February 2002 - Modern Drummer Magazine

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• LUDWIG GIG LITE • SLAYER • RILEY SOLO TIPS •

DAVE HOLLAND’SBILLY KILSON

CLAUDIO SLONBRAZILIAN GIANT

ALIEN ANT FARM’S”SMOOTH CRIMINAL”

DROWNING POOL’SMIKE LUCE

SCOTT TRAVISMETAL’S FINESTSCOTT TRAVISMETAL’S FINEST

JUDAS PRIEST’SJUDAS PRIEST’S

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CCoonntteennttssJOSE PASILLAS

OF INCUBUSChallenging music, constant touring, and yes, air drumming, have helped turn Jose Pasillas into one of the hottest young players today.

by David John Farinella

Volume 26, Number 2

Cover photo by Brian Smith

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UPDATESlayer’s Paul BostaphBush’s Robin GoodridgeMoke’s Johnny MorganSandra Bernhard’s Denise FraserBilly Ray Cyrus’s Steve French

UP & COMINGDROWNING POOL’S

Mike LuceWith a penchant for playing for the song andfocusing on the groove, Mike Luce is helpingDrowning Pool bring hard rock back to the masses.by David John Farinella

PERCUSSION TODAYEAST MEETS JAZZWhen drumset giant Steve Smith says it’s a toughgig, well, it must be a challenge. See how hematches wits with tabla virtuoso Sandip Burman.by Michael Bettine

MD GiveawayWin One Of Twelve Fabulous Prizes, Including Canopus Drums,Wuhan Cymbals, New Sound Stands,Beato Bags, And Accessories FromGroove Juice And Grip Peddler

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JUDAS PRIEST’SSCOTT TRAVISScott Travis is the finest drummerworking in the metal scene today. Sosays anyone who’s heard his wickedbeats, twisted fills, and pummeling dou-ble bass work. Bow to the metal god!by Mike Haid

DAVE HOLLAND’SBILLY KILSONHard bop meets jazz-rock? Monster-man Kilson represents a new hybrid injazz drumming.by Ken Micallef

BRAZILIAN MASTER

CLAUDIO SLONLearn the secrets of the elusive SouthAmerican feel from the cat whosamba’d Sinatra, Hancock, and Jobim.by Kevin Winard

108 Rock ChartsAlien Ant Farm’s Mike Cosgrove:“Smooth Criminal”Transcribed by Joe Bergamini

114 Jazz Drummers’WorkshopDoubles Crossedby John Riley

116 The MusicalDrummerUnderstanding The Language OfMusic, Part 5: Basic Chord Structureby Ron Spagnardi

120 Rock ’N’ Jazz ClinicRhythmic Perspectives:Tips For Broadening Your Mindby Gavin Harrison

122 Off The RecordSum 41’s Stevo 32: All Killer No Fillerby Ed Breckenfeld

130 First PersonThe Healing Power Of Musicby Matthew Sumera

132 Health & ScienceIt May Not Be Carpal TunnelSyndrome!by Jennie Hoeft

138 Shop TalkA Practical Guide To NoiseReduction, Part 3:Hitting The Highs And Lowsby Mark Parsons

16 It’s Questionable

124 Critique

128 On The Move

144 BackbeatsKodo Earth Day Celebration,Badenya At Lincoln Center, and more

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EEqquuiippmmeenntt38 New And Notable

44 Product Close-UpYamaha Beech Custom Absolute Drumkitby Rick Long

46 Meinl Generation X Cymbalsby Billy Amendola

48 Ludwig Gig Lite Kitby Chap Ostrander

49 Quick Looks: Remo Suede Drumheads

50 New Yamaha Stands And Hi-Hatsby Rick Van Horn

54 Electronic ReviewRoland V-Club Electronic Drumkitby Rick Long

4 An Editor’s OverviewLifting Each Other Upby William F. Miller

6 Readers’ Platform

12 Ask A ProGregg Bissonette, Gregg Field,and Denny Carmassi

148 Drum MarketIncluding Vintage Showcase

152 Drumkit Of The Month

Page 124

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Modern Drummer February 20024

Idon’t have to tell you, it’s an upsetting time in our world. We’ve all beenrocked by recent tragic events. Not surprisingly, most of my drummer

friends have told me that they’re just not inspired to play right now.You’ve probably been feeling the same way.

As for me, before September 11, I was trying to rebuild the technique inmy right hand after an injury. (I covered all of the gory details in previouseditorials and I’m not going to whine about it again, I promise.) But afterall of the insanity, I didn’t feel like playing either.

One of the things I’ve been doing to help refocus is going back to theexercises that I worked on years ago when I studied with Joe Morello.Just thinking about Joe, such a kind, giving man—with beautiful tech-nique—inspires me. So I thought, Why not share one of his famous“Stone Killer” exercises to give us all a little motivational shot in the arm?

Play each line fifty times before moving to the next. Use a metronome.Stay relaxed. Don’t worry about the speed—it’ll come. Give this five to tenminutes a day for a month and your hands will be ripping.

Obviously, good technique won’t chase away sad feelings, but channel-ing your energies in a positive way will help. Try it. And if you have anyinspirational suggestions, please share them with me at [email protected]. I’ll be sure to pass them along. Let’s lift each other up.

an editor’s overview

EDITOR/PUBLISHERCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERASSOCIATE PUBLISHERSENIOR EDITOREDITORIAL DIRECTORMANAGING EDITORASSOCIATE EDITOREDITORIAL ASSISTANTSENIOR ART DIRECTORASSISTANT ART DIRECTORASSISTANT ART DIRECTORADVERTISING DIRECTORADVERTISING ASSISTANTEDITORIAL/ADV. ASSISTANTMARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONSWEB SITE DIRECTOROFFICE ASSISTANT

MODERN DRUMMER ADVISORY BOARD: Henry Adler,Kenny Aronoff, Eddie Bayers, Louie Bellson, Bill Bruford, HarryCangany, Jim Chapin, Dennis DeLucia, Les DeMerle, LenDiMuzio, Charlie Donnelly, Peter Erskine, Vic Firth, Bob Gatzen,Danny Gottlieb, Sonny Igoe, Jim Keltner, Paul Leim, PeterMagadini, George Marsh, Joe Morello, Rod Morgenstein, AndyNewmark, Neil Peart, Ed Shaughnessy, Steve Smith, EdThigpen, Billy Ward, Dave Weckl, Paul Wertico.

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Michael Bettine, Robyn Flans,Burt Korall, Rick Mattingly, Ken Micallef, Mark Parsons, MikeHaid, Robin Tolleson, Lauren Vogel Weiss, T. Bruce Wittet.

MODERN DRUMMER magazine (ISSN 0194-4533) is pub-lished monthly by MODERN DRUMMER Publications, Inc.,12 Old Bridge Road, Cedar Grove, NJ 07009. PERIODICALSMAIL POSTAGE paid at Cedar Grove, NJ 07009 and at addi-tional mailing offices. Copyright 2002 by MODERN DRUM-MER Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproductionwithout the permission of the publisher is prohibited.

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RONALD SPAGNARDIISABEL SPAGNARDITRACY A. KEARNSRICK VAN HORNWILLIAM F. MILLERADAM J. BUDOFSKYTED BONARSUZANNE HURRINGSCOTT G. BIENSTOCKMICHELE M. NEWHOUSEJOSEPH KINGBOB BERENSONJOAN C. STICKELBILLY AMENDOLADIANA LITTLEKEVIN W. KEARNSROSLYN MADIA

The World’s Most Widely Read Drum MagazineVolume 26, Number 2

Lifting Each Other Up


readers’ platformVIC FIRTHI thoroughly enjoyed Rick Mattingly’s pro-file on Vic Firth. So much, in fact, that itled me to submit this request: Please fea-ture more classical percussionists!

Classical percussionists are among thebest musicians in our craft. We can alllearn from their experiences, taste, andgrace. Invite them to share their skills andtechniques with us. Regardless of whatstyle of music we play on our drumsets,there is wisdom to be learned from ourbrothers and sisters in the classical field.

Stuart McConaghyWest Haven, CT

It’s gratifying to see Vic Firth recognizedfor all his musical accomplishments. Asthe percussion buyer for a large chain ofmusical instrument stores, I also have thepleasure of dealing with Vic in his “other”job. He’s one of a rare breed who canopen up to young and old alike. He canmake you feel like a long-lost friend, justwith a handshake. He’s quick to offer asuggestion or tip that can provide benefi-cial results. And his wit and humor aresecond to none.

Vic has touched many within the per-cussion world, and he’ll continue to be a

blessing to all he comes in contact with.Contrary to what Leo Durocher once said,nice guys can finish first.

Lew DiTommasoDaddy’s Junky Music Stores

via Internet

ERIC CARRThanks for the thoughtful article on EricCarr in your November 2001 issue. Ialways felt that Eric was overshadowedby Peter Criss, and so didn’t get his due.

When Eric replaced Peter in KISS, ittook me a while toget used to the idea.Eric came from theBonham school:big, loud drums. Iwas so used toPeter’s tighter, sin-gle-bass approachthat I didn’t reallyget into Eric’s playing till later on.

Eric was quite restrained on his firstalbum with KISS (The Elder). It’s almostas though Gene, Paul, and Ace wantedhim to sound like Peter. But on the nextalbum, Creatures Of The Night, Eric wasallowed to show what he could do. Andthe opening drum fill on Asylum’s “KingOf The Mountain” is trademark EricCarr: very quick double bass and tomwork, coupled with a big, driving back-beat.

Eric made a major contribution to themusic and the history of KISS, and he isstill missed. God bless him.

Patrick Handlovskyvia Internet

DRUMMING...AND LIFE...GOES ONOn September 12, 2001, the first-everSabian Day in Uruguay was held at the ElGalpon Theater in Montevideo. Alongwith top Argentinean drummer FitoMessina and myself, the evening featuredAmerican drummers Dom Famularo andJonathan Mover.

The nearly five hundred drummers inattendance witnessed a wonderful demon-stration of art, professionalism, andcourage from the American gentlemen.Despite their tension, preoccupation, andpain (both being residents of the New

STEWART COPELAND

Ted Bonar’s November cover story onStewart Copeland’s triumphant return tothe drums was a thoroughly enjoyableread from beginning to end. Stewart wassort of a remote drum teacher to me whileI was growing up. I learned how to prop-erly flam by listening to “Driven To Tears”and “Message In A Bottle,” and I learnedhow to play a triplet on the hi-hat by lis-tening to “Deathwish” and “Walking OnThe Moon.” And all of Stewart’s worktaught me how to play interesting fills thatdrive a song without cluttering it.

Stewart is also the only rock drummer Ican think of who used electroniceffects/digital delay in clever, musicalways. Just listen to Regatta De Blanc orThe Police Live.

Stewart’s drumkit was always uncon-

ventional and cool, his drumming wasalways full of creativity and power (whileretaining that early punk looseness), andhis personality always shined through inwhatever he attempted. I’m so pleasedthat he decided it was time to return andprove yet again that his place in drum his-tory is completely secure.

Joe GorelickNew York, NY

People have been wondering why I holdStewart in such high regard, and I haven’tbeen able to justify it or do him justice tillnow. What a great and informative article!

I enjoyed hearing what other artists oftoday felt about Stewart’s influences onthem. (It made me want to check out theirwork.) However, most enjoyable were theinsights into Stewart himself. I especiallyliked the “answer in twenty words orless” portion of the interview. I was gladto see that we both feel the same aboutSynchronicity: “Who cares?”

David Moscato Ft. Myers, FL

Not only is Stewart’s drumming unique,he also continues the legacy of greatAmerican composers, such as CharlesIves, George Gershwin, and AaronCopland (with just a bit of Igor Stravinskyfor that European influence). It was grati-fying to see the “King Of Kinetic Ritual”receive some long-overdue recognition.

Dan Hochvia Internet

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York area), these amazing drummers“went on with the show” in the traditionalmanner. They paid tribute to the victims ofevil, and demonstrated that through theexpression of art, the human spirit canovercome the fear and anguish of war. Ioffer kudos to Dom and Jonathan. I’mhappy to have been part of an event thateverybody who attended called historicand unforgettable.

Gonzalo Farrugiafrom Uruguay, via Internet

I recently attended a DW Five-StarDealers clinic in Kansas City, featuringJohn Good and Billy Ward. It was refresh-ing to see the genuine passion these guyshave for the drums. Both stayed late intothe evening and made sure every questionwas answered. The clinic was scheduledshortly after the terrible events in NewYork and Washington, and I’m sure thatair travel was a major headache. Still, Johnand Billy took the trouble to come to KCas scheduled. These guys were more thanjust good drummers. They went out of

their way to make sure everyone felt wel-come, and that we all walked away with anew outlook on drumming.

Brad Orellvia Internet

SOME HE LIKES...SOME HE DOESN’TThe October 2002It’s Questionabledepartment dedicat-ed to vintage-druminquiries was someof the most interest-ing reading I’veever enjoyed inModern Drummer.The fact that you

receive so many such inquiries might indi-cate enough reader interest to warrant amonthly feature like this.

The space could easily be created byeliminating ink given to interviews inwhich drummers go on about themselves,with quotes such as, “I also play guitar,piano, accordion, clarinet, and bass, writelyrics, compose music, produce demorecordings in my new home studio, and

dance in the ballet.” Who gives a damn?I’m more interested in which heads theyprefer in drumming situations.

Paul LawrenceJulian, CA

BILLY’S CONCEPTSBilly Ward’s Concepts pieces are the mostimportant articles in your magazine.They’re doing more to ensure that we thinkas musicians than anything else I’ve read.Keep them coming.

Bill BunkersOak Park, IL

Correspondence to MD’s Readers’

Platform may be sent by mail:

12 Old Bridge Road,

Cedar Grove, NJ 07009,

fax: (973) 239-7139, or

email: [email protected].

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Q I first heard you on Frank Sinatra’s Duets CD, and I loved thesound of your cymbals and drums. When I heard you again on

Vince Gill’s Breath Of Heaven, your kit sounded very different. Iknow that you work with a pretty wide variety of artists. Do youchange your kit depending on who you work with? If so, how andwhy?

Also, I have CDs on which you’re listed as drummer and pro-ducer. How does being a producer influence your drumming? Is itdifficult to do both?

Hideko TowadaFukuoka, Japan

AThanks for your kind words. There are really two answers toyour first question. To begin with, I do alter my sound from

project to project. I work in a wide variety of styles, and one drumor cymbal sound would not always be musically appropriate. Forthe Frank Sinatra Duets CD I wanted a very wide, open sound.The music was acoustic, with large brass, woodwind, and stringsections. Drums that are too dry are difficult to blend with the restof the orchestra.

For live acoustic performances I generally use a 20" or 22"Yamaha Maple Custom Absolute bass drum, with a RemoPowerStroke 3 batter and a clear Ambassador front head with nohole, and no dampening inside the drum. For recording the samekind of music, I’ll use a 6" hole in the front head, and occasionallya little bit of dampening inside the drum (depending on the studioand the engineer). For live performance, a good rule of thumb isthat the further away from the bass drum you are, the less tone youperceive. In a hall, for example, a double-headed bass drum withno hole works great. But in the studio, a microphone 6" from thedrum will often reproduce too much tone and not enough attack,and may need a little help.

I mostly use 12", 13", 14", and 15" Maple Custom Absolute

toms, with coated Ambassador batters and clear Ambassadors onthe bottoms. For live playing I generally tune them slightly higherand use no dampening whatsoever. For recording, I’ll tune them alittle lower and use a little dampening on the larger toms to controlthe attack-to-overtone ratio.

I prefer wood snare drums, and again, for live performance Iprefer them wide open. In the studio I’ll dampen the drum depend-ing on what the music calls for. Vince Gill’s Breath Of Heavenwas also an orchestral recording. But Vince is a “contemporarycountry” artist, so I felt the need to bring a more contemporarydrum sound and performance to the music. I used a lower tuningscheme and more dampening on all the drums except for the snarein order to achieve the results I desired. The Duets tuning wouldnot have worked in that case.

I play Zildjian cymbals, and I’m currently using three different

ask a pro

Gregg Field O n C h a n g i n g S o u n d s

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Q I’m one of the many drummers in search of the “perfect”cymbal sound. I’ve heard a few cymbals whose sound I love

on various recordings. Among them is a China that you played ona Larry Carlton/Steve Lukather album called No Substitutions,recorded live in Osaka, Japan. Can you describe this fantastic-sounding cymbal?

Darren Ashfordvia Internet

AThanks for asking. That cymbal was an 18" Zildjian OrientalChina. I also used a set of Zildjian Oriental Trash Hats (16"

and 14") that were mounted with both cymbals upside down sothat the 14" cymbal sat flush inside the bigger one. They weretightened down pretty tight to get a real short sound. That mightalso be what you’re hearing as a “China” sound.

C h o o s i n g C h i n a s W i t h Gregg Bissonette

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Would you like to ask your favorite drummer a question? Send it to Ask A Pro, Modern Drummer, 12 Old Bridge Rd., Cedar Grove, NJ 07009. Or you may [email protected]. We will do our best to pursue every inquiry.

RepeatBarA Classic Quote From MD’s Past

“We drummers are all in the same boat, and there are things we can learn

from each other. I’ve always felt that each of us has something to say on

the instrument—and I want to hear it.”

Carter Beauford, July 2001

Q I’ve been a big fan of yours since the Montrose days. For me,your playing on Sammy Hagar’s All Night Long live album is

a rock-drumming standard. Not only is your performance impec-cable, your drum sound is one of the best I’ve heard. I know ithas been a while since that recording was made, but do you recallwhat type of kit and tuning methods you were using? Also, howdid you develop your great foot technique?

Roger CardilloBayonne, New Jersey

A In those days I was a Ludwig endorser. So it could have beenone of two kits: a red flamed kit that I played on the

Montrose records (with a 16x26 bass drum), or a kit I receivedfrom Ludwig just before Sammy’s All Night Long recording wasmade. That kit had a 16x24 bass drum; the other drums on bothkits were 8x10 and 10x12 rack toms and 14x14 and 14x16 floortoms. Sammy seems to recall that it was the red flamed kit.

My philosophy regarding tuning is that each drum has its owncharacteristic and limitation. I spend a lot of time with my drums,using my ears and learning what each drum is capable of doing.As far as the drum sound on that particular record goes, I have toshare the credit with the recording engineer. It was a live record-

ing, so I provided the sound, and he captured it on tape, using hismicrophones and his ears.

My foot technique is something I was blessed with, rather thansomething I developed. I know it sounds like an oversimplifica-tion, but honestly, it was something I was able to just do.

Denny Carmassi’s A l l N i g h t L o n g K i t

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rides. For jazz I’ve been favoring my 22" K Constantinople. I alsouse a 20" K Custom Dark and a 20" A Custom with three rivetsthat’s great with brushes. I use 16" and 17" K Dark crashes thatcome up and down very quickly. And I keep coming back to my14" A New Beat hi-hats for nearly everything. I’ve yet to find asituation in which they don’t sound terrific.

Another tool not often discussed in terms of creating sound isstick choice. A great-sounding cymbal played with the wrong beadcan sound terrible. Last year Vic Firth helped me design my signa-ture stick. He recommended a change in the bead—which I origi-nally resisted. But after trying his suggestion I found a significantimprovement in the sound of my cymbals and drums. I now usethat stick for the majority of my playing, but there are times whenI use a different model to create different sounds. One examplewould be for a cross-stick across the rim: A heavier stick yields amore meaty sound. It would also be great for a contemporarybackbeat, but it might be too intrusive in a jazz situation. Don’t beafraid to experiment.

My second response to your first question is that I change mysounds because my taste is constantly evolving. I always want to

use the approach and sound that will make the music come alive.The more limited your palette, the less effective you will be. If Irecorded Duets tomorrow, I’m sure it would sound different fromthe way it did a few years ago.

As for playing and producing, I enjoy it, but it can be tricky.One major challenge is to focus on what I need to play while stillbeing aware of everything going on around me. I’m not only con-cerned with the performances, but also with making sure thingsare getting on tape the way I want them to. To help in this regard, Iusually work with the same two engineers. The trust I have inthem lets me put my focus elsewhere. And I usually have someonein the booth who lends an extra set of ears. I also try to listen toplaybacks without distraction. Many times I’ve listened to thingsat home, only to find that there were problems I missed at thetracking session.

Producing has made me a much better musician, by teaching meto listen to music as a whole. My friend Andre Fischer, who is afine drummer and producer, told me that drummers make greatproducers because they have to know everybody’s part. Ain’t itthe truth!

Gregg Field


it’s questionable

A Hole Too SmallQ I have a 20" A Zildjian cymbal from

the late 1950s or early ’60s. I got itused in 1962. The problem is that the holeis too small for today’s cymbal stands. Isthis unique to my cymbal, or common tocymbals of that era? And is there anythingI can do to enlarge the hole so I can use thecymbal with modern stands?

Carl Upthegrovevia Internet

A It’s not unusual to find an older cym-bal with a hole that’s too small for

today’s larger-diameter cymbal rods. Mosttilter rods in the ’50s and ’60s were littlemore than 1⁄4" threaded bolts. The tilterrods today can sometimes be close to twicethat diameter, especially when the thick-ness of a cymbal sleeve is added.

It’s fairly easy to enlarge the hole in a

cymbal, but the job must be done carefully.It should be done on a drill press, on whichthe cymbal can be secured. (A hand-helddrill is more likely to slip, risking scarringor cracking the cymbal.) The bell of thecymbal should be “backed up” by a blockof wood into which the drill bit can pene-trate after it has passed through the hole inthe cymbal.

If you don’t have access to a drill press,take the cymbal to a qualified drum-repairshop, or to a metal machine shop. In thelatter case, explain to the machinist pre-cisely what you need done, and stress thecare required.

Recycling DrumheadsQ Normally, used drumheads are tossed

out. At the rate that a lot of drummers

change heads, the amount of “drum trash”that could potentially accumulate seemsobvious. I love drumming, but I alsobelieve in conservation, so I’m concernedabout this situation. Are there any existingprograms for recycling drumheads? If not,what might be done about recycling in thefuture?

Joshua Webervia Internet

AThe question of drumhead recyclinghas been raised several times over the

years. Unfortunately, there is no organizedprogram that we’re aware of. There areseveral problems involved. One is that theplastic film used to make heads is not recy-clable. And while the aluminum hoopsused in most heads would be recyclable,neighborhood recycling centers generallyonly accept aluminum in the form of sodacans. Industrial-use aluminum must berecycled through a scrap-metal recycler,and those businesses generally will onlydeal in quantity. Unless a drumshop orother location were willing to be a collec-tion point for used heads, it might be diffi-cult to accumulate enough aluminumhoops to interest a recycling business.

