Young Michael started playing at age ten, “My eldest brother was playing

drums, and I was inspired, he was right into Santana.” The Latin music

influence explains Michael’s ever-present use of percussive instruments.

Listening to his brother play Santana’s music made, “Percussion something

I was interested in hearing,” says Michael, “those kind of rhythms and

sounds, I thought that was really cool.” His older brother, Doug, died young,

but his influence on Michael, and his playing, has remained.

Rotorua To Roto Toms

Michael credits another early influence in his development behind the kit. “When I was about twelve, there was a guy around school who did a workshop, Gary Brain, he was the timpanist for the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. It was really inspiring, and I always remembered him having so much fun.

“He was up there and he did this Roto Tom solo and this timpani solo, and he played this unbelievable snare drum piece. He played some xylophone and he played a drum kit, and some crazy African percussion.

“I was always thinking ‘Gee, that looks like a lot of fun.’” Inspired from this experience

Michael describes taking away a love of “drum noises” citing influences like Neil Peart, as well as John Bonham’s phased timpani solo on the The SongRemains The Same.

A career in music became his destiny, and with this in mind, Michael left Rotorua, the town where he grew up, for Auckland, which he calls, “The biggest smoke, and where you went when you grew up–if you wanted to move out of town.”

But this first move wasn’t where he got his start in the music industry. For that, he had to move again, this time to Melbourne, Australia. “I didn’t move to Melbourne to study, I moved to Melbourne to be in closer

proximity to a greater musical community.” Playing kit in bands, Michael had been playing professionally for a couple of years when the opportunity to study orchestral playing presented itself. He heard a local teacher playing tuned percussion, and describes this experience as turning a light on in his head, reminding him of his earlier experience in New Zealand.

“The orchestral stuff was kind of interesting for me,” Michael says. “I like some of the music, but it wasn’t something I totally aspired to. I thought these are skills I can learn and apply to music, it gave me a grander understanding and appreciation of music as