About Matt’s Drumming
I always loved music. I remember feeling proud as a little kid, maybe four years old, in Sunday school when a visiting teacher with an acoustic guitar taught us what “the beat” was, and I understood instantly. I think my New Orleans heritage helped me to learn to feel grooves properly. Some of you will get that… I didn’t get my first drumset until I was maybe 16. I was inspired initially by Rush, but made a point to expose myself to as much music as possible, and learn as much from all the greats as possible. From Porcaro to Portnoy, I tried to develop a wide drumming vocabulary, and try to be versatile!
Equipment list:
DW Collector Series drums:
- 8″ 10″ 12″ 14″ 16″ toms, 22″ kick, 14″ snare
- Toms internally mic’d with Audix Micro MP mics, snare internally mic’d with Shure SM57, kick mic’d with Audix D9
Yamaha Stage Custom drums:
- 8″ 10″ 12″ 14″ toms, 22″ kick, 14″ snare
Cymbals:
- 22″ Sabian Paragon Ride
- 20″ Zildjian Earth Ride
- Crashes 16″ Paragon, 16″ Paiste Signature, 17″ Paragon
- 13″ Paste Signature Hi Hat
- 8″ Paragon Splash
- 16″ Paragon China
- 12″ Paiste Signature Bell
- 12″ Paiste Signature Splash
More:
- Roland SPD-SX Pro Sampler
- 13″ Sonor Piccolo Snare Drum
- Anything else that might sound cool if I hit it with a stick
A list to the best of my ability and memory of projects in which I played drums:
- The Weebs (First ever band in high school, circa 1987) We played a mix of 1st Wave and medleys in I, IV, V. “I Wanna Be Sedated,” “Sufferagette City,” and more cool tunes typified this first stint.
- Misfit Toys – I was living at home with my parents in my late teens, and won the job by having the guys over and auditioning at home for them. I played with the group for about three years in one form or another. We started as a four-piece, but when our second guitarist departed, we rebranded as Deadeye Dick, and continued as a three-piece. The band was all-original rock. Caleb Guillotte was the songwriter and front man. Mark Miller played bass, and the music was/is just solid, well-crafted rock. About 9 months after I left the band on good terms, they charted and toured all over on the strength of their one hit, “New Age Girl.” Damn! If I can find a cassette deck, I’ll load the demo from back when!
- Mr. Spanky – Trying to make some money playing covers from Kiss to Queensryche, Joel Escamilla was the singer. Matt Richard played bass, and guitar was handled by … I forget the name… but it will come back.
- Ritual Groove – I joined Ritual Groove some time after leaving Deadeye Dick. Ritual Groove’s music was/is rock with some funkier influences and bears all the markings of an excellent 90’s band that should have been big. Jack Meile was/is the guitarist. Phil Wang plays bass, and Mike Schexnayder delivers vocals. Each contributed to the songwriting. I contributed one acoustic song to the collection. I was not yet confident enough to think of myself as a songwriter.
When You’re Gone
Song written by Phil Wang, performed by Ritual Groove. Phil Wang – Bass; Jack Meile – Guitar; Mike Schexnayder – Vocals; Matt Beeson – Drums. Produced by Ritual Groove.
- Kim Carson and the Casualties – The affable and professional Kim Carson pays homage to classic country, leaning heavily toward honky tonk, and away from WalMart country. I just played the drums!
- Smokefield Crush – In 2000, I married and moved to Boston with my new wife. We spent about one academic year while she pursued studies at Boston University. I joined Smokefield Crush, another all-original band. Paul Nowell was the singer/songwriter, and the name of the bass player escapes me now. The music was more beautifully-crafted rock with an eye to finely crafted songwriting.
I Want to Make You
Song written by Paul Nowell, performed by Smokefield Crush. Produced and engineered by Matt Beeson. Paul Nowell – Vocals and Guitar; Matt Beeson – Drums; Bass by a guy whose name escapes me. (It’s been over 20 years…)
- Vice – In 2002, I returned to LSU to complete my undergraduate education, with a plan to attend law school. While there for the next two years, I started Vice as a way for me to finally write, but also maybe to be able to play and control the calendar and commitment. Law school would undoubtedly be an investment that would preclude full-time music.
I wrote and recorded all the parts, excepting vocals, which were provided by Chris Tarride. The music is unapologetically metal, and I took the opportunity afforded by such heavy music to explore very dark lyrical themes. The few times we played live, Chris sang, Jorge Caicedo played bass, and the glorious Laurie Shefsky played guitar. - Grunge Factory – I played guitar in this as well as Dirt. Here’s a little demo. Jack Miele and I performed guitar. Woody Dantagnan played drums, Jesus played bass, and Chris Tarride provided vocals. Nirvana owns the song Smells Like Teen Spirit, we just made a demo version of it for gig promotions.
- I moved to Baton Rouge in 2012. I am sorry to say that the scene in Baton Rouge does not seem to be a good fit for me. But I did a couple of very short stints around with some of the more prominent local musicians. It was nothing that would stick really, but it was fun for a minute. Hard Luck Brothers, featuring Adam Pearce and Toby Templet on vocals and guitar, and Rob Norton on bass. We mixed up all kinds of covers from Journey to Soundgarden.
- A broken musician heart kept me out for a very long time, but after Neil Peart passed in 2020, I became obsessed with the idea of a Rush tribute. It took some doing, and it was at least a year of personnel and logistical issues, but we did finally form that tribute.
Joey Pitcher sang for our first show, only able to commit to that one. We did not know if we would continue or not. Show prep in any other band has certain challenges. Prepping to play Rush all night is a serious undertaking, and once all that work was done, it was hard to simply walk away. Joey works in a ton of top-notch bands, and he delivered for us that first gig.
Chris Novak plays guitar, Bobby Rodwig plays bass and keys, and Ronnie Latapie has now settled into his permanent role as singer. We play a couple of times a year now, but look forward to accelerating someday.
Here’s “Celebrate Rush!” performing “Tom Sawyer” by Rush in my home studio. Rush, of course, is the song owner. We were just parrots in studio, but I want you to hear it anyway! Enjoy! -Matt
Matt Beeson 
Thoughts?