So the current potential for recyclingheads boils down to whatever creativeefforts individual drummers might make.And in that case, there is more potential inre-use than in recycling. For example,worn (but otherwise unbroken) heads makeexcellent bases under houseplants. Turnthe head upside down, and it will trapwater that may overflow when the plant iswatered.

Some drummers use old heads to addrigidity to drum bags. Depending on thebag, it’s usually possible to insert headsone or two inches larger in diameter thanthe drum the bag is designed to hold. Anold head on each side of the drum, tuckedfirmly into the “lid” and the bottom of thebag, can beef up the structural integrityquite a bit.

Many drummers cut up old heads intomuffling rings (for use on other drums) orinto smaller squares for bass-drum impact

Putting Steve To Good UseQ I recently saw Steve Gadd play with Eric Clapton at the Thomas & Mack Center

in Las Vegas. In fact my main reason for going to the concert was to see Mr.Gadd. Although I enjoyed the show very much, I was wondering why Steve didn’tget a spotlight feature. He seemed to play strictly time all night—no “Steve Gadd”fills. Why would Eric Clapton employ a drummer of Steve’s caliber and then not uti-lize his talents?

Dave Racinevia Internet

A It depends on what you define as “utilizing his talents.” Eric’s music doesn’trequire breakout fills or solos from his drummer. Rather, it requires a wide vari-

ety of grooves and feels. Eric has always employed drummers who have the abilityto lay down the greatest possible feel, no matter what the individual style of the

song. Steve Gadd is aswell known for hispocket and groove asfor his fills and chops.Plus, Steve personifiesthe professionalism of adrummer who alwaysknows exactly what—and what not—to play.That’s why, despite thelack of fireworks, Steveis the perfect choice forthe drum chair in Eric’sband.

Steve Gadd: Playing great doesn’t always mean playing a lot.

Ale

x S

olca

Distributed by

www.hohnerusa.comPHOTO BY LISSA WALES NAMM Booth #3240


pads. And we know of one drummer/sportsman who saved all his old drumheadsto paint as bull’s-eyes for archery targets!

Can A Cymbal Change Its Spots?Q I have a 20" Paiste Signature Dry Ride.

I was doing an outdoor event under atent recently, and I cleaned my cymbals thenight before with some Paiste cymbalcleaner. When I came back in the morningto do the gig, there were spots where a verybrassy color was showing through. It wasalmost as if the finish was worn through. Ileft the drums covered overnight, so I don’tthink that had anything to do with it. I haveonly had this cymbal for a little over ayear. Please help me if you can.

Jonathan LowranceNashville, TN

APaiste product specialist AndrewShreve replies, “It’s possible that your

cleaning efforts might have removed a bitof the protective coating that we apply toour cymbals during the final stages of pro-duction. That coating allows us to protect

the cymbal from oxidation without sacrific-ing its sonic quality. The presence of oxi-dation indicates that some of the protectivecoating has been removed—either fromcleaning the cymbal too aggressively orfrom general wear and tear over a longperiod of time.

“To ensure that your Paiste cymbals willmaintain their beautiful appearance, wipethem off after every use with a 100% cot-ton cloth. By doing this on a consistentbasis, you’ll very seldom need to cleanyour cymbals. However, if you do feel itnecessary to clean them, follow theseinstructions carefully:1. Thoroughly soak your cymbal with luke-warm water.2. Apply only Paiste cleaner to your cym-bals, starting from outside of the cymbaland working your way towards the bell,going around the cymbal in the direction ofthe lathing.3. After removing whatever rings you mayhave on your fingers, use your hand to very

gently rub the cleaner throughout thewhole cymbal. Using your hand gives youthe ability to accurately feel just howaggressively you are rubbing. If youchoose not to use your hand, then use a100% cotton cloth. Make sure that thecymbal is wet at all times. This dilutes thecleaner a bit and helps prevent any abra-sion.4. Immediately rinse off the cymbal toensure that all of the cleaner has beenremoved.5. Repeat the process on the other side.6. Dry the cymbal off with a 100% cottoncloth.7. Apply Pledge or any other furniture pol-ish. (Do not use any lemon or citrus scent-ed product.) This acts as a temporary coat-ing and enhances the shine of your Paistecymbal. 8. Rub the excess polish off with a 100%cotton cloth.

“If you follow these steps carefully, yourcymbal will maintain its pure beauty.”

Q Are the current Premier Artist Mapledrums and the now-defunct Premier

Resonator drums similar?Rodney Green

via Internet

AHere’s an answer provided byPremier’s Joe Hibbs: “Resonator and

Artist drums are two totally differentlines. Resonators were made of birch,with an inner liner—a shell within a

shell—also of birch. They featured long,high-tension lugs. Toms were available instandard and power sizes; bass drumswere 16" depth. Toms had mountingbrackets attached to their shells. Nosnare drum was available in theResonator series.

“Artist drums feature 6-ply maple or 7-ply birch shells, fitted with small, low-mass single lugs. Toms are available in“quick sizes,” bass drums are 16" and 18"in depth. ISO mounts are installed on allmounted toms. Snare drums are available

Premier Artist Versus Resonators

Artist Maple

Resonator

}t’s a funny thing about drumsticks.

You really have to hold them in your

hands to appreciate them.You have

to feel the weight.You have to strike

a head. And after all these years,

even we have to test them by hand.

Because even though we use the

most technologically advanced

manufacturing equipment in the

world, we never forget that machines

are not human. But drummers are.

I

Every stick that passes through ourfactory is inspected by hand no lessthan eight times. And at each ofthe eight inspections, a chance

either to make it to the next level,or make firewood. Because we’resensitive to what you’re looking

for in a drumstick. Very sensitive.{

© 2002 Pro-Mark Corporation. We use only non-endangered wood. promark-stix.com

SM


update

W hen one thinks of the quintessential Slayer drummer—whether it’s Dave Lombardo, Jon Dette, or in recent years,

Paul Bostaph—a mammoth drumkit is what one pictures him seat-ed behind. But Paul Bostaph is about to change that notion. For theband’s most recent effort, God Hates Us All, Bostaph decided todownsize. “I wanted to make the kit more playable for myself interms of specific ideas I’ve had,” he explains. “Although I like thedifferent voices you can use, I don’t feel the larger kit suits mystyle.”

Not only has Bostaph eliminated a piece or two, he’s also beena proponent of using shallower-depth toms for clarity’s sake. “Along time ago,” he recalls, “I started experimenting with smallertom sizes as part of the trend. Instead of using the big, powersizes, I found that I could get a better tone out of the smaller sizes.They’re not as muddy. Our music’s so fast, it’s better to get a nice,tight sound, and I’ll usually get that out of a smaller drum.”

Bostaph learned that changing his kit configuration has alsogiven him a chance to rework his playing. “It’s much more com-fortable,” he insists. “And only having two rack toms forces me togo down to the floor toms faster, so I use them more. I wanted toincorporate the floor toms more into my style anyway, so this hasworked out great.”

In addition to his setup, even minute details like head tensioncan swing Bostaph in or out of the groove. “I’m very particularabout the feel of the drum,” the drummer admits. “It can never betoo loose for me, but it can be too tight, because the sticks bounceoff the heads too much and it’s too hard for me to control them. I’llfind myself hanging onto the drumsticks rather than playing thedrumset.”

Paul’s stick work can best be heard on the new album, thoughhe insists his parts weren’t set in stone before he began to track.“I don’t try to write out all of my parts before I go in,” Bostaphexplains. “A lot of signature parts I’ll do, but then there are somegray areas that I want to be exciting, and the only way to get thatis to improvise. And that’s when people go, ‘What was that?’That’s when all the woodshedding comes in.”

Waleed Rashidi

Slayer’s

PAUL BOSTAPHDDOOWWNNSSIIZZIINNGG4


“I ’m a straight-ahead player,” admits Robin Goodridge of Bush. “You’ll findvery few extended fills or bizarre time signatures in our music. But I try to

find new ways of playing basic rock music. One thing I’ll do is move the backbeat.Sometimes I’ll put it on 2 and not 4, or on the “&” of 4, but keep the kick where it is.It’s simple stuff, but it’s effective.”

Goodridge speaks with enthusiasm as he talks about recording Bush’s newestalbum, Golden State. “We recorded at Olympic Studio in London,” he says, “and wegot a big drum sound there. The place lent itself to a big 26" kick.”

While the sound was big, the kit was small. “When I recorded, I removed thedrums and cymbals that I wasn’t using, leaving me with a basic four-piece kit,”Goodridge says. The drummer adds that he does intend to add a few pieces whenthe band tours, so that he can play some of Bush’s older songs. Included in thatsetup are sure to be Goodridge’s two favorite snare drums—a bronze Tama and awood DW. Robin says that sometimes he plays one snare for verses and one forchoruses, or switches from song to song.

Goodridge and his bandmates have been playing together since 1992. Whilemany drummers focus on their connection with the bass player, Goodridge says hisplaying is more tied to lead singer Gavin Rossdale. “Gavin and I try to lock in,”Goodridge emphasizes. “I focus on his rhythm guitar and voice, and then we addbass and the other guitar. With the lyrics, I try to find the emphatic words andaccent them without being too obvious, like playing a cymbal crash every time theword is said. But I try to find some way to emphasize it. I try to be as simple as pos-sible, without being simplistic.”

Harriet L. Schwartz

South London rockers Mokeare enjoying increased state-

side visibility with their sopho-more release, Carnival, due large-ly to the band’s relentless touring.“It’s been really good this timeout,” observes drummer JohnnyMorgan. “More people seem toreally be picking up on therecord.”

Moke’s current single, “MyDegeneration” (their answer toThe Who’s classic anthem, “MyGeneration”) has been picked upby “more radio stations thanever,” thanks to its engaging mixof radio-friendly melodic rock andblues, infused with a touch offunk.

Morgan’s varied drumminginfluences show up all overCarnival, John Bonham being oneof the most prominent. “When I

heard the drum solo at the end of‘Rock And Roll,’ I was like, That’sjust brilliant, I want to do that!”You can especiallyhear Bonham’simprint on theheavy progressivefeel of Moke’s“Fluicide.” “Forthat tune I usedthe biggest hi-hats, drums, andsticks I could find.Then we put uptwo mic’s in theroom and justwent for it, playingall the guitars livetogether and thenputting the drums on. That wasgood fun!”

Morgan’s knack for fluid transi-tions and energetic, ’70s-style

rolling fills are highlights of thesongs “Slide” and “Screen.”“That comes from listening to

Bernard Purdieand Billy Cobham,”he confides. “Ilove those gracenotes, snare rolls,and double strokesyou can slip in justbefore the down-beat to give it a bitmore ‘oomph’ beforeit goes into the nextbar. ‘Screen’ comesfrom my practicingdifferent paradid-dles over a straightbass drum. I just

come up with these different pat-terns, and I enjoy experimentingwith different time signaturesover a straight beat, which is

something that Bill Bruford does.He’ll keep a pulse going but it’llhave a phrase of seventeen overfour. I love experimenting withthat sort of thing.”

Morgan’s hip-hop back-ground surfaces on the funky“Hanging Around.” “Hip-hopand funk are very closely con-nected,” the drummer says. “Iwas in a hip-hop/rock crossoverband called Senser that used toplay with sequencers and had aDJ.” Here he cites an unexpect-ed influence, Jaki Liebezeit ofGerman rock experimentalistsCan. “He was using a lot ofalmost hip-hop-like break beats,but in the early ’70s. Obviously,I’ve picked up a lot of differentstyles along the way and triedto use them.”

Gail Worley

UU nn dd ee rr TT hh ee II nn ff ll uu ee nn cc ee …… OO ff DD rr uu mm ss

ROBIN GOODRIDGESimple In The GoldenGolden State

B u s h ’ s

Moke’sJohnnyMorgan

Bec

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ewm

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Modern Drummer February 2002 25

Denise Fraser’s drumming career has involved some seriousisland-hopping. When last we spoke with her, she was on

the island of Manhattan, playing for Sandra Bernhard’sBroadway show at the Booth Theater. The success of that showled to a taped version that won raves when it aired on HBO.

When Sandra took a hiatus to have her daughter, Denisemoved home to Los Angeles, where she soon found herself per-forming on another island.

Gilligan’s Island.Yup, you read it right. The cherished ’60s sitcom (still popular

in reruns thirty-five years later) has been turned into a live musi-cal show. Gilligan’s Island—The Musical features a script bySherwood Schwartz (who created the original TV show) and ascore by former Wings guitarist Laurence Juber and his wifeHope.

“The show played at the Civic Arts Plaza in Thousand Oaks,just north of LA,” explains Denise. “It’s a real light-hearted pro-duction—quite a bit different from the harder-edged, more satir-ical material that Sandra does. I had a ball doing the drums andpercussion, and we received very positive audience response.”

Positive enough, in fact, to merit an original cast recording.“We went into Capitol recording studios on September 1 torecord the album,” says Denise. “That will get the show out toan even larger audience. If it proves one tenth as popular as theoriginal TV version, who knows? I might be back on Broadwaysoon!”

Gilligan and his pals may be eternally stuck on their island,but Denise isn’t. After recording the Gilligan’s Island cast album,she accepted the percussion spot for a touring company of thehit R&B musical Smokey Joe’s Cafe. Denise will play severalwestern-US cities with the show through January.

Rick Van Horn

AA fter a bout with cancer,Steve French is happily back

in the saddle with country singerBilly Ray Cyrus. About a year agoFrench discovered a very smallbump on his neck. Doctors said itwas “nothing,” but French contin-ued to pursue an answer. Finally hehad the lump removed, only to findout it was indeed cancerous. “Itwas nothing I could really see, butsomething I could feel,” explainsthe forty-two-year-old.

French went through sometough times dealing with all of thetherapy that followed. “I couldn’teat anything for months,” headmits, “and I went from 182pounds to 127. I missed a lot ofshows with Billy. But there is ahappy ending, because I wentthrough the whole treatment andnow I’m fine.”

Cyrus held the job open forFrench while his drum tech, BillyCopeland, took over while he recu-perated. “Other than the fact thathe doesn’t sing, he did a great job,and I’m so thankful for that. If Billyhad to hire someone from the out-side, it might have been harder forme to get my job back. Everythingwent as smoothly as possible.”

French had been playing withCyrus in the late ’80s, back before

the singer got his record deal.Ironically, the drummer left Cyruswhen he got signed, as French hadjust become a new dad and didn’twant to miss the first few years ofhis son’s life. “Everybody had toldme that those first few years iswhen the child develops his wholepersonality,” French says. “Ithought, How can I be absent forthat?”

Steve thought he had given up abig opportunity, but he kept intouch with Billy, even when thesinger skyrocketed to stardom. “Ialways said lightning doesn’t strikethe same place twice, but in my sit-uation it did, because in 1997 Billyasked me to re-join his band.”

Although he has another fouryears to go to be officially pro-nounced cancer-free, French, wholives in West Virginia, says he’sfeeling very optimistic. “I’ve gottenmy strength back, and my wholeattitude about life is different.Music is a wonderful thing, but it’snot the only thing. I have aneleven-year-old boy and I’ve beenmarried twenty years. If it wasn’tfor my wife, I’m not sure I wouldhave made it. She was right thereevery minute of it. I appreciate mylife a whole lot more now.”

Robyn Flans

SSTTEEVVEE FFRREENNCCHHBeating Drums…And CancerBeating Drums…And Cancer

Billy Ray Cyrus’sBilly Ray Cyrus’s

Denise F raserP e r f e c t i n g H e r


GGrreegggg FFiieelldd produced and played on PattiAustin’s tribute CD to Ella Fitzgerald, ELLA!

MMaarrsshhaallll GGooooddmmaann is on LongBeach Dub Allstars’ latestDreamworks record, Wonders OfThe World. The band is currentlydoing several dates in support ofthe album.

JJoonnaatthhaann MMoovveerr recently finished his secondsolo outing, Einstein Too.

ZZaacckk DDaavviiss is on Student Rick’s debut,Soundtrack For A Generation, on VictoryRecords. Zack is also the first artist ever toappear on the cover of Drums In The Wind’smail-order catalog.

MMiicchhaaeell HHaarrvviillllee is on Sugarbomb’s RCAdebut, Bully.

KKeennnneetthh BBlleevviinnss is on John Hiatt’s latest, TikiBar Is Open.

CChhaadd GGrraacceeyy is on the new Live disc, V.

HHoorraacciioo ““EEll NNeeggrroo”” HHeerrnnaannddeezz has beenrecording with Michel Camilo, Juan Carlos deBrmudo of Rock en Espanol, and Ramon Valle,as well as working on his own project. In addi-tion, Negro’s been doing lots of live work withBill Summers and Los Hombres Calientes,Henry Threadgill, Hilario Duran, and Jack Bruce.

SStteevvee TToobbiinn is on tour with Dust To Dust.

MMiikkee BBoottttss has completed his first solo CD,Adults Only.

NNiirr ZZ is on John Mayer’s RoomsFor Squares.

KKeennnnyy AArroonnooffff is on AliceCooper’s new CD, DragonTown.

JJoohhnn LLeewwiiss has anew CD, OutFits, fea-turing his jazz trio. Formore info check outwww.heatrecords.com.

This month’s important events in drumming historyDRUM DATES

CChhiicckk WWeebbbb was born onFebruary 10, 1909.

BBaabbyy DDooddddss passed away onFebruary 14, 1959.

KKaarreenn CCaarrppeenntteerr passedaway on February 4, 1983.

On February 14, 1967, ArethaFranklin records her signaturesong, “Respect,” at New YorkCity’s Atlantic Studios, withRRooggeerr HHaawwkkiinnss on drums.

On February 13, 1970, BlackSabbath (with BBiillll WWaarrdd ondrums) releases their self-titled debut.

On February 2, 1978, VanHalen (with AAlleexx VVaann HHaalleenn)signs to Warner Bros. Records.

Eight days later, onFebruary 10, theirdebut is released.

On February 10,1979, drummer andco-writer CCaarrmmiinneeAAppppiiccee joins thedance party whenRod Stewart’s “DoYa Think I’m Sexy”hits number-1 onthe pop charts—where it will stayfor one month.

On February 20, 1997, Phish(with JJoonn FFiisshhmmaann, of course)inspire ice cream makers Ben& Jerry to name a new flavor,“Phish Food,” after the group.

HappyBirthday!

HHaall BBllaaiinnee(February 5, 1929)

MMiicckk AAvvoorryy(February 15, 1944)

HHaarrvveeyy MMaassoonn(February 22, 1947)

JJooee EEnngglliisshh(February 7, 1949)

NNiiggeell OOllssssoonn(February 10, 1949)

MMaannnnyy EElliiaass(February 21, 1953)

GGrreegggg FFiieelldd(February 21, 1956)

RRoonn WWeellttyy(February 1, 1971)

JJoohhnnnnyy RRaabbbb(February 29, 1972)

Porter’s latest release, Whiskey Hill, featuresdrummer RRoobbeerrtt BBoonnhhoommmmee and percus-sionists SStteeffaann MMoonnsssseenn (of Broadway’sThe Lion King),TToomm RRoossssii, SSeekkoouu KKoouuyyaattee(from Guinea, West Africa), and FFuusseenniiKKoouuyyaattee (from Mali, West Africa).

N E W S

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...It’s 2001 and we’re still rockin’!

TToonnyy WWiill ll iiaammss passed away onFebruary 23, 1997.

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he Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills is the ultimate swanky

joint. Five white-suited valets run around parking an

impressive collection of Bentleys, Jaguars, Mercedes

Benz’s, and Rolls Royces, as an oversized water fountain sets a

peaceful mood in the circular driveway. Five more bellhops open

doors and welcome visitors into a foyer of freshly cut flowers and

plush couches and chairs. And walking through it all is drummer

Mike Luce, decked out in khaki cargo shorts, a black Mötley Crüe

T-shirt, tats on his forearms, and ear piercings covering both

lobes. He looks around, smiles, and then starts to laugh.

“Yeah, when we first got here, Sylvester Stallone was outside

getting into his car,” Luce starts to say before cracking up. “Man,

we’re in the wrong place. Just put me in a Motel 6 and give me a

TV dinner, and I’m happy.”

Given the strength of Drowning Pool’s debut disc, Sinner, it

doesn’t look like Luce or his bandmates—singer Dave Williams,

guitarist C.J. Pierce, and bassist Stevie Benton—will be eating too

many TV dinners in the immediate future. Drowning Pool has

jumped from Dallas, Texas hometown heros to Sevendust support

act to major-label band to Ozzfest faves. Thanks in part to the

smash hit “Bodies” and a ferocious live show, Sinner is screaming

towards platinum status, and the band is front and center in hard

rock’s resurgence.

Luce, for one, is somewhat surprised. “We wanted to put out

the album and earn our keep through touring,” he says. “We felt

that we were a strong live band. We thought the songs were good,

but we felt like we would really need to get out and sell them live.

Hopefully we’re still doing that, but the album’s acceptance has

definitely exceeded our expectations.”

This success is made all the sweeter considering Drowning

Pool almost never came together. Indeed, had it not been for fate

and a handful of rental-truck trips between Louisiana and Texas,

the band’s genesis would never have occurred.

Story by David John FarinellaPhotos by Paul La Raia

up & coming

It all starts with Luce, who grew up inNew Orleans, where he met a young gui-tarist named C.J. Pierce. Before his junioryear in high school, Luce’s mother packedup a rental truck and moved the family to arinky-dink town in Texas by the name ofFarmersville. It was in that small town,which is about forty-five minutes northeastof Dallas, that Luce met bassist StevieBenton. “I happen to believe that there was

no other reason for me to live there but tomeet this guy and to be in a band withhim,” Luce says today. “I was only therefor two years. We played in a garage band.But the day after graduation I moved backto New Orleans.”

After the second rental-truck tripbetween the two states, Luce hooked up

with Pierce again. The two played in a cou-ple of cover bands in New Orleans andwith an eclectic jazz bassist, and thoughtabout getting out of town.

“Stevie called me from Dallas and saidhe had a falling out with a drummer,” Lucesays. “He said he wanted me to move backto Dallas. At that point I had fallen awayfrom music a little bit. I was still playingwith C.J., though, and we’d jam whenever

we could. But we were tired of goingthrough other members and trying to findpeople. I told Stevie I’d come to Dallas if Icould bring C.J.”

