Gavin Harrison

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Gavin Harrison
Harrison in 2011
Harrison in 2011
Background information
Born (1963-05-28) 28 May 1963 (age 60)
Harrow, Middlesex, England
Genres
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)
  • Drums
  • percussion
Years active1979–present
Labels
Member of
Formerly of
Websitegavharrison.com

Gavin Richard Harrison[1] (born 28 May 1963)[2] is an English musician. He is best known for playing with the progressive rock bands Porcupine Tree (2002–2010; 2021–present), King Crimson (2008, and 2014–2021) and The Pineapple Thief (2016–present). Harrison's drumming has received many awards from music publications and earned praise from other musicians.

Career[edit]

Gavin started to work professionally in 1979. He worked as a freelance session drummer on records and tours for the following artists: Incognito, Lisa Stansfield, Lewis Taylor, Artful Dodger, Paul Young, Iggy Pop, Level 42, Porcupine Tree, OSI, King Crimson, Shooter, Dizrhythmia, The Pineapple Thief, The Kings Of Oblivion, Sam Brown, Tom Robinson, Go West, Black, Gail Ann Dorsey, B J Cole, Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin, Nathan East, Yasuaki Shimizu, Camouflage, Kevin Ayers, Claudio Baglioni, Franco Battiato, Chizuko Yoshihiro, Renaissance, Mick Karn, Eros Ramazzotti, Nick Johnston, Randy Goodrum, and Fates Warning.

In 2002 he joined Porcupine Tree and has played on the band's albums released since that time: In Absentia, Deadwing, Fear of a Blank Planet, The Incident, and Closure/Continuation, with each receiving critical acclaim and raising the band's status to one of the most influential modern progressive rock bands. He remained a permanent member of the band until an indefinite hiatus was announced in 2010, and then again in 2021 when the band announced a return to playing together with the release of the album Closure/Continuation.

Harrison with Porcupine Tree during concert in Kraków, 2007

In 2007 Harrison began a long term collaboration with singer/extended range bass player 05Ric, which led to the release of three CDs, Drop (2007), Circles (2009) and The Man Who Sold Himself (2012).

In 2008, Harrison joined King Crimson as part of a dual-drummer line-up with Pat Mastelotto. He played a number of shows in the United States in August with the band. He also recorded drums on Steven Wilson's debut solo album, Insurgentes.

On 23 August 2011, he was a featured performer on the 'Late Show with David Letterman' as part of their second "Drum Solo Week", along with such players as Sheila E, Stewart Copeland, Neil Peart, and Dennis Chambers.

From September 2014 to December 2021, Harrison played live in King Crimson, as one of the three drummers.

In 2016, he joined The Pineapple Thief as a session drummer for the band's 11th studio album Your Wilderness, which received widespread critical acclaim and an overwhelmingly positive fan reception. He joined the band on the tour following the album in January 2017. In August 2018, just prior to the release of Dissolution, the band announced that Harrison had officially joined the band as a full member. He has since been actively involved and credited in the band's songwriting and album production together with the founder Bruce Soord.

Influences and awards[edit]

Harrison was influenced by his father's jazz collection and by drummers such as Steve Gadd[3] and Jeff Porcaro.[4]

Harrison won the Modern Drummer readers' poll for "best progressive drummer of the year" consecutively from 2007–2010 and again in 2016 and 2019. He won "Best Prog Drummer" in DRUM USA magazine 2011. Prog voted him best drummer in 2011, 2012, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. He is the featured cover story on Modern Drummer January 2009, February 2015 and July 2022. Rolling Stone polls rate him as the third best drummer in the past 25 years. In 2014, Modern Drummer magazine placed Harrison in the "Top 50 Greatest Drummers of All Time".

Comments from other artists[edit]

Many artists have cited Harrison as an influence, including Chad Szeliga, Chris Pennie,[5] Ryan Van Poederooyen,[6] Dirk Verbeuren,[7] Andrew Spence,[8] Raymond Hearne of Haken,[9] John Merryman of Cephalic Carnage,[10] Jamie Saint Merat of Ulcerate,[11] Aaron Stechauner of Rings of Saturn,[12] Baard Kolstad of Leprous,[13] Francesco Paoli of Fleshgod Apocalypse,[14] Matija Dagović of Consecration,[15] Vishnu Reddy of Crypted and Abhay Rathore (former Mocaine).[16]

Harrison performing with Porcupine Tree in 2022.

