BY WALDO THE SQUID
Name Matt McGuire
Age 20
Equipment Mapex Black Panther Velvetone drums, Black Panther Sledgehammer snare, Mapex Falcon hardware, Soultone cymbals, Evans heads, and Vater sticks.
Contact mattmcguire.com.au
Matt McGuire is another in a lengthening queue of aspiring Internet drummers. But instead of just more dubstep tracks with busy fills preceding the bass drop, the Brisbane, Australia native tackles everything from metal and hip-hop to drum ’n’ bass and emo. Significantly, he adds to the existing parts rather than slavishly copying them. Exhausting just to watch, the cover of “Witchcraft” by Pendulum, with its high bpms and accent on a second pair of right-side hats, would astound original drummer KJ Sawka. Ever since he was invited onstage with Ndugu Chancler at age six, the young Aussie has been pursuing the craft with demonic zeal. McGuire gets that being influential in today’s market means selecting the right songs to cover but also delivering high-quality audio, striking camera angles, and showbiz flair. Or as McGuire says: “Technique and visual performance whilst tastefully complementing the music is the key to how I play.”