Chris Hornbrook is the phenomenal powerhouse drummer behind the kit for legendary hardcore act Poison The Well. We got the chance to speak to him about all things drumming wise and his career to date..
Going back, what are you most proud of, in terms of your musical career to date? Last Minute to Senses Fail…
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“I’m most proud of simply being able to have any sort of career in music. It’s a difficult industry to do anything in. I’m stoked that I’ve been able to work with a bunch of cool, professional, working class bands. That alone is super hard.”
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Which style of drumming do you best like – it is a huge leap between hardcore to EDM?
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“I prefer things that allow me to “groove” real hard and have a deep vibe. I know that those two things are subjective and open to interpretation for the most part. I also like music that is more mid-tempo to slow because it gives me room to do more behind the kit.”
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Have you any interesting tales from your Warped Tour in 2003?
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“A few: we had a bus driver with two first names. We think he stole 7k from us that ultimately had to get paid back from our TM at the time. As a band, that was the first big festival touring run we did and as a result of that, we realized the band needed to shape up performing live because we weren’t up to our standard. We met a lot of cool people on the tour that I still see and talk to even to this day.“
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Did you ever jam with your father, who I believe was a bass player and, if so, what music did you play together?
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“I did years ago. We live in two different states, so it’s rather hard. It would be cool to sit down with him and have a sweet rhythm section jam at some point. Maybe one day. We’d probably play some Funk or Blues.”
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Do you ever use electronic drums or are you a purist?
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“I’m okay with the electronic stuff integrated into the acoustic drum kit. I’m just not a fan of how they feel to play. Though, I know that companies like Roland are making serious advancements in that department. It’s cool to have pads built into your set up for different sounds and maybe to be able to fire off loops and whatnot.”
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Did you ever write lyrics for any of your bands – are you a Neil Peart? If you did, what were the things you wrote about?.
“I don’t. I’m not a lyric guy. I care about the relationship between the main melody, how it’s phrased and how it interacts with the arrangement. You could be singing about rocks and cars, I wouldn’t notice or care. I’d probably think it’s incredibly funny.”
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Do you believe that the best drummers are those with a signature sound, such as Alex Van Halen or is it less analytical and more about the emotion that they bring to the music?
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“I think having your own sound is vital. A musical point of view behind the kit is the most important thing to me. You can know every lick and every chop, but what use is it if you can’t communicate it in your own voice? Completely useless, in my opinion. Also, if you have your own thing, you probably care about it and as a result, you’ll most likely play with more emotion.”
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Have you ever studied drum theory? If so, what did it teach you?
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“I haven’t. I took a few lessons here and there, but for the most part, I learned by listening to records. I studied mostly that way. There are pros and cons to it of course. I think mostly positive from my experience.”
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Do you have a career plan mapped out? Are there specific bucket list items you have yet to achieve?
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“At this point, I’m just going where life takes me. I realized a long time ago that you can plan shit out, but life doesn’t care about your plans. So I’ve learned to navigate it as best as I can to get to where I need to go. Though in terms of goal I’d like to hit in my life, I’d like to record at Abbey Road in England, continue to work with people I respect and play in bigger bands.”
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What is your philosophy of life?
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“Live it, love it, learn from it. Be happy and grow.”
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I thanked Chris for his kind time and wished him all the best for future success.
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