...painted by my beloved wife Doris:

I was born in 1960 in a small remote town in the middle of Germany, the son of a craftsman without a high school diploma, (See Blog/My Heritage/Genealogy for more details). In 1986 I had the great fortune to meet my wife Doris. 
I studied jazz drumset at the HfMT Cologne from 1984 - 1987. Since then I have been working…

…as a bandleader

Since 1992 I am the leader of the Thomas Arens Combo (until 1999 René Combo) I took over this band from my esteemed teacher Rainer Rokos. This band specialized in the musical accompaniment of the famous Cologne carnival shows. Since 1992 I am the only drummer who leads and organizes such a band. We play on average of more than 40 shows a year in up to six lineups with up to 12 musicians. Since 2020 I am also the only arranger of this band.

From 1999 - 2020 we performed 161 times for the customers and prospective customers of company that manufactures stair lifts. For these events we developed eight different shows. I wrote all the texts for these shows and always had a central role as a presenter and comedian.

…as a DJ

Since 2013 I also work as an event DJ (about 30 gigs per year). (Before only as a supplement to the performances of the Thomas Arens Combo).

…as a composer

Since the end of the seventies I wrote compositions for several bands I founded - first of all Die Fußgänger (1988 - 1990). In 1988 I also worked as a film music assistant for Wolfgang Hamm. From 1994 - 2000 I wrote music for some smaller film projects. Since 2017 I have been composing more again - this time using modern computer hardware and software to a large extent. You can listen to my current compositions on all streaming platforms.
Under my pseudonym Inschrift Aura: Ambient, Electronica, Downtempo, Chillout, Experimental and under my real name Thomas Arens: Songs with spiritual German lyrics.
In 2021 my debut album Atem aus Stroh was released. In the same year I started composing film music again, first project: a short movie called Neu geboren.

…as a drummer

I am constantly working on my skills as a drummer. I have never stopped practicing. Check out my videos on my YouTube channel Drum Set. I especially recommend this video.

…as an author

I wrote two drum books and published them in the renowned Leu Verlag. In these books I explain my very unusual, yet efficient drumming method. This method has many facets, but one in particular stands out: my system of chromatic tempos.

…as a music teacher

From 1985 to 2016 I worked as a drum teacher at various music schools. Without this extensive teaching experience, I would not have been able to develop most of my ideas for learning to play the drums.

…as a comedian

As I mentioned before, my comedy is an important part of the shows we developed for Lifta. But I also occasionally perform  as Gerd Gatterlatte with short comedy shows. I also offer these shows as a supplement to my DJ-performances.