Mattituck metal drummer Jeff Fabb ‘kicks’ off solo project

Nearly 30 years ago, metal drummer Jeff Fabb started his musical career banging through Metallica, Nirvana and other covers at Mattituck High School’s annual variety show.

“That was my first band; I can’t remember what we went by,” Mr. Fabb, 46, said. “We loved metal … I skateboarded so I always listened to punk and hardcore so that was always in there.”

In the decades since, Mr. Fabb’s talents have taken him across the globe. After playing with various artists, including In This Moment, James Durbin and Filter, he became the permanent drummer for Black Label Society, a heavy metal outfit fronted by renowned on-again, off-again Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde in 2014.

Even after playing OzzFest, an annual music festival that attracts tens of thousands of heavy metal maniacs, the Mattituck native and current resident still remembers the childhood friends with whom he played the Strawberry Festival: Frank Rivera and Brian Greene.

Now, Mr. Fabb is releasing music of his own under the name Stealing Souls. The project features him stepping out from behind the drum kit to sing and lay down guitars. His first single, “You’re Complete,” which has been played on local radio stations and will hit digital music streaming platforms on Oct. 16, features additional guitar work courtesy of Mr. Greene.

“It’s always cool to have your childhood friends play on it, guys that you came up with,” Mr. Fabb said. “I remember sitting there in a room with him going, ‘how do you do this?’ ‘How do you jam with somebody?’ And then to hear the songs on the radio is really cool too.”

Like many artists, Mr. Fabb used the downtime the COVID-19 afforded him to shift gears and expand his musical horizons. He began focusing on writing lyrics, singing and playing guitar, and even learned music theory from John “JD” DeServio, Black Label Society’s bassist, to bolster his musicianship. While heavy metal may be his primary gig, his new project blends elements of alternative and hard rock. Thematically, he said he has been writing about “pushing through hard times, persevering, making the best of things, not focusing on the worst of things. Also, just realizing how lucky we all are to be alive and just to be grateful for what you have.”

Before he got his first kit at age 11, Mr. Fabb said he was “enamored with the drums,” and played on any set he came across. With his own skins, he started emulating his influences: Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham, Neil Peart of Rush and The Police’s Stewart Copeland.

After graduating Mattituck High School in 1996 and a brief stint at Suffolk County Community College, Mr. Fabb moved to Los Angeles, Calif., to seek more musical opportunities. By that time, his rock influences took a back seat to his affinity for funk music and jazz drummers like Buddy Rich, Tony Williams and Steve Gadd.

“I just wanted to be around more musicians playing and more places to play,” he explained. “For me, growing up out here, there really weren’t many places to play; now there seems to be more. There were musicians that lived here, but it just seemed a little bit hard for me to get something going. I just wanted to be around people that were like-minded, that had the same vision and the same goals. I wasn’t going to L.A. to be a rock star; I just wanted to play more music.”

On the west coast, Mr. Fabb found auditions through classified ads looking for musicians. However, there was one glaring problem.

“I didn’t even have drums when I moved there,” Mr. Fabb said. “I moved there with a snare drum and my bass drum pedal … I remember showing up to one of the auditions and I was playing against my snare drum case with my bass drum pedal. The guy was like, ‘what the hell are you doing?’ Eventually I had my drums shipped to me. It’s crazy to me when I think about that.”

In 2005, Mr. Fabb became the first drummer for the heavy metal band In This Moment. After recording three albums and touring with the group, he accepted an opportunity to work with James Durbin, a rock and metal singer and guitarist who released solo material after competing on American Idol in 2011.

A year later, he received a call that Black Label Society needed a drummer to fill in for a few tour dates. Having met Mr. Wylde during his In This Moment days, Mr. Fabb accepted the opportunity, hopped a flight and began studying the new tunes he would have to play. In 2014, the band needed a new drummer, and he snagged the gig.

“I really am so fortunate that I ended up with them because they’re really such great people,” the drummer said of Black Label Society. “I couldn’t ask for a better group of people to tour with. When you’re touring, you’re living with each other, you’re around each other all the time. So just to have a group of people that you get along with, and you can call them your family, I’m really grateful for that.”

Just as Mr. Fabb widened his musical palette over the years and found a home in a heavy metal band, he explored various cultures and countries on the road and he made a home of his childhood hometown.

“I always kind of came back through the years after touring to spend time with my mom and see my family and stuff like that,” he explained. “It’s just home to me. I love the small community. When I was younger, I wanted a city vibe, and after I lived in the city for a while I loved it, but I love this too. I feel like I never really fully left.”

While Black Label Society, which Mr. Fabb said is currently working on a new album, remains his priority, the Mattituck native said he continues to work on his Stealing Souls songs and will release them as singles. He also hopes to play his new material live.

“I’ll grab buddies that can help me play shows,” he said. “I can always grab [Mr. Greene] because he’s always ready to rock. Luckily, I have a lot of friends that play … It’ll be interesting for me, because normally I’m behind the kit playing drums. Either I’ll be singing and playing guitar or maybe I’ll just sing.”