Drummer Spotlight - Pete Barber

The Full Circle Co. community is made up of amazing people and Pete Barber is no exception. In our drummer spotlight, we highlight a community member who also happens to be an incredible drummer.

Full Circle Co. turns broken drum cymbals into jewelry, bottle openers and drum keys. Interested in learning more? Just check out fullcirclecompany.co and you can even use Pete's discount code to get 15% off your order - just enter PETEBARBERDRUMS15 at checkout.

Where are you originally from?
I’m originally from a small seaside town in Northern Ireland called Bangor. I’d lived there my entire life until recently when I moved to an even smaller seaside village called Portavogie with my wife and kids.

What did you dream about doing for a living when you were growing up?
For as long as I can remember all I ever wanted to do growing up was play drums. There’s never been anything else. I had friends who wanted to be firemen, doctors, etc. But for me I just wanted to play music, that was it.

What was your first CD/cassette tape?
The first CD I ever bought with my own money was the Darkness single “I believe in a thing called love” A timeless classic, it has to be said.

What's the first drumkit you ever owned?
The first drum kit I ever owned was a black Session Pro 5-piece kit. It was an absolute machine, I used it for about 7/8 years and played it everywhere until I eventually upgraded.

Tell us about the gear you currently play
Currently, I’m playing a Mapex Horizon 5 Piece which I’ve played for the last six years. In terms of cymbals I’m using all Meinl, mostly Byzance with the exception of a few. For heads, I’m currently using Evans. In terms of sticks I’m currently going back and forth between the Promark TX747W and the Collision 5A depending on what I’m playing.

What's the biggest gig you've ever played?
The biggest gig I’ve ever played to date was with an older form of the band I’m currently in. We were opening for a band from England called “Futures”, we’d been picked as local support which for us was huge. It was in a venue in Belfast called “the speakeasy” and getting to see all the work that goes in behind the scenes of a full time professional touring band was fantastic experience for us.

What's your most memorable musical experience?
There’s been so many, the “Futures” gig was definitely a big one. Recently though, our first gig back as a band after 9 years was a night I’ll never forget. We had spent the best part of 2019 writing and recording our EP whilst also trying to finalise our line-up as we had no bassist at the time. So when we finally brought all of that work to life on stage it was incredible. As I mentioned, we hadn’t played together in so many years and it was our first show with our new bassist. But, despite all of that, we still had a packed out venue of people literally chanting our name, which was insane. It was a real shot in the arm for us and truly a night I’ll never forget.

What are you practicing right now?
In terms of what I’m currently practicing, I must admit, practicing is one thing I’ve never been very good at, which is shameful I know. That being said, recently I’ve felt my playing has somewhat plateaued and I’m determined to change that. This year so far, I’ve been pushing myself to do new things and try and improve my overall focus and discipline. Especially now in the current climate with so much time on my hands. So I’ve decided to just pick one thing and really focus and hone that skill, which is currently trying to develop my knowledge and ability to play 16th note triplets, both in groove contexts as well as fills. I’m trying to develop my overall freedom between different subdivisions and ability to switch between different patterns without thinking too much about it.

How did you hear about Full Circle Co?
I came across Full Circle back in January of this year. I was just flicking through Instagram stories and I saw a few guys like Mike Johnston, Benny Greb and Matt Grenier posting photos or videos with Full Circle and I checked them out and really liked what they were doing and the product they offered.

What do you like most about Full Circle Co?
What I really liked about Full Circle Co. was the idea of recycling old broken cymbals, and giving them new lease of life rather than simply throwing them away of scrapping them. Turning them into something that you can wear on you everyday is awesome.

Favorite Full Circle Co. piece?
My favourite piece has to be the Dark Downbeat necklace, although there are so many great pieces. I’ll definitely be adding more to my collection.

What's your favorite food?
Favourite food? It has to be pizza; I don’t think I’ve ever had a pizza that I didn’t enjoy. You really can’t beat it.

What's your favorite movie?
Being a bit of a film nerd it’s hard to pick one specific movie that I love. Growing up I loved (and still do) The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. In recent years I’ve become a big fan of Quintin Tarantino’s films, things like Django Unchained and Inglorious Basterds. I also really loved Christopher Nolan’s Inception. If it’s a well written, well made with a good soundtrack, there’s a good chance I’ll be into it.

Coffee or Tea?
Had to be Tea, and saying that I really have to be in the mood for it. I’m definitely not a coffee or tea junkie.

What are some other things we should know about you (interests, awards, etc)?
Other things people should know. As I said earlier, I love Film, Cinema and TV, but really anything creative, photography, painting, film making not things I do a lot of myself but definitely things I’d like to try my hand at some day. I’m also huge music buff, I could listen to just about anything, it’s also another area I’m dipping my toes into by attempting to teach myself piano and attempting to expand my playing music beyond the drums.

Be sure to follow Pete on Instagram (@petebarberdrums) and YouTube (@petebarberdrums)