Eric Wiegmann- Drumset and Percussion

 Dear reader,

 I've been practicing, playing, studying and collecting drums now for 30 years. Remarkably, I enjoy drumming as much today as when I first began; I look forward to every opportunity to make music, study drum history or practice my chops.  I studied drumming intensively during my early years, thanks to strong encouragement from my mother and father and the endurance of my brothers , sister and the neighborhood to bear hours of drumming everyday of the year!  I  was a private student of Paul Genoveze, and master drummer, and author, John Crocken. I began performing professionally when I was just 14 years old, and had played several hundred shows, recorded two albums and did a tour of the United States before I had even graduated high school!

Notable bands I played, recorded and toured with at this time were The Grey March (Unconcious Records) and The Allmighty Senators (Merkin Records). Also during this same period I worked for a short time with Washington D.C based band Beefeater (Dischord Records) as well as Reptile House (Merkin Records) and The Lung Fish (Dischord Records). During this amazing musical time, in the mid 1980's, I was fortunate to be the opening act  for,and share the stage at times, with such amazing acts as The Bad Brains, The Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Suicidal Tendencies, Sam Hain, The Circle Jerks, Corrosion of Conformity, and Sonic Youth.

During my college years in Baltimore and Seattle, I continued to practice daily, gave lessons, and collaborated with numerous independent musicians especially in the worldbeat and ambient/trance genres recording drum tracks and programing rhythms for various independent recording artists. In Baltimore, I earned a Bachelor's degree in Biology from Towson University and in Seattle, a Masters degree in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from NIAOM. During that time I entered and won two drum solo competitions in Baltimore, Maryland (1989) and Seattle, Washington (1991). During this period I became intensely interested in Worldbeat music such as West African and Afro/Cuban and Brazillian styles.  In Seattle, I studied African hand-drumming and African group drumming. 

In 1996 I traveled to Europe and India and took vows as Tibetan Buddhist monk. From 1996-2002 I continuously kept the vows and training of a Tibetan Buddhist monk and studied throughout the United States and again in India and Nepal.  During my years as a Buddhist monk I studied  Tibetan monastic percussion- daruma, bell, peaceful and wrathful cymbal styles, Chod drum and the large drum. In 2002 I returned my vows, returned to life as a lay person and a life as a working drummer.  I had come to realize my love of drumming was a part of me so deep, that I needed to return to it.

 In 2002 I decided to re-locate to Osaka, Japan and have been a very active drummer on the Kansai scene since that time.

Since 2002, in Japan, I regularly play about 140 performances per year in many styles, with many different local and visiting artists including swing, be-bop, free jazz, R&B blues, New Orleans-old time, funk, salsa, bossa-nova, rock, reggae and hip-hop.

I was the percussionist for jazz great Tom Grant  (Verve Records) on his Japanese 2007 tour, as well as for Jazz/Classical pianist composer Asahina Takako and New York area vocalist Sue Giles on her Japanese tour in 2008.

Trained in world music, I am adept at the playing both timbales (Afro-Cuban salsa), conga, and bongo.

Today, playing jazz is my true passion and the single greatest motivation to play the drums.  Playing jazz is a high art form requiring great committment and practice.  My jazz performances are a central part of my musical life.

 Through hard work I have developed a  reputation as a creative drummer. I attempt to play my instrument with sincere emotion and total involvement within the music, regardless of the style.  

 I'm available to the public for hire as a drummer and/or percussionist in any style of music. For contact and booking information please contact my management: hqworldbeat@hotmail.com