Ben Gillies
Encyclopedia
Benjamin David Gillies (born 24 October 1979) is an Australian musician, best known as the drummer
of Australian rock band Silverchair
.
Born in Merewether
, a suburb of Newcastle
, New South Wales
, Australia
, he started as a quad drummer in the band The Marching Koalas, before forming the band Innocent Criminals at the age of 12 with friends Daniel Johns
and Chris Joannou
. Playing originally to school and other venues in the Newcastle area, they came to attention after a weekend music workshop at the Tanilba Bay Progress Hall funded through the Arts Council of New South Wales in March 1994. By October 1994, under their new name Silverchair
, their first EP Tomorrow
had reached #1 on the ARIA Charts
.
Gillies formed the band Tambalane
in 2002 while Silverchair was in hiatus following Johns' illness, releasing a self-titled album featuring the singles Little Miss Liar and Free before the band folded in 2005. He then returned to work with Silverchair.
In June 2010, Gillies married Jakica Ivancevic. In May 2011, Silverchair announced an "indefinite hibernation" and that they were not likely to work together "in the foreseeable future". By June, Gillies was in the final stages of working on his solo album, he had been working on it for about 12 months and said that it was not a continuation of his earlier work with Tambalane.
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...
of Australian rock band Silverchair
Silverchair
Silverchair were an Australian rock band, which formed in 1992 as Innocent Criminals in Merewether, Newcastle with the line-up of Ben Gillies on drums, Chris Joannou on bass guitar and Daniel Johns on vocals and guitars. The group got their big break in mid-1994 when they won a national demo...
.
Born in Merewether
Merewether, New South Wales
Merewether is a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district with a population of around 10,000. The suburb stretches from Merewether Beach in the east to Adamstown in the west.- Establishment :...
, a suburb of Newcastle
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, he started as a quad drummer in the band The Marching Koalas, before forming the band Innocent Criminals at the age of 12 with friends Daniel Johns
Daniel Johns
Daniel Paul Johns is an Australian musician, vocalist, composer, guitarist, and pianist, best known as the frontman of the rock band Silverchair. He is also part of The Dissociatives...
and Chris Joannou
Chris Joannou
Christopher John Joannou is a Macedonian Australian musician, best known as the bass player for the successful alternative rock band Silverchair. Born in Newcastle, New South Wales, he has a twin sister and an older sister. He has a nephew and two nieces. He was the first of the three band...
. Playing originally to school and other venues in the Newcastle area, they came to attention after a weekend music workshop at the Tanilba Bay Progress Hall funded through the Arts Council of New South Wales in March 1994. By October 1994, under their new name Silverchair
Silverchair
Silverchair were an Australian rock band, which formed in 1992 as Innocent Criminals in Merewether, Newcastle with the line-up of Ben Gillies on drums, Chris Joannou on bass guitar and Daniel Johns on vocals and guitars. The group got their big break in mid-1994 when they won a national demo...
, their first EP Tomorrow
Tomorrow (Silverchair song)
"Tomorrow" is a song by Australian alternative rock band Silverchair and was their breakthrough single from their debut album Frogstomp, which was released in 1994 in their home country and 1995 in the US...
had reached #1 on the ARIA Charts
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
.
Gillies formed the band Tambalane
Tambalane
Tambalane was an Australian Pop rock band that was formed in 2003 by Silverchair drummer Ben Gillies after Silverchair went on hiatus in 2003. They released a single album which contained the singles "Little Miss Liar" and "Free"....
in 2002 while Silverchair was in hiatus following Johns' illness, releasing a self-titled album featuring the singles Little Miss Liar and Free before the band folded in 2005. He then returned to work with Silverchair.
In June 2010, Gillies married Jakica Ivancevic. In May 2011, Silverchair announced an "indefinite hibernation" and that they were not likely to work together "in the foreseeable future". By June, Gillies was in the final stages of working on his solo album, he had been working on it for about 12 months and said that it was not a continuation of his earlier work with Tambalane.
Equipment
The following are some of the Drumkits used by Ben Gillies during his musical career with Silverchair:- FrogstompFrogstompFrogstomp is the debut album of Australian rock band Silverchair. It was released in Australia in early 1995, when the members were only 15 years of age, by a subsidiary of Sony Records and reached number one on the album charts. On 20 June 1995, Frogstomp was released by Epic Records in the U.S...
/Freak ShowFreak showA freak show is an exhibition of biological rarities, referred to as "freaks of nature". Typical features would be physically unusual humans, such as those uncommonly large or small, those with both male and female secondary sexual characteristics, people with other extraordinary diseases and...
/Neon BallroomNeon BallroomNeon Ballroom is the third studio album by Australian alternative rock band Silverchair and was released on 8 March 1999. The album debuted at number-one on the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified 4× platinum by ARIA. It was also certified Gold in the United States...
era:- PearlPearlA pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other...
Masters Custom Drums and Sabian Cymbals: - Pearl Drums - Black
- 6x14" Snare
- 12x14" Tom
- 16x16" Floor Tom
- 16x18" Floor Tom
- 16x24" Bass drum
- 19" AAX Metal Crash
- 20" AAX Metal Crash
- 21" AAX Metal Crash
- 21" AA Heavy Ride
- 14" AAX Metal Hi-Hats
- Pearl
- DioramaDiorama (album)Diorama is the fourth studio album by Australian alternative rock band Silverchair. Released on 31 March 2002 by record label Eleven, the album was co-produced by Daniel Johns and David Bottrill...
era:- Le Soprano Drums and Sabian Cymbals:
- Le Soprano Drums - Prima Original Ben Gillies Signature
- 14x6.5" Ben Gillies Signature Snare
- 13x8" Rack Tom
- 16x15"Floor Tom
- 18x15" Floor Tom
- 24x16" Bass Drum
- 14" HH Dark Hi-Hats
- 18" HH Dark Crash
- 21" HH Vintage Ride
- 20" Sabian Radia Crash
- Young Modern era:
- Le Soprano Drums and Sabian Cymbals:
- Le Soprano Drums - Prima Original in Cherry Red
- 14x6.5" Ben Gillies Signature Snare
- 12x9" Rack Tom
- 13x08" Rack Tom
- 16x16"Floor Tom
- 18x16" Floor Tom
- 24x16" Bass Drum
- 14" HH Dark Hi-Hats
- 18" HH Dark Crash
- 21" HH Vintage Ride
- 20" HH Radia Crash (discontinued)
- (Same as above, but with a 12x13" Tom next to his 9x12" Tom.)
-
- Gillies also uses PearlPearlA pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other...
Hardware, RemoRemoRemo is a male given name of Latin origin - see Romulus and Remus.Remo may also refer to:* Remo, an American drum skin company* Remo , another name for the German wine grape Riesling* Remo language, a Panoan language of Brazil and Peru...
drum skins and Ben Gillies Heartbeater VaterVaterVater 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...
sticks. - During the Neon Ballroom Tour he used 6 different Drum sets.
- Gillies also uses Pearl