Brian Viglione - Career

Career

Brian Viglione was introduced to the drums by his father on Christmas Day at age five with his interest quickly deepening at age nine when rock music became a primary focus and passion. A pivotal moment occurred in 1990 when Viglione's father brought him to see The Elvin Jones Jazz Machine and Viglione witnessed his first up-close exposure to the drummer who would become his principal inspiration on the instrument. "I spent every possible hour jamming with my friends up in our attic from the time I was in the fourth grade through when I graduated high school. You could hardly tear us all away from playing!" At sixteen years old, Viglione began playing gigs in clubs with bands around New England before moving from New Hampshire to Boston in 1999. There, he played with several Boston punk bands on both drums and bass guitar. "I knew it was 'now or never' when I moved from my small town to pursue my dream. Both of my parents understood how dedicated I was to making it come true and I was very lucky to have their encouragement through all of the craziness and uncertainty of those times." Viglione played bass for a year in a and was exposed to music that played a large and influential role in his playing. "I was listening to a lot of Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Black Flag, Swans, Miles Davis, Diamanda Galas, The Gun Club, Einstürzende Neubauten, Charles Mingus, and John Coltrane records. Very cathartic music that taught me a lot about the beauty of how to balance using space and aggression in music."