Acclaimed drummer Patrick Johansson recently spoke with www.davesontour.com. In the interview Johansson talked about his first meeting with Yngwie Malmsteen, landing the drumming job, and how the experience has changed him as a musician, among other topics.\"My first tour with Yngwie was in South America, and I had rental drums every night. Now I have the first kit I ever played in Sweden with me here in America. I\'m much more comfortable playing my own equipment. I\'ve customized my pedals and hardware. I change stuff around, constantly re-doing things. I wrap the drums in the cover I want. I mix and match from different companies. When I play in America I can use my kit every night, but that\'s impossible in Japan or Europe. Playing-wise, I\'ve been with Yngwie a while. I don\'t have to think, I just know what he\'s going to do and how he\'s going to end the song. That allows me to just play. My playing ability since I\'ve been with Yngwie hasn\'t really changed. My big learning curve was when I was 17 or 18, that\'s when all of the pieces started coming together. I have my own studio and I record myself a lot. I\'m becoming more consistent. I\'ve definitely learned how to record drums: microphone placement, choice of drums, drumheads and stuff like that.\"
Recalling his younger days in Sweden, Patrick Johansson stated:
\"When I was young, I played my drums along with all my records in my mom\'s basement. I didn\'t have anything else to do in that small town. I never drank, never did drugs, never partied. All I did was skateboard, a little swimming. And I played my drums a lot.\"
With WASP, Patrick\'s drums were set up high above the stage on a huge riser. With Malmsteen, his drums are on floor level. Asked about the pros and cons of drumming from those vantage points, the drummer explains:
Whatever the artists want, I’ll do. It’s easier to pick up cues and have the overall view of what’s happening when you’re set up high. Yngwie likes the backdrop of all the Marshall amps, which means the drum kit is on the floor. I have no preference. Playing-wise, I’ll adjust. The bandleader has his vision of how the stage should sound and look, and it’s my job to give them what they want.\"
The Swedish drummer has relocated to the United States, and is currently moving his studio in South Florida to a bigger space. He also started his own band called Kinlin, and is trying to find a record deal.
Read the entire interview here.
