History and musical reflections

I began playing drums 11-12 years old. Started out in a local brassband in my rural district, Hundvin, and got my first drumkit at the age of 13. Although I label myself as a progressive metal- and fusion drummer at the frontpage, one of my major goals has been to become a versatile drummer. I've listened to an extremely wide range of music; fusion, funk, jazz, afro cuban, classic, blues, neo-classic metal, progressive rock/metal, speed metal, death metal and black metal. Fusion and progressive based music are however the principal musical styles where I've harvested most of my expertise during the last couple of years. Hence the notion on the main page.
Apart from fusion and prog, I find a great deal of personal gratification in the continuous exploration of my instrument. There's nothing wrong with putting a latin rhythm in a heavy metal setting. In my opinion, music has no outer borders or absolute truths. It's a matter of pure subjectivity.

Influences #1

At my sixth or seventh birthday, I got my first cassette with WASP. The title read: "Inside the electric circus". This was the 80s and WASP was a very popular hard rock band from the states. This particular cassette ruled the cassetteplayer for several years, and I guess it marked the beginning of my adventurous ride into the world of music.
When I later (aged 13) got my first drumkit, I was a huge fan of the legendary band Metallica. Additionally, Guns N'Roses, Skid Row, WASP, Iron Maiden and Motley Crue were among my favorites. Lars Ulrich was a big influence to me Classic drummer picture :) when I started drumming, and this is somehow reflected through my participation in the tribute band Brutallica.
Aged 15, my "clean-cut" heavy metal trip was facing hybridation. I hold Dave Weckl accountable for this sudden alteration. He portrayed an entirely new face to my musical paradigm. As time went by, I discovered several great drummers. Many of them totally blew me away with their intense craftsmanship: Dennis Chambers, Virgil Donati, Vinnie Colaiuta and Steve Gadd to mention a few. Later I started listening more to progressive bands such as Dream Theater, Symphony X, Meshuggah and Planet X, and fusion based music such as Chick Corea Electric Band and Weather Report. I have a large list of influences below, and for my own sake (and your sake) I don't bother going into details about all of them.

Influences #2: Large list

Planet X, Meshuggah, Ark, Ayreon, Dream Theater, Symphony X, Flower Kings, On the Virg, Explorers Club, Marillion, Chick Corea Electric Band, Michel Camilo, Dave Brubeck, Weather Report, Scott Henderson, Return to Forever, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Shadow Gallery, Vanden Plas, Buddy Rich Band, Cradle of Filth, Liquid Tension, Pain of Salvation, Pantera, Immortal, Children of Bodom, Satyricon, Slayer, Dave Weckl Band, Emperor, Andromeda, Joey Defransesco, WASP, Motley Crue, Skid Row, Manowar, Testament, Seigmen, Farmers Market, Joel Hoekstra, Virgil Donati, Dennis Chambers, Vinnie Colaiuta, Dave Weckl, Erik Smith, Terry Bozzio, Steve Smith, Frank Gambale, Tool, Dom Famularo, Steve Gadd, Tomas Haake, John Macaluso, Mike Portnoy, Lars Ulrich, Paul Bostaph, Greg Bisonette, Billy Idol, Ben Daglish, Guns N'Roses, Camel, Fantomas, Extreme, James Bond Soundtrack and probably another thousand artists I've forgot to mention...

Off Topic Info

Hobbies: Programming, design, science, movies, working out, pc games.

Education: Master Degree in Computer Science, University of Bergen.

Favorite movies: Usual Suspects, Matrix, The godfather, Terminator 2, Lord of the Rings, Full metal jacket, Mulholland Drive, Aliens, Star Wars, Memento, Requiem for a dream, Snatch, Seven.

Favorite series: Red Dwarf, The Wire, Battlestar Galactica, Seinfeld, Futurama, South Park, P & T: Bullshit, Mythbusters and The Sopranos.

Favorite food: Hot food with lotsa chilli! Anything within these domains: Indian, Thai, Indonesian, Vietnamese and Italian.

	Born: 13 August 1980
	Instrument: Drums
	City: Bergen, Norway