The Score Magazine - Archive August 2015 issue! | Page 19

Drummer, multi-instrumentalist, composer and record
producer – music virtuoso Thomas Lang dawns several hats
with ridiculous ease. Critically acclaimed for his prowess in
drumming, several professionals swear by his technique and
precision - Peter Wildoer described Lang as a "drummer's
drummer", while legendary progressive rock/metal drummer
Mike Portnoy cited Lang as a “drummer I can't replicate".
Apart from being a founding member of the Los Angeles-based progressive band,
‘stOrk’, Lang is one of the most revered session drummers today. He is best known
for his international session work on a wide variety of genres including rock,
pop, jazz, and heavy metal, having collaborated with artists such as Robert Fripp,
Peter Gabriel, Robbie Williams, Sugababes, John Wetton, Glenn Hughes, Asia, Nik
Kershaw, Tina Turner, Kelly Clarkson, Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton, Victoria
Beckham, Ronan Keating, 911, Boyzone, Falco, George Michael, Gianna Nannini,
Lighthouse Family,Westlife, Kylie Minogue, the Blockheads, Sertab Erener, Vienna
Art Orchestra, Bonnie Tyler, Nadine Beiler, Paul Gilbert and many more.
Lang’s technical prowess allows him to masterfully ace any genre with ease, and
the drumming champion shares that a lot of his success has to do with the kind of
equipment he uses. Choosing only the best in drum & percussion gear, Lang also
shares that he’s quite particular when it comes to his personal monitoring solution.
And according to the virtuoso, his favorite weapon of choice here is the QSC K10s.
Says Lang “Earlier I used to rely on in-ears for monitoring. But the thing is that in-
ears don’t always work too well especially with electronics drums like the Roland
V-Drums that I usually use. This is because in-ears are usually used in a situation
where what you’re playing is extremely loud (to protect your ears and give you a
better mix), and electronic drums on the other hand are very silent. So sometimes
you feel like you’re not getting the true sound that you should be. But with the QSC
K10’s it’s completely different – they’re just amazing – ever since I decided to give the
QSC rig a try I’ve never looked back!“
Talking about how it all began and how QSC became an integral part of his music
Lang says “QSC shares close relationship with Roland drums as Roland has been
using QSC loudspeakers for years in various situations like trade shows and other
events – that’s how I got introduced to QSC. At various events over the years while
I performed for Roland I always noticed a very clean and comfortable sound, and
over time I realized that this was because we always had QSC loudspeakers on stage.