Van’s drumming burst on the scene with the critically acclaimed Southern Steel, which was Steve Morse’s first release with his new trio featuring Van and Dave La Rue on bass back in 1990. It won guitar album of the year in Guitar Player Magazine and would be the first of many recordings by the trio. In addition to Van’s high visibility with the Steve Morse Band he’s kept quite busy playing with a wide array of other artists including Blood, Sweat and Tears, Kansas, Bernie Worrell, Joan Osborne, Billy Joel, Nena, TM Stevens, Adam Holzman/Mona Lisa Overdrive, Naughty By Nature, Enrique Iglesias, Corie Glover, The Dregs, Steve Morse and Jack McDuff.

Q & A

BORN IN: Montclair, NJ

LIVES IN: West Orange, NJ

DRUMMING SINCE: 1970

CURRENT BAND/PROJECTS: Steve Morse Band, Drummer and MD for Enrique Iglesias, Drummer and MD for Nena (Nena.de), owner/founder of Live Wire Audio Inc. and Live Wire Studios

BIGGEST INFLUENCES: Musicians: Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, Parliament Funkadelic, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath

Drummers: Tony Williams, Elvin Jones, Steve Gadd, John Bonham, Al Jackson, Terry Bozzio, Stewart Copleland

FAVORITE ALBUM PLAYED ON: “Southern Steel”, Steve Morse Band

FAVORITE ALBUM YOU DIDN’T PLAY ON: “Band of Gypsys”, Jimi Hendrix

CAREER HIGHLIGHT: 9/11 Tribute to the Heroes DVD with Enrique Iglesias
Deep Purple at Royal Albert Hall featuring the Steve Morse Band and Ronnie James Dio

FAVORITE SABIAN CYMBAL 22″ HH Liquid Ride, 24″ HH King