Xavier Upshaw was born and raised in Seattle Washington in a family filled with artistic talents. Hip Hop and R&B music filled the halls as he grew up and there was a time where he thought he’d be a rapper himself. When he hit his sophomore year in high school however, he discovered metal. Korn was his “gateway drug” into the genre. It was while flipping through channels on one summer day that Xavier saw the video for “Wait and Bleed” by Slipknot, and it changed the course of his life for good.
From that moment on, Xavier was hooked on metal. He thought he might one day play the guitar and purchased a BC Rich Bronze Series Warlock, not knowing that a different instrument was calling. In April 2005, Slipknot came to town with Lamb of God and Shadows Fall. It was after seeing these band live that X decided he needed to play drums. “I thought I’d play guitar when I heard Slipknot, but was really into the drumming,” Xavier remembers, “When I heard Lamb of God’s album Ashes of the Wake, I had to buy a drum kit. The heavy groove of Chris Adler’s drumming was so awesome to me.”
After buying a Mapex drum kit in 2006, Xavier found himself in a band after only 2 weeks of playing. He had taken some lessons with Chase Culp (Drummer of The Crying Spell, Point One), but was primarily self taught. X jammed with a few different bands, but didn’t make it to the stage until 2009 with Tasty Lixxx, and then for the 2nd time in 2012 with Underneath The Waves.
Three months after their show Underneath the Waves disbanded. It was at this point, Xavier began to consider the possibility that the band/music thing might not work out for him. It was the same week that an old acquaintance had called him up asking if he wanted to jam and possibly start a project. Xavier walked in the band room to play on the first day saying, “So my other band just called it quits.” A couple months later, Darklight played their first show in June 2012.
With Shannon (aka Freakshow) and “Little” Ben, Xavier found himself a band that would allow him to explore more of his creativity; taking part in composing the music as well as contributing to the lyrics. Darklight started as a “just for fun” idea, but has become a unique force to be reckoned with in the Seattle music scene; adopting the genre “Baby Makin’ Metal,” a term that a fan used to describe their music. The band released their first CD titled Anomaly in September 2013.
In Darklight, Xavier was able to share the stage with Wayne Static, Otep (twice), Thira, Chimaira (one of his favorite bands), and also opened for VH1’s “That Metal Show” live event in Seattle. “If you would have told me 6 years ago that I would be playing with these bands, I would have laughed in your face. Then again if you had told me 16 years ago that I would be a drummer in a hard rock/metal band, I would have thought you were out of your mind,” he says, “I’m really thankful to be doing this and creating something people enjoy. Since I got into the music scene as a fan, I’ve always wanted to be on stage playing music for people.”
Currently, his band Darklight is in the process of writing their 2nd album titled “Rage and Serenity.” Aside from drumming, Xavier has the lead role in designing all merch as well as album art for the band. When it comes to music, X hopes to start another project that is a bit heavier, “I’m really into the death metal genres. My skills aren’t quite up there yet, but I’d love to explore something much more aggressive, but still different.”
Connect with Darklight
Facebook.com/darklightband
Reverbnation.com/thedarklightband
DarklightOfficial.com (coming soon)