Shane Gaalaas
| Shane Gaalaas | |
|---|---|
| Genres | Rock, hard rock, heavy metal, progressive rock, instrumental rock, fusion |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, producer |
| Instruments | Drums |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Labels | Junk Man Records |
| Associated acts | B'z, Cosmosquad, Jeff Kollman, Diesel Machine, $ign of 4, MSG, Yngwie Malmsteen, Uli Jon Roth, Vinnie Moore, Artension, John West, Glenn Hughes, Hughes Turner Project, Lao Tizer |
| Website | http://www.shanegaalaas.com |
Shane Gaalaas (born August 8, 1967) is a Canadian-born drummer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter best known for his long running affiliation with Japanese pop/rock superstars B'z, whom he joined in 2002, and his extensive work with guitar virtuosos Michael Schenker, Yngwie Malmsteen, Uli Jon Roth, Vinnie Moore, and Jeff Kollman.
Gaalaas is also a founding member of progressive rock trio Cosmosquad and extreme metal band Diesel Machine. He has released several albums as a solo artist and continues to work as a session musician. Gaalaas is a graduate of Grant MacEwan Music College in Edmonton, Alberta and Percussion Institute of Technology in Hollywood, CA; he currently resides in the Los Angeles, CA area.
Gaalaas was born in small town Innisfail, Alberta and began playing guitar at age nine and picked up the drums a year later. After hearing Kiss – Alive!, he begged his parents to take him to see Kiss on their Love Gun Tour in 1977. "That concert changed my life. It had so much impact on me, from that point on I knew what I was going to do in life."
Upon graduating high school, Gaalaas began touring professionally with a Top 40 group before enrolling to study jazz, percussion and piano at Grant MacEwan Music College in Edmonton, Alberta in 1987. For the next three years, Gaalaas toured with Canadian circuit bands. Throughout 1991, he recorded and toured with guitarist/producer Paul Dean of Loverboy fame in a band called The Heat.
In 1993, Gaalaas moved to Los Angeles, CA to study at Musicians Institute, from which he graduated with Vocational Honors and also won the "Rock Drummer of The Year" award. Entering a Guitar Center drum competition, he caught the attention of one of the judges, Journey drummer Deen Castronovo, who would recommend him to guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen only days later. "I ended up flying out to Miami... and it wasn't really even an audition. I went there and got the gig and next week we were on the road. All because of Deen."
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