September 2000 - Modern Drummer Magazine

CHARLIE WATTS &JIM KELTNER

ABE CUNNINGHAM

RICHIE "GAJATE"GARCIA

STEVE SMITH

BLUE MAN GROUP

GENE KRUPAGERRY HEMINGWAY

UPDATE

PORTRAITS

The Deftones'

IN THE STUDIO

PERCUSSION TODAY

FROM THE PASTRefusing to choose between composing and drummingcan be risky—and liberating.

A techno album.. .with tunes named for jazzgreats...by two classic rock icons. Read all about it.

The new White Pony album finds Abe as massivelyloud—and creative—as ever.

"Those who can, do; those who can't, teach." Don'tbelieve that for a minute!

Three heavy gigs keep Smith burning in the studiothese days—and none are called Journey.

Roaringly funny, exceedingly clever, amazinglyinsightful. Oh, and the drumming kills.

The father of modern drumming.by Michael Bettine

by T. Bruce Wittet

by Matt Peiken

by Stephan Samuel

by Robyn Flans

by Ken Micallef

by Mike De Simone

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Phil RuddBilly Martin

Darrin PfeifferMatt Walker

Brant Bjork

of AC/DCMMW's

of GoldfingerThe Cupcakes'

of Fu Manchu

Volume 24, Number 9 Cover Photo By Paul La Raia

Education Departments

Equipment

MD GIVEAWAY

DRUM SOLOIST

ROCK 'N' JAZZ CLINIC

JAZZ DRUMMERS' WORKSHOP

RUDIMENTAL SYMPOSIUM

BASICS

FIRST PERSON

THE MUSICAL DRUMMER

NEW AND NOTABLE

PRODUCT CLOSE-UP

AN EDITOR'S OVERVIEW

READERS' PLATFORM

ASK A PRO

IT'S QUESTIONABLE

CRITIQUE

ON THE MOVE

INDUSTRY HAPPENINGS

DRUM MARKET

INSIDE TRACK

Danny Carey: "Forty Six & 2"

The "Third Hand" Concept, Part 2:Using Your Bass Drum To Spice Up Fills

Elvin Jones Style & Analysis, Part 1:Comping

The Flam Accent Chain

Pedal Technique And Seat Height

Rhode Island Will Never Seem The Same

Dynamics:The Underused Musical Tool

Frankfurt Music Fair 2000

Spaun Stave Snare Drums

Istanbul Agop Alchemy Cymbals

Pearl Powershifter Eliminator Bass Drum Pedals

Canopus Zelkova Snare Drums

Undiscovered Drummers Discovered!

Bill Bruford, John Riley, and Steve Smith

Including Taking The Stage

Including Vintage Showcase

Josh Freese

Win a terrific prize packageincluding one of two Sonor drumkits,

Sabian cymbals, and Vic Firth drumsticks.

Transcribed by Damon Weber

by Ted Bonar & Ed Breckenfeld

by John Riley

by Chet Doboe

by Rick Van Horn

by Bob Cianci

by Ted Bonar

by Chap Ostrander

by Rick Van Horn

by Rich Watson

by Rick Mattingly

by William F. Miller

by T. Bruce Wittet

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Undiscovered Drummers Discovered!ate last year MD editor/publisher RonSpagnardi came up with the idea of

holding an international drum contest—thefirst ever wholly sponsored by ModernDrummer. While recognizing the problemsof a competition (choosing a "winner" forsomething as subjective as a drum perfor-mance), Ron's goal for the contest wassimply to spotlight new, deserving talent.With that, MD's first ever "UndiscoveredDrummer" contest was born.

The ad announcing the contest appearedin our January 2000 issue. The require-ments were simple: drummers had to per-form a two-minute solo on either audio- orvideotape. The solo could contain anythingthe drummer cared to play, from grooveplaying to all-out flailing. Well, a lot ofdrummers were interested, because by thetime of the contest deadline, March 1,2000, we'd received over 500 entries!

The screening process for these tapesinvolved two steps. First, the tapes weredivided among all of the editors. From that

first batch, the six of us (Ron Spagnardi,Rick Van Horn, Adam Budofsky, RichWatson, Billy Amendola, and I) individual-ly chose the best candidates from amongthe two age groups (18 or younger, 19 orolder). The forty or so tapes that made thefirst cut were then judged by all of the edi-tors. We spent the better part of a daytogether in the MD library listening tothese top contenders, giving each a numberranking. Those votes were tabulated—andunanimous winners for each age groupwere "discovered."

And the winners are...Mike D'Angelo ofCharlotte, North Carolina (in the 18 oryounger category) and Tony Medeiros ofIndianapolis, Indiana. D'Angelo impressedus with his flowing style, solid technique,and ability to solo over an odd meter. Healso had some slick moves, including cross-sticking and double-pedal licks—all particu-larly impressive when you consider Mike isonly twelve years old. As for Medeiros, thisthirty-year old's ability is tremendous. Tony

played a stunning solo over left-foot clave.He upped the ante by also soloing over left-foot cascara! In addition to this, Tony had abeautiful touch on the instrument.

Both Mike and Tony received a $500cash prize, a plaque commemorating theirvictory, a selection of MD Drummerwareand books, and a fully paid trip to ourDrum Festival Weekend this past May. Infact, both drummers performed brief solosat the Festival, wowing the thousands ofdrummers in attendance. We certainlyexpect to hear more from both of these fineplayers in the future. (To read more aboutMike and Tony, see their profiles in nextmonth's issue.)

Finally, we'd like to thank all of youwho entered our first "UndiscoveredDrummer" contest. We were veryimpressed with the overall talent level wewitnessed on those tapes. You all can play!It made us feel very good about the futureof drumming.

Volume 24, Number 9

The World's Most Widely Read Drum MagazineEDITOR/PUBLISHER

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

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SCOTT G. BIENSTOCKMICHELE M. NEWHOUSE

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DIANA LITTLE

KEVIN W. KEARNSROSLYN MADIA

MODERN DRUMMER PROFESSIONAL ADVISORYBOARD: Henry Adler, Kenny Aronoff, Eddie Bayers, Louie Bellson,Bill Bruford, Harry Cangany, Jim Chapin, Dennis DeLucia, LesDeMerle, Len DiMuzio, Charlie Donnelly, Peter Erskine, Vic Firth,Bob Gatzen, Danny Gottlieb, Sonny Igoe, Jim Keltner, Paul Leim,Peter Magadini, George Marsh, Joe Morello, Rod Morgenstein, AndyNewmark, Neil Peart, Ed Shaughnessy, Steve Smith, Ed Thigpen, DaveWeckl, Paul Wertico.

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Robyn Flans, Burt Korall, RickMattingly, Ken Micallef, Mark Parsons, Matt Peiken, Robin Tolleson,Lauren Vogel Weiss, T. Bruce Wittet.

MODERN DRUMMER magazine (ISSN 01944533) is publishedmonthly by MODERN DRUMMER Publications, Inc., 12 OldBridge Road, Cedar Grove, NJ 07009. PERIODICALS MAILPOSTAGE paid at Cedar Grove, NJ 07009 and at additional mailingoffices. Copyright 2000 by MODERN DRUMMER Publications,Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction without the permission of thepublisher is prohibited.

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Printed in The United States

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B ILL STEVENSONIt 's been sometime since I readyour magazine. Igot tired of read-ing about yetanother virtuoso.I always wantedto read moreabout guys who Ithought weregreat, like John

Wright from NoMeansNo, or TheDescendents' Bill Stevenson—who bothhave been a huge influence on me for morethan ten years. When I found out you finallyhad an article with Bill Stevenson in yourJune issue, I ran right out and bought it.

Although the article was only a relative-

ly small Update piece, I thank you! Billhas been around for a long time, and he'snever received the credit he deserves. In anera where rock music seems to be in disar-ray, it's nice to see a drummer who is stilldoing it consistently in the name of all.Now you just need to do an article on JohnWright. Thanks, and keep it up.

Jay ClementsBellevue, WA

I've been playing drums for quite a fewyears now, and my desire to learn moreabout jazz is on the increase. Mike DeSimone's recent series of articles on jazzbasics has really helped me get started.Thanks for being sensitive to the needsof all drummers, whether they are just

Hats off to Mike De Simone for his"Learning To Play Jazz" series. Too oftenwe find drummers with fabulous techniqueand fine time, but a lack of knowledge ofsong form and structure. What distinguish-es the experienced players from the ama-teurs is a sense of support and develop-ment that comes from knowing one's placewithin the form at all times. Listen to JackDeJohnette for an excellent example ofhow to build exciting phrases that supportone's bandmates while reinforcing theunderlying framework of the song itself.

However, having played the tune manytimes myself, I must contend that "All Of

EALING WITH SMALL BANDSTANDS

I enjoyed Larry Kennedy's June article about setting up gear onsmall stages. Tubular stands, booms, etc. are all very cool sug-gestions, but one point left out was to take nothing but a kick,snare, hat, and (if you're feeling wild) a ride cymbal. You'd beamazed how much you can learn by just laying down a grooveall night.

[email protected] Internet

As an extremely busy clubdate drummer in New York, I getshoved into my share of tight areas in hotels, on ships, in halls,etc. But regardless of the real estate, I must perform to the lead-ers' expectations, not only in terms of actual performance, butsound as well. To my mind, today's "compact" or scaled-downkits just don't cut it. Their 16" kicks don't have enough bottomfor the pop and dance styles very much in demand even at thesmallest of gigs. Besides, even the miniaturized kits are mis-leading in terms of spatial economy. Unless you are using a par-ticularly shallow kick drum, the area occupied by a "standard"four-piece kit (which I regard as the minimum necessary toreproduce most musical styles) remains pretty constant.

I've found that the real space-eaters are cymbals. To that endmy compact cymbal setup consists of an 18" crash/ride, a 14"crash, and 13" hi-hats. (You really don't need any more thanthis.) These sizes allow me to a) pull the stands in closer, mini-mizing my surrounding floor clutter, and b) keep the cymbal

volume to a manageable level, even in full flight. I return to rnynormal 21"/ 18"/ 14" cymbal setup for larger venues.

To save stand space, replace your ride cymbal stand with ashell- or hoop-mount cymbal holder. The crash cymbal can goon a flat-based stand. The new DW 6710 flat-based stands are amust for the traveling drummer. Double-braced stands reallyhave no place on the clubdate stage. And after the gig, yourback will love you, since you'll be carrying a lighter stand case.

The key to getting a big sound out of a small drumset is headselection. Two-ply tom and kick batters afford a deep tuning.And a dotted head (!) on the resonant side drops the fundamen-tal pitch of the drum, moving a 14" floor tom into the 16" zipcode. This also cuts the overring and projection of the drumsslightly—which may not please us drummers, but is a nod tothe comfort of the rest of the band.

On the majority of gigs I do, the drums are miked. If you arealso miked most of the time, do yourself a favor and get yourown set of clip-on drum mic's, along with an internal mic' forthe kick. You'll save quite a bit of real estate on stage, andyou'll get a more consistent sound. You'll also earn smiles fromthe sound company, who won't have to think of creative waysto set up stands around you.

Nobody ever said that clubdates were easy. But by makingsome adjustments and some careful purchases, you can haveyour drums and play them too!

D

AZZ BASICSJ

John R. Frondelli

Brad C.Rome, GA

starting out or are professionals.

Me" is in the ABAC form, rather thanAABA as stated by Mr. De Simone in yourJune issue. In ABAC form, the third eight-bar section is the same as the first. The sec-ond and fourth eight-bar sections might beconsidered a "question" and "answer"respectively, interspersed with the initialmotif as stated in the A sections. I feel it isimportant that this be understood by stu-dents who may seek out this song for study.

About a year ago I decided to do some-thing to improve my timekeeping. By prac-ticing timekeeping almost exclusively—

and especially by counting out loud whenpracticing—my time has gotten better. ButI've always been amazed at the lack ofteaching materials on the market thatspecifically address the subject of time-keeping. Over the years I've managed tofind a few articles in some MD back issues,and some helpful comments in variousinterviews, but that was about all. In lightof that, I really appreciated RonSpagnardi's editorial on the subject oftimekeeping in the June issue. I've alreadypurchased Lome Entress's Time AndDrumming after seeing his articles in previ-ous MD issues, and I just ordered KenMeyers' The Solid Time Toolkit. I'm look-ing forward to working with it.

Thanks very much for giving attention towhat is probably the most important issuein drumming—and yet the issue having theleast amount of study materials.

the item included one error regarding theSea Glass CD. Although John Patitucci didplay on that recording, it was not John'salbum, but Ken Volpe's. I just want tomake sure credit is given where it's due.

LECTRONlC SUPPLEMENTIt was great toread your May2000 electronicdrumming sup-plement. Finallypeople are notic-ing that electronicdrums are as goodas the acousticstuff—sometimeseven better! I own

a set of Roland V-Drums, and I'm reallyexcited about them. I can finally practice athome without disturbing the neighbors, plusI get as many different sounds as I want! Itwould be nice to read more about electronicdrums in future articles.

E

from Europe, via InternetJanI'm thrilled to have been included in the

June On The Move department. However,

N THE MOVE CORRECTIONOHE IMPORTANCE OF TIMEKEEPINGT

Dennis GurgulNewton, MA

Forest Muthervia Internet

Editor's note: Mike De Simone replies:"Several readers caught my error in using'All Of Me' to illustrate the AABA form.They are correct in stating that it actuallyis in the ABAC form. Drummers seeking anexample of the AABA form can refer toBilly Strayhorn's classic 'Take The ATrain,' made famous by Duke Ellington. Iapologize for any confusion."

Carter McLeanvia Internet

ANU'S BRUSHESOn page sixty-four of yourApril 2000 issue,Manu Katche isasked about the"brush sound" hegot on a songcalled "BackThen" on aZildjian promo-tional CD. Manu

replies, "Those are rods I'm using, but theyare different rods. There's a French drumstore, la Baguetterie, that has new [dowelsticks] made by an African guy. They'remuch thinner and more fragile. After usingthem on a few songs, though, you just saygood-bye. They're finer than the red oneswe have here with fewer dowels."

First, the name of the brushes isAkangatide brushes. Second, we have fivedifferent models. We don't know whichmodel Manu is talking about. Third, ourbrushes are not made to play loud. Youcannot play hard rock with jazz brushes. Or

In the brotherhood of the drumming world,I'd like to tell you about a brother whostands out of the crowd.

My nephew Jason was born with cere-bral palsy. After numerous operations hestill can't stand up straight. A while ago Ibrought him a drumset that he loves toplay. But since Jason lives in Cincinnatiand I live in Chicago, it was impossible forme to instruct him.

Fortunately, through a string of circum-stances, my brother befriended the bandBlessid Union Of Souls. After meetingJason, their drummer, Eddie Hedges, start-

ed giving him drum lessons! I can't tellyou what an inspiration it has been forJason. This display of compassion is rarelyfound today. As anyone would find fromreading Modern Drummer, this is the kindof attitude that makes a person a true pro-fessional!

OOD MEDICINEI recently had a kit made for me byMedicine Man Custom Drums. DanaChaney, MM's owner and drum builder,went above and beyond the call of duty tomake sure I got what I wanted. All throughthe construction process he would call oremail me, asking questions and going overdetails. He helped me choose the drumsizes and styles, based on what I liked anddisliked about other high-end drumkits.You don't get this kind of personal cus-tomer service from a big-name company(unless you're a big-name player). Mydrums rock! Thanks, Dana.

M

HANKS TO EDDIET

G

Michael WaughOrland Park, IL

Mike FryCanton, OH

Akanga Productions20 rue du Breuil

70000 Vesoul, Francetel/fax: 03 8475 2909

that is, you can, but you're then likely togive the same answer that Manu did con-cerning our products.

Our brushes don't break—they split, andactually sound better the more you play. Asa result, a lot of drummers use our brushesto play soft and loud.

RAVO FROM BELGIUMI'm a twenty-two-year-old amateur drum-mer from Belgium. I discovered your mag-azine two years ago. I've never taken anylessons, but thanks to Modern DrummerI've learned to read drum tabs, I'veimproved my technique, and I've learnedabout other points of view on drums. I'velearned about grooving, playing for thesong, and playing a solid backbeat. I'vealso learned some amazing patterns andtechniques—like cross-sticking, and howto train my left foot on the double bass.

Your great reviews on equipment havehelped me buy consciously, not blindly.You keep me up-to-date with the neweststuff on the market. But most importantlyI've discovered amazing drummers like

Buddy Rich, Art Blakey, John Bonham,Keith Moon, Billy Cobham...too many toname. They've opened my eyes to differentstyles and genres. Thanks to MD, I havegrown as a drummer.

OW TO REACH USCorrespondence to MD's Readers' Platform

may be sent by mail:12 Old Bridge Road,

Cedar Grove, NJ 07009by fax: (973) 239-7139

by email: [email protected]

H

Stephan Verbeurgtvia Internet

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Through the past several years you'vebeen one of the drummers who have

inspired me to keep playing and writingmy own music. I've had the good fortuneto see you perform live on three occasions.The first time was on the B.L.U.E. tour.I'd like to know when you started usingthe setup you're currently playing, andwhat prompted you to position the drumsin such an uncommon way.

Thanks for being such a great influenceon musicians worldwide.

Jose Duquevia Internet

Thanks for your encouragement. Istarted using my current setup with the

second edition of Earthworks, after KingCrimson, in about 1997. Broadly speakingit's a symmetrical, or ambidextrous kit.(I'd give my right arm to be ambidex-

trous!) The two cymbals and two toms onthe right are mirrored by two cymbals andtwo toms on the left, around a pivotal cen-tral hi-hat.

I arrange the drums flat on the sameplane, like a timpanist with five timpani.Personally I find moving the left stick afew inches to the left (to reach the hightom) easier than moving it up and forward,as on a "traditional" kit.

The drums are also arranged in a "bro-ken" pitch order to avoid the commondescending roll of drums from high to low.The setup also avoids the now unnecessaryproblem of the right hand playing the hi-hat on the left side, which I always found abit strange. I sometimes practice withoutthe right-hand side of the kit set up at all,in order to get the left (my weaker) sideworking a bit harder.

Thanks again for your interest. For more

information on all things Bruford, may Idirect you to my personal Web site,www.billbruford.co.uk.

John Riley On Playing ln The CracksFirst of all, thanks for all the great arti-cles and exercises you have written for

Modern Drummer. I have found theminspiring, challenging, and very useful.

Many drummers—including yourself—have mentioned the feel of playingbetween straight 8th notes and swung 8thnotes. In your December 1999 "SecondLine Applications" article, you mentionedabout playing "in the cracks." Could youelaborate on this feel? Could you suggestsome exercises that would help to developthis feel? Also, could you suggest somerecords and/or songs that are good exam-ples of this feel?

Ryan Sappvia Internet

Thanks for your kind words. I'm gladmy columns are of value to you. I

write them to stimulate my own growth,too.

To develop that "in the cracks" feel, firstplay the shuffle rhythm on the ride cym-bal. Then, at the same tempo, play straight8th notes. Now go back to the shuffle and

gradually flatten it out so that it approach-es the straight-8th-note feel. This flat shuf-fle or wobbly 8th-note phrasing is "in thecrack" between swung and straight—NewOrleans style.

It may be helpful to play the cymbalusing more arm motion, less wrist, andvery little bounce from the stick—morefrom the elbow. Some people achieve thefeel if they imagine that they are playingthe cymbal with a broken wrist in a cast!Once you get the proper spacing on thecymbal, work on transferring that feel to"second line" grooves between the snaredrum and bass drum.

A great recording of this type of playingis Professor Longhair's Crawfish Festival,featuring Johnny Vidacovich on drums. Ifyou want to check out the "street" originsof the feel, look for recordings by theOlympia Brass Band. A recent book calledBackBeat—The Earl Palmer Story byTony Scherman also sheds light on theevolution of the feel. Earl—who is fromNew Orleans—is one of the first and most-recorded studio drummers. In the book he

discusses how the shuffle morphed tobecome the rock beat. Good luck!

Bill Bruford Sets UpQ

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Q

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Editor's note: For more tips on playing"in the cracks, " as well as further record-ings with this feel, check out the featurestory on Stanton Moore in the August 2000issue of MD.

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ln The Jungle With Steve Smith

Submit questions for your favorite drummer to Ask

A Pro, Modern Drummer, 12 Old Bridge Road,

Cedar Grove, NJ 07009. Or you may email

[email protected]. We will do our best to

pursue every inquiry. However, we cannot guarantee

that we will be able to reach every artist or that any

given artist will respond. Also, due to MD's publica-

tion schedule, artists' touring schedules, and other

considerations, it sometimes takes several months

before an inquiry and reply can be published.

On page 160 of the April 1999 issue ofModern Drummer you were shown

performing at the 1998 Percussive ArtsSociety convention on a set of SonorJungle Drums. I noticed that you weren'tusing the ride-cymbal bass drum mount,bur rather a straight cymbal stand. Also,you didn't have a cymbal on the samestand the high tom was on. Why is that?I 'm considering buying this kit, and I'dlike your input based on your experiencewith it.

Erik HallmarkWest Seneca, NY

The Jungle Kit has a great sound andfeel to it. I enjoy using it at my clinics

and at some local gigs in the SanFrancisco area.

I don't have the ride cymbal on the bass

drum mount because I find it easier toposition the cymbal on a straight stand. Italso feels more solid on a real cymbalstand versus the bass drum mount. As faras the cymbal on the tom stand, that wouldbe okay if I were using a small crash cym-bal on that side. But I set up a second ridecymbal that is 20" or 22", so it would actu-ally cover the drum unless I put it on aseparate stand.

My only other comments about the"stock" Jungle Kit pertain to the little tam-bourine snare drum. I don't use that; I pre-fer a real snare drum. As far as heads go,white or clear Remo Ambassadors soundgreat on the toms, and a clear Emperor onthe batter side of the 16" bass drum soundsgreat with no muffling at all. More thananything, these drums are totally fun toplay. Enjoy!

RepeatBarA Classic QuoteFrom MD's Past

"I never really told myself that I had to keep practicing overand over to get good. I just wanted to jam. But that's how youget comfortable, more natural. When that happens, you canstart being really creative and develop your own thing."

Kir

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Q

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David Silveria, March '99 MD

I own a Premier Olympic four-piece kitthat was new in the early to mid-1970s,

according to the original owner of drums.The set includes a 20" bass drum, a 14"snare, a 12" rack tom, and a 16" floor tom.I know this is a student-model drumkit, butit has a really nice sound, and it makes agreat jazz kit. Did Premier make a 14" floortom in the Olympic series back in thosedays? If so, can you advise me where Imight be able to obtain one? Also, were theshells made of mahogany then as they arenow?

Kenny ProbstWilliamsport, PA

MD's resident drum historian, HarryCangany, replies, "Premier's Olympic

drums were distributed in the mid-1970s bySelmer Musical Instruments. (Selmer laterbought Ludwig and dropped the Premierline.) The shells were mahogany. It soundslike you have the PD65 outfit: 20" bass,12" and 16" toms, with a matching 5 1/2xl4snare. Premier did little things to cut cor-ners on the Olympics, like put six lugs onthe bass drum instead of eight or ten.

"The Olympic line did include a 14x14tom, so you might be able to obtain one. Isuggest putting a 'wanted' ad in the classi-fied section of Modern Drummer, alongwith advertising in vintage publicationslike Not So Modern Drummer and onInternet sites like Drummer's Web and theForum at www.drumcenter.com. Goodluck in your search."

I'm currently in a rock/punk/pop bandthat sounds similar to Blink 182.1 have

a few questions on the drumming stylesthat should be used. The drummer in Blink182 has some really nice drumbeats tomake his band's music more interesting.But in my band, it seems that unless I keepthe basic "boom chick boom chick" beatgoing, the music sounds bad (at least tome). When I try to do some interestingbeats (not tom fills) to spice things up, ittends to clash with the band, and I don'tfeel the solid rock beat. Yet my other twobandmembers always say, "Play more fills;you're too straight and boring."

I think the music moves better when Ijust play what's called for and don't try tomake it into a solo. But I have to admit,even I become bored with simple rockbeats played over and over again. Willplaying what the music calls for make mesound better to the audience? Will it makethe band sound cleaner—or just boring?

I have some other questions about fine-tuning the sound of my drums and of theband as a whole. We play in an ice rink, onthe ice. The rink is a sort of dome, andthere's an echo that you wouldn't believe.Should I use any kind of muffling on thedrums because of this? Or should I perhapstune the drums higher in pitch? Howshould we set the high, middle, and lowfrequencies for the vocals on our PA? Isthere a way not to have the clarity of oursound destroyed by the echo of the rink?

telling the drummer to play more.)Generally speaking, rock music—unlesswe're talking about "progressive" rock likeDream Theater or Rush—usually calls forstraight, simple drumming. The faster themusic, the less room there is for additionalfills or intricate patterns. True, the simplepatterns can begin to sound the same, butjust throwing in changes for changes' sakeisn't the answer.

The trick is to add something different,without it being a noticeable addition. Itshould be a seamless part of the song—notsomething "tacked on" to make the drumpart interesting. For example, if you're play-ing a simple "boom, chick, boom boomchick" part between the bass and snare, tryputting that second "boom" on the rack andfloor toms instead of the bass drum. Thepart remains the same, but the soundbecomes different. The major problem withadding actual beats (or notes) to a part isthat they can conflict with what the otherinstruments are doing. This interferes withthe movement of the song. Just moving thesounds around keeps the rhythmic structurethe same, but adds acoustic interest.

An exception to the above is the "dou-bling" technique. (But you have to be care-ful with this one.) It's especially effectiveduring choruses or bridges, where youwant to create a feeling of increased excite-ment and energy. Take the basic patternyou've been playing (let's use boom, chick,boom boom, chick again) and simply dou-ble-time it: boom-boom, chick-chick,boom-boom-boom-boom, chick-chick. (Itmight require a double pedal to do the sec-ond set of booms. If you don't have one,you just stay with the original "boomboom" in that section.) Again, you're fill-ing the same space with essentially thesame rhythmic structure, but the doublingcreates a feeling of increased speed andexcitement. The bottom line is: When itcomes to varying your drum parts, think interms of varied sounds and patterns, with-out actually varying the rhythmic structuremore than necessary.

Also consider the use of dynamics. Youcan vary the volume level of what you playwithout varying the actual pattern. This canadd drama to the music without addingcomplexity.

As far as playing in the ice rink goes,

Premier Olympics

Replacement SnaresFor Dyna-Sonics

Playing Simply AndTuning For Echo

Q

A

Q

A

Q

A

I own two old Rogers snare drums, andI have been having trouble replacing

the actual wire snares. I bought two sets ofPearl snares but when I tried to attach themto the Rogers' snare assembly, one of thescrews that is supposed to fasten the snaresto the assembly was too big to fit throughthe pre-drilled holes on my new Pearlsnares. If you could provide me with anyinformation on how to replace the snareassembly on my vintage Rogers drums, itwould be greatly appreciated.

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It sounds as though you have vintageRogers Dyna-Sonic snare drums. Up

until recently it's been very difficult to findreplacement snares for these drums.However, you can now obtain dedicatedsnare sets from Pure Sound Percussion.They list for $57 per set. Have your dealercontact the company (or do so yourself) at(310) 441-2976, or check their Web site atwww.puresoundpercussion.com.

There's no magic solution to determin-ing how much to play in a given song.

(It's rare, though, to hear of bandmembers

Matt BrodyClifton, NJ

muffling your drums a lot isn't the solu-tion, because your drums aren't what's cre-ating the echo. It's the hall itself. All you'llachieve by muffling will be to get an echoof flat, muffled drums. So muffling aloneisn't the answer.

Ringy, echoey halls tend to promote lowfrequencies, making your drums (and themusic in general) sound muddy and poorlydefined. We'd go along with the idea ofraising the pitches on your drums a littlehigher than usual, to help them cut through.A little muffling, just to keep the attackdistinct, would also be a good idea.

For overall band clarity, the P.A. shouldprobably stress high-mids and highs a littlemore than usual. (You don't want it tosound tinny or thin, either.) If you're mik-ing the drums, make sure that the kickdrum has plenty of attack (higher EQ) andnot too much bottom. Too much kick drumwill swamp the rest of the band's sound.(Likewise for the bass guitar.)

erhaps one of the most damnedand praised drummers ever,AC/DC's Phil Rudd can speak for

hours about perfection of groove and theimportance of patience. "You can givepeople the wrong impression when yourmusic is not in machine time," says Rudd,while promoting AC/DC's latest release,Stiff Upper Lip.

"The excitement is natural," Philexplains, "but there's a certain amount ofpregnant pause involved that adds somuch to the music. When you play anaccent, if you play it in a hurry, it doesn'thave any weight. The band likes it that Idon't play on top of things. They like itlaid back, not on top. If you get in front of

the beat, then all the weight goes out of it.You gotta maintain the weight."

On such classic AC/DC tracks as"Highway To Hell," "Dirty Deeds," and"For Those About To Rock," Rudd deliv-ered a titanic groove of bombing bass andsnare drum pillage, the perfect fit to thebrutal blues riffs of guitarists Malcolmand Angus Young. But after some thirtyyears in show biz, one wonders if Rudd'sears are as healthy as his eternal drum-ming spirit.

"My ears are surprisingly good afterall these years," replies Rudd. "But Itake care of them." Phil maintains a fullset of custom-fitted earplugs that allowhim to adjust his hearing to each venue

AC/DC plays."It's like a hearing aid," Rudd explains.

"I have plugs that attenuate different vol-ume levels, like 10 dB and 25 dB, whichlets me select the best reduction for thesound of the hall. Every stage sounds dif-ferent. If I need to hear something moreclearly, like at the end of 'Let BabyRock,' I can change plugs for the rightfrequency. It gives me more control overthe sound so I can separate and hear thekey parts."

And why do they call him Phil "LeftHook" Rudd? "I knocked a guy out onenight in a bar when he was kicking Angusin the head. I couldn't have that."

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onic features some of Billy Martin's bestindividual and ensemble work—"FinallyI get some solos," he jokes—and

invokes memories of Medeski, Martin &Wood's early days as a piano trio.

Their 1992 debut, Notes From TheUnderground, was also acoustic."When Chris, John, and I firstgot together, it was a piano triofor about a year, until we did a

little bit of touring," the drummerrecalls. "A lot of the club pianos were

in bad shape, so John switched to organ."We're basically the same guys just

expressing ourselves," Billy offers."But in this case we're playing theroom that we're in and trying to keepa balance dynamically. It doesn't getloud too often, so there's a lot of sub-tlety. There's a little more soloingand trading going on too. I thinkTonic is just a more intimate record-ing. We get into a different repertoire,

and in some ways it can be more dramat-ic. It's just using different tools and colors."

"Invocation" starts with a complete impro-visation. "Buster Rides Again" rises up from

the ashes of their tune "Rise Up," with Martinusing all parts of the kit—shells, rims, percussion,every inch of the heads. The thirty-six-year-olddrummer shows nice brush chops on "Hey Joe,"and "Thaw" gets into a free-form, Ornette-ish,late Coltrane vibe. "We're flowing, undulatingwith rhythm," he says of that track. "We're eachplaying a groove that wraps around the others'grooves.

"I grew up playing rock 'n' roll just as much asanything else," Billy admits. "But when I playfunk, my funk crosses over into the jazz thing in akind of New Orleans or hip-hop way. The bridgethat I make is the subtlety in which I play agroove. I don't have to hit the snare really loud.To me a funky backbeat is something that is sub-tler, and there's more rhythm going on. So withthe piano trio I can actually play jazz funk beats,and in some ways it's easier. I like playing soft."

