Since picking up a set of drumsticks at the age of 10, drummer Ross Hodgkinson never said no to any opportunity to play.
At school, if he was not busy forming a rock band with friends, Ross was playing Jazz with the South Aberdeenshire Music Centre (SAMC) Big Band or accompanying the pianist for the Mackie Academy choir.
Over 11 years on, the Stonehaven musician is still saying yes but the opportunities look a little different.
After moving from Stonehaven to the States when he was 18 to study music, Ross has played with a melting pot of artists and bands.
From K-pop to indie, the 28-year-old has been setting the tempo on James Corden’s Late Late Show with artist Upsahl, has featured in several Vevo music videos and toured worldwide.
However, touring with indie pop artist Del Water Gap as Niall Horan’s support act to some of the States’ biggest venues this month is definitely a bucket list item.
And it all started with an Instagram message…
One message to years of non-stop touring
Telling the story over Zoom with a merging of north-east Scottish and LA twang, Ross said he got a message with dates for Del Water Gap’s tour asking if he was free after a university friend had recommended him.
Initially, it was supposed to be one festival and two weeks of headline tour shows.
However, that one message “snowballed” into two and half years of non-stop touring with Del Water and the band.
Travelling across the country, Australia and Europe, Ross always makes sure to see his parents when touching the ground in Scotland and tries to visit home when he can.
When in the north-east, the first thing Ross likes to do is take a run from his parents house past Dunnottar Castle.
“It’s not something I ever did when I lived there but now I’m away when I come back, it’s the first thing I want to do,” he admitted.
“I definitely miss Aberdeenshire. It’s so calm and peaceful and beautiful. It’s cold and rainy too but maybe it’s nostalgia.”
Grateful for opportunities in Stonehaven growing up
After his first drum lesson as a child, Ross filled his time with music.
Something for which he was grateful staff at Mackie Academy and SAMC helped him do: “They were just really supportive of me wanting to play in every possible facet of music.
“Drums were the sole thing that I loved to do. It’s all I thought about and really cared about.
“Anybody who would let me play drums, I would sign up and go.”
During his last two years at school, Ross got involved with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland and was awarded the 17 & Under Young Scottish Jazz Musician Of The Year Award in 2012.
In 2013, he started at Berklee College of Music in Boston after receiving a scholarship and moved to Los Angeles in 2017.
Given his vast background, Ross finds it hard to pin down his music taste.
Thankfully – given he is watching Niall Horan perform for the next 10 weeks before the artist arrives in Aberdeen in August – indie rock music is “fully up his alley”.
Ross said: “I’m really excited to get to watch him every night.
“That’s one of the best things about doing an opening slot, especially if it’s for an artist you really love, is getting to continuously watch the show and learn from the show.”
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