Welcome to the site and some NEW GEAR!

Before we go on, my playing links are in the post before this one, so be sure to skip down to see that post if you're looking for my basic information and some videos of my playing.

That said, I had to make a new post because of some new gear that I got into that I said in my last post that I would never get into!

I had always been a fan of large drumsets, and I'm totally impressed when I see folks play their huge drumkits and make great music with 'em, like Billy Cobham, Simon Phillips, or Thomas Lang.  But I had never gotten into it myself because for me the groove is king, and I always thought I sounded silly if I had anything more than five drums and a couple of cymbals.  Kinda' like a kid a candy store, I'd ultimately be hitting as much of it as I could and being very distracted from the music being made.   So, out of pure professionalism, I avoided large drumsets for myself just for that reason.

But eBay entered the equation and I found this insanely great deal on a Drum Workshop lefty-double pedal set-up.  The seller bought it from a friend, not knowing it was a left-footed model, and couldn't really use it once he had it.  I bought it for a mere $150 off of him.  I get it, and find I was kinda' liking having something else for my hi-hat foot to do, and since it was just an addition to my five-piece set, no one knew I really had it, and I could ignore the pedal's usage if I wanted to. 

And then I got to thinking how much sheer fun it would be to have a whole mess of drums, not with the intention of ever doing a gig with them, but just to have.  I recall before Tony Williams passed away, he actually had a big double bass kit to play on in his house.  I tell myself that I'm old enough now to not sound like a kid and I will still be professional in my application of the huge drumset. 

Lo and behold, I now have a huge, nine-piece double bass kit!  It's a Pearl EXR Export kit in their very retro black strata wrap, and for an intermediate set of drums, they don't sound half-bad.  Not as good as my bubinga drums, but drums, nonetheless. At first I had six-pieces of the kit to be a gigging kit with a single bass drum, but when Pearl discontinued the line, all these stores had new old stock to get rid of and I managed to snag another bass drum, an 8" tom, and another 14" floor tom to go with that kit.  It looks like this now:

It is amazingly fun to play, and it fills up half of my practice space.  It will take me some time to sound like any of my favorite big-kit drumming heroes, but at least the ball is rolling.  I'm experimenting with rack tom placement, and like Cobham, they might not end up in an order because I'm trying to keep them as low as possible for comfortable playing.  Being vertically challenged, I don't want to have to stretch to reach anything to play!

So I guess this means if you want the look of double bass drums, I can give you that too (nevermind the actual playing of two bass drums, that comes later ;)

Welcome to the site!

Hi all!


After years of playing, I thought it might be smart to have some kind of web presence that people can access should they want some Matt Eder information, so welcome and I hope you enjoy hangin' here for a bit!

I've been playing drums and singing (background and lead) professionally since the late 1980s.  I've studied music at Mt. San Antonio College, Cal State Fullerton, and UCLA.  In college I've performed in stage shows and with jazz bands.  In 1986 I became a staff percussionist for the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, where I also branched into the Audio Engineering/Stage Technician fields, where I continue my work.  But I am also continuing my musician work with the company in Disney's new Soundsational Parade (which began in May 2011).  I am both a member of IATSE local 504, and the AFM local 7.   Outside of this I've also held the position of staff percussionist/performance coach for the choral programs of Nogales High School, Diamond Bar High School, and Brea-Olinda High School over the last 25 years.

Also during the early '90s to the new millenium, I got a little sidetracked into MIDI and electronic percussion.  I did alot of MIDI sequencing utilizing MOTU's Performer software sequencer on my Macintosh, and even used a Roland Octapad II and a R5 Rhythm Composer for gigs.  I delved deeper into it after seeing "Future Man" Wooten with Bela Fleck and bought hook-line-and-sinker into the Zendrum (gasp!).  I've gotten all of that out of my system now and only play acoustics.  I was getting tired of people knowing me as "that guy who played that weird-guitar-thing" rather than the acoustic drums I studied most of my life learning (and still learning) how to play!

Alot of what I've done has usually involved mercenary work - getting called in to reading something for a performance with little or no rehearsal.  I've been involved with bands, but outside of college and Disneyland, most reading has been done by reading either the piano parts or the lead trumpet parts.  Usually my ears get the biggest workout when playing on casuals and weddings - my role is basically to be the glue of the band and to provide a good groove for the dancers and the band members!

