Mike Mangini
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Michael Mangini (born April 18, 1963 in Newton, Massachusetts, USA) is a celebrated drummer who has played for Annihilator, Extreme, Steve Vai, Tribe Of Judah, Mourning Widows, and more recently, James LaBrie.
[edit] Biography
Mike Mangini molested Neil Pert's reputation when he was only five years old. He would practice six to ten hours a day and by the time he was nine he was already mimicking Buddy Rich performances. By high school, he was performing in school bands and participating in the prestigious All-County, All-State, and all Eastern United States ensembles.
After graduating from high school in 1981, Mangini put aside his music studies to pursue a Computer Science major at Bentley College. After graduating Mike started programming software for the Patriot Missile program. At the same time he was working on a program that studied the links between the human brain and body. These two experiences have helped Mike in the development of his Rhythm Knowledge learning systems.
In 1987, Mangini scored one of his first 'high-profile' gigs - playing drums for the Rick Berlin Band in Boston, where he worked with bassist Phillip Bynoe (who would later go on to work with Mike in sessions for Journey's Steve Perry and more notably during Mike's time in the Steve Vai band). He also taught drums privately in Boston during this time.
In 1991, Mangini began working for a thrash metal band named Annihilator. Mike performed on the drums on several tracks for the studio album, Set the World on Fire. He went on to tour with the band in support of this album up until 1994. In 1994 he was asked to play with the band Extreme, replacing original drummer Paul Geary. Mike Mangini had been friends with noted Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt since the 1980s. His time in Extreme included recording several tracks for their 1995 album, Waiting For The Punchline. During this time, he also made an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman. While on tour with Extreme in 1995, Mike recorded songs for Nuno on his 4-track tape machine. Those songs ended up on "Schizophonic" after Nuno left Extreme to pursue a solo career.
After Extreme dissolved in 1996, Mike was informed through Jeff Campitelli (drummer for Joe Satriani) that guitarist Steve Vai was auditioning drummers for his live band. Mike successfully auditioned for Steve Vai's band and relocated to Los Angeles.
From late 1996 to early 2000, Mangini was the highly regarded drummer of Vai's live ensemble, which also included bassist Phillip Bynoe, guitar wizard Mike Keneally and (in 2000) guitarist Dave Weiner. Mike also recorded several drum tracks for Steve's Fire Garden and Ultrazone albums.
Following the initial suspension of the South American leg of the Ultrazone Tour in 2000, Mangini moved back home to Boston and began teaching at Berklee College as an associate professor. He began working with former Extreme frontman Gary Cherone and bassist Pat Badger in the short-lived band, Tribe of Judah. He also continued to work with Dale Bozzio (formerly of the new wave band, Missing Persons), and recorded several more records. Among these records was a Rush tribute record (entitled "Subdivisions") and a second full-length album with Annihilator titled "All for You." He also recorded tracks for artists Sal DiFusco, [Bill Lonero] and Chris Emerson.
In 2005, he accepted a full-time teaching position at the Berklee College of Music and today he is a prominent faculty member in the school's percussion department.
One of Mike's current projects is Chix n Stix.
[edit] Trivia
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- Mangini is notorious for slaughtering three out of four World's Fastest Drummers. These include the Fastest Matched grip at 1,247 strokes in 60 seconds, Fastest Hands, which he earned by executing 1,203 single-stroke notes in 60 seconds without drumsticks mallets etc., Fastest Traditional Grip which he earned by executing 1,126 strokes in 60 seconds, and Fastest Single Stroke Foot record playing 13,222 hits in 15 minutes and 5,222 hits in five minutes.
- Mangini has written two books about his drumming techniques. These books, titled Rhythm Knowledge, are a practice method for deconstructing and simplifying complex polyrhythms and time signatures.
- Mike plays and endorses Pearl drums, Zildjian cymbals and Remo drumheads.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Official Rhythm Knowledge website
- Chix n' Stix Myspace
- Youtube video - Mangini playing the Steve Vai's Fire Garden Suite in a clinic in 2002
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