by Noah Armstrong
Daily Lobo
It didn't take Paul Mazurkiewicz of Cannibal Corpse long to realize he was playing the wrong instrument.
Mazurkiewicz, the drummer for the death-metal band, started out playing guitar in seventh grade. At shows, he soon realized he spent most of his time focusing on rhythm and what the drummer was doing.
"My first cousin had a drum set, so I could play sometimes," he said. "My uncle plays drums, too."
Mazurkiewicz said he has a broad range of influences.
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"Growing up, I was just into hard rock. Two big influences are Neil Peart from Rush and Dave Lombardo from Slayer," he said.
Now Mazurkiewicz isn't only into heavy music. One of his favorite bands is far from death metal.
"Grand Funk Railroad's Red Album is really killer for me," he said.
For Mazurkiewicz, music "puts people into a different plane of existence, submerges them in another world."
He said metal does this well.
"It's just a great form of music for fans to be into," he said. "Death metal's about interaction with the fans. They feed off us and we feed off them. It's great to see that it's still thriving, and it doesn't look like it's going anywhere."
Mazurkiewicz said Cannibal Corpse wants to continue on the same path.
"Just doing what we're doing, the band's outlived our wildest expectations," he said. "Just live day by day and take it as it comes."
Mazurkiewicz said the band's creative process starts with the music.
"It's always going to come with music first," he said. "That's the core of the song."
The band creates sounds that are known around the world, and albums that have reached multiplatinum status, all with virtually no mainstream radio or television airplay.
Who: Cannibal Corpse
When: Saturday at 8 p.m.
Where: Sunshine Theatre 120 Central Ave.
Price: $20
