James
Owen Sullivan (February 9, 1981 – December 28, 2009), more commonly
known by his stage name The Reverend Tholomew Plague, often shortened to
The Rev, was an American musician, best known as the drummer for the
American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold. He was also the lead
vocalist in Pinkly Smooth, a side project where he was known by the name
Rat Head, with fellow Avenged Sevenfold member, guitarist Synyster
Gates. Sullivan grew up and lived in Huntington Beach, California. The
Rev was found dead on December 28, 2009, at the age of 28.
Career
The
Rev obtained his first pair of drum sticks at the age of four and
received his own drum set at the age of eleven.In high school, he
started playing in bands. Before leaving to join Avenged Sevenfold as
one of the band's founding members, Sullivan was the drummer for the
third wave ska band Suburban Legends. At the age of eighteen he recorded
his first album with Avenged Sevenfold titled Sounding the Seventh
Trumpet. His early influences included Frank Zappa and King Crimson. The
Rev said in a Modern Drummer Magazine interview that "I was raised on
that stuff as much as rock and metal."
Later in life he was influenced by drummers Vinnie Paul, Mike Portnoy, Dave Lombardo, Lars Ulrich, and Terry Bozzio. He even had a "visual influence", Tommy Lee, on which he commented that "I never thought I'd have one of those." Sullivan's signature ability which he called "the double-ride thing, just for lack of a better definition, because no one does it," is a technique that can be heard on tracks such as "Almost Easy", "Critical Acclaim", and "Crossroads" in which Sullivan doubles up at a fast tempo between the double bass and ride cymbals. As of late, current touring drummer, Arin Ilejay, has been doing the "double-ride thing" during live performances, which Mike Portnoy refused to do during his run with the band out of respect for The Rev.
The band won the MTV Music Award for Best New Artist in 2006[1], beating out Rihanna, Panic! at the Disco, Angels & Airwaves, James Blunt and Chris Brown, where The Rev gave his acceptance speech.
Later in life he was influenced by drummers Vinnie Paul, Mike Portnoy, Dave Lombardo, Lars Ulrich, and Terry Bozzio. He even had a "visual influence", Tommy Lee, on which he commented that "I never thought I'd have one of those." Sullivan's signature ability which he called "the double-ride thing, just for lack of a better definition, because no one does it," is a technique that can be heard on tracks such as "Almost Easy", "Critical Acclaim", and "Crossroads" in which Sullivan doubles up at a fast tempo between the double bass and ride cymbals. As of late, current touring drummer, Arin Ilejay, has been doing the "double-ride thing" during live performances, which Mike Portnoy refused to do during his run with the band out of respect for The Rev.
The band won the MTV Music Award for Best New Artist in 2006[1], beating out Rihanna, Panic! at the Disco, Angels & Airwaves, James Blunt and Chris Brown, where The Rev gave his acceptance speech.
Source : Wiki
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