It turns out that Ryan Yerdon was once quite in touch with his sensitive side. Surprised? Well, before joining Puddle Of Mudd, which is famous for its ballsy, riff-laden rock epics, Yerdon played with the more indie-minded vocalist Carina Round, whose style demanded far more laid-back drumming. “It was really subdued and spaced out,” Ryan recalls. “I’d play fat snares that were somewhat detuned, and I’d use different kinds of heads. I would experiment and put different things on my snare, like pieces of paper or my wallet.”

Shift to Yerdon’s current gig with Puddle Of Mudd, and you’ll find that the two approaches couldn’t contrast more. “The Puddle gig calls for an animalistic, bashy headspace,” Ryan says. “I give up a bit of sensitivity, but when we have breaks in touring and I do a session, I’ll notice that I always sound better because I’ve been playing to a click five nights a week.”

In addition to gigs with Puddle Of Mudd, Yerdon has worked with Weezer, Gavin Rossdale, and Dweezil Zappa, among others. “Being versatile is important,” he says. “It helps the library inside your head grow bigger and allows you to incorporate ideas from other types of players.” Advertisement

Steven Douglas Losey