Matt's Bio

Few drummers achieve the status of becoming industry studio producers’ top choice for session and live performance drummer. His playing style can be described as passionate, intense and diverse; complex yet musical; energetic yet dynamic; creative yet controlled. Matt Luft, a native resident of Cleveland, OH, began his drumming career in 1993. Matt was born with a natural passion for music. He began taking piano lessons at age seven. Soon after, he discovered rock music and was awakened for the first time in life. At the age of twelve, Matt had the privilege of attending a general music class that exposed him to the drum set. “It was a five piece CB700 kit in natural finish, with a set of Paiste cymbals.” “As soon as I walked through the door and laid eyes on that kit, I knew life would never be the same again.” This was proven to be a truly life-changing experience. After much hesitation, Matt finally convinced his parents to let him purchase a set of drums, on the stipulation that he must join the high school marching, symphonic, and jazz bands. At first not feeling so excited about playing with the school bands,

Matt quickly worked his way into the position of percussion section leader in all three bands, while learning that persistence and perspiration lead to solid chops. “I can’t thank my parents enough for insisting I join all the school bands. The marching band gave my body and my drumming technique a consistent workout. This formed the basis and gave me an idea of how much dedication it would take to become a solid player.”

Matt has soon after studied under several nationally acclaimed percussionists and musicians. He has played to numerous, diverse crowds, from coast to coast in the U.S., in a number of musical genres. Matt started out in local bars and eventually evolving to large venues and festivals with thousands in attendance. He has toured with Erie, PA-based progressive rock virtuoso’s BlueFire. Matt has a well-rounded background that enables him be a leading, cooperative and contributing studio and live drummer. He is versatile and musical.

"When you have a true passion, you will never stop learning and experimenting. The best advice I can give any musician is to never stop changing your approach to the instrument. Go out and listen to other players. Network. True inspiration comes not from what you know and can perform, but what you wish you knew and could perform. Never tame the desire to stop learning."

What is Matt's Favorite Snare Drum?

"The 12-ply, 10mm maple shell is adorned with an encircling abalone inlay and provides solid, tight tone with a clear attack. This drum looks as good as it sounds. With the 12-ply version, the drum's tuning range is a little more broad. It sounds good tuned low, medium and medium high. Though the drum seems to "choke up" a bit at extremely tight tunings, many drummers prefer that sound. I like to keep it tensioned about medium-high with the snare tension loose. A great maple snare in all."

MattLuft.com | About