John Glassbrenner – Capital Region Timekeepers – An Xperience Interview

John Glassbrenner – Capital Region Timekeepers – An Xperience Interview – by OP Callaghan.

John Glassbrenner is one of the busiest drummers on the scene. He is not only playing in multiple bands, but the sheer number of notes he packs into his playing is simply amazing.  Born and raised in the Capital Region, Glassbrenner is not only one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet but one of the best players in the scene. He is this year’s Extreme Music Awards winner for best drummer and has established himself as a favorite amongst his peers. So please welcome John Glassbrenner!

RRX: Welcome, John. I’m a huge fan of your work. Your playing on the Concrete stuff is really something. Tell us how you got started playing drums.

JG: I got started at a very early age. I started showing interest around 4-5 years old. What caught my interest were a couple of family members who were drummers, and it inspired me to start playing.

RRX: Who were some of your early influences?

JG: My earlier influences ranged from guys like Alex Van Halen, Lars Ulrich, Dave Lombardo, and Neil Peart.

RRX: Tell me about your first kit.

JG: My very first drum set was given to me by a cousin’s boyfriend. It was a blue sparkle 1968 (I think that was the year, lol) Tempro four-piece kit. No hardware other than a kick pedal. I had cymbals hanging on ropes from the rafters with five-pound weights tied to the bottom of the ropes.

RRX: I love it! Suspended cymbals! Do you come from a musical family?

JG: I guess I’d have to say yes. There weren’t a ton of musical players, but there were a few. Some drummers throughout the family and my mother played organ/piano occasionally. It was the cousins, Billy and Bobby, mostly that inspired me to pick up drumsticks and bang on stuff.

RRX: I heard that you’ve studied with the hitman himself, the mythical monster known as Jason Bittner. Have you taken lessons from anyone else, or are you primarily self-taught?

JG: I haven’t taken lessons a whole lot from Jason, but we have been friends for years. I have talked and done some woodshedding with him a couple of times, and he did help me in a lot of ways on how to play to a click (metronome). Over the years, he has also helped me with things like how to be a pro, how to carry oneself out there in the industry, and how to work hard at your craft. Don’t tell him I said this because he will break my stones, lol, but I’ve always looked up to Jason. His work ethic – the things he’s done – really inspire me to get to the level that he’s gotten himself to. That guy is an absolute master at his craft. Again, don’t tell him I said this. Hahahahaha. I have also done a few lessons and general hang sessions with John Longstreth, Alex Cohen. A lot of these guys have become my friends so it turned out more of hangouts and questions among friends than a “lesson“ per se. I am mostly self-taught.

RRX: Jason is super talented and, despite his success, is still involved in nurturing and promoting the local scene. John, tell me about your early performances.

JG: My first real band that actually got out and started playing live was a band called Agony Within. It was a bunch of friends from school, the neighborhood, and a friend of one of those guys who became one of my good friends as well. We all gelled really well and practiced pretty much every day of the week when we could. We were young, had no idea of how things worked, and we wanted to take over the world. Our first show was at QE2 in Albany. I cannot for the life of me remember who we played with, but we opened the show, and that was my first taste of playing in a club and live setting.

RRX: What a great place to start! Tell me about some of your recent work.

JG: The last three years, I was playing in a national band from Long Island called Pyrexia. I left the band about 10 months ago after touring extensively all over the States, doing many tours and festivals, and a trip over to the Czech Republic to play the infamous Obscene Extreme festival. Currently, I am playing with the bands Incontinence, Malefic, and Concrete ( all out of the 518),  and recently joined a band out of Rochester that hasn’t been announced yet so unfortunately I’ll have to keep that one under wraps for now.

RRX: I really love your playing on both the Concrete and Malefic stuff. It’s intense but very clean. No easy feat, playing that fast and maintaining consistency at the same time. Very reminiscent of Jason Bittner and Dave Lombardo (Slayer). Who are some of your current favorite players or influences?

JG: Currently, my influences are all over the place. Mainly death metal and metal players, but a couple that are completely out of the box for me and the music I play. In no particular order, Jason Bittner (Shadows Fall),  John Longstreth (Origin), Derek Roddy (Hate Eternal), Jordan Varela (Lust of Decay), Dave Culross (ex-Suffocation), Mike Smith(ex-Suffocation), Eric Morotti (Suffocation), Nils (Myrkskog), II (Sleep Token), Alex Cohen (ex-Pyrexia/independent) to name a few of the “bigger national players.“ I also take inspiration from quite a few from our local scene as well. Chris Mahar, Phil Shannon to name a couple.

RRX: Excellent. Tell me about your current setup.

JG: Right now, I’m running a very small kit for ease of travel and setup. I’ve been a Trick drums artist for about 20 years or so now. I’m running a Cast Midnight aluminum shell kit consisting of an 18” bass drum (triggers register great on a smaller kick drum), 10” and 12” toms, and a 14” floor tom. I use various snare drums, mainly 13” x 7” in size. Those brands are Trick drums, or a custom-made 13” x 7”  brass-shelled Van Kleef-brand snare.  I also (for now) run Paiste cymbals exclusively. Trick bass drum pedals and Roland electronics for samples and triggering of the kick drum.

RRX: Smaller drums, but a big sound! Where can we see you playing next?

JG: Currently, Concrete has a few shows booked but nothing here in the immediate area. We are playing in Syracuse on March 22, May 9 in Plattsburgh, May 10 in Quebec City, and October 18 in Brooklyn. We are currently also trying to set up tours for the summer and early fall/winter.

RRX: You were the recipient of this year’s Extreme Music Awards’ “Best Drummer,” which is high praise from the local scene. What advice do you have for the young drummer just starting out?

JG: Yes, I did win the Extreme Music Award for best drummer. I definitely did not see that one coming! I was very shocked when I heard my name called. I didn’t think I’d win that and had zero preparation for a speech or anything like that. I was nominated with some absolutely fantastic drummers from this area. Any one of them could have won. I am humbled and beyond grateful to be recognized not only by my drumming peers but the 518 extreme music scene as a whole. As far as advice to young up-and-coming drummers here, all I can say is to be humble, network, and practice incessantly. Make sure that if you want your band or project to be successful, you need to make sure you’re a positive person/influence to be around. Dedication to the craft is of the utmost importance, and always prepare yourself to have to take a couple of steps backward sometimes to move forward. Hard work does pay off if you keep at it. The industry can be very cutthroat out there, and you just need to buckle up for the ride.

RRX: Thanks, John! Looking forward to hearing more from you.

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