Craig Cottrell

I play duh-rums!

I was born at an early age, and started playing “drums” not long after. By “drums” I mean boxes on my waterbed (that should show my age a little bit), complete with duct tape do vary the sounds of this cardboard masterpiece. Don’t underestimate the tonal qualities of duct tape! It was when I was about 10 that I was shown a sign that I would be playing drums for the rest of my natural born life. While walking home from school with my tuba in tow, there it was, a drumset in somebody’s trash! I immediately dropped said tuba and drug that drumset home. Granted, it was a set you would buy at Target, but combined with the pieces of a practice pad set that my neighbor was too lazy to assemble, I had a half toy/half practice pad, double bass masterpiece, complete with a cymbal, bottom half of a high hat really, on a drumstick that I stuck in my wall to hold it in place. A year or two later, a friend of mine and myself somehow talked his mom into buying a kit, an actual kit! We would trade off playing to whatever came on MTV, back when they actually played videos. Then, by a stroke of luck, my brother had a friend who went into the Navy and let me baby sit his kit, it was a pile, but better that what I had played up until then. I actually started my first band with that kit, and had my first studio recording on it as well, it even made radio, KPKE to be exact. Eventually I realized, I had been playing the drums, and “drums”, for about 6 years and never owned an actual drum kit. Somehow I got someone to co-sign for me and I bought a chrome Pearl Export, with a double pedal! My previous band transformed into another band named “Illusion”, we actually had label interest. I managed to keep that kit hidden from my parents in my closet until I went into the Navy at 19. That’s how scared of my room my mother was! After my years in the Navy, and subsequently playing gigs literally all over the world, I returned to Colorado and started the band thing again. I still had my Pearl and recorded a few cd’s on it. While doing some session work, in 1997 I started my current band, FullCircle. I upgraded to a Pearl MLX series for our first and most of our 2nd disc. I went from that kit to a Sonor, to a Premier (don’t ask) to a DW, I decided those were overrated and sold it for more than I paid, and currently I am playing Yamaha. From 1997 until now I have played about any type of venue you can think of. Invesco Field, Budweiser Events Center and Fiddler’s Green to name a few, not to mention Comstock Rock’s main stage, a 4 day festival in Nebraska of all places that brings in about 25,000 people. I have played the main stage for 3 straight years, and will be for a 4th year this year. I will be playing Red Rocks and Rockfest in Grand Junction this year as well, 3 festivals this summer! FullCircle has also been signed by Illumina Records to take part in their drunk driving awareness campaign “Rockers for Life”, which will start in June. FullCircle has been and continues to be a fantastic vehicle to show my talent, or lack of it! Keep bringin the rock!!