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SR Biography
Sean Reinert was drawn to music ever since he can remember.
At age four he wanted to play french horn.
At age seven his mom bought him a piano.
At age 10 Sean decided to "temporarily" break up with the piano and go out with the drums! From that birthday on, Sean would eat, drink and sleep drums...
In 1987 at the young age of 15 Sean auditioned and was accepted into the prestigious New World School of the Arts. NWSA was the brand new magnet school modeled after the "FAME" school in NYC located in downtown Miami with it's focus on performing/dramatic and visual arts. Now fully immersed in all aspects of music, Sean would blossom even further going on to graduate at the top of his class in 1989.
At that same time (1987) Sean would multi-task and round out his "curriculum" by co-founding the band Cynic with Paul Masvidal. This diverse mix of musical situations began to show in his playing with the mixing up of the rock and metal styles he listened to early with the newer influences of jazz and fusion. Sean credits artists like Chick Corea, Frank Zappa, Allan Holdsworth and drummers such as Gary Husband, Vinnie Colaiuta and Dave Weckl as major influences over his drumming style.
In 1990 Chuck Schuldiner of the band Death recruited 19 year old Sean to record drums on what would become the landmark Death album "Human". Ironically enough, Seans non-metal influences caused him to approach the recording of Human differently than the typical metal drummer might have. His prog-rock and fusion influence on the recording is often cited as having not only changed the sound of the Death albums that followed, but the sound of the entire genre as well.
After leaving the band Death, Reinert continued to work on Cynic and finally saw the release of the seminal and genre busting FOCUS in the fall of 1993. The album, was a drastic departure from the bands thrash metal roots, incorporating elements of fusion, jazz and spiritual lyrics. "Focus" is often considered by fans and the industry to be ahead of it's time and similarly to Death's "Human" it is frequently cited as a landmark album that changed the way technical/progressive metal is played.
When CYNIC broke up in 1994 Sean's main focus was to continue his musical studies. After his AA from Miami Dade Community College, he transferred to the University of Miami School of Music to study Composition and Music Theory. After leaving Miami, Sean moved to Los Angeles where he studied orchestration with long time Danny Elfman collaborator Steven Scott Smalley as well as legendary Wild Wild West and Twilight Zone scorer Robert Drasnin.
At the same time, Sean worked at Capitol Records in the Mastering/Studios department and was performing and recording with the band Aeon Spoke. Aeon Spoke would go on to release a record on SPV records and receive placement in many TV shows (One Tree Hill, The Mountain, Smallville etc..)
In the summer of 2007 due to high demand CYNIC experienced a successful reunion tour. After the incredible response and with new found inspiration, Reinert and Masvidal decided to record a new Cynic album. In the fall of 2008 CYNIC released it's second effort "Traced In Air". It was received with critical acclaim.
Cynic would go on to tour extensively around the world for the next several years, ultimately recording two more EP's ("Retraced" and "Carbon Based Anatomy") and one more full length (Kindly Bent To Free Us) before disbanding in the summer of 2015.
Currently Sean continues to focus his efforts on his television and film composing, teaching - as well his personal project "Eggshell Repair Kit". His discography spans three decades and performances can be heard and viewed on radio stations and television networks across the world.
Sean endorses: TAMA drums, SABIAN cymbals, EVANS drum heads, REGAL TIP drumsticks & Ultimate Ears PRO in ear monitors.
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