He has been described as the “sickest drummer in metal right now” with the speed, muscle and snap to become a legend — a legend on the iPad, that is.
This self-styled musician and Apple fanboy from Japan has raised eyebrows for furiously finger tapping through a catalog of rock drum solos, using the virtual rock kit on Garageband with eye-popping dexterity with a well-viewed YouTube channel as his stage.
He is so into the Apple brand, he goes by the name Appleman (he maintains mystique by declining to use his given name), and is often seen wearing a knitted hat shaped like an Apple or a silver or gold box helmet with the cutout of the bitten Apple logo. He calls this his iMask.
Photo: Appleman
A polite neighbor with muscular fingers
Every superhero persona has to have a superhero power and Appleman’s is his powerful fingers that pound the iPad screen to create convincing cover solos on songs by Marilyn Manson, Slipknot, Foo Fighters and others. Once he masters the drumming of a song, posts a video of his flying fingers on YouTube, where he has received millions of views for some solos.
His goal is to record 100 solos, all on an iPad. He is about halfway there and the website Digg last year dubbed him the “sickest drummer in metal right now.”
“I’m a real drummer but I thought if I made some drum videos, not many people will watch them,” says Appleman, 41, who works by day as a professional photographer. “So, I thought why not do some drum solos using drum apps?”
The iPad drumming started out of necessity. He lives in a tiny apartment in Nagasaki and the flashy yet polite Appleman worried a drum kit would not only take up too much space, but the sound would make him a hated neighbor.
Having played around with various music apps in the past, he started toying with GarageBand. There’s a delay between his percussive tap and the sound, but with practice on each song he was able to figure out how to compensate for and, thus, keep time.
Photo: Appleman
iPad drummer takes on analogs
He now has an iPad Pro, which still has a delay, but less so. So far, Appleman has not cracked any iPad screens and expects his fingers will wear out before that happens.
Appleman is well-known in his city. He has a radio show about local bands and he gigs about 100 shows a year as the (analog) drummer for the band, Sandy Trip.
At some performances, he steps from behind the kit and goes to the front of the stage with an iPad on a stand. During a special show, Appleman went up against Yamachika Takuto, a teenaged drumming phenom.
There is a clear difference, but the audience cheered and called for more as if they battled to a draw.
He has dreamed of being asked by Apple to perform at WWDC.
“Then I can show my iPad drums to Tim (Cook),” he says. “Good thing to have a dream, right?”
