The Europe Drum Show are thrilled to announce that Steve Smith, Mikkey Dee and Jost Nickel will all be on the Sonor Drums booth on Saturday 29th March for signing session at 16.00. Booth D2.
Steve Smith’s drumming, while decidedly modern, can best be described as a style that embodies the history of U.S. music. Steve is active as a bandleader (Steve Smith and Vital Information) as a featured sideman (Mike Stern Group, Zakir Hussain’s Masters of Percussion, Steps Ahead, Hiromi-The Trio Project) and as an educator/clinician.
Steve Smith grew up in the Boston area and started playing drums at the age of nine in 1963. He studied music at the Berklee College of Music from 1972 to 1976 with Alan Dawson and Gary Chaffee as his private instructors. Over the past 50 years he has toured and recorded with some of the biggest names in jazz and rock – appearing on recordings that have sold over 100 million copies worldwide – including Journey, Bryan Adams, Mariah Carey, Zucchero and Jean-Luc Ponty. Other notable jazz artists Smith has played with include Buddy DeFranco, Benny Golson, Ahmad Jamal, Dave Liebman, Randy Brecker, Michael Brecker, Bill Evans, Hiromi and Zakir Hussain.
Smith produced and played on a series of sixteen jazz albums for the Tone Center label featuring players such as Frank Gambale, Stu Hamm, Oteil Burbridge, Larry Coryell, Jerry Goodman, Howard Levy, Steve Marcus, Scott Henderson and Victor Wooten. His release The Best Of Steve Smith – The Tone Center Collection is a sample of some of his favorite tracks from those collaborations. From 2016-2019 Steve Smith toured with the iconic rock band Journey, the group in which he recorded nine albums with massive hits. A highlight of that collaboration is DVD/CD set titled Journey Live In Japan 2017 Escape & Frontiers. In 2017 Smith was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
2023 was the 40th Anniversary of Smith Smith’s group Vital Information. The new trio incarnation of Vital Information features two young virtuosos: Manuel Valera on keyboards and Janek Gwizdala on electric bass. Their 2023 release is titled TIME FLIES. Wounded Bird Records has also recently released The Complete Columbia Recordings, a four CD set of the first four Vital Information albums recorded and released from 1983-1988.
Steve Smith was voted “#1 Fusion Drummer” in the 2012 Modern Drummer readers poll and his Modern Drummer Legends book was voted #1 Educational Product of 2023. Smith has previously been voted “#1 All-Around Drummer” in the Modern Drummer Magazine Readers Poll for five consecutive years from 1987-1991. The 2008, 2009 and 2010 Drum! Magazine readers voted Smith #1 Jazz Drummer. In 2001 Steve was named by Modern Drummer Magazine as one of the “Top 25 Drummers of All Time.” In 2002, he was voted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame and in 2003 his Hudson Music DVD Steve Smith Drumset Technique – History of the U.S. Beat was voted #1 Educational DVD.” Hudson Music released Steve’s DVD/CD Drum Legacy – Standing on the Shoulders of Giants in 2008, which was voted Best DVD of 2009 by the readers of Drum! Magazine. In 2017 Steve topped an unprecedented three categories in the Modern Drummer poll: #1 Rock Drummer, #1 MVP and #1 Educational Product for his Hudson Music Book/Video Pathways Of Motion. In 2018 MD readers voted Smith #1 Classic Rock Drummer.
Mikkey Dee (born 31 October 1963) is the drummer in the Rock ‘n Roll band Motörhead. A Swede of Greek descent, he has been known for his speed and precision since his mid-80s stint with King Diamond.
After moving to Copenhagen to play with Geisha in 1985, Dee joined King Diamond, who were looking for additional members to complete their line-up. After their release of the “Conspiracy”album (1989), Dee decided to leave the band, as he felt he was becoming more of a back-up musician, rather than an equal contributing songwriter. Dee played on the King Diamond recordings “Abigail” (1987) and “THEM” which followed 1988, and continued to play as a session drummer for the recording sessions of the Conspiracy album (1989), after which he was replaced.
He joined Don Dokken for his solo album, Up from the Ashes (1990), with the music videos for the songs “Stay” and “Mirror Mirror” receiving airplay on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball. The band headlined their own tour, as well as opened for Judas Priest. During this time, Dee also filled in a short time playing for World War Three (WWIII).
Lemmy had been repeatedly asking him to join Motörhead since 1985, and in 1992, when asked once again, Dee accepted the offer, replacing Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor. Dee’s first gig with the band was on 30 August 1992 at Saratoga Performing Arts Center.
Dee joined Thin Lizzy to play on their anniversary shows in January 2016. However, on 19 April, it was announced that he would not be participating. Subsequently, it was announced that Dee would be filling in for James Kottak on the Scorpions’ twelve North American headlining dates, including a run of shows at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas dubbed “Scorpions blacked out in Las Vegas”. Dee later joined the band permanently.
Jost Nickel’s name is credited on numerous hit records both in his home country and internationally. He has played and recorded with jazz legends such as Randy Brecker, Jeff Lorber, Bob Mintzer, Jimmy Haslip, Barry Finnerty, Mitch Forman, Brandon Fields, and many others.
Jost invited Jeff Lorber, Jimmy Haslip, and Barry Finnerty to collaborate on his solo album, The Check In.
A graduate of the Drummers Collective in New York, Jost has performed at prestigious international events, including the Montréal Drum Fest (Canada), PASIC (USA), NAMM Show (USA), Meinl Drum Festival, UK Drum Show, and Tam-Tam Festival (Spain). He appeared on Drumeo (Canada) twice, in 2015 and 2018.
In 2016, Jost was nominated “Best Clinician” by Modern Drummer magazine and ranked among MusicRadar’s “10 Best Drum Clinicians in the World” in 2016 and 2017.
He was also nominated for Drumeo’s “Best Funk Drummer” in 2022 and 2023. His drum books were included in Modern Drummer’s “Best Books” lists for 2019 and 2020.
We are excited to share that there will be a signing session with the one and only – Christian Eigner, taking place on Sunday the 30th of March on the [...]
