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BiographyName: Jim Loomis
Styles/Influences: My style is heavily influenced by Dennis Chambers, Dave Weckl, Danny Mazzant (a good friend of mine who recently passed away, he got me started on the drums), Neil Peart, Dave Abbruzzese, Tim Alexander, Brian Mantia, Tomas Haake, John Blackwell, Jimmy Chamberlin, Vinnie Colaiuta, Steve Gadd, Tony Royster Jr., and many more... History: I was born at a time when snare drums were recorded terribly, men wore makeup, and corporate rock giants fed the masses with hair metal. Rush was heavy on the synthesizers, and we watched hopelessly as Stewart Copeland and the Police deteriorated almost instantly. As a child, I really wasn't affected by music. My parents listened to oldies and classic rock, while I listened to my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles tape that we got from Pizza Hut until it wore out. My first memory of music was from a small glimpse of MTV that I got when I was at a babysitters house (this was when MTV actually played music). It was the first time I actually became aware of a band and its music. The year was 1991, and Pearl Jam released its debut album "Ten". I saw the video for "Even Flow", and all I remembered was the image of Eddie Vedder crowd surfing. This experience floored me, and every time I see the video for "Even Flow", those memories come flooding back of the day I became hooked to rock. I started playing drums at the age of 16. A few of my friends played, and I loved to watch and listen. I finally got a job and I worked hard to save up and buy a TJ Percussion drum set. I had no cymbals, so I started playing on Tinkertoy lids. This didn't last long, so a friend brought me a few old cymbals to play on. As I got more into music, I upgraded my kit. I became a huge Rush fan, and had a monster kit to match it. But as I grew older, I calmed down and started to get more serious about playing and I bought my current kit: a Pearl Export Select 6-piece jazz kit. I was born as a Congenital Amputee, without my left arm below the elbow. I play using a simple prosthetic device that I came up with after a suggestion from my mom. She had old sauna belts laying around the house that are strips of neoprene material with velcro at the end. I wrapped the sauna belts around my stump, and found that the belts made great prosthetic devices for holding drumsticks. This was a vast improvement over the old electric ties that I used before (ouch). See the media section for a video on how my prosthetic device works. I'm not into drumming as much as I used to be; as a form of artistic expression, it has taken a backseat to my photography. I now sell prints of my photographs for charity to the Adolescent Amputee Camp of Western PA, which was canceled following the camp of 2002 due to lack of funding. I want to revive this camp, as it was my saviour as a child, and I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for the camp. My main website is www.jimloomisphotography.com and my print store is here: wwww.jimloomis.deviantart.com/store. Buy a print and help me bring back the camp! Keep bashin' heads and crashin' metal! MediaVideo #3(wmv)
Video #4(wmv)
Audio #1 (mp3)
Audio #2 (mp3)
Gear
Drums: Pearl Export Select in Autumn Fade Finish
Cymbals: Zildjian (except where noted)
Hardware & Misc:
The rest of my hardware consists of all Pearl hardware. Heads: Various Sticks: Whatever, it doesn't matter! Contact
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