Matt Chase is the drummer for Mackenzie Heights and the ex-drummer and backing vocalist for A Black Tie Affair.
| Matt Chase | |
|---|---|
| Years active | "{{{years_active}}}" cannot be used as a page name in this wiki. |
| Genres | Rock, Metal, Progressive, Funk, Jazz, Punk, Pop "{{{years_active}}}" cannot be used as a page name in this wiki. |
| Associated bands | Illness To Cure, A Black Tie Affair, Mackenzie Heights
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| Associated venues | Many at Kilroy's, Jack's, and Black Pirates Pub, Kakabeka Street Fair 2010
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| Known for | versatility
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| Current status | Active |
Matt Chase
Contents
Instruments
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 and Mackenzie Heights
In December 2011, Matt quit A Black Tie Affair, due to conflicts between band members and wanting to try new styles of music. Two months after leaving the band, Matt received an email from Tanner Bell, lead guitarist for Mackenzie Heights to play drums for his band in the January cover show at Black Pirates Pub. Matt refused but offered to play full time after that show, finding the band's music different and more challenging and craving to be in a band again. Tim Albertson, lead singer for Mackenzie Heights, emailed Matt that night asking for something to judge him on. Matt then sent him a YouTube video of him playing Clockwork by Autopilot Off. Tim, impressed with his playing, told him he was in. Since then, Matt has played with Mackenzie Heights, being the heartbeat in the band and keeping everyone in time. They have since then played one show at Black Pirates Pub.
New Album
In May 2012, Mackenzie Heights announced they were entering the studio to record their newest album, featuring Matt on the drums. On May 23, Matt announced via Facebook that the drum tracks for the new album were done. In June 2012, the band announced that there was only vocals left before the editing and mixing process.
Equipment
Matt uses Taye Rock Pro drums in Jet Black in the following configuration: 12 x 5 Pearl Firecracker snare (steel) 14 x 6.5 Pearl Artisan II Walnut Burst finish 10 x 8.5 tom 12 x 9 tom 13 x 10 tom (used as a hanging floor tom) 16 x 16 floor tom 24 x 16 bass drum
He uses a mixture of mainly Sabian and Zildjian cymbals with a couple of Dream cymbals in the mix: 14 inch HHX Click hats 18 inch Bliss crash-ride (with a Pro-Mark sizzler) 17 inch AAXplosion crash 10 inch Bliss splash 10 inch chopper/6.5 inch ZIL-BEL (inverted above chopper) 18 inch AA medium-thin crash 19 inch AAXplosion crash 14 inch XS20 Medium hi-hats 22 inch AAX Omni 19 inch A China Boy High
Matt uses a mixture of Taye, Gibraltar, Network, and Dixon hardware. He uses Taye Metalworks pedals (single and double) and Mano Percussion, Toca, and RhythmTech percussion. He owns a Pintech electric kit too and uses Pro-Mark Rock 747 wood tip sticks
Influences
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 Mike Wengren, Gene Krupa, Teddy Campbell, Tre Cool, Thomas Pridgen, Jojo Mayer, Benny Greb, and Travis Barker.