Pieter Jacobus Potgieter (born: October 23, 1986), better known online as Cobus, formerly deedlebag, is a South African drummer who is best known for his drum covers and for starting the YouTube Band Project. He is the 2nd most subscribed drummer on YouTube. In the YouTube community, he is considered the first YouTube cover drummer.
Biography[]
Born in Carnarvon, South Africa, Cobus grew up in a non-musical family. He only touched a drum when he was 16. He first tried out the drums when he went to an outreach in the local church with his friends; the drummer showed them a basic 4/4 rock beat, then invited someone in the audience to try it out; Cobus agreed. When he could play it without much effort, he realized he was itching to play the drums again. His parents bought him a cheap, no-name-brand drum kit the following year.
In 2011, he moved to Los Angeles to start on his band project before moving back to South Africa after completing it. He moved back to LA in 2014 and moved in with fellow YouTuber and musician Tyler Ward, of which Ward announced through his Twitter page.
In 2016, it was announced that he would be playing with the British pop-rock band Busted on their tour.
Personal life[]
He dated fellow YouTube drummer Linsdey Raye in August 2011 for at least a year before breaking up during an unknown time for disclosed reasons. In July 2014, he confirmed they had broken up, but they still remain good friends.
He lives in Los Angeles with fellow musician Tyler Ward, with whom he is toured in 2014. Currently, he is touring around the US with his band Ventura Lights. In late 2014, he recorded a song with Tom Morello (of Rage Against The Machine) entitled "Marching On Ferguson" at Ocean Way Studios.
YouTube beginnings[]
In the summer of 2006, he was getting ready to play at the church he attended when his friend asked him to play something. He agreed, and he played a 46-second solo. He then uploaded the video to YouTube under the username "deedlebag".
A year later, he found himself not being able to sleep one night; he then went to the "student church", set the church's camera in an overhead position, went on the drums and recorded 11 covers in that single night. This would be later known as the "Overhead Series" of covers.
Videos[]
- His most popular video is "Cobus - Avenged Sevenfold - Afterlife (Drum Cover)" with over 7 million views.
- His least popular video (as of December 2013) is "Ventura Lights - Way Up Here: NOW ON iTUNES!"
Ventura Lights (AKA My YouTube Band Project)[]
In 2012, Cobus decided to write and compose his own music, for which he started the YouTube Band Project. The funds collected through KickStarter was over $500,000, enabling him to start the project. Over 450 musicians were auditioned via YouTube, from which only 14 were selected; and later, only 4 won the final audition. The musicians were : Justin Hicks (Vocals), Bear Rose (Guitar), BJ Bryant (Vocals and Guitar) and Evans Collins (Bass).
They managed to complete a studio album in a month's period, entitled Way Up Here. The album was released on August 30, 2013 and October 22, 2013 on iTunes. The album was well received with most giving 5-star reviews.
Return to YouTube[]
On April 17, 2014, Cobus announced via Facebook that he is going to return to making YouTube covers after a year long hiatus (due to his commitement to the YouTube Band Project). Later, he announced that the first cover will be uploaded on April 28, 2014. 5 days later, he uploaded a cover of Skrillex's "Try It Out" which is one out of 5 for his new series of covers called " The Quadrum Series". On May 1, he uploaded the second video, which is a cover of Ellie Goulding's "Burn".
Gear[]
Drums: Drum Workshop/ PDP:[]
- 14" X 5.5 Snare
- 8" X 7" Rack Tom
- 10" X 8" Rack Tom
- 12" X 9" Rack Tom
- 14" X 12" Floor Tom
- 16" X 14" Floor Tom
- 22" X 18"Bass Drum
- 14 X 6.5 Neil Peart Signature "Snakes and Arrows" Snare
Cymbals: Sabian[]
- 13" HH Fusion Hi-Hats
- 14" Artisan Hi Hats
- Stack 1 : 10" AAX Splash and 10" China Kang
- Stack 2 : 12" HHX Splash and 10" HH China Kang
- Stack 3 : 6" AA Splash and 8" Chopper
- 18" Vault Saturation Crash
- 18" HHX Groove Crash 18"
- 18" AAX X-plosion Crash
- 19" HHX X-treme Crash
- 6" AA Splash
- 8" HH Splash
- 20" AAX ISO Ride
- 20" HHX Legacy Ride
- 22" AAX Omni
- 18" Artisan 3-point Crash
- 20" AA China
- 19" Paragon China
Drumsticks: Pro-Mark Drumsticks - Cobus Potgieter Signature Series Drumsticks[]
Drumheads: Evans Drumheads -[]
- Snare:
- Batter/Top : Genera HD
- Resonant/Bottom : Hazy 300
- Tom-tom:
- Batter/Top : G2 Coated, G2 Clear, EC2 Clear
- Resonant/Bottom : G1 Clear
- Bass Drum:
- Batter/ Top : EMAD 2 Clear, EQ3 Clear
- Hardware: DW9000 Hardware Series
Gallery[]
