Tate Cunningham
Facts
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Groups | SAFETYSUIT |
| Genres | Pop,Rock |
| Website | www.safetysuitmusic.com |
Biography
Born into a small farm town in Southwest Oklahoma, it seemed from the beginning Tate Cunningham was meant to play music. Studying classical piano from the age of five to fifteen under the privilege of Dr. Brekenridge (University of Oklahoma), Tate was laying the ground work for a musical career, ultimately landing him on the drums. When Tate turned 15, he got his first drum set for Christmas and from there was self taught, playing along to the likes of Nirvana's Nevermind, Pearl Jam's Ten, The Police and Smashing Pumpkins.
In 1998 Tate graduated from high school and landed a full scholarship to Oral Roberts University in Tulsa Oklahoma, majoring in music. There he solely studied percussion and split time between Orchestra, Concert, and Pep bands. In 2001 he met SafetySuit singer Doug Brown, Jeremy Henshaw Bass, and became friends. "We all played in different bands at the time, but Doug had some songs and wanted to play in the battle of the bands last minute. He had some cool songs so I agreed. It was more for fun, or a joke really, but we won! I've been with them ever since." The three later added guitarist Dave Garofalo and the rest is history. In 2003 they decided to "go for it" and moved to Nashville where they landed a major deal with Universal Records in 2007. In May of 2008, SafetySuit released their debut album "Life Left To Go." There first single "Someone Like You" landed them a top 15 record on Alternative and top 20 on Hot A/C. SafetySuit has been featured on MTV's "The Hills" on numerous shows and was on Vh1's Top 20 Countdown for 5 weeks, peaking at #8. You can see them live in 2009 with 3 Doors Down.
"There's nothing like playing the drums. It's such an emotional instrument. You don't have to "play" a melody to understand what someone is trying to say. I can't imagine doing anything else."