Stevie told Mike the band already had aguitarist. But Luce and Pierce had a plan.Cue moving truck again. “C.J. helped memove to Dallas,” Luce explains, “and when

we got there we set up a guitar, bass, anddrumkit and got Stevie to play with us.” Ayear later Dave Williams came into thefold. So after three moves, Luce finallyfound a band he could call his own.

Turns out it was the perfect band for adrummer who grew up playing along withKISS, Ratt, Mötley Crüe, and Cinderellarecords. In fact, he was an early KISSfanatic. “I’ll show my age,” he says with asmile. “I had all of their 8-tracks, andthat’s all I listened to. Then I started get-ting their records and I’d be up in my roompracticing to “Lick It Up,” driving theneighbors crazy with the same beat.”

Mike’s brother gave him Mötley Crüe’sTheater Of Pain and Ratt’s Invasion OfYour Privacy as gifts for his fourteenthbirthday. “They blew my mind and openedup a whole new road,” Luce explains. “So Idid the whole Columbia House thing whereyou order twenty-seven albums. I orderedeverything from Metallica to Dio to GrimReaper to Stryper to Black Sabbath. I start-

“I’ve found my spot in our music. I’m here to support and to groove.”

ed bringing them all in and practicing tothem, thinking, ‘Ooo, what if one day….’”

Well, that day has arrived. Though hewas excited at Drowning Pool’s recorddeal and early success, Mike wasn’t so surehe had a proper style. “I guess my stylewould be not knowing I have one,” hesays. “I just play for the song. In fact, mywhole focus is to complement the song,whether it’s throwing in a cool little lickhere that works or not playing anything.”

Luce knows the band’s success rests inpart on what Williams is singing. “I wantto keep everybody’s heads and toes tap-ping,” Mike says. “I don’t want them tofocus on what I’m doing. I want them tohear what he’s saying, or if there’s a coolharmony and I’m singing behind him, Iwant that to be the focus. If there’s a coolbass lick, I’ll try to accent it without beingoverbearing. I would hope that’s my style,playing totally for the song.”

One of the drummers that Luce points to

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1

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continued on page 34

Here are the discs Mike listens to for inspiration.

Artist Recording DrummerMötley Crüe Mötley Crüe Tommy LeeMötley Crüe Shout At The Devil Tommy Lee

Tool any Danny CareySevendust Home Morgan Rose

Pantera Vulger Display Of Power Vinnie PaulKISS Creatures Of The Night Eric Carr

Van Halen 1984 Alex Van HalenLed Zeppelin IV John Bonham

Testament Low John TempestaAlice In Chains any Sean Kinney


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as a recent influence is Morgan Rose ofSevendust, which isn’t surprising sinceSevendust gave Drowning Pool one oftheir first breaks. “I watch him and get akink in my neck,” he says of Rose. “I’mlike, ‘Dude, how do you do that?’ He’ssuch a nice guy, and so calm, but then hegets up on his drums and plays amazingstuff. Plus he does it while whipping hishead and arms around and slinking backand forth on his throne. I was like, ‘I haveto go back to school, because this guy istoo good.’ But I dig his style—and I mighthave borrowed a few licks from him hereand there. Sorry, Morgan.”

Other drummers Luce cites are hisOzzfest compatriots, such as MikeWengren of Disturbed and sPaG ofMudvayne. “I don’t have a left foot likethose guys,” he says. “I can throw in sometriplets on the double bass, but these guysare doing involved patterns. I’m kind of anold-school drummer, where it feels good tolay in the pocket, accent the song, lay offwhen the vocals are shining, and fill inwhen they’re not.”

Although Mike has always played withthat song-first approach, it was a bit morechallenging in the band’s early days.Instead of the tight rock numbers found onSinner, the band used to write eight-minuteepics with titles such as “TranssexualCross-Dressing Farmer’s Daughter.” “Itwas ridiculous,” Luce says with a laugh.“You could have broken that song downand probably had six or seven songs out ofit. So we made a dramatic change.”

As the band’s sound evolved from Tool-like proportions to a slightly more conven-tional rock sound, Luce’s kit changed aswell. Thanks to his early Tommy Lee fas-cination, the drummer started out playing aPearl Export Pro kit, and even used that kitduring the band’s early tours. It wasn’t thebest sound, he admits. “Not that Pearlmakes bad drums,” Mike explains, “buteverybody else we toured with had the top-of-the-line Pearl. I was touring with anExport kit and trying to get the best soundout of it that I could.”

It wasn’t an easy task, but Mike felt itwas important. “You have to have a decentdrum sound,” Mike asserts. “Otherwise,what the hell are you going to layer every-thing else on top of? I’m not saying that

Mike Lucecontinued from page 31

because I’m a drummer. I just honestlythink you have to start from that point.”

When the band went to New York Cityto showcase, Luce wanted to move onto aTama Starclassic kit, but there wasn’t oneavailable. Instead he played on a DW kitand fell in love. “I then started researchingthem and watched a video on how thedrums are made,” Mike says. “I thought thededication to quality that the people at thecompany had was just sick. Of course, thedrums are made in America, and I’m allabout that.” So Mike bought a set. Hemade some subtle changes to his kit too,dropping the second kick but keeping thetwo rack toms and two floor toms.

As for cymbals, Luce is all about look-ing for the right ones. “I try to vary up mycymbals,” he says. “The technology getsbetter and better every year, and the manu-facturers are coming out with so many newlines. To me, not checking out the differentstuff coming out would be selling your-self—and your music—short.”

Stick-wise, Luce stuck with the brandthat Tommy Lee used for years—Vic Firth.“I’ve played their sticks for as long as I can

remember,” Mike says. Though he wasplaying Firth’s American Classic Rockmodel, he had to look for something differ-ent for recording purposes. “In one spot in‘Sermon,’” Mike recounts, “they wouldbreak every time. So I asked the people atthe company about that and they said thatthere’s another stick they make that’s a lit-tle heavier and longer. I’ve used theirAmerican Classic Metal model ever since.”

Another change Luce made was adding afew electronic drums to his live kit. “I lovesamples,” he enthuses. “Some of thesounds are very cool.” Mike uses a combi-nation of Roland V-Drum snare and bassdrum pads set up within his acoustic kit.

In the studio, Luce experimented liberal-ly with drums and cymbals to capture theright vibe. “I was a snare whore,” he sayswith a smile. Of course, he had some helpfrom Ross Garfield, “The Drum Doctor,”who brought in snares by Tama,Slingerland, and DW to add to a Gretschsetup. “We did the same thing with thecymbals,” Mike adds. “We’d just play thesong a couple of times, and if it soundedlike we needed a bigger, heavier crash or

ride cymbal, we’d try something else. Wehad a lot to choose from. That really helpedus get the best sounds for the songs ontape.”

It was during those studio sessions thatDrowning Pool further trimmed the songsand refined their sound and parts. Lucethanks producer Jay Baumgardner in thealbum’s liner notes for putting him “N-DA-POCKET” and for helping him tofocus on the song. “At first my parts were alittle bass-drum heavy,” Mike admits. “Jayhelped me to focus on what was neededand to leave the extraneous stuff out. Hereally helped a tremendous amount. I thinkhe made me a better drummer.”

Looking back, Luce can see how the stu-dio sessions and the live dates have helpedhim behind the kit. Indeed, his style ofplaying for the song and focusing onWilliams’ singing and the bass and guitarparts is now second-nature. “I’ve found myspot in our music,” Mike says. “I’m here tosupport and to groove.” By the looks ofthings, it’s obviously working.


Mike Luce


new and notable

Add-on snare drums are always fun. Sonor’s new Force 3001 5x10 and 5x12 snares let you join inthe merriment easily, because each drum comes with Sonor’s Prism clamp. This clamp allows you tomount the drum either in the conventional manner, or by attaching it to a cymbal stand. The drumsfeature 9-ply maple and basswood shells and 2.3-mm Power Hoops.

And if you’re ready for a whole new kitwith a whole new look, the Force 3001mid-priced series now comes in RedMaple and Honey Maple. Along withadding colors, Sonor has now added afree DT 210 drum throne to all Force 3001kits. Y (804) 515-1900, � www.hohnerusa.com orwww.sonor.de.

May The Force Be...New Sonor Force 3001 Snare Drums And Drumkit Colors

With an eye to compactness and an earfor sound, Luis Conte has worked withMeinl to create a small set of chimes witha big sound. Shorter than other Meinlchime models, Luis’s Studio Chimes fea-ture two rows of tonally matched solidanodized aluminum bars (a total of sixty).Durable nylon cord attaches the two rowsof chimes to the wooden bar. A steel strik-er is included, as is a single tone barmounted atop the wooden bar. Accordingto Luis, the shorter bars deliver greathigh-pitched sounds, while the mediumand low-pitched bars produce full, brighttonalities.Y (305) 418-4520, � www.meinl.de.

Luis Chimes InMeinl Artist Series Luis Conte Studio Chimes


To further sweeten theappeal of their ultra-afford-able YD series drumkits, Yamaha now includes a20" ride cymbal and 14" hi-hats from Zildjian, atno additional charge. Five-piece drumkits willnow be available as complete drum-and-cymbalpackages.

YD drums feature 9-ply mahogany shells (madeby the same Air-Seal System used for Yamaha’s pro-fessional series), mahogany bass drum hoops withmatching inlay, Remo tom and snare heads withPowerStroke-type bass drum heads, springless-design lug casings, and professional-quality hard-

ware. Prices range from $929 to $949, depend-ing on drum configuration.Y (714) 522-9011, � www.yamahadrums.com.

Mapex M And V Series UpgradesMid-priced drums keep getting better, and Mapexhas joined the movement by fitting their M serieskits with ITS (Isolated Tom System) mounts as astandard feature. The system is said to enhancethe drum’s resonance and projection by eliminat-ing contact between tom brackets and drumshellsand allowing full, active shell motion.

Mapex has also upgraded their entry-level Vseries with the addition of Remo heads and theinclusion of matched inlays on all bass drumhoops.Y (615) 793-2050, � www.mapexdrums.com.

More Bang For Your Buck

At first glance the ScanBeat pedals look a little...unusual. But consider this:Inventor/manufacturer Soren Bloch’s inspiration came from the use of drum-sticks. As he puts it, “When using sticks, the wrist and fingers do the work, notthe whole arm. So why move the whole leg to operate pedals? Why not let thefoot and toes do the work?”

According to Soren, “The Scanbeat’s design aligns the pedal’s pivot point withthe ankle, thereby eliminating leg movement and subsequent fatigue. Less ‘bodymass’ is involved while playing, so speed and feel are increased. The pedals fea-ture very low friction, due to their numerous precision ball bearings. Control isfurther improved by a one-piece footboard and a solid front linkage.”

Single and double (left and right) bass drum pedals are available, as is a hi-hat. Upgrading from single to double bass drum models is an option. The hi-hatis an existing manufacturer’s unit modified with the ScanBeat concept.

Most ScanBeat pedal parts are machined from solid and extruded aluminum.The shafts, pedal supports, and most bolts are fashioned from stainless steel.The adjustable side panels are anodized in one of two color schemes, or clear-coated. Custom colors are available. Single bass drum pedals are priced at $625;double pedals go for $1,295. Hi-hat prices are being established. The pedals areavailable from the manufacturer: Scan-Bloc Trading & Mfg.Y (877) 909-3399, � www.Scan-Beat.com.

Metal To The PedalScanBeat Ergonomic Bass Drum And Hi-Hat Pedals

Yamaha YD Series Drumkits With Zildjian Cymbals


Well...not all that new. Although a relative newcomer to thenational scene, Kansas City, Missouri’s C&C Drums has beencreating unique drums since 1989. In the tradition of the bestcustom drum builders, C&C works with the buyer to finalize alldesign decisions.

C&C uses 100% maple shells on all toms and bass drums.Snare drums are available in maple and several exotic woods.Kits are sold in three price brackets, depending on coveringand lug choices. “The Casino” offers over 180 Pionite (counter-top-style) finishes and die-cast lugs, at $450 per drum. “TheRoyale” offers a choice of Pionite or one-, two-, or three-toneplastic finishes, as well as a choice of die-cast or tube lugs, at$500 per drum. “The Custom Club” includes choice of finish(including lacquer and mosaic) and choice of tube, die-cast, orC&C Button lugs, at $550 and up per drum. (All per-drumprices are for a four-piece or larger kit.) The Button lug is apatented two-piece, self-adjusting design that uses no springsor retaining clips. Made of aircraft-grade aluminum, it can bepowder-coated in a variety of colors. Y (816) 468-1919.

New Name In The Boutique BizC&C Custom Drums

Weekenders, small-clubbers, and subway travelers rejoice! Ludwig nowoffers the LT126CS Flat Base Cymbal Stand. It offers the compactness andlight weight of the venerable ’60s-era 1400 stand (still in many a trap casearound the world), but with features you expect from a cymbal stand today.The three-stage stand weighs only 3.8 pounds, collapses to 221⁄2" for pack-up, and extends to 541⁄2" for use. It has a pro-style ratchet tilter system and anylon cymbal seat with large felt washers. Height adjustments are made byoffset T-handle collar clamps; nylon inserts eliminate metal-to-metal contact.The stand is recommended for ride cymbals up to 20" and splashes andcrashes up to 17". It lists for $55. Y (219) 522-1675, � www.ludwig-drums.com.

Feelin’ FlushLudwig Flat-Base Cymbal Stand


And What’s MoreTAMA has added a new Sterling Sparkle finish to its Starclassic Performer EFXseries. The birch series now includes four wrapped finishes, along with ninepainted finishes in the standard Performer series. A basic five-piece EFX kit listsfor $2,399.99. Y (215) 638-8670, � www.tama.com.

The 2002 DRUM PEOPLE calendar features large black & white photos of topdrummers like Gregg Bissonette, JoJo Mayer, Rene Creemers, Rodney Holmes,and eleven others. The date section has large spaces for noting importantappointments, rehearsals, concerts, and the like. The calendar is available for$20 (US) or 20 Euros (including postage) directly from Drum People 2002, HeinzKronberger, An den 6 Bäumchen 14, 53721 Siegburg, Germany. Y Tel/fax: 01102241 60855, email: [email protected], � www.drumpeople.de.

MEINL’s Byzance and Amun cymbals now come in individual cymbal bags (from8" to 22" in size). Each zippered bag features a clear plastic front and a tear-proofnylon back. These individual bags are designed to prevent metal-to-metal con-tact when several cymbals are carried in a traditional cymbal bag. They alsoenable a working drummer to select only a few favorite cymbals for small gigs orsessions without having to take a larger bag. Y (305) 418-4520, � www.meinl.de.

A new line of carbon fiber snare drums has been introduced by SPAUN DRUMCOMPANY. Available in 5x14, 6x14, 61⁄2x14, 5x13, and 6x13 sizes, each drum fea-tures Spaun’s solid brass lugs, double 45° bearing edges, Nickel Piston Drivestrainer, and 2.3 mm triple-flanged super hoops. According to the company, thecarbon fiber drums have the “crack” of a metal drum with the “meat” of a wooddrum, with great projection. Prices range from $675 to $795. Y (909) 971-7761, � www.spaundrums.com.

ZILDJIAN now offers “new and improved” drummers gloves made of softcabretta leather for durability and grip comfort. They’re reinforced in the ful-crum, palm, and thumb, and they’re vented on the back side. A reduced “skirt”around the wrist provides greater flexibility and reduces playing resistance, anda smaller hook & loop closure tapers around the top of the hand instead of onthe wrist, allowing for a lightweight and resistance-free feel. Gloves are avail-able in three sizes at $29.95 per pair.

In other Zildjian news, the company has released its new Drumstick AndMallet catalog. It features information on all Zildjian sticks and related products,along with descriptions of the company’s manufacturing processes and philoso-phies. Y (781) 871-2200, � www.zildjian.com.

Conga drums made of Ohio red oak are hand-crafted by drum maker RUSITO for“a rich, warm sound.” Each shell is finished with tungsten polyurethane on theoutside and sealed with a durowax on the inside. The sealant protects the woodfrom moisture without interfering with the quality of the sound. Hardware is allpowder-coated, cold-rolled steel. The color was developed to blend with the nat-ural grain and color of the red oak. The bottom of each drum is reinforced andrubberized for stability and skid resistance. And each drumhead is shaved to aconsistent thickness “to enhance the warm tones, deep bass sounds, and sharp,cutting slaps.” Y (614) 428-1231, � www.members.aol.com/rusitodrums/index.htm.

product close-up

Yamaha Beech Custom Absolute Drumkit A Middle Ground In Drum Sound

For quite some time, maple and birch have been the reigning woods ofchoice for drumkits. Their co-rule has been amicable, since maple drums

tended to be used for live work while birch had the studio sound. Now we’relearning that other types of wood have unique tone qualities that can be usedeffectively for producing drums. Such is the case with Yamaha’s BeechCustom Absolute series. We were sent a six-piece White Marine Pearl kit forreview. Let’s check it out.

Special ShellsShell thickness on Beech Custom Absolute drums is a bit different from

that of some other drum lines. Usually, the number of plies in a drum shell isthe same as its thickness in millimeters. Thus, 6-ply shells are usually 6 mmthick—and, in fact, the 8" and 10" Beech Custom Absolute toms are made thatway. But snare drums and 12" through 16" toms have 6-ply, 7.5-mm shells,while the 8-ply bass drum is 10 mm thick. There are no reinforcement hoopsinside the shells. The seam on each shell is angled, which spreads the physi-cal strain of the seam across a larger area and helps prevent separation ofexposed plies.

HITSunique “compromise” of

sound characteristics

excellent bass drum attack

MISSESfloor tom legs require a drumkey

to adjust height

limited front-to-back adjustment of rack toms

by Rick Long


Functional FeaturesThe toms feature Yamaha’s YESS mounts for enhanced res-

onance. Ball & socket tom arms are used for positioning flexi-bility. The ball & socket mechanism also lets you turn thedrum upside down to tune the bottom head without taking itoff the mount, which is very convenient. However, the YESSmount and short rack-tom arms can limit front-to-back tompositioning.

The floor toms use traditional legs, mak-ing them easy to position. Unfortunately,the mounting brackets require a drumkeyto adjust leg height. Wing nuts would beeasier.

Regardless of wood type, all drums inYamaha’s Absolute series use a smallchromed lug casing that’s attached to theshell with only one bolt. The bolt goesthrough the shell fairly far down from therim, which should promote the shell’s abili-ty to absorb energy from the head. Thelugs have a nylon insert that prevents ten-sion rods from working loose during heavyplaying. All hoops are 2.3-mm triple-flanged steel (except the wood hoops onthe bass drum).

Beech Custom Absolute kits can be ordered with severalhardware options. The hardware supplied with our review kitwas from Yamaha’s heavy-duty double-braced 800 series. Thatline is well designed and time-tested, having been a standardfor many years. It’s terrific stuff.

Beech SoundsNow for the key factor: the sound. Let me set the stage by

saying that the bass drum comes with a Remo PowerStroke 4on the batter side and an Ebony PowerStroke 3 Yamaha logohead on the front. The snare is supplied with a coatedAmbassador batter head and an Ambassador snare head. Thetoms are fitted with clear Emperors on the batter side and clearAmbassadors on the resonant side.

The snare has strong mid-range tones, owing partly to its 7"depth and partly to the beech wood. There is certainly enoughhigh-end crack to get this drum heard out in front, but its full-bodied frequencies are what give it unique character.

The toms have a clarity of pitch that makes them easy totune. (A pitch bend effect is also easy to achieve.) Predictably,the beech drums have a bit less sustain than maple drums withsame-size shells and the same head configuration, but moresustain than similar birch drums. They also have some of thedark character of birch combined with an attack approachingthat of maple. It’s a distinctive combination. The toms also hadgood dynamic range, responding equally well when playedsoftly or when pounded heavily.

While the other drums were impressive, the bass drum really

got my attention with its deep, cannon-like sound. As with thetoms, it produced a clear fundamental note that was verypleasing to hear. Even when muffled down to shorten the sus-tain, the drum didn’t lose its powerful punch or its clarity. Partof the performance character of a bass drum is the way adrummer physically feels that drum’s low frequencies frombehind the kit. This is what I’m talking about when I say thatthe Beech Custom Absolute bass drum just “feels good.”

Yamaha puts five air holes in the bassdrum shell. This design allows plenty of airto escape from the drum, so the drum haslots of attack, even without a hole in thefront head. Actually, our review drum hadan off-center hole in the front head, which Ifound somewhat surprising given the extraventing in the shell. But even consideringthe effect of this hole, the drum still hadmuch more punch than most.

Looks Do CountSeven finishes are available for the Beech

Custom Absolute. Four are unique to theline: Earth, See-Thru Violet, Royal MetallicBlue, and White Marine Pearl. But three arealso available in the Maple Custom

Absolute and Birch Custom Absolute lines: Vintage, CherryWood, and Solid Black. Yamaha takes care to ensure that thesefinishes actually match between the different lines. This wouldhave been easy to manage with wrapped coverings, butachieving it with natural finishes over different wood types ispretty impressive.

The availability of matching finishes presents an interestingacoustic option. Just in case an all-beech, all-maple, or all-birchkit isn’t precisely to your musical taste, you can order any com-bination of Absolute drums you can think of (beech bass drum,birch toms & snare...maple snare, beech bass & toms...and soforth). This would give your kit—and you—a truly customsound.

On The BeechThe use of beech in drum construction broadens the choices

of tones available to players. If you’ve been having troubledeciding between mapleand birch for your nextkit because neither givesyou exactly what you“hear” in your head, theBeech Custom Absolutekit may well offer whatyou’re seeking. It mightjust be the best of bothworlds. Y (714) 522-9011, � www.yamahadrums.com.

THE NUMBERS

Configuration: 18x22 bass drum, 9x10 and10x12 rack toms, 14x14 and 16x16 floor toms,and 7x14 snare. 100% beech shells are 6-ply,except for 8-ply bass drum. Standard 800-series hardware package includes snare stand,boom cymbal stand, straight cymbal stand, hi-hat stand, chain-drive pedal, and TH-945 dou-ble tom holder.

