Dom

Dominic Howard

Dominic Howard

Drumming Biography

Dominic James Howard plays the drums, percussion, Buchler 200E and does occasional backing vocals in the band MUSE.

He was born in Stockport, England on 7th December 1977 which makes him the oldest member of the band (30).

When he was 8/9 he and his family moved to Teignmouth, a small town in Devon, England.

At the age of 11, Dom started attending Teignmouth High School where he was inspired to play the drums after seeing the school jazz band perform.

“I saw a jazz group when I was 11 years old at the school, and I realised that I wanted to make music.”

He only had lessons for a month and then got despondent, insisting on learning the drums by playing with and listening to other musicians instead.

The first band he ever played with was the school Jazz Band that had inspired him.

Dom’s older sister, who attended an Art College, tried to encourage Dom to play the piano at the age of 5 but this didn’t work. His sister was also the brain child for the early band name “Gothic Plague”.

Dominic’s style of playing is rather unique. He is a very powerful player with large drums and big cymbals, but he also has lots of jazz influences. For example, keeping his hi-hat going throughout songs and using a lot of ghost-notes on the snare.

His drumming technique is inspired by Stewart Copeland, Nick Mason, Buddy Rich, Roger Taylor and especially Dave Grohl.

“Dominic is a pretty aggressive drummer and he tends to hit his cymbals rather hard”
Producer Rich Costey on the making of Absolution.

Dom was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from the University of Plymouth on September 26 2008. Therefore he is now DOCTOR Dominic Howard!

Questions and Answers

What’s the best thing about being in Muse?
“Being able to play the music for people at concerts and to communicate with them”

What’s the wost thing about being in Muse?
“Going to bed at 3am and getting up at 6am”

If you could meet any celebrity, who would it be?
“Jimi Hendrix. He was just such a cool guy - the way he played, how he seemed to be in his personal life or whenever he was being interviewed, he just seemed like a really cool cat.”

And what would be the first thing you say to him?
“Good riff, man!”

If there was no Muse, what would you like to be doing?
“I’d quite like to be a diving instructor.”

Explain how much fun it was to smash into that big table of booze on a golf cart (as seen on the hullabaloo disc 2).
“It was a whole lot of fun. There’s nothing like driving a golf cart into things that you know are definitely going to break. The problem is taking so much pleasure in destroying other peoples belongings.”

What drummers are better than you?
“There’s too many to list!”

Do you like playing bigger or smaller venues and why?
“I like both for different reasons. It’s amazing to play in a large venue in front of thousands of people. To comprehend that many people coming to see us play, what they look like from the stage and what is sounds like when thousands of people respond to our songs, is a really amazing experience. But when we play in smaller venues there is a raw, intermit and spontaneous energy that can lack in large venues.”

What’s the best gig you’ve ever seen?
“Primus at Brixton Academy, June 1997″

How has your hair survived the immense toil of dye?
“Mine’s gonna fall out I expect. That’s what happens if you dye your hair too much. It’s really thin already.”

What would you do if you were a girl for a day?
“Just hang out in the shower.”

What is your sexual fantasy?
“I think its all about doing it in strange places. I’ve never got around to doing it in a plane. Sneaking off in a plane and getting it on while you’re flying.”

If you had children, what would you name them?
“Judith maybe?”

What one thing would you like to change about yourself?
“You’ve got to be happy with who you are, but I’d like to be more expressive.”

What would suprise people about you?
“That I’m actually an arsehole.”

Who is your favourite simpsons character?
“Doctor Hibbert! Because he just laughs all the time, even when terrible things are happening.”

What’s on your rider?
“Lots of whiskey and various spirits, beers, socks and pants! The underwear is a key item, thats an essential. They get well fithy, so we have to throw them out straight away. It’s good to get fresh ones every day. We don’t really care what brand, as long as there aren’t any white socks! They’ve got to be black! We’re definitly not into the knee-length shorts whith white socks look!”

Do you read fan posts on the muse messageboard?
“Yeah yeah, we keep on it every now and again to see what’s going on. It’s funny to read what they’re all talking about in there. There’s different sections of it, because there’s the random issues page, which is them just arguing with each other and then yeah, it’s interesting to see what they’re saying.”

What rumour would you like to start about yourself?
“That I can fly helicopters. I’m learning, so I’ll probably walk in to a bar and go, “Yeah, I can fly”. Which I can’t.”

Any message you want to pass on to your fans?
“We want you to invite everyone to come along and see us play, and hope that they have a good time, have a laugh and really enjoy themselves.”

What song do you wish you’d written?
“Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.”

What essential items do you take to a festival?
“I find that a drumkit is essential for any festival we play these days.”