Mr.
Pfeifer comes from Abilene, Texas. In 1995, he attended Baylor
University in Waco, TX, completing his Bachelor of Music Education
degree under the direction of Larry Vanlandingham and Michael
Haithcock. During his time at Baylor, Mr. Pfeifer enjoyed many
musical honors that include, assistant timpanist, and principal
percussion positions with the Waco Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Pfeifer
finished his career at Baylor that not only included many percussion
recitals, but also with many extra-curricular courses of study
in electrical engineering, and acoustical physics. In the summer
of 1998, Mr. Pfeifer toured with the famed Madison Scouts from
Madison, Wisconsin, as center tenor. Mr. Pfeifer was also a member
of many popular Texas bands, touring the state and playing in
Texas’ most notorious musical and theatrical venues.
Mr. Pfeifer moved to Valencia, California in the summer of 2000. He entered
master’s studies at the California Institute of the Arts the following
fall, studying with legendary musicians John Bergamo and Joe LaBarbera. He
immediately became extremely active on the Los Angeles live music scene, playing
with rock bands, jazz combos, corporate bands, and touring extensively throughout
the U.S. and Mexico. His final year at CalArts met Mr. Pfeifer with a healthy
teaching schedule, maintaining a private instruction studio, and assisting
in the teaching of the rhythm theory course for CalArts undergraduate music
students. Mr. Pfeifer was awarded his Master of Fine Arts degree, graduating
in the top academic tier of his class in May of 2002.
In 2003, Mr. Pfeifer began teaching percussion in several Los Angeles Area
schools. During this time, his primary goals were composing original works
and arranging for percussion ensembles and indoor competition drumlines. These
percussion groups toured within SCPA (Southern California Percussion Alliance)
and WGI (Winter Guard International). Beginning in early 2004, My Pfeifer became
involved with The Procrastinators, an urban percussion group. With The Procrastinators,
he sound-designed and co-produced several stage performances.
In 2004, Mr. Pfeifer was invited to join the Novo Philharmonic, a Los Angeles
based orchestra with a very unique mission. The 91-piece orchestra records
new works by innovative composers, pairing the orchestra with everything from
electronics to jazz combos.
In the final months of 2004, Mr. Pfeifer completed his first major book, Advanced
Pedal Applications: A Comprehensive Study of Pedal Bridging and Multiple-Pedal
Setups. The book deals with new ideas for multiple-pedal drumming,
allowing drummers the opportunity to completely rethink everything they have
ever learned about double-bass. Advanced
Pedal Applications was the result of not only years of study,
but also the pursuit of using the standard drumset in a more efficient way.
Excerpts from "APA" were
published in Modern Drummer magazine in the Summer of 2005. Mr. Pfeifer is
a student of Gregg Bissonette, Joe LaBarbara and Thomas Lang.
Beginning in the Fall of 2004, Mr. Pfeifer joined The Red Muffs. With The Red
Muffs, he played and traveled extensively until the Summer of 2008. He also
began teaching at the famed Percussion Department at Hollywood's Musician's
Institute.
In
the summer of 2008, Mr. Pfeifer joined the alternative rock group, Earshot.
He is currently touring and recording with Earshot.
In
2009, Daren founded Knock
Box Studio. The studio specializes in remote recording that
allows musicians from all over the world to get custom live drum
and percussion tracks for their music. |