bradley osborn
Brad is not only a founding member, but also our drummer and so lays the foundations, provides the pulse and brings the groove to all our tracks, letting Lydon express himself freely.
Growing up in St Albans I was always surrounded by music, and it is mainly due to my family that I ended up deciding to devote my life to it. Ever since I was a toddler I can remember my sister being in part musical theatre, and growing up I had lessons in both bass and acoustic guitar. My parents always pushed me to try and practice as much as possible as they could see their passion for music coming out in me with every new song I learnt - however when I look back - as in love with music as I was, playing the bass and guitar never filled me with the pure exhilaration that drumming afforded me.
At the age of twelve I sat down behind an old starter drum kit my parents got for me when I was 6 which had been sitting in the loft for years and was immediately hooked. The fact there’s so much to learn drove me to practice for hours on hours every day trying to master this new found passion.
After a few months of playing on that terrible kit, my parents saw that I was keen on the drums, and got me a better kit and enrolled me in drum lessons rather than YouTube which is how I had been learning until then.
Growing up I never really gave too much thought about being in a band, I wasn’t against the idea but I was just so focused on getting better at drumming that I didn’t make time for it. It was only when I met Lydon at BIMM that I took the thought seriously and gave it time, thankfully I did give it time otherwise we may have never formed Splitting Edges.
Bands such as Rage Against the Machine, Slipknot and System of a Down inspired me in my earlier years of drumming because I loved the energy that’s created in that heavy genre. The aggressive angry yet technical style definitely shaped the sound I have behind the kit today.
As my years behind the kit went by I started to explore different styles and study different drummers, some of the key drummers I look up too are the likes of Steve Gadd, Matt Gartska and Vinnie Colaiuta, all incredibly technical drummers and masters of their craft. This really opened my eyes to the next level of drumming and inspires me daily to get behind the kit and practice. In the same way they inspire me I hope that I can one day inspire other drummers around the world.