JP BOUVET PORT ELIZABETH

ABOUT

JP BOUVET LIVE IN SOUTH AFRICA

New York–based drummer JP Bouvet is a chameleon, but even that seems like a limiting term when you consider the range of drumming styles he executes exceptionally well. His band Childish Japes rocks hard and dabbles in jazzy grooves and beats primed for rappers, with enough slick kit work for the fusion heads to notice. But he’s also the drummer for Generation Axe, a traveling circus of guitar heroes from the 1980s and beyond. And then there’s his online educational presence, where he steers clear of explaining beginner material, instead focusing on his unique perspectives on rhythm and craft.

Growing up in Minnesota, Bouvet dipped into everything from big bands to Hendrix before making the choice to attend Boston’s Berklee College of Music. “At Berklee I went through a phase where I wanted to be a studio cat, and I’d be on everyone’s songwriting and production projects,” he says. “But then I realized the session-guy thing is not really for me, because I’d rather care and be invested in the music I was doing, as opposed to showing up, doing the job, and leaving. I’m much more interested in being creatively involved and showcasing what I have to say.”

But before the bright lights of New York City lured him to recent pursuits of saying something, Bouvet first had to drop out of Berklee to focus on winning the Guitar Center Drum-Off contest. MD caught up with the twentysomething Bouvet to discuss committing to that goal, and the new artistic directions he pointed himself toward once he attained it.

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