Besides his full MMW schedule (the trio willbe releasing a new organ-trio studio album in thefall), Martin is also heading up Amulet Records,his own label that recently released PercussionDuets featuring Martin and drummer G. CalvinWeston. Amulet has also reissued two BobMoses albums for the first time on CD.

hen we caughtup with DarrinPfeiffer to talk

about Goldfinger's newrecord, Stomping Ground,he was on tour inBarcelona, Spain with theband. "The fun thing aboutmaking this record wasthat we got to work withproducer Tim Palmer,"Pfeiffer says. "Tim did alot of stuff with Bowie, TinMachine, and Pearl Jam,and he really knew how toget us to gel as a band. The reason I particu-larly like him is because whenever therewas an argument with the other guys about adrum part—'Darrin, we don't really think itgoes with the song'—Tim would go, 'Ithink it goes great!'"

Pfeiffer says that Stomping Ground shows

the band's heavier side."This record is definitely arock record," he insists. "Ina way it goes back to ourfirst record, which wasabout power. Our lastrecord [Hang Ups] focusedmore on ska and reggae.It's not that we didn't writeany of those kinds of songsfor this record, because wewrote about twenty-eighttunes to pick from. But atthe end of the day, whenwe all sat down to decide

what material we'd use for the record, theska songs just didn't make the cut."

Prior to this record, the band released anEP called Darrin's Coconut Ass, Live FromOmaha. "The band always makes fun of myhairy behind—and we've wanted to call arecord that for years," Pfeiffer says. "We did

a broad spectrum of cover tunes rangingfrom The Police, Joe Jackson, and TheSmiths to Peter Tosh. We had no new songsat the time, so we decided to record covers."

Pfeiffer also did his own solo record, TheRevenge Of Chicken McNuggets, duringbreaks in Goldfinger's schedule the last cou-ple of years. About the record (availablethrough the band's Web site, www.goldfin-germusic.com), Darrin says, "I wrote a lot ofsongs and presented them to the band, butthey said, 'No, we can't use 'em.' After awhile these songs started piling up, so Idecided I'd record something myself.

"They're just thirty of the stupidest songsyou'll ever hear," Darrin says with a laugh."But what I like about the record is it's allme. I wrote it, produced it, recorded thedrums, bass, and guitar, and sang. I mixed it,too. I can't wait to do another one."

Robin Tolleson

Robyn Flans

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Goldfinger's Darrin Pfeiffer Standing His Ground

hough he's played drums for overtwo decades, Matt Walker is per-haps best known as "That guy who

replaced Jimmy Chamberlin in SmashingPumpkins." Walker was touring with Filterin support of that band's debut, Short Bus,when they opened a few dates forSmashing Pumpkins in Europe. It just hap-pened that a couple of months later ThePumpkins needed a new drummer toreplace the booted Chamberlin. The dayafter the Filter tour ended, Walker audi-tioned for—and got—the Pumpkins gig.

Chamberlin eventually re-joined theband, but the experience left Walker withtechniques he continues to incorporate intohis playing style. "Touring with Filter," herecalls, "the entire set was played to a clicktrack. I had to be locked but still make themusic feel like it was moving forward. Icouldn't be too much on top of it. But withThe Pumpkins, Billy [Corgan] always want-ed the music to be propelling forwardtempo-wise, literally speeding up andlaunching choruses and bridges.

"Rushing like that was really difficult atfirst," Walker admits, "because I'd spent myentire life practicing to be steady and con-sistent. Suddenly, I had to make this emo-tive, natural transition." As a result, Mattsays he's learned to approach his playingmore emotionally and less technically."Even if I am playing to a click, I find away to propel the arrangement from sectionto section."

Walker is currently on the road promotingthe self-titled debut by his new group, amodern-pop quartet called Cupcakes. Theband's buoyant new wave meets industrialpop finds Walker incorporating a variety ofdifferent drum feels on the record—bossanova, industrial, new wave—but he claimshe wasn't consciously trying to vary his

style. "The essence of Cupcakes is prettyhaphazard, in that all of those things hap-pened really unintentionally," he explains."It's such an accidental band. Everybodyplays the way they play, and that's how itcomes out."

One thing that's no accident is themusic's old-school, electro-pop sound."We're all fans of the new wave artists ofthe '80s, like The Cars. Those singles are soidentifiable, even from the drum parts. Thatpart is as essential to the song as the guitarriff or the melody. You know what song it isthe second it comes on the radio." Ensuringthat each Cupcakes song has its individualidentity, says Walker, "is probably the onething that we are very conscious of."

Fu Manchu Rockset's put it this way: Brant Bjork'sparents were all for him playing thedrums. He got a snare and a hi-hat

for his eleventh birthday, and his folkseventually bought him an entire kit—butthey weren't about to give it to him gratis."They wanted me to work in the yard foreach drum," he recalls. "So I had to do amonth's worth of work to get the bassdrum, then another month's work to get thefloor tom, and on and on 'til I had the fullthing."

Once Bjork finally had the full kit, hewas off playing in a number of Californiadesert punk and rock bands, including the

underground wunderkids Kyuss. Brant firstmet up with Fu Manchu ten years ago, andeventually produced their 1994 debut, NoOne Rides For Free. After the band's orig-inal drummer was asked to leave, Bjork gotthe call.

Though he was a fan of the band'ssound, Bjork admits that switching bandswas a tad difficult. "It's always a changewhen you start playing with other musi-cians," he says. "Musically, Fu Manchurocks. In my other bands the guys used todo a lot of improvising and a lot of freejams. We do a little bit of that in FuManchu, but the band is a little more

straight-forward. It's all rock."While Bjork joined the band in time to

work on their break-out The Action Is Go,his playing has flourished after a number oftours and another album, King Of TheRoad. And as he has grown as a player,Bjork has seen Fu Manchu grow as well.Indeed, he's excited about the band'sfuture. "I'd like to think that our formula ofrock music will make some kind of impactagain," he says. "I don't mind some of themusic that's popular these days, but I thinkthere's room for just some good old-fash-ioned, in-your-face rock."

Gail Worley

David John Farinella

FrontTo

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aul Goldberg has recently recordedtracks on The Nutty Professor IIsoundtrack (featuring Eddie Murphy

on vocals) and The Drew Carey Show. He'salso recording with The Manhattans and TheEdwin Hawkins Singers.

After returning from a tour of Greecewith The Blue Note Late Nite Band, SteveHass was featured on two recording ses-sions with jazz violinist Miri Ben-Ari.Steve is also performing in the orchestrapit of the off-Broadway hit Inappropriate.Steve will take a break from the show totour the Midwest and the East Coast withRavi Coltrane.

Steve Di Stanislao is working with JoeWalsh. Steve is also working on a newalbum with CPR, featuring David Crosby.

Journeyman drummer Bill Lordan(Robin Trower, Sly & The Family Stone)has released a solo record, EmotionalBlackmail. For more information checkout his Web site at www.billlordan.com.

Kenny Aronoff recently played theEquality Rocks concert in Washington,DC with some headline performers—anddid a drum solo accompanied by TipperGore on congas. Kenny has also beenrecording with Andy Griggs, Billy Dean,Confederate Railroad, a new group calledPete, Japanese artist Kadomatsu, and EarlScruggs. Kenny is also going on tour withJohn Fogerty in July, opening for TinaTurner. (In August he'll be back on theroad with Melissa Etheridge.)

Leading San Francisco Bay Area jazzdrummer/composer/educator EddieMarshall has been named to the SanFrancisco Arts Commission.

Between appearances with CoreyGlover, Nathaniel Townsley has beengigging and recording with Joe Zawinul.

Gerald Cleaver is on Matthew Shipp'sPastoral Composure.

Steve Kroon's ln My Path also featuresIvan Hampden, Portinho, and VinceCherico.

Scott Neuman is on Ken & HarryWatters' Brothers, Free Range Rat byCarlson/Hipp/McGloin/Neuman, and thesoundtrack to the Broadway show Swing.

Leo Ciesa is on Iconoclast's Paradise.Jean Philippe Fanfant, Luis Conte,

Mark Walker, Jesus Diaz, and Paul VanWageningen are on steel-drum star AndyNarell's Fire In The Engine Room.

Billy Drummond is on Andrew Hill'sDusk.

Shannon Powell is on Dr. MichaelWhite's A Song For George Lewis.

Peter Turre, Jack DeJohnette, andHoracio "El Negro" Hernandez are onSteve Turre's In The Spur Of The Moment.

Brian Blade is on Riddle Of The Sphinxby Mark Gross.

Pitamaha, a collection of music fromBali, has been recently released on BillyMartin's Amulet label.

Steve Wacholz is on Savatage's GhostIn The Ruins.

Bobby Rondinelli is on ex-MarilynManson bassist Gidget Gein's ConfessionsOf A Spooky Kid.

Calep Emphrey Jr. is on B.B. King'sMakin' Love Is Good For You.

Billy Cobham's Total Eclipse andShabazz are out on CD for the first time(Wounded Bird Records).

The late Eric Carr, a member of KISSfor eleven years, has a solo recording outof never-before-released songs recordedduring his years with the band. Carr'sfamily, along with friend and former band-mate Bruce Kulick (who plays all guitarson the disk), together with SpitfireRecords/Hard Rock, have all workedtogether to make this CD a lasting tribute.

John "C-Bone" Seastrand is playingdrums with American Trashed.

Greg Potter is recording with PivotMan. He's also doing live shows withEpic recording artist The Boyzz.

Ex-Blind Melon members guitaristChristopher Thorn and bassist Brad Smith,as well as Dave Krusen (Pearl Jam'sdrummer on Teri), re-emerge on the musicscene as Unified Theory. Their self-titleddebut album will be released in August.

Pete Thomas and Joey Waronker areon Elliott Smith's Figure 8.

Matt Chamberlain is on ChantalKreviazuk's Colour Moving And Still.

Dave LaChance is on A Place In TheSun, the latest from Friends Of DeanMartinez.

Randy Ciarlante and Dean Sharp onthe late Rick Danko's Live On Breeze Hill.

The Les DeMerle Transfusion'sTransfusion One is a new disc featuringthe band's first recording from 1976,which was never released.

"Wild" Mick Brown is on Dokken's

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new one, Live From The Sun.Cecil Brooks III and Wade Barnes are

on Linda Presgrave's In Your Eyes.Chad Taylor is on Chicago

Underground Duo's Synesthesia.Kenny Wollesen is on Junk Genius's

Ghost Of Electricity.Jota Morelli is on the road with Al

Jarreau.Jerry Gaskill is on King's X's new CD,

Please Come Home...Mr. Bulbous.Dennis Wolfe is on tour with Crush,

supporting their debut self-titled LP.Pat Mastelotto is on King Crimson's

latest, ConstruKction Of Light.Drummer/programmer Mike Wengren

is on tour with Disturbed.Preston Nash is on the road with Dope

in support of their recently released FelonsAnd Revolutionaries.

Graham Broad is touring with RogerWaters.

Guy Hoffman and The Violent Femmeshave recently wrapped up a tour featuringmaterial from their live CD, VivaWisconsin, as well as their latest studio LP,Freak Magnet.

Keith Brogdon is recording with BobbyBare Jr. in a configuration known as Bare Jr.

Brian Reitzell is on Air's score to TheVirgin Suicides, and is music director ofthe film's soundtrack. Brian has also com-pleted the "soundtrack" to the sequel ofLogan's Run, Logan's Sanctuary, withRoger Joseph Manning Jr.

Paul Deakin, drummer for TheMavericks, is doing very well followingheart valve replacement surgery in April.He is expected to make a full recovery.

Buddy Rich was born on September 30,1917.

Original Average White Band drummerRobbie Mclntosh died on September 23,1974.

John Bonham died on September 25,1980.

Shelly Manne died on September 26,1984.

Philly Joe Jones died in September of1985.On September 29, 1967, Mickey Hartjoins The Grateful Dead, sharing double-drumming duties with Bill Kreutzmann.Also in September, but twenty-three yearslater in 1990, Hart signs a deal with Harper& Row to publish his first book,Drumming At The Edge Of Magic.

Seemingly always making history, TheBeatles and Ringo Starr release their firstsingle from their own Apple label. "HeyJude" enters the charts at number 10 onSeptember 14, 1968. It hits number 1 onSeptember 28, 1968 and stays there fornine weeks, longer than any other Beatlechart-topper. Clocking in at seven minutesand eleven seconds, it also becomes thelongest song to hit number 1.

Pressed on golden vinyl, Don Brewerwrites, sings lead, and plays drums on

Grand Funk Railroad's first number 1 hit,"We're An American Band." It hits num-ber 1 on September 29, 1973.

Steven Adler is fired from Guns N'Roses in September of 1990.

Billy Joel, along with long-time friendand drummer Liberty DeVitto, releasesGreatest Hits Vol. Ill on September 6,1996. Two days later, on September 8,Greatest Hits Vol. I and II are certifiedeighteen times platinum by the RIAA.

In September of 1998, Joey Kramerand Aerosmith make history whenAerosmith becomes the only rock group toenter the US singles charts at number 1with "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing," theDiane Warren-penned song from theblockbuster movie Armageddon.

Elvin Jones (September 9, 1927)Horacee Arnold (September 25, 1935)

Ron Bushy (September 23, 1945)Don Brewer (September 3, 1948)Neil Peart (September 12, 1952)

Ginger Fish (September 28, 1965)Robin Goodridge (September 10, 1966)

Steven Perkins (September 13, 1967)Tyler Stewart (September 21, 1967)

Brad Wilk (September 5, 1968)

Birthdates

n 1996, Steve Smith put his personal projects on theback burner to work with Journey on a reunion that wasto include a record and a tour. It took a year to negotiate,

write, rehearse, record, and mix Trial By Fire. The followingyear was spent waiting for Steve Perry to decide not to tour.When it became clear to Smith that Perry was not going tofollow through with the reunion, Steve knew he had to moveon and focus on his own music as bandleader, player, orga-nizer, and producer.

As a result, the last couple of years have been prolificones for Smith. In 1998 his band Vital Information releasedWhere We Come From, which won the Indie Award forContemporary Jazz Record Of The Year. Vital Tech Tones—Smith, Scott Henderson, and Victor Wooten—released theirself-titled debut CD. Show Me What You Can Do was

launched by the trio Smith works in alongside FrankGambale and Stuart Hamm. Yet another trio, with LarryCoryell, Tom Coster, and Smith, released Cause And Effect.

Nineteen-ninety-nine saw the release of The Stranger'sHand with Jerry Goodman, Howard Levy, Oteil Burbridge,

and Smith, in addition to a project called Steve Smith AndBuddy's Buddies Featuring Buddy Rich Alumni: SteveMarcus, Andy Fusco, Lee Musiker, And Anthony Jackson.

Smith toured with this band last year and will play somegigs with the "Buddies" again this year.

Currently Smith can be heard on three tracks on the newSavage Garden record, Affirmation, which he describes as"straight-ahead Australian pop" and on which he playedalong with computers and loops. Smith says another record-ing project, Staring At The Sun with guitarist Neil Zaza,reminded him of an instrumental Journey record—especiallysince Ross Valory played bass on it. Steve played on thedebut recording of San Francisco bass heavyweight PeterBarshay, Pit Of Fashion, which features Larry Goldings onB-3 and Mike Stern on guitar. A key player in the SanFrancisco jazz scene is saxophonist Michael Zilber, withwhom Smith recorded Jazz Standards: Deconstructed,Reconstructed Vol. 1. He is playing and recording with

Wadada Leo Smith and Henry Kaiser's Yo Miles! project.EastWest has released a CD of Steve's drum loops and sam-ples called Rhythmic Journey. Steve even recorded his firstcountry record—with the legendary Ray Price—when GreggBissonette couldn't make the date and asked him to sub.

"I had to do a cram course on country," Smith admits."First of all, I bought Ray Price's Greatest Hits record. ThenI bought country packages of greatest hits from particulartime periods, like the '50s and '60s, just to get the feel ofthe roots of country when they first started using drum-mers. Buddy Harman was on almost everything. I realized

that, like all US music in its original form, country is basedon the blues and on the swing rhythm. Then I had toaddress how they played it. It was mainly with this thingthey called the Ray Price shuffle, with a brush in the righthand and the cross-stick in the left hand.

"It was a live recording session," Steve continues, "with afull rhythm section featuring slide guitar, vibes, piano, andbass, plus a string section and a horn section. They alsohad real nice charts. It was a fantastic experience, verymuch like a Phil Spector date."

Primarily, however, Smith has been spending his time onthree projects: Vital Information, Vital Tech Tones, and theGambale, Hamm, and Smith trio. So those projects are thefocus of this article. From these configurations, four CDsare coming out within a few months. The first one is a dou-ble live Vital Information CD recorded during various con-certs in 1999. The album comprises a lot of material fromWhere We Come From, in addit ion to some VitalInformation classics like "Europa," "The Perfect Date," and"Over And Out." There are two bonus studio tracks as well:"It's A Jungle Out There" and "Soulful Drums." The latter isa remake of a 1963 recording by Jack McDuff, whose drum-mer was Joe Dukes. Vital Tech Tones has released VTT2,and The Light Beyond by the Gambale, Hamm, and Smithtrio is just now available. With all this activity, it seemed likea good time to catch up with Steve to talk about his recentstudio experiences.

I

by Robyn Flans

MD: Tell us about the approach on Show'Em Where You Live, and how it wasdifferent from other Vital Informationalbums.Steve: I completely reinvented the VitalInformation concept with Where We ComeFrom. We stopped using synthesizers, andTom Coster focused on his main instru-ment, the Hammond B-3. That alone radi-cally changed the sound of the group. Thenwe wrote music that really worked with theHammond B-3—much more blues-based.That instrument sounds right when youplay it very bluesy, so the music is a com-bination of blues, straight-ahead jazz, andsome R&B grooves. We were all veryinfluenced by The Meters and Booker T. &The MG's, as well as by Miles Davis'sfusion period of the early '70s, so webrought those influences out.

We also have a new bass player, BaronBrowne, who is very funky and a reallystrong groove player. When we went onthe road to promote Where We Come

From, Baron went on tour instead of JeffAndrews. He brought another level ofgroove to the band. Frank Gambale hasbeen playing with the band for abouttwelve years. To help create the soul/jazzvibe, he now plays a hollow-body guitar,like a George Benson model. He doesn't

use distortion and that type of rock guitarsound with us. When we went on tour, themusic really developed, which is what con-vinced us to record the live record.

We recorded a concert in Amsterdam, aconcert in Chicago, another in Toronto,and two in Sydney, Australia. The music

"In all these situations, I am the organizer. I'm the guy whocalls and emails everyone and coordinates the project."

Vital record making: (left to right) Tom Coster, Steve,Frank Gambale, Baron Browne, and engineer Bob Biles.

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progressed and the band really grew. A lotof times we make records and don't get totour, so this really made a big difference.By the time we got back from the tour, wehad developed a great feel for playing witheach other. As I say in the liner notes, eachnight it was a little looser, but a littletighter. When the time came last fall to gointo the studio to record Show 'Em WhereYou Live, we had a lot going for us.

The process we used on this record wassimilar to the one we used on the last cou-ple of Vital Information records. I came upwith some grooves ahead of time andthought of some different feels I'd like toplay and write with. Tom Coster came inwith some pretty finished tunes this time,but the other guys came in pretty open orwith fragments of ideas. We got togetherand jammed for a week to come up withideas.

We recorded the jams and started towork with the ideas. Sometimes we wereable to complete the song within a coupleof hours, and then we'd continue on toanother idea. Then we set aside about tendays to record. During that process we stillcontinued to write and jam. Sometimeswe'd jam for ten or fifteen minutes and out

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Steve Smithof that we'd use one or two minutes, or acouple of one-minute segments. Since Ihave a home studio, we can do all thatwithout having to worry about the clock.

On this record, we wanted to go beyondWhere We Come From, and this one doesfeel looser. We did a fair amount of experi-menting with some of my implied metricmodulation ideas. For instance, "SidewaysBlues" is based on the idea that a dotted-quarter-note figure played through atwelve-bar blues comes out even. So I playa rhythm based on that, which makes itsound like the tempo of the tune is differ-ent from the actual tempo we're playing itin. It tricks your ear. When it switches backand forth between the two, you can hearwhat's going on.

Other times we'd just write a tunearound a funky groove or a straight-aheadfeel. There's one tune called "TheBlackhawk" that's based on the"Sidewinder" drum feel. "Sidewinder" wasa tune written by Lee Morgan in the early'60s, and it's a slow blues, in between astraight 8th and a shuffle feel. We justexplored our creativity and pushed our-selves beyond where we had been before.And I really pushed myself drumming-wise. Sometimes with the VitalInformation projects, I don't play asaggressively as I do on other projects, but Ireally did on this.

Also, I played a different drumset thistime. The set I've been using can make themusic feel like fusion from the '70s—a laBilly Cobham and Lenny White. But withVital Information becoming more andmore roots-oriented, I went back andplayed the music as the very early fusionmusic was played. So I used the type ofdrumset that Tony Williams used onEmergency! and Turn It Over and that JackDeJohnette played on Bitches Brew andthose early records. I used a Sonor kit thatI've had since the early '70s, with all tradi-tional sizes: a 14x18 bass drum, an 8x12rack tom, a 14x14 floor tom, an oldLudwig Black Beauty snare drum, two 22"ride cymbals, and a set of 14" hi-hats. Iused the new K Constantinople hi-hats andswitched between my old K rides and thenew K Constantinoples.

Changing to the smaller setup helped meplay differently from how I've been play-ing on the bigger drumset. I grew up play-ing a little set like that, so it felt very com-

fortable and it gave me a different slant onthe music. I had slowly been going there.On the record before, I used a smaller bassdrum than what I had been using—a 20"versus a 22"—and I used my older Sonorkit that had traditional-sized toms, notpower toms. On this one I went a step fur-ther, like Tom going back to the B-3 andFrank going to the hollow-bodied guitar. Ijoined them in that place of going to theroots.MD: Can you detail the recording process?Steve: We play everything live. There arevirtually no overdubs on the recording.That doesn't mean there aren't some fixes,but there's no layering. We set the band upso we all play together. I'm in the studiowith Tom and Baron. Frank likes to sit inthe control room, but we set it up in a waythat we all have eye contact. And then weplay. For the most part we don't use a clicktrack, and we stopped using computersyears ago. Occasionally we'll use a click ifthe tune isn't quite settled at first.MD: Any first takes?Steve: There are a lot of first takes as wellas third- and fourth-take tunes. We stillrecord analog, and on a couple of the tuneswe would do three or four takes, save acouple, and splice them together, which isa nice way of doing it.MD: What was the biggest challenge onthis record?Steve: When we write the tunes, we reallycapture the energy of them in the initialcomposing and playing. Sometimes a songwould feel better in rehearsal than when westarted playing it in the studio. That's verycommon. It was hard, sometimes, to get theinitial feeling back.

I don't encounter that difficulty with myother projects because we write and recordall at once. With Vital Tech Tones andGambale, Hamm, Smith, we set aside tendays without writing beforehand. We try towrite and record a tune a day. I walked intothe Vital Tech Tones sessions atMusician's Institute in Hollywood with alot of grooves on a CD I burned. I'd playthem for Scott and Victor and they'd say,"Yeah, let's go for that." I'd go out in thestudio and play, Victor would jam the basspart, and Scott would come up with somechords. Usually a melody emerged fromthat. Then we'd write and flesh out thetune.

With these records we're focusing on

virtuosity and trying to push ourselves toplay to our highest level. So sometimeswe'd write music that would be almost toohard for us to play—or I should say veryhard for us to get to the point where we'dfeel great about it.

The tunes sometimes take a long time toget because we're actually writing them,learning them, and recording them. Andsometimes while we're recording, we'llrealize that the song isn't even done beingwritten. For instance, the first tune werecorded was called "Who Knew." It was avamp that Victor Wooten brought in, and itwas very tricky: a bar of three, a bar oftwo, and a bar of three. And at the end ofevery bar there was an upbeat accent. So itwas a very unfamiliar groove. It took oneday to write that tune, and to get a greattake took another day.

Then the next day we did "SubZero,"which also went through a lot of rhythmicchanges. It was based in 6/8, but withupbeat accents at the end of the bar and acouple of changes of feel. That took a dayto write and another day to record. By thattime we were starting to feel that it wasgoing to take twenty days instead of ten, sowe decided to just jam. In three minutes wehad another song and were able to catchup.

Then there's a suite called "Chakmool-Ti," which took about two days to writebecause it has a lot of pieces. That took aday to get a great take on because it's overeleven minutes long.MD: In the liner notes of the Vital TechTones CD, you say that sometimes thereare musical disagreements. How are theygenerally resolved?Steve: They get resolved just like most sit-uations. You try out all the ideas, and thebest idea becomes apparent to everybody—usually. If it isn't, then the bossiest guygets his way. [laughs] That can shift,depending on how passionate the personfeels about the idea.MD: I assume that when choosing musi-cians to play with, you're going to have alot of common ground in the first place.Steve: True. But then it's different enoughto be interesting too. Scott Henderson, forexample, is very well educated in jazz har-mony, so in that project he takes on therole of being the composer who makes surethe chord progressions really work. Withthe Gambale, Hamm, Smith project, Frank

Steve Smithtakes on that same role. For VTT2, we allcame in with real strong grooves and ideasfor songs. The project with Frank and Studiffered a lot from VTT2 in that Frank andStu both brought in a lot of songs that werecompleted or close to it. So there's morecomposition in that recording, versus morelooseness and improvising in VTT2. On thefirst Gambale, Hamm, Smith project wedidn't have any tunes walking in; we wrotethem on the spot. We still stretched thewritten tunes out and improvised on thisnew recording, but they were more com-posed in the beginning.MD: Can you describe your role in eachsituation?Steve: In all these situations, I am the orga-nizer. I'm the guy who calls and emailseveryone and coordinates the entire pro-ject, from finding out when everyone isfree, to booking plane flights and accom-modations. With Vital Information I dothat pretty much on my own because therecord company is based in Europe. Withthe Tone Center records, I have the help ofthe owner, Mike Varney, and the staff atthe company, Mike Jarrold and TimOlayos. With Vital Information, I'm moreclearly designated the producer. We dowork together as a band, and everyone hasinput, but I have the final say.

I have a very clear picture of what thedirection is, so sometimes it can be a strug-gle when someone may not hear the con-cept quite the way I do. I try to keep itclose to the blues. Frank Gambale grew upin Australia, so that is not 100% a natural

part of him, and at times I have to keep himfocused. When recording with Scott andVictor, I don't have as clear a picture ofwhat it is, nor am I the sole producer. Wework together and produce it together.Even though I have the organizational rolein the beginning, once we get into the stu-dio, I become an equal third. I'd say it's thesame thing with Frank and Stu, althoughthe challenge with that project is to makesure it's not too rock—because Stu is moreof a rock musician than a jazz musician. Sowhen Stu comes in with an idea, the objec-tive is for Frank to do enough to it harmon-ically to make it less rock 'n' roll. Stuwrote a lot of great music on the CD, butsome of it needed a little work to make itmore our style. I'm more the person whokeeps the view of that.MD: Now define the role you play musi-cally as drummer.Steve: With Vital Information, Show 'EmWhere You Live is the concept I feel theclosest to. I do consider myself more of ajazz drummer than anything else, so it's ajazz approach, but it brings in R&B, funk,and fusion grooves, with a lot of improvis-ing. That feels like a very close personalexpression.

With the Vital Tech Tones and Gambale,Hamm, Smith, I approach the drums with alittle more rock-fusion, a la TonyWilliams' Lifetime of the mid-'70s, BillyCobham, and Lenny White in Return ToForever. I'm thinking more along thoselines. Again, it's very natural for me, butit's a slight shift—with which changing the

drumset helps. In both those musical situa-tions, I'm using a bigger drumset, withthree rack toms, two floor toms, and a lotmore cymbals. With Vital Tech Tones, the20" bass drum gives it a certain feelingtoward funky rock fusion. With Gambaleand Hamm, I use the 22" bass drum. Stuhas a little more of a rock feeling, so I leanjust slightly more to that side.

Interestingly, even though Stu Hamm isknown as a rock bass player, he did go toBerklee, so he's very harmonicallyinformed. This was evident when Frankcame in with some tunes that had a lot ofchord changes. When we put the chart infront of Stu, we weren't sure he could evenread music. But on the tune called "Yin" heplayed the melody and a great solo over thechanges—on the first take.MD: What is the plan for the rest of theyear?Steve: There are some more Tone Centerrecordings in the planning stages. This yearmy focus will be touring with VitalInformation, writing at least two books,and making at least two new videos. Onebook/video will be technique-oriented. Theother book/video will trace the history anddevelopment of US music and the evolvingrole of the drums in that music.

For continual up-to-date informa-tion, surf to Steve's Web site atwww. vitalinformation.com.

Frankfurt Music Fair 2000

by Rick Van Horn

odern Drummer's July issue included a major feature on newproducts available on the percussion market. However, that

"market" was limited primarily to percussion gear manufacturedor readily available in the US. There's also a thriving percussion-instrument industry outside our borders. Manufacturers fromaround the world currently offer an exciting variety of products to

an eager international market.To get a clearer picture of this global percussion market, MD

traveled to Frankfurt, Germany this past April to attend theworld's largest music trade show: the Frankfurt Music Fair. Hereare some highlights from that show. With a few exceptions, theyfeature products and companies not normally seen on our shores.

Looming large on their home turf, Germany's Sonor launchedtwo new drumkit series: the S-Class Pro, and the Delite (shown here).The Delite kit features extra-thin maple shells, new low-mass fittings,

and a ball-clamp tom holder. The new kits should be available inthe US shortly.

Giannini Swiss Drums offers excellent traditional drumkits.But they've also taken a different slant on the concept of "compact

and portable" with their Luggage Kit. Essentially, it's a drumkitbuilt into a wooden flight case!

Block-construction shells (made of a varietyof exotic woods), 30-ply wood hoops, and

hand-made lugs and strainers are features ofHanus & Hert snare drums from the Czech

Republic.

From Greece comes Gabriel Drums. TheirHandy Drumset features a 9x20 bass drum,

5x10, 6x12, and 8x13 toms, and a 5x13snare—all in 4-ply, 6 mm beech.

Classic Italian artistry meets modern drumtechnology to create this cocktail drumkit

from Tamburo. The drums all feature colorfulstave-construction shells.

DRUMS

M

The Western Hemisphere was well represented byOdery drums of Brazil. They're hand-made, using aclose-grained white pine found in the southern part

of the country.

Brady Drums came all the way from "down under" to displaydrums with new finishes and clear Nickel Drumworks snare

throw-offs (now standard).

This custom-sized kit from California'sRocket Shells was a prominent featurein the booth of German distributorBox Of Trix.

Spain's Gonalca specializes in traditional European concert andmarching percussion, but also makes drumkits. These "concert" toms

might as easily be found in a rock club as on a concert stage.

Holland's Van Der Glas offershigh-quality symphonic instru-ments, like these Majestic brandconcert bass drums.

Specializing in marching percussion, Switzerland'sImperial displayed traditional rope-tensioned drums

alongside an innovative rolling multi-tom carrier.

Marching drums of all forms—from traditionalto high-tech—were displayed by Germany's

Lefima.

The Adams Percussion booth included a dis-play showing various stages in the creationof timpani. Some of the Dutch company's

products are distributed in the US by Pearl.

Holland's Vancore offers a complete line ofdrums, including custom drumkits, marching

drums, and symphonic percussion. Thesnares shown here feature a "free-floating"

shell design.

These djembes (and a variety of otherdrums) are molded of hempstone, a

material created by blending hemp fibers,water, and natural pigments. They're

made by Stone, of Austria.

Pakistan's Halifax Ltd. offers a wide varietyof ethnic percussion, including authentic Indian

tablas (center).Another "hometown hero," Germany'sMeinl took the opportunity to displayseveral new finishes in its Fibercraft

percussion line. Shown here is the newiridescent blue sparkle.

Well known for their professional per-cussion instruments, PJ Drums &

Percussion of Denmark also displayedtheir new Palm Line. It features less

expensive instruments for hobbyists.

Swiss cymbal alloy by Paiste and American crafts-manship by Jeff Ocheltree combine to create these

Spirit of 2002 timbales.

A cooperative project of Germany'sSchlagwerk Percussion and Austria's AKGmicrophones, these specially designed udu

drums are fitted with C-419 clip-on mini-mic'sfor on-stage and recording use.

