DraStiK

Drastik's road to success includes a lot of unique twists, but as his fans worldwide will tell you, they're glad he made the journey! Reflecting back on the first time he heard dance music Drastik recalls smoke machines, laser lights, and a frenzy of movements. "The adrenaline rush was amazing & the music was slamming!" he exclaims. Sounds like your local nightclub, right? Ironically it was simply a local laser tag establishment spinning some early 90's "techno" that ignited the fire.

He began digesting any song he could get his hands on and attempted to imitate the grooves using nothing more than a boombox, a Radio Shack microphone & a Casio keyboard. "Many of my friends will tell you stories of me making them listen to songs that I had created. The vocals were horrible!" he jokes. "The only redeeming quality on those early tapes were the beats & the bass lines." I remember how someone once remarked how drastic my tracks were. The name sort of stuck."

The one man maestro behind the edgy alias is CRAIG CARPENTER. He's a true artist in every sense of the word & had initially made a career as a 3D computer animation artist. In fact, his past talents in video, design, & photography have helped decorate his studio with a variety of awards from respectable clients such as HBO & MTV. "Dance music was always there regardless of what I was doing," he explains. "It was the only thing that kept me awake during those sleepless nights!"

His initial experimentation with multi track recording occurred when he began synching music and samples to the visual art he had created. He enjoyed it so much that he began experimenting with a variety of hardware & software solutions. Just a few years later, Drastik's discography was bursting at the seams with an impressive lineup of remix projects featuring superstar artists like LENNY KRAVITZ, SASHA, TAYLOR DAYNE, & SUZY K to name a few.

At about the same time he began djing at local parties throughout New York, Ohio, & Toronto. He was asked to headline multiple tours and sold his music & merchandise with the help of record stores and the internet. As one of the HIGHEST EARNING ARTISTS ON MP3.COM in 2001 he generated enough money to quit work to produce & perform full-time. By collecting listener emails he developed an online fan base that broke the 10,000 COUNT MARK later that year. This generated larger performances and much more attention.

Then, in the summer of 2002, Drastik was asked to perform an opening set for famed electronic artist DARUDE who was touring in the US. Darude was impressed with his talents & after a conversation at the end of the night, Drastik gave him a CD of his original material. The CD ended up in the hands of BLUE CHIP PRESIDENT BARI G. who immediately asked him to join their roster of established talent.

Drastik has already secured some prestigious accomplishments early in this fusion. His new album "HYBRID SYSTEMS" is due out this summer. "It's a wide variety of styles & moods," he states. "I've never been a big fan of albums that feel the same the whole way through or artists that take themselves TOO seriously. I took a few chances on this one and hopefully everyone will enjoy it." With a substantial buzz already developing from limited pre-promotion, some big things are happening! Commencing the Winter Music Conference in Miami, he will then tour for 8 weeks with the WARP BROTHERS. His remix of their "Cokane" single is set to drop March 21.

Written by DraStiK