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Drummers News and Events Contests Multimedia Shop Education Contact Oct 11, 2008
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Trav Demsey
Breathing Life Into The Living End

"there are too many bands that play it safe these days." So says Trav Demsey, the flamboyant drummer with one of punk's most driving bands, The Living End. "The goal should be to play out of your head," he says. "I want people walking away going, 'Wow, I saw them six weeks ago and they were completely different tonight.'"

Though Demsey's playing might be loose and frenetic, The Living End offers a tight brand of punk rock. But Trav's list of drumming inspirations prove the point: Topper Headon of The Clash, The Jam's Rick Buckler, and Paul Cook of The Sex Pistols dot his list, as do Keith Moon, Charlie Watts, and Ringo Starr.

While Trav endorses Premier drums, Sabian cymbals, and Vater sticks, nothing is permanent in Demsey's world - at least as far as his setup goes. "I'm constantly changing it," he admits. "I don't have any specific sizes. Sometimes I use 18" crashes for hi-hats." And for heads? "I pretty much stick with Remo, but I'm constantly changing what kind of head. One week I was using CS clear dots because I was going through my Sex Pistols phase. This last week I was back on coated Ambassadors. Next week will probably be in a hardcore New York phase, and I'll be using Pinstripes. I like to leave myself open to interpretation on any given day. I like our sound to be constantly evolving."


David John Farinella

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