PERCUSSION

Kambala Percussion displayed a bevyof authentic African djembes from

the Ivory Coast.

Asian SoundKoln isa Germanimporter ofauthentic Asiangongs, cym-bals, and otherpercussion.

Italian cymbalsmith Roberto Spizzichinodemonstrated his hand-made traditional

cymbal line by playing on his equallyhand-made custom metal snare drum.

ACCESSORIES

Switzerland's Agner Drumstickspromotes their line by saying, "asused by William Tell...possibly."

From the "why didn't somebodythink of that before?" department:Clear plastic pockets inside this

stick bag from England'sProtection Racket make it easy tofind your drumkey, car keys, or (in

this case) cell phone.

France's Pro Orca introducedtheir Smash Series of Frenchash drumsticks. They're saidto have resilience and densitysimilar to that of US hickory,

but at a lower price.

The Duallist double-actionpedal hasn't been able to break

the US market yet, but it'scausing a stir in Europe. It's

made by the MacRobertCorporation of Scotland.

Making ContactADAMS MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS*, Casino 28, 6017 BS Thorn, The

Netherlands, tel; 011 31 (0) 475 560710, fax: 011 31 (0) 475 563328,

[email protected], www.adams.nl. AGNER DRUMSTICKS, Switzerland, tel: 011

41 41 870 0005, fax: 011 41 41 870 1640, www.agner-sticks.com. ASIAN

SOUND KOLN, Venloer Strasse 176, D-50823 Koln (Cologne), Germany, tel:

011 44 (0) 221 52 8775, fax: 011 44 (0) 221 52 6483. BRADY DRUMS, 17

Stone St., Armadale, 6112, Western Australia, tel: 011 61 8 4972212, fax: 011

61 8 4972242, [email protected], www.bradydrums.com. GABRIEL

DRUMS, 42 Plapouta St., 135 62 AG. Anargiri Athens, Greece, tel: 011 30 (01)

232 0252, fax: 011 30 (01) 238 6041, www.gabrieldrums.com. GIANNINI SWISS

DRUMS, Aegertenstrasse 8, CH-8003 Zurich, Switzerland, tel: 01141 1 4617643, fax: 011 41 1 461 7478, [email protected], www.giannini-drums.ch.

GONALCA PERCUSSION, Poligono Industrial "La Cava," s/n, 46892

Montaverner (Valencia), Spain, tel: 011 34 96 229 77 14, fax 011 34 96 229 77

15. HALIFAX & CO., Industrial Estate, PAK-Sialkot 51340, Pakistan, tel: 011 92

(0) 432 55 5343, fax: 011 92 (0) 432 55 38 81, [email protected], www.HALI-

FAXCO.com. HANUS & HERT DRUMS, Drnovska 23, Prague 6, 160 00 Czech

Republic, tel: 011 42 (0) 603 411 839, fax: 011 42 (0) 2 301 45 50, hanushert-

[email protected]. IMPERIAL, T. Ghidoni, Steinackerstrasse 5, CH-8302 Kloten,

Switzerland, tel: 011 41 (0) 1 813 6353, fax: 011 41 (0) 1 813 6350,

[email protected], www.swissdrums.ch. KAMBALA PERCUSSION, 18

B.P. 1544 Abidjan 18, Rep. Of Ivory Coast, tel: 011 225 21 24 69 77, fax: 011

225 21 25 66 33, [email protected]. LEFIMA PERCUSSION,

Barbaraweg 3, D-93413 Cham, Germany, tel: 011 49 (0) 9971 3 2081, fax: 011

49 (0) 9971 3 1122, [email protected], www.lefirna.com.

MacROBERT CORPORATION, www.theduallist.com. MEINL", An den

Herrenbergen 24, D-91413 Neustadt/Aisch, Germany, tel: 011 49 (0) 9161 7880,

fax: 011 49 (0) 9161 78 85 00, [email protected]. ODERY DRUMS, R.

Leopoldo Amaral, 706 V. Marieta Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil CEP: 13042-210,

tel/fax: 011 55 19 231-6420, [email protected], www.odery.com.br. PJ

DRUMS & PERCUSSION, Frederiksberg Bredegade 1, DK 2000 Frederiksberg,

Denmark, tel: 011 45 3810 5710, fax: 011 45 3833 2442, [email protected],

www.pjperc.dk. PRO ORCA, Avenue Paul Langevin, F-01200 Bellegarde,

France, tel: 011 33 4 5048 6234, fax: 011 33 4 5056 0221, pro-orca.com,

[email protected]. PROTECTION RACKET, Bess Park Rd., Trenant

Ind. Est., Wadebridge, Cornwall, PL27 6HB, England, tel: 011 44 (0) 1 208

815055, fax: 011 44 (0) 1 208 816011, [email protected]. ROCKET SHELLS,

5431 Auburn Blvd., #346, Sacramento, CA 95841, tel: (916) 334-2234, fax: (916)

334-4310, [email protected], www.rocketshells.com. SCHLAGWERK

PERCUSSION, Bahnhofstrasse 42, D-73333 Gingen/Fils, Germany, tel: 011 49

(0) 7162 60 66, fax: 011 49 (0) 7162 41 014, www.schlagwerk.de. SONOR*,

Zum Heilbach 5, D-57319 Bad Berleburg Aue, Germany, tel: 011 49 (0) 2759 7

9100, fax: 011 49 (0) 2759 7 91 00, [email protected], www.sonor.de. SPIZZICHI-

NO, Via Communale Vai di Torbola 24/B, 51010 S. Quirico Pescia (PT), Italy, tel:

011 39 (0) 572 40 0045, fax: 011 39 (0) 572 40 0285. STONE, Steinriegelstrasse

59, A-3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria, tel: 011 43 (0) 664 5447 282, fax: 011 43 (0)

224 337 005, hempsound.com, www.hempsound.com. VANCORE PERCUS-

SION, Tolhuisweg 7a-9, 8701 ZP Joure, Holland, tel: 011 31 (0) 513 415127,

fax: 011 (0) 513 413038. VAN DER GLAS, Pastorielaan 4, 8440 AB

Heerenveen, Holland, 011 31 513622652, fax: 011 31 513626450.

*Has US distribution; check local dealer for information.

by Chap Ostrander

o to the Spaun Web site, and the first thing you read is somecompany history. You learn how Brian Spaun and David

Pimental had a vision to start a drum company whose goal was "tocreate drums of the highest quality, unique in design, that soundgreat." Previous reviews of their drums indicate that they have real-ized that goal. Now, instead of sitting back and enjoying their suc-cess, Brian and Dave are going after another corner of the market:solid stave snares. In so doing, they're going head-to-head with anumber of the established "heavies" in the drum industry.

The main feature of the Spaun Solid Stave snares lies in how theybuild their shells. Rather than steaming or bending plies of woodinto an unnatural shape, Spaun cuts separate pieces of wood to theproper size and angle, then aligns them vertically to produce a solidshell. The advantage of this process is that the shell has a muchgreater proportion of wood in it than a normal ply shell. Less glue isneeded to hold the staves together than is required for a multi-plyshell. The more wood, the more resonance the shell possesses.

As Brian describes it, the shell comes out of the initial gluingprocess looking like a "twenty-sided stop sign." Next, the shell iscut to the desired depth and lathed to the desired thickness. Because

they create the horizontal and vertical dimensions of each drumindividually, Spaun can offer drummers true customization in theprocess. You can't get features like this in a steam-bent shell.

The shells are offered in five basic woods: maple, cherry, walnut,oak, and birch. (We'll discuss the character of the different woods alittle later on.) The shells can be ordered in 5/16" (7.9 mm), 7/16" (11mm), or 9/16" (14 mm) thicknesses. You decide which thickness youwant based on how you want the drum to sound. Volume, focus,and overtones increase with a thicker shell, while a thinner shell iswarmer and more sensitive to distortion.

Stave construction, an art used today to create fine congas anddjembes, gives the player more options than ply or steam-bent soliddrums can provide. For instance, you can choose to mix woods, likebirch and maple. This lets you further customize the sound of yourdrum. You can also opt for stripes between the staves, which createsa visually stunning effect. All these choices give the player a chanceto have a truly unique drum.

Here are the features that are common to all the Spaun Stavesnares. They come with 2.3 mm steel hoops, with die-cast hoops asan option. Standard heads include an Evans Genera Gl coated batter

G

Spaun Stave Snare DrumsThese California customizers are ready to play with the big boys.

outstanding construction ana unique appearanceexcellent dynamic response from all modelswide tuning range

and a 300 GL snare side. The machined-brass lugs are an exclusiveSpaun design containing a floating insert to hold the tension rod.Spaun's theory is that instead of interfering with the resonance ofthe shell, a solid brass lug actually helps it, because the lug becomesa part of the shell. Most of our review drums had brass-finishedlugs, which beautifully complemented the natural wood finishes ofthe shells. But those lugs finished in chrome were also beautifullydone. Lugs are also offered in many optional powder-coated colors.

The 7"-deep snares had ten single lugs per head, while the shal-lower drums had ten double-ended lugs. Each lug is held in placewith a single allen screw. Nylon spacers protect the shell from thelugs; nylon washers are used under the tension rods. There is anattractive brass air hole grommet on the same plane with the lugs,with nylon under it as well.

Spaun does not believe in reinforcement rings, so none of theirdrums have them. (Rings might be needed to keep a steam-bentshell round, but that is not the case with stave drums.) The drumsfeature a double 45° bearing edge, which keeps the edge on theflat part of the head and not the collar. I opened up one of thedrums to check on the bearing edge, and it was smooth andstraight.

The shells are finished on the inside with a sanding sealer,which protects the shell from weather changes. The finish on theoutside of our test drums is a Spaun secret. They claim that it'sstronger than an oil finish, but thinner, and thus doesn't interferewith the natural resonance of the shell. Even though they call it asatin finish, I found it rather shiny. When I questioned Brian aboutit, he told me that their high-gloss finish is much shinier, "involv-ing numerous applications of a much harder clear coating, andrequiring quite a few labor-intensive steps from sanding throughbuffing the final finish." (If it's that much shinier than the "satin"finish, I hope the drums come standard with sunglasses!)

Hits

Spaun tops off their drums with the now-famous Piston DriveStrainer from Nickel Drumworks, Inc. This strainer is phenome-nal! The throw travels 5/8", has a guidance system that keeps thesnares aligned over the head, and is as smooth as glass. It's anabsolute dream, and it's standard on all Spaun snares. It certainlyseems that Spaun has paid keen attention to every detail of theirdrums' construction. Now let's see how they sound.

4x14 Solid Stave Maple(5/16" Shell, Chrome Hardware)

For a drum sized in the piccolo range, this is definitely a multi-purpose drum. Yes, it can be tuned up high to produce a real crack.But at the same time the voice is full-bodied. I tried this snare on afew gigs where I would normally have used a 5" or larger drum,and it did not disappoint. It produced a very full sound with lots ofovertones.

5x14 Solid Stave Oak(9/16"Shell, Brass Hardware)

This snare possesses a clear and clean voice. Due to the natureof oak, its range is a bit higher than the others and its sound is dryand very articulate. The thickness of the shell gave it a strongsound with no distortion at any tuning.

5x14 Solid Stave Cherry(9/16" Shell, Brass Hardware)

The thick cherry shell gave this snare a lot of highs that wouldhelp it cut through just about anything. It impressed me overall asa very bright-sounding drum. Given that quality, it would be inter-esting to see how changing the thickness of the shell would alterthe sound. My guess is that it would still have a piercing voicewith clear overtones, but might sound just a bit warmer.

5 1/2xl4 Solid Stave Walnut(7/16" Shell, Brass Hardware)

Upon hearing this drum, a friend of mine commented that itsounded like the snare that Neil Peart used on some of the olderRush albums. This is one aggressive snare, with great strength andcut. It would be easy to drive the sound over most amplification.And it's only 5 1/2" deep! Imagine how a 6" or 7" would sound. Themind boggles.

6x14 Solid Stave Maple With Walnut Stripes(7/16" Shell, Brass Hardware)

This was one of my favorites. It proved to be the kind of all-around drum you take on gigs because you can count on it tosound great and respond to your requirements. My first impressionof the drum was that it sounded as sharp as a metal snare: extreme-ly clear and clean, all snare and articulation. Rimshots fired offwith no effort, rolls flowed out of it, and it just made me want toplay it simply to hear it talk back to me. It gave back whatever Iput into it. On a cosmetic level, I found the stripes to be very

attractive, especially when I turned the drum over and viewedthem through the snare head.

7x14 Solid Stave Birch With Bubinga Stripes(7/16" Shell, Chrome Hardware)

This big guy had the sound I've grown accustomed to with birchshells: dry and very articulate. It's a clean sound with less ringthan the maple-shell snare—almost gated in nature. This drumwould be good for players who want a lot of clarity in their play-ing. It has lots of cut and volume, and is also very agreeable tobeing tuned down into fatback range—getting deeper, but retain-ing its character.

7x14 Solid Stave Curly MapleWith Bubinga And Maple Stripes

(5/16" Shell, Brass Hardware)One quality of all the Spaun drums we tested is that they are not

made for just one application. That was especially true with thismodel. I took it on a gig where most of the playing had to be quiet,and I found it to be very controllable. Snare response with sticks orbrushes was clear, and it was easy to play in a delicate fashion. Atthe same time, I had lots of reserves to call upon should I needthem. The drum has a deep sound with lots of overtones, but thewhole package is rewarding to play. It just gets fatter and deeper ifyou tune it down. The triple stripes on this shell give it a greatlook—especially combined with the curly maple in the larger por-tions. This drum surprised me, since I don't usually like snaresdeeper than 5 1/2". In fact, it turned out to be my other favorite.

General Sound CharacteristicsAll of our test drums had great snare sensitivity, and they didn't

tend to close up during hard playing. (I don't think they could.)Rimshots were strong and clear enough to take your head off.

Due to the nature of their bearing edges, the drums were verysensitive to tuning changes. What's more, I got the feeling thatthere is lots of tuning "headroom" in which to work. This meansthat the drum will work with you, not make you find the drum'sone sweet tuning and hope you like it. Another character that Ilove about these snares is their ability, especially in the largerdrums, to let you play press rolls forever. Even as I tuned the bigones down they just got more comfortable with the idea.

As I said earlier, you may choose to mix woods for acoustic orcosmetic reasons (or both). In that case the price of the drumwould be based on the more expensive wood. According toSpaun's price list, 13" drums are $50 less than 14" models; 12"drums are $100 less. Stripes are an option that can really enhancethe look and unique character of the drums. Single stripes betweeneach stave adds $100 to the price; additional stripes adds another$50 per set. If you check out Spaun's catalog or Web site, you cansee the available stain finishes. The drums that I tested were allfinished to show the natural wood. Staining is available at no addi-tional cost, unless you want a mixed custom color. These drumsare so good-looking in their natural state that I'm not sure youwould want to change their color, unless it was really important tomatch an existing kit.

Spaun has come up with some real winners here. The drums arestriking in appearance, a dream to play, and priced in line with

other manufacturers' custom snares. The vast array of differentwoods, thicknesses, depths, and cosmetic options may make youdizzy at first. Find a dealer that stocks them, go to their Web site,or contact Spaun at the address below to start the process. If youcall them you'll speak to either Brian or David. With their helpyou can custom-design the sound and character you're looking for.With all the choices available to you, the drum you'll wind up withwill likely be the only one of its kind in the world. The fun is inthe building!

Spaun Drum Company, 425 West Allen Ave., #101, San Dimas,CA 91773, tel: (909) 971-7761, fax: (909) 971-7441,[email protected], www.spaundrums.com.

Solid Stave Shell Snare Drums

Maple, Birch, or Oak5/16", 7/16", or 9/16" Thick

High Gloss

4"-6"

6 1/2"-7"

$750

$850

$850

$950

Birdseye Maple, Walnut, or Cherry

5/16", 7/16"or 9/16" Thick

Depth Satin High Gloss

4"-6"

6 1/2"-7"

$875

$975

$975

$1,075

Contrasting Maple, Walnut, or Cherry Stripes: add $100

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Depth Satin

Spaun-ing Ground

Istanbul Agop Alchemy CymbalsNew sounds from ancient skills!

by Rick Van Horn

nybody who reads this magazine or visits a drumshop regularlyshould recognize by now that there has been an explosion of

new cymbal brands in the past few years. More specifically, thereare several small brands offering authentic Turkish-style cymbalshand-made in "the old country."

One of those companies is Istanbul, which was established inthe early 1980s by Agop Tomurcuk. Agop headed Istanbul untilhis death in 1996, at which point the company split into two differ-ent operations. One of those was established in 1997 by Agop'ssons, who added their father's name to that of the company in hishonor.

Istanbul has been making fine cymbals for almost twenty years.Their line includes some wonderful models that would likelyappeal to jazz players, or to any drummers who appreciate thedark, old-world sound of traditional Turkish-made cymbals. Infact, the new US distributor of Istanbul Agop cymbals, DR Music,sent us a very nice selection from the company's Traditionalseries. Next month we'll examine those cymbals in greater depth,but for now I'll just say that they are everything you'd expect fromhigh-quality, handcrafted cymbals made in Istanbul.

What I didn't expect from an "old-world" company was a line

20" medium ride has more character and personality than manyall-purpose rides16", 17", and 18" Sweet Crashes combine quick explosivenesswith dark tonality8" splash really is a splash

14" Sweet Crash is a little thin and papery to be an effective crash isome applications

of cymbals that sounded very new. That is, a line targeted at thepop/rock market currently dominated by decidedly "new-world"manufacturers. But lo and behold, there they were: the Alchemyseries.

Introduced earlier this year, Alchemy cymbals are IstanbulAgop's attempt to break away from the "jazz cymbal" label thatIstanbul had previously carried. Buffed and shiny, and slightlyheavier than more traditional models, the Alchemy line includessplashes, crashes, rides, and hi-hats in various weights, along withbell cymbals and Chinas. DR Music supplied us with a representa-tive selection of models, so let's take a look at them individually.

Hits

Misses

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20" Medium RideContrary to its designation, this ride was a little thinner than

most "medium" rides I've tested. As a result, it offered a slightlydarker tone than your garden-variety 20" ride. (That's that "madein Istanbul" character I mentioned earlier.) The cymbal also hadsome spread, but that spread remained very controlled. Stickattack was never lost, no matter how hard the cymbal was played.

The cymbal was also very responsive to change between awood- and a nylon-tipped stick. A wood stick created mellowtones and a warmer overall sound, while the nylon tip brought outsome "hidden highs."

The ride produced plenty of volume, owing to its fairly largebell. That bell is somewhat flattish, though. Although it offered alarge target for playing on, it didn't have a penetrating sound.Rather, the bell sound was broader and more gongy.

Sweet CrashesAll of the crashes we tried were designated as "Sweet Crashes."

And were they ever! The 16" was my favorite. It produced a verypretty sound: quick and splashy, but with a darker undertone thatgave it real character. It wasn't piercing, but it spoke with authori-ty—and musicality—and then decayed fairly quickly.

The 17" and 18" models took the characteristics of the 16" andadded more body to them. Both were deeper and darker in tonali-ty, and both had substantially more sustain. The 18" especially hada lengthy decay and a sense of underlying power (without beingoverwhelming) that would make it an excellent "big crash" for apower ballad. (It'd make a killer big band cymbal, too!)

The 14" Sweet Crash was the exception to the rule. It had amuch thinner sound—almost to the point of becoming a splash.But it wasn't quite quick enough to really be a splash. And as acrash, frankly, I thought it "wasn't quite all there." However, MDeditorial assistant Billy Amendola felt that it would be excellentwithin the context of electronic drums, jungle, or drum 'n' bassplaying.

14" Sweet Hi-HatsThe hi-hats were right in context with the crashes. They were

thick enough to produce a solid, clear chick sound when closedwith the foot, but thin enough to produce a nice shimmer, withoutever getting "plate-y." They also had a good, penetrating attackwhen played—fully closed or partially open—with sticks. Theirbuffed finish reduced the sibilance of their sound somewhat, sothey might not be the optimum choice for a traditional open/closed"spang-a-lang" jazz-ride pattern. But for any other type of playingthey'd serve very nicely.

8" SplashThese days, most of the splashes I test really aren't very

splashy. Heavier playing has bred heavier cymbals, right down to

Turkish DelightWith the exception of China models, all Alchemy cymbals are

priced identically by size.

Ratings are averaged to reflect positive and negative features for all items reviewed.

8"10"12"14"15"16"17"

18"19"20"21"22"

$114$144

$174

$209

$229

$249

$269

$299

$339

$379

$424

$465

China:

China:

China:

China:

China:

China:

China:

China:

China:

China:

China:

China:

$134

$164

$194

$229

$249

$269

$299

$339

$379

$424

$465

$519

13" Hi-hat (pair)

14" Hi-hat (pair)

15" Hi-hat (pair)

$379

$424

$465

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the splashes. So they may be quick to decay, but their initial soundis still a small crash, not a genuine, thin-but-musical splash.

Well, that's not the case with the Istanbul Agop 8" Alchemysplash. This little beauty really has all the characteristics of a gen-uine splash. Yet it didn't sound papery. It had some body withinthat little explosive shimmer. Although it wasn't designated as a"sweet" splash, it was very sweet, indeed.

16" ChinaThis cymbal was a surprise. To begin with, it sounded bigger

than it was. Its sustain and projection matched that of many 18"Chinas I've played. It also had a dark tonality underlying its initialexplosion. So it didn't create the thin, splashy, trashy sound ofsome Chinas. Instead, it produced more of a controlled roar thatmade a dramatic statement. I'm honestly not partial to Chinas, butI found myself attracted to this one for its combination of powerand musicality.

Wrap UpAlchemy cymbals generally produce a penetrating sound that

would easily serve in most pop/rock situations. Yet they're notone-trick ponies. They still offer all the underlying character andnuance that Istanbul cymbals are known for. It's a winning combi-nation.

The Alchemy models we tried are just a sampling of a fairlyextensive line from Istanbul Agop. We found them attractive, verymusical, and certainly worthy of your consideration the next timeyou're in the market for a new and different cymbal sound. Theyaren't cheap; hand-made cymbals imported from Istanbul aren'tlikely to be. But their pricing isn't out of line with that of premiumdomestic cymbals, either.

The Istanbul Agop brand is just now getting established. If yourdealer doesn't carry them, contact the US distributor, DR Music,at 7 Palisade Ave., Emerson, NJ 07630, tel: (201) 599-0100, fax:(201) 599-0404, [email protected],www.istanbulcymbals.com

Don't compromise—customize! With Pearl's Eliminators, you can have exactly the pedal feel you want.

ver sat in on another drummer's kit and struggled with the bassdrum pedal? Chances are, he'd struggle with yours too. For

such a "simple" device—it's basically just a spring-loaded lever,after all—there's little consensus on how drummers want theirpedals to feel. Most of us work hard to find the spring tension,stroke length, footboard angle, and footboard surface that bestsuits our strengths and weaknesses—or even the demands of aparticular gig. And when we choose a pedal, sometimes we'reforced to give up some features we want in favor of others wereally need.

But with Pearl's new Eliminator pedals, there's no need to com-promise. They offer the ability to customize important feel-relatedfeatures. In addition to the subtle changes, Eliminators facilitate

the really big ones that used to require buying a whole new pedal.So how cool is that!?

Feel ChameleonThe phattest feature on the Eliminator pedal is the revolutionary

CAMeleon interchangeable cam system. This ingenious gizmoallows you to switch among the four performance-shaped camsincluded with each pedal.

The black Linear Action cam is the most basic design. Its circu-lar shape produces a smooth, even transfer of energy throughoutthe length of the stroke. The white Oversized Linear cam, also cir-cular, feels similarly even, but lighter. (It's sort of like shiftingdown on a ten-speed bike.) The blue Progressive cam features the

Pearl Powershifter Eliminator Bass Drum Pedalsby Rich Watson

E

P-2002 B belt-drive double pedal

popular off-center axle. This shape produces a lighter feel in thebeginning of the stroke, then increases in speed and power towardthe impact point. The red Radical Progressive cam features anextreme off-center axle design. It produces even greater power atthe end of the stroke. Think of it as the one with after-burners.

Switching the cams is super-easy. First push a button on the sideof the "mother cam" to release the plastic cam. Then snap in a dif-ferent cam. It takes just seconds, and you don't even have toremove the pedal from the bass drum.

Why would you want this much versatility? Many drummershaven't tried out different-shaped bass drum pedal cams. Doing soin a drum shop isn't all that helpful, since you usually can't workwith them long enough—or under familiar playing conditions—to

Powershifter and CAMeleon systems provide quick, easy ways todramatically affect pedal's feelsmooth, silent actiontons of adjustability

1) Pushing a button on the side of "mother cam" releases the inter-changeable cam in a second. 2) The Uni-pressure spring clamp grips360° around the pedal's axle. 3) The Floating Spring Pendulum keepsthe spring centered on the clamp. 4) The square memory lock on the

beater shaft sets the height and rotation of the Quad Beater.

make a change with confidence. No wonder most drummers stickwith what they're used to. Pearl's new pedals erase the financialrisk of a major change. I applaud any company who gives thiskind of power to the consumer.

I was especially intrigued with the ability to experiment withdifferent cam combinations between the left and right sides of thedouble pedal. No matter how much I practice, my two feet willprobably never be equally strong or coordinated. Since I can'tafford a transplant, the Eliminators provide some nice alternativesfor dealing with that disparity.

Another reason the CAMeleon is such a great little animal isthat its change of colors (and feel) helps it blend in with any stylis-tic environment. Jazz gig? Pop gig? Thrash metal gig? Somedrummers might want to tailor the pedal to the situation. Butbecause changes don't require fussing with vague tension andposition adjustments—they're even color-coded—returning to afavorite feel is literally a snap.

Pearl also reports that some players are practicing with the basic(black or white) cam and then switching to a more "aggressive"offset (blue or red) cam for gigs. The effect is like pumping upwith heavier sticks during practice so you can really fly when youreturn to your ol' faithfuls at show time.

Want even more ways to customize? Eliminators also incorpo-rate Pearl's unique Powershifter system. The Powershifter allowsyou to create a light, medium, or heavy feel by altering the pedal'sleverage. Just loosen a single key bolt recessed in the heel plate,slide the heel plate forward or backward, and retighten the bolt—all without removing the pedal from the kick. Quick and easy?We're talking ten seconds, max.

Another highly personal aspect of a pedal's feel is the texture ofthe footboard. Some drummers like their foot to slide up and downand/or side-to-side on the pedal. Others prefer more stability and"grip." In addition to providing a removable toe stop, Pearl hastaken a more advanced approach with their Traction ControlSystem. Rubber "dots" on the footboard can be removed individu-ally (or completely) for the slip-resistance pattern that best suitsyour playing style. Further, the traction plate can be rotated so thatthe dots are near the toe or the ball of your foot.

This change takes a little more time, requiring you to removefour setscrews. But it's also the kind of adjustment you're likely toleave alone once you've decided on the feel you prefer.

Belt Or Chain?Eliminators are available with a choice of a dual-chain or belt

drive. Traditionally, strap-drive models have been preferred fortheir quiet operation. (Toothed sprocket-drive pedals in particulartend to be a little noisier.) Chain-drives, on the other hand, havebeen preferred for their strength. These distinctions dissolve quitea bit with the Eliminators.

First, Pearl's belt is made of specially formulated stretch-resis-

Hits

What cams! Linear Action cam (black), Oversized Linear cam (white),Progressive cam (blue), and Radical Progressive cam (red)

tant plastic embedded with steel cables. This probably makes it asstrong and durable as any chain. Second, because the Eliminator'splastic cams are toothless and their channels are lined with felt,they are virtually silent. So what's the difference?

Pearl's Gene Okamoto points out that the Eliminator's some-what rigid belt doesn't collapse on the upstroke like those made offloppier material, and even some chains. The result is more of a"direct-pull" feel. I'm familiar with the sloppy feel of some belt-drive pedals, and the Eliminator belt-drive feels infinitely better.But to be honest, I couldn't detect any difference between theEliminator belt and chain models.

More Fine TuningThe length of the Eliminator's belt or chain can be altered by

moving a single key bolt. This, in turn, changes the footboardangle. The three bolt positions are notched so that the belt or chainremains securely in place.

This footboard angle adjustment is completely independent ofthe beater angle/stroke length. The latter is determined by the posi-tion of Pearl's special spring clamp assembly. The Uni-Pressurespring clamp system is designed to grip the entire circumferenceof the axle rather than at a single point. If you (or someone else)changes its position, reference lines on the clamp help you reset it.

Pearl's Floating Spring Pendulum between the clamp and thespring is designed to keep the spring centered on the clamp, ensur-ing smoother movement of the bearing. As with most pedals, theEliminator's spring tension can be set with one knurled nut andsecured with an opposing one.

A memory lock on the Eliminator's beater shaft takes the guess-work out of the beater height. (It tightens with a setscrew.) Once it'sbeen set, the square lock also automatically aligns the Quad Beaterball's rotation against a square lip on the beater holder, no matterwhich of the four playing surfaces you choose. Simple, but clever.

Like some other pedals, Eliminators feature a side-accesshoop clamp bolt. But Pearl's Roller Cam mechanism is superiorto some in two respects. First, the tightening bolt is comfortablylarge and sturdy. Second, it's positioned so that even when thewing bolt's fully tightened point leaves it perpendicular to thefootboard, the footboard doesn't run into that bolt. This elimi-nates the need for fiddling with the toe clamp height-adjuster nutunderneath the pedal to make the hoop clamp wing bolt tighten

to a horizontal position.Rubber front and rear sections on the underside of the

Eliminator's base plate inhibit bass-drum creep. The rubber doesn'tlock the pedal down to a rug like the hook & loop material found onsome pedals. Pearl's approach facilitates easier intentional maneu-vering—like when you want to attach the pedal to the kick. A pairof retractable spurs can be deployed if you really need to "dig in."

And speaking of security, every connection point on the doublepedal's "drive shaft" is secured with two key bolts. Call me para-noid, but I appreciate this double-coverage insurance with partssubjected to a lot of stress and movement.

A Quibble—And ConclusionsI have just one gripe with the Eliminators—and it's a tiny one.

The pedals come with three different-sized Allen wrenches tosecure numerous moving components. You might never have tomess with some of these parts; for example, the smallest wrench isonly used to tighten a hub on the axle. Even so, standardizing thescrew heads so that a single Allen wrench fits all of them wouldhave been more convenient.

Nitpicking aside, the Eliminators are fantastic. The CAMeleon,Powershifter, and Traction Plate innovations make them a verita-ble study in smart, user-friendly design. Even more important, thepedals appear to be very well made, and they're as fast and smoothas anything you're likely to lay your feet on. If you're in the mar-ket for a new pedal or two, the flexibility built into this lineensures that you'll get the feel and all the features you want—plusthe option to modify them if the mood strikes you.

Well done, Pearl!

Pearl's Traction Control System

To The MetalP-2000C single pedal with dual-chain drive

P-2000B single pedal with belt drive

P-2002B double pedal with belt drive

$229$229$529

The line's eight models include singles, doubles, belt-drives,

chain-drives, righties, lefties, and slaves. All basic singles are

$229. Slave singles (righties only) are $349. All doubles are

$529.

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Rare beauties from the mysterious Eastby Rick Mattingly

I

t wouldn't be surprising if you've never heard of Canopus drums.They're made by a small Japanese manufacturer who is only now

breaking into the US market. But Canopus has actually beenaround for quite a few years, offering a fairly standard selection oftraditional-style drumkits—along with the anything but standardZelkova snare drum.

The subjects of this review owe more to the tradition ofJapanese taiko drums, which are made from hollowed-out logs,than to the Western-style snare drums that we're all familiar with.Canopus Zelkova snare drum shells are bored out of a solid pieceof zelkova—a Japanese hardwood prized for its density and reso-nance. Because the wood has not been bent, the grain runs verti-cally instead of horizontally. Additionally, the shells go throughvarious drying processes that take approximately two years.

