A teenager’s bedroom, Nirvana full blast on the Sony stereo circa 1991, and a Kenny Rogers touring drum kit inherited from his Dad. Family heirlooms come in all shapes and sizes but this one felt particularly serendipitous.
Learning to play on a kit still basking in its post tour glow from a run around Australia and New Zealand with Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, truly set the stage for years to come.
Paul’s love affair for drumming began and never really ended.
Growing up playing drums with his mates at Hollywood High led to joining any band keen for a drummer. Motherfunk was his first foray into rock stardom, a funk-rock 4 piece with Carus Thompson, Loren Jamahli and Rowan Logie that played around Freo. Their time gigging together was short-lived but Paul was only just getting started.
Not long after Motherfunk ended, Paul joined the Sleepy Jackson with the likes of Luke Steele (Empire of the Sun), Ronan Charles and Matthew O’Connor circa 2000. Cutting his teeth touring and gigging as an emerging rock band, the hard rock life meant couch surfing across the country, endless drives, playing to crowds of varying sizes and swapping performances for pub meals (and a pint or two) on the house.
Paul hung up his Sleepy Jackson drumsticks shortly after and headed back to the West Coast, where he embarked on a TAFE music course, knocking around with local rock legends like Katy Steele (Little Birdy). He later became the founding drummer for his good mates’ band Tom Fisher & The Layabouts – because nothing beats good vibes and good music with good people.
A regular on the live music circuit, Paul’s trademark big drumming sound soon caught the attention of local bands and artists. One of those, circa 2002, happened to be Eskimo Joe. Touring and performing their A Song is A City and Black Fingernails, Red Wine albums saw Paul blend seamlessly into their live act – continuing on and off over the years – before recently wrapping up his Eskies era.
It’s been over 30 years of perfecting his craft and bringing that Big Drummer Energy to every stage, touring with some of the world’s best musicians – playing stadiums, sold out venues, corporate shows, small pubs and everything in between. Nothing lights Paul up more than sharing his love of drumming with the world.
If you’re seeking a hard hitting drummer for live acts, touring, or drum tracking (whether locally in Perth, Western Australia or remotely for any artist, anywhere in the world) get in touch here or head to Services here.
