Most their for his work with the Boston-based progressive metal group Dream Theater, he also has extensive credits as a session drummer. Before recording Breaking the Fourth Wall (2014), Dramatic Turn of Events (2011), and other Dream Theater albums, he contributed to four Steve Vai recordings and to three MullMuzzler albums.
He started drumming when he was just over two years old. After studying computer science at Bentley University and working as a government software programmer, he returned to music, recording and touring with the bands Annihilator and Extreme.
In the early 2000s, he set five separate World's Fastest Drummer (WFD) records.
He was born and raised in Newton, Massachusetts, and he later taught at the Berklee College of music in Boston, Massachusetts.
He joined Dream Theater as a replacement for the band's original drummer, Mike Portnoy.