Zelkova drums start life as a bored-out section of a tree trunk.

solid one-piece shell promotes drum projectionunusual contour of shell promotes head resonance6 1/2X13 offers piccolo highs with deep-shell body

According to Canopus, this process creates a shell with a 9%moisture content, compared to 12 % on typical drum shells.

The result is a snare drum with a wide spread of overtones. Withthe depth and body one would expect from a wood-shell snaredrum, it also has the high-end ring that's more typical of a metal-shell drum—and that helps the sound project. This was true of allthree Canopus snare drums that MD received for review: a6 1/2xl4, a 6 1/2xl3, and a 4x14.

Getting In ShapeThe outside of the Canopus shell has a very slight vertical curve

to it, making it fatter in the center and slightly thinner at eachedge. This allows the head to extend out from the shell slightly,much like the heads on timpani. Such mounting tends to increase ahead's resonance. On the inside, the shell has a 7/8" taper at eachend, culminating in a thin, smooth bearing edge. At its fattest pointin the center, the 6 1/2" shell is nearly 1/2" thick, gradually thinningto about 1/4" where the sharp taper on the inside of the shell begins.

The single element of the drum that has a somewhat raw, unfin-ished look is the air vent. It's simply a hole drilled through theshell. There's no grommet around it, and the logo badge isattached elsewhere on the shell. But the vent doesn't have a partic-ularly unsightly appearance. In fact, it's hardly noticeable at allexcept close up at certain angles.

The drums are fitted with die-cast rims and classic, double-ended brass tube lugs (with no springs or other parts that can rat-tle). Each drum has eight lugs attached to the shell with a singlescrew. Lugs are isolated from the shell by leather washers.Likewise, the tension screws are isolated from the rim by twoleather washers with a metal washer sandwiched between them.

The snare-release lever is a standard vertical throw-off design.Snare-tension adjustments are located on the butt plate as well asthe throw-off. The screws with which the snare unit is attached tothe throw-off and butt plate are drumkey operated. The snaresthemselves are standard spiral wire. The drums came fitted withRemo coated Ambassador batter heads and clear Ambassadorsnare-side heads.

The drums come finished in a stained gloss over the naturalwood (which has a striking grain pattern). This will appeal to somedrummers and not to others, but it's certainly distinctive.

Solid SoundThe integrity of the bearing edges and the rigidity of the die-cast

hoops make the Zelkova drums easy to get in tune with themselves.Snare response was excellent: The drums sounded crisp and articu-late when cranked up tight, and fat and gutsy when the heads andsnares were loosened a bit. Rimshots were bright and powerful.

The 6 1/2x14 model combined a bright, cutting attack with awarm, full-bodied tone that could work in a wide variety of musi-cal styles. It also had plenty of projection for unmiked settings.The 4x14 version had similar tonal qualities, but the shallower

HitsCanopus Zelkova Snare Drums

Careful shaping on a lathe is followed by many hand-finishing steps.

shell gave it a slightly more contained sound with enhanced crisp-ness and response. This would be a good choice for acoustic orsofter electric settings, as well as for situations where the drumwill be miked.

The 6 1/2xl3 drum was a pleasant surprise. In general, 13" headswork better with shallower shells. A deep snare drum with a smalldiameter can often sound like a tom-tom with snares. But theZelkova 6 1/2x13 produced a clean, high-pitched sound with plentyof body and projection. It would be especially good in live,unmiked situations where you want the high pitch of a piccolosnare drum but need more sheer sound than a 3" or 4" shell cantypically deliver.

Worth A SearchZelkova snares have been a well-kept secret among top interna-

tional drummers for several years. In fact, Canopus may have beenthe first company to offer one-piece, bored-out drums. Whether ornot that's the case, the point is that these drums are not new andtrendy. They're well-established, with a deserved reputationamong those familiar with them. After playing them myself, I canunderstand why.

The drums feature unique, labor-intensive construction, andthey are imported—so they aren't cheap. But they have a designunlike any other, and they sound terrific. So you definitely getwhat you pay for.

Canopus drums aren't on the shelves in every local drumshop.But they are available through a few selected dealers across thecountry, or directly from the manufacturer in Japan. The compa-ny's Web site is canopus.inc.co.jp/, or you can email them [email protected].

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The outer surface of the Zelkova shellfeatures a unique curved contour.

Turning JapaneseZelkova one-piece solid-wood snare drums

4x14

6 1/2x13

6 1/2x14

$1,490

$1,490

$1,490

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Ratings are averaged to reflect positive and negative features for all items reviewed.

Enter to win these snare drums online @ moderndrummer.com!

on't worry about it," said Cynthia Keltner, reas-suring me on the eve of my interview with herhusband and Charlie Watts. The two old friends,the legendary session drummer and the RollingStone, were gathering in a New York hotel suiteto promote their album, The Charlie Watts Jim

Keltner Project. "You'll love talking to the two of themtogether," Cynthia continued. "They both have an attitudeabout playing drums that's different from other players. I'veknown Jim since he was fifteen. Drums are what he is."

I've also known Jim for a while now, and I'd have to agree.In some occupations, after age forty-five, the springs ofaction get weak. Not with Jim Keltner. He still means everynote he plays. Despite his deep focus, though, his groovescome out as casual as if they tumbled off a truck.

And what a track record! Keltner has recorded with BeatlesGeorge Harrison, John Lennon, and Ringo Starr. He's oncountless soundtracks and albums with Ry Cooder. (The twoeven joined briefly with Nick Lowe and John Hiatt to form thecritically acclaimed band Little Village.) That's Jim on EricClapton's killer ballad "Oh Love," off Journeyman. It's alsohim on the bouncy "Josie," from Steely Dan's masterpiece,Aja. Jim's on projects as diverse as Crowded House, RoyOrbison, Gabor Szabo, The Traveling Wilburys, Randy

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Newman, Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, Rickie Lee Jones, and evenMichael Jackson. His studio career has been nothing short ofincredible. And Jim occasionally tours a bit. He's currently onthe road with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

Where do you begin with The Rolling Stones' CharlieWatts, one of the most influential drummers in the history ofrock 'n' roll? His career dates back to the early '60s andincludes such landmarks as the drum intro to "Get Off Of MyCloud," the stomping two-bar break in "Satisfaction," thecharming "interrupted" hi-hat pattern in "Jumpin' JackFlash," and the driving four-on-the-floor of "She's So Cold."And there's probably not a bar-band drummer who doesn'tknow what it is to emulate Charlie on "Honky Tonk Women."Those slinky fills. So simple, yet so elusive.

Charlie has recorded many of the songs that literally definerock 'n' roll—"Sympathy For The Devil," for example. Yet inhis spare time, this same man leads a jazz quintet andorchestra.

I have read about Charlie Watts' impeccable wardrobe, sofor this interview I wore a good blazer and shined my shoes.Knowing about his deep affection for jazz, I brought along oldissues of Down Beat magazine, red rubber-handled wirebrushes, and even a pair of vintage Gretsch sticks. That way,I figured, if the conversation faltered, one of us could roll.

II

DWALKING INTO THE FUTURE

CHARLIE WATTS& JIM KELTNER

The props came in useful—not that the conversation everstopped, though. In fact, when Charlie grasped a pair ofsticks, he was at home. When he tapped on the coffee table,music came out. That's what sealed it for me. Drums arewhat he is, too.

Last year's Stones release Bridges To Babylon arguablydisplays Charlie's best work in years. Such a beautiful snaredrum sound and feel on "Anybody Seen My Baby?"Incidentally, Keltner's on there too, in the background play-ing percussion. In fact, it was around the making of Babylonthat the two started work on the The Charlie Watts JimKeltner Project.

Surprise—this new disc has nothing to do with jazz orrock. It's techno. The music originated from Keltner's home-made sequences of pots, pans, and "things in the base-ment." These snippets were then taken to Ocean WayStudio, where Watts overdubbed his old, beat-up blondeGretsch kit. Kenny Aronoff also drifted in and played somebuckets, and there were other guests. Further tracks were cutlive off the floor, with Watts on kit and Keltner on toms andpercussion. Then the 2" analog tape of those sessions endedup in Paris with producer/engineer Philippe Chauveau, whohad the daunting task of editing. Charlie oversaw Philippe,who used ProTools to carve out manageable chunks and dooverdubs.

When it was done, Charlie named the pieces after cher-

ished jazz drummers. He gave me a light scolding for snoop-ing around for traces of Billy Higgins' ride sound or Max'stoms on the tracks bearing their names. That wasn't thepoint, he insisted. It was a mood he was going for. This ismusic that celebrates the spirit, if not the substance, of jazz.

Try as I might, I couldn't make much headway gettingthese guys to take credit for anything more than a casual rolein the history of the drumset. I had the feeling that Charliebelieved nothing he did would be worthy of his inclusion inthe legion of "true" drummers like Dave Tough, PhilSeaman, Max Roach, and Kenny Clarke.

With Jim, you don't want to accuse him of having pulledoff anything original. He'll rebuke you with a reference tosome drummer who had come before him. Yet, as the sundipped behind the tall buildings on 51st street in New YorkCity, a block away from the ghosts of Philly Joe and ShadowWilson, an irony became apparent: Watts and Keltner areevery bit drummers' drummers. A hundred years from now anew crop of modern drummers are going to whisper in lowtones about the way Charlie melted the time in "Beasts OfBurden," or the way Jim wrote his name all over John Hiatt's"Memphis ln The Meantime."

I arrived at Charlie's hotel suite before Jim. Charlie and Igot talking about soul drummer Al Jackson, who used to getso excited he would stand behind the kit. I asked Charlie ifthe adrenaline ever pushed him to such displays.

Charlie: Yeah. To be honestwith you, when you're in thesame band, doing the samething over and over for ayear, it's fun to do that. It'snot something that comeseasy to me, grandstandingand all. But I have stood upwhile playing the drums. It'sbloody hard to do!MD: I don't know when youlast walked into a drum store,but you have to test hi-hatsstanding up! That's the hard-est thing.Charlie: Yes it is, and it'ssilly because you never playthe things standing up.MD: Tell me about yourChina cymbal.Charlie: I play a UFIP cym-bal. I never play it the wrongway around: I play it theChinese way, with the edgesup. I like them because

they're very trashy. They do tend to crack, and I can onlydrill them so much before they lose the sound and go dead.I've kept them all, though, for thirty years.MD: You've never replaced a cymbal?Charlie: Over the years I have. John DeChristopher at Zildjianis always sending me cymbals. He's a lovely guy, but I never usethem right away! I choose the ones I like, put them away, and letthem marinate.

For me, finding a cymbal is about going into a second-handshop and digging. I prefer one of Shelly Manne's old cymbals toten new ones. Even a guy in a dance band or a club: his cymbalsget a sound and a look about them. I don't like new drums,either, and I hate new shoes.

I like things that are well made, like Zildjians, but that are fiftyyears old. I use an old 18" flat ride and I'm scared stiff it's goingto go. They've sent me new ones but they're never as good. Ifound it in Paris in '70-something with Cheuch [McGee, long-time drum tech]. We were bombed out of our 'eads at the time,but I've never stopped using it. I've used it in a piano trio andI've used it behind Keith [Richards], and it's fabulous. It's abeautiful cymbal to record with.

I don't use many drums or cymbals. I don't hear thingslike that. The man who will be joining us is a great

"changer." Jim is a great one for adding this or that tohis kit. I never change drumheads either. I need thesound guy to say, "That tom-tom's gone a bit flat"

"If you transcribed some partCharlie played, you could thenplay the notes, but youwouldn ' t get the feel. That'sthe one thing we own as indi-viduals: our feel."

Jim

"This project started outwith nothing melodic orharmonic going on—nopiano, no bass, nothing. Itwas purely us. It wasabout rhythm."

Charlie

Watts & Keltnerbefore I'll change a head. I get used to thefeeling of them! Mick [Jagger] is alwaysafter me to try this or that because he'sseen Omar [Hakim] or somebody playsomething.[Jim Keltner buzzes up and enters. Talkturns to magazine articles on legendaryjazz drummers, including Dave Tough.]MD: What would constitute a great drum-mer for you guys? I've heard both of yousay that you don't have chops. Dave Toughdidn't have chops. I mean, he neversoloed....Charlie: Actually, he did. He played agreat drum solo on "The March Of Time"with Eddie Condon. It's Chicago drum-ming. You try and play it like that! Hemight not be Buddy Rich to someone wholistens for drum solos, but he must havehad tremendous technique to have lived ina world where Benny Goodman gave himfours in "Stompin' At The Savoy." First,you have to read very well, and second,you have to have tremendous technique. Idon't believe it for a minute that he had notechnique.MD: And yet, apparently Dave Tough,after someone suggested he teach, pleaded,

"What would I teach anybody?"Charlie: Well, it's an attitude. That's whatI would say, too. Some people are verygood at telling other people what to do; I'mnot! Dave Tough probably wasn't a teacher

because he saw too many faults in himself.MD: I brought some old photos. Here's apicture of Dave Tough playing a Chinacymbal.Charlie: I have a beautiful Swish from the

Watts & Keltner'40s that I use with my jazz quintet. It'sreally deep. You have to ride on it with alight touch. They choke after a certainpressure, but when you start on them,they're like a crowd roaring.Jim: Yeah, Dave Tough used to play asmaller one. That's what Freddie [Gruber]said. Is that why yours are small, Charlie?Charlie's are incredible-sounding. I nevercould be happy with a small Chinese cym-bal, though.Charlie: Talking about technique, fromthat era there was George Wettling. Toplay what he played took a hell of a lot oftechnique. There are some intros he playedon cymbals that are fantastic. There's noway he doesn't know how to play a para-diddle.Jim: All those guys had technique. In fact,I believe that's the thing that makes a guycomfortable enough to play simple—whenhe's got the goods.Charlie: It's also how you hear it.Jim: When you listen to how Charlie playson the Rolling Stones tunes, you go,"That's easy." But when you sit down andtry to play what he plays and with that feel,it's extraordinarily hard to duplicate.

MD: When did you two meet?Charlie: It was in England in 1971.Jim: Charlie was on tour with the Stones.They hadn't toured Europe for a long time.I was staying in London with my wife andkids, working for Denny Cordell. BobbyKeyes phoned and asked me if I wanted tocome on tour and hang with him and TheStones. I asked Cynthia and she said, "Iguess I couldn't stop you anyway." It wasextremely exciting to watch Charlie upclose—all of them, really.Charlie: The first time I saw Keltner, hewas at my elbow, which is the best place tostand to watch a drummer. This was onstage at Leeds University—where TheWho did their live recording. He frightenedthe life out of me! Oh, Jim Keltner.Another time in New York, Roy Haynesturned up at a gig. Oh God! You gethalfway through the show and, crikey, he'sthere, in person!MD: When did you and Jim first recordtogether?Charlie: We never consciously recordedtogether until this project, although he'sbeen on things we've done. I don't thinkwe've ever sat together at a drumkit—he

would never do that. Jim is the only guy Iknow who can play without a drumkit. Hecan "play the air." His time is just as gooddoing that as when he's playing his DWs,whereas I couldn't do that because I don't"play the air." [laughs]

I've never minded Jim playing with mebecause I've always known that it wouldbe something that would help what's goingon, even if it was just a tambourine. Theworst thing about asking another guy toplay with you is that they'll do it so wellyou won't get asked to play again! Worsethan that, Mick and Keith are very easy towork with—just don't get in the way! ButJim has such good ears, he's easy to playwith.

Even when we got to the point of takingover Studio Two at Ocean Way for ourproject, Jim and I didn't play drums togeth-er. I played drums over Jim's littlesequences. I can't do much else, so I haveto play the drumset. I hate hand drums. Ilove other people playing them, but I can't.He plays the shakers and the sticks at thesame time. That takes a lot of technique.Jim plays a lot of different shaking things.

I like what Jim does with the two-foot

Watts & Keltnerthing [double pedal]. They're not that hard,but when you're going along and trying toplay them, well, I'd have to stop and startagain. Guys say to me, "It's just practiceand getting it right," but I've never feltcomfortable doing it.Jim: Nobody wants to hear you doing thatanyway. One of the things I marvel at withCharlie is his bass drum—boom, b-boom[repetitive pattern]. Then all of a sudden hewouldn't do that little b-boom double. I'dwonder what the thought process was thatmade him decide to skip one of those....

Charlie: It's called a mistake! You see, hecomes from that dreadful world of the stu-dio where they hear everything you do.Jim: These days studio correctness is hor-rendous. Even studio people agree thatthere's nothing worse than studio correct-ness.Charlie: I quite admire it.Jim: Sure, Jeff Porcaro—everything hetouched in the studio was beautiful. But thething is, with Charlie there are dozens ofrecords I could point to where what heplayed was perfectly appropriate for the

music—perfect with the vocals, perfectwith the guitar, and perfect with the phras-ing of the song. If you transcribed some-thing Charlie played, you could then playthe notes, but you wouldn't get the feel.That's the one thing we own as individuals.That's the one thing that's ours alone—ourfeel.

For instance, Charlie surges and comesback. That's not allowed in the studio. Notwith a click, for sure. In a chorus you wantto surge. That's why they have conductorsin symphonies. Music has to go forwardand come back. That's the way musicbreathes and the way the body reacts. Theocean is like that, everything in life is likethat.MD: Very few people will ever get into asituation where they can get applauded forfollowing their own urges.Charlie: That's the best thing about beingin a band. To be honest, when you playwith great musicians for the first time, youlong for the first mistake, because thenthey're out of the way.MD: And then you relax?Charlie: I do. I know I'm going to makemistakes. We talked about Al Jackson.There's nothing worse than playing one ofthose beats like "Coffee And Cigarettes."You can be playing the whole song anddoing great and then on one of those beatsyou're going to miss or come in a bit early.No one will notice except for Darryl Jones[Stones touring bass player], so get thatmistake out of the way![Keltner sees a pair of I960s-era Gretsch5D sticks on the table and picks them up.}Charlie: Those are like mine. Do youremember the old Ludwig Joe Morellomodel? They were white. I still have a pairof those. That's what they modeled mystick after. I've always played 11 As with awood tip.Jim: Charlie's current sticks are heavierand bigger than they used to be.Charlie: Because I'm older and weaker.MD: There's something to be said aboutusing bigger sticks to get a more substan-tial sound. Tony Williams' sticks were liketree trunks.Charlie: I hate that feel on the drums,though, when the sticks are real big. ForTony, it was fine. I have two kinds ofsticks I use: My model sticks are for play-ing, and then I have these big ebonymarching ones I use for wanning up, which

Watts & KeltnerI bang on my legs with. When I hit thedrums with them, it feels horrible.

That's why I hate sitting down at otherpeople's drums. You're sitting down hereand the snare drum's up there. In Brazil, Ihad a rented drumkit that was unbelievable.One of the pedals had a chain: great to lookat, but it was too fast for me. The tomswere Sandy Nelson-type things. I thought,"I don't want to be seen with that." It's allsnobbery, really. I thought I was KennyClarke, you know, [affects casual air] I'lljust borrow a kit, rent one, no problem.When I played in New York with theOrchestra I had to rent three Gretschdrumkits before I found one I was comfort-able with. Oh, the moaning going on fromme!MD: Speaking of Gretsch, why don't weever see these? [Shows photo of Charlie onan old, green-sparkle Gretsch kit withgold-plated lugs.]Charlie: You know why? I had the goldput on because I saw Mel Lewis with a setlike that when he came to England withStan Kenton. But when you put the goldplating next to the chrome stands, it lookshorrible. I use Buck Rogers stands, and I

thought I'd have them plated to match, butthey looked really bad.MD: What is it with those blonde Gretschdrums you use? With respect, for a guywho could own literally anything....Charlie: What do you mean, "Withrespect?" [laughs]MD: Well, your blonde Gretsch drumshave a huge scuff on the small tom andthey're tattered. You'd think you would atleast have them refinished.Charlie: I'm very superstitious about thosedrums, although [motions to Keltner] heain't like that. I never change anything.Jim: One fascinating thing about that isCharlie's bass drum head. That RemoBlack Dot head has been on there since theearly '70s! Imagine all the music that'sbeen played on that bass drum: all thetours, all the records—that same bass drumhead!Charlie: The funny thing is, now is thetime when it's not good for the drumsbecause they're in flight cases, locked upin a rehearsal studio in London. Whenthey're on tour they're looked after. Thatkit is in London at Bill Harrison's alongwith Keith Moon's and Ringo's drums.

That's the original Beatles drumkit withthe name on the head. I've still got myoriginal Ludwig kit that I bought fromDrum City on Shaftsbury Avenue inLondon. I preferred mine to Ringo'sbecause mine was Blue Oyster finish;Ringo's were the black ones. Mine areprettier.MD: Before the tape rolled, we talkedabout Phil Seaman, and Charlie, you saidyou owned the album The Phil SeamanStory.Charlie: I was fifteen when I first sawhim. I'd sit mesmerized watching him play.Every time our eyes met, I'd get a look.

He'd go into Drum City a lot. The sales-men there would do what you just did: putsticks down in front of the customers.Drummers can't resist that; it's like cook-ies or chocolate. Phil came in one day andgave me that look.MD: [Holding sticks in matched grip]Wasn't Seaman one of the first jazz drum-mers to not play traditional grip?Charlie: Yes, but not the way you'redoing. He'd play like this [demonstratesthumbs on top of sticks]. Ringo plays theway you're playing [palms down]. Phil

used to play like he was playing timpani,and he used to do all the fanning tech-niques with the sticks.Jim: You mean like this? [Keltner takesthe stick and plays a rapid succession ofstrokes, alternating from the tip to the buttend of the stick.}Charlie: No, that's the one you showedme. We all do that one now. It's the"Keltner lick." Whenever I sit down now, Ido it on my flat cymbal and everybody'sreally impressed.MD: You dedicated a tune to Billy Higginson Project.Charlie: The thing about Billy Higgins ishis touch. He has the nearest cymbal soundto Kenny Clarke, who to me had the great-est ride. Having said that, live, Dave Toughmust have sounded as sweet—otherwiseyou wouldn't get guys talking about himlike they do. But Phil Seaman was phe-nomenal. You've got to believe it becauseI'm talking about it. Do you know what Imean? You don't talk about people ifthey're not. Shelly Manne used to askwhere Phil was when he played in London.MD: Could we discuss the distinctivedrum things that people associate with

Charlie Watts and Jim Keltner?Charlie: We'd be too embarrassed to talkabout them.MD: But Charlie, what about somethinglike your light touch?Charlie: [pauses] I can't play heavy, real-ly. The problem when you play heavy isthat you tend to get lead-footed; it soundsthat way to me, anyway.MD: What about the classic grooveCharlie plays? In fact, both of you do it.It's where you're playing backbeats withyour left hand and 8th notes with yourright, but you lift the right hand off of thehi-hat on 2 and 4, leaving room for the arcof the left hand hitting the snare.Jim: I saw Levon Helm do that with TheBand in the early '70s. It sounded better tojust sometimes have the snare by itself onthe backbeat without the hat. I thinkCharlie and Steve Jordan are the only otherdrummers I know who do that today. WhenI first started doing that, I noticed ittweaked the groove just slightly—enoughto make me want to keep doing it.MD: Jim, a little signature thing that youdo would be with brushes, the accentedswish just before you close the hi-hat.

Jim: I probably heard a million guys dothat. I learned to play brushes from this lit-tle Mexican guy, Rod Rodriguez. Heshowed me how to do this [demonstratesup-tempo bop beat, right hand swishingmadly clockwise] instead of this [demon-strates usual bop pattern, with left handswishing and the right playing the conven-tional jazz-ride pattern]. It took me a longtime to be comfortable with that. There's asong on Nick Lowe's album Party Of Onethat I finally got to play that pattern on:"Shting, Shtang."MD: So are wire brushes the real deal?Charlie: I use both plastic and metal. I usea pair that Jake Hanna gave me. They're alltaped up. I've even got the original boxthey came in, too—Regal Tip. Jake gavethem to me in LA when we were there withmy Quintet.

A lot of the art of brush playing is gonewith calf heads. With a thick calf head theswish could be as loud as sandpaper. And Ialways play brushes with the snares off.Jim: Jo Jones said you're supposed to.Charlie: There were things that Jim and Ilearned that you had to do, otherwise youwouldn't be allowed to play with a band.

Watts & KeltnerOne was you never drowned out the pianoplayer. When the piano player came in, youshut up. When the trumpet player came in,you kicked him up the ass.

On record, Jo Jones had that swish, lightas a feather. When you saw him live, hisbass drum foot was on all fours. When hegot going, his foot was so fast you'd thinkit wasn't the same guy!MD: Jim, you did a thing with WillieNelson and I think with Bill Frisell. It's abackbeat with little trailing beats, butthey're not ghost notes. They make itsound as if the backbeat has beenprocessed through a digital delay.[Jim demonstrates pattern on table.]Charlie: Tricky Keltner we call him!MD: The point is that the quiet notes arenot exactly equidistant. It's more interpre-tive. You're just playing stuff that ties thestrong beats together.Jim: Well, you know, drums are conversa-tional. You're just trying to keep the con-versation interesting. If you're constantlythinking about what you're saying, and notlistening, then it suffers. But, of course, allpeople are guilty of that, not just drum-mers.

I can hear when a drummer's listening tohimself, and I'm guilty of it too on occa-sion. It's like sitting here talking. Whatshould be coming out is the idea I'm tryingto express, not how I'm expressing it. IfI'm thinking too much about how I'mgoing to express it, then the idea will beconvoluted. It's the same thing musically.You want your playing to be part of theconversation, to enhance the conversation,but you don't want to take over the conver-sation. If you really have a point to makeand you have something very interesting tosay, go ahead—but it better be interesting!MD: Let's get to The Charlie Watts JimKeltner Project and the track "ShellyManne."Charlie: A week's supply of conversationthere, just with the name.Jim: That was a little sequence that fea-tured a berimbau. When Charlie heard that,the title came to mind. Charlie named allthe songs. Invariably it would be somebodyimportant to him.

We had gone to a few jazz clubs oneweek and had seen Elvin Jones, RoyHaynes, and Dave Weckl. We saw BillyHiggins at the Jazz Bakery; he was there to

Watts & Keltnersee Elvin. Those guys were on our mind.Plus right at that time Tony Williams haddied. Roy was playing with Tony's trio: IraColeman on bass and Mulgrew Miller onpiano. Tony was a young man whocould've been Roy's son. Roy played in avery inspired way, and Charlie and I werefortunate to be in the audience.

We would be in the studio playing thingsback, just drums and percussion, andCharlie would say, "That's Roy Haynes,that's Max Roach, that's Tony Williams."Charlie has a creative mind and I trust hisinstincts.Charlie: I had seen Shelly Manne play aberimbau. It's not an instrument that I heara lot of.MD: Art Blakey is a more obvious choicebecause of the tribal drums. Was that asurdo I heard?Jim: No, "Art Blakey" was toms. Charliestarted off playing a tom-tom beat. I onlyhad two toms; Charlie was playing a wholekit. I started playing two 8th notes everyother bar, and later on they added Africantoms with my toms, in unison, just to fattenthem up.Charlie: I played all of the tracks with my

usual setup. I was sitting there with thesame cymbals, the same bass drum...MD: ...the blond, round-badge Gretschkit?Charlie: Right, because this is what Jimsaid he wanted to do on some of the tuneshe'd gotten together. So I said, "Yeah, let'sdo it." I sat and played. Five of the tracksare the reason we went in there: me playingwith Jim's samples, his little melodies andsequences. The other four songs were justmessing around, whether it be slow or fast,with various people interrupting me andJim. Those four are very organic: "Airto,""Elvin," "Tony Williams," and "ArtBlakey."

I kept hearing this magic word,"ProTools," being bandied about in the stu-dio between Jim and engineer Pierre DeBeauport. I didn't know what the hell theywere talking about. I got to Paris later withthe tapes and they recommended this guy,Phillipe Cheauveau, who is a programmer.He sits in this little black world—no win-dows, with hundreds of CDs of samples ofbirds and everything.

I told him that all I wanted was to cutthese things up into manageable bits I

could copy and send to Jim so we could gointo the studio again next year. But we cutthem up quickly and I thought we shouldadd things—in other words, turn them intosongs.

Normally, the way we see drums in theworld of "conversation," as Jim puts it, isthat they're accompanying what's goingon. For this project, there was nothinggoing on—no piano, no bass, nothing. Thiswas purely us. We had rhythm, and themelody was an afterthought.MD: This would be killer electronic stufffor clubs.Charlie: I hope so.Jim: We've been approached by a fewremixers in London to try a few things withour tracks.MD: Was the thick hi-hat sound on "TonyWilliams" of any significance for you innaming the track?Charlie: That title came about as a resultof Jim buying a copy of Modern Drummer,the one with Tony's last interview, on theday we were doing that track. Tony saidsomething about the ride cymbal being thecenter of the universe. And the loose,washing hi-hats came out of that. While we

Watts & Keltnerwere recording this sound and tempo, Mick[Jagger] started to interrupt on piano—per-fectly...Jim: Perfect chords. The groove was slowand intense: this strange, sloshy groove,and it held together for so long.Charlie: The thing is, it had to be long tobe hypnotic. You wonder if it'll get drearyafter five minutes, but it doesn't. I said thatJim should sing on it.Jim: I had this little "voice changer" and Iput it on the lowest setting, I didn't knowwhat to say exactly.Basically, it was metrying to remember the Tony interview andother bits and pieces, talking about how hewas as a younger man. It's just a vibe,more than anything. Charlie understood thewords and when I came into the controlroom he said, "That was quite touching. Italmost brought a tear to my eye." We lis-tened back and the chords Mick had playedwere so appropriate for the feel of thedrums. Tony had just died, and that feelingexpresses the immediacy of that sadness.

As a person, Tony was changing. He wasbecoming an accessible guy. We talked andbecame friends. You know, it's likeCharlie and me: We walk into the future

together as friends.MD: "Billy Higgins"—I thought the back-beat was kind of odd, 'til I thought of"Sidewinder," the Lee Morgan tune.Charlie: None of these tunes are likeyou're analyzing! They're not meant to dothat.Jim: Only with "Airto," "Elvin," and "ArtBlakey" can you equate the drummer withthe music.Charlie: Hopefully people will buy this,people who may not know the names, andbecome aware. They'll learn who BillyHiggins is. Yes, it's electronica, but there'sa lot of straight playing too.

To be honest, I don't know what thisrecord is. A friend of both of ours, RingoStarr, who I spoke to the other day, askedme, "What is it?" I went blank.MD: Before we go, Charlie, indulge me fora moment. You were formative in mydrumming development. Who thought ofthe drum pattern I learned as a kid on "GetOff Of My Cloud"?Charlie: I dunno. You know, I never listento our records, ever. I only hear them if mywife puts them on.MD: Charlie, if you don't like to play "mod-

Watts & Keltnerern stuff on your stereo, you should at leasthear Jim on "Razor Love," off Neil Young'snew CD, or on Bill Frisell's Good Dog,Happy Man. I never heard Bill Frisell playstuff like that before Jim. You even broughtRy Cooder in on a track, "Shenandoah." Itreminds me of an old album of his youplayed on. Paradise And Lunch—all thoseruffs and the deep snare drum.Jim: The snare is a little deeper. I like thealternative sometimes to the same old high-pitched snare sound on everything.MD: Charlie, I made you a taped copy ofThe Phil Seaman Story, but you explainedyou already have it.Charlie: I actually have the remains ofPhil Seaman's record collection. There aresome wonderful recordings in there, likeCharlie Parker In Sweden. Another is aDuke Ellington one that Phil had written onthe cover: "Piano in the foreskin." It 'sfunny when you read these things, though.It really makes you think that time is of theessence.MD: Time is on our side.Charlie: Yeah, that too.

Story by Matt Peiken Photos by Alex Solca

atching The Deftones make arecord is like witnessing theunfolding of a multiple-personal-

ity disorder. They stumble, stall, curse,scream at each other, laugh to the point ofcoughing fits, fall prey to the slightest dis-tractions, feign boredom, ride bursts ofmind-blowing creative energy, and, some-how, piece together things of beauty—allin the course of mere hours.