List Price: $4,855

•

Meinl Generation X CymbalsThe Rabb Pack On The Attack

HITSdifferent sonic variations and options

ride cymbal can be used as primary cymbal

Rabb Pack includes free cymbal bagand Drumbal

MISSESride, crash, and hi-hats not

sold separately

by Billy Amendola

Drum ‘n’ bass, techno, dance, and hip-hop are not just the domain ofelectronic drummers anymore. More and more acoustic drumset play-

ers are incorporating these sounds into their repertoire. One of the leadersin this field is drummer Johnny Rabb. I’m sure by now you’re familiar withJohnny from his drumsticks, videos, and books. Recently he teamed withMeinl to design a new and exciting cymbal series called Generation X. Thecymbals come in a package called The Rabb Pack. Even the carton theycome in is hip, with jump-out graphics and a nifty handle for easy carrying.But what I really appreciated was the free Meinl cymbal bag the cymbalswere packed in.

The Rabb Pack includes an 18" nickelsilver Safari ride cymbal, a pair of 12"nickelsilver Safari hi-hats, and a 16" nickelsilver Safari crash. Each of thesemodels comes with an 8" brass splash to be used as an effect. (More on thatlater.) And as an added extra bonus, the pack also includes my favorite item:an 8" Drumbal. (Along with a 10" sibling, the Drumbal is the only GenerationX model sold separately.)

1188"" SSaaffaarrii RRiiddeeThis cymbal can be used as your primary ride-cymbal. Its sound leans

toward the dark side, with plenty of stick articulation. However, there is nobell, so the cymbal’s projection is limited.

This leads us to the 8" brass splash that comes with all thecymbals in the package. This cymbal features “rippled” edges

for air to move through, thus creating unique soundwaves and effects. It comes with a screw to replace

the wing nut on your cymbal stand. (Unfortunately,it doesn’t fit on every cymbal stand,

but your standard wing nutshould provide the same

service.) By placing the8" brass splash atop

the ride, you get a siz-zle effect from thevibration of thesmaller cymbalagainst the larger

one. (Instant sizzleride.) To change the

effect, you simply loosenor tighten the wing nut.

This will press the smallercymbal against the larger one to

different degrees, creating some uniquesounds. It turned my one ride cymbal intomany ride cymbals.


1122"" SSaaffaarrii HHii--HHaattssThe hi-hats also come with an 8" brass cymbal, and the

same rules apply. You can use the hats with or without the 8"splash. The bottom hi-hat contains jingles, which add a tam-bourine type of effect. I personally would have preferred a fewmore jingles; at times I thought the jingle effect got lost.

I found the Safari hats a bit too trashy to use as the main hi-hats in my acoustic setup. But more and more drummers areadding a second set of hats to their kits, and I’d certainly rec-ommend checking these out for that purpose. And when Iapplied them to my electronic setup, they really came alive,blending right in with some of my non-traditional-soundingkits.

1166"" SSaaffaarrii CCrraasshhThe Safari Crash has a quick decay, so it’s perfect for adding

white-noise effects. This comes in handy when you’re playingalong to loops or programmed beats. Again, I liked the way itsounded when I added it to my electronic setup. It gave me an“almost” real-sounding cymbal to combine with my electronicones. And of course I had the option to get different sounds byadding the 8" splash.

TThhee DDrruummbbaallThe Drumbal is a very cool little cymbal with a holding knob

on top so that you can grab it easily to lift it on and off yoursnare (or any drum, for that matter). I discovered so many differ-ent ways to use this little cymbal that I spent hours playing

around with it. You can lay the Drumbal on any drum, then hitthe drumhead to the side of the cymbal for one effect. Or youcan strike the cymbal as it lies on top of the drum, creating awhite noise type of sound. I especially enjoyed holding theDrumbal in my left hand and using it to hit the snare on 2 and 4.

The Drumbal allowed me to create some very interestingnew sounds and beats, with what seemed like endless possi-bilities. Every drummer should get his or her hands on one ofthese. I can’t wait to get to the studio to start recording with it.

PPaacckk ’’EEmm UUppMeinl’s Generation X cymbal line was developed primarily

for electronic-oriented music. But please don’t limit yourself.These cymbals can be used in any style of music. It all comesdown to what appeals to you. You can add the Rabb Pack toyour “normal” cymbal setup for additional effects to youracoustic kit. It’s also great for drummers looking to add “realcymbals” to their electronic setups. And it’s perfect for drum-mers mixing both acoustic and electronics. If you’re interestedin different sounds from your cymbals for any reason, you

should check out the RabbPack. And for fun, cooleffects, and creative inspira-tion, get your hands on theDrumbal.

Y (305) 418-4520,8 [email protected]. •

THE NUMBERS

RaBB Pack: $499 (includes 18" Safariride, 16" Safari crash, 12" Safari Hats, [allnickelsiver], three 8" brass splashes, and8" Drumbal)

8" Drumbal (sold separately): $54.9010" Drumbal (sold separately): $59.90

Ludwig Gig Lite KitProfessional Sound In A Pint-Sized Package

Ludwig’s newest offering in their Classic Birch line is the Gig Lite kit.Designed to be a diminutive drumset that embodies a large sound, it’s the

latest entry in the percussion industry’s current mini-kit race. Let’s see how itstacks up.

Little Kit, Big SoundThe petite Gig Lite kit comes fitted with Ludwig’s Weather Master drum-

heads. The drums feature 45° bearing edges with a slight radius on the outeredge. The bass drum hoops are wood, with a black lacquer finish. There’salso a thoughtful rubber insert for the bass pedal attachment. Other featuresinclude mini lugs and double silver Keystone badges.

I was a little concerned when I first saw the 3x13 snare, thinking that itmight only sound like a piccolo. And you certainly could crank it to the heav-ens. But it can also be tuned down effectively to a medium tension to keepyou happy in differing styles of music—say from high jazz to mid-range rock.The 13" head diameter allowed me to execute rimclicks comfortably.

The toms were warm and full. They lost a bit of resonance when mountedon the tom holders, but they still had lots of ring and depth, with fine stickdefinition and overtones that filled out the sound.

HITScompact kit has versatile acoustic range

light hardware reduces strain on moving and setup

MISSESbass drum lacks depth with supplied head

memory locks needed on bass drum spurs

by Chap Ostrander


The bass drum had lots of punch, but I was unhappy with itslack of depth. Part of the problem was the heavy-weight, sin-gle-ply Ludwig batter head. When I replaced that head (and thefelt muffling strip) with a Remo PowerStroke 3 batter, the drumproduced more lows. The sound was pleasing, and filled what-ever space I played in. Out of curiosity, I installed a BearPercussion Studio head on the bass, and the change was dra-matic. The drum had even more punch and lows, although theoverall resonance and projection was reduced somewhat.

What’s The Hold-Up?I was immediately impressed with the hardware. The snare

stand was solid, the hi-hat stand was quiet, the bass pedal wasfully adjustable (including an adjustment for hoop thickness),and the cymbal stands stayed where I put them.

There were teeth in the snare and cymbal tilters, which cansometimes prevent “perfect” positioning. Even so, I didn’thave a problem placing things where I wanted them. The tomhardware utilized a nylon ball. The mounts on the toms fea-tured thick nylon gaskets that seemed to act as isolationmounts.

I appreciated that the weight of the hardware is in keepingwith the design philosophy of the kit. Personally, I don’t needdouble-braced stands that will ultimately require me to wear a

back brace. My only concern was the lack of memory locks onthe bass drum spurs. The mounts on the drum allowed forthem, and I’d use them if given the chance. I’m told by Ludwigthat such locks are under consideration. Also to be releasedshortly is a soft, padded gig bag for the entire kit.

A Kit For Some SeasonsWould you play a set like this to headline at the Garden or

open for The Stones? I think not. Most likely you’ll be usingit in a pit somewhere, or on a small club stage or recordingsession, or in any setting where space is at a premium. Asthe owner of a vintage RIMS Headset, I appreciate the valueof a drumkit that can fit into tight spaces and still produce apleasing sound. It’salso a plus that youcan move it withouthaving to buy a mini-van. The Ludwig GigLite gives you all ofthat. Y (219) 522-1675, � www.ludwig-drums.com.

THE NUMBERS

Configuration: 8x20 bass drum, 5x10 and 6x13 sus-pended toms, and 3x13 snare drum. 7-ply, 7-mm birchand Italian poplar shells. Available in Silver Sparkle fin-ish only. Hardware includes 800 Series single-bracedhi-hat stand, straight and mini-boom cymbal stands,and bass drum pedal, 600 Series snare stand, and stan-dard and add-on single tom holders.

Prices: Outfit with stands, $1,800. Outfit withoutstands (includes tom mount and holder), $1,450.

•

Quick Looks

Remo’s new Suede series might just be themost versatile line of drumheads the veter-an manufacturer has ever created. Theheads are produced using technology thatRemo says “offers advanced sound andperformance characteristics, with the reso-nance of clear heads, the warmth of coatedheads, and the depth of Renaissance andFiberSkyn heads.”

Guess what? They’re right!Suede heads are made of a satiny, semi-

transparent film mounted on Remo’s famil-iar aluminum hoops. We tested 10", 12", 14",and 16" sizes in single-ply Ambassador andtwin-ply Emperor weights. Interestingly, theheads didn’t need much seating beforebeing tuned, and they produced much lessepoxy crackling than is usual for Remoheads.

In terms of tuning range, consistent feel,and tone, the Suede heads passed all ourtests with flying colors. Every size we testedproduced excellent tone quality in everytuning range. There wasn’t really muchvariation in overall tone between the

Ambassador and Emperor models, otherthan the fact that the Emperor’s thicknessmade its tonality a bit darker. Both mod-els were equally punchy. It alsoseemed to me that the Suede headsproduced greater stick response(“bounce”) than the clear or coatedAmbassadors or Emperors did.

These heads should be wellreceived in a studio/recording envi-ronment, since unwanted overtonesare minimal to the point of being almostnonexistent. But even in a “live” situationthe Suede heads project well in every tun-ing range. Their only limitation might bewhen it comes to playing brushes. TheSuede playing surface is satiny-smooth, soit doesn’t offer much resistance for brushplaying. If you play with brushes a lot, you’dprobably want to stick to a coated head foryour snare drum. Otherwise, this line effec-tively bridges the gap between clear andcoated heads, and offers some excellentcharacteristics all its own.

Suede Diplomat-, Ambassador-, andEmperor-weight batters are available from6" ($15.50) to 18" ($28). A 20" Ambassadorbatter is available at $37.50. Ambassadorand Emperor bass drum heads range from18" ($41) to 40" ($90.50). (661) 294-5600,www.remo.com.

Remo Suede Drumheads

New Yamaha Stands And Hi-HatsGood Things Can Get Better

Ya gotta love a company that’s willing to totally revamp an already suc-cessful product line. Yamaha has taken input from drummers “in the

field,” added their own innovative ideas, and come up with a completely newline of drum and cymbal stands. We were sent stands from the 700, 800, and900 professional series. (The entry-level 600 series has also been reworked.)

Cymbal Stands And BoomsThe massive, large-toothed tilters that heretofore topped Yamaha cymbal

stands have been reduced in size and converted to fine-toothed, offset mod-els. The nice thing about offset tilters is that you can fold them back parallelto the stand to prevent damage during pack-up, and then find their originalspot easily at the next setup. Smaller wingnuts, tilter sleeves, and felts alsomake access to cymbal bells a little more convenient.

Another cool change is the use of “unified diameter” center pipes. Thismeans that the upper assemblies of all 700, 800, and 900 series stands(except the CS925 monster counterweighted boom stand) can fit into otherYamaha stands and holders for greater setup flexibility. Pipe sections on allstands are secured by a nylon bushing/steel nut assembly that holds each

section even when only lightly tightened.You don’t have to risk stripping the wing boltin order to lock in the stand height.

CS745, CS845, and CS945 cymbal boomstands have a new precision-gear boom tiltermechanism, engraved with the originalYamaha “tuning fork” logo. The short boomarm is secured by a wing bolt and a memorylock on the arm itself. (Yay!) And if you don’tneed the memory lock—or the boom, for thatmatter—the boom arm can disappear intothe stand tubing to create a straight stand (orto make pack-up easier).

The height range of 700, 800, and 900series stands and booms varies by only threecentimeters. The major difference betweenthem is their tripods. The CS740 stand andCS745 boom stand have single-braced legswith a wide spread. These stands would begreat for weekenders, semi-pros, or anyonewho needs strength and stability without alot of extra weight.

The 800 and 900 series stands are definitelyin the heavy-duty (and heavy weight) catego-ry. The 800 models have “crimped” double-braced legs that can fold down almost flat;the 900 series legs are two parallel beamsthat connect a little higher on the stand shaft.This design offers a higher center of gravityto support larger, heavier cymbals.

HITSimprovements and upgrades

throughout the line

HS1100 hi-hat stand offers totallyinnovative support system

prices of many models have been reduced

Text by Rick Van HornPhotos by Jim Esposito

New 800 series stands include the CS845 cymbal boom stand,the SS840 snare stand (with its centered basket tilter), and theCS840 cymbal stand.


Snare StandsThe SS840 snare stand utilizes a non-toothed tilter that pro-

vides infinite tilt adjustment. The tilter is “reversed,” so itkeeps the center of the drum in line with the stand instead ofoffsetting it. This gives the drum/stand combination a smaller“footprint” for more convenient placement on the kit. It alsocenters the balance of the drum against impact, preventingbouncing or tipping.

At first glance, the four-armed basket on the SS940 mightseem like overkill. (I’ve yet to see a three-armed stand drop adrum.) However, snare drums with outboard strainers or snareguards can be difficult to position in a three-armed basket. Afour-arm design, allows both sides of a bulky snare mechanismto more easily rest between the snare arms. And once the drumis in the basket, the stand’s ball & socket basket adjustmentallows infinite positioning, which is very convenient.

Hi-HatsWe were sent three hi-hats to try. What they have in com-

mon is a footboard with a larger surface area than on previousmodels. It’s slotted for traction, and features the Yamaha “tun-ing fork” logo at the toe point.

At first, the HS740 appears to be a garden-variety, medium-duty model with a single-braced tripod. But the tripod’s pedal-side legs open to a 150° spread, creating lots of clearance oneither side of the pedal. And since the tripod rotates, that clear-ance can be increased on one side or the other. This is anextremely convenient feature in a hi-hat that’s likely to appeal,

weight- and price-wise, to younger players getting into double-bass playing. Spring tension is adjustable in eleven incre-ments, offering a wide range of playing feels.

The HS1000 and HS1100 hi-hats are new from the groundup. Each offers a different support base, and the HS1100 has aunique toggle link system. Otherwise their features are identi-cal. And nifty features they are, too. Let’s look at them first.

Starting with the clutch, the traditional “nuts” that hold thetop and bottom cymbals in place have been transformed intodrumkey-tightened clamps. Once you thread these babies onand lock the clamps, it should be virtually impossible for thecymbals to go out of adjustment, let alone for the bottom cym-bal to drop off.

The bottom cymbal support (or “cup”) is hard rubber ratherthan felt, to avoid any muffling effect on the cymbal. The bot-tom cymbal tilter screw features an oversized locking nut thatholds securely and is easy to adjust with one’s fingertips. Andthe entire upper section of the hi-hat is secured in the lowerhalf using a memory clamp that fits into a plastic receiver. Thatreceiver also provides a handy drumkey clip—an importantfeature, considering the number of drumkey adjustments onthe hi-hat itself.

The spring tension mechanism is a dial-controlled modelthat permits a wide range of tension adjustment, from veryfirm to almost sloppy loose. Interestingly, the design features aspring that pushes, rather than pulls. This puts less stress onthe spring, which should boost its durability and eliminate the“stretch fatigue” that can happen over time.

The CS740 cymbal stand, HS740 hi-hat, and CS745 cymbal boom stand offerlighter-weight, single-braced tripods.

The SS940 snare stand has a four-armed basket to accommodate outboard snarestrainers. The CS940’s high center of gravity makes it a good choice for mountingheavy cymbals.

At the base of the shaft is a footboard-angle adjustment. Thisis a nice feature in terms of tailoring the pedal for playing com-fort. But perhaps even more valuable is the opportunity itaffords to match the angle of the hi-hat pedal to that of adja-cent pedals. It’s hard to move your foot smoothly between a hi-hat and a left bass drum pedal when one of the pedals is halfan inch higher at the toe than the other. Yamaha’s angleadjustment lets you correct that problem without appreciablyaffecting the action of the hi-hat. Cool!

Both the HS1000 and the HS1100 are equipped with thesame new footboard as described for the HS740. But they alsofeature a non-skid rubber pad under the heel plate. Removingthe pad exposes a hook-and-loop strip, which helps secure thepedal on carpeted surfaces.

The HS1000 features a direct-pull linkage system that’ssmooth and quiet. The HS1100 employs a toggle link systemthat affects the action in a couple of ways. Mechanically, itmakes things even smoother, and it prevents the noisy “jolt”that can occur when you remove your foot from the pedal sud-denly. From a physics standpoint, the linkage makes the pedalfeel a little lighter at the top of the stroke, then more like a stan-dard direct-link system as the pedal is depressed further. Forme, this translated as a quicker, more fluid playing response,with less force needed from my foot. That would most likelycontribute to less playing fatigue on a long gig.

The legs of the new models are tipped with big rubber feetfor traction on hard surfaces. Within each foot is a spring-loaded retractable spike, which is secured with a drumkey-operated bolt. These spikes work well (in conjunction with thespikes on the pedal base itself) to prevent any movement on acarpeted surface.

Speaking of legs, the HS1000 is a two-legged model, withdouble-braced legsthat can rotate to pro-vide lots of clearanceto the left or right ofthe pedal. The pedalassembly itself pro-vides the third pointof support. Althoughnew to Yamaha, thisis a time-testeddesign that workswell.

The HS1100, on theother hand, is a totallynew approach to hi-hat support. It fea-tures what Yamahacalls T-legs, which aretwo double-bracedlegs that extend 90° tothe left and right of asingle rotating legcoming off of the hi-hat shaft. This designnot only makes the

placement of otherpedals easier, it alsoallows more space forother stand legs. Andtalk about secure.... Iwas actually able torotate the T-basecompletely to the left,with the legs virtuallyparallel with thepedal, and still playthe hi-hat with noworries about it tip-ping over.

Both the HS1000and HS1100 areheavy, so they mightadd quite a bit ofweight to your trapcase or bag. With thatin mind, Yamaha sellsthem with their owncarrying bag, com-plete with a soft feltcloth to wrap them in.One more thing tocarry, true—but lotseasier on the back come pack-up time.

Bottom LineI applaud all of Yamaha’s hardware improvements. The

revamped stands offer excellent choices of weight, features, andperformance capabilities. And perhaps even more appealing,most of them are priced lower than the models they’re replacing.Meanwhile, the totally new HS1100 hi-hat is particularly innova-tive and exciting. Good job! Y (714) 522-9011, � yamahadrums.com.


THE NUMBERS

Snare StandsSS840 (heavy weight, center/offset tilter, double-braced legs) $110SS940 (heavy weight, ball & socket tilter, four arms, double-braced legs) $160

Cymbal StandsCS-740 (medium weight, single-braced legs) $105CS-840 (heavy weight, crimped double-braced legs) $120CS-940 (heavy weight, straight double-braced legs) $140CS-745 boom (medium weight, single-braced) $115CS-845 boom (heavy weight, crimped double-braced legs) $135CS-945 boom (heavy weight, straight double-braced legs) $155All cymbal stands feature offset tilters

Hi-Hat StandsHS-740 $165(medium weight, chain-linked, incremental tension adjustment, single-braced legs)HS1000 $240(heavy weight, chain-linked, infinite tension adjustment, two-leg design, double-braced legs)HS1100 $260(heavy weight, toggle-linked, infinite tension adjustment, T-Bar leg design, double-braced legs)

All hi-hat stands feature rotating legs/leg systems

The HS1000 features a rotating two-legged design.

The innovative T-Leg design of the HS1100 providestremendous clearance around the base of the hi-hat.

electronic review

Roland’s new V-Club set represents their“entry-level” package for electronic

drummers. The aim of this kit is to providehigh-quality sounds and expandability sothat drummers can get into electronic per-cussion without having to spend the high-end dollars required by a V-Drum kit.

I very recently reviewed Roland’s top-of-the-line V-Session kit [November 2001MD]. Considering how knocked out I waswith that kit, I didn’t figure to be tooimpressed by a five-piece rubber-pad kitwith two cymbals and a pared-down mod-ule. But after taking the V-Club for a testrun, I must admit I was pleasantly surprised.

SetupThe V-Club is based on the new TD-6

Percussion Sound Module and includes thenew PD-6 rubber drum pads and new CY-6dual-trigger cymbal pads with choke capa-

bilities. The rubber-surfaced mono drumpads are typical of pads in this genre. Whatmakes the kit interesting is that the inputs onthe TD-6 module are all dual-mono inputsthat will accept mesh-head V-Drum pads ifand when you’re ready to upgrade. In themeantime, you can use the dual-mono capa-bilities of tom inputs 2 and 3 to put two PD-6s into each. That way, you can increase thenumber of toms on the kit to five.

The V-Club ships with a KD-7 kick trig-ger. This is a “knob-type” floor trigger,rather than an upright pad. The design hasbeen used with previous Roland kits, butthis one seems to trigger much more accu-rately. A second KD-7 can be piggybackedonto the first one to accommodate doublebass playing.

I’ve heard drummers complain about thefact that you have to use an inverted beaterto play a KD-7. But after playing one for awhile, I discovered that the way the beaterball hangs forward tends to add weight andpower. This makes the pedal stroke easier toaccomplish, and seems to make the timingof the strokes more positive. I never thoughtI’d like this arrangement, but I must admitthat I do.

The new CY-6 cymbals are two-zone rub-ber-surfaced pads that respond well. The TD-6 has an extra crash cymbal input so you canadd a second crash by just buying anotherCY-6.

SoundsI’ll admit it: I rarely like the presets in an

electronic drumkit. Presets are usuallysomeone else’s idea of what sounds good,and not mine. This is where I got my firstsurprise with the V-Club. Of the ninety-nine

available presets,there were quite a fewthat I liked right outof the box. Granted,for special kits (likeLatin setups) I havemy preferred instru-

Roland V-Club Electronic DrumkitA G r e a t W a y To G e t W i r e d

HITSexcellent sound quality at a low price

V-Drums and V-Cymbals can be added later

full 16-channel General MIDI capability

MISSESno individual outputs

no data wheel

by Rick Long


ments. But for general-purpose rock, coun-try, jazz, and blues kits, I found several pre-sets that were in ready-to-go shape.

