Carter Beauford

American drummer

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Carter Beauford

Beauford performing in 2008

Background information
Birth name| Carter Anthony Beauford
Born|  (1958-11-02) November 2, 1958 (age 65)
Charlottesville, Virginia, United States
Genres|

* Alternative rock
* jazz
* R&B
* fusion
* world

Occupation(s)|

* Musician
* composer
* arranger
* drummer

Instrument(s)|

* Drums
* percussion
* vocals

Years active| 1991–present
Labels| RCA
Website| davematthewsband.com

Musical artist

Carter Anthony Beauford (born November 2, 1958) is an American drummer, percussionist, and founding member of Dave Matthews Band. He is known for his ability to adapt to a variety of genres, and both his ambidextrous and his open-handed drumming styles. He plays the drums and sings backing vocals in the band. Beauford was ranked number 10 by a Rolling Stone magazine reader's poll in 2010 for greatest drummers of all-time.[1]

## Background[edit]

Beauford was first exposed to the drums at age three. At the time, his father had bought tickets to a Buddy Rich concert and could not find someone to watch his son, so he took young Beauford along to the show. Beauford was mesmerized by Buddy Rich on stage. After that show, Beauford's father bought his son a tin drum set with paper heads, since Beauford showed so much interest in learning the instrument. Beauford began performing professionally when he was nine.[2]

Beauford explains his unusual playing style in his instructional video "Under The Table & Drumming", attributing his use of left-hand-lead on a right-handed kit to playing his own kit in front of a mirror as a child in an attempt to emulate his favorite drummers, like Buddy Rich. He unknowingly set up his drums in reverse of whichever performer and set that he had in mind, in an attempt to make the mirrored image of himself match that of the audience's perspective, as he had seen it on stage and TV. This helped him to become completely ambidextrous at a very early age, albeit by accident.[citation needed]

### Secrets, Dave Matthews Band[edit]

Members from Toots & the Maytals and Dave Matthews Band when performing together in 1998. Paul Douglas (left), Carter Beauford (back), LeRoi Moore (front), Toots Hibbert (right).

Eventually, he joined Secrets, a Richmond, Virginia-based jazz fusion band. Other members included childhood friend and next-door neighbor saxophonist LeRoi Moore, trumpeter John D'earth, vocalist Dawn Thompson, bassist Keith Horne, keyboardist Butch Taylor, keyboardist Dane Bryant, saxophonist Eddie Williams and virtuoso guitarist Tim Reynolds. Secrets performed throughout Virginia, at places such as The Jewish Mother in Virginia Beach, and at Miller's, the bar in Charlottesville where Dave Matthews worked as a bartender. Beauford also played jazz in Blue Indigo with LeRoi Moore, Sal Soghoian, and George Melvin. Blue Indigo performed regularly at Tokyo Rose and Miller's, and was featured at the Delaware Water Gap Jazz Festival. Eventually, Matthews approached both Beauford and Moore regarding some music he had written that he wished to record. Beauford agreed to perform on a demo, which is how he became involved with the group that was to become the Dave Matthews Band.

## Collaboration[edit]

Beauford has also worked with other artists on jam projects, including Vertical Horizon, Carlos Santana, Rashawn Ross, John Popper (of Blues Traveler), Tim Reynolds, Béla Fleck and Victor Wooten; both alone and within Béla Fleck and the Flecktones.[3]

## Equipment[edit]

Beauford behind his drum kit with the Dave Matthews Band

Beauford uses a Yamaha Drums Recording Custom drum kit, a Ludwig Alex Van Halen Signature Rosewood snare drum, 6.5x14" with a die-cast hoop on the batter side and a triple flanged hoop snare side, Zildjian cymbals, Remo drumheads, Vic Firth sticks and mallets, Yamaha and Drum Workshop hardware including a Yamaha Hex-Rack since the 2008 Summer Tour and various Latin Percussion cowbells, woodblocks and other assorted percussion equipment. He also uses FootJoy golf gloves rather than traditional drum gloves. Prior to Vic Firth, Beauford was an endorser of Pro-Mark sticks and even had his own Pro-Mark Carter Beauford signature drumstick.

Beauford has used several Jeff Ocheltree and Ronn Dunnett custom metal snares in the past, the most common being a bright purple with gold hardware he used for the better half of the 2000s. Around the 2006/7 tour season, the Dunnetts were replaced by a prototype silver Yamaha metal snare later to be confirmed by BeaufordBuddy.com to be Carter's forthcoming Signature Snare. The Yamaha Signature "Carter Beauford" Snare Drum is still a prototype, not in production.