In addition, other artists have been quoted expressing admiration for his work including Neil Peart,[17] Bill Bruford,[18] Mike Portnoy,[19] Devin Townsend,[20] Steve Smith,[21] Martín López,[22] Matt Garstka,[23] Dave Bainbridge,[24] Hannes Grossmann,[25] Blake Richardson,[26] Kai Hahto,[27] Jimmy Keegan,[9] Ian Mosley,[28] Dan Presland of Ne Obliviscaris,[29] Evan Sammons of Last Chance to Reason,[30] Bodo Stricker of Callejon,[31] Joshua Theriot of Abigail's Ghost,[32] and Blake Anderson of Vektor.[33]

Publications[edit]

Harrison authored two instructional drum books entitled Rhythmic Illusions and Rhythmic Perspectives. He also wrote and produced his own instructional DVDs, Rhythmic Visions and Rhythmic Horizons, at his home studio. 2010 saw the release of Rhythmic Designs, a book of transcriptions by Terry Branam, and a 3-hour DVD of Gavin's explanations and demonstrations. It won 'Best in Show' at the summer NAMM Show in the USA. 2014 sees the release of Rhythmic Compositions a book of 20 detailed drum transcriptions (by Terry Branam) of recorded Porcupine Tree performances – plus photos and stories of the recording and creative process.

Discography[edit]