Like most drummers, I consider the snaredrum the signature sound of a kit. And Iusually have to tweak snare drum patches toget them into what I consider a usablesound. But as I scrolled through the 195snare drum patches in the TD-6, I had trou-ble finding one I didn’t like. To make thingseven nicer, the TD-6 is set up so that thesnare patches brighten up as you increasethe power of your stroke. It’s as if you’regetting a rimshot sound when you playharder. This makes it easy to get a ghostnote with a soft snare sound, and then catcha rimshot sound just by hitting harder. Ifyou upgrade to a V-Drum pad (which has arim trigger), you can even get a cross-sticksound by using a technique similar to thatused with an acoustic drum. (Just make surethat both ends of the stick are on the rim sothat the head doesn’t trigger the snare patchaccidentally.)

Tom sounds on the TD-6 are also impres-sive. There are multiple types of acousticwoods to choose from (maple toms, birchtoms, and so forth), with tones that include“pitch bend” and other common tunings.Also present is a wide range of electronicsounds from Roland’s past drum boxes.

The kick patches are much like thosefound in Roland’s more expensive electron-ic drum products. “Acoustic” kick soundshave a variety of patches that range fromlarge, wide-open bass drums to tight, point-ed thuds. Electronic kicks appear to be fromother well-known Roland modules. Thesewill help you get the right sound for that’80s cover band.

While not as impressive as those on theV-Session kit, the cymbal sounds on the V-Club are acceptable. (This is to be expected,given the cost difference.) The cymbal padsrespond very well—even allowing you toaccomplish a nice crescendo roll. The ridehas bow and edge areas that provide goodresponse from the pad and good tone fromthe module. The hi-hat tones were alsoimpressive, though I did miss the two-zonecapabilities of higher-end hi-hat pads.

Songs“Songs” in a drum module usually mean

patterns of only a few bars. While there aresome of these in the TD-6, there are alsoabout 100 songs that range from fifteen or sobars up to nearly fifty bars. These are inter-esting tunes that stimulate you to play along

and try new things. Styles range from basicrock to ska and even acid-funk. It’s enoughto keep you in your practice room for quitesome time.

What helps the songs is that the TD-6 mod-ule includes the full General MIDI (GM)sound set. If you’re looking for a cost-effec-tive MIDI drum module for any purpose, theTD-6 should receive strong consideration.General MIDI files with a GM System ONmessage will switch the module into GMmode. This can be done manually inside theTD-6 if necessary. Roland is known for hav-ing fine samples in their sound modules, andthe TD-6 doesn’t skimp in this area.

However, there are a few places whereRoland has cut costs. The most obvious ofthese is the lack of a data wheel on the TD-6.You have to use the large Increment/Decrement buttons to move between kits or toadjust parameters. This isn’t terrible, but aftergetting used to data wheels on other modules,I miss that easy twist of the wrist to make kitchanges. You can speed the process up a bitby holding down the shift key and pressing theIncrement/Decrement buttons. This moves thedata in increments of ten. You can also holddown the Increment or Decrement button,then hold down another of the two buttons tomake the data scroll faster.

Also missing is the option to use multipleoutputs. There are only two outputs, allowingyou to run the total kit in stereo or in mono,but not on an individual-pad basis. Multipleoutputs and the ability to control individualpad volumes with sliders instead of internalsettings are very handy features in profession-al recording or live situations. But these thingscost money, and let’s remember that the V-Club is an entry-level unit targeted at electron-ic novices.

Another cost-saving feature is the MDS-6BK rack. The rack is made of aluminum tub-ing with a ribbed surface that works well atkeeping rack clamps from slipping. Althoughvery lightweight, the aluminum rack proved tobe more than adequately strong.

Stepping UpWhile the V-Club kit is aimed at entry-

level players, its upgrade potential will makeit an option for semi-pro players who wantto get started in electronics at a reasonable

cost. For example, you can instantly installV-Drum mesh-head pads in place of the V-Club’s rubber pads. This will give youimproved playing feel and quieter stickresponse. (Bear in mind, however, that youwon’t have all the neat, icon-based editingthat the pro-level TD-10 module offers.)

You can upgrade from the V-Club cymbalpads to the larger V-Cymbal crash (CY-14C) for improved playing response. Thesonic parameters would remain the same.The V-Cymbal hi-hat pad would also be animprovement, since using a PD-6 pad for thehi-hat means that you only have a one-zonehi-hat pad on a stock V-Club Set. The hi-hatcontroller pedal is the same as that on the V-Session kit, so there’s no need for anupgrade there.

The V-Cymbal ride (CY-15R) would alsofeel more realistic than a V-Club cymbalpad. But you won’t be able to utilize itsthree-zone ride capability with the TD-6module. That feature is only available with aTD-10 module that has been upgraded withthe TDW-1 expansion board.

Summing UpThe V-Club’s features make it a great way

to get into the electronic drumming game. Itwould be a terrific practice tool for use athome. Beyond that, it offers everythingrequired of a workable, semi-pro gigging kit(except, perhaps, for multiple outputs). Thepads and cymbals can be readily upgraded tothe V-Drum/V-Cymbal line for improvedplaying comfort, if desired. But the soundsare already first-rate, and that’s what mattersmore than anything else in an electronicdrumkit.Y (800) 386-7575, � www.rolandus.com.

THE NUMBERS

Configuration: Five PD-6 81⁄2" rubber drum pads,two CY-6 12" dual-trigger cymbal pads with “choke”capabilities, FD-6 hi-hat pedal, KD-7 kick drum trigger(and special reverse beater), MDS-6BK rack, and allnecessary cablesModule features: 64-voice polyphony, 1,024 high-quality drum sounds, 262 backing sounds, 99 kits, and asix-part sequencer. Nine trigger inputs can accommo-date up to eleven pads and cymbals, including mesh-head V-pads.List price: $1,495

Airto Moreira(Legendary Percussionist)

Erik Hargrove(James Brown)

Mike Malinin(Goo Goo Dolls)

Poncho Sanchez(Latin Jazz Great)

Zoro(Clinician)

Stephen Perkins(Jane’s Addiction)

Bernard Purdie(Independent)

Bobby Rondinelli(Blue Oyster Cult)

FOR A DEALER NEAR YOU CALL:Audix Corporation PO Box 4010, Wilsonville, OR 97070 In Canada, Cabletek Electronics LTD, 604-942-1001 fax 604-942-1010

®Audix Corporation 2002. All rights reserved. Audix and the Audix logo are trademarks of Audix Corporation.

Used by discriminating drummers everywhere!

Mercedes Lander(Kittie)

Vicki Randle(Tonight Show Band)

Herman Matthews III (Kenny Loggins)

Travis Barker(Blink 182)

Johnny Rabb(Clinician)

Richie “Gajate” Garcia(Phil Collins)

Stanton Moore(Galactic)

Talking Drums - Jesus Diaz,David Garibaldi, Michael Spiro

omewhere in the Pasillas family home there is a video of then-eight-year-oldJose playing air drums. “I was playing to Prince,” recalls Jose with a laugh.

“I’m doing everything: grooving, hitting all the fills.... I guess I was destined to bea drummer.”

A couple years after mastering the art of air-drum rudiments, Pasillas startedeavesdropping on one of his neighbors, original Guns N’ Roses drummer StevenAdler. “When I was thirteen I would hear him playing at three in the morning inhis supposedly soundproof room,” Pasillas reports. “He’d wake up the entireneighborhood. Everybody would be irate, except me. I would sit up and thinkabout how cool it must be to be a drummer. That was just another experience thatturned me on to the drums.”

Now it’s Jose’s time to turn other drummers onto the instrument. In the past cou-ple of years, Incubus has won over a legion of fans with their intriguing, style-hop-ping, grooving rock/pop/funk/rap style. And at the center of the sound is Pasillas,one of the brightest young drum stars to emerge in recent memory. This guy canplay, and just a quick listen to the band’s latest chart-topping disc, Morning View,proves it.

Story by David John Farinella • Photos by Brian Smith

OOff IInnccuubbuuss

ow did this young phenom devel-op? It may be unconventional, but

Pasillas says that playing air drums alongto his favorite tracks as a kid reallyhelped him when he finally hopped on areal kit. Jose didn’t own an actual set ofdrums until he was fifteen. “But when Isat down the first time,” he insists, “Icould play a beat. I was able to distin-guish all the hi-hat parts from the cymbaland tom parts.”

The drumkit came courtesy of one of hisbest friends, future Incubus bandmate Mike

Einziger. “My parents went away for theweekend, and Mike brought over his step-dad’s old drumkit that he never used,”remembered Pasillas. “I never returned it.”

Pasillas and guitarist Einziger werejoined in short order by bassist Dirk Lance(a.k.a. Alex Katunich) and singer BrandonBoyd. Along with DJ Chris Killmore, whojoined the band in 1998, this lineup wouldbecome Incubus. And today, while themembers are only in their mid-twenties,they’ve been playing music together forover a decade and have released three

albums and a pair of EPs.Their 1999 release, Make Yourself, sent

Incubus screaming towards the spotlightbased on the success of the singles“Stellar,” “Pardon Me,” and “Drive.” In2001, the band’s third album, MorningView, hit record store shelves, and theband spent much of that year playingheadline shows to packed houses.

Yet Incubus is not a band that’s playedthe formula game to become successful.Over the course of their three major-labelreleases, each member has pushed the other


to grow and expand his repertoire. Indeed,during live shows Incubus slides from bigrock choruses to drum ’n’ bass–like versesto prog-rock jams to an acousticsinger/songwriter vibe. “That’s us,” Pasillasstates. “We don’t fit into any one category,we encompass everything. We can playwith any band. We can play with Panteraand play heavy stuff. We can play with 311with our in-between stuff, and we can prob-ably play with The Dave Matthews Bandand play our fusiony stuff. We can accli-mate. We’re good at that.”

Finding that range took some time, thoughPasillas didn’t learn by taking many lessons.“I took one lesson,” he admits. “My teacherwas showing me rudiments. Unfortunately, Ididn’t have the patience for it at the time. Ialready knew how to play beats and I knewhow to get around the kit pretty well. Sogoing from that and stripping back downseemed like a waste of time. I know it wasn’tthe smartest decision. I was a fifteen-year-oldkid who had a lot of energy. I just focused onplaying and practicing on my own.”

Pasillas would throw on a pair of head-

phones and play along for hours to a widevariety of bands, such as The Police, LedZeppelin, and Rush. “Basically every bandthat I listened to were my teachers,” he says.“I carefully picked out the drum parts, forbetter or worse, and tried to emulate them.”That practice continues to this day. WhenPasillas sheds drum ’n’ bass grooves, heplays along to recordings by artists such asRoni Size and Talvin Singh.

As Jose and his Incubus mates werelearning how to play their instrumentsand write songs, the band got off to a


slow start. But eventually they began tostand out from the crowd. “We alwayshad our own thing, and it was reallycool,” the drummer says. “People wouldrecognize us for that. We weren’t reallyconsciously working on a certain direc-tion. Anything we liked we weren’t afraidto use, from the heaviest riff to the funki-

est groove.“After ten years of molding,

switching things around, andsmoothing the edges, it’s the same

sort of vibe,” Pasillas admits.“We’re not afraid to go in anydirection. Every album is dif-ferent. That’s what’s coolabout the band.”

From the beginningPasillas has brought in a

tremendous variety of drum-ming influences to the Incubus

sound, such as Tim Alexander ofPrimus, Stewart Copeland of The Police,Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham, and NeilPeart of Rush. Even moreso, Jose’s loveof early punk bands like fiREHOSE andThe Minutemen, both featuring drummerGeorge Hurley, are evident in his earlyplaying. “I grew up skateboarding beforeI started playing drums,” Pasillas recalls,“and at that point The Minutemen weremy favorite band. I loved the way GeorgeHurley played. I went to a lot of theirconcerts, and he had the coolest drumsetups, with like twenty splash cymbals.He’d do a solo on just the splashes! He’sprobably why I have such a large kit.”

Jose might have an expansive kit now,but the kit that he “borrowed” fromEinziger’s step-dad back in the day was aCB 700. After the band won a battle ofthe bands contest in the San FernandoValley, they decided Pasillas needed anew drumkit. “So I got a little Premierjazz kit,” he says, “which was reallycool. That was my first real drumkit. Ibought decent stands and cymbals. Thatwas the next level for me, and havingsomething professional to play reallyinspired me.”

But that wouldn’t be the last t imePasillas would change his kit. “I alwaysswitch things around to challenge myselfso I don’t stagnate,” he explains. “Whenwe recorded S.C.I.E.N.C.E. I had three


Drums: Drum Workshop in mint metallic finish

A. 4x8 tomB. 5x14 Edge snareC. 5x10 tomD. 6x12 tomE. 13x16 floor tomF. 16x18 floor tomG. 18x20 bass drum

Cymbals: Sabian1. 14" AAX China2. 6" HH splash3. 8" HH splash4. 13" AAX hi-hats5. 8" bell6. 20" AAX Studio crash/ride7. 10" HH splash8. 20" HHX crash/ride9. 21" HH Dry Bell ride10. 19" AAXtreme China11. 19" HHX crash

Hardware: Pearl rack system, DW 5500Delta II bass drum pedal (mediumspring tension)Heads: Remo CS Emperor onsnare batter, Ambassador onbottom, clear Emperors on topsof toms with clear Ambassadorson bottoms, PowerStroke 4 onbass drum batter with stockDW logo head on frontSticks: various Pro-Markmodels (hickory withwood tip)Microphones: Shure

rack toms and a floor tom. When werecorded Make Yourself I went to 8" and10" rack toms, a 16" floor, and a big 18"tom set up to my left. This time around,when we were writing Morning View, Iset up my three rack toms again—8", 10",12"—and 16" and 18" floor toms.”

For the recent Morning View tour,Pasillas moved the 8" tom to the left ofhis hi-hat for another twist. “When we’redoing some mellower stuff,” he says,“where everything’s at a low volume,that little tom has kind of a cool high-pitched sound that works really wellwithin the groove. I like to have a widerange of sounds, from very high to very

low.”The left-of-hi-hat area is going to be a

bit more crowded once Jose places asnare drum over there as well. “I play alot of songs where I do drum breaks—thedrum ’n’ bass-type verses that merge intobig rock choruses,” he explains. “I have a12" snare that really has that drum ’n’bass sound. I’m thinking about adding itto the left so that when I’m playing thatstuff live I can more acurately do what Idid on the record.”

During the recording of Morning ViewPasillas played three or four differentsnares, though his favorite is a DW Edge5x14. “It’s super heavy and really thick,”

he explains. “But if you crank it up it’sgot an amazing crack. You can hear it onthe record.”

In terms of technique, Pasillas says hedoesn’t consider himself a very heavybass drum player. “I play heel up,” hesays, “which gives me a l i t t le morepower. But for the most part I’m not dig-ging into the drum. I incorporate a lot ofdouble strokes on the bass drum, so Iwant to play off the head as much as Ican.”

As for playing fast around the kit,Pasillas again employs finesse over power.“Instead of slamming down into the drumswhen I play fast,” he says, “I try not tohave a lot of tension. That slows youdown.” These are both things Jose learnedwhile watching other drummers.

“I watched a lot of drummers when Iwas coming up,” he confirms. “I went to alot of concerts, and I studied. I’d check outthe way other drummers would set up theirkits, how they got their ideas across, andjust how they played. Then I’d try to adaptthe things that I liked to the way I play.”

Perhaps the most appropriate exampleof the Pasillas “watch and experiment”theory is his cymbal play. Jose rides hiscrashes and adds bits of splash for color.As for his live setup, the drummer admitswith a laugh, “I like to have somethingthere for me to hit wherever I turn. I havea lot of cymbals—small and large—so Ican have as much color available to meas possible. Of course, when you have alot to choose from, you have to do ittastefully.”

Playing on the road, especially duringtheir early days, was a learning experi-ence for Pasillas, and it took a lot of con-ditioning. “It was kind of tiring for usbecause we didn’t have the stamina,” heexplains. “Luckily we were only playingthirty minutes a night. But that’s the thingyou grow into when you condition andbuild your stamina.”

Touring also opened Jose’s eyes tosomething he didn’t expect. “We got bet-ter at playing our songs,” he says, “butmy chops diminished. When you’re anopening act, you don’t actually play thatmuch. There’s no soundcheck to stretchout in, and the gigs are short. I wouldpractice a lot before a tour, but then not


“We’re not afraid to go in any direction. That’s what’s

cool about the band.”

improve as much as I’d like once we’d beon the road.”

These days that’s not a problem, sincethe band is playing headline dates andhaving soundchecks where they can playa bit and rehearse. Pasillas and the rest ofthe band also enjoy stretching out duringa show. “We have songs where we’llextend the middle for five to ten min-utes,” he admits. “That might seem com-pletely self-indulgent, but it keeps us cre-ative, it keeps us thinking, and it keeps usfrom being stagnant. I love the risk

involved, too. Sometimes it works, some-times it doesn’t. But when it does, it’sreally cool.”

Incubus takes that same experimentalapproach while writing music for newalbums. “We usually write as a band,”Pasillas explains. “We sit in a room andjam out.” For the Morning View sessions,guitarist Einziger wrote a dozen guitarriffs and gave them to each memberbefore they went in to record. “We wentinto the studio with those riffs andworked together to turn them into songs.

But that’s how we work best as a group.”The band’s major-label debut,

S.C.I.E.N.C.E., was the first time Incubushad a chance to exclusively write musicfor a time. “We had eight weeks to writethe music,” Pasillas says, “so we wrotefourteen songs. I t was cool for us,because we had a lot of ideas and it was apretty compressed amount of time. Thecircumstances weren’t ideal—we wereworking in a dingy l i t t le rehearsalroom—but at that time we didn’t care.We were playing music for a living. It

These are the discs that Jose listens to most for inspiration.Artist Recording Drummer

The Police Live Stewart CopelandSoundgarden Superunknown Matt Cameron

Rush Moving Pictures Neil PeartLed Zeppelin III John BonhamTalvin Singh Anokha none

Pink Floyd The Dark Side Of The Moon Nick MasonFoo Fighters There Is Nothing Left To Lose Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins

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was a good time and we learned a lot.Every session that we’ve done has been amajor learning experience.”

Even after the S.C.I.E.N.C.E. tour,Pasil las didn’t come into the MakeYourself sessions exceedingly confident.“I’m always insecure about my playing,”he reveals. “I see so many good drum-mers, and it’s hard for me to put myselfon that level. Though when I hear ourrecords completed, I feel pretty goodabout what I do.”

The Make Yourself sessions were chal-lenging. “It’s always a difficult process,”Pasillas admits, “because there are fivepeople to please and it’s hard for us to gelall the time.” There were some bumps inthe road, but in the end, Pasillas reckons,“We made a really cool album.”

By that time Incubus had added a DJ tothe mix, which was a new challenge tothe parts Jose was playing live. “DJ Killcan basically do anything with his turnta-bles,” Pasillas explains. “We have a partin the set where he makes a beat on histurntables, and he and I mimic each otherback and forth. Then we go into it togeth-

er. If I’m playing a beat, Kill will scratchover it, and then we’ll try to outdo eachother. He’s another instrument in theband, so I’m listening to him and we’replaying off of each other.”

Incubus singer Brandon Boyd also addsto the band’s percussive attack, pickingup a djembe during the shows and play-ing all the percussion on the band’sreleases. Boyd and Pasillas learned toplay together a long time ago. “We usedto play hand drums in drum circles whenwe were hippies going to Dead concerts,”Pasillas jokes. “But it’s the same sort ofthing, bouncing off rhythms and just kindof transforming rhythms as we go.”

Boyd has seen Pasillas change bothbehind the kit and as a person. “He wasvery shy when we were growing up,” thesinger says. “But then he slowly cameout of his shell. He’s one of the mostvibrant personalities that I’ve ever met inmy life. As for his drumming, he playsvery busy, but he does it in a very taste-ful way. All of our musical tastes are dif-ferent, but they all sort of meet in themiddle, and Jose has been able to harness

the coolest parts from the music that weall listen to.”

Boyd laughs and then adds, “The hard-est thing in the world for Jose to do isplay slowly. If we write a song that’s fast,he’s like, ‘Alright.’ But part of our evolu-tion has been to strip away our parts andbecome less cluttered. It’s been reallyamazing watching him evolve as a drum-mer, because he’s taken the best aspectsof that sort of busy style that he used tohave and harnessed them. He hasn’tcaged his style, but he’s found a way tomake it work perfectly in the songs.”

Not only has the band stripped down,they now experiment more with oddrhythms and meters. According to Jose,“That’s become an area that we’re veryinterested in exploring. You can hearsome of it on the new record. I really lovethe challenge of odd meters and phrasesand trying to come up with parts that aremusical within that setting.”

For the most part, Pasillas reports that hedoesn’t write odd parts for the band, hewrites with the band. “As far as the rhythmsgo,” he says, “we’ll jam on ideas and see

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where they go or how far we can take them.Sometimes we’ll be playing somethingthat’s straight, and we’ll say, What if weadd a beat at the end of this phrase just totwist it? Sometimes an idea like that willpop up and we’ll go with it.”

The other area of interest for the bandlately is drum ’n’ bass. It’s a feel thatthey explored a bit on Morning View,especially on the song “Nice To KnowYou.” “It has a drum ’n’ bass kind ofverse that moves into a big chorus, andthen there’s a trippy sort of Led Zeppelinbreak-down in the bridge,” Pasil lasexplains. “I’m not a very mechanicalplayer, where every note is the same. Iplay more with feeling, and I get my bodyinto it. I don’t play that fast stuff like amachine. But I happen to like the waythat sounds, rather than playing i tabsolutely perfectly.”

Fans of Incubus might notice thatPasillas takes a shoeless approach, kick-ing them off as he walks to his kit. “I feelthe pedal a little better without wearing

shoes,” he explains. “As I said before,I’m not really a hard kicker, so havingevery little bit of sensitivity is better forme. I’ve been playing this way for maybefive or six years. When I play with shoeson, I can’t feel the pedal.”

Jose recently discovered the GripPeddler, a pedal-gripping pad that attach-es to the footboard. “It’s this foamy typeof pad that has little divots in it so yourfoot doesn’t slip,” he says. “I sweat a lot,but the Grip Peddler really helps the fric-tion.”

