bostaph first wanted to play the bass guitar, but later chose the drums because he found a kit that was cheaper than a bass. he listened to the beatles and the beach boys, but ac/dc got him into rock drumming. he bought his first drum kit at the age of 15 and decided to become a metal drummer after listening to "killers" by iron maiden. he was also influenced by bands like elo, blue öyster cult and black sabbath. his biggest drumming inspirations are phil rudd, clive burr, tommy aldridge, nicko mcbrain, cozy powell, jeff porcaro, steve smith, dave lombardo, and tommy lee.