Bio - Chad Baker

I've been The Elect's drummer from the start. It's been a great ride full of a lot of very cool experiences both onstage and off. Some nights it feels like the stage is just a launching pad to somewhere mentally and spiritually better... someplace I can't get to without stepping on the stage and using it as a doorway... transcendence, right? Man, it's got its moments. I've had the privilege of meeting tons of great people along the way too. To everyone who has supported me and everyone who has inspired me to continue to learn and grow as a player, I want to give you my most sincere thanks. I'm looking forward to the best times to come. I can see things growing and improving every day... that's the best!!

Gear

I've played several different kits by several different drum makers over the years. I've got a few different kits for home practice, band rehearsals, etc. For my road kit I currently play DW. My setup consists of a 22” maple kick, 10”, 12” and 14” maple toms, and a 14” natural maple snare. All except the snare are finished in DW's broken glass finish ply. I play REMO emperor coated batter heads and hazy resonants. I can honestly say that I have never played a kit night after night that I enjoy as much as the DW kit that I currently use. I'll likely never go back to anything else. Thanks to everyone at DW for producing such a killer product. It helps me to be a better player when I can sit down behind such a great instrument. My cymbals are a combination of Zildjian A's for the classic bright sound and Zildjian K customs for the darker, dryer sounds.

Thoughts on Drumming

I guess I'd be the first to admit that I'm not the most technically oriented guy in the world. I've had very little formal training. I've taught myself a lot along the way through practice, experimentation, and ripping off my idols. My drumming influences are all over the map... everything from Buddy Rich to Bonham to Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann to Stanton Moore... that guy completely changed my life as a drummer. What I think is extremely important as a drummer is to be able to hold down the pocket and make the groove so solid that the other players' jobs are made easier because I'm onstage or in the studio with them. That's the ultimate goal, really. Once you can provide that kind of solid foundation then the groove becomes automatic and there is plenty of room to throw in the fills and frills that make it interesting for the listener. I love to experiment on stage with the peripheral stuff and play around the beat once the pocket has been established. I like to be just behind it, or just in front of it, or just around the corner from it…somewhere just a little more interesting... but you always have to know where the one is. Nothing is more fun for me than to spin out there with Pete and throw some off time stuff on top of his guitar runs... er... solos... er... tangents. It kind of feels like a rubber band getting wound tighter and tighter until its just about to break, but once it snaps, it always feels like home to fall back and land solid on the one with Sam and kick that groove into gear again. So there it is... my two cents worth... now maybe you should go check out the bio pages of the people who have the ability to play chords.