Kurt Custer
Biography
"I believe drums were made to be hit hard."
Kurt Custer's journey into the world of professional music seemed destined. California-born in 1964 into a musically inclined family, he grabbed his first pair of drumsticks whe [+]Kurt Custer
Biography
"I believe drums were made to be hit hard."
Kurt Custer's journey into the world of professional music seemed destined. California-born in 1964 into a musically inclined family, he grabbed his first pair of drumsticks when he was still in diapers. By his fourth birthday, he was already keeping steady time to 45rpm sides of 1960's pop and rock bestsellers. His talent evident, Kurt began amazing family and friends with hi impeccable timing, dazzling creativity and overall drum-kit expertise.
Among his earliest influences, Custer lists Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich-whose virtuoso performance on the "Tonight Show" he remembers rarely missing. As his exposure to popular music grew, so did his appreciation for the styling of Ringo Starr, Mitch Mitchell, Ginger Baker, John Bonham, Roger Taylor, Stewart Copeland and others.
"I played a lot like Keith Moon and Mitch Mitchell at first," he recalls. "There's nothing wrong with that if you can add something to the music."
Over the past 20 years, Kurt's played professionally, gaining experience and honing his skills. Custer has toured extensively in North America and overseas. His first national recognition came with the southern-California band Little America, which recorded two albums for Geffen Records (Little America (1987), Fairgrounds (1989). During this time, his talent came to the critically acclaimed album Copperhead Road (1988), which subsequently went Gold in the U.S. and Platinum in Canada.
Soon after, members of the southern rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd recruited Custer to perform on their new recording and worldwide tour. His rock-solid and expressive drumming helped the band re-establish its memorable sound on the Atlantic releases Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991 and The Last Rebel (1993). With Skynyrd, Kurt's creative input extended beyond the drum set. On both recordings, veteran producer Tom Dowd worked with Kurt in arranging the songs,along with the greatest guitar player in the world, Ed King. The Dowd-Custer-King arranged "1991" has since achieved U.S. Gold status.
Throughout his professional associations, Kurt has continued to adapt his drumming approach to meet the needs of the music. In short, his musicianship has matured.
"I'm more solid than I used to be," he says. "S
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