david parkes
touring & session drummer
I was born in Warrnambool, Victoria, three and a half hours south-west of Melbourne. I started playing drums at the age of 10 after seeing Travis Barker in Blink-182’s “All The Small Things”. I began performing live in pop-punk and metalcore bands from the age of 15, and started teaching drums at 17 years old.
In 2018, I decided to make the move to Melbourne to complete a Bachelor of Music Performance at Melbourne Polytechnic. Since then, I've been VERY fortunate to have some pretty cool opportunities session and touring-wise.
In 2022 on two days notice, I filled in for Japanese Metalcore band Paledusk for their first Australian tour, supporting Alpha Wolf. Towards the end of the same year, Paledusk returned for their own Australian headline tour, with dates at Good Things Festival, for which I was fortunate to join them on drums. Additionally, in 2022 I began playing live with electronic dance artist Running Touch.
The following year with I Built The Sky, I toured UK, Europe and India, including headline shows and festival dates at Radar Festival (UK), Brutal Assault (CZE), Commendatio (Portugal) and BARCARDÍ NH7 (India). In the same year we supported Plini and Protest The Hero across Australia.
At the beginning of 2024, I was given two days' notice to learn an hour and a half set for The Amity Affliction's Australian tour, which spanned across 16 dates. I also subbed in for the main support, Alpha Wolf, for two of the shows on the same tour. I filled in again for The Amity Affliction a few months later at Big Pineapple Festival.
Around the same time, I played my first show with ARIA-Award winning Dan Sultan, supporting American country artist Zach Bryan, at Flemington Racecourse. Following this were various headline and festival dates, including a show at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, which is where I attended my first show ever as a child - Blink-182. We also performed at the AFL's broadcast of the Brownlow Medal Ceremony, which was my first Live TV Broadcast performance.
In the same year, I was lucky enough to have a 10-page feature in Australia’s biggest and most respected drum magazine, Drumscene. Following this was the debut album release for my band Wallet Inspector, titled “Ephemeris”. In support of this we played shows around Australia and New Zealand.
Towards the end of 2024, I was incredibly fortunate to be given the opportunity to drum for Periphery’s headline Australian run, which included dates at Monolith Festival. At each date of the festival, I conducted a drum clinic focusing on exploring quintuplets through groove. Check out my Periphery Tour Kit Rundown video made in conjunction with DW Drums.
2025 opened with a Dan Sultan Australian headline tour, including a show at the Sydney Opera House Forecourt and another at the historic Forum Theatre. I also began playing with pop-country duo Zac & George, touring Australia supporting James Johnston and playing festivals such Gympie Music Muster, and Strummingbird - headlined by Jellyroll. In the same year, I tracked drums for the newest I Built The Sky album “Promise Me You’ll Thrive” with Forrester Savell, scheduled for release late-May 2026. Check out the gear we used HERE.
To end 2025, I filled in for Australian hip-hop legends Hilltop Hoods, headlining Rolling Sets Festival.
2026 so far has included a combination of touring and session-work, most notably the Australian headline tour of Nashville-based Jake Banfield, and shows with Zac & George.
In May of 2026, I was given the opportunity to perform with Dan Sultan at the AFL’s pre-game ceremony of Dreamtime At The G, which takes place at the MCG - the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere.