Michel Fortin's Drum Profile

Who is Michel Fortin?

I'm 40 years old. Since the age of 11 (i.e., for about 30 years now), I've played drums in both professional and hobby bands. My influences include John Bonham (Led Zeppelin), Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Keith Moon (The Who), and Ian Paice (Deep Purple).

I've played a variety of styles, including Classic Rock, Pop, Alternative, Country Rock, R&B, Blues, Smooth Jazz, Reggae, Metal, and Ska. I've played from The Eagles to The Killers, Carrie Underwood to Cold Play, Michael Bublé to Metallica, Pink Floyd to Pink, Fugees to Foo Fighters, and everything in between.

Below are audio samples, recordings, pictures, and a homemade video of me on the drums. My contact details are at the end.

Current Projects

I play in a couple of bands. The main one is "Diggin' For Hoffa," an alternative rock band from Ottawa. Click here to listen to a sample of what we sound like. The other is "The Mobs," a classic rock band.

Studio Recordings (1997)

Here are original songs recorded in the same studio Alanis Morisette recorded her first hit CD, before Jagged Little Pill. They are from a former band, Buried on Sunday, off of our 2nd CD, "Solomon's Reach." They were the same three songs we played as musical guests on the Tom Green Show.

They were recorded on a Pearl birch shell kit, with Pearl hardware, Remo Pinstripe skins, and a variety of Sabian AA and AAX cymbals. (The inset picture is me, circa 1998. Click it to enlarge.)

Click the "+" audio button to start listening.

Fade Away Fade Away
Anymore Anymore
Someday Again Someday Again

Unedited Live Recordings (2002-2004)

Here are some samples from previous bands, all recorded live. They were recorded "off the floor," warts and all, without any edits and with the occasional "Ooops!" The band — believe it or not — is a three-piece band called Conspiracy (i.e., bass, guitar, and drums only).

They were mostly recorded live at the Lockmaster Lounge, Zaphod Beeblebrox, and various other venues in Ottawa, Ontario around 2002-2004 on a Yamaha Stage Custom maple set. (See inset picture. The kit is the exact kit used in the recordings. Click it to enlarge.)

Click the "+" audio button to start listening.

Boys Are Back In Town Boys Are Back (Thin Lizzy)
Hey Jealousy Hey Jealousy (Gin Blossoms)
Evenflo Eveflo (Pearl Jam)
Young Lust Young Lust (Pink Floyd)
Kryptonite Kryptonite (Three Doors Down)
Run to You Run to You (Bryan Adams)
How You Remind Me You Remind Me (Nickelback)
Hello Timebomb Hello Timbomb (Matthew Good)
New Orleans Is Sinkin' New Orleans (Tragically Hip)
Lie To Me Lie to Me (Johnny Winter)
That Song That Song (Big Wreck)
Hero Hero (Spider-Man 2 Theme)

Hemorrhage Hemorrhage (Fuel)
Gel Gel (Collective Soul)
I Will Follow I Will Follow (U2)
Disease Disease (Matchbox 20)
One Last Breath One Last Breath (Creed)
You May Be Right You May Be Right (Billy Joel)
Littl' Bones Little Bones (Tragically Hip)
It's All Been Done It's All Been Done (Barenaked Ladies)
Authority Song Authority Song (John Cougar Melloncamp)
Float Free Float Free (Original)
Blue Tuesday Blues Tuesday (Original)
Different This Time Different This Time (Original)

Video Recording (May 2008)

Here's a video of me playing drums. You can call it "drum karaoke" because I wanted to test a new camera and video compression software, so I simply decided to record myself playing along to “When We Were Young” by The Killers. The lighting is bad (that's my fault).

Around my neck is my MP3 player, which I mixed into the video. The video is unedited. It was recorded on the first and only take, off the cuff. Note that I never played this song before.

Click the "play" button to start listening.

When We Were Young

Drum Set Up (January 2008)

Here's my current drum setup. My drum set is a 2007 Sonor Custom kit with maple-birch combo shells. The bass drum is 22", and the toms are 10", 12", 14" and 16". The snare is a brass free-floating 14" Pearl snare. My cymbals are all Sabian. The crashes are AA series, while the hi-hat is an XS and the ride cymbal is a Sabian Paragon.

Changes since these pictures: I now use Remo Ambassador coated skins, with a Reverse Black Dot on the snare. My hardware are DW (double bass pedal) and Yamaha stands. I have an extra tom (10") at the top (see video above). My kit is relatively small and simple, which is great for those small venues and gigs with limited floor space.

Click on pictures to enlarge.

Contact Michel Fortin

To get in contact with me for information on my availability for gigs, jams, parties, shows, and more, contact me by email at michel.fortin@gmail.com. You can also contact me via my blog at michelfortin.com, my Facebook page at profile.to/michelfortin or my MySpace page at myspace.com/michelfortin. You can also call me at 613-841-8356.