Tomatus

If you measure musical success by creativity, uniqueness, recognition among peers, radio airplay, or the ability to perform in multiple genres, then Deen Collier is a success many times over. This Bowling Green native has done and achieved more by his mid-20s than most musicians do in a lifetime. Since he has worked in world beat, rock, country, and jazz genres, many who know of Collier may be aware only of a facet or two of his musicality.

Sometimes known as Captain Deen, the industrious Collier has amassed a relatively sizeable catalog of his own releases in original world beat and new age music. He has been part of many area bands, most notably his All Natural Rhythm Band, Tomatus, Drummers of Space and Time, Marijuana Catfish, and the Deen Collier Trio. His original music has been written about in publications ranging from the Amplifier to Modern Drumming, and his music enjoys international airplay and record sales.

Deen pointed out in an interview with the Amplifier that his mother’s side of the family is strong in music. One such relation is Tom Vertrees, Collier’s uncle who was the original bassist in New Grass Revival and was also in 13th Hour. While he comes from a family of stringed instrument players (particularly bluegrass oriented), Deen said he was beating pots, pans, plastic buckets, and the like as a youth. There was always a stringed instrument around growing up, and Deen did pick up the basics on them; however, Collier said he “looked at a drum kit like a piano” hearing the variations and possibilities of each drum or cymbal.

He got his first “real” snare at age 12, his first pieced-together drum kit at age 13, and his first matched kit at 15. When he was ages 8-12, Deen stole practice moments going to his brother’s bands’ rehearsals, playing during breaks or when no one was around. He would check out the drum kits at DB’s Music when they first moved to their Broadway location.

Deen’s first band was Capitol Punishment at 13 (1989) – Deen’s brother Brad Collier (bass), Anthony Trent (guitar), Craig Allen (guitar), Jeff Kennedy (vocals) and Deen (drums). Capitol Punishment didn’t play out much while Deen was in it, but his next band, Marijuana Catfish, did (1991) – Terry Smith (bass), Claude Miles (vocals), Porter May (guitar), Ben Tines (guitar), and Deen (drums). Marijuana Catfish played several clubs (particularly 13th Street Cafe) and battles of the bands (they won the first Bowling Green High School battle where the winner played at Fountain Square).

Marijuana Catfish was on the Let Us Outta Here compilation in 1993, executive produced by Susan Morris and including Mouse Police, Daddy Longleg, Chromatic Gypsies, Gutter Junkies, Envy Estate, and others. It was Collier’s first time in a proper studio, and he said it was where he first saw the creative possibilities of recording and got motivated to pursue music seriously. “It was my introduction to making records,” Collier said. “I learned so much about recording tracks and bringing musical ideas to life.” Deen heard Marijuana Catfish’s track played on New Rock 92 (what the WKU campus station was known by at the time).

1994 saw the end of Marijuana Catfish. Late that year, Collier formed the rock trio Tomatus with Capitol Punishment member Anthony Trent on guitar and Marty Towe on bass and lead vocals. Tomatus had a long and tumultuous history, running for four years then breaking up and reforming several times until late 2003, which Collier said marked the end of the group. Tomatus’ third gig was at the SOKY Fair Battle of the Bands, where they won against Sixth Floor and others; the band took their prize money and used it to record their first three-song demo. In 1997, Tomatus released their only CD He-Ye (redneck shorthand for “hell yeah“). They played primarily at Baker Street Cafe and Thursdays.

Coinciding with the first of Tomatus’ breakups in 1997, Collier got involved in Drummers of Space and Time, an all percussion, world beat/new age improvisational band. The five percussionists were Brandon Christy (who specialized in didjeridu) Maurice Clayton, Jamie Chaplain, Mike Hagan, and Collier. Their first gig was at Kelly Green’s in the basement. Deen feels that folks came to see Drummers of Space and Time because they were completely different, and their appearance on the local scene also coincided with the rise of relatively unstructured jam bands. The public access show Porridge, which aired on Thursdays, filmed a Drummers of Space and Time show at Night Class at WKU’s Downing University Center and aired it for “one year straight” according to Collier. DST also played Van Meter Auditorium for a 1998 Earth Day festival with Moss Brown and others. DST made a handout tape with 17 songs recorded on a 4-track recorder, pressing 300 copies.

