Aaron Harris (Isis drummer)
Encyclopedia
Aaron Harris is an American drummer
, best known for his career with Los Angeles, California
-based post-metal
band Isis
. He was with the band from its inception in 1997 to its dissolution in 2010. Since Isis' demise, Harris has become increasingly involved in the technical side of music, serving as a drum tech and moving towards production, mixing and recording.
His early experience in drumming came from his father, who was also a drummer. Harris would play along to Led Zeppelin
, Pink Floyd
, Emerson, Lake & Palmer
and The Police
, and has reached his current level of proficiency without any lessons or formal training. He has, however, received some tuition with the tabla
, from Aloke Dutta
, at the recommendation of Tool
's Danny Carey
. Melvins and Neurosis
are also direct influences on his and Isis' sound. He cites Bill Bruford
as an influence on his later material, having been introduced to his work through Danny Carey
while on tour.
Harris' first band was in a band named Loga, which he joined whilst in high school. He was given a cassette of Melvins by the band members and asked to emulate the style of their drummer, Dale Crover
. His material, he says, “changed [Harris'] life [...] it really shaped me into a whole new drummer.”
In October 2006 Paiste
cymbals began endorsing Harris. In 2009, Harris also signed an endorsement deal with Sonor
drums. He is also sponsored by Evans Drumheads and Vater
.
Since Isis' split in 2010, Harris has moved towards the technical side of music; this shift has encompassed stints as a drum tech for Tool and Deftones
, as well as production, recording and mixing credits for a number of musical projects. Alongside former Isis members Jeff Caxide
and Bryant Clifford Meyer
, he announced in May 2011 that he has plans to form a new band.
Outside music, Harris is a keen cyclist, and before the formation of Isis, used to race.
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
, best known for his career with Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
-based post-metal
Post-metal
Post-metal is a music genre, a mixture between the genres of post-rock and heavy metal.Hydra Head Records owner and Isis frontman Aaron Turner originally termed the genre "thinking man's metal", demonstrating that his band was trying to move away from common metal conventions...
band Isis
Isis (band)
Isis was a Los Angeles, California-based post-metal band, founded in Boston, Massachusetts, with a career spanning from 1997 to 2010...
. He was with the band from its inception in 1997 to its dissolution in 2010. Since Isis' demise, Harris has become increasingly involved in the technical side of music, serving as a drum tech and moving towards production, mixing and recording.
His early experience in drumming came from his father, who was also a drummer. Harris would play along to Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
, Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer, also known as ELP, are an English progressive rock supergroup. They found success in the 1970s and sold over forty million albums and headlined large stadium concerts. The band consists of Keith Emerson , Greg Lake and Carl Palmer...
and The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
, and has reached his current level of proficiency without any lessons or formal training. He has, however, received some tuition with the tabla
Tabla
The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
, from Aloke Dutta
Aloke Dutta
Aloke Dutta is an established Bengali tabla player.Aloke has become an important figure in modern music, having taught some of the most influential drummers of our time...
, at the recommendation of Tool
Tool (band)
Tool is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1990, the group's line-up has included drummer Danny Carey, guitarist Adam Jones, and vocalist Maynard James Keenan. Since 1995, Justin Chancellor has been the band's bassist, replacing their original bassist Paul D'Amour...
's Danny Carey
Danny Carey
Daniel Edwin "Danny" Carey is an American drummer best known for his work in American Grammy Award-winning rock band Tool...
. Melvins and Neurosis
Neurosis (band)
Neurosis is a post-metal band, based in Oakland, California. They formed in 1985 as a hardcore punk band, and their sound progressed towards a doom metal style that also included influences from dark ambient and industrial music as well as incorporating elements of folk music...
are also direct influences on his and Isis' sound. He cites Bill Bruford
Bill Bruford
William Scott "Bill" Bruford is an English drummer, percussionist, composer, producer, and record label owner. He was the original drummer for the progressive rock group Yes, from 1968-1972. Bruford has performed for numerous popular acts since the early 1970s, including a stint as touring...
as an influence on his later material, having been introduced to his work through Danny Carey
Danny Carey
Daniel Edwin "Danny" Carey is an American drummer best known for his work in American Grammy Award-winning rock band Tool...
while on tour.
Harris' first band was in a band named Loga, which he joined whilst in high school. He was given a cassette of Melvins by the band members and asked to emulate the style of their drummer, Dale Crover
Dale Crover
Dale Crover is an American rock musician. Crover is best known as the drummer for Melvins and Men of Porn, Shrinebuilder, and for a brief time, drummer for Nirvana. He is also guitarist and vocalist for Altamont...
. His material, he says, “changed [Harris'] life [...] it really shaped me into a whole new drummer.”
In October 2006 Paiste
Paiste
Paiste, a Swiss manufacturer and designer, is the world's third largest manufacturer of cymbals, gongs, and metal percussion. Paiste is an Estonian/Finnish word which means "shine"...
cymbals began endorsing Harris. In 2009, Harris also signed an endorsement deal with Sonor
SONOR
Sonor is a German percussion manufacturer. Founded in 1875 as a percussion manufacturer, Sonor drum sets and hardware are historically known for being constructed in a very durable, and therefore, unusually heavy manner...
drums. He is also sponsored by Evans Drumheads and Vater
Vater
Vater Percussion is an American drumstick and percussion accessory manufacturing company. It was founded by Clarence Vater, and is currently run by his two grandsons Alan and Ron Vater. Although the company began producing sticks in 1956, it did not officially become Vater Percussion until much later...
