Returning to Australia for the seventh time, the six-piece – often referred to as the ‘League of the Extraordinary Djentlemen’ – will debut their fifth studio album Periphery 111: Select Difficulty on a whirlwind tour of the country. We caught up with drummer, Matt Halpern, on a rare night off to talk about everything from his early days as a child prodigy, to his love for the music of Flume and why, before heading out on tour, they always stop in at his mum’s house.
“I started learning the drums when I was three years old and I’ve been playing ever since,” he says. By the time he was in middle school Halpern already had a reputation as an in-demand local musician, and when he got to high school he began to tour interstate and tutor other students. “I started teaching when I was about sixteen years old and I always found it to be very gratifying. I like sharing information.”
As the founder of Bandhappy.com, Halpern created a platform to connect budding musicians with professional players for one-on-one online tutorials. “For musicians, it was a great way to connect with the fans and a fantastic way to supplement income,” he says.
Unfortunately, as Periphery began to tour more extensively, Halpern says the business grew too large to maintain by himself. He focused his attention on running drum clinics in the cities they were playing, and a few years down the track his new initiative has gone from strength to strength. “We get to know the students by name and we can really invest in their musical projects and help them along. I think it makes for a stronger bond overall, which at the end of the day is the whole reason why bands like us can write music and then go on the road.”
Not surprisingly Halpern believes Australians are among some of the most talented musicians he sees in his clinics, and he is often flying in to teach. “I was just in Australia a couple of weeks ago for one of my drum clinics. So many of the students are really good players, so I know there’s no shortage of talent here, and there’s certainly no shortage of good bands in Australia.
“We’re extremely excited to be coming down again. I’ve been listening to an artist by the name of Flume who is more electronic,” he says. “Flume is great – I’d love to see him live. We’re all friends with the guys in Twelve Foot Ninja, Dead Letter Circus, Karnivool, Closure in Moscow and Thy Art is Murder, so hopefully we can catch up with some of them.
“The weather is always great, and the shows have always been massive and a lot of fun,” he says. “We’re looking forward to having a good time.”
As pioneers of the djent sound within progressive metal music, Periphery are held to a high standard, and Halpern admits it takes dedication to stay on top. “We do a lot of preparation individually before we go out on tour. We all live in different states, so we always spend a few weeks working on the setlists and brushing up on our parts – especially if we haven’t toured for a while.
“Then we usually get together about a week or so beforehand at my mum’s house. I’m lucky enough to still have my mum, with a basement, who is willing to store a bunch of gear for us,” he says. “It’s actually nice getting ready to go out on tour because it’s like a reunion for us too, and we always feel refreshed and reinvigorated. We catch up and jam – but we really just hang out,” he says. “By the end of the week my mum always insists we get out of her hair.”
By Natalie Rogers