Performer Year Album
The Pineapple Thief 2024 It Leads To This
Saro Cosentino 2022 The Road To Now
Gleb Kolyadin 2022 The Outland
The Pineapple Thief 2022 Give It Back
Porcupine Tree 2022 Closure/Continuation
King Crimson 2021 Washington & Albany
The Pineapple Thief 2021 Uncovering The Tracks
The Pineapple Thief 2021 Nothing but the Truth - Live
Tuesday The Sky 2021 The Blurred Horizon
Gavin Harrison & Antoine Fafard 2020 Chemical Reactions
Fates Warning 2020 Long Day Good Night
Claudio Baglioni 2020 In Questa Storia, Che E La Mia
The Pineapple Thief 2020 Versions of the Truth
Randy Goodrum 2020 Red Eye
Jakko Jakszyk 2020 Secrets and Lies
The Pineapple Thief 2019 Hold Our Fire - Live
The Pineapple Thief 2018 Dissolution
Dave Stewart/Barbara Gaskin 2018 Star Clocks
King Crimson 2017 Meltdown: Live in Mexico City
Gianluca D'Alessio 2018 Sunrise Markets
Gleb Kolyadin 2018 Gleb Kolyadin
King Crimson 2016 Live In Vienna
The Pineapple Thief 2017 Where We Stood
King Crimson 2017 Live In Chicago
King Crimson 2016 Radical Action to Unseat the Hold of Monkey Mind
Dizrhythmia 2016 Dizrhythmia Too
The Pineapple Thief 2016 Your Wilderness
Nick Johnston 2016 Remarkably Human
King Crimson 2016 Live in Toronto
Fjieri 2016 Words Are All We Have
iamthemorning 2016 Lighthouse
Franco Battiato 2015 Anthology - Le nostre anime
King Crimson 2015 Live At The Orpheum
Carlo Berton 2015 Planetarium
iamthemorning 2014 Belighted
King Crimson 2014 The Elements of King Crimson
Amadeus Awad 2013 Schizanimus
The Tangent 2013 Le Sacre Du Travail
Lo-Fi Resistance 2012 Chalk Lines
Porcupine Tree 2012 Octane Twisted
Fusion Syndicate 2012 The Fusion Syndicate
Franco Battiato 2012 Apriti Sesamo
Kompendium 2012 Beneath The Waves
Harry Shearer 2012 Can't Take A Hint
Ed Poole 2012 Routes
Dario Zeno 2010 L'incoscienza di Zeno
Alberto Rigioni 2011 Rebirth
Alice 1992 Mezzogiorno sulle Alpi
Angela Baraldi 2001 Rosasporco
B. J. Cole 1989 Transparent Music
B. J. Cole 1995 Heart of the Moment
Black 1988 Comedy
Blackfield 2004 Blackfield
Blackfield 2007 Blackfield II
Camouflage 1991 Meanwhile
Carlo Fimiani 2007 Too Early
Chizuko Yoshihiro 1993 Conscious Mind
Claudio Baglioni 1992 AncorAssieme
Claudio Baglioni 1992 Assieme
Claudio Baglioni 1995 Io Sono Qui
Claudio Baglioni 1996 Attori e Spettatori
Claudio Baglioni 1997 Anime in Gioco
Claudio Baglioni 1998 A-Live
Claudio Baglioni 1999 Viaggiatore Sulla Coda del Tempo
Claudio Baglioni 2000 Acustico
Claudio Baglioni 2003 Sono Io
Claudio Baglioni 2005 Cresendo e Cercando
Claudio Baglioni 2006 Quelli Degli Altri Tutti Qui
Claudio Baglioni 2009 Q.P.G.A
Claudio Baglioni 2013 Con Voi
Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin 1990 The Big Idea
Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin 1991 Spin
Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin 2009 Green & Blue
Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin 2009 TLG Collection
David Devant & His Spirit Wife 1996 Ginger
Devogue 1997 Devogue
Dizrhythmia 1987 Dizrhythmia
Donna Gardier 1990 I'll Be There
Ed Poole 2008 ED 4
Ed Poole 2010 Depth
Eddie & the Tide 1986
