Brian Oppel
(drums and percussion)
“My role as a drummer is not just to be the timekeeper, but to be a shaper of the music.”
- Jazz drummer Eric Harland
Eric Harland’s words echo drummer/percussionist Brian Oppel’s thoughts on drums and their place in music. To him, this approach means not just playing drums, but playing music – in whatever style, whether it is rock, jazz, metal, funk, punk, country, etc.
As a product of rural America, Brian has come a long way from the 5-year-old singing Barry Manilow’s hit “Can’t Smile Without You” while drumming on the dashboard of his father’s Chevy. Even from his youth, he was a music fan first. Constant exposure to AM gold and FM rock on the radio dial along with the copious record collection handed down to him from his ‘musical parents’ (i.e. his older brothers) provided the inspiration for this initially self-taught drummer. From school band and pounding out drumbeats on the living room floor to playing in bar bands in the backwoods of Montana, his formative years were spent absorbing the playing styles of the modern rock masters along with the late-60s rock luminaries.
In high school, he discovered the groove of James Brown, the quirkiness of Frank Zappa, and the spastic energy of punk rock. Appreciating this mish-mash of music eventually became the bridge to jazz and the avant-garde during his college years at the University of Montana in Missoula. There, he studied classical and world percussion with Dr. Robert LedBetter (U of North Texas). As a member of the UM Jazz Band, he performed with the legendary trumpeter Clark Terry and modern sax wiz Eric Marienthal. Additionally, as a member of the UM Percussion Ensemble, he performed alongside Horacio Hernandez, Gregg Bissonette, Andy Narrell, Lalo Davila, and Chris Wabich. He soon became the drummer of choice for a slew of original bands and various jazz groups in Missoula.
A move to Seattle in 1999 proved to be fruitful in his quest for musical and artistic diversity. Clearly unable to decide on any particular musical style, he has happily been enlisted in a plethora of original music projects. Currently, these include the heavy-metal disco weirdness of KLED, the aggressive pop of The Resets, the slow/dark pop of Slow Skate, the avant math-jazz trio Trimtab, the hillbilly shenanigans of Caleb & Walter, the indie-rock of The Plaid Perspective, some free improv with Squeak and Destroy (featuring the inimitable Bill Horist and Wally Shoup), and until recently, the alt-country stylings of Chad Hinman and The Never Was. Past Missoula notables included the tech-folk sorcery of John Floridis, the perplexing rock-n-rolla of Squirt, and the philanthropic punk of The Banned.
As a teacher, Brian encourages his students to develop not only technique, but their musical ear. This helps them hear the music first, leading to a better understanding of how drums fit into the sonic framework. Most importantly, Brian emphasizes the joy of playing the drums – reminding his students why they got involved in drumming in the first place!