Jeff Plate
| Jeff Plate | |
|---|---|
Jeff Plate with Metal Church live at Wacken Open Air 2016
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| Background information | |
| Born |
March 26, 1962 Montour Falls, NY |
| Genres | Heavy metal, progressive metal, power metal |
| Instruments | Drums |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Associated acts | Savatage, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Chris Caffery, Doctor Butcher, Metal Church, John West, Machines of Grace |
| Website | www |
Jeff Plate (born March 26, 1962, in Montour Falls, New York) is an American professional hard rock/heavy metal drummer. He currently plays with the groups Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Metal Church. He is best known as drummer for American heavy metal band Savatage on their albums since Japan Live '94.
Plate grew up on a farm in Horseheads, New York. As a youth, he dreamed of becoming a pitcher for the New York Yankees, but this dream took a bad turn when his hip popped out of joint at the age of 12. On crutches for 4 months, he was advised to give up playing sports for two years in order for the hip to heal properly. After watching Kiss perform on The Midnight Special, he began taking drum lessons in school and privately. Jeff moved to Tampa, Florida in 1981, but soon returned New York, before moving once again to the Boston area. There, while working in a cover band with some hometown friends, he met Boston guitarist Matt Leff. Leff had been playing in a band Wicked Witch, whose lead vocalist was Zak Stevens. Wicked Witch went through a few lineup changes and had broken up at the time Matt and Jeff started playing together. Zak returned from his home in SC to Boston to reform a 2nd version of Wicked Witch.
In the fall of 1992, Zak got the call to join Savatage, replacing recently departed Jon Oliva. Zak accepted and made his Savatage debut on 1993's Edge of Thorns. Wicked Witch folded soon after, as they couldn't get a replacement for Stevens. In 1993, Plate moved back to upstate New York to regroup, joining an alternative/country rock band called Voodoo Rodeo.
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