Ted Kirkpatrick (May 22, 1960 – August 19, 2022) was an American musician and songwriter, best known for his work with the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...

band

Tourniquet A tourniquet is a device that is used to apply pressure to a limb or extremity in order to create ischemia or stopping the flow of blood. It may be used in emergencies, in surgery, or in post-operative rehabilitation. A simple tourniquet can ...

. Primarily a drummer, Kirkpatrick was the principal songwriter for the band and played other instruments as necessary.

Career

Kirkpatrick started as a touring drummer for the

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

band

Trouble Trouble may refer to: Film and television * ''Trouble'' (1922 film), an American silent comedy-drama film directed by Albert Austin * ''Trouble'' (1933 film), a British comedy film * ''Trouble'' (1977 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Trouble'' ...

in 1987 and played a few shows with the group. However, he soon left Trouble as he was unable to meet its touring commitments. In 1989, he formed

with Guy Ritter and Gary Lenaire. The group performed a highly progressive style of

thrash Thrash may refer to: *Thrashing (computer science), where increasing resources are used to do a decreasing amount of work *Thrash (surname) * Thrash, mascot of the Atlanta Thrashers *''Thrash Rally'', a top-down perspective rally racing video game ...

and

speed metal Speed metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) roots.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' (Berg Publishers, 2007), , p. 31. It is desc ...

, informed by Kirkpatrick's love of

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

. They released three albums in rapid succession, '' Stop the Bleeding'' in 1990, '' Psycho Surgery'' in 1991, and '' Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance'' in 1992. The band underwent some lineup changes and adopted a more

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

approach for the 1994's '' Vanishing Lessons'' and 1997's '' Crawl to China''. In the 2000s, the band returned to its thrash metal origins and released '' Microscopic View of a Telescopic Realm'' in 2000 and '' Where Moth and Rust Destroy'' in 2003. Apart from select touring and concert appearances, Tourniquet then went mostly inactive. However, in 2010 the band announced that it was recording new material and looking for a suitable label. In 2012, the band released '' Antiseptic Bloodbath''. Kirkpatrick also released the album '' Onward to Freedom'', which features his drumming supported by numerous guest musicians, through Tourniquet in 2014. In addition to his work in Trouble and Tourniquet, Kirkpatrick independently recorded and released several solo recordings, including a

stoner metal Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Slee ...

album and ''In the Shadow of the Masters'', an album where Kirkpatrick drums to various classical recordings. Kirkpatrick endorsed DW drums, Evans drumheads,

Paiste Paiste (English pronunciation: , ) is a Switzerland, Swiss musical instrument manufacturing company. It is the world's third largest manufacturer of cymbals, gongs, and metal percussion. is an Estonian language, Estonian and Finnish language, ...

cymbals,

Vic Firth Everett Joseph "Vic" Firth (June 2, 1930 – July 26, 2015) was an American musician and the founder of Vic Firth Company (formerly Vic Firth, Inc.), a company that makes percussion sticks and mallets. He was also known for his association ...

sticks as well as Orange guitar amplifiers.

Influences

As principal lyricist for the band, Kirkpatrick's talent for allegory, symbolism, and using unusual and sometimes bizarre examples to convey Christian concepts can be found throughout the Tourniquet catalog. A fan of ethnic and

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

, he played or included other, less traditional (in terms of metal music) instruments on Tourniquet albums, including the Greek

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', , from Greek , from Turkish ) is a musical instrument popular in West Asia (Syria, Iraq), Europe and Balkans (Greece, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey). It is a member of the long-necked lute fam ...

, flute, banjo, and

dulcimer The term dulcimer refers to two families of musical string instruments. Hammered dulcimers The word ''dulcimer'' originally referred to a trapezoidal zither similar to a psaltery whose many strings are struck by handheld "hammers". Variants of ...

. For the acoustic sets that Tourniquet occasionally performed, he played 6 or 12 string guitar. In terms of rock drumming, Kirkpatrick cited his main influences as Simon Phillips,

Carl Palmer Carl Frederick Kendall Palmer (born 20 March 1950) is an English drummer. He was a founding member of the supergroups Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Asia, a touring drummer for The Crazy World of Arthur Brown and a founding member of Atomic Roost ...

and

Neil Peart Neil Ellwood Peart ( ; September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020) was a Canadian and American musician, known as the drummer, percussionist, and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush (band), Rush. He was known to fans by the nickname "the Profe ...