Eros Ramazzotti 1995 Più Bella Cosa Live
Eugenio Finardi 1990 La Forza Dell'amore
Eugenio Finardi 1991 Millennio
Fiorella Mannoia 1992 I Treni a Vapore
Peter Cox 2004 Desert Blooms
Franco Battiato 1993 Caffe' de la Paix
Franco Battiato 1996 L'Imboscata
Franco Battiato 1996 L'ombra Della Luce
Franco Battiato 1998 Gommalacca
Franco Battiato 2012 Apriti Sesamo
Froon 1987 Froon
Fjieri 2009 Endless
Gail Ann Dorsey 1988 The Corporate World
Gavin Harrison 1997 Sanity & Gravity
Gavin Harrison & 05Ric 2007 Drop
Gavin Harrison & 05Ric 2009 Circles
Gavin Harrison & 05Ric 2012 The Man Who Sold Himself
Gavin Harrison 2015 Cheating the Polygraph
Heraldo Zuniga 2001 Triangulo de Musgo
Iggy Pop 1986 Ritz N.Y.C Live / Real Wild Child Live
Incognito 1991 Inside Life
Jakko Jakszyk 2006 The Bruised Romantic Glee Club
Jakko Jakszyk 1994 Kingdom of Dust
Jakko Jakszyk 1994 Mustard Gas and Roses
Jakko Jakszyk 1996 Are My Ears on Wrong?
Jakko Jakszyk 1997 Road to Ballina
Jakszyk Fripp Collins 2011 A Scarcity of Miracles
Kevin Ayers 1992 Still Life with Guitar
King Crimson 2008 Park West, Chicago, Illinois – 7 August 2008
Lene Lovich 1990 March
Lewis Taylor 2000 Lewis II
Lewis Taylor 2005 In Session
Lisa Stansfield 1997 Never, Never Gonna Give You Up Live
Lisa Stansfield 1999 Swing
Lisa Stansfield 2001 831 – Change
Manfred Mann's Earth Band 1996 Soft Vengeance
Manolo García 2002 Nunca el Tiempo es Perdido
Marco Tafelli 2010 Reset
Mick Karn 1995 The Tooth Mother
Mieko Shimizu 1990 A Road of Shells
Miss Thi 1991 Lover
No-Man 2008 Schoolyard Ghosts
OSI 2009 Blood
OSI 2012 Fire Make Thunder
Paolo Gianolio 2009 Pane e Nuvole
Paolo Gianolio 2012 Tribu' di Note
Patty Pravo 2002 Radio Station
Paul Cusick 2011 P'dice
Paul Young 1995 Grazing in the Grass Live
Peter Cox 2001 Flame Still Burns
Porcupine Tree 2002 In Absentia
Porcupine Tree 2003 Futile
Porcupine Tree 2003 XM
Porcupine Tree 2004 The Sky Moves Sideways reissue
Porcupine Tree 2005 Deadwing
Porcupine Tree 2005 Up the Downstair reissue
Porcupine Tree 2005 XMII
Porcupine Tree 2006 Rockpalast
Porcupine Tree 2006 Arriving Somewhere...
Porcupine Tree 2007 Fear of a Blank Planet
Porcupine Tree 2007 Nil Recurring
Porcupine Tree 2009 Ilosaarirock
Porcupine Tree 2009 The Incident
Porcupine Tree 2010 Anesthetize
Porcupine Tree 2010 Atlanta
Porcupine Tree 2022 Closure/Continuation
Progetto Cavani 1993 Alza la Testa
Raf 1993 Cannibali
Richard Barbieri/Tim Bowness 1994 Flame
Richard Barbieri 2008 Stranger Inside
Rob Cowen/Beverley Craven 2004 Lady Advertiser
Sam Brown 1987 Stop!
Sarah Jane Morris 1988 Can't Get to Sleep
Saro Cosentino 1997 Ones & Zeros
Shari Belafonte 1989 Shari
Sharon Rose 1994 Never Be The Same
Sheila Nicholls 2002 Wake
Shooter 1999 ..And Your Point?
Shooter 1999 Life's a Bitch
Stefano Panunzi 2005 Timelines
Steve Thorne 2007 Part Two: Emotional Creatures
Steve Thorne 2009 Into the Ether
Steven Wilson 2008 Insurgentes
Storm Corrosion 2012 Storm Corrosion
The Kings of Oblivion 1987 Big Fish Popcorn
Three Blind Mice 2007 Good Grief
Tom Robinson & Jakko Jakszyk 1988 We've Never Had It So Good
Yasuaki Shimizu 1989 Aduna
Zerra One 1986 The Domino Effect

