Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Germany performed in his band and brought his sound to life. I loved this creative international atmosphere.  My last band I played with in Munich was Sister Act, an RnB Pop band fronted by Wendy and Tea Dindic, two sisters from Bosnia. With their powerful original music they won the German Rock and Pop award in 2004.

Big City Lights

After graduating from high school I moved to Munich and started touring with different bands. It was exciting to life in a big city and to work as a professional drummer. I got on tour with Haggard, a 20 peace Symphonic Metal Orchestra. They were looking for a timpani player and I got the job because of my experience with symphonic music. We toured in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria and we played Wacken, the biggest metal festival in Europe. With the band Midnight Lady’s I played drums and we toured all over Germany at events called Volksfest. We mostly played Pop covers and original Bavarian music, which meant good money and a whole lot of new music and lots of fun with people dancing and partying. Electric Lady Land played a mix of Hard Rock covers and original music. That was the first band I started writing for. It was difficult with such a busy schedule to keep up with studying drums but, then I found Drummers Focus percussion school and their learning system fit my lifestyle perfectly. I could optimize my performance and technique simultaneously. The school organized drum showcase events, too. One time I even got to play with Yes on such an occasion.

Let there be drums

When I was 13 years old I saw Super Drumming, a German TV show featuring musicians like Lou Bellson, Nippy Noya, or Billy Cobham and I thought to myself, “I wanna play drums too!” I told my parents about it and they organized drum lessons. After 4 month I joined a Hard rock band and at the same time I played for the local Protestant and Catholic Church. Music and drums became important parts of my life. It made me open minded. You need a drummer? I wanna try as long as I like the music. My parents realized that I was serious about drumming and I got my first drum kit. I am very thankful that my family always supported me making music. 2 years later the Big Band and Symphonic Orchestra of a local music school asked me to play for them. I was introduced to Jazz, Funk, and Blues and thrilled about the music, culture and history behind it. I also started listening to West African and Brazilian Music. My favorite Bands until then were Rock Bands from the 70s, but now my musical world has been greatly expanded.