Dirk Brand (Axxis)

Already at the age of seven, Dirk Brand received drum lessons from the English jazz drummer James Sargent and played in several symphony and youth orchestras at the age of ten. In 1985 he won the Jugend musiziert competition with a percussion ensemble. He was also successful in other areas, such as theatre and musical productions. In 1989 he passed his final examination as an industrial clerk at the Münster Chamber of Industry and Commerce. The "Modern Drum School" drew Brand's attention to the Percussion Institute of Technology (PIT) in Los Angeles/USA. There he studied with Ralph Humphrey (Frank Zappa), Joe Porcaro (Master Teacher), Richie Garcia (Latin Great) and Joe Brancato (Ella Fitzgerald) and learned new playing techniques and concepts. He completed his studies with the "Diploma with Honors". Since the beginning of 1998 he has been a lecturer at the Westfälische Wilhelms University in Münster in the field of music pedagogy and instrumental teaching. Since 2008 he has also been a lecturer at the Rock-Pop-Jazz Akademie Mittelhessen, a state-certified institute for music, in Giessen. In 2012 he became drummer of the hard rock band Axxis.