Glen Sobel
Glen Sobel | |
---|---|
Born | Los Angeles, California, United States |
Genres | Rock, hard rock, progressive rock, heavy metal, rap rock, instrumental rock, pop, jazz fusion, funk, Latin, R&B |
Instrument | Drums |
Years active | 1993–present |
Website | glensobel.com |
Glen Sobel is an American drummer who has performed and recorded in many different genres. Mainly known for being the drummer for Alice Cooper since 2011, Sobel has also worked with Sixx: A.M., Vasco Rossi, Elliott Yamin of American Idol, SX-10, Beautiful Creatures, Impellitteri, Gary Hoey, Tony MacAlpine, Jennifer Batten, Paul Gilbert, Saga, Shark Island, Vivian Campbell, Uli Jon Roth, Jeff Scott Soto, Alcatrazz (feat. Graham Bonnet), Trev Lukather, Brooks Buford, among others. As a member of the house band at various events in 2011 and 2012, Sobel played behind such varied artists as Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Johnny Depp,[1] Rob Halford,[2] "Weird" Al Yankovic, Mike Myers, Pat Simmons, Michael McDonald,[3] Robbie Krieger, Kesha,[4] Arthur Brown[5] and others.
Biography
A native of Los Angeles, Sobel began playing drums at the age of eleven. He studied drums throughout high school whilst playing in marching bands, jazz bands and other bands outside of school, ultimately winning a large drum-off competition in Los Angeles at the age of 19. This soon led to his first pro gig playing for guitar virtuoso Tony MacAlpine. Sobel recorded one record with MacAlpine in 1993, entitled Madness, which featured jazz saxophone luminary Branford Marsalis. This led to several other gigs and session work with virtuosos such as former Michael Jackson guitarist Jennifer Batten, Gary Hoey, and Chris Impellitteri.
Switching musical gears, Glen took gigs with SX-10, a rap/rock hybrid band with Sen Dog of Cypress Hill which featured many other rap luminaries of the day such as Everlast and Kottonmouth Kings. Soon after, Sobel accepted an offer to become a band member of Warner Bros. Records artists Beautiful Creatures whose line-up also featured Joe Leste of Bang Tango and DJ Ashba of Sixx: A.M. and Guns N' Roses fame. Beautiful Creatures participated in several tours in 2001 including Ozzfest, opening for Marilyn Manson and others.
The next few years saw Sobel playing on a number of tours and recording jobs including playing on the new version of "Heavy Action" (the Monday Night Football theme on ESPN) and touring with American Idol second runner up Elliott Yamin who scored a top ten smash in 2007.
Teaching jobs also followed with a faculty position in the drum department at Musician's Institute in Hollywood, CA. This also led to appearing and performing at various drum clinics and festivals in several countries such as Drum Daze[6] in Columbus, Ohio, the Laguna Drum Festival[7] in Mexico and various clinics throughout Asia and Europe.
In September 2010, Sobel got a last minute call to sub for an injured Matt Laug on the Vasco Rossi 2010 Indoor Tour of Italy. The tour saw crowds in excess of 40,000 people and Sobel filled in for five weeks.[8]
February 2011 Sobel received a call about becoming the new touring drummer for Alice Cooper. Having done a recording session for the shock rocker previously with famed producer Bob Ezrin, Sobel accepted the offer and has been in the drum chair for Alice ever since having toured and performed 150 concerts in over 20 different countries. In June 2012, Sobel was forced to take a temporary leave of absence from the Alice Cooper band due to a persistent neck injury.[9]
In the 2013 Readers Poll for DRUM! Magazine, Sobel placed first runner-up in both the "Rising Star" and "Rock/Metal" categories.[10]
When not on the road, Glen can be seen playing around Los Angeles with various artists, including Jeff Kollman, Adrian Galysh,[11] and Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell's band, Sir Sodoff and the Trainwrecks.[12]
Discography
Recordings
- (2015) Hollywood Vampires - Hollywood Vampires
- (2014) Vasco Rossi - Sono Innocente
- (2013) Alice Cooper - Raise the Dead: Live at Wacken
- (2011) Tina Guo – The Journey
- (2009) Carly Patterson – Back to the Beginning
- (2008) Adrian Galysh – Earth Tones
- (2007) Paul Gilbert – Get Out of My Yard (guitar instructional DVD)
- (2007) Tiffany – I Think We're Alone Now: '80s Hits and More
- (2006) Jeff Scott Soto – Essential Ballads
- (2006) Shark Island – Gathering of the Faithful
- (2006) Tony MacAlpine – Collection: The Shrapnel Years
- (2005) Various artists – An All Star Tribute to Cher
- (2005) Beautiful Creatures – Deuce
- (2005) Gary Hoey – Monster Surf
- (2004) SX-10 – Rhymes in the Chamber
- (2004) Gary Hoey – The Best of Gary Hoey
- (2004) Impellitteri – Pedal to the Metal
- (2004) Various artists – Cypress Thrill (X-Ray)
- (2004) Jeff Scott Soto – Lost in the Translation
- (2004) Various artists – Hey! It's a Teenacide Pajama Party!
- (2004) Ken Tamplin and Friends – Wake the Nations
- (2003) Gary Hoey – Ho! Ho! Hoey: The Complete Collection
- (2002) Impellitteri – System X
- (2002) Impellitteri – The Very Best of Impellitteri: Faster Than the Speed of Light
- (2001) Beautiful Creatures – Beautiful Creatures
- (2001) Various artists – Straight Out of Cypress
- (2001) Gary Hoey – Best of Ho! Ho! Hoey
- (2000) Impellitteri – Crunch
- (2000) SX-10 – Mad Dog American
- (1999) Gary Hoey – Money
- (1999) Christian Anthony – Naked and Alive
- (1998) Gary Hoey – Hocus Pocus Live
- (1997) Jennifer Batten – Jennifer Batten's Tribal Rage: Momentum
- (1997) Saga – Pleasure & the Pain
- (1993) Tony MacAlpine – Madness
Movie soundtracks
- (2005) Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Lockdown
- (2002) Rollerball
- (2002) Narc
- (2001) Valentine
- (1998) Meet the Deedles
Television Soundtracks
- (2007) Monday Night Football Theme
- (2005) MTV's Trailer Fabulous
- (2001) Smallville
References
- ^ "Alice Cooper Performs At Dark Shadows Premier Party With Johnny Depp, Steven Tyler & Joe Perry".
- ^ "Rob Halford, Alice Cooper Perform At 'Christmas Pudding' Concert".
- ^ "Alice Cooper and Steven Tyler Come Together For New Years 2012".
- ^ "Alice Cooper Joined By Robbie Krieger, Kesha At Intimate L.A. Gig".
- ^ "Alice Cooper Joined In London By Arthur Brown".
- ^ "Shadows Fall, Impellitteri Drummers At Drum Daze 2010; Video Available".
- ^ "Glen Sobel, Derek Roddy At Laguna Drumfest 2010; Video Footage Available".
- ^ "Drummer Glen Sobel Releases Footage From Vasco Rossi Tour".
- ^ "Alice Cooper Drummer Glen Sobel Forced To Take A Break From The Road".
- ^ "DRUM! Magazine - Drummies! Awards 2013".
- ^ "Drummer Glen Sobel Pulling Triple Duty With Uli Jon Roth, Alcatrazz, Adrian Galysh".
- ^ "Vivian Campbell Performs Def Leppard, Thin Lizzy Classics At California Club".