About Jay Dickson

Jay is the 23 year old drummer behind the pounding metronomic rhythms which colour and drive the Northern Ireland three-piece “imadethis”. He has been an endorsee of Mapex drums since coming to their attention at his first Donnington Download appearance at the age of just 17.

In the intervening six years he has been active in pro-session, live, tutorial and clinic work.

His first love is live work. “Nothing beats the live thing” he says “I still get nervous before a gig, but after the first count in it’s game on - all systems go!”. His “old school” approach to drumming has earned him both adulation from fans and praise from his peers. He appeared at the first ever Mapex drum clinic in Northern Ireland back in 2006 with Pete Riley and more recently at the Roland / Mapex roadshow in 2008 with Craig Blundell.

Among those he cites as influences is Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez who was the inspiration behind his “Drums are life” tattoo. “I met him after a show where he had blown my mind with his understanding of rythmn, we got to talking techniques and I asked him to sign a drum head for me and he wrote “Drums are life” - it stuck with me, those three words said it all”.

Having cut his teeth primarily as a rock drummer he has more recently been honing and showing his versatility both with his live / recorded work and the various youtube videos which he has uploaded for students who fancy some extra curricular studying. “I love the whole Youtube thing” he enthuses “It’s a great way for drummers to pick up on techniques - the whole thing about being able to watch and learn at your own pace is an incredible advantage - I spend hours in my studio researching and learning all of the time”.

He’s very happy with his current situation - drum tutor at the North West Regional College in Derry, an endorsee of Mapex drums and Aquarian drumheads and the driving force behind one of Northern Ireland’s most hotly tipped bands.

“I’m very fortunate to have had one hundred percent support from my family, great support from Mapex who obviously saw something worth developing and a fantastic friend and mentor in Rob (McSeveney www.mrdrums.co.uk)”

So, where next? “Life’s good” he says ”When I’m not teaching I’m rehearsing, recording or playing live. I’m doing what I always dreamed of doing - playing drums for a living, it doesn’t get much better than that”.

Other Mapex artists you may want to check out...