The band and producer Terry Date are ina redwood-lined control room at The Plantrecording studios, within southern eyeshotof the San Francisco skyline. "Can you layoff the drum fills?" guitarist StephenCarpenter tells Abe Cunningham as theylisten to a playback of a song with theworking title "Webster."

"Can you shut up?" Abe says in return."Just kick, hi-hat, and snare,"

Stephen says. "That's all youneed."

Few "new metal" drummersare as creative with just a kick,snare, and hi-hat, but evenCunningham can't save this songtoday. The band sweats throughtwo more takes before someonesuggests taking the tape outside,unspooling it across the parkinglot, and lighting it like a fuse.

"We got 'Tools' and we gotblades to fix these things," Datesays to a room full of tired ears."And if those don't work, I'll usethe blades on my arm."

Date didn't have to resort tosuch measures. He used ProTools merely as an editing machine, kepthis blades in the box, and over the courseof two months, choreographed anothersweetly brutal recording session for TheDeftones. White Pony, the new album, isan earthy, edgy, eerie, dreamy, breathy,bombastic ride.

Cunningham's contribution is deceptive-ly subtle and nuanced. To the eye, heseemingly plays with too much force andarm movement to pull off the crisp doublestrokes and stickings that mark his fasterrhythms. At any tempo, he's able to coaxseveral voices out of a hi-hat and turn theemotional tide of a song with one simple,well-placed tom stroke. None of it's con-scious, says Cunningham, who insteadchalks it up to musical maturity and a morerelaxed approach in the studio. He's soconsistent with the tape rolling, Date says,that choosing the keeper take is generally amatter of feel rather than bypassing aclunker.

"I don't think I'm a better drummer thanI used to be," Cunningham decides. "ButI'm probably a better musician. I'm hear-

ing things in our music I maybe didn't hearbefore—maybe they weren't even there—but I think I instinctively want to hear dif-ferent things from my drums now. Theymight be very simple things, but puttingthose things in the right places makes such

a big difference. With maturity, you learnthat the little things count."

MD: Were the White Pony sessions typicalof how it generally goes for The Deftonesin the studio?Abe: You saw how productive and unpro-ductive we can be at times, and in someways it was a difficult record to make, evenbefore we went in to record. At first,Stephen, our guitar player, had a differentobjective. He's always been more of themetal guy in the band, and around that timehe'd been listening to Meshuggah andnothing but Meshuggah, and that's the typeof music he wanted to make. We all likethat kind of music, too, but the rest of uswere into taking our music somewhereelse, and it took Stephen a while to come

around to that.MD: That's surprising, becauseStephen's such a big part of yourband's songwriting, and WhitePony is the least "metal" of thethree Deftones records.Abe: Well, we ended up writing alot of songs without his total, directinput. Whereas he and I wouldhash out riffs and do a lot of thewriting before, this time Chino[Moreno, singer] picked up the gui-tar, and he and I screwed aroundwith different things. It kinda hadto be that way because we wererunning out of time and we had tomake this record. But it was funand it worked out really well.

Chino's very rhythmic and he'sgot great ideas. There are things on thisrecord we've never done before, and someof that is because Chino played more of arole in the overall songwriting, beyond hislyrics. And once it came down to reallymaking this record, Stephen was totallyinto it, too.

W

MD: Your beats have always been anunheralded strength of this band, and fewheavy rock drummers use a hi-hat as effec-

tively as you do. Songslike "Change" and"Digital Bath" cometo mind, where asubtle open hi-hatstroke adds somuch texture tothe beat.Abe: The hi-hathas always been abig part of mybeats. I'm not play-ing the most techni-

cally intricate things,but I do try to change

things up and makethem interesting. Stewart

Copeland was the firstdrummer I really got into who

used the hi-hat in these totallyinteresting ways, and he was a big

influence on me during the first couple ofyears I played drums.

Then I got turned on to Manu Katcheand Carter Beauford. They're from differ-ent generations, but all of them were really

creative with the hi-hat and with splashes,too. They showed me how you can be real-ly musical with the hi-hat, but I also likethat you can just rock out and bash awayon it.MD: It sounds like you were more influ-enced by pop and new wave than by rock,at least early on.Abe: In a way, yeah. My mom was reallyinto Elvis Costello and The Police. Mystepdad plays drums and my dad playsbass, so I was always around a variety ofmusic. But The Deftones were my first realband. We all had different bands we wereinto and bands we all liked, but the com-mon ground was that we all skateboarded,and the music around that culture happensto be fast and heavy.

Faith No More, Metallica, DeathAngel—all these Bay Area thrash bandswere so influential on us. My main twohobbies and passions were skateboardingand the drums, both very physical things.MD: How do you think you've grown orevolved as a drummer since the firstDeftones record?

Drumset: Tama Starclassic in custom powder-blue finishA. 5 1/2xl4 hand-hammered bronze snareB. 8x8 tomC. 6 1/2xl4 bell brass snareD. 10x10 tomE. 10x12 tomF. 16x16 floor tomG. 18x20 bass drum

Cymbals: Zildjian1. 14" hi-hats (Z Custom top, Rock bottom)2. 12" K splash3. 19" A Rock crash4. 10" A splash5. 22" A Custom ride6. 20" A medium crash7. 20" Z Custom China

Percussion: LPaa. Jam Block (low)

Hardware: Tama, including their LeverGlide hi-hat stand and Iron Cobra doublepedal (with either wood or plastic beater,medium spring tension on pedals)

Heads: Remo coated Emperor (or Falam) onsnare batters, tuned tight with no muffling;

clear Pinstripes on tops of toms (no muffling) with clearAmbassadors on bottoms; clear Pinstripe on bass drum bat-ter with Ebony Ambassador on front (tuned big and open,with only a small pillow used for slight muffling)

Sticks: Zildjian Rock modelElectronics: Roland V-DrumsMicrophones: Shure

Abe's Kit

Abe: I think there was more of a differencebetween the first and second records thanthere is between the second and third. WithAround The Fur, I tried to simplify moreand be more musical. You read that a lot ininterviews with other drummers, but it'ssomething that I think happens naturallywith age and experience.

On the new record, there are certainsongs that have a simplistic approach, butthere are spots where I also went way outon a limb. There's almost a nervousness tomy playing on some of these tracks, whichis cool, because we wanted to make a veryhuman-sounding record.MD: There's also more variety to yoursounds and textures, beyond using differentsnare drums.Abe: We used a click on two songs thistime, which was pretty interesting. Wewere having some difficulty with the song"Elite" and we were running out of time inthe studio. Stephen already had his guitarpart down the way he wanted it, so I wentback and laid my drum part down to a clickover his guitar. We'd never done it thatway before. Normally we record every-thing live, all at once. But this freed me upand took some of the responsibility off meto nail the perfect take.

"RX Queen" was interesting, too. Thereare three kits on that song. We started withChino sitting at my kit and playing a beaton kick, snare, and those Ribbon Crashers.I was standing up behind him and playinghi-hat on top of that. We didn't even have

the song yet, we were just mess-ing around. But we ended uprecording that groove andlooping it, and that's the pat-tern you hear running throughthe whole song. I went backand played this simple cross-stick thing in the verses, andthen snare and timbale goinginto the choruses. Then onthe chorus, I played my maindrumset on top of everything

else. It sounds more complexthan it really was. The weirdest

thing about the song is the loop,which has this odd upbeat that gives

it this strange feel.Then there's the song "Teenager," which

is just a beat programmed by a friend ofours, Crook. Some drummers might bethreatened by that, but it was a really coolbeat, and looking at the record as a whole,it just added a different dimension andsound. We're still not sure how we'regoing to do it live, but maybe I'll play ontop of the programming, which could comeacross really cool. I also had a set ofRoland V-Drums that I played on a coupleof tracks that didn't make the record, butthey'll end up as B-sides.MD: Tell me about your beat on"Change." It reminds me of somethingDanny Carey would play.Abe: There's a song called "One Week,"from our first record, that has the samekind of hi-hat choke, and that's probablywhere I got it from. But Danny's an amaz-ing drummer, and maybe he was somekind of influence without me beingaware of it.MD: Speaking of Tool, howdid Maynard's involvementwith "Passenger" comeabout?Abe: We'd alwaysadmired him as asinger and as an artist,and we met him whilewe were in LA writ-ing songs for thisrecord. He was inter-ested in what we weredoing and wanted toshow us a differentapproach to writing,which we kinda needed atthe time because we were

feeling the pressure to get the record done.Maynard's very regimented and disci-

plined. When it's time to work, he works,which is very different from the way wework sometimes. I mean, one day we mightrip out three or four songs and be creativeand productive for twelve hours, and thenext we might play the Tony Hawk skate-boarding video game all day. I mean, Ithought that game was going to be thedeath of us.

For better or worse, I think we're kind ofset in our ways, and that works for us. Butwe're always open to trying somethingnew and different. Maynard gave us thatkick when we really needed it, and hebrought something really creative to theprocess. We'd already written the song thathe ended up singing on. But he justgrabbed a microphone while we wererehearsing the song, and he came up withthis totally cool thing. His voice andChino's worked so well together too.MD: Terry Date has produced all threeDeftones records. How important has hebeen to you as a drummer and to the bandas a whole?Abe: He's been amazing, and he's reallyhelped us find our sound. At first we want-ed to find a different producer, just tochange things up and have a different expe-rience. We met with lots of different peo-ple, from major rock producers to a guywho did The Cardigans' record. Wethought about working with a guy who'd

Abe Cunninghamworked with Depeche Mode. It was greattalking to all these people and seeing wherethey might take us.

But during the time we were workingwith Maynard, we were in the lobby of ourhotel one day and in walked Terry. We hadno idea he was staying there, and it turnedout he was there working on a record. Itwas totally cool and we started talking, andhe said he'd love to do another record withus but he also understood where we werecoming from. Basically he said, "If youwant me, I'm here." And just from that,realizing the comfort level we'd felt withhim and how much we've grown with him,it just felt right to work with Terry again.When he gets in the studio in the morning,he's there all day, and we need that kind ofdiscipline. Terry also engineered therecord. He knows my drumming reallywell, and I left a lot up to him in terms ofthe sound.MD: You just got a brand-new set of pow-der-blue Tama Starclassics. Why did youswitch from Orange County Drum &Percussion?

Abe: I've always loved OCDP drums—and I still do. But it just came to a pointwhere we were on the road so much and Ineeded support from a company on aworldwide level. With OCDP, it was diffi-cult to obtain parts when I needed them.MD: Are you doing any particular condi-tioning to gear up for the road again?Abe: I used to ride a bike, but I'm notdoing that much now. I basically do what Icall a jail-cell workout routine—sit-ups,push-ups, chin-ups, that sort of thing. Butthe main thing is just getting in there andplaying. We just put together a song listwith like seven or eight songs off eachrecord—a lot more than we'll actuallyplay—and started rehearsing again. Myhands are dying, my body's dying...butthat's what it takes to build back up.

Percussionist, Inventor, EducatorStory by Stephan Samuel Photos courtesy Martin Cohen/LP Music Croup

R ichie "Gajate" Garcia is one of a select group of musicians who are recognized

as much for their role as a clinician/educator as they are for being a player.s a performer, Garcia has worked

with many of the most respected

artists in music. Just a few of his cred-

its include recording and/or live per-

formances with Phil Collins, Diana

Ross, Art Garfunkel, John Denver, and

Hiroshima, movie soundtracks like

Jungle 2 Jungle and Eraser, and a

great deal of television work.

Despite his hectic schedule, Garcia

manages to find time to develop new

products and instructional videos for

the companies he endorses. (Yes, he's

the guy who invented LP's Gajate

Bracket.) And because of his playing

ability and natural talent for imparting

knowledge, Garcia has become one of

the most in-demand percussion clini-

cians. Yet, Richie's proudest achieve-

ment is probably the fact that he has

always made sure he remained a dedi-

cated family man to his wife, Mary,

and their three children.

Born in New York City and raised

by Puerto Rican grandparents,

Richie's first exposure to music as a

young boy came in the form of Latin

and doo-wop songs. Though he didn't

begin playing an instrument right

away, Richie received his musical edu-

cation through the conga players and

other musicians who would stop by

the house to visit his aunt and uncle. "I

remember being influenced by popular

American music—with a side helping

of Latin songs," he recalls. "There

were always congas, cowbells, and

maracas around my grandparents'

house, with music and dance playing a

big role in our home life."

Ironically, Richie's musical educa-

tion would take an even greater step

when he discovered a family link to

one of the greatest percussion legends

of all time, Armando Peraza. "My

mother married a man who helped

Armando Peraza get established when

he came to the US from Cuba," Garcia

says. "I will never forget learning to

play from Armando as a little boy on

the first pair of LP bongos he gave me,

which I still have today." To this day,

Richie and Armando have remained

close friends, and occasionally they get

the opportunity to perform together.

When Richie turned eight years old,

his entire family moved from New

York to Puerto Rico, where he soaked

up the music on the island and began

playing congas. Due to the fact that his

stepfather was friends with many of

the most popular Latin musicians in

Puerto Rico, there were parties at the

house with musicians jamming around

the clock. "Congas, trumpets, and tim-

bales were constantly around," Richie

fondly recalls. "And because I got to

stay up late to help serve the guests, I

was right in the middle of the music."

A

T R I P L E T H R E A T

y watching and learning from many giftedcongueros and bongoseros in Puerto Rico, as

well as from a neighbor who played drumset, Richiewas exposed to many different kinds of percussion.

ur neighbor, Chony Porrata, playeddrums in a band that was very much into

jazz music and legends like Art Blakey andBuddy Rich. He taught me how to play drum-set and to read music, and he even gave methe key to his rehearsal studio next door." Sodedicated was the young Garcia that hewould often climb the tree in his backyard,jump over the fence, and use Chony's studioto practice. As a result, he continued to honehis chops on different instruments, a skill that

would, years later, shape him into a versatileand popular percussionist/educator.

Soon after, fate would once again play animportant role in steering Richie toward acareer in music, when a friend invited himover to play his new drumset. After Richie satdown behind the kit, the tune "Sherry," byFrankie Valli & The Four Seasons, came onthe radio, and he instinctively played alongwith the song. Little did Richie suspect that,years later, he would land his first steady pro-

fessional touring gig playing drums inFrankie Valli's band.

Though Richie's stepfather taught him howto play congas, he originally intended it to bemore for enjoyment than as an occupation. Ofcourse, like countless other musicians at thetime, Richie's mind was made up as soon ashe heard The Beatles. "I realized that the coolthing was to start playing music," Richierecalls, "which caused all of those prior influ-ences to gel inside of me. By the time I start-ed high school, I had already put together afour-piece band in which I played drumsetand timbales."

Though some would imagine Richie's solemusical exposure in Puerto Rico was Latinmusic, there was still a very strong presenceof American artists for him to enjoy. Becauseof the "Nuyorican connection," wherebymany Puerto Rican people would travel backand forth between New York and Puerto Ricoand bring the music back with them, Richiegot the best of both worlds. He was exposedto American pop and Latin tunes. As a result,he became equally as excited with suchAmerican artists as The Platters, RickyNelson, The Four Tops, and Paul Anka as hedid with the Latin bands. The fact that manyof the high school dances in Puerto Rico fea-tured live bands also contributed to Richie'slove affair with music and dance. Not surpris-ingly, Richie's band enjoyed a great deal ofsuccess and respect from their peers, and fur-ther gave the drummer a taste of what it waslike to be in a gigging band.

By Richie's senior year in high school, hisstepfather encouraged him to start thinkingabout a career with more financial security."Years before he became president of aninsurance company, my stepfather dabbled inmusic, having played with Xavier Cougat[famed Latin bandleader of the 1940s],"Richie says. "He knew how uncertain themusic business could be, and he didn't wantto see me go through that."

Throughout Richie's upbringing, his step-father made sure to impart a strong workethic upon him, teaching him responsibilityand organization. Though Richie performedin live bands during his teen years, he alwayshad a "proper job" working as a courier andoffice assistant. Although these vocationswere intended to prepare him for a career out-side of the music business, they actuallytaught him skill sets and ethics that wouldlater help him to have success and longevityas a professional musician.

B

O

A percussive summit: Giovanni Hidalgo, Richie Garcia, and Armando Peraza

Things began to change as soon as Richiewas sent to live with relatives in Springfield,Illinois. His stepfather had hoped that hewould work for an insurance company andattend college in the United States, but fatewould not have it turn out that way. Richiefelt a sense of isolation in Springfield, sincehe was still perfecting his English and therewere not many Latinos in the area.

"I realize I ve been

fortunate to work with

some of the most

respected names in

the music business.

But it s also been very

satisfying to share my

knowledge of percus-

sion through my

teaching and clinics."

The situation improved when Richiewalked into the music department atSpringfield College, where he was enrolled,and began playing with the other musicians.As the only person who could authenticallyplay congas, bongos, and timbales, Richieinstantly found a niche for himself in theschool's stage band. Soon after, he officiallychanged his major to music education, andtook classes such as piano, music theory, tim-pani, and voice to fulfill the requirementsneeded to earn a degree.

With his chart-reading ability steadilyimproving, Richie played as many differentgigs as possible. These included a stint ashouse percussionist with The MetropolitanOpera in Springfield, as well as some rock,contemporary, and even country & westerngigs. He also traveled with the college bandand choir, where he got a taste of touring for

Richie Garciathe first time. Upon graduating fromSpringfield College, Richie furthered hisstudies by enrolling in Chicago's AmericanConservatory of Music, where he studiedsnare drum, vibes, marimba, orchestra bells,and other classical percussion. He soon beganplaying percussion in productions likePromises Promises and Three Penny Operaat the famed Shubert Theater, which waslocated in the same building as theConservatory.

Garcia began to make such a name for him-self that one of the percussion departmentchairmen asked him to develop and teach aLatin percussion curriculum at the conservato-ry. Though Richie had never formally taughtbefore, he created his own system of teachingthat used symbols to represent sounds, makingit easier for students to learn. By the time hegraduated from the conservatory, he had fif-teen private students and taught three classes.He continued teaching at the school and gig-ging around Chicago. Richie also secured asteady gig playing The Blue Max showroomin Chicago's Hyatt Regency O'Hare hotel,where he played his first "big name" gigs withstars like Barbara "I Dream Of Jeannie" Edenand Bobby Sands.

Richie with the pedal-operated cowbellbracket that bears his name

Richie GarciaOne night, unbeknownst to Richie, the

horn players from Frankie Valli's band werein the audience at the Hyatt. They were soimpressed with Richie's performance thatthey asked him to play a few of Frankie'sshows with them. "At that time, I didn't evenown a set of congas of my own," Richieadmits. My stage gear was on loan from theConservatory. I went into one of the largedrum shops in Chicago and told them mydilemma, and they lent me the gear."

After playing a few of Frankie Valli'sshows in Chicago, Richie expected to go backto teaching at the Conservatory. But hereceived a call a few months later fromFrankie's organization, asking him to perma-nently join the band. Most people would havejumped at this big break. But Richie turned itdown because he wanted to fulfill the teach-ing commitment he made to the Conservatorythrough the end of the semester. Fortunately,this professional attitude paid off, as Frankieagreed to wait a few months until Richie wasable to join the band.

During his five years with Frankie Valli(during the singer's very successful Greaseperiod), Richie performed all over the globe.The inventor in him soon came out, when he

built his first Gajate Bracket, a device thatallowed him to attach a pedal to a percussioninstrument like a cowbell. (LP mass-producesthe bracket today.) By using the bracket, hewas able to incorporate left-foot bell patternsinto his kit and percussion work.

Richie later moved on to a gig with TonyOrlando during the singer's heyday. "One ofmy friends, who played in Tony's band,asked me to play timbales with them for afew weeks," Richie recalls. "Shortly after,Tony's percussionist decided to leave theband, and I was asked to be the full-time per-cussionist." Then Tony's drummer quit, leav-ing the drumset playing to Richie too.Orlando liked Richie's groove so much thathe made him the band's drummer/percussion-ist, a position that would last eight years andprovide Richie with a steady salary andemployment security.

Richie eventually grew tired of life on theroad. He left Orlando's band in 1988, estab-lishing himself as a player on the local LAscene. He also began teaching at Musician'sInstitute (MI) in Los Angeles, where heremained for ten years. During this time, LPfounder and chairman Martin Cohen droppedby unannounced to see one of Richie's class-

es. Cohen was so impressed that he askedRichie to be LP's official educator/clinician.

In response to the favorable feedbackGarcia received from his clinics, heworked with LP to create two percussioninstructional videos. Today, Adventures InRhythm Volumes I & 2 are considered bymany to be the best of their kind. Richiealso began working with important artistslike Diana Ross and John Denver, all thewhile maintaining his dedication to educa-tion and clinics.

Today, Richie's plate is extremely full. Hestill works closely with his endorsing compa-nies, LP, Sabian, DW, and Vater, developingnew and innovative products. He's also a mem-ber of Phil Collins' touring band, having per-formed around the world on the Tarzan moviepromotional tour and during Collins' SuperBowl half-time appearance earlier this year.

Looking back on his career, Richie takesnothing for granted and is thankful for all thathas happened to him along the way. "I realizeI've been fortunate to work with some of themost respected names in the music business.But it's also been so satisfying to share myknowledge of percussion through my teach-ing and clinics."

his month's Drum Soloist features the slammin' playing of Tool great DannyCarey. "Forty Six & 2" is from the band's mega-sucessful AEnima release, and

it's a solid showcase for Carey's abilities.Danny sounds very comfortable in the chugging 7/4 odd meter of this tune. The

twelve-bar solo (also in 7) reveals his fast hands, syncopated ideas, and precisedouble-bass work. It's a tour de force by one of the best drummers in rock.

Danny Carey: "Forty Six & 2"

Transcribed by Damon Weber

T

The "Third Hand" Concept Part 2

n Part 1 of this series (July 2000), wediscussed some basic ways to add single

bass drum notes to common rhythms inorder to add a new texture to your drum fills.Much of that approach was based on devel-oping the ability to "fill the holes" in basic

hand patterns to give them a new sound. We concentrated primari-ly on filling single 16th notes with the bass drum, like so:

We talked about how this technique effectively gives you a "third

hand" when playing fills. Mastering this technique adds varietyand interest to fills and solos for drummers of all levels.

This month we'll explore and develop double strokes on thebass drum and incorporate them into a few basic rhythms. Now,doubles require a technique that can be practiced for years, andthere are countless ways to develop playing strong, distinct doublestrokes on the bass drum. This article is not intended to developthe double-stroke technique, but rather to suggest musical ways toincorporate it.

The double stroke needs to have two separate strokes of distinct,consistent volume and attack. It's common among drummers toplay the first stroke stronger than the second. This is a trap thatyou should try to avoid.

As in the first part of this series, the flow of 16th notes must not be disturbed. Remember, you're thinking of the bass drum asyour third hand. Play these basic permutations slowly and consistently, and build up the speed over time.

by Ted Bonar & Ed Breckenfeld

I

U s i n g Y o u r B a s s D r u m To S p i c e Up FilIs

Mastering the previous exercises will help to develop a smooth transition from your hands to your bass drum. As in Part 1, utilizing ametronome can be invaluable, and you can play your hi-hat foot on all four quarter notes for an extra challenge.

Now let's look at a few practical applications of the previous ideas.

Elvin Jones Style & Analysis

by John Riley

lvin! Few musicians create such a strongimpression that we recognize them by

their first name alone. But ever since theearly 1960s, "Elvin" is all you've needed tosay to conjure up images of intense sonicalchemy.

Mr. Jones was born (in 1927) and raised in Pontiac, Michigan andwas the youngest son of a minister. Two of his older brothers, pianistHank and cornetist Thad, made their own significant marks on themusic world and helped young Elvin get started on the right track.Though Elvin was playing with fine musicians in the Detroit area inhis late teens and twenties, he didn't make national waves until hejoined John Coltrane's band in 1960 at the age of thirty-three.

Elvin has a very unusual sound and approach to playing thedrums, of which he states clearly, "I think of the drumset as oneinstrument, not a collection of instruments, and I take that singleidea as the basis for my whole approach to the drums."

Early in his career, many musicians found Elvin's style con-founding. They were not accustomed to having the time volleyedabout the kit. Rather, they wanted to hear more consistent and rep-etitious rhythms on the ride cymbal, snare drum, bass drum, andhi-hat.

One musician observed that when he was playing with Elvin hefelt like he was riding in a train that was going in one direction

while sitting on top of another train going in the opposite direction!Every time I've had the opportunity to play opposite a master like

Buddy, Tony, Jack, Peter, Dennis, Vinnie, and so many more, I'vebeen inspired to play the best music that I was capable of. That beingsaid, one night at the Bottom Line, when I played with RandyBrecker opposite The Elvin Jones Jazz Machine, is especially notablein my mind. We opened the first set, with Elvin's band following, andthey were on fire. After the intermission, we opened up again, butwhen I started to play, Elvin was playing me. I was not trying tosound like Elvin, but Elvin's spirit had taken over my interpretationof the music. His power, grace, ideas, and groove became the drum-ming accompanying Randy Brecker. I can't explain what happenedor why it happened, but for that one set I was just inspired, subcon-sciously, in a way that I've never felt since.

Elvin, through the deployment of his "one instrument" concept,de-emphasizes the traditional driving cymbal beat and hi-hat asmarkers of the pulse. This approach generates a rounder, morelegato, yet still driving groove by spreading the time out aroundthe entire kit. At one point the cymbal is the lead voice, at anotherit's the hi-hat, an instant later the bass drum and snare drum areprominent. Additionally, Elvin was the first drummer to compwhile using vocabulary consistently stressing the middle note ofthe triplet. This creates the illusion of rhythmic elasticity, therebygenerating the feeling of being on the "wrong train."

Here are some ideas to explore from the world of Mr. Jones.Traditional ride cymbal phrasing:

E

P a r t 1: C o m p i n g

Elvin's ride cymbal phrasing:

While playing the hi-hat on 2 and 4 and keeping a consistent ride pattern, practice the following comping ideas (which stress the mid-dle triplet note) as both one-measure and four-measure phrases. A good tempo to start at is quarter note = 60.

Elvin varies his touch on the snare drum by doubling or buzzing the middle triplet note. Practice the following ideas as one-bar phras-es, then combine them into a four-bar phrase. Make sure that your snare drum phrasing is accurate; don't play the doubled middle tripletnote as the "e-&" of straight 16th notes.

Here's the same idea in a three-beat cycle:

Elvin maximizes his "one instrument" concept by completely integrating his hi-hat into the comping scheme. By playing the bassdrum or hi-hat on the middle note of the triplet, he generates more variety, which results in an even more "topsy-turvy" feel. Play the hi-hat as written.

Elvin creates long phrases by incorporating mixed three-beat motives, as in the following example. Be careful to keep your ride pat-tern steady.

The ideas above represent "concentrated" excerpts of Elvin-like phrases. After you're comfortable with them and have workedthrough their intrinsic coordination obstacles, experiment with allowing your ride cymbal pattern to accommodate—i.e., follow—theflow of the other three limbs. This looser ride approach will help complete the "one instrument" vibe.

To have a better understanding of Elvin's intense approach, one must see him perform live. If that isn't possible, check out his videoDifferent Drummer. Listen to the 1960s John Coltrane CDs such as Coltrane Plays The Blues and Crescent, or McCoy Tyner's The RealMcCoy. The recent CDs by Joe Lovano (Trio Fascination) and Michael Brecker (Time Is Of The Essence) are also great and show thatElvin, at over seventy years old, is still playing with fire! My book, Beyond Bop Drumming, includes related information.

Elvin Jones is one of the all-time masters and truly one of a kind. Every serious player, regardless of style, can learn from and shouldhave knowledge of Elvin's contributions to music. Next time we'll explore his unique and passionate solo approach.

John Riley's career includes work with such artists as John Scofield, Mike Stern, Woody Herman, and Stan Getz. He has also written twocritically acclaimed books, The Art Of Bop Drumming and Beyond Bop Drumming, published by Manhattan Music.

The Flam Accent Chainby Chet Doboe

oo often, when we drummers think of any specific drum rudi-ment, our concept is very literal and specific, many times

exactly how our "drumming ancestors" defined them. The realexcitement of drum rudiments is when we have "no boundaries."The concept of exploring the possibilities—the "how lo's" ofbreathing musical life into rudiments—represents a great way tobuild new ideas and to expand our technical abilities.

A chain is a means in which we can state a theme, in this casethe flam accent, and, based on a thread of "linking criteria," buildvariations.

2. Use the "theme" measure as a point of reference. Start by play-ing the flam accent theme four times, followed by four repetitionsof variation 1. Then repeat this process of playing four bars of thetheme and then four bars of the next variation, and so on, until youcomplete the entire exercise.3. Play the chain as written, from top to bottom.4. Perform each chain at a variety of tempos.

This first chain explores the possibilities of expressing the flam accent rudiment in a variety of rhythms. Note that the stickingremains the same as each variation presents a different twist on the traditional flam accent rhythm.

Flam Accent Chain #1

T

Here are some helpful tips for getting each of the followingthree chains happening:1. Work out each bar separately. Make sure that you can play eachfigure accurately. Counting is essential.

How To Use The Chains

To get started, let's remind ourselves what a flam accent is:

Flam Accent Chain #2The ideas in this second chain are linked by building 16th notes off of the various 8ths within the flam accent.

Theme

Flam Accent Chain #3I've included this flam accent chain to demonstrate the "no boundaries" side of developing chains. Here, inspired by the theme, I've

chosen to add a fourth note to each flam accent variation. So the common ground for all the variations here is a flammed, four-note fig-ure taking place in the space of a "triple based" flam accent.

Theme

Try creating your own flam accent chains. There are many possibilities. Be creative, and "let there be no boundaries."

rummer/composer/bandleader GerryHemingway has nearly one hundredrecordings to his credit. He's toured

and/or recorded with masters such as LeoSmith, Kenny Wheeler, Derek Bailey,Oliver Lake, Georg Graewe, ErnstReijseger, and Ivo Perelman. Between1983 and 1995, alongside pianist MarylinCrispell and bassist Reggie Workman, hewas a member of famed saxophonistAnthony Braxton's celebrated quartet. AndBassDrumBone, Hemingway's ground-breaking trio with trombonist RayAnderson and bassist Mark Helias, hasworked together for twenty-two years.

Watching Hemingway play is often akinto watching a painter paint. He works withtexture and shade to bring out the nuancesin the music. Using sticks, brushes, mal-lets, and even his hands, Gerry coaxes sub-tleties from his instruments. To furtherenhance the sound, he'll play woodblocks,

small cymbals, or pieces of metal placedon top of his drums and cymbals to createnew sonorities. A length of plastic tubinginserted in a drum's air hole allows him tochange the pitch of the drum by blowinginto it.

Although Hemingway resides in NewJersey, the bulk of his touring activitieshave been in Europe. But lately he's beenmore active back home in the States. "I'vedone two lovely tours here recently," Gerrysays. "One was with [saxophonist] JohnButcher, and the other was with [synthe-sist] Thomas Lehn, who I have a bit of atrack record with. We've just released adouble CD [Tom & Gerry] on ErstwhileRecords. It's very representative of somework we did a few years ago.

"So Tom and I went back out and dideleven gigs in a row," Gerry continues. "Itwas an intense schedule of driving, but wereally got into it. There was a little more

intensity than the previous European tour.Tom's playing is quite special. He's ananalog synthesist based in Cologne,Germany. He uses an English Synthi,which is sort of a version of the old MiniMoog. It's a very cool little box with amodular patch bay."

The other duo, with British sax playerJohn Butcher, again covers a wide range ofsounds in an improvisational context. "Hehas a very strong repertoire of extendedtechniques on his instrument—an incredi-ble player," Gerry says. "We'd known eachother for a long time but hadn't workedtogether. He called me ostensively lookingfor help lining up a solo tour. I told him I'dhelp on one condition: that we do it togeth-er. So I ended up doing these two back-to-back tours in America, and it worked outwell. I got a lot from it. It felt like eachnight we were digging deeper and deeper."

