Meet Jeff Friedl

Jeff’s path as a drummer has taken him from the scene of his hometown Tucson, Arizona to some of the biggest stages in rock. Over the past two decades he has built a career balancing touring, recording and teaching, performing with bands such as Devo and A Perfect Circle while also appearing on major TV shows and contributing to film and television soundtracks. You’ll also find him in the Heavy Rock EZX.

Where does your interest in music stem from and how come you ended up behind a drum kit?

I grew up in Tucson, Arizona, which was a complete melting pot of culture – especially for music and art. From an early age I watched my dad, uncle and cousins play funk, blues and R&B music, and I was also lucky enough to watch a bunch of different jazz, punk and rock bands play shows as they rolled through town on tour. I was greatly influenced by so many different artists and styles and, ultimately, I became completely obsessed with wanting to be a professional drummer at a very young age. The idea of playing shows and recording albums with bands was everything to me!

Which drummers do you think helped shape your style?

There are too many to list here, but a very short list would be Samuel Formell, Steve Gadd, David Garibaldi, Alan Myers, Vinnie Paul, Bill Bruford, Tony Thompson, Bill Stewart, Sonny Payne, Vinnie Colaiuta, Steve Jordan, Elvin Jones, Chuck Biscuits, Abe Cunningham and Danny Carey…

You were involved in recording the Heavy Rock EZX. When it comes to the kits and cymbals, what was the selection process like qualities did you try to cover?

I wanted to cover a pretty vast variety of sounds with the drum selection. With the birch kits, I wanted to showcase the bright and punchy attack along with the balanced and fat overall sound they possess. With the maple drums, I wanted that perfect modern rock kit sound. These drums have a great balance of lows, mids and highs. I especially like the extra punchy low-end they have. Very versatile drums. As for the stainless steel kit… These drums are so loud, bright and punchy. A totally unique sound that I find useful not only for live shows but also for recording. Finally, the maple kit is perfect for situations when you want a combination of full tonality and beautiful sustain. This one screams John Bonham vibes but can also be used for a lot of different applications. For the cymbals, I chose a bunch of dark, beautiful and shimmering K Zildjians. There are some different Zildjian lines mixed in there as well, and we also captured some nice higher-pitched cymbals to round out the collection.

Throughout your career, you’ve taught drums, played with numerous bands, performed on multiple network talk shows, all the major festivals as well as recorded drums for major films and TV shows. If you had to pick some highlights, which ones would you single out?

It’s really tough to narrow down, but recording and touring with Devo for the last 16 years has been a huge honor. Touring and recording with A Perfect Circle starting back in 2011 is another highlight, especially recording the audio/video performance “Stone and Echo: Live at Red Rocks.” Performing on the Seth Meyers Show as the guest drummer for an entire week was a blast. Forming my band The Beta Machine with my bandmate Matt McJunkins has been incredibly important and gratifying for me. Performing on the Jimmy Kimmel Show with four different bands (Eagles of Death Metal, A Perfect Circle, Puscifer and Jetta) over the years. And recording “Hotel Transylvania 4” and the Disney-Pixar “Cars Toons” episodes were a couple of the great experiences I’ve had recording with composer Mark Mothersbaugh over the years.