The twenty-eight year old drummer for Third Eye Blind, Brad Hargreaves recalls picking up drumsticks for the first time at he age of five. He played on a homemade drum set until he'd saved enough money to buy a true set at age thirteen. He started official drum lessons in seventh grade, and began learning jazz styles. Under different teachers, he learned to approach drums both intellectually and emotionally.

Before joining up with Third Eye Blind, Brad played solely jazz. He was involved with various jazz projects in the Bay Area's underground jazz scene creating more progressive, avant-garde works. He worked with jazz musician, Vijay Iyer, for pieces on the "Memorophilia" and "Architextures" albums, and then with Liberty Ellman on the "Orthodoxy" album. Hargreaves lived and worked with Ellman for five years, playing music day in and day out in a converted garage in Oakland. "This was a huge growth period for me," he explains. In working with both Iyer and Ellman, Hargreaves felt challenged rhythmically.

Both projects focused on incorporating the leaders ethnicity into forms of jazz that already existed, and Hargreaves found himself working harder than ever as he felt his musical horizon expand into new areas. Combining traditional African and Indian rhythms into established jazz patterns was an exciting project that pushed Hargreaves to grow as a musician.
Brad has recently revisited guitar playing and has been finding inspiration lately in writing songs on the guitar. Two years of touring allowed little time for being creative, however since he's been back home, "the floodgates have opened" and he's finding opportunities to put new ideas to use. Hargreaves is interested in writing music far beyond just rock. Film scoring and "more electronic" music are among his interests.

As for Third Eye Blind's second record, soon to be released this fall, Hargreaves feels that it "displays more musicianship" than the previous one. "There are a lot of layers to grab hold of in Third Eye Blind music." He acknowledges that there is a certain pressure on the band to live up to the quality of their debut album and to meet the high expectations of their fans. "We have a lot to live up to, but it's out of our hands now. We've done our part to make a good record, and I'm proud of it. I feel this record really represents the four members of Third Eye Blind ."