Daniel Benjamin Prestup (born November 13, 1984), better known as Dan Prestup, is an American drummer, percussionist, and drum instructor. He is the drummer for symphonic metal band Everdawn (formerly known as Midnight Eternal), hard rock band Spider Rockets, and several other projects. Dan Prestup is recognized as one of the fastest drummers in the world. In 2005, Prestup won the World's Fastest Drummer competition at the

NAMM Show The NAMM Show is an annual trade show in the United States organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), which describes it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...

in Indianapolis, Indiana, earning top honors in the Fastest Feet category by achieving 858 drumometer hits in one minute. In addition, Prestup's 2004 achievement of 1,031 single strokes in 1 minute is still recognized among the thirty highest marks in the world as of March 2020. Prestup has performed on multiple national tours, including the

Vans Warped Tour The Warped Tour is a touring rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the largest traveling music festival in the United S ...

in 2010. He has endorsements with Sabian, Spaun Drums, and Duallist Drum Pedals.

Early life

Prestup was born in

Pequannock Township, New Jersey Pequannock Township (pronounced ''pa-QUAN-nick'') is a Township (New Jersey), township in Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. , the township's population was 15,571, an increase of 31 (+0.2%) from the 2010 ...

. He started playing drums at the age of 10, shortly before his family relocated to Wall Township, New Jersey. He started playing in local bands as a teenager, and featured in the Wall Township High School Marching Band as a percussionist. While in high school, Prestup studied drums under

Shadow Gallery Shadow Gallery is an American progressive metal band formed in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania during the early 1980s. It was originally called Sorcerer. After changing their name to Shadow Gallery, taken from the graphic novel ''V for Vendetta' ...

drummer Joe Nevolo. After high school, Dan attende
The Collective School of Music
in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, graduating in 2008.

Career

World's Fastest Drummer (2004-2005)

Dan Prestup first emerged on the national drumming scene at the 2004 NAMM Show in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, Tennessee, when he entered the World's Fastest Drummer competition. Dan finished 4th in the Fastest Hands category. His drumometer reading of 1,031 strokes is recognized as the 21st fastest performance in the world to date. While Prestup's performance was impressive, it was the following summer where he would make his breakthrough. At the 2005 NAMM Show in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, Indiana, Prestup entered the World's Fastest Drummer competition. This time, he won the competition in the Fastest Feet category, with a drumometer reading of 858 strokes in 1 minute.

Spider Rockets (2006-present)

In late 2006, Prestup auditioned for Spider Rockets, and joined the band shortly thereafter. In 2007, Spider Rockets released its second album, ''Ever After,'' which the band supported with a national tour alongside Lillian Axe. Dan entered the studio with Spider Rockets for the first time in 2008 to record the band's third album. The self-titled album was released the following year, in May 2009. In February 2010, Prestup and Spider Rockets toured briefly with

Pop Evil Pop Evil is an American rock band that was formed in North Muskegon, Michigan, in 2001 by Leigh Kakaty. The band's roots reside in TenFive, a group formed in the late-1990s by Kakaty and guitarist Jason Reed. Pop Evil has several songs that to ...

before joining the

in July. Later that year, in November, Spider Rockets toured with Framing Hanley. In 2011, Spider Rockets announced via their website that they were recording a new album scheduled for release in 2012. Spider Rockets' newest CD entitled ''Bitten'' was released on June 5, 2012. Dan performed on the 2018 release ''Along Came A Spider'' before eventually being replaced on live shows by drummer Dale Whitaker. In 2022, Prestup performed on the single ''Casual Violence''.

Everdawn, previously known as Midnight Eternal (2014-present)

In March 2014, Dan Prestup joined Midnight Eternal alongside

Symphony X Symphony X is an American progressive metal band from Middletown, New Jersey. Founded in 1994, the band consists of guitarist Michael Romeo, keyboardist Michael Pinnella, drummer Jason Rullo, lead vocalist Russell Allen and bassist Michael ...

bass player Mike LePond. In 2016, Midnight Eternal announced their signing with Inner Wound Recordings and Marquee/Avalon for the release of their self-titled debut album. In 2019, the band changed their name to Everdawn after a conflict with former band members. In 2019, Everdawn released their second studio album, ''Cleopatra'' on Sensory Records. In 2022, Everdawn toured on the European leg of Michael Schenker's 50th anniversary tour.

Other Projects (2012-present)

In 2013, Prestup joined

progressive metal Progressive metal (often shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven sound of the former with t ...

band DeadRisen, featuring alongside

bass player Mike LePond. In 2019, DeadRisen announced their signing with

AFM Records AFM Records GmbH is a music label based in Schwalmstadt, Germany. They focus on the heavy metal musical genre, signing bands such as U.D.O., Doro, Lordi, Kotipelto, Masterplan, Nostradameus, Redlight King, and Annihilator. In 2005, Can ...

, with their debut album releasing in the following year. In 2014, Dan became the drummer the New Jersey production of Rock Of Ages, featuring Lead Producer of the Broadway production of Rock of Ages, Barry Habib, and

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

finalist

Constantine Maroulis Constantine James Maroulis (; born September 17, 1975) is an American actor and rock singer. He was the sixth-place finalist on the fourth season of the reality television series ''American Idol'', and received a nomination for the Tony Award f ...

. In 2022, Prestup formed rock band Aetheria with Everdawn keyboardist Boris Zaks.

Discography

Full albums

Spider Rockets * ''Spider Rockets'' (2009) * ''Bitten'' (2012) * ''Along Came A Spider'' (2018) Everdawn (formerly known as Midnight Eternal) * ''Midnight Eternal'' (2016) * ''Cleopatra'' (2021) DeadRisen * ''DeadRisen'' (2020)

Singles/side projects

Semi Quaver *"Kill It" (also feat. Dave Linsk & Joe Comeau) (2011) Dawn of Dreams *"Angel Eyes" (also feat.

Dan Swanö Dan-Erland Swanö (born 10 March 1973), also known as Dan "The Man" Swanö, is a Swedish musician and record producer who is currently the vocalist, guitarist, ex-bassist and ex-drummer for the band Nightingale, lately vocalist, keyboardist and ...

) (2012) Aetheria *"Finders Keepers" (2022) Spider Rockets * ''Casual Violence'' (2022)

Awards and endorsements

Awards

WFD World's Fastest Drummer Extreme Sport Drumming World's Fastest Drummer/Extreme Sport Drumming is a competition for determining the world's fastest drummer. A drummer's speed is calculated and recorded by a digital counting device called the Drumometer. The Drumometer, a patented electronic tec ...

**4th place, Fastest Hands, 2004 **Winner, Fastest Feet, 2005

Endorsements

* Sabian cymbals *Spaun Drums *Duallist Drum Pedals

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prestup, Dan 1984 births Living people American rock drummers People from Pequannock Township, New Jersey People from Wall Township, New Jersey Wall High School (New Jersey) alumni 21st-century American drummers American male drummers Drummers from New Jersey Musicians from Morris County, New Jersey Musicians from Monmouth County, New Jersey