Glen Sobel is a drummer born and raised in the LA area. He took advantage of what the city had to offer in the way of music education and access to shows featuring many of the worlds top performers. After spending much time in different musical situations in High School and college and winning various local drumming competitions he got his first pro gig at the age of 21 playing with guitar virtuoso Tony Macalpine. Glen recorded one CD with Tony as well as performing live shows around the west coast. This led to several other gigs in the same genre including guitarists Chris Impellitteri, Jennifer Batten (Michael Jackson's guitarist), and Gary Hoey, all of whom he has recorded and toured with in the States, Europe, and Japan.
During this time Glen began
to establish himself as a respected plyer and teacher in LA being
hired on as instructor at both Musicians Institute (Percussion Institute
of Technology) and the Los Angeles Music Academy (LAMA).
Eager to prove himself in several genres, Glen took a gig in 2000
playing and recording with SX10, a rap/metal hybrid project featuring
Sendog of Cypress Hill as well as several other hip hop stars like
Everlast, Kottonmouth Kings, B-Real, ect. This was then followed
by an offer to join Warner Brothers recording artists Beautiful
Creatures, a straight up hard rock outfit with whom Glen recorded
the debut CD and went on several different high profile tours such
as Ozzfest 2001, Marilyn Manson, Saliva, ect. The group played about
140 shows in a year, overseas and in the states.
Lately, Glen has been keeping busy with a number of different sessions
and gigs as well as teaching when time permits. He recently recorded
the debut CD for Brooks Buford, a new hip hop / rock artist on Arista
Records. Following the CD, the band performed live on several TV
shows in the U.S. and Europe including MTV.
A seasoned pro with world tour experience, Glen has developed a
reputation for being a quick study, known to learn an entire set
of material in a day or record a CDs worth of songs on short notice.
His performances are dynamic and visual and his track record as
a session player is impressive. Make sure to check this site on
a regular basis for tours/gigs and news updates.
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Birthdate :
December 27
Where
did you grow up?
I'm one of those rare people that was actually born and raised in
Los Angeles.
How
old were you when you first started playing drums and how did you
get started?
I was 11 when I first started playing in Junior High beginning band.
Then I went on to marching band in High School. That's right, I was
a band geek. Went to band camp and everything. Our Drumline was bad
ass, winning city wide competitions with the marching band.
What's
your most memorable gig?
There's so many. One would be the senior talent show in High School
where 5 other drummers and myself put together a group called "Offbeat".
At the end, one of the other drummers and myself did a killer 90 second
double drum solo that we had worked out note for note. We brought
the house down and ended up winning.
Another memorable gig would be Ozzfest 2001 with Beautiful Creatures.
The whole tour was one big memorable experience with some amazing
gigs.
Who
were some early influences?
Again, there's to many to list. A few would be drummers like John
Bonham, Terry Bozzio, Dennis Chambers, Vinnie Colaiuta, Steve Smith,
Lenny White, Billy Cobham, Buddy Rich. I was a student of Gregg Bisonette's
years ago so I guess you could say he was not just an influence but
a mentor. The same can be said about Chuck Silverman, another great
mentor/teacher of mine.
What CDs have you been listening to in your car lately?
John Scofield "Up All
Night" (w/ Adam Dietch)
Meshuggah "Chaosphere" (w/ Tomas Haake)
James Brown "Revolution of the Mind"
Korn "Untouchables"
Pantera "Reinventing the Steele"
Luke Vibert "Drum n Bass for Papa"
What
are some of your favorite movies?
Boogie Nights, The Big Leibowski, Stalag 17, The Great Escape, Goodfellas,
The Matrix, Gummo, Wag the Dog, Carlito's Way, The Shawshank Redemption.
Any
Advice you would give to aspiring drummers?
Always keep an open mind. Expose yourself to as many musical situations
as possible and don't limit yourself to being just a "rock"
drummer or "funk" drummer. Try to do it all. Also, know
when and when not to play. The spaces in between the notes are just
as important as the notes themselves. Practice keeping good time with
a metronome and always play from the heart.
Other interesting facts about Glen :
Instructor at Los Angeles Music Academy (LAMA) 1996-present.
Instructor at Percussion Institute of Technology (PIT) 1994-1996.
Winner- Guitar Center National Drum Off Competition 1991.
Ranked #5 in "Guiness World Records" competition for Drumometer, a device that counts how many single strokes are played in a minute.