Revision as of 18:32, 26 September 2012

Matt Chase is the drummer for Thunder Bay's KISS tribute band and the ex-drummer for Mackenzie Heights and ex-drummer and backing vocalist for A Black Tie Affair.

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Matt Chase

Instruments

• Drums
• Percussion
• 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 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.

Mackenzie Heights EP

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. In August, the band announced the EP was done and would consist of four songs. The first to be heard on the band's Facebook page was "Before The Fall". Matt announced that a full album would be written over the course of one year and that Mackenzie Heights would record it in June 2013. In September 2012, it was announced that the EP would be released on November 29, 2012.

Departure From Mackenzie Heights, Kiss And Makeup, and his Progressive YouTube Band

In September 2012, Matt left Mackenzie Heights after 8 months with the band. He cited "fights, money issues, and style differences" being the reason for leaving. He has since cut ties from the band's members. Matt announced later that month that he would be starting a YouTube band with Mackenzie Heights ex-guitarist, Tanner Bell and a bass player that Tanner knows. He has said that the band's genre is going to progressive metal, more Matt's genre. Later that week, he also announced he was creating a KISS tribute band, called Kiss And Makeup.

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), 20 inch Alchemy Pro ART ride, 16 inch Alchemy Pro ART crash, 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, 15 inch Orion Bacalhau hi-hats, 22 inch AAX Omni, 20 inch HHX Zen China

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.