Dirk Brand, Biographie

Dirk Brand was born in Germany and began playing drums at the age of 7. Since then, his powerful and explosive drumming style has won him many accolades throughout Europe and around the world.

Follwing the completion of his formal education in Germany that included drum and percussion studies in various styles, he got a scholarship from Joe Porcaro (studio legend and father of the world renowned “Toto” drummer Jeff Porcaro) and Ralph Humphrey (former drummer of Frank Zappas “Mothers of Invention”) to study at the world renowned “Percussion Institute of Technology (PIT)” in Hollywood/Los Angeles USA.

During his 2,5 year stay in Los Angeles he was taught and trainend by famous teachers like  Ralph Humphrey, Joe Porcaro, Toss Panos (Michael Landau), Casey Scheuerell (Berklee Prof.), Joey Heredia (latin great), Steve Houghton (session great) and many more! While studying at PIT he got introduced to the famous Jazz sax player Doug Webb and got hired to play in various jazz clubs around the Los Angeles area. Under the wing of Joe Porcaro he got into the musical scene in LA and played different musicals and theather shows in LA downtown.

Back in Germany he got a great reputation as a drumteacher very soon. This teaching experience resulted in his first drum book “1.000 Faces of Drum Styles” and two separate Play Along CDs “Jamtracks for Drummers” through the AMA Publishing Company.

As a sideman he is a demand session musician for a lot of national and international artists in all music genres like: Sax Legend Charlie Mariano, Deborah Watson, Touring with the Gregor Hilden Band (outstanding European Blues guitar player), Stevie Woods, Rock Legends Geoff Downes and John Wetton (ASIA), Gloria Gaynor (soul legend), Isabell Farell, Catherina Valente, Gitte Hennig, Angelika Milster (Cats), Al Copley (former piano player of the Blues Brothers), Touring with the Prog Rock Group Leez (supporting Queensryche or Dokken), Touring with Jeff Richmann (guitar player along Weckl, Novak, Colaiuta, Shapiro) Touring with Johnny Rogers (international famous Blues Singer), Phillipe Caillat (French guitar player), Touring for the Goethe Instiute (Israel, France, Russia), Touring with Big Jay McNeely (honking sax legend from BB King), Ron Williams (TV Star) or playing different musicals like Evita, Star Light Express, Hair, and many more.

Since 1998 he has been a continous writer for the German drum magazine “Drums&Percussion” and writes different workshops in music styles and electronic drum lessons.

In 2000 he was the first drummer in the world who published a book about the new Techno/Dance area “Future Drumming, Drum`n`Bass, House, Jungle” for the AMA publishing company where he shows the transformation on how to create electronic drum beats on an acoustic drumset.

In Mai 2003 he introduced the DVD “A Band Concept” through the Company “Acoustic Music Records”. This DVD is about how to play in a Band, demonstrated by guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, vocals, harmony and rhythm theory.

In 2004 his highly acclaimend book “Chartreading for Drummers” got released. His latest  book “Pocket Rhythms for Drums” which is recommended by Thomas Lang, Wolfgang Haffner and Steve Smith is published in German and English.

In 2008 “1000 Faces of Drum Styles” was translated into Chinese and “Pocket Rhythms for Drums” followed in 2009. In the Chinese Drum press they got best reviews!

He is a Tutor of the Westfälische Wilhelms Universität Münster and of the Modern Drum School. At the RPJAM Music Academy in Giessen he is the head of the drum department and responsible for the Drum curriculum.

From 1999 he has played on different national and international drum festivals like: “Zildjian Rhythm Night” (along Sonny Emory, Andy Gangadeen), “Drums&Sounds 2000-2004” (along Colaiuta, Weckl, Bisquera), “Superdrumming Festival Nonnweiler” (along Mike Shapiro, Marc Schulmann), “Brandenburg Trommelt” (along Michael Küttner, Hakim Ludin), or recently “Drums`n`Percussion Paderborn” (along Steve Smith, Marco Minnemann, Rene Cremers), “Tribute to Jeff Porcaro Germany” (along Bissonette, Gadd, Zoro), “Drums`n`Percussion Paderborn 2003-2006” (along Chester Thompson, Adam Nussbaum), “Le Bag Show Paris” (along Christophe des Champs or Andre Ceccarelli) or in 2004 and 2008 “Festival TamTam Montlucon” (along French session great Löic Pointhieux), Rhythm in Marktoberdorf (along Hakim Ludin, Johnny Rabb, Russ Miller), in 2007 Norway (along Virgil Donati), in 2007 Switzerland (Along Simon Phillips) and many many more!

Highlights in 2008 were the Wacken Festival (Germany), which is the biggest Metalfestival in the world, were he played in front of 80.000 people with Metalgroup Axxis and the Belgium Lokeren Festival with Belgish dance superstar Milk Inc.!
With Axxis he toured heavily throughout Euorpe supporting Testament, Helloween, Gamma Ray or Doro.

Since the 80’s he fell in love with electronic drums and he uses them heavily in live and studio situations. So no doubt from 2000 he has been a product specialist for world renowned Roland V Drums and Groove Gear. He is doing clincs for Roland worldwide like Japan, China, Norway, Belgium, France, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea or Russia.

On the acoustic side he works together with Mapex drums, Sabian Cymbals, Vic Firth Drum sticks, Sennheiser Microphones, Protection Racket Bags and Fisher Amps In Ear Monitoring.

At the end of 2008 he relaesed the Tutorial DVD “V-Drums in Detail >TD-9” and in summer 2009 he will release the Tutorial DVD “V-Drums in Detail>TD-4” by Menze Media.

2009 is packed with a heavy teaching and playing schedule and doing some German TV-Shows for the “ZDF Fernsehgarten” and releasing his 5th drumbook at the end of the year!