In the early 2010s, the Ghost Inside was a prominent metalcore band on the rise. Their albums Get What You Give and Dear Youth had debuted at numbers 88 and 63 on the Billboard Top 200 charts, and they were enjoying successful world tours. But it all came to a sudden stop on November 19, 2015.
On that November morning, the band’s tour bus was involved in a terrible accident that severely injured everyone involved and claimed two lives. It was a devastating moment that tore through the entire metal community.
But the Ghost Inside refuses to let their story be defined by tragedy. With the band reconvening, finding a passion for music, and rebuilding stronger than ever before, it is turning out to be a story of hard-fought triumph against overwhelming challenges. Not the least of which is the savage drumming of Andrew Tkaczyk, who lost his right leg in the accident.
Tkaczyk, a long-time friend of Sweetwater, was gracious enough to take some time to discuss the band’s road back, his drumming influences, why he chooses Sweetwater, and of course, the gear he uses to continue supplying the Ghost Inside with their pummeling groove.
What originally inspired you to play drums?
I was raised on bands like the Beatles and Van Halen by my parents at an early age. They were always listening to it and making me and my brothers listen as well. Over the years that stuck with me. And growing up, in my early teens, I discovered punk bands like Pennywise and heavier bands like Slipknot and Sevendust. Everything just kind of snowballed from that point on. My first interest was guitar, but drums always seemed fun. I played my best friend’s Yamaha kit when I was probably 11 or 12, and it just seemed right. It came so naturally, so I stuck with it!
After the success of Ghost Inside, tragedy struck. But through incredible odds, you and the band chose to continue on. What drove you guys to overcome all that you’ve been through?
Honestly this may sound cliché at this point, but TRULY what makes us still to this day work toward getting back to some form of being an active band is our fans and the overwhelming support we received when we had our accident, and the support we continue to receive on a daily basis. I just can’t imagine not trying at all. I feel like we don’t only owe it to ourselves but to our fans who have graciously stuck by our side through all of this. We do not have a timeframe for a return, but I can assure you we are working as hard as we can to get back to playing again.
You guys are working on new material, correct? What’s the status of the band and that material?
We had actually started writing for our fifth album the year before the accident. We had maybe 3–4 rough songs ready to go and had planned on hitting the studio in early 2016. Obviously that all got put on the back burner. But over the last couple years of recovery, we have been writing when the inspiration hits. No matter what happens, there will definitely be another TGI record. I just can’t even begin to tell you when that will be. As for the current status of the band, we basically just now got to a point where we could even start baby steps into seeing where we are at. We have a long way to go and a lot of work to do.
Walk us through your drum setup.
I’m very fortunate to be sponsored by the best in the biz. SJC Custom Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Vic Firth Drumsticks, and Remo Drumheads.
Right now I’m playing an SJC Ruby Red Acrylic kit.
- 22″ x 22″ Kick
- 12″ Rack
- 16″ Floor
- 8″ x 14″ Snare
Zildjian
- 15″ Mastersound Hi-hats
- 18″ A Custom Crash
- 12″ Splash/Spiral Stacker
- 22″ A Custom Ride
- 20″ A Custom Crash
- 20″ Oriental FX China
- Vic Firth 3A Sticks
Tell me about “The Hammer,” how you came up with it, how it’s used, and how you’ve adapted it into your playing.
So this was an idea my dad had in his head from the moment he first saw me in the hospital in El Paso and knew my leg had to be amputated. He thought up the device and even drew it out for me. Fast-forward to six months later, the rehabilitation facility I was at in Grand Rapids, Michigan, (Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital), set me up with an unbelievable team of people who wanted to help. My Dad and I respected that, and I wanted to see what they could do for me.
After a while though, although a prosthesis technically did work, it just wasn’t enough. I got to a pretty low point where I almost sort of gave up on the idea of drumming again. I didn’t think it would be possible to play even close to the level I was playing at before the accident. That’s when my dad basically said “F— that,” went in the garage, made The Hammer, and made me try it.
I was absolutely blown away by how great it worked for me. The device is attached to my normal pedals and allows me to play with my residual limb. Not having any weight restriction of a prosthesis was a super big piece of the puzzle that was missing. I’ve been playing with it for almost a year now, and it looks like, while I’ll never be 100% back to playing how I used to, I will be pretty damn close.
What other adjustments have you made to your setup and technique since picking the instrument back up?
Given the drastic change my body has gone through, there really haven’t been a whole lot of adjustments I’ve needed to make aside from using The Hammer. My right shoulder got super torn up (rotator cuff, labrum tear, socket dislocation) accompanied with brachial plexus nerve damage. My right hand has lost a pretty significant amount of function and I have constant hypersensitivity in my hand and fingers. Using a glove on that hand helps absorb some of that vibration from hitting a drum or cymbal with my stick. With range of motion loss in my shoulder, I’ve just moved my china closer and that does the trick.
You are also an accomplished guitarist and have released a solo djent project as well as hip-hop material. What keeps you so inspired over multiple genres?
I have played guitar as long as I’ve played drums. I’ve written for multiple bands and my own. Music is literally the only thing I know. In my downtime after our accident, I was just going nuts not being able to be creative. When I reached a point where I could get downstairs to the basement where my studio was at the time, I decided to just be completely creative and do whatever I wanted.
As silly as the term “djent” is, that is what the genre is known as, and it encompasses everything I love about heavy music: relentlessly heavy riffs in tandem with melodic, atmospheric textures/leads and soundscapes. I had been planning and writing that stuff for years before our accident, and it was always on my bucket list to release my own project like that.
The hip-hop thing was also just something I did to see if I could do it. Haha! It was fun and I really enjoy classic ’90s hip-hop, but I don’t see myself ever seriously releasing anything. Music is honestly just what keeps me going, so I often use it as an outlet to cope or escape with any situation in life.
What advice do you have for up-and-coming musicians, especially those with incredible challenges to overcome?
If you’re 100% passionate about it then you will be fine. I didn’t want to let what happened to us define me or be the ultimate reason I was done with music. That was not ok with me. I think the same goes for the rest of the TGI guys as well. Work hard and never give up, and you will go places.
Tell me about your relationship with Sweetwater. How long have you worked with us; what brought you to SW initially; what is your relationship with your Sales Engineer Patrick Weaver, etc.?
Sweetwater has been incredible to TGI! We connected with our good friend Patrick Weaver at Sweetwater, and he has been our go-to guy for a year or so now. Not only that, but he has become our friend. We often chat on the side just about life, music, and whatever else. Sweetwater is the way to go.