During a three-month run last year, drummer Robin Diaz racked up some serious frequent-flier miles. Diaz was commuting between Vancouver, Los Angeles, and New York while recording with Trapt and Theory Of A Deadman, and finalizing a deal for his own band, Closure.

Three bands in three months is just about par for the course for Diaz, who cut his teeth in 1996 demoing songs with KISS’s Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley for the Psycho Circus release. “That was my big intro to the industry,” Diaz says. “KISS was my biggest influence as a kid, and it was awesome to be able to work with Gene and Paul.” Diaz went from those sessions to playing in a handful of bands, earning a reputation as a drummer who could handle just about anything.

Diaz takes his drum cues from the band. “If the band is aggressive,” Robin says, “then I can lay down some very driving beats and fills. If it’s mellow, I do my best to be sensitive to that vibe. I like to think of myself as a seasoned drummer and that anything you throw at me I can adapt to. It’s weird, but I also don’t think about things too much. I just go in and play.” Advertisement

One wonders if Diaz will be satisfied in just one band. “Well, Closure is my focus,” he insists. “But I’ll never slow down. I love to play drums. I’ll be playing when I’m fifty-five years old – probably on a cruise ship somewhere.”