Family

Jason Washburn

I was born in June 1979 in Rimouski. Where is Rimouski do you ask?....well it's in the french province of Quebec, Canada. It's a nice place to be where nature and the city blends in pretty well.

During my teen years (just like most other teens) I was into sports, video games and of course HEAVY METAL. Seeing my older brother playing drums really got me interested into playing the bass instrument. I also have to admit that the bassist Steven Digiorgio (Sadus, Death, Testament, Control Denied....) also had a very big influence on me. I was and still am amazed by his unique style and sound.

Music for me is a hobby that is meant to have fun. Like i've said, I've began playing bass for fun at the age of 15 and I've kept on doing so till now at the age of 31. At first it was all about covering heavy metal bands but it did not take long to open my ears to other genres of music such as jazz, folk, and classic. It was also in that period that I bought my first recording device, the Tascam PortaStudio 414. I wish I had taken more care of those 4 track cassettes. I either lost them or thrashed them. I'm sure you and I would have had a good laugh listening to those. Primitive music, but funny as hell to do.

Today, all I do is pretty much work and take care of my family. I work in a medium prison. I'm what you can call a correctional officer. It's a nice special job where you need to learn to control your emotions and also learn to channel it. What better way to learn to channel your emotions than to let it go in music.......

In the past 2 years, I began exploring the digital world of music making and one thing that I wanted was to have that perfect drum sound to accompany me on bass. My brother is still living about an hour and a half from me so I needed something more practical.

The first time I heard about the SSD samples, it was at the KVR forum. When I heard that SSD EX 3.5 would include the Led Zep kit, I probably was one of the first 3 people to have bought that product as a download from the SSD site. The drum sound that I was craving for was indeed the John Bonham sound. NO ONE!!! got it better than the Steven Slate Team. The Led Zep kit is indeed the Stairway to Heaven for me.

From that point, I got active on the forum to help some other users. Since English is not my primary language, I've decided to make some basic videos and post them on youtube to help some new users. This method was pretty much easier for me to do than trying to explain everything in a text that would have had a gazillion grammatical errors.

Unfortunately, as of now, no composition did emerge out of my mind that I am proud of. It is still pretty much a work in progress where I need to put more effort into it.....and yes, I intend to make some real music in 2011 and actually record it.

See you guys and gals on the forum and long live YELLOW MATTER ENTERTAINMENT!

- Jason Washburn

http://www.stevenslatedrums.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=70

http://www.youtube.com/user/JasonWashburn

http://www.stevenslatedrums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=2017