Virgil Donati
Virgil Donati (* 22. October 1957 in Melbourne , Australia ) is an Australian drummer and member of the progressive fusion band Planet X . He is also active in many side projects.
Donati became known for his outstanding technique when playing the bass drum. He plays rudiments on the bass drum such as single or double strokes, ghost notes, flams and all at very high speeds. To do this, he often solos with his hands. He is also very skilled in odd rhythms (7/4, 21/16 etc.)
The bands and artists Virgil Donati has played with include Planet X, Soul Sirkus, Freakhouse, Steve Vai , Southern Sons, Randy Bernsen and Steve Walsh , among others .
Life
He received his first drum kit at the age of three. He immediately started playing with his father's show band and did so until he was six years old. When he was seven, he started taking drum lessons. First with Brian Czempinski , then later with Graham Morgan , an Australian drum legend.
At 15, he joined his first rock band . It was the group "Cloud Nine" , which would later be called "Taste" . At 16 Donati left school and concentrated mainly on playing the drum, but also learned piano . He practiced very hard every day. He spent most of his time in the United States, where he played in six bands.
He listened to his father's records and quickly became a fan of jazz drummers Louie Bellson and Buddy Rich , whose songs he tried to play.
Should influence the first rock drummer who Donati was Ian Paice of Deep Purple . He learned to play so many different styles that he could cope with any musical task that was given to him.
At 19 he traveled back to the United States and studied at some schools. He also learned from Murry Spivak . Two years later he returned to Australia. There he played with Alan Zavod , Brian Brown, Peter Cupples . He had become a much sought-after and busy drummer.
His own band "The State" was renamed "Southern Sons" and helped Donati gain international fame with the hit single "Heart In Danger" . The big breakthrough came in 1995 with Virgil's solo album "Stretch" . In the following years, its recognition increased worldwide.
In 2004 Donati was voted No. 1 clinician by the journal Modern Drummer . His own band, Planet X (together with keyboardist Derek Sherinian), is currently leading in the field of instrumental "progressive rock". They released three studio albums, "Universe" (2000), "Moonbabies" (2002) and "Quantum" (2007), as well as a live album called "Live From Oz" (2001).
As one of seven drummers, he was invited to audition by the band Dream Theater in October 2010 to find a successor for Mike Portnoy , who left the band in September 2010. The film about the rehearsals and auditions is included on the bonus DVD of A Dramatic Turn of Events , released in 2011 .
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Web links
- Virgil Donati's website (English)
- Virgil Donati on "myspace.com" (English)
- Virgil Donati on "drummerworld.com" (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Donati, Virgil |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Australian drummer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 22, 1957 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Melbourne , Australia |