RYAN VAN POEDEROOYEN
John Inverarity Theatre - Perth, Australia
November 8th 2015
As the drummer for Devin Townsend Project, Ryan Van Poederooyen definitely has his work cut out for him considering how diverse and crazy the music can be. But RVP is no slacker when it comes to hard work as he has proven with his ability and determination to get where he wants to go. He stuck around in Australia after the DTP east coast tour to do a drum master clinic tour but as we found out on Sunday night, this was so much more than just another clinic.
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As Ryan explained at the beginning of the show, this was to be something different from your typical clinic shows where musicians show off their skills and teach fans some of the tricks and techniques in what they do. In fact the theme of the night and the entire clinic tour was to be inspiring and to motivate people to follow their passion in life. Do what you love. As a writer and part of The Rockpit where everything we do revolves around music, this was something that I personally related to immediately because of my own passion for music. To be doing something you are passionate about and to strive to make it your full time career is something everyone thinks about at some point in their life but to actually be doing it is a whole other thing. What Ryan said during his talk with the small group of people at the Perth show was all about that, inspiring.
The show itself was very well structured as he started the night off with an introduction to himself and how he got started in drums. Family played a key part in his life but his passion for music and particularly for the drums became his lifelong obsession. He talked about his early career before eventually getting his biggest break when Devin Townsend contacted him to work with his band. As interesting as hearing any story about the legend that is Devin, it was Ryan's story leading up to that point that was the highlight. And again, hugely inspirational.
Interspersed between talks of being a musician and some personal stories along with fielding questions from the audience were live performances of select tracks from some of his work including Devin Townsend as well as his previous work with other bands including Terror Syndrome and Ten Ways. His diverse range was interesting to see, not just showing the progressive stuff with Devin Townsend but also showing more metal and hard rock styles as well. But his range goes even further than that as he explained going back to when he first started out, trying his hand at everything from pop to country. The latter humorously not exactly his favorite form of music mind you!
The later parts of the show became very inspiring in not so much a musical way but in what he gave the audience with advice on how to follow your passion and be successful at it. It's not just something that was relatable as a musician but also for life in general, in whatever interest that may be. Step by step he gave what worked for him, showing what works and what doesn't and how to apply that to your own life. That seemed to stick out the most for me despite how amazing everything else he had talked about up to this point was including some aspects of how the music industry works. I doubt there was anyone there who wasn't inspired in some way by anything Ryan said and I guess that was the goal that he set out to achieve on this tour.
On top of everything, if that wasn't enough already, is the fact that Ryan is a super friendly and down to earth guy. Hanging out with the fans after the show and chatting about various things individually really showed what a class act he really is. And super grateful for everything that he experiences too which is a rare thing to see these days, especially in the music industry. That alone was inspiring enough and as I finish writing this review up, I think back to everything he said on the night and it makes me even more motivated to make The Rockpit even bigger and better than it already has become and to help make it our way of life. Do yourselves a favor no matter where you are in your life or what you do, if you get a chance to attend any of Ryan's master class clinics, go and then be prepared to be inspired!
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Review & photos by Andrew "Schizodeluxe" Massie