About 1998, Drummers of Space and Time was down to Collier, Clayton, and Chaplain; this lineup became Deen Collier and the All Natural Rhythm Band. In January 1999, the All Natural Rhythm Band was asked to play Winterfest at Russell Miller Theater in the WKU Fine Arts Center. They played a 20-minute, 5-song set, which they recorded on 4-track. A buddy took that recording, mixed it through his 4-track, dumped it into his home computer, burned one copy onto CD, and gave it to the band. “I’m sitting at home, listening to this,” Collier relates, “when it dawns on me that this is what I need to be doing.” “This” referred to recording his own music. He got software to print CD covers, and this became Deen Collier’s first recording as an artist, the Deen Collier and the All Natural Rhythm Band’s Recorded Live at Western Kentucky University. He released the CD on his own indie label 1030 Records.

One year later, Collier went into the studio in Nashville and recorded his first solo CD Hollow Drum Sounds. Jamie Chaplain was on it, as well as Tom Roady who has appeared on many Nashville projects as percussionist. It was also about this time that Collier got work as a drum tech in Nashville (initially he lived in Nashville but later commuted from Franklin, Kentucky).

Hollow Drum Sounds was reviewed by Modern Drummer, Drum!, World Percussion and Rhythm (a Chicago percussion magazine), and a couple of Internet drum sites, as well as the December 2002 issue of the Amplifier. Modern Drummer, one of the most prestigious drumming periodicals, also did an article on Collier along with the album review. All this raised Collier’s profile in the drumming community, particularly networking in Nashville and the coverage in Modern Drummer. Collier credits the Modern Drummer exposure for helping him get endorsement deals with Audix microphones, Mountain Rythym hand-crafted hand drums, and Johnny Rabb drumsticks. Deen also appeared in Johnny Rabb’s first catalog in 2000.

Collier got exposure to a virtual who’s who of drumming while working for a drum cartage company in Nashville; he would take session drummers’ gear, haul to the needed destination, then set the kits up and tune them for the session or event. Some of the drummers Collier worked with include Mitch Mitchell (Jimi Hendrix Experience), Chester Thompson (Genesis, Frank Zappa, Phil Collins, Janet Jackson), Greg Morrow (sessions on Dixie Chicks, Travis Tritt), Peter Erskin (Steely Dan), Ian Wallace (King Crimson, Jackson Browne), Ritchie Hayward (Little Feat), Chad Cromwell (Peter Frampton, Mark Knopfler), and of course many country drummers and others drummers flying into Nashville for clinics. Additionally, he had other drum-related activities during this time, notably a stint at the vintage and custom drum magazine Not So Modern Drummer and apprenticing for magazine founder/editor John Aldridge in hand engraving (Aldridge did the engraving on Collier’s own snare, a Ludwig 90th Anniversary Black Beauty snare of which only 90 were made). Collier still does some work for Not So Modern Drummer as a photographer covering area drum conventions (the magazine relocated to Oklahoma City in 2002).

Collier has been back in Bowling Green since 2002. He has recorded many CDs on 1030 Records, both solo and with the All Natural Rhythm Band. His prolificacy has landed him two stories in the Amplifier. Collier has done sessions for demos and records for other artists as well. Last year he released Endless Rama Undo, a collection of tracks from previous records with one previously unreleased track. There have been eight releases on 1030 Records since 1999, all available online on CDBaby (directly at www.cdbaby.com/deen).

Those CDs have been flying a bit under the local radar, thanks to the international market, the Internet, and satellite radio. Deen has sold more CDs from overseas on CDBaby than from the U. S. (by the way, his CDs are available locally at Great Escape, CD Warehouse, and Musicians Pro). “Three” and “Tall” from Hollow Drum Sounds have appeared on XM Radio’s World Beat channel for the last two years up to this day. Collier’s music also has been played on a variety of world beat radio stations around the world and locally on Revolution 91.7. To add to his international flavor, Collier has played twice at the Bowling Green International Festival, in 2001 with the All Natural Rhythm Band and in 2003 in the Deen Collier Trio with Trent and Towe.

Collier is in the beginning stage of a new recording project, shooting for release in late 2004. Also, he wants to take a 4-track around to places like Lost River Cave and record nature sounds, take them to the studio and record around them as the basis of a recording project. He has been playing fill-in with area groups the River Rats and Jam Central Station, plans to work with Anthony Trent, Maurice Clayton, and Matt Hall as the base of the All Natural Rhythm Band, and may be drumming with rockers Off Center as well.

Deen and wife Dehon are expecting their first child. Deen credits Dehon as the motivation behind his music; “She’s 110% behind me,” Deen said, particularly regarding his own music. He also draws inspiration from the work of other musicians and artists, which he says helps him to be more original about what he does. Wherever the inspiration comes from, it’s a good thing that has instigated a singular talent and body of work.