.
Since Isis' split in 2010, Harris has moved towards the technical side of music; this shift has encompassed stints as a drum tech for Tool and Deftones
Deftones
Deftones are an American alternative metal band from Sacramento, California, founded in 1988. The band consists of Chino Moreno , Stephen Carpenter , Chi Cheng , Frank Delgado , and Abe Cunningham . Currently Sergio Vega is standing in on bass while Cheng recovers from a car accident...
, as well as production, recording and mixing credits for a number of musical projects. Alongside former Isis members Jeff Caxide
Jeff Caxide
Jeff Caxide is an American bassist, best known for his time with post-metal band Isis, of which he was a founding member and present until its dissolution in 2010. He was also a founding member of Red Sparowes, but left after the release of their first full-length. He also contributed to...
and Bryant Clifford Meyer
Bryant Clifford Meyer
Bryant Clifford Meyer is a keyboardist, guitarist and vocalist, best known for his tenure with Los Angeles, California-based post-metal band Isis. He was with the band since its debut full-length, Celestial, in 2000. Previously, he was a formative member of Boston-based rock band The Gersch...
, he announced in May 2011 that he has plans to form a new band.
Outside music, Harris is a keen cyclist, and before the formation of Isis, used to race.
With Isis
- Mosquito ControlMosquito ControlThe Mosquito Control EP is the first studio release by American post-metal band Isis, released in 1998 by Escape Artist. The piece runs fluently through all 29 minutes, and all four songs are linked through consistent bouts of chaos and lyrics glued by the metaphor of insect swarms for the failure...
(1998) - Red Sea (1999)
- Sawblade (1999)
- Isis / Pig DestroyerIsis / Pig DestroyerIsis / Pig Destroyer is a split EP by the bands Pig Destroyer and Isis. The EP features the two bands playing cover songs.-Track listing:#Isis – "Streetcleaner" #Pig Destroyer – "Exhume to Consume"...
(2000) (Split with Pig DestroyerPig Destroyer-Biography:The band formed in 1997 with vocalist J. R. Hayes , guitarist Scott Hull , and drummer John Evans. Evans was later replaced by Brian Harvey...
) - Celestial (2000)
- SGNL>05SGNL 05-Personnel:Band members* Jeff Caxide – bass guitar* Aaron Harris – drums* Michael Gallagher – guitar* Bryant Clifford Meyer – electronics* Aaron Turner – guitar, vocals, art and graphic constructionOther personnel...
(2001) - OceanicOceanic (Isis album)Oceanic is the second full-length album by American post-metal band Isis, released on September 16, 2002 by Ipecac Recordings.On July 23, 2006, Isis performed Oceanic in its entirety at KOKO, Camden Town, London as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties curated Don't Look Back series. This performance...
(2002) - PanopticonPanopticon (album)Panopticon is the third full-length album by Los Angeles, California based post-metal band Isis, released by Ipecac Recordings in 2004. The album's title is derived from philosopher Jeremy Bentham's panopticon prison ideal and philosopher/historian Michel Foucault's later allegorical appropriation...
(2004) - Oceanic: Remixes & Reinterpretations (2004)
- In the Fishtank 14In the Fishtank 14In the Fishtank 14 is a collaborative EP from Isis and Aereogramme. It is the fourteenth installment of the collaboration project by Konkurrent, and was released in September 2006...
(2006) (Split with AereogrammeAereogrammeAereogramme were a Scottish alternative/post-rock rock band from Glasgow, consisting of Craig B. , Iain Cook , Campbell McNeil and Martin Scott...
) - In the Absence of TruthIn the Absence of TruthIn the Absence of Truth is the fourth full-length studio album by Los Angeles, California-based post-metal band Isis, released by Ipecac Recordings on October 31, 2006...
(2006) - Wavering RadiantWavering RadiantWavering Radiant is the fifth and final full-length album by American post-metal group Isis, released by Ipecac Recordings in 2009 and produced by Joe Barresi. It stands as Isis' last full-length album, as the band split just over a year after its release...
(2009)
With Rajas
- Rajas (2010)
With Crone
- Endless Midnight (2011)
Production and recording discography
| Year | Artist | Album title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Lesser Key | Lesser Key | Tracking and mixing |
| — | Aloke Dutta Aloke Dutta Aloke Dutta is an established Bengali tabla player.Aloke has become an important figure in modern music, having taught some of the most influential drummers of our time... |
Spondaic Oblation | Recording |
| 2011 | Crone | Endless Midnight | Mixing |
| 2011 | Blood, Sweat and Vinyl: DIY in the 21st Century [film] | Live audio | |
External links
- Interview at Alterati
- Interview at The Culture Shock
- Aaron Harris at TwitterTwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...