Ted Kirkpatrick

Ted Kirkpatrick
Background information
Born	May 22, 1960
Origin	Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Genres	Heavy metal, hard rock, Christian metal, classical
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, bandleader
Instruments	Drums, guitar, percussion
Years active	1989–present
Associated acts	Tourniquet, Trouble
Website	www.tourniquet.net

Ted Kirkpatrick (born 1960) is an American heavy metal drummer best known for his work with the American Christian metal band Tourniquet.

Biography

A founding member of the band Tourniquet - drummer, songwriter and lyricist Ted Kirkpatrick’s aggressive, musical, and often unorthodox approach to drumming has been recognized by thousands - critics and fans alike. A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Ted began playing drums at age 12. By age 14, Ted was playing drums along with the records of many of his early influences, bands like Rush, King Crimson, and ELP. He holds a business degree from the University of Texas, Austin, where he graduated with honors, and often finds himself using the skills learned in college in the many facets of successfully operating the band.

Entirely self-taught, Ted began to develop his own unique drumming style through a variety of influences. He is a great admirer of the classical masters and has attended countless classical concerts, and his drumming and songwriting are influenced by the power of Beethoven and Mahler symphonies, the staccato bursts of Scarlatti's harpsichord sonatas, and the counterpoint of Bach's fugues, to name a few. His latest solo release (2010) IN THE SHADOW OF THE MASTERS features Ted drumming to classics by Mozart, Beethoven, Rossini, Chopin, Paganini and others. "To me, the fantastic music of the classical masters is in a totally different realm - there simply is no other music to compare it to. I believe it was a time in history that will never be repeated - kind of like when dinosaurs roamed the earth. In drumming to these timeless works as with any music, I always strive to treat the drums as a musical instrument - not just a noisy time keeper."

Ted is well known for his ability to create and execute poly-rhythms within the framework of songs, for his advanced double bass technique, and most of all for bringing a musicality to his drumming which is always apparent in Tourniquet songs. His approach to the drums as a musical instrument makes even more sense in light of his role as Tourniquet's primary songwriter. He has written both music and lyrics for fifteen of Tourniquet's No.1 singles, in addition to many other songs that showcase the technical, melodic, and eccentric side of the band evident on all 11 Tourniquet albums and his 2 self recorded and produced solo albums.

The readers of HM Magazine voted Ted "Favorite Drummer" 10 years in a row. He has been featured twice in Modern Drummer Magazine, and countless drummers list him as one of their drumming influences. Ted officially endorses DW drums, Paiste cymbals, Vic Firth sticks, and Evans drumheads.

Animal Welfare

Ted heavily supports animal welfare^[1][2] and has show his support in the band's songs like "Ark of Suffering", "Stereotaxic Atrocities", "Going, Going, Gone", and in the cover art to their album Antiseptic Bloodbath. In 2010, he released a solo album, "Ode to a Roadkill", featuring animal sounds as lead "vocals". His love for butterflies and other insects have influenced his and Tourniquet's album covers, and he says that the fantastic, repetitive sounds of the jungle have influenced his drumming as well.^[3]

Influences

As principle lyricist for the band, Ted’s talent for allegory and symbolism, and using unusual and sometimes bizarre examples to convey God’s Word can be found throughout the Tourniquet catalog.

A fan of ethnic and world music, Ted has played or included other, less traditional (in terms of metal music) instruments on Tourniquet albums, including the Greek bouzouki, flute, banjo, and dulcimer. For the acoustic sets that Tourniquet occasionally performs, he plays 6 or 12 string guitar.

Equipment

Ted endorses and plays: DW drums and hardware Paiste cymbals Vic Firth sticks Evans drumheads Impact cases

Awards and achievements

• Ted was voted "Favorite Drummer" for 10 years in a row, and again in 2003 by the readers of HM Magazine.^[4]
• Ted has been featured twice in Modern Drummer Magazine.^{[3] [5]}

Bands

• Tourniquet
• Trouble

Discography

Albums

with Tourniquet

• Stop the Bleeding (1990)
• Psycho Surgery (1991) (2001 rerelease titled Psychosurgery)
• Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance (1992)
• Intense Live Series, Vol. 2 (1993) (also known as Recorded Live, Vol. 2)
• Vanishing Lessons (1994)
• Carry the Wounded (1995)
• The Collected Works of Tourniquet (1996)
• Crawl to China (1997)
• Acoustic Archives (1998)
• Microscopic View of a Telescopic Realm (2000)
• Where Moth and Rust Destroy (2003)
• Antiseptic Bloodbath (2012)

solo

• Ode to a Roadkill (2010)
• In the Shadow of the Masters (2010)
• Ancient Christmas (2011)

Videos

• Ark of Suffering (1991) - Music Video
• Video Biopsy (1992) - VHS (re-released in 2000)
• Pushin' Broom Video (1995) - VHS
• The Unreleased Drum Solos of Ted Kirkpatrick (1997) - VHS
• Guitar Instructional Video (1998) - VHS
• Tourniquet Live in California (1998) - VHS
• Circadian Rhythms – The Drumming World of Ted Kirkpatrick (2003) - DVD
• Ocular Digital (2003) - DVD
• Till Sverige Med Kärlek (2006) - DVD

References

• Bio at Tourniquet.net