One other unusual point about Pasillasis his stage positioning: He plays side-ways, facing DJ Killmore across the stagerather than the audience. Jose laughswhile explaining why. “Most drummersare hidden in the back, but I’m up thereall exposed. I actually picked this up fromseeing Jon Fishman of Phish. I’ve had alot of compliments from other drummers,musicians, and fans about it because theycan see what I’m doing. I think I’m a lit-tle vain, too.”


Jose Pasillas

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SSCCOOTTTT TTRRAAVVIISSJJuuddaass PPrriieesstt’’ss

by Mike Haid

C an you imagine what it would be like to get the opportunityto audition for one of your all-time favorite bands, be flown

overseas to audition—and get the gig? Then, on the first record-ing, you get to play a drum intro (on the opening track no less)that would go down in history as one of the coolest drum riffs inheavy metal. Or how about this: You discover a singer in a localcover band, you get that singer an audition, and he ends up replac-ing one of the strongest vocalists in the history of heavy metal!

Welcome to the world of Scott Travis. Scott has had the distinc-tion of holding down the drum chair for heavy metal icons JudasPriest for over ten years. His exciting, rock-solid double bass drum-ming awakened the sleeping metal giants with a fresh new soundthat propelled Priest into a new generation of metal music.

Along with his work in Priest, Travis has continued recordingwith one of the strongest (and most underrated) rock groups tocome out of Los Angeles, Racer X. The group’s last two releasesare nothing shy of brilliant, featuring strong material and top-notch musicianship—yet the group is still unsigned to a majorlabel.

With a new Judas Priest release, Demolition, and a new Racer Xrelease, Super Heroes, Scott Travis is sounding stronger than ever,unleashing some of the heaviest and most creative grooves of thenew metal millennium.

Will

iam

Ham

es

MD: On Demolition, it sounds as though theband is going for a more modern metalapproach in the songwriting department.There’s not as much fast double bass stuff asin the past. Was that intentional?Scott: Guitarist Glenn Tipton wrote most ofthe material for the new record. So he’lleither take the credit for its success—or theblame if traditional Priest fans don’t like it.

I don’t think that it was really a consciouseffort to sound “modern.” It wasn’t dis-cussed at all. If I stand back and makemyself objective, I would have to say thatPriest is in a tough situation. Because if theydo a “traditional heavy metal” Priest album,then they’re likely to get a response that theysound dated or they’re stuck in the ’80s. Onthe other hand, if they try to sound too mod-ern, then people will say that they’re tryingto jump on the bandwagon of the new metalsound. So I can see that the band is in aquandary as to which way they should gomusically.

At the end of the day, a good song is a

good song. I’m not saying that Demolitiondoes, or doesn’t have them. But whether it’sheavy metal or any other style of music,either you’ve got good songs or you don’t.So the new record should really be judged onthe merits of the quality of its songs.MD: Your drum intro on the title track of thePainkiller release made a huge statementthat the band had injected vibrant new bloodinto their music. They were smart to add apowerful new drummer with a modern metalsound and serious chops.Scott: I’ve heard that statement many timesregarding the fact that Priest sounded likethey had new life when they releasedPainkiller. I take that as a huge compliment,and I never get tired of hearing it. As far asthe intro to “Painkiller,” I was very lucky tohave gotten that riff on the album, becausethe song was already written when I joinedthe band. I was in the studio warming up byplaying some of the licks and exercises that Icreated. The band heard me and asked what Iwas playing. They thought it would be killer

if I could add it to the intro of that song.As a drummer, it’s difficult to come up

with an intro to a song that fits the music andflows with the song. Any drummer can do aflurry of licks and all of a sudden go into asong. But if it doesn’t fit the tempo andstructure of the music, it just sounds out ofplace. So it was cool that the intro of“Painkiller” made it onto the record and thatit was also the first song on the record. It’sbeen very cool to have a trademark like that.MD: Did they express to you when youjoined the band what they were looking forin a drummer?Scott: They knew what they were lookingfor, which was a drummer who could injectsome new blood into the band. They startedlooking for drummers and my name cameup. Rob Halford was already familiar withRacer X because he and Racer X vocalistJeff Martin were friends. They would keepin touch with what was going on in eachband. I was sitting in my apartment inSherman Oaks, California, and Jeff called


Geo

rge

Chi

n

me from out of the blue and said, “Guesswho’s looking for a drummer?”

So I sent them a couple of the Racer XCDs—Second Heat and the first live album.They flew me over to Spain, where theywere staying at the time, to audition. Thiswas in October of ’89. They rented a drumk-it and held auditions in an old house thatused to be a sugar mill. They had given methree songs that they wanted me to play forthe audition, as well as parts for some of thenew Painkiller material. It was a pretty easyaudition for me because I was already aPriest fan and very familiar with their oldermaterial from playing the tunes in coverbands.

I was a big fan of Priest when Les Binkswas their drummer, with albums like StainedClass and Hell Bent For Leather. When theyhired Dave Holland, they certainly had hugesuccess as a band, but the music got a bit toocommercial for my taste. MD: Has the band asked you to emulate thelicks of any of the past Priest drummers?

Scott: Not at all. I didn’t know if they weregoing to want that when I joined. I hadalways heard horror stories of bands wantingyou to play every song just like the record.But none of that has ever been mentioned.On the other hand, as I was growing up, Ialways tried to play the songs like the drum-mer had played them on the record. I alwaysthought, Who am I to change what an artisthas written? If the song is good enough forus to want to cover, then I should play it likeit was written. So when we play some of theold Priest material I play a lot of DaveHolland’s parts and Les Binks’ parts the waythey played them on the records. I think thefans expect that as well. MD: You mentioned people jumping ship.Speaking of that, what were the reasons forthe Rob Halford/Judas Priest breakup?Scott: Honestly, I was sort of out of the loopon the whole thing because I was living onthe East Coast, Rob was living in Phoenix,and the rest of the band was living inEngland. I’ve heard both sides of the story.

From what I understand, Rob notified theband that he wanted to do a solo record,which, from what I heard, the rest of theband was fine with. Then certain things weresaid between the managers and agents.

From my point of view, there seemed tobe a lack of communication, because no onephysically sat down together and discussedthings. I’m sure that from the band’s per-spective they were hurt, because they hadsuch a long history with Rob. When you’rein a band for any length of time, it becomes afamily. I think the band was upset about theway Rob left the band, in such an impersonalway. Then things seemed to escalate out ofcontrol with nasty things being said betweenthe parties. Officially, Rob did leave. Manypeople would still like to see him back in theband, and that may happen one day. But theband certainly did not fire Rob or kick himout. MD: What was it like working withHalford?Scott: Rob was a great guy to work with. It’sunfortunate that Painkiller was the onlyJudas Priest album that I got to work withhim on. I have very fond memories of work-ing on that record with him. I’m still veryproud of that recording. He and I also did theFight project together.MD: How did you end up doing that pro-ject?Scott: Rob called me after he left Priest. Atthat time, Priest was in limbo for about eigh-teen months. They didn’t know if they weregoing to retire or keep the band together andlook for a new singer. So Rob called andasked if I’d be interested in doing his soloproject. Priest didn’t have a problem with medoing Fight, because they weren’t doinganything at the time, and they couldn’t askme to just sit around and not play. Theyknew I wanted to play drums and I wanted towork. I think they also thought it was a goodidea for me to work with Rob in hopes thatwe would both come back to Priest at somepoint.MD: How difficult was it to work throughthe changes between Halford leaving andnew singer “Ripper” Owens joining theband?Scott: Once the band decided to stay togeth-er and look for a singer, it came togetherquickly.MD: I’ve heard a lot of different storiesabout how the band discovered “Ripper”Owens. Can you set the record straight?


Scott: Certainly. In fact, there’s a movie thatcame out recently called Rock Star withMark Wahlberg and Jennifer Anniston thatis based on the story of Tim “Ripper”

Owens. When he first joined Priest, the NewYork Times did a story on how he went froman unknown singer in a cover band to a rockstar with Judas Priest. George Clooney’s

production company read the story anddecided to do an adaptation of the story and“Hollywood it up” a little. The end result isthe movie Rock Star.

Originally Tim was in a Judas Priest coverband called British Steel. I went to see themwhen they came to my area, and he blew meaway. I sat in with the band, and afterwardsTim gave me a low-budget videotape of theband that a fan had made at one of theirshows. This was at the time when Priest was

deciding whether to retire or get backtogether. So a few months later Priest

flew me over to England to start audi-tioning singers. I brought the video ofTim with me and played it for them.After watching a bit of the tape, theycouldn’t believe that Tim was reallysinging the parts. I told them that I had

seen him and he really was singing thoseparts. Right then they had me call him up athis mom’s house in Ohio.

So I called Tim and told him that I wassitting in the studio in England with JudasPriest, and that they just watched his videobut didn't believe that he’s really singing theparts on the tape. He said to have them flyhim over and he’d be glad to audition forthem. So they flew him over to England a

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couple days later. They had taken the classicPriest song “Victim Of Changes” andremoved the original vocal track so he couldsing over the music. Tim started into thesong and about halfway through they

stopped the tape and told him that he had thegig. The rest is history. They never ended upauditioning anybody else. MMDD:: So you’re basically responsible forTim getting the gig?SSccootttt:: Not basically, definitely. [laughs]MMDD:: Let’s talk about the new Demolitionrelease. You kick off the first tune,“Machine Man,” in the same manner thatyou started the “Painkiller” track, with aflurry of kick/tom combinations and a blaz-ing double bass groove. SSccootttt:: I don’t know why they keep doingthat. I think they’re trying to exploit me! Ihad no idea they were going to put “MachineMan” on as the first song. The order of thesongs is never preconceived. I had suggestedan intro to the song, and it seemed to workpretty well. Most of the time the band has to

coax me into doing those types of intros,because it makes it look like I’m trying toshow off. It was just something that cameabout in the studio, there was no intention toopen the record with it.

MMDD:: Beyond “Machine Man,” the rest of thenew release is pretty straight-forward rockgrooves with single kick patterns. You haveone of the strongest grooves in heavy metal,and you always play exactly what the songneeds, nothing more and nothing less. Howdid you develop your sense of groove andplaying for the song?SSccootttt:: As a musician, you listen to what ispresented to you and try to accompany themusic at hand. While some people may thinkof me as a guy who at times plays a lot ofnotes, I create my parts from a rock ’n’ rollperspective. To me, it’s all about providing asolid feel. Like it or not, we are the time-keepers. I like to think of it like the drummeris the hub of a wheel and the rest of the bandare the spokes. So the faster or slower we go,the rest of the wheel is going to follow.

It was a great thing to play some groove-oriented songs on Painkiller, especially“Touch Of Evil.” With Racer X, I was prettymuch known as a speed-metal drummer. Sojoining Judas Priest and getting to play more

groove-oriented songs gave me the chance toshow that I could also groove hard. Racer Xwas a more technically oriented band; therest of the guys were graduates of theMusicians Institute in Hollywood—soeveryone else thought that I was a graduateof PIT. MMDD:: Who are some of your favorite“groove” drummers?SSccootttt:: I love AC/DC. If you listen to PhilRudd, you can learn so much about thegroove. He’s one of the masters of the rockgroove and plays exactly what needs to beplayed. Ringo was also another great drum-mer who played creative parts that fit thesongs perfectly. MMDD:: Are you self-taught?SSccootttt:: Yes, I’m totally self-taught. I tried totake a lesson once. There was a song from

“While some people may think of me as a guy who plays a lot of notes, I create my parts from a rock ’n’ roll

perspective. It’s all about providing a solid feel.”

Scott Travis


the first Aerosmith record that I wanted tolearn because there was a riff that JoeyKramer was playing that I couldn’t figureout. It was some sort of a four-note patternaround the kit. So this local teacher that wasvery popular in the area came over to myhouse and gave me some exercises, likeparadiddles and stuff like that. I asked him ifhe could show me how to play theAerosmith riff, and he couldn’t do it. At thatpoint I decided to just learn things on myown.

I also tried joining the school band, but atthat point I already had a huge Neil Peart-size drumkit at home and I was practicing torecords. Then I would go to school and haveto play these boring exercises on practicepads. So I ended up dropping out of that aswell. But looking back, I would suggest thatall musicians take lessons and learn to readmusic. Unfortunately I don’t read music.MMDD:: Do you, or have you ever, practicedwith a click track of some sort?SSccootttt:: No. I get asked that quite often. WhenI started to play drums in the late ’70s, usinga click track was unheard of. The onlymetronome that I knew of was the oldmechanical one with the counterweight that

slides up and down. I developed my timefrom playing along with records. Back then,I would intentionally play along with someof the dance records of that era, which prob-ably used drum machines, just to work onmy time. I’ve never owned a metronome.MMDD:: Who were your musical influences inyour learning years?SSccootttt:: John Bonham, Alex Van Halen,Tommy Aldridge, and of course Neil Peart.Seeing Neil Peart for the first time with Rushjust blew me away. I didn’t know who theywere, or who he was. I actually went to seeKansas, and Rush was the opening band.Just watching the roadies bring his hugechrome kit out on stage gave me the impres-sion that something serious was about tohappen. I had never seen a kit like thatbefore. They were touring in support of theirAll The World’s A Stage album. The verynext day I went out and bought that doublelive album. I still own it! MMDD:: Is Neil Peart your most influentialdrummer?SSccootttt:: Not so much for his double bassdrumming. He uses double bass mostly foroccasional fills. Tommy Aldridge would usethem more in the context of a groove

throughout the song. A great example is thekiller tune “Hammerhead,” which I think isone of the more well-known tracks he playedwith Pat Travers. Another guy who was veryinfluential to my playing is Ian Paice fromDeep Purple. These guys are my all-timefavorites, and I still listen to them today inawe.

The other important thing to note withthese guys is that they played in great bandsthat wrote great songs. That means every-thing to me as a drummer. These guysseemed to be tailor-made for those bands,and they played parts that really helped makethe songs great. MMDD:: How much time do you spend workingon double bass technique?SSccootttt:: Not a lot. But I still enjoy just sittingdown and playing and working on thingsthat I’ll never use. Drummers will ask mewhat exercises I recommend for double bass,and I like to suggest that they try playingthings with their left foot that they wouldnormally play with their right. Led Zeppelinsongs are good for that. I would neverattempt to use my left foot as my primaryfoot in a live situation, but as an exercise, it’sa great way to strengthen it. Sometimes I’ll

Scott Travis

play grooves using my left foot for ten or fif-teen minutes. Then when I go back to play-ing regular double bass patterns, I’m amazedat how much stronger my left foot feels.MMDD:: Do you lead with your right foot onyour double bass patterns?SSccootttt:: Most of the time I lead with the rightfoot, but over the past couple years I’ve dis-covered that certain fills work better when Ilead with my left. In fact, certain fills won’twork unless I lead with my left foot, espe-cially fills that fall in the middle of a doublebass groove. I can’t come out of it and keepthe groove happening unless I lead the fillwith my left foot.MMDD:: Do you incorporate double strokes intoyour double bass drum technique, or createsingle- and double-stroke patterns like VirgilDonati might do?SSccootttt:: No, but I’ve seen Virgil do that onvideo. That guy is from another planet. Afterwatching him I thought I would sit down atmy kit and give it a try, thinking, “How hardcan it be?” After trying to do it for a fewminutes I realized how difficult it really is. Idon’t use double strokes on my bass drums.

I played a tune called “Scarified” on theRacer X release Second Heat, which was the

first recording that I ever played on. It’s aninstrumental tune that I do a drum intro on.That song isn’t as well-known as“Painkiller” because Racer X doesn’t haveas large an audience as Judas Priest, but it’s asong that drummers still tell me is one thatthey consider a difficult intro to learn.MMDD:: You always end up with great-sound-ing drum tracks. How involved are you intuning the drums and getting the drumsounds when you record?SSccootttt:: I appreciate your comments and I’mproud to say that I’ve never had a drum techin the studio on any record that I’ve done.First off, I’ve never been able to afford adrum tech in the studio, so I’ve alwayschanged my own heads and tuned my drumsmyself. Also, with each project that yourecord, you depend on the engineer and/orproducer to make things sound good. Theycan make or break you.

I’ve often said that the drummer’s bestfriend in a live situation is the sound man.You can be the greatest drummer in theworld with the best-sounding kit, but if it’snot miked properly and processed correctlyto sound great through the PA, then every-thing is lost. I’ve been blessed by working

Scott Travis

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with people who know how to achieve greatdrum sounds.

In today’s recording environment, it’seasy to simply sample the drum sounds andover-process them to get them to soundhuge. But I prefer a good live drum sound.There are times when some sampling isadded to my sound. The reason that addingsampled sounds to the acoustic sound is sopopular in metal music is because, with thedetuned guitars and the really fast music,you’ve only got so much space frequency-wise to get the sound in there. As much as I

would like to be an acoustic drum purist andonly use acoustic sounds, you just can’tcompete with the other electric sounds inmetal music and get the sound that’s neededon the recording.MMDD:: Do you have a particular sampling unitor triggering source that you like to use toachieve your sound?SSccootttt:: Judas Priest owns a ddrum unit thatwe use live. At times we’ll combine thatwith the acoustic sound. The sound techdetermines how much of the acoustic orelectronic sound will be added to the mix. I

never go out and try to tell the sound guywhat he should do. They’re good at whatthey do, that’s why we hire them. I usuallyjust show them what we have to work withand let them do what they need to do for thebest possible sound.

In the studio, there are usually otheravenues that you can take to get good drumsounds without adding sampled sounds.Racer X has never used sampled sounds onany of our recordings. MMDD:: Do you use the same kit with Racer Xthat you do with Judas Priest?SSccootttt:: It’s basically the same kit. My setuphas changed a little over the years. I used touse three rack toms with Racer X, and thatwas the same setup I used when I joinedJudas Priest. Then I went to two rack toms,but now I’m back to using three. I’ve beenvery fortunate to be associated with Tamadrums since 1987, when I first joined RacerX. They’ve been great people to work withall these years.

On Technical Difficulties and SuperHeroes, we recorded the drums at guitaristPaul Gilbert’s studio in Las Vegas. He ownsa set of Tama Starclassic drums. So I use thesame setup of drums with both bands, justdifferent kits. On the Judas Priest recordingsJugulator and Demolition, I used the chromeTama Grandstar kit that I’ve had for aboutten years. I used a white Grandstar kit, whichwas the first kit that I got from Tama, torecord Painkiller and the first three Racer Xreleases.MMDD:: Do you have a particular tuningprocess that works for you?SSccootttt:: I just tune by what sounds good to myears. It’s a very subjective thing for everydrummer. I know when the heads have losttheir tone and need to be changed. When I’mrecording, I usually change my tom headsevery day and the snare head twice a day. Itune my heads as deep as possible withouttheir “waffling” or sounding flappy. MMDD:: What would you do if there came atime to choose between staying with JudasPriest or going with Racer X, if that bandwas picked up by a major label?SSccootttt:: That’s a good question. Maybe it’s agood thing that Technical Difficulties andSuper Heroes didn’t get picked up by amajor, because I would have had to makethat decision. I’ve been fortunate to do bothprojects with no major conflicts. I hope that Inever have to make that decision.


Scott Travis

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t a 1999 Birdland per-formance with TheDave Holland Quintet,Billy Kilson led band

and audience in a rousing chorusof drum worship. Holland, one ofjazz’s most celebrated bassists andcomposers, has played with all theinnovators, from Tony and Elvin toJack DeJohnette and Billy Higgins.So you can bet he knows a greatdrummer when he hears one.

At Birdland, Holland was theringleader, grinning madly asKilson smoked the supple musiclike a tornado blowing through aKansas wheat field. With everyKilson cymbal explosion, Hollandwould push for more. With everyKilson round-the-kit volley, Hollandwould accent his bass in gleefulapproval. And the crowd loved it.

Where some might have viewedthat performance as sophisticatedjazz gone mad with the linearrhythms and caustic dynamics of

jazz-rock, Holland’s Quintetexplores music that covers a widerange of influences. The same canbe said for DC’s own Billy Kilson, adrummer who has played inalmost every style imaginable—and who’s done so with a verifiableeloquence that would make a lesscreative and determined drummermore a liability than an asset. Alover of Frankie Dunlop and Elvinas well as Lenny White and SteveGadd, Kilson’s drumming lies atthe intersection where hard bopand jazz-rock cross paths.

On first listen, whether it’s DaveHolland’s Not For Nothin’, TimHagans’ Animation Imagination, orBob James’ Joined At The Hip,Kilson sounds like he’s comingdirectly from the old schools ofBilly Cobham, Lenny White, oreven Eric Gravatt. His linear stick-ing and ambidextrous techniqueenable him to be everywhere atonce: keeping the groove pliant

and exciting, chasing down tenorsax man Chris Potter’s serpentinesolos, and commenting at everyturn with Chambers-esque blindingcymbal flurries and tom-smashingsqualls.

But as you delve deeper, youhear Kilson also swinging with adeft touch and playing with a raregrace. He conjures up Africanrhythms that are lithe and subtle.With Hagans, Kilson storms overdrum ’n’ bass and avant-rockgrooves with scorching intensity.He can be found playing standardsand originals with underratedpianist/composer Donald Brown.Then you’ll find him playing R&Bwith Diane Reeves and FreddieJackson, and smooth jazz with BobJames and Kirk Whalum. Andthrough it all, Kilson maintains aswinging dance-like quality thatmakes his drumming a treat forplayers and listeners alike.

Story by Ken Micallef • Photos by Alex Solca

A

Dedication To The Art

Dave Holland’s

★ ★ ★

★★★

MD: Your drumming on Dave Holland’srecent records and in concert is powerfuland fast, yet also very graceful. You have adance-like quality in your playing as well.You stop and start on a dime, and youseem so in control at all times. What’s thekey?Billy: I think the key is having the control.For me that comes from studying withAlan Dawson and working with StickControl. The physical part of it is having agood grasp of the rudiments. The mentalside of it is having confidence. Not that I’mnot nervous now, but I have more confi-dence than when I first began working withDave Holland in what I’m attempting toexecute. That’s why it’s perceived that I’mable to stop on a so-called dime. But Davehas allowed me to have so much freedom;if I make a mistake it’s cool with him andthe other guys. That gives me a lot of con-fidence.MD: Integrating what you play within themusic must take a lot of confidence.Billy: Absolutely. I have this mentalRolodex I keep in my head, this file ofmany drummers that I’ve done so much

thirty-nine-year-old Kilson is also one of the more determined and

persevering musicians this journalist has met. Picking up the

drums late—at the age of sixteen—Kilson packed more practice

time into twelve years than most of us could muster in twenty.