Drums: Yamaha Recording Custom (first generation):

* 22"x18" Bass Drum
* 8"x8" Rack Tom
* 10"x9" Rack Tom
* 12"x10" Rack Tom
* 15"x13" Rack Tom
* 14"x12" Rack Tom
* 16"x14" Floor Tom
* 6.5x14 Ludwig Alex Van Halen Signature Rosewood Snare
* 7×10 Pork Pie Mahogany Snare

Cymbals: Zildjian:

* 18″ A Custom EFX crash
* 20″ A Custom Flat Top ride with 6″ A Custom splash
* 19″ A Ultra-Hammered China
* 22″ K Custom Medium Ride
* 14″ A New Beat hi-hats
* 8″ K splash/6″ Zil-Bel/Custom Bronze Bell
* 18″ K Dark Medium-Thin crash
* 10″ A Custom splash
* 19″ K Dark Thin crash
* 6″ A Custom splash/8″ K Custom Splash
* 15" K Thin crash
* 21" A ultra hammered china

Heads: Remo:

* Snare: Controlled Sound X Coated black dot or Ambassador Black Suede, Ambassador Clear Hazy snare side on bottom
* Toms: Pinstripe Clear, Ambassador Clear on bottoms
* Bass: Powerstroke P3 Clear

Percussion: LP:

* Jam Block (Red)
* Travis Barker Cowbell
* Granite Blocks
* 72-Bar Double Row Chimes
* 7×13 Dunnett titanium timbale

Sticks: Vic Firth (formerly Promark sticks):

* Carter Beauford SBEA signature sticks
* RUTE606 fiber sticks

## Awards[edit]

* Modern Drummer Readers Poll 2003 – Best Pop Drummer
* Modern Drummer Readers Poll 2003 – Best Recorded Performance: Dave Matthews Band: Live at Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Readers' Rock List: Best Drummers". Rolling Stone magazine. February 8, 2010. Archived from the original on April 13, 2011. Retrieved April 25, 2011.
2. ^ "Carter Beauford". Official DMB website. 2009. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
3. ^ Griffith, J.T. (2010). "Carter Beauford". All Music review. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved October 14, 2010.

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Carter Beauford.

* Carter Beauford at AllMusic
* Carter Beauford at Drummerworld
* Carter's drum kit and equipment list Archived September 16, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
* Dave Matthews Band Live from The Beacon Theatre on Fuse TV June 1, 2009
* Биография Carter Beauford на русском

* v
* t
* e

Dave Matthews Band

* Carter Beauford
* Jeff Coffin
* Stefan Lessard
* Dave Matthews
* Tim Reynolds
* Rashawn Ross
* Buddy Strong

* Peter Griesar
* LeRoi Moore
* Butch Taylor
* Boyd Tinsley

Studio albums|

* Under the Table and Dreaming
* Crash
* Before These Crowded Streets
* Everyday
* Busted Stuff
* Stand Up
* Big Whiskey & the GrooGrux King
* Away from the World
* Come Tomorrow
* Walk Around the Moon

Live releases|

* Remember Two Things
* Live at Red Rocks 8.15.95
* Listener Supported
* Live in Chicago 12.19.98 at the United Center
* Live at Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado
* The Central Park Concert
* The Gorge
* Weekend on the Rocks
* Live at Piedmont Park
* Live at Mile High Music Festival
* Europe 2009
* Live in New York City
* Live at Wrigley Field
* Live Trax series

Compilation albums|

* The Best of What's Around Vol. 1
* Live Trax

Video albums|

* Listener Supported
* The Videos 1994–2001
* Live at Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado
* The Central Park Concert
* The Gorge
* Weekend on the Rocks
* Live at Piedmont Park
* Europe 2009 – Across the Pond

Extended plays|

* Recently

Singles|

* "What Would You Say"
* "Jimi Thing"
* "Typical Situation"
* "Ants Marching"
* "Satellite"
* "Too Much"
* "So Much to Say"
* "Two Step"
* "Crash into Me"
* "Tripping Billies"
* "Don't Drink the Water"
* "Stay (Wasting Time)"
* "Crush"
* "Rapunzel"
* "I Did It"
* "The Space Between"
* "Everyday"
* "Where Are You Going"
* "Grace Is Gone"
* "Grey Street"
* "American Baby"
* "Dreamgirl"
* "Everybody Wake Up (Our Finest Hour Arrives)"
* "Smooth Rider"
* "Funny the Way It Is"
* "Why I Am"
* "You and Me"
* "Mercy"
* "Madman's Eyes"

Featured singles|

* "Work It Out"

Other songs|

* "#34"
* "Warehouse"
* "#41"
* "Lie in Our Graves"
* "Proudest Monkey"
* "Say Goodbye"
* "Halloween"
* "The Last Stop"
* "Pantala Naga Pampa"
* "Pig"
* "Spoon"
* "The Stone"
* "Loving Wings"
* "Bartender"
* "Anyone Seen the Bridge?"
* "Granny"
* "JTR"

Side projects|

* Tribe of Heaven
* Dave Matthews & Friends
* Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds
* Live at Luther College
* True Reflections
* Some Devil
* Live at Radio City
* Live in Las Vegas

Related articles|

* Discography
* Awards and nominations
* Coran Capshaw
* Musictoday
* The Lillywhite Sessions
* 2004 Chicago River incident
* The Lillywhite Sessions (Ryley Walker album)

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* FAST
* ISNI
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* Norway
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Artists|

* Grammy Awards
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Other|

* IdRef

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