Full name : Ryan Joost Van Poederooyen
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Birthdate : November 13th 1972
Born in Port Alberni, B.C. Canada.
Currently resides in Coquitlam, B.C. Canada.
Biggest Influence : My Father
Favourite Drummers :
- Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree)
- Thomas Haake (Meshuggah)
- Tim Alexander (Primus)
- Vinnie Paul (Pantera)
- Neil Peart (Rush)
The Story
How it all started : From the day I was born, I was in love with music. Whether my parents were blasting The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Queen or any style of music, I was always surrounded and influenced by it. My father had played in a rock cover band for several years, I would always go watch his soundchecks and goof around with my brother at the venues he played. One day I decided to give the drumset a try at one of his soundchecks.
As painfull as it was for my dad to listen to me play the drums for the first time, he could not stop thinking that I had a natural feel for the instrument. I was 10 years old at the time and hugely influenced by my father and his music. He noticed my liking to the drums and bought me a set of practice pads, started me on some beginner drum lessons and said "Practice your ass off, show your commitment to learning how to play drums and you'll be rewarded.
I took basic drum lessons for one year and never stopped practicing. Two years later I was rewarded on Christmas morning with an awesome, pearl white 5-piece Baxter drumkit. I had learn't all the basics for rudiments and how to keep a 4/4 beat by this time and was ready to take it to the next level.
Progress and a decision
I grew up in a small town, Port Alberni on Vancouver Island, B.C. Canada. There was not a helluva lot to do for a 13 year old kid, so I went to school, practiced drums to every Rush album and took an interest in girls. I started taking band class in grade 7 and carried it on until grade 9, succeeding every year with the highest marks in my class. I did the same throughout my highschool years, playing in Jazz / Stage bands and excelling in drumming as time went on.
At age 15 I was asked to join a local cover band that played live on weekends at various bars around Vancouver Island. I took the gig, it was funny though, I had to sit in our dressing room in between sets because I was underage and not allowed in bars. My first experience with playing live was surreal, yet exciting to me and from that point on I knew I wanted to do music for a living. By the time I was 17, I was finished school and absolutely hooked on drumming, I had a carreer choice to make. I ended up doing a few more tours with a couple local cover bands to make enough money to move to Vancouver, B.C. to pursue my carreer in drumming and music.
Building a name for success
I'll admit that the first few years living in Vancouver were tough. A teenager learning how to deal with work, bills, rent and debt whlie trying to succeed in music is not the easiest thing. I eventually landed a couple session gig's through people seeing me play live with some local cover bands I was in. The word started getting out on Ryan Van Poederooyen
I started playing in original bands, doing the odd session gig. I found out original music was not an easy thing to do, it cost me lots of money and all extra time I had. At times I would ask my self "Did I make the right decision by choosing music as a carreer ?"
Then one evening at a popular bar in Vancouver I ran into Tico Torres (Drummer in Bon Jovi), he was in town recording the latest Bon Jovi record at the time. I ended up talking with him over a couple beers, even though I wasn't a fan of his drumming, I still respected his position in the music industry.
I had one question for him :
"Whats the best advice you could give me for trying to achieve a living in music ?"
He answered:
"Play as much as you can with whoever you can, get your name out there and love what your doing. If you stick with it, you will achieve some sort of success."
That quote changed my attitude and my life. I went crazy playing in several original bands, eventually starting the longest serving band I've played in to date - God Awakens Petrified, along with doing as much drum session work as possible. The word was out, I was asked frequently to do session work and teach drum lessons. Then one day I was contacted by Devin Townsend (Steve Vai, Strapping Young Lad) asking me if I wanted to try out for The Devin Townsend Band. He had heard about me through several people including metal drumming god Gene Hoglan (Strapping Young Lad, Dark Angel, Death, ). I refused at first.....just joking ! I was thinking this is exactly the type of oppurtunity hard work gives you. I jammed with him and got the gig, which involves travelling the world playing live in front of thousands of fans, recording big budget albums with talented, creative and fun people. My music carreer was set in motion.
Present
I am currently playing in 3 original bands :
The Devin Townsend Band
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The band is signed and distributed by the following labels
- Canada (Hevydevy Records)
- USA and Europe (Inside Out Records)
- Australia (Roadrunner Records)
- Japan (Sony Records)
The Devin Townsend Band released two albums
- Accelerated Evolution (2003)
- Synchestra (2006)
The band also performs songs from Devin Townsend previous releases (Ocean Machine, Infinity, Terria)
These albums are all world-wide releases. Accelerated Evolution was the first DTB album with the current line-up and myself on Drums, it was released in March 2003. Synchestra, being the newest album with my drumming on it, was released in February 2006. This album also features a guest guitar solo by legendary guitar player Steve Vai. The DTB have released videos for the songs "Storm" (Accelerated Evolution) in 2004 and "Vampira" (Synchestra) in 2006, we also have a live DVD titled : Safe Zone, which was recorded in 2004 but released with the Special Edition Synchestra release in 2006.
The nice thing about the Devin Townsend Band is that you can always expect the unexpected. We are a progressive band without musical boundaries. The musicianship level is so high that it feels extremely proud to share stage and studio duties with this band.
I recently created a new Metal Band that I put together in 2007 called
Terror Syndrome. I wrote the music, wrote 50% of the lyrics, produced the album and played drums on the entire record. Click on the band logo for more info:
I also play in a Progressive Rock band called Ten Ways from Sunday. This band also features Dave and Mike Young from the Devin Townsend
Band. Click on the band logo for more info:
I'm also a very busy session artist, when I'm not touring. My list of sessions are not just locally based, they range from local to international gig's around the world. I do as many sessions as possible. I have done recordings in the style of Pop music to Country to Rock to Metal to Prog and the list goes on. I also have a few dedicated drum students that I teach in my spare time.
I'm currently endorsed by Pearl Drums, they are best reason to play drums. Sabian Cymbals, the best and most versatile Cymbal company around! Regal Tip drumsticks, the longest lasting, best feeling drumsticks money can buy and Evans Drumheads, simply the best drumskin company in the world. I have also landed interviews and reviews with magazines like Batterie Magazine (French), Slagwerkkrant Magazine (Dutch) and Modern Drummer and continue to push the envelope with my drumming.
The Endless Journey
Drumming is a part of me that I will never let go of. It's an instrument and a passion that brings me happiness and peace. There is not a day I don't realize the accomplishments that I have achieved, that have made me a positive and happy individual. There is no doubt in my mind that I want to take my music carreer further than what it is now, this is a work in progress. In Closing My desire and wanting to play the drums is like a marriage if you will, a lifelong commitment that I have chosen. It's exciting thinking about my future with drumming and music. I look forward to doing any session gig, recording any album, playing live and getting my hands on any drum I can.... what a gratifying feeling. The Journey continues...