Angelo Coppola began playing the drums when
he was just a toddler. Instead of beginning on pots and pans, like many
others, Angelo used to enjoy climbing up to the drum set his musician dad
had purchased for himself. It wasn't long before Angelo claimed the kit as
his own. It was evident early on that he understood the concepts of playing
patterns to create rhythm, as he would play along with recordings of music
that he enjoyed listening to. Even as early as three years old, it was
common for Angelo to perform for family and friends who would be visiting
his home. While attending Kindergarten, he finally got the opportunity to
perform in public at the school talent show. After he got a taste of
performing on a stage to a receptive audience, he was hooked. In 2004, a
video tape of Angelo playing drums was submitted to the TV show America's
Most Talented Kids. He was chosen from thousands of entries to fly to
Los Angeles and perform on the show. At only eight years old, he became one
of the youngest contestants to win on that show. The exposure Angelo
received form performing on National TV brought his first coverage by the
press/media and many more performance opportunities. While playing gigs all
over the Midwest, he studied with drum virtuoso Ed Daffin and started
recording tracks for his debut CD Pound For Pound. The CD included
all original songs written by him and his father, and was released in July
2006. It marks Angelo's first venture into singing as he covered all of the
vocal parts as well as drumming on the disc. Pound For Pound received
outstanding REVIEWS by many well respected musicians and is still available
today on CdBaby and Itunes. In December 2006, Angelo was invited to record
drum tracks for a KISS tribute CD titled Christine Sixteen II: Another
High School Tribute to KISS which was released Spring 2007. Soon after,
he was interviewed and performed on the Manhattan syndicated television show
New York Rocks. Later that year, Angelo was asked to join The Anthony August
Band, led by 27 year old guitar shredder Anthony August. He gigged
throughout Metro Detroit with The Anthony August Band and went back into the
studio to record drum tracks for a Metallica Tribute CD titled Teach 'Em
All (released Spring 2008). Angelo began studying drums with Jacob
Castillo and, in August 2008, formed his current band WHIPLASH with twin
brothers Andrew and Josh Burnham on guitar and bass. This trio of thirteen
year olds has since been cranking it up in some of Detroit's best venues and
has already shared the stage with some of Detroit's top bands. WHIPLASH is
out to prove they are the future of rock. Check out their upcoming shows at
Angelo's Myspace Page or the WHIPLASH Myspace Page.
