Basic Info

Name: Andrew Hewitt

Location: Sydney Australia

Band / Artist / Projects: Independent

Web / MySpace URL:
www.drummerstix.com.au
www.myspace.com/drummerstix_au

Biography

Andrew Hewitt, dubbed as "Australia's most inspirational drummer", is starting to become one of the most talked about drummers on the national and international drumming and disability communities.

He was born with Cerebral Palsy, which restricts movement in his arms and legs, which forces him to walk aided with crutches and sometimes use a wheelchair. This has made drumming a very serious challenge.

Despite this, over the past 18 years Andrew has worked successfully as a Performing Artist, Drum set Clinician, Motivational Speaker, Workshop Facilitator, and Disability Advocate.

It started in 1980 when his parents got him a drum kit for christmas thinking it would be a good form of physical exercise. Over the years Andrew grew, and the drums became his major passion. He was determined to never let his disability stop him from achieving a much greater success.

After 28 years, Andrew is still hard at it.

Since 2004, Andrew has been constantly travelling around Australia performing at various disability events, expos, and conferences. Andrew also runs a drum and percussion workshop program for people with disabilities to help them find their own creative element.

He has definately made his mark on a global scale, with articles in drumming magazines from all over the world, such as: Modern Drummer (USA), DRUM! (USA), Rhythm (UK), The Black Page (Canada), and Australian drumming magazine Drumscene.

For the past 5 years, Andrew has been continuously involved within the Australian disability arts sector, and has been involved with organizations around Australia such as Club Wild and is in close connection with Accessible Arts NSW.

He has made various TV appearances such as Monique Wright's Everyday People segment on Channel 7's Sunrise program, Tim Bailey's Channel 10 Sydney Weather in December 2005, promoting the Club Wild shows at the Sydney Opera House.

In February 2007, Andrew released his debut DVD worldwide through US organisation "Alternatives In Music". The DVD although short has received some rave reviews from across the globe, including a 3 stars out of 5 in UK drum magazine Rhythm. The DVD is entitled simply, "Alternatives In Music presents Andrew Hewitt" and runs for 15 minutes, during which it tells Andrew's story of a drummer with Cerebral Palsy, and how he has stopped at nothing to get to the goals he has set.

It was filmed at Billy Hyde Drumcraft, and produced by US producer Anthony Allen who came to Australia to film a number of Australian drummers for various website projects he had going at the time.

In March 2008, Andrew performed blistering solo performances at High Beam Global in Adelaide, part of the Adelaide Fringe Festival. High Beam Global showcases all artists with disabilities from all over the world. Andrew performed 5 times in 3 days, ranging from drum and percussion workshops to night club solo performances.

Currently Andrew is an Australian endorsee for DW Drums, Zildjian Cymbals and Vic Firth drumsticks. He is also a member of the Vic Firth education program through Vic Firth USA.

Andrew Hewitt has clearly made his mark within the disability and music communities, and will continue to deliver the same level of professionalism and dedication for many years to come.

More information can be found at Andrew's official website http://www.drummerstix.com.au

Gear Info

Drums: My kit is a DW/PDP CX series in a Blue Onyx wrap which consists of:.

• 22x18 Bass Drum
• 10x8 Tom (with mesh head, triggered as a bass drum)
• 12x9 Tom
• 14x12 Mounted Floor Tom
• 16x14 Floor Tom
• 14x5 PDP Snare
• 14x5 1966 Ludwig Supraphonic snare
• 14x6.5 1997 Ludwig Black Beauty snare
• 10x5 Sonor Force 2003 Popcorn snare

Cymbals: I am an endorser of Zildjian cymbals, and my cymbal collection a mix of old and new.

• 14" A Rock Hi-hat
• 16" Z Power Crash
• 17" A Custom Fast Crash
• 18" A Medium Crash
• 20" A Medium Ride
• 14" Hi-hat
• 18" Impulse China

Sticks: Vic Firth 2B, 5B, Rute 606 and various Vic Firth mallets. Toilet Brushes!!!

Skins: I use all Remo heads, Pinstripes on toms and ambassadors on the bottom, emperor on kick, CS Coated on snares.

Electronics: The electronics I use on my kit is a mix of Roland and DDT triggers running through a Roland TD8 module.