Meet Luke Holland: New Drummer for The Word Alive

Meet Luke Holland: New Drummer for The Word Alive

Originally Posted: April 3, 2012

Luke Holland recently played his debut show with The Word Alive at Extreme Thing 2012 in Las Vegas – performing for a crowd as far as the eye could see.  Prior to joining up with The Word Alive, Holland had already secured quite a fan base through his You Tube channel and Facebook presence…

Editor Ken’s Note in 2020:  This was an email interview I conducted with Luke Holland right after he joined The Word Alive.  I contacted Luke on Facebook and he answered right away.  I’ve done several interviews with Luke since that time, and will be reposting these in here in our Interview Legacy section.  It’s been fascinating watching Luke’s career really take off over these last few years.  For this interview, meet an 18-year-old Luke Holland, about to live the touring dream with The Word Alive…

How long have you been drumming and were your parents encouraging when it came to your drumming skills?
I’ve been drumming for 7 years total, but didn’t take it seriously until my freshman year, 4 years ago. My parents were supportive, but not financially.

Prior to The Word Alive, what other bands or projects were you involved with?
Before TWA, I’ve played out with different groups. I was in the hardcore scene with Oceans Will Part when I was 14, and since I graduated, I’ve been playing out as a hired musician.

How did you wind up joining The Word Alive and how surprised were you to be contacted by them?
Telle from TWA sent me a message on Facebook, and since we both had the ‘max amount’ of friends or whatever, I gave him my number, and he called me. It was pretty out of the blue.

How quickly were you able to learn the songs for The Word Alive and how many of them can you now play?
One of my specialties is being able to learn songs quickly and thoroughly, so it didn’t take long.

Describe your first show with The Word Alive and what was going through your mind when you hit the stage with them for the first time?
My first show with TWA was a couple days ago in Vegas, at the Extreme Thing. It was great, tons of kids and great vibes.

What kind of touring will you now be doing with The Word Alive and are you nervous about touring at all? Have you received any touring advice for the band?
We are kicking off the ‘This World Is Ours‘ tour with Escape the Fate and Attack Attack in New York, which will continue for the next month or so, then onto our headlining tour in Europe until the beginning of June. I’m not nervous about it at all, actually!

Did you know or you have ever meet Justin Salinas, the previous drummer for The Word Alive?
I’ve never spoken with or met Justin Salinas, but I’ve heard great things about him!

What brand and type of drum kit will you be taking with you on The Word Alive tour? Why do you prefer that kit?
I endorse Seven Drumworks, and I have my signature kit packed in the trailer for this tour.

Who are some your own personal drummer influences and why?
Oddly enough, when it comes to influences, I don’t have many. Of course, there are drummers I look up to, like Thomas Pridgen, Eric Moore, Chris Coleman, etc, but what inspires me the most is watching myself grow and succeed as an individual.

How easy or difficult was it for you to receive endorsements and how would a new drummer go about seeking endorsements?
I got pretty lucky with the endorsement gig. A majority of the companies came to me because of my large following on YouTube, it’s a great marketing tool for these companies, and there is that mutual understanding of this between myself and the company. If I had any advice for drummers seeking endorsements, it would be to first understand what exactly an endorsement is. Second, never stop striving to improve yourself with your instrument. The only way you’re going to get endorsed is if you can provide the company with a decent amount of exposure.

Your YouTube channel receives an insane amount of hits. How long have you been doing the channel and do the number of views surprise you?
I’ve been doing YouTube for about 2 years now. Yes, the numbers are definitely baffling; I never expected it to get this big.

With so many drum covers on Youtube, have any of the bands you’ve covered commented on your work? If so, were there any that really stood out?
A lot of the bands I cover do hit me up about it. It’s really crazy, honestly. I’ve heard back from BoB, Ellie Goulding, Tesseract, Of Mice & Men, Woe Is Me, ended up being Texas In July’s fill-in drummer, etc. Probably 75% of the artists I have heard back from. It’s humbling for sure.

Any messages for people who have been following your career through Youtube and Facebook?
For the people who are reading this, a big thank you for all of the support throughout all of this. I’d love to meet you guys in person, come see me live with The Word Alive! Much love.

(Interview by Ken Morton)

Luke Holland on Facebook