Steven Drozd

Steven Gregory Drozd (born June 11, 1969) is an American musician and actor. He is a composer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter for the Flaming Lips, Electric Würms and other projects.

Steven Drozd
Steven Drozd in 2013
Background information
Birth nameSteven Gregory Drozd
Born (1969-06-11) June 11, 1969
OriginHouston, Texas, U.S.
GenresAlternative rock
Occupation(s)Musician, actor
InstrumentsDrums, guitar, piano/keyboards
Years active1983–present
LabelsWarner Bros.
Associated actsThe Flaming Lips, Steve Burns, Foxygen
WebsiteOfficial Flaming Lips site

Early life

Drozd was born in Houston, Texas, and grew up in Richmond and Rosenberg, Texas with three brothers and a sister. His father, Vernon, was a member of the polka band Vernon Drozd and the Texas Brass.[1] At the age of ten, he began playing drums with his father's band and later played piano in various country honky-tonk groups. After high school, Drozd moved to Oklahoma City and performed, mainly on drums, with a number of underground bands in the area.[2]

The Flaming Lips

Drozd joined the Flaming Lips in 1991 as a drummer. While his style is deeply influenced by the big drum sounds of the 1970s, his time spent with his father's polka band helped him develop a sense of delicacy and syncopation, allowing for transitions through an articulate and dynamic touch. His thick grooves, with episodes of odd-time funk, are interspersed with straight ahead rock, mixing and jumping between various genres. In 2002, when drummer and percussionist Kliph Scurlock joined to the band, Drozd assumed the guitar, and he also plays keyboards, bass and drums, and sings.

Other ventures

He has appeared on a number of recordings of other artists including Elliott Smith's From a Basement on the Hill, Jay Farrar's Sebastopol and ThirdShiftGrottoSlack and Steve Burns' Songs for Dustmites. He worked again with Burns on a children's psychedelic music project called Stevensteven. Drozd is featured on online release of Cake's B-sides and Rarities (2007). He is the songwriting/musician half of You in Me, a Neil Diamond inspired duo, with Alan Novey. Drozd writes the songs and Novey sings them as a tribute to Diamond. They have released a 7" inch double A-side with the songs "Hot Coffee" and "The Drifter" on the Flights of Fancy label.

In 2013 Drozd created and directed a volunteer group of music students at ACMUCO called the Mutating Cell Ensemble, whose goal is to experiment with polyrhythm and repetition. They have performed once. The artist Imagene Peise and Christmas LP "Atlas Eets Christmas" is a collection of elevator music-style covers and originals, culled from the home recordings of Drozd with the imagery and myth being from the imagination of Wayne Coyne. Drozd and Coyne now have a second group together called Electric Würms- influenced by prog rock, krautrock and punk rock- their goal is to explore the outer reaches of traditional "rock" music as well performing Flaming Lips deeper cuts. Nashville-based Linear Downfall completes the ensemble. Drozd composed and performed on the song "Mattress Warehouse" by Foxygen, off their album ...And Star Power, released on October 14, 2014.

Film productions

In the Flaming Lips' film Christmas on Mars (2008), he plays Major Syrtis, the main character of the film.[3] Drozd has appeared on Noggin's Jack's Big Music Show, with Jon Stewart and Steve Burns.[4]

In 2020, he scored the TV series Moonbase 8.[5]

References
  1. "Vernon Drozd: Reflecting on God's Gift". polkabeat.com. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  2. "Steven Drozd - The Flaming Lips (1991-present)". www.angelfire.com. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  3. Ho. "The Flaming Lips- Christmas on Mars". fasterlouder.junkee.com. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  4. "Stream Steve Burns and Steven Drozd's Psychadelic Kids Album, Steve-n-Steven". thefutureheart.com. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  5. 131. Dr. Michael Greger, Steven Drozd (The Flaming Lips), Skinner, Mikey Kampmann
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.