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Gavin Harrison". Discogs. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  2. ^ "Gavin Harrison | Biography". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  3. ^ "Interview: Gavin Harrison (solo & 05Ric, Porcupine Tree, King Crimson)". Hit-channel.com. 12 April 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  5. ^ Slater, Sam (June 2010). "Interview with Chris Pennie - Coheed and Cambria". www.mikedolbear.co.uk. Leicestershire, England. Archived from the original on 25 November 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2017. [...] Gavin Harrison is a great player and his books have been a great source of inspiration to me. [...]
  6. ^ "Interview: Ryan Van Poederooyen of DTP". damnationmagazine.com. 3 October 2014. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2017. [...] I'd have to say my biggest inspiration on the drums at the moment is Gavin Harrison from Porcupine Tree. The guy is absolutely amazing on the drums. Great feel, great chops, amazing groove and he always plays unique beats and fills that really stand out to me. [...]
  7. ^ "A Toontrack Interview with Soilwork Drummer Dirk Verbeuren". geargods.net. 3 December 2013. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  8. ^ Marc, Travis (2010). "Andrew Spence Interview". ukdrummer.com (published 20 November 2014). Archived from the original on 12 February 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2017. [...] So lately drummers who are really have a serious effect on my drumming are Gavin Harrison [...] I would just love to have a brain transplant with that guy. Anything he does is just mind boggling. What I love most about him is he's not so flashy, just very down to earth and passionate about his drumming. Everything is well thought out and out together and he makes the impossible seem possible.
  9. ^ a b Kearns, Kevin; Haid, Mike (14 October 2014). "The Essence of Progressive Drumming". Modern Drummer. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  10. ^ "John Merryman". sickdrummermagazine.com. 9 September 2007. Archived from the original on 9 July 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  11. ^ "Entrevista exclusiva: Ulcerate". www.zannmusic.com.ar. 25 November 2009. Archived from the original on 14 April 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  12. ^ Cece, Dan (29 February 2016). "INTERVIEW: Aaron Stechauner From Rings of Saturn". itdjents.com. Archived from the original on 26 April 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  13. ^ "Baard Kolstad's official Facebook". Facebook. 28 February 2012. Archived from the original on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  14. ^ "SDM Cover Feature | Francesco Paoli". Sick Drummer Magazine. Brockport, New York. 18 March 2014. p. 56. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  15. ^ Lazinica, Gordan (2 November 2014). "Šta muzičari slušaju: Matija Dagović (Consecration)". balkanrock.com (in Bosnian). Archived from the original on 2 November 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2017. [...] Gavin Harrison je verovatno najkompletniji i najkompleksniji muzičar među bubnjarima današnjice. Prava je poslastica slušati i gledati ga u bilo kojoj muzičkoj situaciji. ([...] Gavin Harrison is probably the most complete and complex musician among drummers of today. Is a real delight to listen to and watch him in any musical situation.)
  16. ^ Muralidhar, Vilasini (8 September 2011). "Vishnu Reddy (September 2011)". headbangers.in. Archived from the original on 12 February 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  17. ^ "Exclusive Interview with Neil Peart". mikedolbear.co.uk (published 9 November 2006). January 2006. Archived from the original on 11 May 2006. Retrieved 11 February 2017. Along with all the drummers I have always enjoyed, and still listen to and appreciate (many mentioned in the DVD and related material), I like what Gavin Harrison is doing with Porcupine Tree, and on his instructional DVDs. His playing and his thinking are interesting, musical, and inspiring.
  18. ^ Bruford, Bill. "FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS". BillBruford.com. Archived from the original on 20 July 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2017. Fellow countryman Gavin is leading the field in improvising with meters. He has managed to distil the essence of, and codify the laws of what I think is generally considered to be the next big step in drumming, namely the ability to move at will through several parallel meters, whose relationship to the basic pulse can then be said to be 'displaced' or 'modulated'. He has the cleanest and tidiest execution of any drummer I've ever heard. Try his group 'Porcupine Tree', or some of his excellent instructional books and DVDs.
  19. ^ Schetter, Michael (6 July 2012). "MIKE PORTNOY: The Two Most Creatively Fulfilling Years". www.prog-sphere.com. Munich, Germany (published 19 September 2012). Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  20. ^ Holmes, Nicholas (23 October 2012). "Devin Townsend Interview". www.metalgigs.co.uk. London. Archived from the original on 27 October 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  21. ^ Ottavioli, Xavier (November–December 2011). "Interview with Steve Smith for BATTERIE magazine (France)" (PDF). Batterie. No. 84. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 July 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2017 – via vitalinformation.com.
  22. ^ López, Martín (26 November 2014). "Soen drummer Martin Lopez's top 10 drum heroes". Music Radar. Archived from the original on 2 December 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  23. ^ Micallef, Ken (April 2017). "On The Cover – Matt Garstka". Modern Drummer. Archived from the original on 19 March 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  24. ^ Strik, Henri (January 2015). "Interview Dave Bainbridge: "With this album I was aiming to recapture some of the emotions that first motivated me to devote my life to music"". www.backgroundmagazine.nl. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  25. ^ "Hannes Grossmann". sickdrummermagazine.com. 29 July 2007. Archived from the original on 9 July 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  26. ^ Richardson, Blake (1 April 2011). "By Request: IAMA drummer for a touring progressive metal band. I am Blake Richardson". IAMA. Reddit. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017. Love Porcupine Tree. I was jamming the Incident the other day. That record has really grown on me. Gavin Harrison is the man. Dude has some of the most tasteful fills ever.
  27. ^ "Nightwish Fanpage - INTERVIEW WITH KAI HAHTO 2015 !!! :)". Facebook. 2 November 2015. Archived from the original on 9 July 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  28. ^ Iraheta, Alfredo (29 October 2016). "Exclusive Interview with Marillion's Ian Mosley – Part 2". World Prog-Nation. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  29. ^ "Dan Presland". sickdrummermagazine.com. 16 June 2009. Archived from the original on 9 July 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  30. ^ "Evan Sammons". sickdrummermagazine.com. 9 November 2010. Archived from the original on 9 July 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  31. ^ "Bodo Stricker". sickdrummermagazine.com. 16 October 2008. Archived from the original on 9 July 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  32. ^ Batmaz, Murat (22 July 2007). "Abigail's Ghost Talk About Their Hot Debut Selling Insincerity". www.seaoftranquility.org. Archived from the original on 10 January 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2017. They're a great band. Gavin Harrison is probably my favorite drummer ever. [...] Perhaps that's why In Absentia worked for me --it was a compromise between the old Porcupine Tree sound and having Gavin Harrison in the mix.
  33. ^ "Blake Anderson". sickdrummermagazine.com. 9 October 2013. Archived from the original on 9 July 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.

External links[edit]

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