While he studied with mentor Alan Dawson, played weddings,

worked at a phone company, and kept books for a beauty salon,

Kilson would not be deterred from his dreams. Not only did he

succeed (though he maintains he is a work in progress), Kilson’s

drumming and career continue to blossom.

A versatile drummer whoseBK Groove solo album reveals hisown compositions and programming,

whoseBK Groove solo album reveals hisown compositions and programming,

homework on. There’s a lot more work todo, but I use it instantaneously. If someoneis soloing in a certain style, I’ll try to adaptto that style with the most authenticity Ican muster. If Dave or Chris Potter changetheir style in the middle of a solo, I willrespond. Sometimes within one phrase ourvibraphonist Steve Nelson will refer toMilt Jackson, Bobby Hutcherson, or RoyAyers, so I’ll be running through myRolodex of drummers who played withthose guys.MD: What types of things do you takefrom these different drummers?Billy: When I listen to drummers, I don’tpay much attention to how they solo. I’mmore interested in why they’ve respondedin a certain way. I learned drummers’ solosbecause I loved how they responded to theband. A drum solo record would probablyturn me off; I would probably rather listento a duet or a drummer in an orchestra. Iwant to hear how the drummer is reacting.MD: Who are some of those drummers?Billy: From Baby Dodds to Steve Gadd.No kidding, I have at least three CDs fea-turing each drummer that’s played withinthat period. I went to Berklee, and after-wards I spent a lot of time practicing. But Ialso worked at the phone company for along time. I used to be bitter about it, butI’m not any more because I realize that Iput that time to good use. I spent all of myfree time honing my skills, building mylibrary of music, listening to drummers,and just doing my homework.MD: I hear a lot of old-school LennyWhite in your playing. Was he a big influ-ence?Billy: Lenny White is the reason I play,actually. I remember a friend let me hearLenny’s album Struttin. It made so muchsense. It was funk-oriented, but he wasdoing things on the drums that I didn’t hearR&B drummers do. Struttin was set up allaround the drums; I had never heard musiclike that before. That’s in my heart, nodoubt, and I got a chance to tell Lenny thatin 1993, when I was working with StepsAhead.MD: When I saw you with Holland atBirdland, he seemed to be pushing you atevery turn to play more. Where do you andhe hook up in the groove? These are not tra-ditional dotted jazz rhythms.Billy: Dave never told me how to play. Hejust told me to bring what I got because, as

Kilson’s Holland KitKilson’s Holland KitDrums: DWA. 51/2x14 wood snareB. 10x10 tomC. 10x12 tomD. 14x14 floor tomE. 18x20 bass drum

Cymbals: Sabian1. 13" Fusion hats2. 16" HHX crash3. 20" Manhattan ride4. 21" Fierce ride5. 18" Flat Bell ride

Sticks: Vater 5A

he said, “I love the way you play.” We’vehad some conceptual conversations. If we’replaying a particular tune, he might say he’shearing more of a half-time concept—like“The Balance,” on Points Of View. I wasn’thearing the pulse in that way at first.MD: On “Kruger Park,” from your albumBK Groove, and even on Bob James’ JoinedAt The Hip, you play rhythms and shadingsthat are very African-sounding. You alwaysseem to be expanding on a reference point.Billy: Again, that goes back to my Rolodex.I’m responding rhythmically to just how Ifeel at that time.MD: On “Dingwalls,” from your album, thelinear pattern you play sounds so natural,even though the tune is in an odd meter.What do you focus on when you’re playingodd meters?Billy: Alan taught me that when you’replaying odd meters you should never try tocount them. You should try to sing the bassline. In that tune, which actually is a tributeto Alan, there isn’t any bass. But to play thatone I sing my own bass line in my head.That’s my center, so that frees me up.

As far as the feel goes, I try to makeeverything I play—no matter how com-plex—feel danceable. The groove aspect isvery important to me. If a person can’t pattheir foot, then I’m not doing my job.Music, no matter what it is, should makeyou feel good. If I can’t feel that then Ishouldn’t play it.MD: Many of the so-called fusion drum-mers lack that dance feel.Billy: There’s a cerebral aspect to my play-ing—there are a lot of things I’m thinkingabout. But honestly, most of it is visceral.It’s about the feel and how the music ismoving me.MD: Did Dawson discuss that dance-likequality?Billy: Not really, but I do remember that hetold me to not lose that part of my playing.Kids used to make fun of me ’cause I wouldalways move my body when I played thedrums. I saw a video of myself; it lookedlike I was having a conniption fit. Seeingmy body motion made me think that Ishould focus on a martial art, so as to have


“It’s my spiritual belief that I’m here for a reason, andthat’s to make music. Nothing will deter me from that.”“It’s my spiritual belief that I’m here for a reason, andthat’s to make music. Nothing will deter me from that.”


better control over what I’m doing. I’vebeen practicing Kung Fu for some time, andit’s helped me to relax when I’m drumming.MD: On your song “Bears Café” [from BKGroove], it sounds like some of the patternsyou play must have you leading at differenttimes with both hands. Are you ambidex-trous?Billy: Everyone says that about me, but Idunno. I played a lot of sports growing up,which helped me to understand Alan’s con-cept that there is no strong hand. Alan hasthis rudimental thing that he called “TheRitual.” The Ritual is a medley of rudiments

he created. It comprises eighty some-oddrudiments with various stickings. Some aretraditional, some nontraditional. Working onit has helped things like making my left footas strong as my right, and the same with thehands. My ability to lead with either hand isattributable to Alan Dawson. I thank themaster for that.MD: When did you study at Berklee?Billy: I was there from ’80 to ’85. But Istudied with Alan outside of Berklee in ’83.MD: So being ambidextrous must helpenable power and speed.Billy: I’m sure. And my having some kind of

athletic ability gave Alan the tools to help medefine my skills. I actually broke my left armwhen I was ten, and once it healed my bas-ketball coach had me focus on that arm. I’vealways noticed that my left arm was strongerthan it was before I broke it. Alan thoughtthat it helped me to do more things with myleft arm and hand.MD: Often with your drumming, you’replaying the rhythm and the melody at once.You’re playing the rhythm but also referringto what the other musicians are playing.Billy: That’s funny, because the drumaspects come from Alan Dawson. But whenyou talk about melody, you’re getting intoAhmad Jamal’s teaching; that was gradschool for me. I played with him for a year,and he taught me how to be a musician.Hearing the melody and playing off of itwas what Ahmad was all about. Before thatI was just a drummer. But that gig with himwas on-the-job training. He demands thatyou respond musically, not rhythmically.MD: Do you have any basic guidelines thatyou can offer young drummers when tryingto differentiate between playing jazz androck, or funk?Billy: Absolutely. When you’re playing

Billy Kilson

jazz, the beat is on top. But with funk, thebeat is behind. Also, jazz is about the ridecymbal, funk is about the bass drum. Theseare generalizations, but they hold true andcan get you started.MD: And now there are styles like drum ’n’bass to contend with. Some of the songs onHagans’ Animation Imagination are drum’n’ bass-oriented.Billy: I wasn’t even familiar with drum ’n’bass until we started working on that CD.Tim just told me to play something that fitwith what they were doing. I was fortunatethat what I came up with worked.Physically, it was quite demanding becauseit’s unrelenting and fast. It called for a lot ofendurance.MD: On the Hagans records, are you actual-ly trying to sound like a loop?Billy: For sure. The tune might call for that.That’s part of my being able to switch gears.Playing with Bob James on Joined At TheHip really allowed me switch to more funkgrooves. To me, it’s all about providingwhatever the music calls for.MD: You sound like you’ve spent a lot oftime on individual things.Billy: When I worked at the phone company

Hip TracksThese are the recordings that Billy says best represent his playing.

Artist RecordingBob James & Kirk Whalum Joined At The Hip

Dave Holland Quintet Points Of ViewDave Holland Quintet Prime Directive

Tim Hagans Audible ArchitectureTim Hagans Animation ImaginationCarla Cook Dem Bones

Donald Brown At This Point In My LifeBK Groove While U R Sleepin

And these are the ones he listens to for inspiration.

Artist Recording DrummerClifford Brown & Max Roach More Study In Brown Max Roach

Miles Davis Milestones Philly Joe JonesReturn To Forever Romantic Warrior Lenny White

Miles Davis Kind Of Blue Jimmy CobbJohn Coltrane A Love Supreme Elvin Jones

Miles Davis Nefertiti Tony WilliamsThelonious Monk Monk’s Dream Frankie Dunlop

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers Indestructible Art BlakeyStanley Clarke Journey To Love Steve Gadd

Booker Ervin Freedom & Space Sessions Alan DawsonLouis Armstrong Live At Symphony Hall Big Sid Catlett

John Coltrane To The Beat Of A Different Drum Roy HaynesLenny White Struttin’ Lenny White

Lifetime Believe It Tony WilliamsSergei Rachmaninoff 24 Preludes Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano)

Billy Kilson


after Berklee, I would spend weeks on justthe ride cymbal. It would be me playingalong to Jimmy Cobb on Miles’ Kind OfBlue all day. I love Cobb’s ride cymbalplaying. When I did “Zone B” on myrecord, I was thinking of his ride cymbalwork—and that’s a funk tune. But afterworking on my ride cymbal for weeks, thenI would focus on just my snare drum. Iwould play the ride with the snare and justone rack tom. No bass drum. I wanted todevelop a personal relationship with each ofthe drums.MD: What types of things would you prac-tice on each individual piece of gear?Billy: I worked on Alan’s exercises that hehad for interpreting Syncopation. I alsopracticed along with records, like PhillyJoe’s solo on “Two Bass Hit” from Miles’Milestones. Whatever he did, I would try todo with just a rack tom. Then I would do thesame thing with the second tom, then thefloor tom. I would do the same thing withthe snare and the hat and exclude everythingelse. And this type of thing, where I wasfocusing on one piece of gear, but moreimportantly, focusing on another drummer,became a big part of my development. I

really wanted to get inside of these playersso they would become a part of my playing.I want them to play me; I don’t want to playthem.MD: What kind of exercises did you do foryour basic snare drum technique?Billy: For my hands, I use the pad. I don’thave a drumset at home. I go to the city topractice that. I still work out with Alan’sRitual and Stick Control.MD: Do you focus on certain things forspeed?Billy: No. Alan would always say that speedisn’t important, clarity is. I focus on claritymore than anything else. Inarticulate speechis worthless.MD: From Tim Hagans to Bob James toDave Holland, how do you tune your drumsfor each gig?Billy: I’m so happy with Drum Workshop.These are the first drums I’ve found thatrespond well to any style. I might tweak thesnare and bass drums a little, but that’sabout it. I use the same drums with Davethat I use with Bob and Larry Carlton. Imight change snares with Dave, and on myCD I changed the snare drum on everytrack. And I might change the tonality of the

bass drum with Dave. Otherwise, the drumsstay the same. With Dave I do tune withinthe key of the tune in each song. If I play atom and it sounds like it doesn’t fit the song,it drives me crazy.MD: You were born in DC. But what firstgot you interested in drumming?Billy: Parliament Funkadelic. I loved thatband. Before that I was beating on every-thing. Eventually my mom bought me a setof Reuter drums. They were an off-brand,student model. I was so embarrassed atBerklee because those were the drums I hadthere my first year.

I had gone to Shenandoah Conservatoryin Virginia the year before Berklee. Myteacher there told me I should go to Berkleein Boston because I had potential. But whenI got there, monster players like GeneJackson, Jeff Watts, and Marvin “Smitty”Smith were already there. I was in the rook-ie clique. They were always cool, but I hadno idea of the language they were speakingon the drums.MD: What did you do after Berklee?Billy: Well, by then I was married with ababy and didn’t have any gigs, so I opted fora day gig, which is when I worked for the

Billy Kilson

phone company. I did that for three and ahalf years.

When I worked at the phone company Iwould sit in the stairwell on my lunch hourand practice my lessons with brushes. And Iwould practice on my fifteen-minute breaks.Even with being a father, I wasn’t going tobe denied my dream. It’s my spiritual beliefthat I’m here for a reason, and that’s tomake music. Nothing will deter me fromthat.MD: There must have been times of greatdiscouragement.Billy: Of course. I would do wedding gigsin Boston and I’d only take a cymbal and asnare drum as a form of protest. And man,when Alan Dawson heard I did that he wasangry. He wouldn’t tolerate that. But hebecame the focus of my determination. Hekept me grounded. Eventually I got my firstreal gig, with Walter Davis. Then DonaldBrown gave me a chance. I had no history.My history was the phone company.MD: When did things pick up?Billy: In ’88 I worked with Donald Byrd.Then in ’89 I worked with Ahmad Jamal. I

then met Diane Reeves in California andworked with her, and that’s when I felt Icould quit my day gig. She did a lot of festi-vals and she had a strong record out then,Better Days, so she was well known. I got alot of exposure. I met George Duke and gotsome more connections. I worked with AlexBugnon, Najee, and then I toured withGeorge Duke in ’91. I still wasn’t recordingyet. My first recording was with DianeReeves for I Remember. MD: What was that like?Billy: Not as nerve-racking as I thought itwould be. It was recorded at Mad Hatter,Chick Corea’s studio, so I was a little kid.Following that, I recorded with By AllMeans, Billy Childs, and Mark Whitfield.Then that led to the Malcolm X soundtrack.Then I worked for Bob James, StepsAhead, Greg Osby, Marcus Roberts,Angela Bofill, and Bob Belden. Allthrough this time I was still with DianeReeves. Then the last three years I’veworked with Bill Evans, Mike Stern,Christian McBride, Benny Green, DonaldBrown, Tim Hagans, Larry Carlton, Kirk

Whalum, and Dave Holland. And I just fin-ished doing Al Jarreau’s record.MD: You play so many diverse gigs, somany drummers would love to have yourlife. What do you tell the drummers whowant to play with Marcus Roberts, AngelaBofill, and Dave Holland?Billy: You have to keep an open mind. Beopen to all kinds of music. Be objective, notsubjective. That’s the key to being diversein any business. You have to have an openmind. I love Radiohead. Their music isinsane, but cool. The biggest effect on merecently came from hearing theRachmaninoff Preludes performed byVladimir Ashkenazy. I flipped out at thatstuff. It might sound crazy, but I think mydrumming comes from that Rachmaninoffinfluence.MD: What’s been your best live perfor-mance so far?Billy: It hasn’t happened yet. I’m still learn-ing. If one day I’m able to play almost asgood as my teacher, Alan Dawson, then I’llfeel like I’m doing pretty good. But I’m stillhis student and always will be.

Billy Kilson

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by Kevin Winard

CCCC laudio Slon may not be a household name among drummers, but chancesare you’ve heard him on record at some time or another. The artists he’s

worked with are a who’s who of Brazilian, jazz, and popular music. In his thirty-plus year career, giants like Frank Sinatra, Herbie Hancock, Sergio Mendes, IvanLins, Herbie Mann, Hermeto Pascoal, Dave Grusin, Astrud Gilberto, Joe Pass,Billy Eckstine, Stan Getz, Barry White, Benny Golson, Lee Ritenour, The Jacksons,Clare Fischer, and Antonio Carlos Jobim have hired him for his magic.

Slon’s style is fluid, grooving, and always musical. He has influenced numerousBrazilian drummers. In fact, if you ever have the chance to ask a Brazilian musi-cian about him, he’ll simply say that Claudio is the best. You’ll undoubtedly alsohear, “He has the greatest feel of them all!”

Claudio is one of those players who, when you watch him, doesn’t look like he’smoving at all. But when you close your eyes, you’re amazed at the sounds andgrooves that are coming out. And for some reason, when Claudio plays you can’tstop moving your body—or smiling. No question, this is a master of the drums.The feel, the time, and the dynamics are all so deep that you wish the song he’splaying will never end.

Claudio was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and then raised in São Paulo,Brazil. After living in Los Angeles for thirty years, he now resides in Denver,Colorado. Claudio’s a humble man who always puts the music first, and he alwaysimparts insightful perspective on music, business, and life. During a recent trip tothe mile-high city I had the opportunity to sit with the famed drummer, have din-ner (he cooks a mean black beans and rice), and talk about his incredible career.

Claudio SlonThe Master Of BBrraazziilliiaann


JJaazzzz

MD: How did you get introduced tomusic?Claudio: Through my parents. My fatherwas the concertmaster for the São PauloPhilharmonic for about thirty years, andmy mother was a classical balletdancer/choreographer. I grew up with myparents always practicing and rehearsing.We listened to classical music all the time.Later on I started listening to jazz. When Itold my parents that I wanted to be a jazzdrummer, they almost died. They said that,at the very least, I should be a classical per-cussionist.

So I studied for about two years learninghow to read and play classical music. Iplayed with the Philharmonic orchestra forabout a year and a half. My father was veryhappy. But then I said, “Are you happynow? Okay, then that’s it, I quit.” I thenbecame a nightclub jazz drummer.MD: Do you feel that your classical back-ground helps you musically?Claudio: It does, because when I wouldplay in a symphony environment, I wouldlearn so much from the conductors aboutmusic. One time a conductor stopped theorchestra during a rehearsal and told theflute player that if he wasn’t carrying themelody and couldn’t hear the melody, thenhe was playing too loudly. Without mynoticing it at the time, that served to devel-op my style of playing. Even today, with-out thinking, if I can’t hear someone who’staking a solo, I immediately play softer. Itdoesn’t matter if it’s a problem with the PAor whatever. I adjust accordingly. You alsolearn by watching a conductor—how hemixes the orchestra in a live performance,which parts to bring out, and which parts toshade.MD: Was your first introduction to thedrumset in the form of jazz or Brazilianmusic?Claudio: Jazz. It was much later that I wasintroduced to Brazilian music. I startedplaying in a big band. I was forced to playBrazilian with a big band, which is muchharder than a small group. I really had tolearn how to play it in a hurry.

When I first started doing that gig, theleader, the bass player, and I would playjazz when the big band would take a break.He had another drummer at the time whoplayed the Brazilian music with the bigband. When the big band would play Iwould watch and listen to the drummer to

see what he was doing. When he left, Itook over.

Years ago, all of the Brazilian drummerswould criticize me, saying, “He’s not aBrazilian drummer, he’s just a jazz drum-mer.” And the jazz drummers would say,“What are you doing playing Brazilian?There are millions of guys who can playBrazilian.” So I got it from both sides.After that, most of the jobs that I wascalled for were Brazilian.MD: Who were some of your influencesgrowing up?Claudio: I started with the obvious ones—Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa. Then I lis-tened to Joe Morello, Shelly Manne, ElvinJones, and Jack DeJohnette. And of course,I loved all of the big band drummers, likeDon Lamond, Irv Cottler, Mel Lewis, andSonny Payne. I really admired how theywould carry a band.MD: I always loved the recordings youmade with Walter Wanderley. How didthat association come about?Claudio: Walter had a manager who rec-ommended me. Walter was a typical night-club musician, the type of guy who wouldplay in very obscure places even if hisrecords were selling well. His manager told

him that he needed to play with youngerpeople, and he told him about me. Walterknew of me only as a jazz drummer, but hesaid he’d check me out.

I went to the nightclub where he wasplaying and sat in. The funny thing is thatit clicked. It wasn’t necessarily because Iwas a good samba drummer, but somehowthe way he played clicked with my way ofplaying. He liked it, and I started doinggigs and recording with him.

One day in 1967 Walter told me that hehad a person who wanted to take us to NewYork to record for the legendary jazz pro-ducer Creed Taylor. Walter was worriedthat, because I was married and had adaughter, it might be a problem for me togo. I told him my family completely under-stood that I had to follow my career. So offto New York we went. I was thrilled, asany jazz drummer was at that time, to cometo New York.

We recorded for Creed Taylor on theVerve label. For me it was a dream becauseI had all of the records that he produced. Igot there and he was a very nice, simpleguy. On the third day in New York a limocame to pick us up and drove us to NewJersey to record at Rudy Van Gelder’s stu-


Others: A long-time Paiste endorser, Claudio willoccasionally use other cymbals from variousPaiste lines, including 13" Heavy hats, an 18" flatride, and a 20" Dry Heavy ride (from theirSignature series), 14" Medium hats, a 20" flat ride,and a 20" Medium ride (from their 602 line), andan 18" Short crash and a 20" Dark ride (from theSound Creation line).

Heads: various Evans modelsSticks: various Regal Tip and Pro-Mark modelsPercussion: Toca, Contemporanea (Braziliancompany)

This is the setup that he uses on small jazz gigs.

Drums: RemoA. 3x13 snareB. 8x10 tomC. 14x14 floor tomD. 14x18 bass drum

Cymbals: Paiste Traditionals Series 1. 13" medium-light hi-hats2. 17" thin crash3. 20" medium heavy ride

Claudio’s Kit

dio. His studio was a church that he hadrenovated. There wasn’t any physical sepa-ration, but he used very directional mic’swith no baffling. I was used to theBrazilian style of recording where they

practically tied you up with recording tech-niques. At Rudy’s studio it was like a con-cert. He was a strict, very exact person.“Don’t touch! Don’t do that!” But it was afantastic experience. It was recorded all ontwo tracks.

The trio was Walter on organ, JoseMarino on bass, and me on drums. Werecorded a lot of songs, because Walterdidn’t do long solos. It was very much apop approach. For that session we had a lotof favorites from theBrazilian perspective, butCreed thought that thesingle should be“Summer Samba” on sideA and “Call Me” on sideB.

During that time, whenyou made a record, youreleased a single first, andif that hit you’d release the album. We saidto ourselves that Creed didn’t know whatBrazilian music was about. But we figured,What the heck, we’re here, let’s see whathappens. So the single was released. Wethen went to Los Angeles, where there wasa cocktail party to promote the group, andeverybody started coming up to us asking,“How does it feel having a hit?” We said itfelt great—but we weren’t familiar withthe word. Then they told us it was a hugehit and that it was crossing over. What does“crossing over” mean? We had no idea.Well, the single was playing all over thecountry on all sorts of radio stations—not

only jazz, but also middle-of-the-road andpop. So the label released the album, whichwas called Rainforest.

We then were playing in Santa Monicaat a club called P.J.’s, and people from the

William Morris Agency came to check usout for possible representation. We startedto get cocky at that time, and when wewent to record our second album for Creed,we told him what we were going to play.The album turned out to be Cheganca.

