Latest revision as of 14:03, 17 February 2016

Matt rocking the bowler hat for a show with A Black Tie Affair in early January 2013

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Matt Chase

Matt Chase was the drummer for A Black Tie Affair, Mackenzie Heights, and 12 Gauge Prayer. He is currently a session drummer, look for gigs around Thunder Bay. Matt has announced that he is writing a solo album for release later in 2016

Instruments

• Drums
• Percussion
• Guitar
• Bass

Early Drumming

Matt began playing drums on a practice pad he got for his 13th birthday, but before then he could tap steady beats and bounce and bop steady to songs that would play on radios or cd's. He went into Tiger Music at Westgate high school in Grade 8 and got chosen to play the drums, out of almost the entire class which consisted of almost 200 others, who wanted to play the instrument. In the middle of his freshman year of high school, and on his 15th birthday, Matt's parents bought him his first drum kit, a Taye RockPro drum kit. Also in Grade 9, he met Riley Cummine, who later that year, began an unnamed band with him. They played together for almost a year, before the first year of Superior Rock Camp. In Rock Camp, Matt began a band with guitarists Mike Murray and Brady Geurts; bassist Graeme McMaster; and guitarist/vocalist Sara Collison. Calling themselves Illness To Cure, they went on to play after Rock Camp, replacing Sara with Courtney Wall.

Illness To Cure and A Black Tie Affair

Almost a year later, having done one show with Illness To Cure, Matt went back to Rock Camp and was put in a band with Riley Cummine, Brady Geurts, Dalton Thompson, and Darren Lammi. This band would later become the hard rock band we know today as A Black Tie Affair. Calling themselves Nothing Special at first, they played a show at the end of the camp at the Community Auditorium. Matt played with the band for two and a half years, playing shows at Kilroy's, Black Pirates Pub, Jack's, and the Kakabeka Street Fair 2010. He also recorded drums on the band's first recorded song, I Wanna Come Home.

Departure From ABTA

In December 2011, Matt quit A Black Tie Affair, due to conflicts between band members and wanting to try new styles of music.

Mackenzie Heights

In February 2012, Matt was asked to join pop punk band, Mackenzie Heights, by Tanner Bell, who was in the band at the time. Matt agreed and began working on writing and recording their first EP. They played many shows at Black Pirates Pub and Crock's. Due to the high financial demands of the band and not enjoying the genre, Matt quit and has since cut ties with the band. Even though they played Matt's least favourite music, he has stated that he had the most fun with the band.

Rejoining A Black Tie Affair

In October 2012, Matt rejoined A Black Tie Affair after 10 months of being away from them. He has rejoined as co-manager and drummer.

Departure from A Black Tie Affair and Antheridium's Current Status

In April 2013, Matt decided to leave A Black Tie Affair for a second time. His reasons were because of conflicts with band members and his style of playing not fitting the band's genre/style. He has wished them well in future endeavours and is trying to leave on a good note. Antheridium, as of now, is up in the air. Matt has told everyone that it will take a major turn towards progressive music but two members are on the fence about continuing on with it. Matt has decided not to continue with Antheridium, due to creative differences.

Future Projects, Downfall, and Comeback

Matt has decided to take a breather from the music scene and try to focus on his future. With Humber College on the horizon, he will be going there to get his Bachelor of Music. He has began jamming with a few people, all of whom are no stranger to Thunder Bay's music scene, and hopes to get an experimental rock group playing shows.

In February 2015, Matt played Cover Show 15 with Your Girlfriend's Ex Boyfriend as Relient K. It was the best show he played up until that time and the first time back on stage in nearly 2 years.

The Era of Prog

In 2015, Matt joined progressive kings, Pharaux, after posting an ad on Kijiji to get members in a Rush tribute band. After months of talking and no jamming, Matt picked the sticks up again and began interpreting drum parts to suit the musical styling of the band. He is hoping to use a lot of knowledge and lessons he learned from world-renowned drummer, Thomas Lang, with this band. Pharaux played their first show as a band on June 3 at Black Pirates Pub for Cover Show 16. They covered Black Sabbath and Matt claims that it is the best show he ever played, making no mistakes. The band hopes to record demos of their 3 best songs and eventually record an album in the coming months as well as play more shows. In October 2015, Matt quit Pharaux due to creative differences and difficulties fitting in with the music and adapting his style to the rest of the band.

12 Gauge Prayer

In October 2015, singer, Darcy John, was referred to Matt by Bryce Smith (guitarist of Rival Town) as a potential drummer for 12 Gauge Prayer. Matt gratefully accepted an audition and, after the first practice, he began getting comfortable in the drummer's seat. Matt has been playing with them ever since and the band currently has hopes to record and release a full length album in 2016 as well as play a lot of local shows and eventually, organize a tour to be performed by late 2016. In February 2016, Matt left 12 Gauge Prayer, due to not being able to work on other projects with other projects, his style as a drummer was changing, and burnout.

Single Drummer Life

Matt has decided to work as a session artist around Thunder Bay, hoping to work with anyone who needs a studio drummer and live shows. Recently, he has rejoined an old band he has played with to record their debut album and to play with them until they find a new drummer. Matt has also announced he is working on a Rush tribute band.

Equipment

Matt has 3 drum kits, one electric and 2 acoustic. He uses the following for recordings the most

Matt uses Gretsch Renown '57 in Red in the following configuration: 14 x 6.5 Pearl Artisan II snare (low)/14 x 6.5 snare (medium)/13 x 4 Dixon maple snare (high), 10 x 8 tom, 12 x 9 tom, 16 x 16 floor tom, 22 x 18 bass drum.

He uses a mixture of mainly Sabian cymbals with a Dream cymbal in the mix: 14 inch HHX Click hats, 18 inch AA medium-thin crash, 10 inch Paragon splash, 18 inch Dream Bliss crash-ride and 22 inch AAX OMNI

Matt uses a mixture of Taye, Gibraltar, and Network hardware. He uses Sonor Jojo Mayer Perfect Balance pedal, Drum Workshop 2000 double pedal, and Mano Percussion and RhythmTech percussion. He owns a Roland electronic kit too and uses Pro-Mark Rock 747 wood tip sticks. In mid 2015, Matt got his home studio together, using a Mac Desktop, Zoom R16 Interface, and Shure SM-57 microphones. He also uses a Fender Squier Stratocaster in Natural Burst and a Fender Squier Precision Bass in Candy Apple Red.

His live kit varies on the genre of music played.

Influences & Style

Matt plays many different genres of music, from jazz to metal and from funk to progressive. His main influences are Neil Peart, Mike Portnoy, and Mike Mangini. Other influences include Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, Tre Cool, Thomas Pridgen, Jojo Mayer, and Thomas Lang.

Matt bases his style mainly from Neil Peart and Mike Mangini. His playing is considered to be powerful, energetic, and amazing by some. He began incorporating jazz and big band drumming into his style. When playing with A Black Tie Affair, he tends to focus on consistency with fills and beats.