I was first handed a pair of drum sticks at the age of 2 by my late-father, Michael Bettell (Anti Nowhere League / Tank). I remember the moment well because they were a pair of dark-red Dave Weckl signature sticks, and as the sticks entered my hands, it felt like I had found myself. It was a strange feeling to have at such a young age. From there on, I was obsessed with playing the drums. No other feeling could match it and nothing else ever has. When I was a kid, my mum used to take me a local jazz club every Sunday to watch live jazz fusion in the sunny city of Southend-on -Sea. The players were mind-blowing! It's this that got me really turned on to progressive rock/prog metal. The local musicians were phenomenal, especially the drummer, Alan Clark who later went on to become my drum teacher.
Over the years as my interest for progressive rock has developed more than any other genre. I love the challenge of working out a complicated time signatures or working on metric modulation. However, I do love a dirty beatdown too and i'm a big fan of adding as much personality as possible in to my playing. I want people to enjoy my work, but i also want them to laugh if I do something a little cheeky...
Aside from drumming, im also a podcast host. I host The Heavy Hooks Show which is a program where i interview some of the biggest names in rock/metal. It's done really well and is in the top 10%of most globally shared podcasts on Spotify. I also host the UK Drum Show Official Podcast and the Europe Drum Show Official podcasts. These are great fun!
Ollie Winiberg-Bettell
Independent
