Bryce Giuliani Interview.
Over a stack of deep dish pizza the other night I got to sit down with uber busy drummer Bryce Giuliani. A son of San Diego, Bryce migrated to Los Angeles for short while but now resides here again. We went over his ridiculus drum collection, time spent at MI (Musician’s Institute) and Temporal Riff.
I heard you bought a new drum set, what did you get?
Bryce Giuliani – Drummer
My first vintage legit drum set. 1977 Ludwig. Stainless steel. All stainless steel. Super rare.
How many kits does that make now?
Ahh.. hell.. Pearl, 3 Yahamas, V-drums, 2 yamaha electrics, another Pearl. Small kit. Small kit. I think that’s ten right?
Which is your favorite one?
The Gunship! That’s my yamaha, absolute mapel custom, gold lugs series. It’s one of the few that has real gold lugs. It’s legendary warm studio tone is hard to beat. It’s the gunship. When I’m playing progressive, three rack mount toms in front… It’s the gunship of the the fleet.
You went to MI right?
Uh, huh. Yes I did. Best experience of my life…
Really?
(Laughs) Well, I’m not married….
What was your main kit there?
We actually had kits in a lab that we shared with two other drummers. They were just your basic five piece kits. That’s what lead me to find my dream kit. My guitarist roommate at MI had the exact Yamaha to the T, sizes and hardware, just sitting in his apartment for sale. I saw it and instantly I knew our destiny was to be together for life.
So the drum set was your ‘density’?
Huh?
Not a Back to The Future Fan?
Oh yeah, but not every line. Just the just the Delorean and the huge Marshall stack.
What about Huey Lewis? You remember him right?!
Right! Of course! How can you forget Huey Lewis! But I’m more of a Goodfella’s guy.
Are you sponsored by anyone now?
Xcel drum sticks. They are a very unique stick. They have awesome durability and cutting edge designs for their sticks. You know, speed sticks. Metal strikers, etc...
You’re a big Dave Lombardo fan, right? Did you like what he did after he left Slayer?
(Shakes his head and sighs…) I liked some of the first Grip* It just wasn’t Slayer, so it wasn’t Lombardo for me, you know being a Lombardo disciple.
(*Grip Inc., Lombardo’s first band post exodus from Slayer.)
You know he’s Cuban. They have the best musicians.
Uh, huh. Yep. My latin teacher at MI knew him well. They traded lessons.
Serious question. Do you swipe to the left more or the right more?
I’m very selective. To the left more, I guess.
Temporal Riff was your band for almost 2 years. Can you talk a little bit about the sounds that you guys were creating and what you stood for ideologically.
Sure. TR was all about face melting, guitar shredding, hard driving, progressive mayhem. We were a group of four very talented members at each spot. But you know, as it goes, it’s hard enough to get a band all on the same page at the same time. But it’s even harder to keep it there, once you get it there. From a drummer perspective, it was a super busy gig. I mean, I’m taking on 16 strings at a time man! He (Mario Rodriguez – Bassist in Temporal Riff) actually played a five string bass, so I guess that’s 17 strings. TR really launched Keith (Taylor – Guitarist in Temporal Riff) and I into our own tours.
So lets talk about what you got going on now. You’re pretty busy now?
Yeah, just finished ‘When the Worlds Collide’ tour with DRI. I’m writing some serious thrash metal with you, and I’m dropping boogaloo funk with the The International Hustlers, which I’m proud to do. And I’m working on mainstream rock project with ex-Fuzz Huzzy singer/guitarist and a bassist that toured with Cypress Hill.
Anything else?
That’s about it.
Anything you’d like to promote?
That would be my clothing line and brand, Deemer Nation. Deemer Nation promotes functional, wearable, stylish gear for drummers and some cool stuff for the everyday guy and girl. It’s all linked with an underlying drum theme. Cause drums are IT! Everyone loves drums.
You can check out Bryce Giulinani on the upcoming radio broadcast of The International Hustlers on April 19th. WSRadio.com will be featuring The International Hustlers on Radio BanDeigo.
Bryce Giuliani Drum Montage
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