Bruce Aitken (born 1953 in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

, New Zealand) is a rock and world jazz drummer. Later in his career he also became a singer and songwriter. Aitken began his career in New Zealand, performing with the band Rogers Dodgers and later Heathen Grace. In 1975 he formed Gratis Kinetic with Stephen Galvin, John Mcrea, Greg Mooney and Murray Watt which released the single 'Taken All' on PYE Records written by Greg Mooney. Gratis Kinetic toured throughout New Zealand and appeared on TV1's Grunt Machine. He moved between Australia and New Zealand from the 1970s to the early 1990s as he continued his music career with various bands. In 1998, Aitken moved to Canada and became a citizen there in 2003. He has since worked with several eastern Canadian artists such as John Campbelljohn,

Gordie Sampson Gordon Francis Sampson (born July 30, 1971) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and producer from Big Pond, Nova Scotia. Beginning his career as a performer on his hometown island of Cape Breton, both in bands and on his own, Sampson has gone on t ...

and J. P. Cormier. He has received multiple

East Coast Music Award The East Coast Music Association is a non-profit association that hosts an annual awards ceremony based in Atlantic Canada for music appreciation on the East Coast of Canada. Its mission is to develop, advance and celebrate East Coast Canadian mus ...

nominations, and produced the

Cape Breton International Drum Festival {{infobox music festival , music_festival_name = Cape Breton International Drum Festival , location = Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada , years_active= 2001–present , dates = End of April, beginning of May , genre = Jazz ...

from 2001 to 2010 inclusive. Aitken was featured nationally on the television programme '' On The Road Again''. He was inducted into the

Southland, New Zealand Southland ( mi, Murihiku) is New Zealand's southernmost region. It consists mainly of the southwestern portion of the South Island and Stewart Island/Rakiura. It includes Southland District, Gore District and the city of Invercargill. The ...

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008. He toured with John Campbelljohn in Canada & Europe and with

Fred Eaglesmith Frederick John Elgersma (born July 9, 1957), known by the stage name Fred Eaglesmith, is a Canadian alternative country singer-songwriter. He is known for writing songs about vehicles, rural life, down-and-out characters, lost love and quirky rur ...

in Canada.

Awards

* Music Nova Scotia 2004 Musician of the Year * Music Nova Scotia 2010 Award of Excellence

References

External links

Bruce Aitken biography
People from Invercargill New Zealand emigrants to Canada Canadian rock drummers Canadian male drummers New Zealand drummers 1953 births Living people Canadian male jazz musicians {{Canada-musician-stub