Concurrent with his active performing

Dby Michael Bettine

schedule has been Hemingway's career asa composer. This has included writing forthe various groups he plays in, as well asworks for both chamber and symphonicgroups. As a composer, he has receivedgrants/commissions from the HollandFestival and NPS radio of the Netherlands,Arcadian Arts, and the Parabola ArtsFoundation. He's also received fellowshipsfrom the National Endowment for the Artsand the New York Foundation on the Arts.And most recently, he's earned his mostprestigious award: "The biggest news isI 've been selected for a GuggenheimFoundation grant," Gerry says, proudly."It's a prestigious grant that supplies mewith about half a year's income to spendthe time composing.

"The piece I'll be composing is fororchestra and three improvisers," Gerryexplains. "The improvisers in this case arepianist Georg Graewe, cellist ErnstReijseger, and me. The composition shouldbe finished around May, 2001. I'm alreadystarting to look for possibilities of getting itperformed. So that's the biggest piece onmy agenda. It will be dominating a lot ofmy time.

"I've composed one piece for orchestrabefore, a commission for the Kansas CitySymphony for myself and orchestra. Thatpiece, Terrains,' has been recorded twicenow, the second of which I'm fairlypleased with. It's not an easy thing to getan orchestral piece released. The GermanKolner Rundfunk Orchestra recorded thesecond one, the revision of the "FirstConcerto." It came out very well.

"For 'Terrains' I was the concertosoloist, and my part was sort of impro-vised—organized improvisation. I had spe-cific things I knew I'd do, but it wasn't aset, written-out part. And I used electronicsthat were put together specifically for thepiece—a sampler with the drumset. It wasa very nice piece. It was my first piece fororchestra, and I expect the second one to beperhaps a little more fluid and mature interms of orchestral writing. Writing for anorchestra is like writing for a yacht afteryou've written for a speedboat. It's a muchmore cumbersome thing to move around,but a far grander and more expansive vehi-cle. The possibilities are quite rich."

So how does a drummer become anorchestral composer? "My composingcareer and my drumming career are con-

current," Gerry says. "They were alwaysinterlocked. As long as I've been drum-ming professionally, I've been writingmusic. I started writing when I was aboutseventeen. So it's not like a drummer try-ing to write pieces—I'm a composer and adrummer.

"Frankly, the composing is where thereal developmental work goes on," Gerryadmits. "That's where I'm working outnew ideas and concepts and developingdifferent approaches, ideas that tend to fil-ter back into my drumming. I get a sense ofwhere I'm going with technique, ideas, andcontent mostly through my composingprocess. The pieces I'm working on arewhat drive me to develop new material forthe instrument. And then again, when play-ing drums, things come up as they do whenI'm improvising. Those sometimes feed thecomposing process. So it's a two-way

operation."With free improvisation," Gerry contin-

ues, "the first couple of gigs tend to beeasy. It's after that that the hard workbegins. It's not necessarily hard coming upwith something new every night.Developing something that pushes youbeyond the available resources is the chal-lenge. Somehow that becomes part of theprocess. And there's some stumbling andfailures with the hard work to make itcome together. Ultimately, the rewards aregreat when things begin to change into newareas that surprise the players.

"As a composer and as a performer play-ing composed music," Hemingway elabo-rates, "this experience of working inimprovised music becomes invaluable.Speaking as a composer, improvisation hasgiven me an understanding of the relation-ship to an intuitive process that is more or

The Drum Also RisesDrumset: a combination of '60svintage drums

A. 5x14 Ludwig Aerolite(aluminum) snare

B. 8x12 Ludwig tomC. 14x14 Gretsch floor tomD. 14x20 Ludwig bass drum

Cymbals: Istanbul1. 14" hi-hats2. 18" crash3. 20" ride

Other: various small cymbals,woodblocks, and found objectsplaced on top of the drums and cym-bals

Electronics: KAT (Alternate Mode)controller pad, Roland S760 sampler("It's now antiquated, but it worksfor me.")

less my path as a composer. I'm not a sys-temized composer with predictable ele-ments. I tend to work in an intuitive way. Imore or less compose what I hear, and themore I work in the improvised domain, it'sexpansive to my ability to hear more thingsas a writer. And both of these feed my skillas an interpreter of composed music.

"When I approach someone else's com-position," Gerry continues, "I'm oftenbringing to it a sense of orchestration. I cansuggest things with my drumming or helpthings in a particular way that is how I lookat things. So if there is some open-endedimprovisation in a piece, I might tend toshape that in terms of various options. As aplayer I may think in an orchestrated wayabout how I might be able to bring out thebest in the composed material. That's justthe way I think, and I see it filtering intovarious projects I do. And I often workwith people who are like-minded in thisregard."

Another random aspect of the creativeprocess that Gerry deals with is the equip-ment he uses on tour. By economic neces-sity, he travels with only his cymbals and abag of small percussion. Drumsets are ofthe rental variety and vary in type andquality at every gig. "I'm not an equip-ment-aholic," Gerry says. "It's almostcomical what I have to deal with.

"But touring in America lately hasallowed me to perform on my own instru-ments," Gerry enthuses. "My set is a com-bination of old '60s Ludwig and Gretsch

"With free improvisation, the first couple of gigs tendto be easy. It's after that that the hard work begins."

drums. The hardware is pathetic and light-weight, but it works. I've played the samebass drum since I was a kid—it was frommy first drumset. My equipment is prettyold and beat up, basically. It's not a matterof laziness that I haven't gone out andbought something shiny and sparkley. Ifind that the more you play an instrument,the more it becomes a part of you and

begins to sound as you envision it to sound."A drumkit isn't a Stradivarius by a long

shot; they're just plywood, but they do takeon a sound. Everyone thinks it's the wood,the skin, or the rims, but it's everything. Thewhole thing hangs together in a certain waythat produces a certain sound. I'm also notfussy about drumsticks being snappy andnew. In fact, I kind of like them beat-up."

Gerry Hemingway

erry has appeared on nearly one hundred recordings. Here are just a few thathe feels best represent his playing. Many of these are imports, available from

Cadence (www.cadence.com) or Tower Records (towerrecords.com).

Waltzes, Two-Steps 1999& Other Matters Of The Heart

Johnny's Corner Song 1998Perfect World 1996The Marmalade King 1995Slamadam 1995

BassDrumBoneCooked To PerfectionHence The Reason

19991997

Graewe/Reijseger/HemingwaySaturn CycleFlex 27The View From Points West

199619951994

Identity—Wintsch/Hemingway/Oester 1999Thirteen Ways—Hersch/Moore/Hemingway 1997Tom & Gerry—Lehn/Hemingway 2000The Flume Factor—Frank Gratkowski Trio 1998

19961996

Acoustic Solo Works (1983-94)Electro-Acoustic Solo Works (1984-95)

GM Recordings

AuricleRandom AcousticsHat ArtRandom Acoustics

AuricleENJA

Music & ArtsRandom AcousticsMusic & Arts

LeoGM RecordingsErstwhileRandom Acoustics

Random AcousticsRandom Acoustics

Chamber WorksCompositions

1999 Tzadik

Hemingway On Record

Hemingway Quartet/Quintet

Others

Solo Drumming

G

Hemingway has a refreshing approach tothe rental kits he plays night after night. "Isometimes get very nice drumsets that Ithink sound quite a bit better than my ownin certain ways," Gerry explains. "Andthey sort of please me as a player in waysmy own don't. The first thing I do is justplay the floor tom with my fingers—justtap it. I listen to it for quite a while, and Idon't tune it at all. I listen to what it says tome, so that I don't necessarily demand theinstrument to become something it isn't."

What about tuning concepts for thesedifferent kits? "I have a standard range Ilike drums to be tuned in. I tend to go low,to give the instrument as much earth aspossible. So I'm looking for the bass drumto speak as low as it's going to go.Sometimes I'll find that the bass drum I'mprovided with is stuffed full with pillows.If I feel that pulling out all the stuffing andletting it ring is a good idea, I might go forit. But often I don't. I'll leave it stuffedbecause that seems to be what it's about.And I work with that sound even thoughit's quite a bit different from my normalsound.

"Sometimes I get instruments that arepretty much geared for the rock vein, and Ijust use them as is. I actually enjoy thevariety of things those instruments allowme to do that are different from what I nor-mally do. They'll inspire me to try differ-ent directions, or they'll allow for differentarticulations. On a kit like that, parts of myplaying become amplified and other partsbecome more subdued. It's a matter offinding a relationship with it and making itwork."

Since cymbals are one of the few things

that Hemingway carries, he must havestrong opinions about what he uses. "At themoment I'm playing all Istanbul cymbals,"he says. "I have a 20" ride that I boughtfrom a Turkish gentleman l iv ing inAmsterdam in 1985. At the time, I wasplaying a 20" K Zildjian that I had boughtas a kid, along with an 18" A from myoriginal drumset. I also had a pair of PaisteFormula 602 hi-hats that were magnificent,until they finally broke on a session forKlaus Konig.

"When I bought the 20" Istanbul," Gerrycontinues, "I also bought a pair of Istanbulhi-hats. This was before anybody knewabout Istanbul cymbals. I gave this guysome money, as he was going back andforth between Turkey and Amsterdam buy-ing cymbals for various players. He founda very early Istanbul 20" and these reallynice hi-hats. Years later I was in Istanbullooking for an 18" crash to replace the A,and I found one that worked well with the20". I think the alloy that Istanbul usesretains a few of the mysterious qualities ofthe old Ks—the darkness, the directness.But they also have a wider and more versa-tile set of harmonics."

So coming full circle from drummingand improvising, Hemingway now findshimself immersed in composing. "Thisorchestra piece will dominate a lot of mytime in the coming year and take me out ofthe performing loop for a while. The othermain composing project that's coming upis for Between The Lines, a German com-pany. They offered to do a recording withno touring requirements attached to it.There's a budget to do a recording and giveit to them as a final product."

Hemingway says this project hasinspired him to take a leap in a new direc-tion. "I decided to take a chance and workin an area I've been thinking about for awhile," he explains, "which is vocal music.At first I conceived the project as a sort ofsextet—two vocalists, violin, cello, electricbass, and me playing acoustic and electron-ic percussion. Now I'm envisioning moremusicians being involved. But the mainissue is that I'm going to be writing songs.They'll be more akin to popular traditionsthese days.

"I've been particularly inspired in thisdirection by [singer/songwriter] AniDiFranco. I think she's absolutely incredi-ble. If I had more of a budget, I'd try topersuade her to produce the record. Butthat's probably beyond my financialmeans. I do plan to contact her along theway, because I think she's a fabulous musi-cian, singer, songwriter, guitarist, andartist. I'm also particularly moved by thecontent of her work. It's more or less thearea I'm interested in writing about,because I'll be writing both the music andthe lyrics."

Even with his hands full with compos-ing, it's likely that Gerry Hemingwaywon't be able to stay away from perform-ing for too long. He's more apt to go out ona short tour here and there, keeping hismind wide open for new ideas and inspira-tion. You can keep up with Gerry's activi-ties by checking out his Web site (which hemaintains himself) at: userweb.interac-tive. net/~gerryhem.

Gerry Hemingway

R E C O R D I N G S

Jeff Buckley Mystery White Boy: Live '95-'96Matt Johnson (dr), Jeff Buckley (vcl. gtr). Michael Tighe (gtr), Mick Grondahl (bs)

The late Jeff Buckley had an uncanny ability to translate the mostraucous sounds into something meaningful. Culled from variousinternational gigs spanning three tours, this seamless collection oforiginals and covers captures a glimpse of his band's rare energy.Navigating the churning musical currents with a balance of poise andfervor is drummer Matt Johnson. His great range allows him to playsoft sweeping beats, as in "Lilac Wine," and rock out for a punked-up version of "Eternal Life," which features burning foot work that

borders on funk metal. Likewise, Johnson's ferocious improv attack towards the hellish endof Alex Chilton's "Kanga Roo" simply smokes. Though many of these avant-rock tuneswere written in the early and mid '90s, they remain on the cutting edge. (Columbia]

Will Romano

Pantera Reinventing The SteelVinnie Paul (dr), Philip Anselmo (vcl), Dimebag Darrell (gtr), Rex Brown (bs)

An extreme disc full ofpositively devastatingdrumming, Steel is analbum that I'll reach forwhen I want my metalappetite sated. VinniePaul's double-bass, meter-shifting drum attack is relentless, the epito-me of what one looks for in aggressivemusic. Although metal is Paul's game, hisdrumming prowess stands on a par withCobham or Bozzio at their blasting best, andhe easily surpasses most other metal drum-mers of recent memory when it comes toforce, dexterity, and sheer ridiculously largedouble bass chops. For the non-metal fan,the most difficult aspect of this album willbe getting past the equally brutal vocal deliv-ery. For the chops or muscular drummingfan, this is a must-have. It's flawlesslyrecorded, too—you can hear every jaw-drop-ping 64th note. (East West/Elektra)

Ted Bonar

D'Angelo VoodooAhmir Thompson, D'Angelo (dr), Giovanni Hidalgo (perc),Pino Palladino (bs), Mike Campbell, C. Edward Alford, Rafael Saadiq,Charlie Hunter (gtr), Roy Hargrove (trp). James Poyser (kybd)

Voodoo is an R&Badventure in floatingtime. Ahmir "?uestlove"Thompson is in no hurry,giving each note its fullvalue—and sometimes alittle extra. Thompson'sgot some other stuff goin' on too. He co-wrote "Greatdayndamornin'," featuring dou-ble rimshots that are commanding yet

perched way back on the beat. And "Africa"displays some of his most nimble stickwork.There's also a certain amount of program-ming here, making it difficult to tell whetherD'Angelo himself has snuck behind the kitor it's a DJ Premier sample. The Prince pro-tege is credited with "all other instruments"on several tracks, so it may well be his loosehi-hat triplets and slightly sloppy cross-stick/handclap hybrid on the Curtis Mayfieldnod, "The Line." Regardless, this is somehip stuff. (Virgin)

Robin Tolleson

Gregg Bissonette SubmarineGregg Bissonette (dr, perc, vcl, trp), Man Bissonette (bs, tbn, pno),Doug Bossi, Robben Ford, Frank Gambale, Gary Hoey, Richie Kotzen. MichaelLandau, Tim Pierce, Joe Satriani, Steve Stevens, Steve Vai (gtr), David Garfield(pno, org)

Gregg Bissonette's sec-ond solo CD is a greatexample of just how ver-satile a musician he is.Featuring a smorgasbordof styles, from funk, hardrock, Cuban, and jazz topop, fusion, and Texas shuffle, each of theeleven new tunes also showcases a differentworld-class guitarist. Exciting drum solosdot most of the songs, each one fitting seam-lessly into the compositions. Gregg singslead on three cuts, plays trumpet, shows offhis new tabla chops, and plays percussion onall the tunes (which were written by Gregg'sbrother Matt). And happily, because of thesongs' great melodies and the performers'musicianship, this is not just an album fordrummers. (Favored Nations, tel: [818] 528-2580, fax: [818] 528-2684. [email protected], www.favorednations.com)

Andrea Byrd

M A K I N G P R O G R E S S

King Crimson ConstruKCtion Of LightPat Mastelotto (dr), Robert Fripp (gtr), Adrian Belew(gtr, vcl), Trey Gunn (touch gtr)

King Crimson contin-ues to explore newand creative territorywith yet another line-up. Bassist Tony Levinis gone. So is drum-mer Bill Bruford, leaving Pat Mastelotto themonumental task of filling the gap left byone of progressive rock's most advancedplayers. Bruford's influence certainly is evi-dent in Mastelotto's choice of rhythmicideas throughout. But Mastelotto's soundsare all his own, and his ability to createintriguing yet grooving drum parts for thiscomplex material is to be commended. Mr.Bruford has left Crimson in some prettycapable hands. (Virgin)

Platypus Ice CyclesRod Morgenstein (dr), Derek Sherinian (kybd).Ty Tabor (vcl, gtr), John Myung (bs)

A gathering of progressive all-stars, IceCycles features strong melodic vocals fromKing's X's Ty Tabor along with John Myung(Dream Theater), Derek Sherinian (PlanetX), and Rod Morgenstein (Dixie Dregs /Jazz Is Dead). Morgenstein displays a per-fect blend of progressive chops andpop/rock sensibility here. When it's time tocut loose—as on "25"—Rod unleashes hisarsenal of odd-meter patterns with a seri-ous rock attitude. This group could easilycross over to the pop/rock market if corpo-rate ears were willing to listen. (Inside Out MusicAmerica/www.insideoutmusic.com)

The Trey Gunn BandThe Joy Of MolybdenumBob Muller (dr, perc), Trey Gunn, Tony Geballe (gtr)

This instrumental trio featuring KingCrimson's Trey Gunn is an eclectic blendof world, ambient, industrial, rock, andCrimson-style music. Bob Muller providesan interesting backdrop of sounds and tex-tures using drumset and percussion,adding a beautiful organic edge to a land-scape of sounds. This release would beespecially appealing to fans of the KingCrimson double trio. (Discipline GlobalMobile / www.disciplineglobalmobile.com)

Mike Haid

Pink Floyd Is There AnybodyOut There? The Wall Live 1980-81Nick Mason, Willie Wilson (dr), Roger Waters (bs, gtr. vcl), DavidGilmour (gtr, vcl), Richard Wright (kybd, vcl), Snowy White. Andy Roberts (gtr).Peter Woods, Andy Bown (bs)

This live recording ofFloyd's classic conceptalbum has all the excit-ing edge one expectsfrom a concert perfor-mance. These showswere a massive undertaking, involving anopening surrogate band and the construc-tion of a literal wall on stage. Given thistheatricality, the drumming here fills twocrucial functions to a greater extent than inmany other situations. First, it provides asolid foundation, as on "Another Brick InThe Wall Pt. 2" and "Run Like Hell."Second, it fills the music with drama, withbooming tom fills vital to "Happiest DaysOf Our Lives" and "In The Flesh."Although it's not always clear how thedrum parts are divided, the power andvalidity of these performances should notbe missed. (Columbia)

Martin Patmos

Bon Jovi CrushTico Torres (dr), Jon Bon Jovi (vcl), Richie Sambora (gtr), David Bryan (kybd)

Crush opens with tech-no-industrial strains, anannouncement that BonJovi has joined the 21stcentury. Not a badmove, really, since theband's last studio discwas 1995's These Days. Old fans, relax:This is no departure from the tried-and-trueJovi sound. Guitars still squeal, ballads stillplead, and tuneful pop songwriting stillabounds. Drummer Tico Torres is a no-frills, few-fills rocker, but he picks hisspots. A double-time beat gives motion tothe "Hey Jude"-like coda of "The Next 100Years," and China punches animate thebridge to "Say It Isn't So." Unfortunately,Tico's sounds are overproduced. The snareexploding from your speakers is to anunmiked drum what a booming Hollywoodgunshot is to the dry pop of a real gun. Tothose who know the real thing, it's a bitmuch. (Island)

Michael Parillo

Louis Hayes QuintetQuintessential LouLouis Hayes (dr), Abraham Burton (tn sx), Riley Mullins (trp),Dave Hazeltine (pno), Santi Debriano (bs)

Hayes made a name with the big jazzers asa teen. Now, at sixty-three, he's still sport-ing that urgent, exciting, hard swing. The

supportive stickman isbest known for his exten-sive discography as asideman and long stintswith Horace Silver, OscarPeterson, and CannonballAdderley. Yet when jazzfans talk of the great drummer/bandleaders,they too often overlook Hayes' role asleader of several great units through thedecades, including superb groups he co-ledwith Woody Shaw and Junior Cook.Hayes' latest outfit is another fine, aggres-sive straight-ahead group. The CD has alively, "let-the-tape-roll" energy, andHayes is absolutely poppin'. And watchout for that cymbal ride to die for. (TCB)

Jeff Potter

John Patitucci ImprintHoracio "El Negro" Hernandez, Jack DeJohnette (dr).Giovanni Hidalgo (perc), John Patitucci (bs), Danilo Perez, JohnBeasley (pno), Chris Potter, Mark Turner (sx)

The word "monster" cer-tainly fits when dis-cussing John Patitucci,and the bassist has enlist-ed percussionists of equalcalibre to back him here."El Negro" and Gio bubble along with aspecial passion. Hernandez shows a lightyet pointed and aggressive touch on thetitle track, triple-timing the loping groovebefore it's done, toying with the meter asHidalgo chops gleefully. On "King Kong"Horacio builds to a thundering crescendoover Giovanni's insistent hand drumming.Jack DeJohnette performs with his usualplayfulness and creative coloring on fourtracks. Whether he's building a wash ofcymbals, slapping out a backbeat on tomsand kick, keeping great creative time, orplaying free with sure-handedness anddrive, Jack provides whatever the musicneeds. (Concord)

Robin Tolleson

OasisStanding On The Shoulders Of GiantsAlan White (dr), Liam Gallagher (vcl), Noel Gallagher (gtr. vcl)

It doesn't matter much ifNoel Gallagher set out tofind himself a modern-day Ringo, or if he mold-ed drummer Alan Whitein Mr. Starkey's image.The result is the same:simple, clean drumming that doesn't standin the way of Oasis's anthemic pop. Withhuge drum sounds, White is acutely tunedin to what the songs require. And while hemay be in the style of the Beatles' anchor,his technique is contemporary, makinggood use of percussive toys and samples to

F R O M T H E E D I T O R S ' V A U L T

Dusting Off Drumming's Hidden Gems

The Raspberries Side 3Jim Bonfanti (dr), Eric Carmen (vcl, gtr, kybd), Wally Bryson (gtr,vcl), David Smalley (bs. vcl)

Side 3 is one of the mostjoyous pop-rock albumsever. Singer Eric Carmenwould later have hits all byhimself. But between '72and 74 his band spoutedyoung and lusty tunesrivaling Cheap Trick, Badfinger, and Kinks sin-gles in sugary distortion rush. Producer Jimmylenner and engineer Shelly Yakus gave JimBonfanti a killer sound to work with. Alwayspushing the beat, Jim was like a dream combi-nation of Keith Moon and Ringo Starr, merrilymarking changes on the hits "Tonight" and"Ecstasy" with big, deep snare/tom smatteringsand swooshy cymbal washes. RPM Recordshas reissued all four Raspberries albums onPower Pop Volumes 1 and 2 (Side 3 is onVolume 2). But vinyl hounds will want the LPfor the great artwork.

Adam Budofsky

anchor the backbeat. The disc's intro is aperfect example of White's strong rockinggroove. Easing into "Go Let It Out," heopens with a nice sample that, just as thesong kicks in, filters into a perfect fill,foreshadowing the quality of drumming onthe entire album. (Epic)

Lisa Crouch and Fran Azzarto

Either/OrchestraMore Beautiful Than DeathHarvey Wirht (dr), Vicente Lebron (perc), Russ Gershon (sx),Charlie Kohlhase (bar sx), others

Satoko Fujii Orchestra JoAaron Alexander (dr), Satoko Fujii (pno). Chris Speed (tn sx). JackWalrath (trp), Stomu Takeishi (bs), others

Big band may be a lost art form to some,but you wouldn't know it listening to thesetwo very creative and stylistically differentoutfits.

Either/Orchestra is aperennial Boston bandwith years of experiencereflected in leader RussGershon's expansivearrangements and theband's cohesive playing.Death... is contemporary big band in thelineage of renowned outfits led by ThadJones/Mel Lewis or even Buddy Rich. ButE/O also stretch into funk, blues, NewOrleans, Latin, and Caribbean terrain.Though the album was inspired byEthiopian music, no new ground is broken.

Still, the music is exceptionally performedand as comfortable as a worn-out copy ofKind Of Blue. Drummer Harvey Wirht is ateam player who, without pushing anythingfancy, nonetheless swings hard and servesthe music well. (Accurate)

Jo is an altogether different bag of tricks.With newcomer Aaron Alexander's arrest-ing drumming adding an animated edge toalready experimental sounds, listening tothe album is like riding a skateboardthrough a tornado. On the title track,Alexander solos and spurts as bassistTakeshi rumbles. Windy, boisterous,cacophonous, and atonal, Jo careens 'roundthe warped march of "Kyu," the delusionalbelligerence of "Okesa Yansado," the geri-atric merriment of "Jasper," and the itchybeauty of "Around The Corner." (Buzz/Challenge)

Ken Micallef

Veruca Salt ResolverJimmy Madia (dr), Louise Post (vcl, gtr), Suzanne Sokol (bs, vcl).Stephen Fitzpatrick (gtr)

With a little help fromher new band, singer/guitarist Louise Post res-urrects Veruca Salt'scombination of grindinggrunge-pop and sexy-hard lyrics. Outstandingproduction work by Brian Liesegang and astinging stick attack by Jimmy Madia (aversatile country and jazz drummer) deliv-er sonic sharpness to this CD. The song"Best You Can Get" showcases a snarebarrage that propels the driving tune into afrenzy that's only cooled by an effectivebut drastic edit of the song's ending. Even

when Madia is not so over-the-top, his syn-copated cymbal beats, compelling shuffles,and musical tom-tom phrasing conjureimages of bright colors in stark contrast tosome of these dark tunes. Resolver ispacked with dynamic songs and shouldhelp re-establish Veruca Salt's audience.(Beyond)

Will Romano

Phil Haynes & Free CountryPhil Haynes & Free CountryPhil Haynes (dr, perc). Hank Roberts (cello, vcl, jazzaphone fiddle).Drew Gress (bs), Jim Yanda (ac gtr)

On this disc, all kinds ofdissonant, forceful, andwonderful things happento popular folk songsfrom another era.Wh e t h e r s w i n g i n g"Rosin The Beau," drag-ging "Oh Susannah" down to the slowestimaginable tempo, or giving "My OldKentucky Home" a sloshy funk reading,Haynes succeeds in recreating and expand-ing familiar themes. A former Oregon StatePercussion Champion, Haynes has becomea distinctive free-form drummer aroundNew York. Chops give way on his band'snew CD to emotion and vision. Like abluegrass Medeski, Martin & Wood, thisgroup does occasionally flash its musicalmuscle. But more often than not, thereward is in the way they play as little asthey can with as much feeling as humanlypossible. (Premonition)

Robin Tolleson

Tony MacAlpine, BunnyBrunei, Dennis Chambers CABDennis Chambers (dr), Tony MacAlpine (gtr, kybd), Bunny Brunei (bs, kybd)

Ha v e n ' t we h e a r denough of DennisChambers? I didn't thinkso! Dennis has played onso many releases, yetstill seems to find a wayto sound fresh and excit-ing. This instrumental fusion trio workswell together and is another excellent vehi-cle for Chambers to let us drummers knowthat he hasn't lost his edge. Much of thematerial has an old-school fusion vibe,with Dennis sounding a bit like BillyCobham and Lenny White from the earlydays. Dennis turns it loose on "Boogie Me"and "Elastic Man" with super-swift, ultra-clean chops. This is some of the most sin-cere fusion to come out recently. (Tone Center)

Mike Haid

Albert Mangelsdorff & RetoWeber Percussion OrchestraLive At MontreauxReto Weber (perc), Nana Twum Nketia (African perc),Keyvan Chemirani (zarb), Albert Mangelsdorff (tbn)

This meeting of Germanavant-garde trombonistMangelsdorff with Swisspercussionist Weber andhis group provides forsome interesting sonic

Going Underground This Month We Visit The World Of Avant-Jazz Drumming

Thirteen Ways Focus

Gerry Hemingway QuintetWaltzes, Two-Steps, & Other Matters Of The HeartGerry Hemingway (dr), Michael Moore (al sx, dr, bs dr), with (onFocus) Fred Hersch (poo), (on Waltzes) Wolter Wierbos (tbn). ErnstReijseger (cello), Mark Dresser (bs)

Focus is a lovely record withspace, color, beauty, andintriguing instrumentation.Without a bassist to muddy upthe water, Hemingway and hiscohorts definitely play outside, but it must havebeen a wonderful day. Gerry is subtle, withbrushes and cymbal work to die for. (PalmettoRecords, www.palmetto-records.com) Waltzes is more ambi-tious and robust but a bit less satisfying, owingto the larger (and equally unorthodox) ensem-ble. But there are plenty of fresh ideas on thiseffort as well. (GM Recordings, www.GMRecordings.com)

Abbey Rader/David Liebman DuoInner Voices Live

Abbey Rader/Davey WilliamsThe Ballistics Of Yin And YangAbbey Rader (dr), with (on Inner Voices Live) David Liebman (sx, fl),(on Ballistics) Davey Williams (el gtr)

If the wall-of-drumming soundis a bit more your style, lookno further than the dynamicInner Voices Live. Avant vet-eran Abbey Rader packs anaggressive punch as he fills in the holesbetween his partner's skrinks and skronks, andhe also shows a deft, soft touch to complementthe bombast. Rader lets it fly in combinationwith a wailing rock guitar on The Ballistics OfYin And Yang, and the result is a free-riffingbarrage with a phenomenal amount of texture.There are plenty of subtle passages supportedwith hand drumming and small percussion, too.(both discs Abray Productions, www.abbeyrader.com)

Joe Fonda Quintet Full Circle Suite

Edward Ratliff's RbapsodaliaWang Fei-Hong Meets Little StrudelKevin Norton (dr), with (on Full Circle Suite) Joe Fonda (bs), GebhardUllmann (bs dr), Chris Jonas (sp sx), Taylor Ho Bynum (conch, pocket trp,trp), (on Wong Fei-Hong) Michael Attias (sx), Sam Bardfeld (vln), JohnHebert (bs), Edward Ratliff (cornet, trp, tbn, euphonium, acdn)

Kevin Norton continues to beone of the most impressivedrummers of the genre. OnFull Circle Suite he lays downsome traditional smokin' swinggrooves that give way to fits ofquirky, clicking percussive interplay within somevery long, difficult forms. Check out the pressrolls! (CIMP Ltd., www.cadencebuilding.com) On Wong Fei,

the drummer supplies a lively pulse to a quirky,robust cabaret-sounding ensemble. The alwayspunchy Norton sets up music that is all over themap on this highly inventive CD. (Strudelmedia,www.studel.net)

Ted Bonar

explora t ions . Weber 's PercussionOrchestra works with a variety of instru-ments, from drumset to steel drums, shak-ers, African drums and wood blocks, andChemirani's Iranian hand drum, the zarb.The three percussionists generally workwith organic polyrhythmic vamps, oftenWest African or Iranian in flavor. At timesone of them is heard exploring solo ideasabove the pulse, Chemirani often standingout. Mangelsdorff enters the fray produc-ing otherworldly sounds that both mergewith and cut across the rhythmic backdrop.There are a few slow moments, but overallthe set remains interesting with excitingmoments peppered throughout. (Challenge)

Martin Patmos

B O O K S

Afro-Cuban CoordinationFor Drumset by Maria Martinezlevel: intermediate to advanced, $14.95 (CD included)

Like Maria Martinez'Brazilian Coordinationbook/CD package, thisnew offering taps intoher own Latin roots.Basic mambo, nanigo,songo, and mozam-bique rhythms are pre-sented with scads ofvariations. Most areshown in both 2-3 and 3-2 son and rumbaclave. Challenging chapters on improvisa-tion, bongo-bell ostinatos, and left-footclave round out this comprehensive study.

On the CD, Martinez demonstrates manyof the book's basic patterns with a cookingLatin rhythm section and sax player. (Nocheesy beat-box here, thank you!) Eachdemo is followed by a much longer rendi-tion without drums for play-along. Full-band backup helps you grasp the rhythms.Generous groove time helps you getimmersed in the feel.

