A day in the life of Yungblud’s Michael Rennie

Posted: 28 March 2019

In the midst of Yungblud’s biggest tour to date, we managed to grab a few minutes with drummer Michael Rennie to talk techniques, tips and touring.

Read time: 6 mins

What encouraged you to learn drums?

Originally when I was about 8 years old I used to play keyboards and hated it! My dad was a drummer when he was younger, and for his 40th birthday he got a drumkit at the same time I was slacking off at the keyboards so he suggested I give the drums a go. It came really naturally to me, so I played in high school and did a bunch of classes. From there I didn’t really know where I was going with it until a mate suggested I try a music college and everything just spiralled from there.

What's your practice routine?

Most of the time I just try and get in the studio to mess around. Fire on a playlist for a few hours and bash through songs or work on rudiments. Most of the time we are travelling so a lot of my practise is in rehearsals or soundchecks. When I'm backstage I'll get out a practise pad and bash out some rudiments for an hour or so before a gig... well as much as I can!

How does it work for Yungblud, are you based mainly in LA or over in the UK?

We're kind of based here (UK) and in LA. The label's in LA, and management is out there as well as in London, so there's two bases to go back and forth between.

So what’s next for you?

The last time we played the UK was September last year and it was only 4 or 5 dates but we’re currently on a proper tour and the shows have been mad. We played a great sold out show in Glasgow which is where me and Adam are from, and Manchester was insane because that’s around where Dom’s from. Newcastle sticks out too. The third song we played Dom got everyone jumping up and down and I’ve never felt a stage wobble like that. We had a couple of beers on top of an amp and because the place was moving so much they fell off the amp and I thought this is crazy!

We’ve got a bit of time after that to go in the studio then we’re into the whole American tour, which sold out in minutes, so it’s going to be a crazy year, which I can’t wait for. 

Who are your drum heroes?

To be honest I remember being asked this when I was at university, and there were probably twelve of us in this drum class and everyone started shouting out Steve Gadd and all these jazz drummers while I was thinking “I have no clue who any of these people are”! I always listened to bands but I never really followed a drummer for their style of playing. I just picked up my own thing based upon sounds I liked. When I was growing up pop punk was really in so Travis Barker was someone I did like, but looking back to the things like the Police and Sting, Vinnie Colaiuta was one of my favourite drummers, and then Chad Smith as well because he’s a very solid drummer. Also Matt Tong from Bloc Party. I think I’ve seen them five times live and from hearing the records to watching him live and seeing him do it is pretty insane, so he’s someone I’ve always looked up to.

What’s the best drumming advice you’ve been given?

Practise. Just no matter how difficult it gets or how many mistakes you make, or how many sticks you drop. I used to beat myself up when I made one tiny mistake on stage but more or less no one knows apart from you. Just keep practising and plugging away and you’ll get there.