Michael Kerrigan
Mick's Personal Blog
I was born and brought up in Glasgow in Nov 1973 . At the tender age of 12 I became interested in drumming. I was brought up listening to jazz, classical and progressive rock bands like Focus and Emerson Lake and Palmer. After hearing Carl Palmer on "pictures at an exhibition" I was hooked and to this day he remains my all time hero.
My Father was my main influence and I still admire his ear for music to this day.
At 16 I began rebelling and listened to Thrash and speed metal (the darker the better) and subsequently played with a couple of bands in Glasgow playing covers from Maiden, Metallica, Slayer and Testament. After a while I got a bit fed up and discovered Rush. That cured the boredom that was setting in listening to the metal stuff. Rush became one of my favourite bands and Neil Peart was added to my list of hero's.
At 18 I became career orientated and joined the Royal Air Force. As a result gave up playing the drums. After about 7 years whilst on a major exercise in Cornwall I met a couple of fellow servicemen who were also musicians and into rock music. When we got back to base at Leeming we formed a rock band doing covers and playing gigs on the base for functions. I decided that I was back on track and 100% committed to playing again.
I left the RAF after 9 years service in Oct 2001. And settled in Darlington. Recently I have played with local bands namely; Full Circle, The Rejexx and Witchkraft and felt that it was never challenging enough and I had more to give.
When friend and fellow drummer Geordie from Black Rose informed me that The Force were looking for a new drummer I knew there and then what my purpose in life was.
I had to learn 5 numbers for the audition and that was not an easy task as it included 2 Rush tracks and 1 of The Force's own numbers.
After the audition I felt good about how I played.
When the guys offered me the job amongst the dozen or so others that were interested in the position I felt honoured.
I am continuing to discover new challenges from the likes of Dream Theatre, Jazz and earlier prog rock bands. And enjoy adding this spicy variety to the music in The Force.
I am fully committed to The Force and intend to enjoy the many years that lie ahead.
Gear
I currently play
- Drums: Dw Pacific Kit; 22'' bass drum, 8'' 10'' 12'' 14'' 16'' 14''
Mapex pro snare.(steel shell) - Cymbals: 14'' Sabian Rock hats,
16'' Sabian AAX Metal crash,
18'' Paiste 2002 Crash X 2,
18'' Zildjian china boy low,
8'' Zildjian splash, 20''
Istanbul hand hammered rock ride. - Hardware:
Pearl, Pearl double pedal, Pearl Icon rack
- Percussion: Toca &
Meinl
- Drum sticks: Shaw sticks or Pro mark 5b wood tips
My top 6 favourite drummers:
- Louis Bellson
- Buddy Rich
- Carl Palmer
- Neil Peart
- Liberty De Vitto
- Mike Portnoy