Gary Adkins | SoultoneCymbals.com

Gary Adkins

Gary Adkins

“You hit really hard”. This is the phrase that Gary Adkins hears most when he talks to other musicians and show goers. Interested in a drumming concept lost many years ago by rock drummers, Gary believes that every note he plays should accentuate the other parts of the song, most importantly the guitar work.

Having learned how to play from the local preacher’s kid, he cut his teeth playing to a piano at the local church. Listening to what Dave Grohl, William Goldsmith, and Zach Lind were doing rhythmically while playing the kit he made out of books and boxes to practice at home. “My first snare drum was the front cover to an oscillating fan”, Gary stated. “And if it wasn’t for those boxes and that cover and my good friend Philip, I would have never been able to do any of this”. Once he had attended college for a few years, he joined his first band, a local indie pop outfit which led to records, summer tours, and several hundred shows.

Gary gave up drumming for 2 years after college which was “the worst mistake” of his life. After playing semi-professional baseball for a few years, and missing drums heavily, he pieced together a kit and began playing in the basement with a local blues band. From there he joined The Garrison (www.myspace.com/thegarrisonmusic) and began to play what was his first love of music: fast paced, hard hitting, gravelly sung music that was more rock than punk and more punk than rock.

Gary continues on playing music because he loves it. Gary thrives on the joy of playing music that doesn’t sound like any old emo record that some kid has in his collection, hoping to inspire his own child, and the children he works with to look deeper into what music is and means.

Gary also endorses Brotherhood Custom Drums.