Since you joined Megadeth in 2016, you have been touring non-stop. How’s it been like?
The past seven years have flown by. I feel like I’ve seen my bandmates more than my wife and dogs! This being said, it’s been really eye-opening and exciting to meet Megadeth fans across the globe. They are legion, and rabid. I felt a big responsibility to properly honor the band’s legacy from the get-go and our fans’ dedication has only intensified that feeling for me.

If you look back on this part of your career, name a few highlights so far.
I’ll never forget playing Latin America for the first time in 2016. My previous bands hadn’t toured there, and our Latin American droogies are absolutely berserk, so that trip was an adventure on every level. Another highlight was headlining a sold out Budokan in Tokyo earlier this year with Marty Friedman as our special guest. It doesn’t get much better than that.

You also contributed to the writing on the latest record. How did the collaboration with the rest of the band work? How does typically a song you’ve contributed to go from idea to finished product?
In 2019, we spent several months together holed up in a house in Tennessee, just hashing out ideas. I brought along some riffs and a few half-finished song structures which I’d demoed at home. One of those ended up as “Life in Hell” and another one of my riffs became a bridge section in “Night Stalkers.” Songs can come together in many ways – you explore and experiment until something stands out and feels right. Of course, no one knows better when a song is ripe for Megadeth than Dave Mustaine does. Dave wrote the bulk of the material and Kiko Loureiro and I contributed as much as we could along the way.

You’ve been a Superior Drummer 3 user for years. How does it help in your creative process?
Superior Drummer is incredibly useful during the demo stage. It allows for my ideas to be recorded clearly and convincingly, which is essential. Simply put, there’s no easier way to obtain pro-sounding drums than with Superior Drummer 3. The same goes for EZmix 2 which I use as a guitar and bass amp as well as for mixing and mastering. Very little knowledge is required – perfect for an amateur guitar player and producer like me. I’ve also recorded final drums for numerous albums using Superior Drummer, including for some of my own work with Bent Sea – most recently the Instagrind series which you can find at bentsea.bandcamp.com.

What’s next on your agenda?
Doing nothing! Megadeth has a very busy touring schedule coming in 2024 and I’m busy recharging my batteries for that by spending time with my wife, family and friends. There’s also some more exciting stuff in the works. Wait and see!

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