Erik Stams is the Head of Drums at Tech Music School (London) and contributes monthly articles to Rhythm Magazine. After graduating from New York’s Fiorello Laguardia High School of Music and Art and the Performing Arts (FAME) he studied at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, privately with the legendary Henry Adler (author of Buddy Rich’s Snare Drum Rudiments and Louie Bellson’s Modern Reading Text in 4/4) and briefly with Jerry Gonzalez (the Fort Apache Band).



Erik Stams honed his craft performing, recording and touring in and around NYC. He can be heard on various albums, film soundtracks (Francis Ford Coppola’s New York Stories, Dust on the Wings – Australia, The Inbetweeners) and television commercials.



Erik Stams settled in London after a tour of Japan with Walter Schreifels of Quicksand and Rival Schools (Island Records) in 1996. Since then he has performed with American saxophonist Butch Thomas (Lenny Kravitz, Sting, Jaco Pastorius), disco-diva Viola Wills, Ensemble Bash, the Glyndebourne Touring Opera, Stu Hamm (Steve Vai, Joe Satriani), Julian Crampton, Drill Queen, Jamie Lawson , John Wheatcroft, Monkjack and War Machines of Love (with former New Model Army guitarist Adrian Portas). Erik Stams is currently recording and performing with Eyes on Film.