Dominic James Howard (born 7 December 1977) is an English musician who is the drummer and co-founder of the
rock band
Muse
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in ...
.
Early life
Howard was born in
Stockport
Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here.
Most of the town is withi ...
, Greater Manchester, in England. When he was around 8 years old he moved with his family to
Teignmouth, a small town in
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
. He began playing drums at about the age of 12, when he was inspired by a
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
band performing at school.
Howard's first band was named ''Carnage Mayhem'', which he was in at school. Meanwhile, he befriended
Matt Bellamy, who played guitar but did not have a stable band. Not long after, Bellamy was offered the chance to join Howard's band. After two years of drop-outs, Bellamy suggested that they write their own songs, and only Howard and Bellamy remained.
Chris Wolstenholme
Christopher Tony Wolstenholme (born 2 December 1978) is an English musician. He is the bassist and backing vocalist for the rock band Muse.
Early life
Chris Wolstenholme grew up in the English town of Rotherham before moving to Teignmouth, D ...
, who played drums in "Fixed Penalty", then entered the scene and with a great "spirit of sacrifice" he began to play bass.
In the first months of 1994 ''Gothic Plague'' was born, followed by ''Rocket Baby Dolls'' and then finally Muse.
Howard is left-handed and drums on a left-handed drum kit. He also played drums in Vicky Cryer with Jason Hill from Louis XIV.
Muse
Muse released their debut album, ''
Showbiz'', in 1999, showcasing Bellamy's
falsetto
''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave.
It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentou ...
and a melancholic alternative rock style. Their second album, ''
Origin of Symmetry'' (2001), expanded their sound, incorporating wider instrumentation and
romantic classical influences, and earned them a reputation for energetic live performances. ''
Absolution
Absolution is a traditional theological term for the forgiveness imparted by ordained Christian priests and experienced by Christian penitents. It is a universal feature of the historic churches of Christendom, although the theology and the pr ...
'' (2003) saw further classical influence, with
orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families.
There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...
on tracks such as "
Butterflies and Hurricanes", and became the first of five consecutive
UK number-one albums.
''
Black Holes and Revelations'' (2006) incorporated
electronic and
pop
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* ''Pop'' ( ...
elements, influenced by 1980s groups such as
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting).
Depech ...
, displayed in singles such as "
Supermassive Black Hole". The album brought Muse wider international success. ''
The Resistance'' (2009) and ''
The 2nd Law'' (2012) explored themes of government oppression and civil uprising and cemented Muse as one of the world's major stadium acts. Their seventh album, ''
Drones'' (2015), was a
concept album
A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Some ...
about
drone warfare
Drone warfare is a form of aerial warfare using unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) or weaponized commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). The United States, United Kingdom, Israel, China, South Korea, Iran, Italy, France, India, Pak ...
and returned to a harder rock sound.
Muse have won
numerous awards, including two
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
s, winning the Grammys for
Best Rock Album for ''The Resistance'' and ''Drones'', two
Brit Awards
The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...
, winning Best British Live Act twice, five
MTV Europe Music Awards and eight
NME Awards. In 2012 the band received the
Ivor Novello Award for International Achievement from the
British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors. Muse have sold over 20 million albums worldwide.
Personal life
In 2004, Howard's father, William Howard, died of a heart attack shortly after watching Muse's performance at
Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...
.
In a session where he and Bellamy answered questions from fans, Howard stated that the celebrity, alive or dead, he'd most like to meet is
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
. He once had a dog called Hendrix.
On 26 September 2008, Howard, along with Bellamy and Wolstenholme, was awarded an
Honorary Doctorate
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
of Arts from the
University of Plymouth
The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With students, it is the ...
.
References
External links
Dominic Howard fan siteDominic Howard on MuseWiki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Dominic
1977 births
Living people
Muse (band) members
British male drummers
English rock drummers
21st-century English musicians
Musicians from Manchester
Music in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport
People from Stockport
People from Teignmouth
Musicians from Devon
21st-century drummers