I have seen the Newsboys in concert more than remember around my tenth birthday my Dad to play. When he couldn’t make the services
any other band in my life. I have seen Peter ended up buying the drum kit off of this guy I would take over for him because there was
Furler as their drummer spinning upside down because he started to get to busy, but we left nobody else. My parent weren’t really pushing
on a drum platform and I have seen Peter step it at church. me one way or the other but they were always
encouraging. So I would go to the service in
up to the microphone to take on the front man
role. I have seen him in his solo career after he
[WM] What kind of cymbals were on the kit?
the morning, and then the congregation would
leave and my parents would lock me in the
left the Newsboys, and now in this new phase
rejoining the band for their wildly successful [Peter] I can’t remember what kind of church. Well they would lock the church door
Newsboys UNITED tour. He is also hard at work cymbals, they might have been Zildjian, it was a so nobody could get in, and I would stay
writing songs for the next Newsboys record. very intermediate drum kit, kind of fibro looking there the whole day and I would just practice
material with some laminate stuck on the the whole day. When I was thirsty I’d go and
I have had the privilege of knowing Peter as a outside of it, nothing too fancy. What I would drink the Welch’s Grape Juice communion, and
friend over the last 15 years or more. You can do as a kid, especially on Sundays because the when I was hungry I’d dig into the communion
hear his passion for drums loud and clear in drum kit was at the church, we would go to the bread, when I was tired I’d lay down on the
this interview, and it is great to see him happily morning service and I would play the morning chairs and rest for a bit, and then I’d just get
drumming now for Steve Taylor and the Perfect service at about ten years old. I started to kind back up and play the whole day. Then at about
Foil too. I think Peter is quite a musician with of get the feel, you know, I was playing with a 5:30pm the doors would open back up again
a dual citizenship. Not because he is from lot more experienced musicians than obviously and I’d play for the evening service. So that was
Australia and now lives in Florida, but because myself. I started to play with them just by ear, I my Sunday for a while until I took the drum kit
he is a drummer and a frontman. Read on and couldn’t read music. home and started to get more serious.
I had a few lessons off of my brother in law, [WM] How did you go from there to getting
so I just learned one and three and just started into a band outside the church?
see for yourself…
[WM] Peter, tell me how your life began as
a drummer.
[Peter Furler] Well, my Dad was a pastor
and we had a small church. I would obviously
go to that church, and there was a pretty lively
music program. There was a drum kit, basic
drums, bass, B3 organ, piano, guitar, a few
singers, and it was pretty lively, and you could
really hear the people singing. It was a very
important part of the service. When I was nine
I started to take interest in… not music, I was
already interested in music. I had all of these
older sisters who were really into music like
Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles, all of
these kinds of bands so I would kind of glean
what I could from them. So, when I was about
nine I started getting more interested in actually
playing the drums.
So the drummer at the time, who ended up
becoming my brother in law, he had this really
cool kit that was a Pearl drum kit, and he would
bring it to the church and leave it there. But
he started to get busy, he was busy being a
professional, getting a real job so to speak,
so I started getting interested in the drums. I
January 2019
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