Playing Philosophy:
- My drumming philosophy is to play it simple with a solid conviction and a good groove.
- The less I play, the more work I get !
- I like to play dynamically and leave plenty of room for the vocalist or soloist.
- I enjoy playing Blues, R&B, Pop/Rock, Funk, Swing, and Jazz.
Career Goals:
- To be respected and recognized as a fine musician and to be blessed with the pleasure of playing and recording music for the rest of my life.
- To play drums in every country, on every continent, and for every person on this earth.
- To continue to develop my songwriting skills, my piano and guitar playing chops and my producing/engineering abilities.
Background:
- I have been drumming professionally since 1980.
- I am originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, where I was fortunate to have a very musical family background. http://www.novascotia.com/
- I have been playing drums for as long as I can remember, starting out on a 4-piece Silvertone, blue-sparkly drum that my father actually bought for my mother in 1974. Silvertone drums were manufactured by Pearl Drums in the late 60’s, and distributed by Simpson-Sears. So because of this fact, I have been playing Pearl-made drums since 1974, and I have always had one or two Pearl kits on the go, over the last 30 years.
- From 1983 to 1986, I performed in the High School Band Music Program (jazz, dixieland and pop charts), under the direction of Tom Rusinak.
- At the age of 14, I performed with my uncle’s band, Spice, the hottest band on the east coast at that time, 1982.
- I studied jazz percussion with Mike Vosbein at Saint Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, 1989-1990.
- I have lived in Toronto since 1995.
Inspiration:
- Jeff Porcaro
- Vinnie Colaiuta
- Fred Below
- Al Jackson Jr.
- Joseph Modeliste
- Pat Mastelotto
- Brian MacLeod
- Mike Urbano
- Donny Chapman
- Paul Eisan
- Bob Quinn
- Mike Sloski
- Kevin Gilbert www.kevingilbert.com
Gear :
Pearl Masters Custom Drums (MMX -4 ply maple- sizes 24×18, 12×9, 16×16 and MHX – 4 ply mahogany -sizes- 24×14, 12×8, 16×16).
Sabian Cymbals (HHX & HHX Evolution, sizes 15″ hi-hats, 14″ to 18 ” crashes, 20″ rides.).
Regal Tip sticks (Groovers and 8A, Classic Brushes and the new E series 5B’s).
Remo Heads (P3 Bass drum, Ambassador Coated tops and Ambassador clear bottoms).
Protechtor Cases, and Levy(soft shell) and SKB (hard shell) hardware bags.
Silvertone, Gretsch & WFL (1950’s Ludwig) collector drum kits, Pearl ( Free Floating, MRX and M1946) and Gretsch collector snare drums.
See Credits Page for more bio info……