Born and raised in Hannover, Germany, Jan started drumming at the age of 12. His first musical influences were Nirvana, Bob Dylan and The Beatles, which formed the base for his powerful, yet always song-oriented playing. He was soon recognized by the local music scene and joined the rock band “Mellow Sirens” for their national debut. At the age of 19 he was already touring Germany, playing high-profile events like "Rock am Ring" and "Hurricane" festival.
In 2000 he moved to Rotterdam, The Netherlands, to study drums at the Conservatoire of Rotterdam. Over the last 30 years Jan has worked with many national and international artists such as Austin, Texas based Patricia Vonne and David Grissom (John Mellencamp, The Allman Brothers Band, The Dixie Chicks) playing hundreds of shows all over Europe including the famous “Montreux Jazz Festival” in Switzerland.
In 2019 Jan provided the grooves for Americana artist Judy Blank who was the first Dutch artist to play Americana Fest in Nashville and Austin’s SXSW.
To honor his 90’s rock roots, he and three close friends started the Dutch rock band 22Below, who were asked by Mike Muir to support Suicidal Tendencies live in France in 2017.
Most recently Jan toured extensively with Dutch artist Douwe Bob in support of his 10y anniversary and 6th studio album
Besides his work as an independent drummer, Jan builds his own recording studio “Okapi Recordings” in 2018, gaining a good reputation as a producer. Not only is his studio the perfect environment for him to be creative, record drums and make records with other artists and bands, but it also provides the perfect balance between studio work and being on the road.
