Kieren Schroeter

Location: Gawler, SA

Challenge: Oromandibular Limb Hypoplasia

Website: facebook.com/Briarcliffofficial

Kieren Schroeter is a young drummer from the outskirts of Adelaide in South Australia. He has been playing drums for over 4 years now and is self taught. Drums and Drumming is Keiren's #1 passion in life.

Kieren says "I was born with a rare condition called Oromandibular Limb Hypoplasia, which is an extremely rare condition which caused me to be born without hand or feet and a completely fused jaw. I was found in an orphanage at age 3 months, behind a door covered in infectious boils and left to die. I was found by aid workers and brought back to Australia for life saving cranio facial surgery to have my mouth reopened at 6 months, so that I may be given another chance to live. Fortunately for me, a couple wanted to take me home and they partitioned a campaign to keep me in Australia. 3 months later, that couple became my parents whom I love very dearly and thank so much for taking me into their lives and giving me the life that they have".

During Kieren's childhood and teen years, he found it extremely hard to fit in with the rest of the kids and never really made many friends due to bullying at school.

He became a very angry child, this happened all the way up until year 11, when he started tapping on tables to bands I liked. Kieren says "I knew all the drum parts off by heart and would constantly air drum to anything." So one day his mum just said to him, go get yourself a drum kit, so they bought one for him for Christmas and he was instantly hooked.

Kieren has been dealing with a disability organisation Prostek Prosthetics, and they designed some wrist bands for him to hold the sticks in place. He says in Sick Drummer magazine "The arm bands themselves are just wet suit material with velcro stitched on to them that wrap around my wrist and hold the sticks in place, but they also give me enough leverage to be able to bounce/roll the sticks, so I am able to do ghost notes etc.".

And from there on out, He practiced every day after school from 4pm till 9-10pm at night for about 3 years straight. He says "In a sense, being isolated and not having many friends helped him focus so much more to becoming better at what I loved".

Kieren started out playing anything from Blink-182 to NOFX, then progressed to metal, then to extreme death metal. Kieren says "And because these were the genre’s I knew, it was all I could do until I discovered funk drumming and I loved that as soon as I heard it. From there I progressed to more styles of music until I found my favourite band of today, Animals As Leaders. The band had everything I could want in music and they combine everything into their own style, which is what I try to do when I’m alone on the kit". Now he has opened himself up to all genres of music and he mixes every genre and make it his own sound and style.

Also one unique thing about Kieren is that he doesn't have a chosen preferred setup. He constantly changes his kit every time he plays it searching for more comfortable ways to play easier. He loves performing in front of people, which he always has. He says &qupt;Whenever I have friends around I love to show off and show them what I am capable of doing on drums. I like showing everyone what I’m capable of, because my whole life I was told by people I would be a nobody and would never have a life, so I did everything I possibly could to prove them wrong".

Kieren's dream of being a professional drummer is to be able to go around and inspire to people that if you put your mind to it, anything is possible, and to challenge others to see things the way he sees them.

Kieren says "One thing most people don't understand is how much harder I have to work, due to not having wrists. But, I study drum videos and techniques of drummers and I work hard to learn new things."

"I have such a broad view with my outlook on life and I will always stay positive and will encourage others to do their best and just have fun, that why I play drums, I play for pure fun and to become a great musician."

Kieren Schroeter performing Black Dahlia Murder's "I'm Charming"