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THE BAND
Eruption is a band from Newfoundland, Canada. The newest version of the band came together in the summer of 2001 after former lead singer, Marc Fagan, left the band.
The problem with playing mostly cover songs is that most people would not know what to class them as. Since their music style varies with each song they play it is hard to pinpoint it exactly but if you are looking for an answer they are mainly rock.
Consisting of Brad Norman, Aaron Hickey, Steve Greene, and Derek Pink, the band formerly known as Winchester have come a long way since their original start in 1997. The original band consisted of Marc Fagan, John Rolls, Danny Pink, Steve Greene (Current), and Derek Pink (Current), and after three years the band has had eight guitarists, three vocalists, and three bassists.
With Brad's powerful vocals and rhythm guitar, Aaron's explosive riff's and solo's, Steve's high energy style combined with his erupting rhythms and bass lines, accompanied by Derek's earth shaking beats this gives the group a great sound which shows in their live performances. Anyone who listens to this band perform knows that they are committed to their music and are dedicated to making a mark on the music scene. There is still no official word on whether or not we should expect a debut album in the near future. "We don't really have any plans to record but we'd like to get some songs together and put some tracks down" say's drummer Derek Pink.They went through many changes to get the right group.
Eruption will be calling it quits in August of 2002, so if you haven't seen them yet, time is running out.
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BRAD NORMAN:
STEVE GREENE:
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AARON HICKEY:
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DEREK PINK:
Full Name: Derek Gerard Pink
Date of Birth: April 4th, 1984
Birthplace: Newfoundland, Canada
Vitals: Brown hair, hazel eyes, 5"9, 160lbs.
As a young child growing up in a house full of music, it was only natural that Derek Pink would choose a life in music. His father, Arthur, played the acordion and occasionally piano among other traditional Newfoundland instruments, his mother played the mandolin, violin, acordion, and the piano, along with a few percussion instruments, and of course his brother, who was in his first band, played just about any instrument he tried. Born Derek Gerard Pink to Arthur and Viola Pink in 1984, he was born and raised in Newfoundland, Canada and grew up in a small town called Placentia.
Derek always had a love for music and for most of his life he has played some form of musical instrument; from an electronic drum set when he was 5, to the guitar when he was 10, to the drums when he was 12 and after that a barage of instruments which he still plays today. Derek is also known to play just about any percussive object he sees, such as spoons, CD's, heaters, pots and pans, bones, sticks and just about anything else you can imagine.
After receiving his first drum set when he was 12 years old he took quickly to them. At first, he modeled himself after the legendary Led Zeppelin drummer, the late John Bonham. For a drummer just learning the craft, trying to play Bonham's beats would prove exceedingly difficult. But he didn't give up, he practiced day after day until he mastered the technique.
Being completely self-taught, all of his drumming abilities have come from his own creative thinking and some inspiration from his influences which he insists were his teachers. He states Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater and Liquid Tension Experiment), Terry Bozzio (Frank Zappa and Independant), Neil Peart (Rush), Carter Beauford (The Dave Matthews Band), Virgil Donati (Independant), Mike Mangini (Extreme & Steve Vai), and to some extent Johnny Fay (The Tragically Hip) as his biggest musical influences. All of these people have played a significant role in this young drummers unique style.
Although most people pay attention to his wild, quick paced hands pounding out the rhythm, some keep their ear to the ground for his unbelievable feet. Most people hear the kick drum and know he is using a double kick pedal. He is using a double kick pedal but he barely uses it except for fills or rolls, and his solos. Most of the time he is only using a single pedal; the repeating sound is his amazing ability to bounce the pedal numerous times very rapidly. "I don't use oil on the pedal like most drummers, I use butter because it works better and it tastes better too."
Taking after Mike Portnoy and Virgil Donati for their foot work, Derek has two of the quickest feet of any young drummer in rock and roll. "The first time I heard John Bonham bounce that footpedal I knew that I had to learn how to do it. To this day I can't see how he got it to bounce so many times. I happened to get 6 one day on a single pedal and I've never done it since. I can get about 6 or 7 on a good day with the double-kick... but it's not easy."
Derek's first band was named Winchester. But after some member changes and a few years of trying to work out all the kinks, the band decided to start over. Out of this came his second band, Eruption, which arose from the ashes of Winchester. The band consisted of Marc Fagan on vocals and guitar, Chris Elliott on lead guitar and vocals, Brad Lannon on bass and vocals, and Derek Pink on drums. When asked why there were so many member changes in the bands Derek said, "Life get's in the way."
Eventually the members would change again and like before Derek would be the only original member still playing. If someone was to make a timeline of the members of the bands that have evolved from the original Winchester line-up you would see that Derek's name would be in every single line-up. "I always loved to use different beats and odd rhythms but when I got into the 'anything goes' mentality, I began to try an assortment of objects for a rhythm pattern. I've always used the bodhran, bongos, and other more contemporary percussion instruments but I really got hooked on using bones, sticks, and other things with rhythmic tones. I'm worked with droning, melodical sounds for "Aries".
Derek's drumming has been described as weird, retarded, cryptic, loud, and from time to time the odd "what the fuck was that" can be heard, even though his playing is unrelentless and continuously inspiring. Derek has composed a number of drum solos with his unique style such as "Tremor", "Beware of God", and "Diggin' Bones." Anyone who has heard these songs will know what a gifted drummer Derek is and what creative ideas he possesses. And we can't help but wonder what the future holds in store for him and our ears.
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