Graham Hopkins
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| Graham Hopkins | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | December 20, 1975 Dublin, Ireland |
| Origin | Clane, County Kildare, Ireland |
| Genre(s) | Rock, Pop, Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Drums, Guitar, Bass, Keyboards |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Associated acts | Therapy?, The Swell Season, The Frames, Snow Patrol, Dolores O'Riordan, Halite,Gemma Hayes, David Kitt, Boss Volenti |
Graham Hopkins (born December 20, 1975) is an Irish drummer. He is the former drummer for the hard rock/punk rock band Therapy?[1] and rock band Boss Volenti.[2] Hopkins plays Zildjian cymbals, Aquarian drumheads, uses Vic Firth sticks and Drum Workshop drums, hardware and pedals.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early years
Hopkins was born in Dublin and was brought up in Clane, County Kildare in a musical family (his father, Des being a jazz drummer). He was surrounded by music from an early age and began playing the drums at approximately four or five years old. In 1993, he left school to join My Little Funhouse, a band from County Kilkenny. The band had already released their debut album Standunder on Geffen Records, when Graham joined. The band toured for about a year in support of the album, mainly in the United States. Tours included support to Guns N' Roses and The Ramones amongst others. The band then lived in Los Angeles and recorded a second album for Geffen before imploding.
[edit] Notable appearances
[edit] Therapy?
Hopkins moved on, joining the popular Northern Irish band Therapy? in 1996, recording three albums and releasing a "best of" album. His first public appearance with Therapy? was at the IRMA Awards, Dublin on March 29, 1996. Hopkins played his first full gig with Therapy? at a fan-club members only show at The Attic, Dublin on April 10, 1996. His last show was at the Ambassador, Dublin on December 8, 2001.
[edit] Gemma Hayes
Feeling uninspired by the musical direction of Therapy?, Graham left the band in December 2001 and was immediately asked to tour with Irish singer/songwriter Gemma Hayes. He toured with Gemma Hayes for over a year - supporting her Mercury Music Prize-nominated album Night on My Side.
[edit] Halite
Hopkins went on to record two albums with his own band Halite. Halite played numerous shows over the following two years, including opening Slane Concert in 2003 for Red Hot Chili Peppers and Foo Fighters.
[edit] Boss Volenti
Hopkins was a member of Dublin band Boss Volenti. He drummed on their self-titled debut album released in 2006 but left the band immediately after their appearance at Electric Picnic 2008.
[edit] The Cake Sale
Hopkins appeared as part of the band on the 2006 Oxfam charity album, The Cake Sale.
[edit] Snow Patrol and Dolores O'Riordan
Hopkins spent the early part of 2007 stepping in as drummer for Snow Patrol on their European, Australian and New Zealand tours. He drummed on Dolores O'Riordan's debut solo album, Are You Listening? in 2007 before embarking on a worldwide tour with her.
[edit] Once and The Swell Season
Hopkins also played on the soundtrack to the Irish Oscar-winning musical film Once which was written and directed by John Carney. He drummed on a few of the songs with Glen Hansard of The Frames and Markéta Irglová. He is currently on tour with The Swell Season, which features Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová and members of The Frames. The Swell Season release their new album this September.
[edit] Others
Recently, Graham has been kept busy drumming on numerous albums, both Irish and internationally. He has played drums on albums, and live, with The Frames, The Swell Season, David Kitt, Mundy, The Reindeer Section, Alphastates, Autamata, Ann Scott, Josh Ritter, Jape, Q, The Pale, Pugwash, Miriam Ingram, Paula Toledo, Ferghal McKee (Whipping Boy) amongst others.
[edit] Short Selected Discography
- Semi-Detached 1998
- Suicide Pact-You First 1999
- So Much For the Ten Year Plan 2000
- Shameless 2001
- Music Through A Cheap Transistor 2007
- Dance the Devil 1999
- Burn the Maps 2004
- The Cost 2006
- Square 1 2003
- Not Fade Away 2006
- Are You Listening? 2007
Miriam Ingram
- Trampoline 2006
- Boss Volenti 2006
Ann Scott
- We're Smiling 2006
- The Cake Sale 2006
- Once, soundtrack to the film 2007
[edit] References
- ^ "SFGate: Daily Dish : O'Riordan's Drummer 'Collapses on Stage'". www.sfgate.com. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=7&entry_id=18757. Retrieved on 2008-01-22.
- ^ ""Graham Hopkins leaves Boss Volenti…"". Hot Press. 2008-09-05. http://www.hotpress.com/news/4784594.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-05.