Afro-Cuban Coordination For Drumsetincludes a sizable list of recommended lis-tening, but there is little theory or culturalbackground offered. Lucid, to-the-pointchapter intros provide the practical infor-mation needed to get you playing. This isclearly a hands-on package meant to makeLatin rhythms a usable part of your drum-ming vocabulary. An unstated bonus is thematerial's certain development of coordi-nation for all types of music. MariaMartinez has served up another winner.(Hal Leonard)

Rich Watson

How To Play Djembe: WestAfrican Rhythms For Beginnersby Alan Dworsky and Betsy Sansbylevel: beginner to intermediate, $24.95 (with CD)

Okay, maybe every American doesn't owna djembe yet. But those who want to learnthe basics of the instrument will enjoy thisconcise and fun how-to and accompanyingCD. The authors make the book user-friendly, from the easy-to-understandrhythmic notation to the spiral binding,which allows it to be laid open for studyand play-along.

Dworsky and Sansby start at the begin-ning: how to hold the instrument. Theythen explain how to perform the basic bass,tone, and slap strokes. And it's not longbefore they're onto the popular WestAfrican 4/4 rhythms Kuku, Djole, Kassa,and Madan, then the 6/8 grooves Suku,Sunguru Bani, and Tiriba. Includedthroughout the book are tips on tuning thedjembe, as well as general "practice princi-ples" for guidance and inspiration.

On the CD, the parts are performed bySidi Mohamed "Joh" Camara, a drummerand former chief choreographer for theWest African dance companies TroupeMande and Troupe Sewa. Not everythingin the book is demonstrated, but therhythms that are last about five minuteseach, giving lots of time for experimenta-tion and interaction. At times it's a littledifficult to hear the distinct stroke sounds.This isn't terribly bothersome, but theremight have been a better way to mike theinstrument. (Dancing Hands)

Robin Tolleson

Steps Ahead: Part One,Rhythmic Studies For The SnareDrum and Part Two, RhythmicStudies For The Drum Setby Dave Bradylevel: beginner to advanced, $12.50 each book, $20 for both

Drum students and teachers will enjoythese two study books. Young drummerswill benefit from the logic and pacing ofthe beginning exercises, but the authorexpects quick advancement. By exercise 9of Part One we're playing in 5/4 and wellon the way to the detailed study of notesthat the author prescribes—simple, tied,dotted, subdivided in rolls, and combinedinto triplets. Brady has a good ear for creat-ing catchy cadences, and includes some funduets as well. A group of exercises at the

Madness Across The Water

Thierry Maillard Paris New York. French pianistMaillard plays some serious straight-ahead bopwith John Patitucci on bass and Dennis Chamberson drums.Jim Beard Advocate. Solo project from key-boardist who's played with them all. Features JonHerington, Bob Malach, Matt Garrison, TimLefebvre, Zach Danziger, Gene Lake, and ArtoTuncboyaciyan.Didier Lockwood New World. French violinist'ssolo project from 1979 features Gordon Beck,Niels-Henning Orsted-Pedersen, Tony Williams,John Etheridge, and Jean-Michel Kajdan.Billy Cobham Crosswinds, Total Eclipse, andShabazz—Live ln Europe. Cobham's second,third, and fourth solo albums, recorded in 1974 andfinally available on CD. Required listening fordrummers of all ages. Features John Abercrombie,The Brecker Bros., Alex Blake, and George Duke.

back of the first book stresses dynamicsand incorporating many of the earlier ideasinto musical performances. Part Twofocuses on applications of the rhythms ontothe drumset. Brady begins with 8th-noterock beats, but is soon offering exercisesinvolving 16th-note triplets, fills using thehi-hat foot, advanced rolls with kick drumand right hand, and Afro-Cuban 6/8grooves. The books come in a plastic spiralbinding, are easy to work with, and testifyto the author's extensive teaching experi-ence.

Robin Tolleson

The book review of Zildjian: A HistoryOf The Legendary Cymbal Makers inthe July issue of MD incorrectly statedthat there is an accompanying CD.

The Latest Most Burnin' import Drum ReleasesRecommended by Mark Tessier of Audiophile Imports

Correction

Pedal Technique And Seat Heightby Rick Van Horn

odern Drummer reader Jun Madrid recently submitted the fol-

lowing questions to MD's It's Questionable department. They

were excellent questions on subjects applicable to all drumset players.

As such, they merited a more complete response than we could pro-

vide in It's Questionable. Let's begin with Jim's original inquiry.

"There seems to be two schools ofthought on the subject of bass drum pedaltechnique: heels-up and heels-down. I tendto play quiet sections of the music with myheels down, since I can control the volumemuch easier that way. When I requirepower and projection, I go heels-up.

"However, there are certain peculiarities

with these two methods. I seem to playfaster—especially for fills and doubletaps—with my heels down. I can't operatethe quick triple with my double pedalsusing the heels-up technique. I'm not sureif this is due to lack of practice or lack ofmuscle development for this type of move-ment. The late Tony Williams seemed tohave both speed and power while playing

with his heels down."Should I go heels-up all the way in order

to gain power, and try to develop morespeed and the ability to reduce volume ifnecessary? Or do I stay with my heelsdown, continue to develop that technique,and wait till my power comes up to par?

"I'm also curious about the relationshipbetween the height of my seat and thepower and speed with which I play mypedals. My drum seat is adjusted so thatmy thighs are about parallel to the floor.I've noted that Tony Williams sat fairlyhigh. And I recently read in a Pearl drumcatalog that one should sit high to makeone's self "light on one's feet" for fasterplaying. What is the advantage of sittinghigh as it relates to playing pedals?"

M

The Question

Our advice regarding any aspect of drumming has always been to do theleast amount of work possible to get the job done.

The heels-down playing style dates backto days when control and dynamics werethe major concerns for a drummer. Volumeand speed were not required. Drummerswere playing simple, four-on-the-floor timepatterns until well into the late 1950s.Around that time they started "droppingbombs" with their bass drums in bebopmusic, which still didn't require tremen-dous power. Up-tempo jazz tunes couldstill be played flat-footed, since jazz drum-mers weren't too concerned with volume.

But everything changed with the adventof the musical instrument amplifier. Whilethe bass, keyboard, and guitars of the rockbands suddenly got louder, it was a longtime before anyone thought to put micro-phones on the drums. Drummers simplyhad to find ways of getting louder by them-

selves. So they started "kicking" their ped-als (heels-up) in order to achieve sheerpower. (This situation led to the creation ofthe term "kick drum.")

As is often the case in the evolution of atechnique, the initial reason for playingheels-up was pure necessity; nobody saw itas a major technical improvement. But, asmore and more drummers got into high-volume performance situations, the heels-up technique gained popularity and legiti-macy. Many drummers started with it, andnever learned any other way. Eventually,some heels-up drummers started focusingon technique-oriented issues like control,speed...and even dynamics (between theranges of f and fff, that is).

Ironically, many drummers who arenoted for their tremendous single- or dou-ble-bass-drum capabilities (including

speed, articulation, dynamic control, etc.)play their pedals in a very relaxed, heel-down style. But these drummers almostalways perform in a totally miked-up situa-tion, and can rely on amplification to gettheir sound out to the audience. On theother hand, some top drummers—especial-ly rock drummers who came up through"street" bands—just attack their bassdrums with heels up and knees bouncing. Itworks for them.

Our advice regarding any aspect ofdrumming has always been to do the leastamount of work possible to get the jobdone. This, in turn, allows you to remainrelaxed, maintain your stamina, and devotesome of your energy to musical creativity.If this means using the heels-down tech-nique (perhaps with the aid of a micro-phone), that's a very successful, time-test-

Basics

Our Reply

ed way to play. If, however, you feel thatyou need to slam the drum a little harderfor effect, go ahead and raise your heels.True, you might lose a little fine controlthat way, but the situation might not callfor such control.

As to seat height, most teachers and edu-cators prefer the basic "thighs parallel tothe floor" position. (This dates back to theorigin of the drumset, when drummersoften sat on regular chairs.) This positiongives you excellent balance, back support,and foot flexibility.

Over the years some drummers have ele-vated their seats a bit, allowing their kneesto be a little lower than their hips. This pro-vides them the feeling of "extending theirlegs" a bit toward their pedals. This, inturn, seems to free up the lower legs a littlemore, allowing the feet to "dance" on thepedals. Many big band drummers adoptedthis style, including Sonny Payne andLouie Bellson. The late Larrie Londin alsosat fairly high, at 23". The exact heightdepends on your leg length.

When I was playing club gigs in the1970s, I needed to get more volume out of

my unmiked bass drum. By raising my seata bit, I could flex my foot down and for-ward more easily, giving me more "push"into the drum when playing heels-down,and an easier opportunity to raise my heeloff the pedal when I wanted to.

There's no question that some very tal-ented drummers sit quite low. Some havesaid that sitting low allows them to raisetheir leg up and get it back down again onthe pedal for extra power. Vinnie Colaiutasat very low early in his career. In fact, heused to cut 2" off the legs of the shortestdrum stools! But more recently Vinnie hasbeen quoted as saying that the low seatcaused him some back problems. He hasbeen raising his seat over the years, andnow sits much more in the "traditional"position.

There is rarely a "right" way of doinganything on a drumkit—at least not onethat applies to everyone. However, it's safeto say that the vast majority of drummersfind success with one of two seat heights: asetting that puts their thighs parallel to thefloor, or a setting 1" to 2" higher.

Basics

Blue Man GroupUFO P e r c u s s i o n

Story by Ken Micallef

Photos by Paul La Raia

othing can prepare you for theperformance-art assault that isBlue Man Group. Running at

New York's Astor Place theater since1992, and now at venues in Boston,Chicago, and Las Vegas, Blue Man Groupconfound and entertain unexpecting audi-ences with a blitzkrieg of cutting-edge artparody disguised as the antic-filled, multi-media journey of three alien-looking baldand blue-painted men.

The three primary players, Chris Wink,

Matt Goldman, and Phil Stanton, beat,drum, and wail on a wide variety of origi-nal industrial instruments, made primarilyof PVC piping. The show revolves aroundthe trio drumming on cans, pipes, walls,and tubes (also the name of the show), asTwinkies, Captain Crunch, toilet paper,and marshmallows fly off the stage.

Blue Man Group's recent CD, Audio, isaltogether different from the show, featur-ing the Group's instruments within compo-sitions that reflect the fusion and tribal

material of the Blue Man Group pit band,which features drummer Ian Pei. Playingunique PVC-derived instruments such asTubulum, Drumbone, Backpack Tubulum,and Air Poles, Audio sounds a bit like KingCrimson, with the tribal feel of an Africandrumming troupe with rock aspirations.Live, the band, led by Pei, is a drummer'sfeast of grinding grooves and hauntingatmospheres. It's fusion for alien arrivals,mood music for demented comedianseverywhere.

N

Blue Man Gear

Air Poles are a series of flexiblefiberglass rods that make a satisfying"swoosh" as they slice through theair.

Angel Air Poles are made byconnecting two

poles attheir thick ends.

The result is abalanced instru-ment tha t canreach extremely fast tempos.

The Backpack Tubulumallows Blue Man Group tomove around and launch rocketswhile playing.

The Big Drum is a real-ly big drum that is hitwith a really big mallet.

The Cimbalom is an antique instrumentfrom Hungary. It is similarto a hammer dulcimerexcept that it is largerand has thicker strings,giving it a deeper, moreresonant timbre. It isnormally played gentlywith soft mallets, but Blue Man Grouphits it aggressively with drumsticks, giv-ing it an edgier sound.

The Drumbone isa percussive spin-off of a trom-bone; its slidingtube-within-a-tube design

allows it to be lengthened and shortenedduring performance, thus creating a vari-ety of pitches. It can also be taken apartand used as two separate instruments thatharmonize with each other.

Gary Strips are long, flat, aluminumsheets that create a thunderous, high-fre-quency alternative to snare drums. Unlikethe Gyro Shot (below), Gary Strips soundpretty good, but they still did not end upon the recording. No one knows why.

Gyro Shot contains spinning, circularrings filled with ball bearings of varyingsizes. Although it looks really cool andindustrial, no matter how hard Blue ManGroup tried, the Gyro Shot ended upsounding like a wimpy "rain stick." As aresult, this instrument does not appearanywhere on the recording.

The unique soundof Blue ManGroup's PVCInstrument isa c h i e v e dwhen polyvinylchloride pipes are struck

with closed-cell foam rubber paddles.The pitch of each note is determined bythe length of the tube.

The Shaker Gong is a metal-encasedmatrix of ball bearings that is suspendedfrom tightly stretched surgical tubing.When hit with alarge, paddedm a l l e t , i tproduces as u s t a i n e d ,metallic, rat-tlesnake-like sound.

Sword Air Poles areshort and thin,

making themlighter and easier to

control than the other AirPoles. They are used to cre-ate syncopated rhythms.

The Tubulum (pronounced "tube-you-lum") is similar to the PVC Instrumentbut has more of an 'OOs sound. It is struckw i t h s t i c k srather thanpaddles, andits notes areprimarily in thebass range.

Blue Man Group

MD: When performing live as Blue ManGroup, you play a diversity of originalinstruments. Was it difficult to translatethat to CD?Chris: Our philosophy is to make all theweird instruments but then write goodsongs for them. There's a whole musicalgenre of exploring percussive sounds. Ienjoy going to those kinds of shows, but I

don't put that music on my stereo and lis-ten to it.

There's a tendency within this small sub-culture of experimental musical instrumentsto have not only innovative tastes in instru-ments but innovative tastes in music. Soyou get some crazy mad scientist making areally cool instrument, but when he plays it,it sounds crazy and becomes an oddity.

Our feeling is that the spirit of rock 'n'roll is the spirit of constant innovation.Think about the drumkit—the first guywho put together a drumkit was a nut. Thehi-hat is a gizmo. The drumset is a con-traption from New Orleans, and there werea few more innovations along the way. Butat a certain point the drumset became insti-tutionalized and it stopped evolving. It'sstrange for rock people to play by theserules.MD: But many drummers are addingunusual percussion to their drumsets.Chris: We wanted to avoid going on a cul-tural search. We'll use a talking drum, adoumbek, and cymbals from around theworld. But we're looking for new musicthat's indigenous to nothing.Matt: The instruments are made fromwarehouse industrial stuff. Once we makethem, we go about the business of writingsongs. We don't try to reinvent everything.Phil: We like [song] hooks. You can pic-ture somebody coming to all those weirdinstruments and not thinking about writingcatchy music with harmonies. We likemelodies, but with an edge.Chris: The Kodo drummers are cool.

"Our constant quest for a bigger drum has almost become ajoke. We're begging different drum companies to make adrum bigger than 60". We want one the size of a building."

MD: But they can be boring for drummersto watch.Chris: They can be boring. They are ego-less, but that's a good element. It's allabout the pocket they create together.We've been influenced by that. That isprofound, actually, because there's thatWestern thing of wanting to show off yourchops. We're trying to avoid that. Andthey have respect for their instruments.MD: You don't have any respect for thePVC pipe.Chris: Yeah, we smack the crap out of it.We'll put a big mic' in there and put itthrough a subwoofer and make the audi-ence bounce out of their seats. Our con-stant quest for a bigger drum has almostbecome a joke. We're begging differentdrum companies to make a drum biggerthan 60".Phil: We want one the size of a building.MD: Were you all drummers before youwere Blue Men?

Laying Traps Far Blue Mens the long-time drumset player for theNew York production of Blue ManGroup's show, Tubes, lan Pei has the

responsibility of providing almost non-stopenergy to the insanity that's happening onstage. Performing the show week in and weekout can take its toll, but it's obvious Pei isenjoying the gig.

lan: This is the best gig you can have as adrummer! The drummer is basically the con-ductor of the show. Plus I get two hours to gobananas. I have to hit the cues in a framework,but the concept is open. My goal, though, is tosound like fifty guys banging on hand drums. Idon't want to sound like one guy with a reallybig kit. I'm trying to have a bigger-than-lifesound. In order to do that you have to hit hard,hit a lot, and hit fast.MD: The drumming is busy in the best senseof being busy. It's very intense, and the chartsyou play are so elaborate. Why did BMG wanta more fusion approach?lan: We didn't choose to make it that way. Thefunny thing is that when the drumming began Iwasn't playing at the best of my abil i ty.Drumming was the last thing I was thinking ofdoing at that point. We were building theinstruments, and then we had to play music.We hadn't written anything. The music devel-

oped organically.I had no intentions of being a working drum-

mer. When the show was being developed Iwas working as an artist. I met Danny Gottliebthe first couple of weeks of the show, and hereally helped me focus on my drumming. Hetold me I didn't need lessons, I just needed toget my head checked out.MD: What did that mean?lan: He said I have to play with confidence. Hesaid I was already delivering a unique mes-sage. If I just kept going on the freeform thing,I would probably go some places other peoplewouldn't.MD: Can anyone sub on this gig?lan: Not really. Most guys can't even play thebasic beat. It's kind of a jungle thing, but it hasa lot of different influences. We want it to bekind of tribal and primitive—all those thingsabout drums that get people excited. But it'snot an actual Cuban, Brazilian, or Afro-Cubanbeat.MD: So you breeze through the show now?lan: It's a lot of work. I did 1,600 shows in arow at one point, and my body practically col-lapsed. We do weekdays, two shows onFriday, and three shows on Saturday andSunday.

Now I have two subs who also do the show,Josh Matthews and Clem Waldman. They had

to learn my quirky way of playing. It's likestudying a whole different technique.

I didn't think it was gonna be that hard, but Ido these weird things. Some of the drummerswho have come in to audition for the showover the years have been really great, butthey've had trouble. I use my feet a lot. I use adouble kick pedal and two hi-hats. I ride onone hi-hat and use the other for accents. Onehi-hat has a tambourine, the other has a tam-bourine and a Crasher. I've come up withsome strange patterns.MD: Do a lot of drummers audition?lan: We auditioned hundreds of drummers insix different cities when we were opening ourdifferent productions. With all of that we wereonly able to find six guys.

For the auditions we had the guys whoseemed really skil led play the dumbestsongs—we just wanted to see them rock. Thenwe tried them on the other stuff to see howquickly they learned the weird beats.

I've seen guys who were great drummers,but when you tell them to let it all go and rockout they can't do it. All of that control and disci-pline got them to where they are. But thatalone doesn't make it. I come from the KeithMoon school, and that's what works for thisshow.

Ken Micallef

lan Pei

A

Matt: I didn't originally train as a drum-mer.Phil: I had a musical family backgroundbut I never played drums.Chris: I have the drumming background.These guys were builders and actors, andthey worked in computers. And we're allcomedians.Phil: We've had fun teaching each otherthings. Again, to be a Blue Man you haveto know how to play a certain way, but youdon't need to know how to play a drumkit.As long as you have your 16th notes andaccent patterns together, you can do it.Matt: Also, as a group the goal is often tohave really simple parts. They support themore complicated parts. If you don't struc-ture things just right, the melody will nevercome through.Chris: It also relates to the comedy. I wasa mediocre drummer even though I studiedwith Joe Cusatis at the Modern DrumShop. He always complained that I didn'tpractice enough. I was the last guy hethought would have done well with drum-ming. If I had been a real star my approachwould have been, "Hey, look what I cando." But the audience would rather see us

drumming, communicating, and having lit-tle accidents and miscommunications.MD: You must all have theater back-grounds, because your stage timing is sogood.

Chris: At first we did almost 1,300 showsin a row by ourselves. We learned it.That's the contrast between doing the showand recording a CD. We made changes toevery show, every night. We would sit and

Blue Man Group

Blue Man Group

do an hour's worth of notes after everyshow, critiquing what we did. With theCD, you put that sucker down and that's it.It's there forever. It's like two differentlives. I don't think that it's an accident that

it took us three failed attempts to fill in allthe holes and complete the CD.Phil: So when you talk about timing, whenyou do it over eleven years, you get to tryevery permutation.

MD: A lot of tourists come to yourshow, and some of the subjectmaterial is pretty intellectual, withyour take on contemporary art andconsumer culture. It's not a dumb-ed-down show.Chris: At first we didn't think thata lot of tourists would like it, butnow 2,400 people come everyweek. So we feel really good thatwe don't have to do a lowest-com-mon-denominator type of show.MD: Do you think the audiencegets the modern art allusions?Chris: I'm not sure what everybodygets. There's a level that most peo-ple can understand.MD: What was the original idea forthe show?Phil: We had five minutes of mate-rial, then a few months later we hadtwenty minutes. It just grew. One ofthe things that united us was that

we had a disparate range of interests. Wedid have this thing where we would makestupid paintings on a drum. We pushed theart parody. The comedians of the ages tendto tear down pomposity. Their job is to

Goldman, Wink, Pei, Stanton

Blue Man Grouplook at the leaders and say the emperor isnaked.

We have an element of science in ourshow, including fractals, LED signs, andbasically information overload. But wealso have tribal drums for contrast.MD: Are the Blue Men from another planet?Chris: We don't think of them as aliens.We think of them as...well...just other.But they are human, you know how theyfeel, and you know what they're thinking.They're enigmatic.MD: What influenced the music on the CD?Chris: Some choices are conscious, some arenot. We didn't worry about presenting com-plex chord changes. We were looking to seewhat we could get out of three chords. The firstsong on the album starts with the Air Pole,then the Tubulum comes in.

We haven't created the ultimate drumalbum, but we feel we're close. We'll keepat it, though. That's one of our goals.Percussion hasn't done that thing we allknow it can do.

"Versatile" is the word for Hamburg,Germany's Uwe Peterson. In his fifteen-year career he's played with traditionaldance bands, '20s/'30s jazz bands, TVshow orchestras, nightclub house bands,and backup groups for several differentcabaret and recording artists. But perhapshis most colorful gig has been as the drum-mer for two European tours of "TheAmerican Tribal Love-Rock Musical," bet-ter known to Americans simply as Hair.

"I was touring Germany with organistJon Hammond in 1996," says Uwe. "Wewere booked in a club next door to the the-

ater in which Hair wasplaying. The show'sband came in onenight, and after hearingme play, the drummerasked me if I'd like togo on tour for him.That led to over sixhundred fifty perfor-mances in two years,including shows in eight countries."Recordings from some of those Hair per-formances—along with several other pro-jects—reveal Uwe to be a drummer of

taste, skill, and immense musicality.Uwe endorses Yamaha drums,

Zildjian cymbals, and Vater sticks.He also uses a Roland V-Customelectronic kit on his current gig, aHamburg Top-40 band. "When youcome home from being on the road,you have to start over," says Uwe.But he's not worried. Besides play-ing around town, he also maintains a

busy teaching schedule. Meanwhile, he'sawaiting the call to go back on the roadwith Hair, The Blues Brothers Show, oranother major European touring act.

Derek CintronMiami's Derek Cintron is a multi-threatmusician. He's a very versatile drummerwho has toured and recorded with MCALatino recording artist Rosco Martinez,alternative rock group Trophy Wife,rap/hardcore group Madhandle, jazz/classi-cal ensemble Noodles On Jupiter, R&B pro-duction house Greenstreet, and power-popband Humbert. But Derek also sings, playsguitar, bass, and keyboards, and composes.He has combined these skills on two self-produced solo CDs. Mantra, released in1996, won Jam magazine's "Jammie" award

for best independent release, and was namedbest solo album by the Miami New Times.March of this year saw the release ofOhh...The Drama, which again showcasesDerek in all his musical capacities. It's animpressive work, worth inquiring about atwww.derekcintron.com.

Derek cites Keith Moon, StewartCopeland, John Bonham, Dave Abbruzzese,and Manu Katche among his drumminginfluences. He endorses Fibes drums andPaiste cymbals.

Considering his interest in all aspects of

music, it's notsurprising thatDerek's careergoal is to be "aha rd - rock in 'Phil Collins," ashe puts it. "I'dlove to be amusician capa-ble of doingsessions and/or concerts with other artistsand groups, while pursuing my own careeras a solo artist/songwriter."

Thirty-year-old Mike Rowland has an alterego: Mike Mulligan, drummer for TheMulligans. Themembers of theGreen Bay, Wis-consin-based grouparen't actuallyrelated, but theytake the "familyname" when onstage—partly as areflection of theway they get along,and partly to avoid a name that labels theirmusic. The band plays Midwest clubs andfestivals, combining rock originals and cov-

ers in an aggressive but melodic pop style.On his role as a drummer, Mike says,"I've always thought it's important tobe able to execute on your instrumentwell. But it 's just as important toapproach drumming from a melodicpoint of view, and to provide a founda-tion that's not only solid, but also com-plements what a singer is doing. If youcan achieve that, you have somethingspecial. Besides, there's not a lot ofdemand for four-minute drum solos onthe radio these days!"

Mike's philosophy is evident onThe Mulligans' CD, Real Virtuality(www.the-mulligans.com). The tunes are

radio-friendly and energetic, blendingmelody with a contemporary edge. Theinfluence of drummers like Steve Smith,Liberty DeVitto, Kenny Aronoff, JoeyKramer, and Peter Criss helps Mike to laydown a solid foundation while adding somecatchy licks and patterns that let you knowhe's thinking all the time. He does it all onPearl Masters Custom drums, Zildjian cym-bals, and DW pedals.

Mike hopes to continue touring, writing,and recording with The Mulligans, and tosee the band's career expand. As for a per-sonal goal, Mike says, "It's to wake uptomorrow and realize that I'm a better drum-mer than I was yesterday."

Uwe Peterson

Mike Rowland

If you'd like to appear in On The Move, send us an audioor video cassette of your best work (preferably both soloand with a band) on three or four songs, along with abrief bio sketch and a high-quality color or black &white close-up photo. (Polaroids are not acceptable.Photos will not be paid for or credited.) The bio sketch

should include your full name and age, along with yourplaying style(s), influences, current playing situation(band, recording project, freelance artist, etc.), how oftenand where you are playing, and what your goals are(recording artist, session player, local career player, etc.).Include any special items of interest pertaining to what

you do and how you do it, and a list of the equipmentyou use regularly. Send your material to On The Move,Modern Drummer Publications, 12 Old Bridge Road,Cedar Grove, NJ 07009. Material cannot be returned, soplease do not send original tapes or photos.

Rhode Island Will Never Seem The Sameby Bob Cianci

everal years ago my band was graciously given a block of stu-dio time at no charge by the owner of a recording studio in

Rhode Island, who was a friend of our bass player. Our plan wasto record two originals and one cover tune. The way I understoodit, the session was to be strictly low-pressure and fun. The goalwas to cut a basic demo tape. At the time, my recording experi-ence was limited to a couple of demo sessions and some roughbasement tapes.

Our keyboard player and I drove up to Rhode Island, met therest of the band there, and stayed overnight in an apartment abovethe studio. The next morning we met Bill, the owner, at the studio,and set up our equipment. It was a beautiful facility.Billy Cobham had even signed his name on thewall of the drum booth. I brought my '65Slingerland set since Bill didn't have adrumset of his own (a fact that wouldlater prove to be a problem).

After the mic's were in place, it wastime to get a drum sound. Four hourslater, after slamming unceasing quar-ter notes on snare, toms, and bassdrum, oiling my pedals, and making atrip to the local pharmacy to procurecotton balls for the toms, we were final-ly ready to begin tracking. The fun hadjust begun.

"I want you to hit the snare, kick, and hi-hat as hard as you can and as consistently aspossible, and keep up with the click," stated Bill.Keep up with the click? I'd never played with a click in mylife. I was the product of an old-school teacher who never used ametronome. Over the years, a few people had told me that I had atime problem, but I always shrugged it off or blamed them. Afterall, I was a good drummer, wasn't I? Unbeknownst to me, judg-ment day had arrived.

As the tape began to roll, I did my best to play with the click.But after four or five aborted takes, it became apparent to every-one that I couldn't cut it. "Alright, I'll turn off the click. You'lljust have to work without it," shouted Bill. With the tape againrolling, I tried my best to slug the snare, hats, and bass drum withall my strength. But Bill kept stopping us and screaming at me, "Isaid hit the drums as hard as you can consistently. Why can't youdo that?"

This scene was repeated five or six more times. I felt humiliat-

ed, frustrated, angry, and totally inadequate. I didn't knowwhether to break down in tears, walk out, or burst into the controlroom and strangle Bill. Somehow, I remained calm and collected,though I could see Bill waving his hands around in the controlroom and gesturing to our bassist. I imagined he was saying, "Getanother drummer, for God's sake." Later, I found out I was right.

So here I was, screwing up our big session and wastingeveryone's time. Realizing that if I walked out, I would reallywaste the band's time, I decided to bear down and just do thebest I could. "If you're so unhappy with what I'm doing, hookup the drum machine and use that," I said. "I'm doing my best.

That's all I can do.""No, no" our bassist chimed in. "We want

to use you. Let's take a break and try it againlater." The keyboard player, a serious pro

with many years of experience,exclaimed, "Just let him play the wayhe's used to playing." I guess thatbroke the ice as far as Bill was con-cerned. From that point on, he leftme alone. Or perhaps he just gave upon me.

After a twenty-minute break and apep talk from the band, I gave it another

shot. Bill started tracking again, and twotakes later we had something that every-

one was relatively satisfied with. From thatpoint on things went smoothly. We cut a funk

original next, and I nailed it in two takes. The finaltrack was a power ballad, and although my time was ques-

tionable throughout the session, at least the two originals felt pret-ty good overall.

At 1:00 A.M., emotionally and physically exhausted, I collapsedon the waiting-room couch while the vocals were laid down. At4:00 A.M. we packed and left for home. The entire experience real-ly shook me up. I had been playing drums for over twenty years,and the realization that my time stunk was a painful, bitter pill toswallow.

The next month, I attended a Modern Drummer FestivalWeekend, where I had an opportunity to speak with GaryChester backstage. Sensing that Gary was a kindred spirit, Ipoured my heart out to him. "I understand what happened, and Ifeel for you," said Gary. "My advice is to buy yourself a drummachine, learn to program it, and practice with it until you turn

" I

had been play-

ing drums for over

twenty years, and the

realization that my time

stunk was a painful,

bitter pill to

swallow."

S

blue. Believe me, it will work."Three days later I bought a Roland TR-505, programmed a cow-

bell/bass drum click, and followed Gary's directions. At first, stay-ing in sync with the click was extremely difficult, even after play-ing the simplest fills. But eventually I got it. I kept working withthe click for nearly two years. The hardest part was convincingmyself that the machine was my friend. Even though it was a pre-cise, heartless, unfeeling tool, it was to be used to accomplish agoal. It wasn't my enemy. Hell, it wasn't even an opponent.

Just as Gary had predicted, my time eventually improved to thepoint that the guys in the band actually began to compliment me. Igradually regained my confidence in my drumming—and that feltmighty good. Three years later, we once again entered the studioto lay down some demos. We decided to use a click on all threetunes: two rockers and an R&B ballad. This time I was ready, andeverything went smoothly. I played with the click flawlessly, and Istill managed to make each tune feel good. I was happy, the bandwas happy, and the engineer was happy. We even garnered a littlelocal radio airplay with the ballad.

Over the years, I remembered reading about drummers whostruggled to make the best of a bad situation. I finally knew what itfelt like. Only one problem: Rhode Island will never seem thesame to me. But thanks for the favor, Bill!

f anyone can be considered thefounding father of modern drumsetplaying, it's Gene Krupa. Krupa

legitimized a collection of instrumentsknown as the "traps" at a time when boththe instrument and its players were barelytolerated. Krupa led a revolution againstthis prevailing attitude that put the drumseton the musical map.

Born in Chicago in 1909, Gene came toplay drums because they were the cheapestinstrument in the catalog. Perhaps it wasprovidence that happened to make thedrumset so cheap, but it was Gene whopracticed constantly and brought himselfup to a professional level.

Gene's main influences were BabyDodds and Zutty Singleton. Dodds' stylewas based primarily on snare drum, bassdrum, cymbal, and tuned cowbells andwoodblocks. He never used a hi-hat, and hewas an expert at keeping time on the snaredrum. Singleton was more modern thanDodds, and was known to use hi-hat andwire brushes. The influences of both ofthese men on Gene can be heard on TheSound Of Chicago (Columbia). This com-pilation features some fiery playing byGene, and serves notice that a new and

very original talent was about to emerge onthe scene.

