Eric Moore | Chops, power & groove

If you are a drummer with a social media account, you have already seen Eric Moore. You might not know his name yet, but you have seen the hands.

Between the exploding follower count, the clinic reels and the content his endorsers keep putting out, he is hard to miss. He is also one of the most in-demand clinicians and drum tutors on the planet.

Here you will find his story, the gear he plays today, and the latest Eric Moore news — we keep this page updated so you never miss a beat.

Who is Eric Moore?

Eric Moore II grew up in Stockton, California, in a family where everybody played something. His father was an organist in local churches, and Eric was sat behind a kit accompanying him from about the age of four.

Church did the rest. He learned to read, he learned his rudiments, and he learned to play for other musicians rather than at them — which is the bit most young players skip.

He seems to have an almost endless supply of chops

Want to build your own supply? All 40 essentials are in our free rudiment trainer, with audible sticking — and our guide to why rudiments matter and where to start picks the first five for you.

The big break

In 2003 he won the Guitar Center Drum-Off. For anyone who doesn’t know it, that is arguably the biggest drum competition in the world and a genuine career launchpad for young players.

The video quality of the era was not kind to him — the surviving clips on YouTube look like they were filmed through a sock — but the playing still stands up.

The touring career

Since the Drum-Off, Eric has toured across an unusually wide spread of genres. Sly and the Family Stone. Bobby Brown. The DeBarge family. Then a hard left turn into the crossover world with Infectious Grooves, the instrumental trio T.R.A.M., and an eight-year run behind Suicidal Tendencies from 2008 to 2016.

Gospel, funk, R&B, thrash. Not many drummers have that list.

And if you have somehow missed him playing, take a minute ⬇️

Your face should be doing something like this by now 😲

More than just chops

Eric is one of the original members of the Gospel Chops movement, which took off around 2004 and changed what a generation of drummers thought was possible around a kit.

That reputation follows him about, and it undersells him badly. Listen to him on an actual track and the first thing you notice is not the chops. It is that he grooves. Hard.

Knowing when not to play the lick is the hardest lesson in drumming, and he learned it early — in church, playing for singers.

What gear does Eric Moore use?

His setup went through a significant change at the start of 2026.

• Drums — Gretsch, since January 2026. He debuted a Renown kit in Champagne Sparkle, ending a long stint as a DW artist.
• Cymbals — Paiste. His setups have featured 14” Colorsound 900 Heavy Hi-Hats, a 21” Big Beat, and a 15” Signature Dark Energy Hi-Hat with a PST X splash stack on top.
• Heads — Aquarian.
• Sticks — DopeStickz, his own brand.
• Electronics — GEWA. He has been a G9 ambassador since the system launched in 2020, had a hand in developing its hi-hat pad, and has his own signature 14”x8” digital electronic snare.

Setups move about, especially for a clinician who plays whatever the host shop has in stock, so treat the cymbal list as representative rather than gospel.

See Eric Moore’s full rig, era by era, in the Rig Vault →

Here he is with Paiste, which will give you a better idea of how he uses that cymbal setup than any list can:

Beyond the kit

This is the part of the Eric Moore story that has changed most since we first wrote about him.

He owns DopeStickz — short for “Drummers Of Planet Earth” Stickz — his own drumstick brand, sold through drum shops rather than just a merch table.

He also runs Drum Resort LLC out of Las Vegas: a destination where drummers book time with him for lessons and hangs. Not a clinic tour where he comes to you. You go to him.

Add the online lessons and the clinic schedule on top, and the teaching side of his career is now as big as the playing side. If you fancy joining him and are wondering how the endorsement side of it works, our guide on how to get a drum endorsement is a decent reality check.

Final thoughts

Eric Moore is an incredible drummer and worth far more than a few minutes of your time. Twenty-plus years after that Drum-Off win, he is still finding new gears — a new drum brand, a growing teaching business, and no sign of slowing down.

Go and watch the clinics. Then go and practise.

If you like players who can do the flashy thing and hold a room together, try Thomas Lang or Anika Nilles next.

Have any ideas for the next drummer spotlight? Post them in the comments below!