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BiographyName: Olle Frödin
Styles/Influences: Hard Rock, Rock'n'Roll, Blues. Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Soundgarden, King's X, AC/DC, Gov't Mule etc etc etc.. History: My interest in drumming began at age 8-9, when I heard my sister's Deep Purple "Machine Head" LP. I thought the drums were the heaviest thing I've ever heard!! So I started banging with sticks on everything that had a cool drum sound, just like every aspiring drummer did in their early days I guess!? :) I got my first kit at age 10, a light green Getz 5-piece. It sounded terrible and the quality was very poor, but it was a drum kit! A real one!! I spent all my free time behind that kit, playing to records at full volume. My parents were very happy...so were our neighbors! I didn't get into a band until I was 15 or 16. We weren't a very good band, but we thought we were cooool!! After that I went through a few bands, some more successful than others. They were both cover bands and original bands. I played rock, blues, hard rock/metal, pop... I did a lot of demos, with a lot of gigs around Sweden and also a few gigs in Germany. I went through a lot of kits too during those days. The green Getz was quickly replaced by a Tama Swingstar 5-piece, then a huge Tama Imperialstar 8-piece, a Pearl Export 6-piece, a Pearl Export 7-piece, a vintage Gretsch 4-piece, a Tama Artstar 4-piece and finally, by October '01, I was able to get the kit of my dreams...a brand new Ludwig Classic maple "Bonham style kit". John Bonham has always been my biggest influence, along with Ian Paice. But I didn't get to use that kit for more than a few months..and only at rehearsals! On March 20, 2002, I was taken to hospital with a severe pain in my right arm and (what I thought) was a bad stomach flu. It took only 24 hrs until my arm was completely rotten... It turned out to be something called Necrotizing Fasciitis, a flesh eating bacteria. I almost died. The docs cut off my arm by the shoulder joint to stop the bacteria from eating it's way into my body, and that saved my life! I spent 6 weeks in hospital, but as soon as I came home I started designing a new kit that would work for one arm playing. Of course, I used Rick Allen's kit as a model! :) I just had to move things around a bit, since I had to start using my left arm for hi-hat and ride. I was right handed before, so it was very tricky to get used to that!! The kit was all electronics from the start, except the cymbals. But when the trigger on the bass drum broke down 6 months ago, I went back to an acoustic bass drum again. And of course it has to be a 26" bass drum!!! :) It's actually not a Ludwig, it's a "no-name" from China but it sounds very good! I'm just using the original drum heads from the Ludwig Classics, 'cos the "no-name" bass drum's original heads weren't very good. I will replace them with Remo Powerstroke (batter) and Remo Fiberskyn (front) as soon as I can afford it. :) I will probably start using acoustic toms too, 'cos I don't really like the electronic tom sounds. The snare is ok, and there is no other way to play the snare with just one arm, than by using electronics I think. Maybe I'll add a wire remote hi-hat too later on.... I was very determined from the start that I would never give up my drumming just because I lost my arm! But I admit that sometimes I feel very depressed over the fact that I will never again be able to play the drums the in way I want to play them! I can play the drums, but I can't do all the cool stuff you can do when you have two arms! But I'm glad that I'm still alive...and that I actually still CAN play the drums, even if it's in a more simple style!! I've been playing in a (quite successful) band called Mouth of Clay for three years now, and we recorded a CD in December '03. The sound clips you can hear below are a few from that cd. ArticlesOlle has written the following articles for Handidrummed.com: MediaAll files updated 03-24-05 Audio #1 (mp3)
Audio #2 (mp3)
Audio #3 (mp3)
Audio #4(mp3)
All songs available on Mouth of Clay's CD "Still Open" Gear
Drums: Roland (except where noted)
Cymbals: Various Brands
Hardware & Misc:
I also use Tama HP10 Bass Drum Pedals on all of the KD7 bass triggers and a Gibraltar rack. Sticks: Wincent 5B or B-Stick 5B |
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