MORGAN AGREN

When he was three years old, Morgan Agren discovered that he liked to hit things—cans, buckets, anything. Perhaps in an effort to save their cookware and furniture, his parents bought him a drum set at the age of five. For the most part, Morgan taught himself to play by ear while listening to records and concerts. Seeing Buddy Rich perform when Morgan was just a ten-year-old inspired him, and as Morgan said,"opened up a lot." For Morgan "inspiration was, and still is one of the more important things."

Four years later, Morgan was set up with Mats Oberg to perform at a local concert. Mats was only ten years old, but he sang, played the piano, and listened to Miles Davis, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Frank Zappa, and Earth, Wind & Fire. He was also blind. Morgan and Mats played at that local concert together, and their lives were forever changed. Morgan reflected on meeting Mats in an interview and said, "I rate meeting with Mats as one of the biggest gifts and most important of my life… I’d just say that he is one of the most amazing musicians [that] ever lived." To this day, they have an unbreakable musical bond and still play together.

Three years later, Morgan, Mats, and some friends created Zappsteetoot, a live Frank Zappa cover band. In 1988 Frank Zappa went to Stockholm on tour and Mats’s uncle contacted the tour leader and told him about their act. Frank invited Morgan and Mats to perform a song with him on stage in front of 10,000 people--with only thirty minutes notice. Against the thunderous applause following the performance, Frank Zappa introduced the pair saying, "Those guys were great!"

A few years later, Morgan and Mats joined Frank Zappa in Los Angeles for several projects, including Grammy Award winning Zappa’s Universe and a classical program at the Lincoln Center’s Performer’s Series in New York. Morgan also shared the drummer’s seat with Terry Bozzio and Dweezil Zappa on Zappa’s Shampoohorn album.

In 1996 Morgan began touring Europe and Japan as a member of The Glen Hughes Band. That same year, he created his own record label so he could easily release his work. Since then, he released more than twenty albums. Morgan continues to work closely with Mats, as well as the bands Kaipa and Box.