Doc's "Axes": The original Drummstick, Drummstick #2, the Black Drummstick #3, the custom-made "Jimi Hendrix-style" Zendrum ZX and the Dynacord Rhythm Stick
Doc has 3 different rigs depending on his musical situation. The “Papa Bear” Zendrum ZX rig, (shown below), consists of a 1.42 Ghz PowerBook G4 or MacBook with Garageband ’08, BFD and iDrum, a Gator Laptop Tray, MOTU Fastlane USB MIDI interface, an SKB Gig Rig & Roto Roller with Gig Wing, a Mackie 1202 Mixer and 2 Mackie SRM 450 monitors, Alesis Quadraverb, Alesis DMPro, and a Roland TD-7.
The “Mama Bear” rig is a 10 x 10 Raxxess Converta Rack, with Gator tray, Mackie 1604 Mixer, Yamaha Rev 5, Alesis D4 and a Fastlane USB MiDI interface. For light travel, Doc uses his “Baby Bear” rig; an SKB Studio Flyer with a MOTU 828, a MOTU MIDI Timepiece AV, an M-Audio MidAir USB MIDI Wireless system, a Zendrum Battery Box by Futureman’s tech Chris DeHaas, M-Audio’s iControl and Apple’s Wireless Mouse.
The Beast is Doc's Simmons SDS9 Kit, inspired by the work of Bill Bruford with David Torn, Kazumi Watanabe and Bruford's own Earthworks band, Doc used this kit with the boston-based "Feat of Clay", Steve Ellison's Bangtime, D.C.'s Zappa tribute band, "The Other People" and the original Unidentified Flying Quartet. Doc mates this kit to his Zendrum rig, via his Alesis Trigger i/o.
Doc’s acoustic kit is a now a six piece Rosewood Gretsch kit and a Tama “Stewart Copeland” signature snare. His cymbals are Zildjians. Doc counts the left-handed mastery of his teacher Paul Sears, among his biggest influences.
Some of Doc’s favorite, left handed and madly ambidextrous drummers, include artists like Billy Cobham, Lenny White, Rayford Griffin, Simon Phillips, and Will Kennedy, to name but a few!