My current gear:

Although I've owned most big-name drums brands over my career, after having owned a Tama Superstar from 1984 (and subsequently jumping around to DW, Ludwig, Gretsch, Pearl, Yamaha, Sonor, etc.,....) since 2010 I've 'come home' to Tama Starclassic Bubinga Elite drums.  I've never needed more than five drums and a couple of cymbals, (every time I used more drums and cymbals, I tended to sound like a kid banging on drums at the local Guitar Center).  I don't even play a double bass drum pedal - I wish I could, but for me it was something that got in the way of my groove.  So if you're looking for a fluent double-bass player, that's not me.  Here's my lineup:

18x20 bass drum
6.5x10 and 7x12 Hyperdrive rack toms
15x16 floor tom
5x14 Tama Stewart Copeland chrome-over-brass snare (heavy, but lovely!)

Cymbals:

A Zildjian 14" hi-hats (New Beats or Quick Beats - depending on what sounds better for a particular project)
A Zildjian 18" thin crash
K Zildjian 20" K Custom Dark Ride
Note:  although I change drums like clothes, I've owned these cymbals now for over 20 years!  Wow.

Hardware:

A mix of Tama and Pearl (I really like the big rubber feet of the Pearl cymbal stands - call me vain)

And now, onto some playing examples....

Obviously, the reason for this site is to attract potential employers or like-minded players for projects, bands, or special events.  So following are a few videos of some of my playing.  Please feel free to comment - I love getting feedback.  Hope to hear from you!

Matt Eder - What's Goin' On

This video is a hold-over from my 'solo-MIDI' career.  Back in the late '80s I was inspired by a gentleman who, in the beginning played small restaurants and dates with his guitar, armed with a Roland TR-707 Rhythm Composer.  As I got to know him and played with him with my Octapad, we eventually got into using standard MIDI files to be the rest of the band.  By the time we had parted company, we were both carrying our own laptops and synthesizers, along with our own PA systems to gigs!  Between he and I, I swear there must've been at least $5,000 of ancient-man MIDI gear up on stage!  From time-to-time I still perform solo with my backup tracks, playing drums and singing for private parties.  I've always loved Motown music and although it's not the first music people expect me to be in to, I love attempting to do it justice.  I hope you dig this version of Marvin Gaye's "What's Goin' On"....

Matt Eder - Sonor Safari drum kit demonstration

This is just some general drumming I did playing around with my then-newly-acquired Sonor Safari drumset.  I posted a short review of this kit and the link to this video on the Drummerworld.com site, which many of the members actually liked.  And consequently, a few of them bought a Safari for themselves.  I'm still waiting for a check from Sonor for helping to sell some!   This solo, as usual, was not rehearsed.  I just mic'd up the kit, turned on the video camera and went for it - you can tell 'cause some phrases are a little off.  But the little drumkit was pretty impressive.  Too bad I didn't keep it.  Damn.

Matt Eder - Three of a Perfect Pair

Here's one that shows off some difficulty.  My parents raised us right when they encouraged their kids to listen to any and all kinds of music.  So in addition to listening to Brubeck, Kenton, Rich, and Ellington, we also had alot of Beatles, Yes, ELP, and Queen (among others) in the house.  As I got a little older I loved King Crimson and "Three of a Perfect Pair" is a perennial favorite of mine.  So, eventually (after over 20 years of hearing and playing along with the song) I added it to my solo-act.  Of course, it doesn't get played much because people can't dance to it, and when I do do it, it'll be the only non-standard thing I think the audience can stand.  A private party with me is like a deal:  I'll play what you want, so long as I get to play at least one thing of mine.   This particular recording I made sound acoustic so I could potentially play this at a coffee house.

Matt Eder Power Trio - Black Magic Woman

This is one of my rare "band videos".  The guitar player is Bobby Williams, who I've played with on-and-off now for the last 20 years or so (my how time flies).  He's the one who taught me most how to use my ears on a gig.  We never rehearse anything - he just calls tunes and goes, and we just make music.  When I met Bobby we initially played with a keyboard player by the name of John Baer who had the wickedest left-hand I've ever heard and, like Bobby, can improvise anything on the spot.  Those two guys spoiled me because nowadays I don't have the patience to rehearse a band.  I'd rather hire these guys for a party and just show up.  The bass player in the video is named Eric.  I didn't get his last name and this was the first day I met him.  Awesome bottom end with a great singing voice too.  A conga player named George showed up at this party and also sat in with the band on this tune - you can't play "Black Magic Woman" without conga ;)