Animal welfare

Kirkpatrick supported animal welfareAnimal's Agenda – Jan/Feb 1991 – pg 44–47 – A Tale of Two Teds (Ted Nugent, Ted Kirkpatrick)NAVS Bulletin (National Anti-vivisection Society) – Summer 1991 – pg 7 – NAVS Releases Dissection Video, PSA and showed his support in the Tourniquet songs such as "Ark of Suffering", "Stereotaxic Atrocities", "Going, Going, Gone", and in the cover art to their album ''Antiseptic Bloodbath''. In 2010, he released a solo album, "Ode to a Roadkill", featuring animal sounds as lead "vocals". His love for butterflies and other insects influenced his and Tourniquet's album covers, and he said that the sounds of the jungle influenced his drumming as well.Modern Drummer – August 2000 – pg 29, 86, 123 – Fueled by a Higher Power

Death

Kirkpatrick died from

idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) synonymous with cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis is a rare, progressive illness of the respiratory system, characterized by the thickening and stiffening of lung tissue, associated with the formation of scar ...

on August 19, 2022, at the age of 62.

Awards and achievements

* Kirkpatrick was voted "Favorite Drummer" for ten years in a row, and again in 2003 by the readers of ''

HM Magazine ''HM Magazine'' is a monthly, digital and print on demand publication focusing on hard music and alternative culture of interest to Christians. It is based in Houston, Texas. Originally published as ''Heaven's Metal'', it was renamed to ''HM'' in ...

''.HM Magazine Reader's Poll, March/April 2003 * He was featured twice in

Modern Drummer Magazine ''Modern Drummer'' is a monthly publication targeting the interests of drummers and percussionists. The magazine features interviews, equipment reviews, columns offering advice on technique, and information for the general public. ''Modern Dru ...

.Modern Drummer – January 1991, pg 9 – Ted Kirkpatrick

Bands

– drums, occasional bass and guitar (1989–2022) *

– drums (1987–1989)

Discography

With Tourniquet

Albums (as Tourniquet) * '' Stop the Bleeding'' (1990) * '' Psycho Surgery'' (1991) (2001 rerelease titled ''Psychosurgery'') * '' Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance'' (1992) * '' Intense Live Series, Vol. 2'' (1993) (also known as ''Recorded Live, Vol. 2'') * '' Vanishing Lessons'' (1994) * '' Carry the Wounded'' (1995) * '' The Collected Works of Tourniquet'' (1996) * '' Crawl to China'' (1997) * '' Acoustic Archives'' (1998) * '' Microscopic View of a Telescopic Realm'' (2000) * '' Where Moth and Rust Destroy'' (2003) * '' Antiseptic Bloodbath'' (2012) * ''Gazing at Medusa'' (2018) Albums (as The Tourniquet Ark) * '' Onward to Freedom'' (2014) Solo * ''Ode to a Roadkill'' (2010) * ''In the Shadow of the Masters'' (2010) * ''Ancient Christmas'' (2011) Tribute albums * ''Edgar Allan Poe: Spoken Tales of a Tortured Genius'' (2012) * ''The Doom in Us All: A Tribute to Black Sabbath'' (2016) Videos * '' Ark of Suffering'' (1991) – music video * ''Video Biopsy'' (1992) – VHS (re-released in 2000) * ''Pushin' Broom Video'' (1995) – VHS * ''The Unreleased Drum Solos of Ted Kirkpatrick'' (1997) – VHS * ''Guitar Instructional Video'' (1998) – VHS * ''Tourniquet Live in California'' (1998) – VHS * ''Circadian Rhythms – The Drumming World of Ted Kirkpatrick'' (2003) – DVD * ''Ocular Digital'' (2003) – DVD * ''Till Sverige Med Kärlek'' (2006) – DVD

Bibliography

*''Jimmy Loggerhead's Sordid Summer'' (2020)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirkpatrick, Ted 1960 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American drummers 20th-century American male musicians American heavy metal drummers American male drummers American performers of Christian music Christian metal musicians Musicians from Milwaukee Deaths from pulmonary fibrosis Drummers from Wisconsin