Todd Anderson

I think I was born a drummer. As a child, I would beat on anything – with anything – in some vain attempt to create sound while sitting in the floor of my Mom’s kitchen, riding down the road with my family in the car, or killing time sitting around the ball park. I even got in trouble in first grade for drumming on my desk to “wipeout”!!!

I got my first pair of sticks when I was nine years old. My fate was sealed when I saw Tommy Lee in the Motley Crue video “Looks That Kill.” That was a life-changing moment for me and I knew what I had to do...PLAY DRUMS!!! My parents bought me a strobe light to set in my room so that I could be “in-concert” while air drumming to Kiss, Motley Crue, and Led Zeppelin every night! Things began to get really serious for me three years later when my Dad bought me a late 70’s Ludwig kit.



 
This is when I began a strict regimen of practice for 3-4 hrs. per day/7 days a week. I bought and studied many different books/videos, as well as learning all the licks/grooves from John Bonham, Tommy Lee, Kenny Arnoff, Mark Herndon, Jeff Porcaro, Bobby Rock, Steve Smith and many others. I have had the honor of taking lessons from J.D. Blair (Shania Twain, Victor Wooten) and Charlie Adams (Yanni). With their instruction and philosophy I was able to develop my own style and approach to playing. Both J.D. and Charlie were instrumental in my development as a drummer.

In my late teens/early twenties I attended college and studied music during the day and played gigs at night. This is where I got my first experiences in a recording studio, in playing with a jazz band, learning music theory etc... Needless to say, this was an extremely important time for the development of my musicality, technique, and creativity. I went on to get my B.B.A in Management. It was also during my freshman year of college that my brother and I, along with Jason, started Heartland.

After I graduated from college, I began to teach drum lessons. I was able to build a teaching practice that grew to about 50 students per week at a music store in Huntsville, Al. I was also living in Nashville at this time doing as many sessions/gigs as I could get my hands on. This is when I started to get initiated into the world of professional studio work where the standard is exceedingly high. I loved doing freelance studio work, but the dream of making it big with Heartland remained strong. We continued to tour the Southeast playing anywhere we could find a gig until we finally signed our record deal in May of 2006 after being together for 12 years! Within four months, our debut single “I Loved Her First” soared to #1 on Billboard and our album debuted at #3. Recently, we have toured with Brad Paisley, Montgomery Gentry, Carrie Underwood etc... all over the U.S. and we have tour plans for Europe in 2007.