Highwire Magazine

Linden Marissen has been playing the drums for over half his lifetime, 12 years.

“It all really started in primary school,” he explained. “One of my close friends wanted to take music class as an elective, but he didn’t want to go alone so he asked me if I’d go with him. So I went along with him and we decided to learn the drums.”

Earlier this year ahead of the release of their debut album and massive first headline tour The Faim welcomed new drummer, 23-year-old Linden to the band. “Seeing the world with such a great group of people is amazing,” he told Highwire, answering questions from the band’s touring van somewhere in Germany.

Linden grew up in a small country town about four hours from Perth, Western Australia where he lives now. As a child, he didn’t really have a career path in mind. “I was never one of those people who had a dream career or dream job,” he said. “Music was the only thing that really resonated with me.”

As he got older Linden worked a lot of different jobs most of which involved manual labour, and that is exactly what he was doing before he joined The Faim. “I was working a couple of part-time jobs in Perth to support myself while I was getting my degree, and drumming literally anytime I had a free day,” he revealed.

So how did this particular drummer find himself in the up and coming band The Faim? “I got to know the guys in The Faim as we both rehearsed at the Hen House Rehearsal Studios in Perth,” he said. “When their previous drummer left they got in contact with me and asked if I wanted to try out for the band. So I went along and we hit it off immediately.”

The newcomer had his first rehearsals with the band late December last year before officially becoming a member on the 4th of January this year, right before their world tour started. Talk about being thrown in at the deep end!

Previously only playing in various local rock bands in Perth, Linden has suddenly found himself in venues as large as The Garage in London, England, playing to 650 screaming fans. “It has been overwhelming but overall pretty good,” he said. “So far the fans have been really nice to me and most have accepted me which is great.”

For this tour, Linden is playing a Pearl Reference kit with Zildjian cymbals and having a great time doing so. The songs he has the most fun playing live are ‘My Heart Needs to Breathe’ and his favourite The Faim song ‘Amelie’. Earlier this month the band released a brand new single ‘Fire’ and of course it’s a part of the tour’s setlist. “Once the single dropped I’ve noticed a couple more people singing along live,” said Linden.

This tour has been the drummer’s first trip to Europe and so far his favourite city has been Amsterdam which he describes as one of the coolest places he has ever visited. Although Amsterdam may be his favourite city his most memorable experience was here in the UK. “In Newcastle, I saw snow fall from the sky for the first time which was pretty rad,” he told Highwire.

Seeing snow for the first time may be an experience to remember but it is no surprise that what this new to touring musician misses about home are the beach and the warm weather. He also misses friends and family, the people who supported him on his journey. “There’s been a lot of people that have helped me along the way which I’m extremely grateful for but the biggest supporters I’ve had are my parents, my mate Tom, and my manager Rob,” Linden said. “In their own way they have helped me immensely and I wouldn’t be here right now without them.”

As with most musicians, it’s not just the people they know that help them on their journey it’s also the musicians who influence them. “My biggest drumming influences are Dave Grohl, Jimmy Chamberlin, Jorma Vik, George Daniel, Nathan Followill and Brad Wilk,” Linden said. “The reason these guys stand out to me is that they serve their bands songs so well whilst having their own unique style.”

It’s no surprise that Dave Grohl is such a heavy influence to Linden as the first record he ever brought was Nirvana’s Nevermind. “I bought it when I was 11. Easily one of the most solid decisions I’ve made in life,” he said. That may very well be true and of course, the one about taking music class as an elective and learning drums has got be high up on the list too.