It was in New York City that Krupawould enjoy his greatest period of growthand begin his climb to fame. At that time,Harlem was considered the most signifi-cant African American community inAmerica, and the "uptown" scene was liter-ally owned by Duke Ellington's orchestra,with Sonny Greer on drums. Greer's stylewas African-based, and his playing influ-enced Gene to study the rich music ofAfrica and to apply those ideas to jazz.

Drummer/bandleader Chick Webb wasanother of the most influential drummersof his time. He introduced many of theconcepts that are a part of every big banddrummer's vocabulary. Chick's crystal-clear playing and explosive fills and solosnot only influenced Gene, but every otherdrummer who came under his rhythmicspell. Later, following the famous "battleof the bands" between Benny Goodmanand Chick Webb at Harlem's SavoyBallroom, Gene would say, "I was nevercut by a better man."

Before joining Benny Goodman, Geneplayed in the pit bands of Strike Up TheBand and Girl Crazy, two popular Broadway

musicals. Later he admitted that he couldn'ttell a quarter note from an 8th note, and thathe'd pass his part to fellow pit-band playerGlenn Miller, who would hum the part forhim until he got it in his head. Without thenecessary technique and reading ability,Gene decided to solve the problem by study-ing with Sanford Moeller, one of the finestteachers of his time. Moeller taught classicalsnare drum technique, and it was this tech-nique that Krupa ultimately perfected andmodified for the drumset.

Benny Goodman and Gene Krupa willforever be linked in the history ofAmerican music. They were natural musi-cal partners, though different as night andday. Goodman was one of the most diffi-cult and complicated men in jazz, whileGene was kind, generous, and unflappable.Interestingly, Gene was originally veryreluctant to join Benny's band, after has-sling with him on previous gigs overmoney and musical interpretation. It tookmajor persuasion from record producerJohn Hammond to get Gene to joinBenny's band.

Gene joined the Goodman band in 1935,just as the band had landed an importantradio show called Let's Dance. The Let's

Dance program and the band s subsequentperformance at the Palomar Ballroom insouthern California are still considered thelaunching of the swing era. Benny's bookhad a number of charts by master arrangerslike Fletcher Henderson, Deane Kincaide,and Jimmy Mundy. Most of the arrange-ments gave Gene plenty of room.

During his tenure with Benny, Genemade a number of wonderful recordings,many of which are available on numerousanthologies. Some of his best work can beheard on Volume 3 of The Anthology OfJazz Drumming (Masters Of Jazz). Amongthe tracks on this recording, "I HopeGabriel Likes My Music" is indicative ofthe Chicago style, with a drum break rightout of Baby Dodds. On "Nobody'sSweetheart," Gene's opening solo on hi-hatis quite modern for its time. But the besttrack on this anthology is the BennyGoodman band playing "Swingtime In TheRockies." It's Gene at his very best: under-stated at the outset, and intense and drivingat the end.

It was during his time with Goodmanthat Gene began to revolutionize drumsetplaying. He soon eliminated cowbells, tem-ple blocks, woodblocks, and gongs, andadopted what today stands as the standard

drumset configuration. Krupa was also anatural showman, and his flair for the dra-matic kept the drums in the spotlight. Heused that spotlight wisely, and firmlyestablished the drummer as a prominentmember of the ensemble.

The Goodman band's concert atCarnegie Hall in New York still stands asthe pinnacle of both Benny and Gene'scareers. The Famous 1938 Concert AtCarnegie Hall (Columbia) includes Gene'sfamous solo performance on "Sing, Sing,Sing," along with great solos from many ofthe guest stars that appeared with the bandon that memorable evening.

The walls came tumbling down forBenny and Gene at a theater inPhiladelphia later in 1938. Gene's increas-ing popularity began to grate on Benny'snerves, while Gene was growing tired ofbeing reined in. After they parted ways,Gene went on to lead his own band, begin-ning another period of growth, controversy,and a new musical direction.

Gene's new band debuted in the springof 1938, with the entire book built aroundhim. The band had some fine players andgood charts by Chappie Willet, GeorgeWilliams, and Benny Carter. Carter's"Symphony In Riffs" was one of the best

things the first band recorded, and can befound on Gene Krupa's Sidekicks(Columbia Special Products). Gene's bandwas a hit, but it didn't come into its ownuntil 1941, when he added vocalist AnitaO'Day and trumpeter/singer Roy Eldridge.Eldridge was a formidable soloist, and hisperformance on the band's recording of"Rockin' Chair" is spectacular.

Krupa's biggest hit was "Let Me OffUptown," featuring a vocal duet betweenEldridge and O'Day and a buoyantarrangement by a young Quincy Jones. Therecording can be found on The EssentialGene Krupa (Verve), as well as on a videoversion called Gene Krupa, Jazz Legend(DCI Music Video).

Krupa's career was interrupted in 1943by a drug bust that was a major blow to hisreputation. Although the conviction wasreversed on appeal, the embarrassmentwould plague him for the rest of his life. ButGene would rise from the ashes musically,first with Tommy Dorsey's band, and thenwith another version of his own band thatfeatured a string section. The concept,though interesting, earned mixed reviews,and unfortunately was a financial disaster.

The band that Gene fronted between1944 and 1951 was his youngest and most

Gene Krupa

modern, coinciding with the decliningyears of swing and the birth of bop.Arrangements were by George Williams,Eddie Finckel, and Gerry Mulligan, and theband included sidemen like BuddyDeFranco, Charlie Kennedy, and RedRodney. Gene also had to deal with theproblem of trying to merge his Chicagostyle with the more rhythmically complexstyle of bop. Much of the music of that eracan be found on What's This—1946—Volume 1 (Hep CD), where Gene is heardusing a more legato approach to time play-ing, minus the forward edge that had soidentified him. Another example of hismodified bop approach can be heard onGerry Mulligan's "Disc Jockey Jump" onThe Essential Gene Krupa (Verve).

Gene gave up his big band in 1951 andbecame a star member of Jazz At ThePhilharmonic. The brainchild of recordproducer Norman Granz, the JATP con-certs were floating jam sessions that touredthe world and featured some of the bestmusicians of that period. Buddy Rich wasalso a member, and one of the highlights ofthe evening was a drum battle betweenBuddy and Gene. These drum battles wererecorded and released as Burnin' Beat and

Krupa And Rich (Verve).From the early 1950s through 1967,

Gene led a variety of small groups. He alsoappeared in the feature-film biographies ofBenny Goodman and Glenn Miller.Though many critics stated that Krupa hadstopped growing during the '60s—particu-larly after he suffered a heart attack—Krupa fooled them again with his finestrecording of that period. Great NewQuartet (Verve) was recorded in 1964,with Charlie Ventura on sax, KnobbyTotah on bass, and John Bunch on piano.Though sometimes a bit too stylized, thealbum nonetheless swings from beginningto end, and is a prime example of how wellGene balanced traditional and moderndrumming styles with taste and musicality.

The last four years of Gene's life werestill musically productive, despite his beingdiagnosed with leukemia. He returned tohis roots, performing often with BennyGoodman, Teddy Wilson, and LionelHampton. He died on October 16, 1973.

Gene Krupa placed the spotlight not onhimself, but on the instrument he loved somuch. Thanks to Gene, drummers todayare among the world's most respectedmusicians.

Gene Krupa

Dynamicsby Ted Bonar

T h e U n d e r u s e d M u s i c a l Tool

Over the past few months, we've dis-cussed how drummers can use music

theory to improve their overall musicality.We've looked at chord progressions andsong forms on a general basis, and we'veexplored how a knowledge of the waymusic is created can help us rehearse moreefficiently, learn more quickly, and playmore appropriately.

This month, we're going to change gearsslightly and explore an unsung and under-used musical tool: dynamics. Many drum-

who is learning the instrument is restrictedfrom discovering the effective use of vol-ume, or from discovering the range of hisinstrument. A clarinetist must know therange of notes on the instrument: lowestnote possible, highest note possible, andthe number of octaves in between.Drummers must be allowed to find out therange of their instrument as well. In aschool band situation, the drummer mustbe able to know how quietly—and howloudly—he or she can play to be effective.

your instrument. Drums and percussioninstruments (excluding keyboard instru-ments like marimba, vibes, xylophone, etc.)have ambiguous pitches. Bass drums arelow in pitch, toms are a bit higher in pitch,the snare is usually a medium-high pitch,and the cymbals are the highest pitches onthe instrument. But we don't use the drums'pitches the way other instruments use pitch.We can use the same drums on virtually anysong, in any key signature, with any chordprogression. We use the combination of

"IN THE COURSE OF ONE SONG I LEARNED MORE ABOUTDYNAMICS THAN I HAD IN FOUR YEARS OF MUSIC SCHOOL."

mers are forced to learn dynamics via anunfortunate method at an early age, whenthe school band director yells at the per-cussionists, "You're playing too loud!" Ifnot that, then young drumset players arerestricted from playing in their rooms ortheir basements after a certain time at nightbecause their instrument is "too loud."

The fact is, drums are loud—but gener-ally no louder than any other instrument.Drums are certainly not louder than ampli-fied guitars or basses, nor are they louderthan saxophones, trumpets, or even clar-inets. (If you doubt this, you haven't beenaround many beginning clarinet students!)However, by definition, drums are percus-sive, and therefore the dynamics of ourinstrument work differently from those ofother instruments.

A common problem with drummers whoare constantly chided for being too loud isthat they are unable to explore the range ofdynamics on the instrument. If a banddirector (or a parent) constantly puts a capon the volume of the drums, the student

Since many drummers are not allowed todiscover this dynamic range at a youngage, it's true that many drummers "for-get"—for lack of a better word—to playdynamically.

Let's get something out of the way:volume—big volume—is important.Obviously, many rock drummers havelearned to slam backbeats, bash cymbals,and pound bass drums into submission.Many times, rock music + drums = veryloud. The drums are physical, and theyneed to be played with a vicious backbeatif and when it is required. So why are somedrummers more effective at playing loudlythan others? The answer is that there aredrummers who play very loud who alsounderstand the concepts of dynamics andusing a range of volume. Conversely, thereare drummers who only play very loud—virtually ignoring any dynamic change inthe music.

When thinking about the concept of"loud," you must also consider the conceptof "soft" or "quiet" to balance the range of

drums (and their pitches) to lay down beats,but the drummer's secret weapon is to usethese combinations in varying degrees ofsoft and loud. We must be able to use thefull range of dynamics on our instrument toplay effectively.

I can distinctly recall two musical situa-tions where I learned about using a "rangeof dynamics." As a rock drummer, I hadalways had tremendous pride in my back-beat and my kick drum. In my develop-ment as a drummer, I realized that I hadmore of a gift for laying down a "2 and 4"on the snare than I did for learning how toplay "crazy independent odd-meter stuff."So I leaned on the "2 and 4" regardless ofthe situation. Even though people com-plained about the volume every now andthen, I figured the backbeat was worth itand that the volume was necessary for mybackbeat to be effective.

One night I was at a world-famous jazzclub in New York City watching a show.This was a club that has seats right next tothe drummer, and I was sitting (literally)

two feet from this drummer's hi-hat. Theshow was moving along, the drummer wasgreat, and everything was fine. All of asudden, the band started playing a ballad,and the drummer started to use a cross-stick on his snare on 2 and 4. No big deal.Happens all the time, right? Wrong. Thisdrummer played his cross-stick—anextremely sharp, cutting sound—so incred-ibly quietly that I could barely hear him—and I was closer to him than anyone in theroom! The club, which must have held ahundred fifty people, was whisper-quietand absolutely captivated. That was thequietest backbeat I had ever heard, and itwas as effective as any slammed-out2-and-4 rock or funk pattern. In the courseof one song, I learned more about dynam-ics and playing with a range of volumethan I had in four years of music school.(Side note: Listening is always the bestway to learn.)

Not to say that I didn't learn aboutdynamics in music school. In fact, myother personal experience of learning howto play with a range of dynamics came

while I was rehearsing with the symphonyorchestra at school. Again, I was primarilya rock/set/backbeat guy, and I was alwaysin my comfort zone when cranking out agood, ear-splitting 2 and 4. But one semes-ter the orchestra was playing Stravinsky's"Rite Of Spring" (which should be onevery drummer's "must listen to" list), andI was assigned the tambourine and bassdrum parts. At one point in the piece, thetambourine is written with a dynamicmarking of ppp, or pianississimo. Thepiece calls for quarter notes to be played onthe tambourine as quietly as possible. I hadto find a way to simultaneously be barelyaudible, yet distinctly musical and "pre-sent" to the listener.

During the same piece there is a famouspassage where the part calls for elevenstraight strikes on the bass drum with adynamic marking of ffff (quadruple forte),with accents written above each note.Simply put, the bass drummer is instructedto play a 38" bass drum with wooden mal-lets, and to hit the drum dead center as hardas he or she possibly can. (Talk about fun!)

The point is that by playing this piece, Iwas able to experience the true range ofdynamics available to a percussionist. Thisrange of dynamics is equally available onthe drumset, and can be used in all types ofmusic.

John Bonham and Dave Grohl are twoobvious examples of drummers who playwith a wide range of dynamics. Think ofBonham's "Dazed And Confused" drumpart, where the bridge section has double-stop 16th notes on his toms and snare. Thatdrum part is whisper quiet—so much sothat you can hear the tone of all of hisdrums change as his approach to that partof the song changes. When the bridge endsand he kicks back into the main "head,"Bonham cranks out some monster, signa-ture fills. And then there is no mistakingthe effectiveness of his huge backbeat.Would that bridge and transition have beenas effective had he bashed his way throughwithout regard to dynamics? Certainly not.

Dave Grohl is one of the modern mastersof the soft-verse-into-loud-chorus, as anyof his recordings will show you. Can any-

one doubt the effectiveness or sincerity inwhich he plays an almost-not-there cross-stick on a verse, and then flails away at theride (or crash) and snare on choruses?Grohl's recordings are proof that some-times "quiet" can rock. His recordings alsoprove that sometimes drums can never beloud enough—when they're played appro-priately, and if there are dynamics withinthe song and drum part to balance out thevolume.

The concept of using a range of dynam-ics is easily (and necessarily) combinedwith the concepts of theory and song struc-ture, which have been covered in previouscolumns in this series. Playing for the song,being aware of key changes, noting wherethe tension and release points are within asong, song structure, melody, harmony...every single one of these disciplines orparameters affect how a drummer willplay, and how the dynamics will work.

The ability to play crescendos (playingsoft to loud over time) or decrescendos(playing loud to soft over time) is vital tothe effectiveness of a change within a song.

Drummers must practice changing volumejust as they must practice rudiments, con-trol, or independence. A common mistakeis that when playing quietly, the drummertends to slow down and drag the tempo.The reverse is also true, where the tenden-cy is to speed up as the volume increases.

Tempo and dynamics are separate, dis-tinct disciplines, and drummers must beaware of both. Dynamics affect everyaspect of the music, and the effect of play-ing with a range of dynamics cannot beundervalued. Experiment, listen to yourfavorite music, and focus on the changes ofvolume. Explore the range of your instru-ment. Find different combinations ofdynamics on the drumset (loud bass andsnare with quiet cymbals, or the other wayaround). And learn how to apply the use ofdynamics to your music. You'll turn into abrand-new drummer—and a more effectivemusician—once you discover the endlesspossibilities provided by your new sense ofdynamics.

The Musical Drummer

All-Starr LineupRingo Starr was at New York's Plaza Hotel recently to announcethe lineup for his sixth All-Starr Tour. Shown below at the tour-launch press conference are (from left) legendary Creambassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, Eric Carmen (of The Raspberries andsolo fame), Ringo, guitarist/songwriter Dave Edmunds, multi-instrumentalist Mark Rivera, and Bad Company drummer SimonKirke.

The tour is sponsored by Century 21 Real Estate, and Ringo andhis bandmates can be seen in a current TV commercial for thecompany. In related news, it was announced that a box set of pre-vious All-Starr shows is planned for release later this year.

A variety of percussion instruments manufactured by LP MusicGroup are included in a new exhibit organized by the SmithsonianInstitution's Center For Latino Initiatives. Entitled "Ritmos DiIdentidad" (Rhythm Of Identity), the exhibition includes FernandoOrtiz's Legacy and The Dr. & Mrs. Joseph H. Howard FamilyCollection of Percussion Instruments.

Fernando Ortiz (1881-1969) was a Cuban anthropologist andsocial justice advocate who published extensively in the field ofAfro-Caribbean folklore and music. Dr. Joseph Howard(1912-1994) was a Californian of African, European, and EastIndian ancestry who scoured the world for instruments meetinghis criteria of historic, cultural, and aesthetic significance.

On display from the Howard collection are over a hundred fiftysacred and secular instruments from Africa, the Caribbean, andthe Americas. They serve as an adjunct to Ortiz's work, offering avisible and tactile map of the travels of African culture across landand sea.

Displayed alongside the ancient drums, odd-shaped guiros, andshakers are twenty-four of their modern LP counterparts.Ironically, when LP founder Martin Cohen began shaping bells,the market was limited to fragile instruments such as those popu-lating the Howard Collection. Cohen resolved that LP's missionwould be to provide a range of durable modern instruments withauthentic sounds. In doing so he has helped preserve endangeredfolkloric instruments such as those on display.

Tito PuenteAs we went to press for this issue, welearned of the passing of Latin jazz legendTito Puente. Tito died on May 31, at theage of seventy-seven.

Tito was a major figure on the Latin andjazz scenes for over fifty years. As a band-leader, he recorded over one hundredalbums and earned several Grammyawards. (The latest came just last year.)As a timbale player, Tito was widelyregarded as a dynamic soloist who usedmusicality, showmanship, and sheerenthusiasm to excite his audiences. Andas a songwriter, Tito made a cross-cultur-al impact achieved by few, if any, otherartists. His composit ions have beenrecorded by dozens of other stellar musi-cians over several generations. Ironically,one of his most famous tunes was madepopular not by a jazz artist, but by a leg-

end of the rock idiom. Carlos Santana'srendition of Tito's "Oye Como Va" madelots of money for them both.

Tito was constantly being re-discov-ered by new generations of fans. Hisappearance in the film The Mambo Kingslit up the screen, and helped to launchwhat has become a full-blown crossoverof authentic Latin music into mainstreampop culture. Following the film, more andmore young people attended Tito's shows.They had plenty of opportunity, since hetoured tirelessly, up to within a few weeksof his passing.

Modern Drummer will present a majortribute to Tito Puente in the November 2000issue. In the meantime, we offer our con-dolences to his family, friends, and count-less fans.

In Memoriam

LP At The Smithsonian

The Ritmos De Identidad exhibition will be open throughAugust 1, 2000 at the Smithsonian's Arts & Industries building inWashington, DC.

Indy Quickies

QU I CK BEATS : CHAD GRACEY(LIVE)

Yamaha has become acorporate sponsor of theprestigious TheloniousMonk Institute of JazzPerformance programat the University ofSouthern California in LosAngeles. The company will

provide the Institute with an assortment of instruments from theBand & Orchestral division, including drumsets and mallet key-board instruments. The Institute was founded in 1986 as a tributeto the memory of jazz legend Thelonious Monk. It offers promis-ing young musicians intense college-level training, and presentsmulti-faceted school-based education programs worldwide.

Drum Workshop has moved to a larger facility in Oxnard,California. The new building will house DW's manufacturing andadministrative offices. The new address is 3450 Lunar Ct.,Oxnard, CA 93030, tel: (805) 485-6999, fax: (805) 485-1334,www.dwdrums.com.

If you're interested in a custom drumk-it from Pearl's Masterworks series,you'll want to contact their new Master-works technical specialist, CarlPeterson, (left) Carl's an accomplisheddrummer and a veteran of Pearl's cus-tomer service department. Peterson'semail address is [email protected].

1) What are some of yourfavorite recorded grooves?Some of my favorite grooves arejust about anything by StewartCopeland and Matt Cameron.I 've also been enjoying JoshFreese's drumming on ChrisCornell 's Euphoria Morning,especially the groove on "Can'tChange Me."

2) If someone wasn't famil-iar with your drumming,which recording would yourecommend they listen tothat best represents yourplaying?I would have to say the best rep-resentation of my playing wouldbe Live's latest, The Distance ToHere. It really represents the cul-mination of everything I 'velearned from other drummers aswell as being in Live for fifteenyears.

3) What records and booksdid you study when you firststarted playing?I didn't use any books simplybecause I can't read music. Ilearned everything in my forma-t ive years from playing torecords. The first record I playedto was a Beatles record. After that

I moved on to U2 records likeWar, Under A Blood Red Sky,and The Joshua Tree. Then it wasearly Red Hot Chili Peppers(Freaky Styley), Power Station,and Sting's Dream Of The BlueTurtles.

4) Who are some of yourinfluences?My influences are pretty broad.In my early years, drummers likeTony Thompson, Jack Irons,Larry Mullen Jr., StewartCopeland, and Manu Katche real-ly helped shape my style.Modern-day influences wouldhave to include Matt Cameron,Chad Smith (What up, Chad?),Eric Kretz, and Dave Grohl.

DRUM KICKS

"That was supposed to activate the sampler!"

QUICK BEATS: JOHN "JR" ROBINSON (SESSION GREAT)

1) What are some of your favorite record-ed grooves by other drummers?Steve Gadd on "Nite Sprite" (Chick Corea),Tony Williams on "Freedom Jazz Dance" (MilesDavis), John Bonham on "Whole Lotta Love"(Led Zeppelin), Jeff Porcaro on "Rosanna"(Toto), Billy Cobham on "Spectrum," andBuddy Rich on "West Side Story."

2) What are some of your favoritegrooves that you've recorded?Steve Winwood's "Higher Love" and "SplitDecision," Rufus's "Ain't Nobody" and "DoYou Love What You Feel," Lionel Richie's"All Night Long," David Lee Roth's "Just A

Gigolo," Quincy Jones' "Ai No Corrida" and"Just Once," Michael & Jermaine Jackson's"Tell Me I'm Not Dreamin'," and MichaelJackson's "Rock With You."

3) What books and records did youstudy when you first started playing?Books: Ted Reed's Syncopation, GeorgeStone's Stick Control, and W.F. Ludwig'sRudiments. As for records, early on I likedBuddy Rich 's Live At The Chez, LouisArmstrong & Danny Kaye's version of "WhenThe Saints Come Marching In," The BeachBoys' "I Get Around," and multiple CountBasie recordings.

9/16 — Second annual show. Buy,sell, or trade. Ludwig snare raffle,door prizes, drum clinics, booths withJohn Aldridge and Not So ModernDrummer, and Ludwig Industries.Vintage drum exhibit by collector BillPace. For more information contactBilly Jeansonne, (770) 438-0844,[email protected],atlantavintagedrums.corn.

Ignacio Berroa

7/22 — Verbier Jazz Festival, Verbier,Switzerland.7/27 — Boulder Theatre, Boulder,CO.7/29 — Centrum Jazz Festival,Port Townsend, Washington.7/30 — Jazz and Blues House,Carmel, CA.7/31 — Kumbwa Jazz Center,Santa Cruz, CA.8/1-6 — Yoshi's, Oakland, CA.8/8-13 — Jazz Alley, Seattle, WA.8/15-20 — Blue Note, New York,NY.10/13-14 — Kaplan Penthouse, withguest Joe Lovano, New York, NY.10/26 — Kennedy Center,Washington, DC.10/27-28 — Hampton Arts Center,Hampton, VA. For all shows contactJanet Williamson, (323) 663-4447.

CMJ Music Marathon 200010/19 —22 — Exhibit, music businesstopics on radio promotion, artist man-agement, digital downloading,Webcasting, film soundtracks, andmore. Night-time performances bymore than a thousand bands in fifty ofNew York's greatest venues. NewYork Hilton and Towers, New YorkCity. For more information and regis-tration, contact CMJ events depart-ment, (877) 633-7848 or [email protected].

Hollyhock Percussion Workshop7/19-24 — Afro-Cuban Percussionfeaturing Armando Peraza & TrevorSalloum. Co-sponored by LP MusicGroup, Cortes Island, Vancouver, BC.Contact Hollyhock, (800) 933-6339 orwww.hollyhock.bc.ca/main.html.

Interactive Music Expo10/3-4 — Keynote/conference,exhibits, Los Angeles ConventionCenter, Los Angeles, CA. For info &registration call (203) 256-5759 or surfto www.imusicxpo.com.

Journees De La Percussion11/2-4 — Artists include EvelynGlennie, Neil Grover, Billy Cobham,Luis Conte, Bob Harsen, DomFamularo, John Bergamo, GiovanniHidalgo, and many more. FranceFestival, Paris, France.

KoSA 2000 Drum &Percussion Camp7/31-8/6 — Castleton State College,Castleton, Vermont. The fifth-editionworkshop will feature Steve Smith,Glen Velez, Dom Famularo, AldoMazza, Marco Lienhard, GordonGottlieb, George Gaber, Paul Picard,Giovanni Hidalgo, Repercussion,Efrain Toro, Frank Belucci, WalfredoReyes Jr., Adarn Nussbaum, RickGratton, Johnny Rabb, Charlie Adams,Rick Van Horn, and Leigh Stevens.

KoSA is a hands-on intensive percus-sion camp that covers a diverse rangeof styles of drumming, including rock,jazz, Latin, funk, classical percussion,Brazilian, Arabic frame drumming,electronic/MIDI percussion, AfroCaribbean rhythms, Japanese Taikodrumming, solo marimba, timpani,snare drum, and percussion ensemble.For more information, contactAldo Mazza, (800) 540-9030 oremail [email protected]: www.kosamusic.com.

Ricky Lawson7/26 — AJ's Pro Percussion, Tampa,FL. Contact (800) 545-7668.

MidWest Drum and Dance Festival8/11-13 — Oakwood Farms RetreatCenter, Selma, IN. For more informa-tion, contact www.pas.org.

Thelonious Monk Institute Of Jazz9/10-11 — Afro-Latin Hand DrumCompetition. Audition tapes are dueby July 5. Judges include Candido,Giovanni Hidalgo, Milton Cardona,Babatunde Olatunji, Poncho Sanchez,Big Black, and Ray Baretto, artisticdirector. Johnny Almendra and hisband will back up the semifinalist.Kennedy Center, Washington, DC. Forapplication and details visitwww.monkinstitute.com or call(202)364-0176.

Montreal Drum Festival 200011/3-5 — Zoro, Richie Garcia, GreggBissonette, Tommy Igoe, Alex Acuna,Nathaniel Townsley, and more,Montreal, Canada.

Mt. Hood Jazz Festival8/4-6 — Featuring The DukeEllington Orchestra, under the direc-tion of Paul Mercer Ellington. Alsoappearing, McCoy Tyner, MichaelBrecker, Tower of Power, TheYellowjackets, and more. Special per-

formance by jazz Times 30thAnniversary Super Band, featuringRandy Brecker, Bob Berg, JoeyDeFrancesco, and Dennis Chambers.Portland, Oregon. Reserved and gener-al-admission tickets available by call-ing (800) 992-TIXX or vistwww.mthoodjazz.com.

Nashville Percussion Institute7/22 — Sixth annual percussionextravaganza hosted by ModernDrummer's senior editor, Rick VanHorn. Mitchell Barnett Theater,Nashville, TN. For more information,contact N.P.I at (615) 340-0085or www.NPI.homepage.com.

Ndugu Chancler7/17-19 — C.M.U. workshop, CentralMichigan.7/29-8 — Stanford Jazz Music Camp,Stanford, CT.11/15_18 — PASIC 2000, Dallas, TX.

Pro-Mark Online Chatswww.promark-stix.com7/20 — Steve Ferrone.

Rhythm Sticks Festival7/15-23 — Artists include ZakirHussain, Giovanni Hidalgo, HoracioHernandez, Dave Weckl Band, JeffWatts, Evelyn Glennie, and manymore. Alessandra Belloni, GlenPattison, Taiko, Iranian and drum kit(with Planet Drum) workshops.London, England. For informationcontact www.pas.org.

Y2 Africa: Exploring the Routesof West Africa8/6-12 — Five-day seminar withMichael Spiro of Talking Drums andDane Richeson from LawrenceUniversity. Drumming styles of partic-ular regions from Ghana, Brazil, andCuba. Bjorklunden, Baileys Harbor,Wisconsin. Contact Mark Breseman,(920) 839-2216.

Atlanta Vintage &Custom Drum Show

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16079163113127694

95,97104/105

86101,112

1221621371631607713516215042

11,66,7516210312811116316010316314150

1143

27,641616478161CV3236813910812315586134791311501604314

80/81,92CV216174

70/71,129

1211601471609

143163120148138231687293

24/25,6599

6/7,32/33,6987141138161161

5,11021862029160

16/17161

31,34/35,1597612494132153165

40,41,58/59,1511621361601628610312516072153

67,92,162

15310999162124

19,15310,13,15,CV4

163162

124

Drummer: Josh FreeseA Perfect Circle's Mers de NomsSound City, Los AngeiesBilly Howerdel (gtr), Maynard James Keenan (vcl).Troy Van Leeuwen (gtr), Paz Lenchantin (bs)

osh Freese didn't need to forma band and go on tour. He was

sitting pretty, recording tracks forname acts, then getting home for agood night's sleep. But whiledoing session after session for theon-again/off-again Guns N'Roses, something happened.

"There was this whiz-kid gui-tarist, Billy Howerdel," Joshrecalls. "And his roommate wasMaynard, the singer from Tool.We all hit it off, so we decided todo some recording to see whatmight happen. It was pretty loosein the beginning, because none ofus could dedicate seven days aweek to the project. Slowly,though, it became our first priori-ty." A Perfect Circle was born.(After seeing the lineup and hear-ing the material, Virgin Recordsreportedly offered the band thelargest advance in their history.)

Given Howerdel's technical wizardry,they could have summoned the full forceof ProTools software. "I hear producerfriends tell horror stories of how theyhave to sit for two days and fix drum-mers' every kick and snare note," saysJosh. "The only times I've used ProToolswere when we wanted to splice togetherthe intro and outro of two different takes.Otherwise, it's been all natural drum-ming, live off the floor."

The current single, "Judith," is one ofJosh's favorites. "There's definitely over-playing on it," he admits. "I really went

for it. I hadn't even heard vocals when Irecorded the drums. Towards the end ofthe song, I intentionally turn the beataround. It's simple things like that that Idig a lot. Billy told me later, 'Man, there'snot one edit from top to bottom, and this isthe first take you did!' I like to listen tosomething a little bit rougher around theedges. It sounds like it has more guts."

Inside Scoop: "On a few songs, I endedup using one of Tommy Lee's drumsetsthat just happened to be at the studio,"Josh says. "He had this great-sounding,

mirror-balled DW kit there. And using itmeant I didn't have to bring in my drums!Those drums were used on the tracks'Orestes' and 'Brena.'

"We didn't have finished songs whenwe went in to record," Josh admits, "so Ihad a tendency to jam out. In a verse Iwould play some kind of fill thatshouldn't have been there. But it wascool, we adapted to it. It was definitely adifferent kind of drumming from what Iwould play if Joe Shmo producer was hir-ing me to do a session."

Release:Studio:Artists:

J

T. Bruce Wittet

DRUMS: DWA.8xl4 bell brass snare drum ("It weighed 30 pounds.

I'm not a piccolo guy.")B. 9x12 tomC. 10x13 tomD.I6x16 floor tomE. 16x18 floor tomF. 18x22 bass drum

CYMBALS: Zildjian1. 14" New Beat hi-hats2. 20" crash (various models)3. 21" Rock ride

HEADS: Remo CS Reverse coated on snare batter,clear Powerstroke 3 on bass drum batter with standardDW front head with hole, clear Emperors on tops oftoms with clear Ambassadors underneath.

TUNING & APPROACH: Tensioning of heads wasmoderate, the snare anywhere between loose and tight.Minimal muffling.

STICKS: Regal Tip 5B and Quantum 3000 models (wood tip)

SESSION GEAR

Pau

l La

Rai

a

PHISH'SJON FISHMAN

STUDIO LEGENDHAL BLAINE

PANTRA'SVINNIE PAUL

IN THE STUDIO WITHPAUL WERTICO

PLUS MD FEST 2000VINNIE, TAIN, EL NEGRO, & MORE!