Brian Cocivera was born on June 21, 1975. An adopted child, Brian was welcomed into the home of Robert and Cynthia Cocivera at the age of 3 weeks. They lived in the suburban town of Stoughton, MA about 20 miles south of Boston.



Brian expressed interest in music at a very young age, and recieved a guitar for Christmas at the age of four. Brian immediately began to try and make music, and would perform for whoever would listen. Brian's grandmother, Cecelia Hood, was his biggest fan, as she would attend every "concert" in the Cocivera living room.



Brian continued with the guitar for a few years, but his true love was always the drums. He would set up all of his mothers' pots and pans and bang away for hours. A short time later, Brian recieved a toy drum set and a drummer was born.



During elementary school, Brian opted to take up the trumpet, as he already knew how to play drums. Brian was very accomplised at the trumpet, and in 5th grade was asked to join the Jr. High Jazz band, a group reserved for the best of the 7th and 8th graders. Brian performed in many competions and won many awards for outstanding musician as a trumpet player, however, his heart wasn't in it, and the drums kept calling him back.



"I remember when I was like in 5th or 6th grade, I wanted a real dumset so bad I could taste it," recalls Brian. "My parents had a big yard sale one weekend, and my Dad said that we made enough money to get me a drumset, used out of the newspaper."

"We went to get it, it was like an old 1950's Gretsch kit in red sparkle, and it was only a 3 piece. It was $165.00, I remember that like it was yesterday."



Brian played that drumset everyday for the next couple of years, and was playing the drums for the school choruses, and show choirs. He had still never taken even one lesson. " I didn't take lessons until I got into High School." recalls Brian. I decided one day that I wanted to get better, and so I decided to take private lessons at a little music store in Stoughton." "It was fun, and I stayed there for about a year, when I decided that I had learned all that the teacher could show me." Brian moved on to another music store, this one located in Quincy, MA. "There was one drummer that I went to school with, and he took lessons with Dave DiCenso at DiCenso's drum shop." "He was better than me, so I figured that I needed to take lessons with Dave as well."



And take lessons he did, Dave showed Brian that he had learned incorrectly and had developed bad habits. Brian was forced to re-learn in order to take his playing to the next level. Brian took lessons with Dave for a couple of years, and was able to adapt his playing in to a wide variety of musical settings. (Dave went on to be an assistant professor at Berkelee College of Music, where he still is today).



Brian graduated from Stoughton High School in June of 1993. He continued to stay active in the music business doing session work, and continuing with auditions around the Boston area, all the while juggling his day job as a law enforcement officer.(yes you read that right) "I felt that if I really wanted to make it as a musician, I needed to move out of Boston." It would take Brian close to 10 years to make that move.



Now, at the age of 28, Brian is an extremely accomplished professional drummer. Brian has toured and recorded with a number of artists, he has shared the stage with Cyndi Lauper, Ozzy Osbourne, L.A. Guns, Bryan Adams, Warrant, Dokken, Bad Karma, Billy Idol, and many more.



He relocated to Phoenix, AZ in the spring of 2001 and has become a major force in the Phoenix and Los Angeles club and studio scene. He is a favorite of many bands and artists for touring. Brian also teaches drum lessons privately, and passes on his knowledge to the next generation. Recently, Brian opened "Chop Shop Custom Drums" a custom drum building company, and state of the art lesson facility in the Phoenix area.



"I am still having fun, I can't imagine a day when I wake up and I don't play drums. It is all I ever wanted to do, and I am fortunate that I am able to it."



In September 2005 Brian Cocivera was recruited by Arizona based Storm Within.