PAT PETRILLO

Pat is one of today’s most dynamic & versatile drummers. From deep pocket R&B/Funk, Pop, and swampy Roots grooves, to world rhythms, and fiery fusion fills, he brings it all together with musicality, finesse, and uncanny technical ability.

Pat has toured the world and recorded with some of the best in the business, including Patti LaBelle, Gloria Gaynor, Glen Burtnik, Dee-Lite, Patti Smyth and many others. He is currently leading his own group, Groovallegiance, featuring Guitarist Chieli Minucci (Special EFX), Bassist Gary Grainger (John Scofield, Acoustic Alchemy), Keyboardist Chris Fischer (Mint Condition). Their debut CD will be released in 2008.

His versatility extends to Broadway, having played many shows, including “A Chorus Line”, “Grease”, “Footloose”, and “Dreamgirls” (National Tour).

Pat serves as a full-time faculty member at The Collective music school in New York City. He endorses Ludwig drums, Zildjian cymbals, Remo drumheads and Regal Tip sticks.

Growing up in New Brunswick, New Jersey in a culturally mixed neighborhood, Pat started playing at age 5. Playing came naturally, and he was drawn to the music of the Beatles. Along with the help of an older brother, he was playing along to their records endlessly. Ringo Star was a huge influence on Pat, and today, you can hear that influence in recordings Pat has made with various artists. As he got older, his next musical influences were James Brown, Parliament/Funkadelic, Yes, Earth, Wind, and Fire, Stevie Wonder, and "anything that was on the radio".

Pat also honed his chops with local drum and bugle corps in New Jersey. He joined his first drum corps at age 9, and continued to develop his rudimental chops, marching with various drum corps including The Saints, The Garfield Cadets, and finally, the Bayonne Bridgemen, where he studied with Dennis DeLucia. They were extremely popular, and gave him the chance to tour around the U.S. He competed in the DCI Individual Snare Drum Solo contests where he finished 3rd, and 2nd on two occasions. He went on to college, receiving a scholarship to Morehead Sate University in Kentucky, where he studied with Frank Oddis. He received both a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Music Education, participating in the big band and percussion ensembles.

Upon returning to New Jersey, he enrolled at Drummers Collective in NYC, studying with the likes of Peter Erskine, Frank Malabe, and many others. His years of studies with the late Malabe, were "truly inspirational, saturated not only with the music, but of the culture" of Afro Cuban music. "Peter Erskine taught me more about what not to play, and how to play more musically, effortlessly, and with conviction of time and a sense of space."

Pat expresses his love of playing in many ways, via teaching, clinics, live shows, and he loves to reach out to drummers around the world to share his passion. Recently, Pat taught the first "real time" internet drum lesson at Drummers Collective! The internet lessons are an exciting trend for the future that Pat welcomes with open arms.

For hobbies, Pat is a college basketball junkie, and enjoys working on his lawn and landscaping around his South Brunswick, New Jersey home on a one acre lot in the country. ("It’s very relaxing, and organic.").

He also has a strong sense of family. His wonderful wife, Patrizia, and his two amazing daughters Carina and Tina, ("the real accomplishments in my life"), are his backbone. Although he misses them when he tours, he often brings back many things from foreign countries, and sees it as "a great way to teach the girls about different cultures." Pat sums it all up in a nutshell by stating "God has blessed me, and I owe him the glory and honor in everything I do".