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Tommy Aldridge, heavy metal and hard rock drummer

 

Are you looking for a professional drumming photo? Tommy Aldridge is an American heavy metal and hard rock drummer. Aldridge is noted for his work with numerous bands and artists since the 1970s, such as Black Oak Arkansas, Pat Travers Band, Ozzy Osbourne, Gary Moore, Whitesnake, Ted Nugent, Thin Lizzy, Vinnie Moore and Yngwie Malmsteen.

 

Tommy Aldridge himself has become very influential, and is regarded as a double bass drum pioneer in rock music. Aldridge plays Yamaha drums, a company he has been with since 1982 and currently uses Absolute Maple Nouveau series drums from Yamaha.

His kick drum is fitted with a Danmar 207A  Aldridge pedal beater. Tommy has been a Paiste Artist since January 2003. He uses Remo drum heads and signature ProMark drum sticks. Yamaha has made Aldridge a custom „soon to be released” Signature Snare drum that is a 7×14 stainless steel model with die cast hoops and black chrome hardware.

He also endorses Paiste cymbals. His cymbal selection can vary, but he strongly prefers the brighter sounds of their 2002, Signature and RUDE cymbals. One of the most in-demand (and well-respected) hard rock drummers remains journeyman Aldridge. Born August 15, 1950, in Jackson, MS, Aldridge was entirely self-taught, inspired by such groundbreaking ’60s rock outfits as Cream, the Beatles, and Jimi Hendrix. By the early ’70s, Aldridge had joined up with up-and-coming Southern rockers Black Oak Arkansas, playing on a total of nine albums from 1972 through 1976 and touring the U.S. nonstop. It was also around this time that Aldridge developed the double-bass drumming technique that would soon be copied by countless other drummers (especially those in thrash metal bands come the 1980s). From there, Aldridge signed on with Canadian blues-rock guitarist Pat Travers, appearing on five albums from 1978 through 1981, before accepting a slot in Ozzy Osbourne’s band. The group included legendary guitarist Randy Rhoads, and is often pointed to as one of the finest metal lineup’s ever, which, unfortunately, released only a single studio album, 1981’s Diary of a Madman, before Rhoads’ tragic death in March of 1982 (a live album from the 1981/1982 tour, titled Tribute, would be issued posthumously in 1987).