Creed thought that our new approachwas too aggressive and that we should fol-low the success of the first album. He likedthe album musically, but he knew that itwouldn’t be as successful as the first. And

he was right. Successwent to our heads. Wethen recorded with AstrudGilberto. I was with thetrio for three more yearsand recorded a total offour albums.MD: What was Walterlike as a leader?Claudio: He was okay,

but was very frustrated because he couldhave been a great success like SergioMendes. When Sergio had his hit with“Mas Que Nada,” he knew how to markethimself and his sound to continue orenhance his success. Walter didn’t.MD: When did you first meet AntonioCarlos Jobim?Claudio: We met briefly back in Brazil.Right after working with Walter I beganworking with the Brazilian guitarist BolaSete in San Francisco, with Sebastian Netoon bass. Bola was a great guy to work for.We rented a house in Sausalito and had afantastic time.

Then, out of the blue, I got a call fromJobim and he told me he was doing arecord with Frank Sinatra in Los Angeles.He said that he needed me right away andto get out of any commitments that I had. Ispoke to Bola and he understood that it wasJobim and Sinatra and that I had to go.MD: Tell me about that session withSinatra.Claudio: It was great. Eumir Deodato wasthe arranger, and it was the cream of thecrop of studio musicians. Ray Brown wason bass, and of course Jobim on piano.MD: Were you nervous?Claudio: I wasn’t nervous at all. I wasintroduced to Sinatra; we shook hands, hewas a very nice man. It wasn’t until webegan rehearsing and I put on my head-phones and began to hear Sinatra sing thatit hit me. Then I had to fight very hard notto get nervous. But I told myself that I wasthere to play drums with “The Man,” andafter a couple of seconds I was fine.

Sinatra had amazing ears. On one takehe stopped the orchestra and said that therewas a wrong note in one of the tromboneparts. They checked the score and, sureenough, the copyist had made a mistake.But the session went very smoothly, and itwas a real pleasure.MD: And this session turned out to be theSinatra & Company album. You were on atelevision special with him as well, cor-rect?Claudio: Yes. Jobim called me again to dothis TV special. It was with Sinatra, EllaFitzgerald, and Jobim. I played on theJobim segment. It was taped, and now it’sbeen released on the series A Man And HisMusic. Nelson Riddle was conducting.Unfortunately, the orchestra was prettymuch off-camera, but at times you couldsee my bass drum. I would tell my kids,“Look, there I am. That’s me!” [laughs]MD: During this era of recording, musi-cians didn’t always get credited for all ofthe work they had done. An example ofthis would be Hal Blaine.Claudio: That’s correct. For example,another album that I did with Jobim wasWave. They wrote the credits listing BobbyRosengarden, Dom Um Romao, andmyself all playing drums. But I was thedrummer on that album and they playedpercussion. Even to this day people ask mewhich tracks I recorded.MD: Was that the original recording of the


These are the recordings that Claudio says best represent his playing.

Artist RecordingAntonio Carlos Jobim Wave

Frank Sinatra Sinatra & CompanyJoe Pass Tudo Bem

Dori Caymmi Kicking CansEdu Lobo Sergio Mendes Presents Lobo

Sergio Mendes & Brazil ’66 Primal Roots

“Don’t ever be influenced by applause.

Just play for the music.”

Primal Roots

song “Wave”?Claudio: Yes. That was the first time it wasrecorded.MD: It’s amazing to think about all of thedrummers who play casuals and have toplay that song. What was that session like?Claudio: It was a very interesting session inthat we recorded it in New York with justJobim on guitar, Ron Carter on bass, and meon drums. Jobim was an excellent pianist,but he played what I call “composer’s gui-tar”—just enough to show his songs to othermusicians. His time on that instrument wassometimes not very steady. Claus Ogermanwas conducting the three of us without anorchestra. I would read the charts and imag-ine that I was playing with a full orchestra.MD: That’s an interesting point that you maderegarding Jobim’s time on guitar. Say you’redoing a session and some of the players arenot that solid. How do you deal with that?Claudio: You just have to block it out andfocus on the time. But it does take away

from the music. Nobody should think whilethey play. To think while you play is thedeath of the feel. Thinking is okay for some-thing else, but not for music.MD: Let’s talk technically for a moment.I notice that when you play your bassdrum on a samba, you have a rolling feelrather than a straight 16th-note feel. Is thisa conscious decision in order to emulatethe feel of the surdo, and if so, is it some-thing that comes naturally, or did youhave to work on it?Claudio: It was something that came natu-rally. And yes, it is about emulating the feelof the surdo. Everything in samba is surdo-based. If you play the bass drum like a drummachine, it takes away from the feel.

First of all, I hate when bass players try toduplicate all of those 16th notes by doublingwhat the bass drum is doing. Many bassplayers play like that. I think it should bemuch more fluid. So I always tell bass play-ers to just play like they were playing in


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two. It flows more. Ifyou’re playing bossanova, then the bass drumis not that important.Sometimes I just playquarter notes because itshould be a much lighterapproach. Bossa nova isabout the guitar andvocals. It’s like a ballad.On bossa nova I play flat-footed, but for samba Iplay heal up, dependingupon the volume.MD: You have incrediblecontrol of dynamics. Howdoes one learn to playwith such feel and yet sosoftly?Claudio: That’s theimportance of havingrespect for what’s goingon around you musically.That also goes back to theclassical influence that wetalked about earlier. If yourespect the music, you’ll

try to put the drums at a level where youthink they should be. The problem with a lotof young drummers is that they feel whenthey’re onstage that they’re not beingnoticed—they have to do something. Theyfeel uncomfortable and that they need to callattention to themselves. When they go to aconcert and see a flashy drummer getting allof the applause, they want that as well. Butthat is not music.MD: Getting back to your career, how didyou meet Sergio Mendes?Claudio: I knew him in Brazil. When Iarrived in Los Angeles with WalterWanderley, the Brazilian consulate wasthrowing a party in our honor. Sergio andhis band were playing at the party. It’s kindof a funny story, because at that time wewere the stars, and when Sergio came up tome to say hello, I kind of answered verycasually. I was pretty cocky at that timebecause of our success.

Then with Walter, our careers went up andthen back down. Sergio’s career went up andstayed up. And I didn’t see Sergio for a longtime after that incident. But many years laterI was over at [bassist] Sebastian Neto’shouse, and [percussionist] Rubens Bassiniwas there as well. They told me that DomUm Romao was leaving Sergio’s band andthat Sergio was interested in checking meout.

I went to Sergio’s house and played withhim and his band, Brazil ’66. I had listenedto his records, so I was familiar with hismusic. After a while the entire band wentinto the kitchen to talk about my playing. Isat there by myself waiting for their “ver-dict.” Sergio came out and said that theywere doing a record and asked if I wanted todo it.

At this point I wasn’t told that I was amember of the group, they just wanted mefor the recording. So we did the record. Thenhe asked me to be in the group, and I signeda three-year contract. Sometime after that hecame up to me and asked if I rememberedthat party with Walter. I said of course, andthen he really let me have it. We had a greatlaugh over that and became great friends. Iworked with him for almost nine years.

Everybody told me that he was very hardto work for, but I never had a problem. Ifyou were professional, knew your parts, anddid your job, then everything was okay.When I did my first concert with Sergio, Iapproached it very much like a recording

Vintage Slon: with the chairman of the board (top) and hanging with Buddy.

Claudio Slon


session. You know, very precise, very con-trolled. He called me in after the show andtold me that I had to play with more energyand not like I was in a studio. The next showI gave him what he wanted, and everythingwas fine after that.MD: How many albums did you recordwith him?Claudio: Counting the albums I did withhim in Japan, fifteen.MD: The album Primal Roots is considereda classic. What was the concept for thatalbum, and how was it recorded?Claudio: Sergio always recorded very pre-cisely. Everything was worked out before wegot to the studio. With Primal Roots he tooka completely different approach. He had justfinished building a studio in the back of hishouse, and he hired an engineer from A&Mto come in and record us. In addition to theregular band, he brought in Clare Fischer onkeyboards and Tom Scott on sax.

Sergio just let the tape roll. There weresome basic ideas worked out, but we impro-vised from there. The whole thing wasstream-of-consciousness. Everything was liveexcept for the vocal parts. It was great, but Iremember on one of the tracks the engineer

accidentally erased my bass drum. I had to goin and play just the bass drum part, whichwas not a lot of fun, but it had to be done.

I have to say that I think that record wasthe most musical album that we recorded. Itdidn’t sell as well as his other albums, butmusicians still come up and say that theylove it.MD: The albums you made with DoriCaymmi are so musical. I especially love hisversion of “Brasil” on the album KickingCans.Claudio: Dori is one of a kind. He utilizesinfluences from the northeast of Brazil andjazz, and is very aware of percussion anddrums. He never rehearses before an albumbecause he wants the interpretations to befresh. His approach is to not do the obviousmusically. Sometimes instead of starting atune on 1, he might start it on 2.

For that session Dori brought in HerbieHancock on piano as a guest soloist. Iremember the bass player looking at thechart and going, “Oh my God, what have Igotten myself into?” Even though this songis a standard, Dori had reharmonized everychord. It was very dissonant with a lot ofharmonic tension. Even Herbie was having

some trouble in the beginning. I thought thatif these guys were having trouble, I betterlook at the chart. I ended up not playing thebass drum at all for that song. I used a mal-let on the floor tom and played the snarewith the other hand using a stick. But it wasa great record to do because on some trackswe had Dave Grusin, John Patitucci, andBranford Marsalis. It’s a very interestingalbum, and I think that out of all the recordsI have recorded, it is my favorite.MD: If a drummer wanted to learn Brazilianrhythms, what would you recommend?Claudio: First of all, listen to as many dif-ferent Brazilian albums as you can, becausethere are many rhythms from Brazil besidessamba and bossa nova. There are some greatbooks out there to get you started. You haveto use a combination of listening and read-ing, just as if you were studying arranging.

When I was growing up in Brazil, whenwe received a new jazz album it was a bigparty. Back then American jazz albumsweren’t readily available, so it was a specialevent. It was also very difficult to get drumequipment, because we didn’t have animport/export agreement with America. Ithink that we valued the music more for this

Claudio Slon

very reason. Today you can go to TowerRecords and listen to any style of music thatyou want. Do it!MD: Who are some of the Brazilian drum-mers who’ve caught your attention?Claudio: Robertinho Silva, who playedwith Milton Nascimento, is a wonderfulplayer. There are amazing Brazilian drum-mers in New York. I love Paulo Braga, whoplayed with Jobim. Duduka Da Fonseca,who wrote a very good Brazilian book, is afine player. Then there are some amazingAmerican drummers here who have takenthe Brazilian thing to different levels. Iheard a group from France, Sixun, who hada drummer, Paco Sery, who I think is origi-nally from Africa. He is a monster.MD: Why did you move to the Denver area?Claudio: In 1993, Los Angeles had a verybig earthquake. Because of that, my wifewasn’t comfortable living there anymore.We moved to Scottsdale, Arizona for a cou-ple of years, but there wasn’t enough goingon for me musically. We then moved toOrlando to be with our daughter, becauseshe was very sick. We brought her toDenver because it was here that they had thebest hospital for lung disease. Unfortunately

she passed away last year, but my wife and Ienjoyed the change of seasons and thescenery, so we decided to stay.MD: Has it been a difficult transition musi-cally?Claudio: Yes, because in LA you havemaybe a hundred fifty musicians on eachinstrument who are fantastic, whereas hereyou may have two or three. And those twoor three are so busy that they can’t find thetime to rehearse or get together to work onnew things. It can be frustrating at times.But my wife and I love the quality of lifehere. Plus a couple of months ago I gottogether with an excellent guitarist fromBoulder named Mitchell Long, and we’regetting ready to record.MD: Is there anybody in your career whoyou’d like to have recorded or toured with?Claudio: Milton Nascimento. I really lovehis music. There are many other peopletoo—Oscar Peterson, Dave Brubeck…. Idid miss a lot of opportunities because I wasyoung and foolish.

A long time ago Jim Keltner called meone day. He had heard the song “AfterMidnight” that I had recorded with Sergio,which was in 7/4. He liked what I played,

and he invited me to play at a jam sessionthat he was putting on at Village Records. Iplayed some percussion, and we becamegood friends. Then one day he told me hewanted to talk to John Lennon about usingme. I told Jim that this was way above myhead. I thought of myself as a Braziliandrummer, not a rock drummer. I told Jimnot to even mention my name to John. Ilacked the confidence. Today, I would takean offer like that in a second.

That’s another thing I would tell youngplayers: “Don’t ever do that!” If you getcalled, take the gig. If you get fired, at leastyou can say that you tried. When you getolder and think about mistakes like that, itgets very depressing. [laughs]MD: Do you have any other advice foryoung drummers wishing to make a careerin this business?Claudio: Don’t ever be influenced byapplause. Just play for the music. Don’tworry about being flashy. Don’t get frustrat-ed if you’re not the most important part ofthe band in terms of the show, because youare the most important part musically.



rock charts

This month’s Rock Charts features AlienAnt Farm’s remake of Michael Jackson’s

“Smooth Criminal.” This tune has all themakings of a great cover. It respects—evencelebrates—the original. (AAF clearly lovesMichael!) But they add their own flavor and

arrangement to create something entirely new.Drummer Mike Cosgrove kicks this version into high gear with

extremely driving, funky, powerful, and syncopated playing. Someof Cosgrove’s concepts, such as his mixed 32nd-note fills at theend of the tune, require a little more than the average rock “bag oftricks.” So take this one to your teacher for extra help if it givesyou trouble.

The groove of the song features a very strong accent on the “&”of beat 4, which appears in all sections of the song, usually at theend of every second bar. It’s very important to listen to the track a

few times before playing along,since Cosgrove adds many inflec-tions that are impossible to notate.

Since the splash cymbal playsan important part in the drumarrangement, it’s notated with itsown symbol (as is the Chinesecymbal). The chorus of the tune(letter C) features a somewhatintricate ride cymbal pattern thatplays around the accents on the bass drum.

After you piece together some of the parts of this arrangement,go back and listen to Mike play it again. He really makes it groove.

A note on accents: For the most part, the accents written are forhi-hat parts. All of the notated non-ghosted snare and tom notescan be assumed to be loud/accented notes.

A l i e n A n t F a r m ’s

Mike Cosgrove“ S m o o t h C r i m i n a l ”

Transcribed by Joe Bergamini


Alien Ant Farm


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jazz drummers’ workshop

Doubles Crossedby John Riley

In my last column, “Bar Hopping”(December ’01 MD), we looked at ways

to expand on the comping ideas in my bookThe Art Of Bop Drumming. Here I’d like togive you some new ways to treat the cross-sticking patterns on page 60 of that book’s

sequel, Beyond Bop Drumming.As originally written, these exercises are great for developing

fluid movements and melodic phrases around the drums. For thebest results, I recommend playing each measure very slowly atfirst. Be sure to remain relaxed—keep your shoulders down andyour hands and forearms low. Gradually increase the tempo, butdon’t alter your relaxed “form.” Here’s the first measure frompage 60.

Below are some variations on these ideas that will show youother melodic and rhythmic possibilities. First, increase the densi-ty of the phrase by converting each stroke into a double stroke.

The second measure from page 60 moves around the drumsmore than the first measure. Executing the first four notes mightbe a little tricky, but you don’t really need crossovers to playthem. Try playing the rights in the center of each tom and the leftsinside, towards the rim, so that the hands move parallel to eachother rather than the right hand crossing over the left.

Here is the same phrase “doubled up.”

These phrases also sound good when you incorporate displaceddoubles.

The example at the bottom of page 60 shows how these phrasescan be played in 16th notes, creating phrases in 3/4.

The 3/4 phrases can also be doubled up.

T.T. S.D. F.T.


Longer across-the-barline phrases can be created by combiningthese triplet and 16th-note cross-sticking ideas.

Experiment by adding doubles to this longer phrase. You shouldalso apply these new treatments to the rest of the material on page60.

When practicing, remember to remain physically relaxed. At thesame time you must push in order to grow as a musician. The bestresults come from consistent, “conscious” practice. Build up newmaterial by starting very slowly, thereby allowing your brain andmuscles the time necessary to fully understand what you’re askingof them. Good luck.

John Riley’s impressive career includes work with such artists asJohn Scofield, Mike Stern, Woody Herman, and Stan Getz. He hasalso written two critically acclaimed books, The Art Of BopDrumming and Beyond Bop Drumming, published by ManhattanMusic.

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the musical drummer

Understanding The Language Of MusicP a r t 5 : B a s i c C h o r d S t r u c t u r e

by Ron Spagnardi

Last month we learned about key signatures and the twelve major scales. This month you’ll see why scales are the foundation of chordstructure.A chord can be defined as three or more notes played simultaneously, in harmony with one another. The most basic chord consists of

three notes and is called a triad. Triads are built by stacking three notes from a scale. Look at the C major scale below.

Major TriadsTo build a C major triad, we use the first degree of the scale, C (also called the root), the third degree (E), and the fifth degree (G).

The three notes played together make up a C major triad.

In the next example you’ll find the major triads in all twelve keys, each one built on the root, third, and fifth of its scale. Practice andlearn them all.

Minor TriadsThere are three primary triad alterations, each of which produces a different tonal quality. The first is a minor triad. To build a minor

triad, lower the third degree of the scale by a half step, leaving the root and fifth the same. The E now becomes an E . The symbol for aC minor triad can be either Cm or C-.

Below you’ll find the minor triads in all twelve keys, each one built on the root, lowered third, and fifth of the scale.

Augmented TriadsTo build an augmented triad, raise the fifth degree of the scale by a half step, leaving the root and third the same. The G now becomes

a G . The symbol for a C augmented triad can be Caug or C+.


Here are the augmented triads in all twelve keys. (In the B augmented chord, you’ll see an “ ” indicated before the top note. This symbolis referred to as a double sharp, and means that the note is raised by two half steps. In this particular case the F would be raised to a G.)

Diminished TriadsOur final alteration is called “diminished.” To build a diminished triad, lower the third and the fifth degree of the scale by a half step.

The E now becomes E and the G becomes G . The symbol for a C diminished triad is either Cdim or C°.

Here are the diminished triads in all twelve keys. Try them all on your keyboard. (You’ll notice that within the last four chords thereare notes that have two flat signs in front of them. Those notes are to be lowered by two half steps.)

Spend this month practicing and learning the four types of triads (major, minor, augmented, and diminished) in every key. Nextmonth, we’ll learn how triads can be played in several positions, known as inversions. See you then.



rock ’n’ jazz clinic

Some of you may know about my bookRhythmic Illusions and the concepts that

evolved in it. Here I’d like to introduce you tosome new concepts, which are taken from mylatest book, Rhythmic Perspectives. These ideas

follow those from the first book as challenges for the developmentof the rhythmic mind.

Rhythmic Fragmentation“Rhythmic fragmentation” builds on the concept of “beat dis-

placement.” It takes the concept further by actually “displacing thedisplacements.” I’ll explain this concept shortly, but suffice it tosay that this will generate even more creative possibilities forrhythmic composition.

To get started, let’s begin with a basic groove. (I’m sure youhave many of your own beats similar to this one.)

Main Rhythm

Now we’ll begin the process by doing some basic displacement.Here’s the main rhythm again, but now we’re displacing the startby one 16th note later in the pattern.Fragment 1

Here’s the same main rhythm again, but this time starting on thethird 16th note of our main pattern.Fragment 2

And lastly, here’s the rhythm displaced by starting on the fourth16th note. (Of course, you can continue this up to fifteen displace-ments of the main rhythm, but this will be enough for now.)

Fragment 3

As you see, what we’ve done here is simply move the startingpoint of the main rhythm and begin it on the second, third, orfourth 16th note, which is just standard displacement. Now for thenext step, if we think of these displacements as fragments (which ishow I labeled them), we can edit between them any way we wish.This creates all sorts of rhythmic possibilities.

Let’s do some basic editing. If we start the main pattern on beat1, and then interrupt it with Fragment 1 on beat 2, it produces thisnew rhythm.Displaced Fragment 1

For the next example, let’s again begin with the main pattern onbeat 1, and then interrupt it with Fragment 2 beginning on the 16thnote before beat 3.Displaced Fragment 2

Now that you’ve got the idea, here are some more examples.Displaced Fragment 3

Displaced Fragment 4

H.H.

S.D.

B.D.

Rhythmic PerspectivesT i p s F o r B r o a d e n i n g Y o u r M i n d

by Gavin Harrison

Displaced Fragment 5

As you can see, the potential for creating useful new patternswithin any given style are enormous—and this was only usingthree fragments of our main rhythm. I could probably fill upanother ten pages just with displaced fragments of this one mainpattern—but I want you to try this idea with your own rhythmsand imagination.

Gavin Harrison is a freelance drummer based in London. He hasworked with Lisa Stansfield, Incognito, Paul Young, Level 42, IggyPop, Artful Dodger, Lewis Taylor, Dave Stewart, and his ownband, Sanity & Gravity. You can find more information regardingGavin at his Web site: www.drumset.demon.co.uk.

This article is a specially prepared excerpt taken from the bookRhythmic Perspectives by Gavin Harrison, published by WarnerBros. Publications, Inc. Used with permission.

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A few short years after forming in highschool, Sum 41 has gone platinum with

their first full-length album, All Killer NoFiller. Although they may have been raisedon Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, thisCanadian quartet is pure twenty-first-century

punk/pop. Drummer Stevo 32 (a.k.a. Steve Jocz) is a worthy suc-cessor to speed demons like Tré Cool and Chad Sexton. Check thetempo on some of these licks.

“Nothing On My Back”Early in this tune, a half-time tom groove sets the mood.

In the bridge, Steve returns to the toms for a syncopated solobreak.

“Never Wake Up”Break out the hardcore!

“Fat Lip”This driving funk pattern supports the guitar hook from the

album’s first single.

When the song shifts to double time, Steve kicks in the afterburners.

“Handle This”Here’s a great intro fill using flams and bass drum.

“Heart Attack”Late in the album, on the last verse of this tune, Steve pulls out a

cool double-handed 16th-note hi-hat beat with a half-time feel.

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Ringo Starr And His All Starr Band The Anthology…So Far (Koch/Eagle)Ringo Starr, Zak Starkey, Jim Keltner, Levon Helm, Simon Kirke (dr), Jack Bruce, Timothy B.Schmidt, Rick Danko, John Entwistle (bs, vcl), Billy Preston, Felix Cavaliere, Gary Brooker, Burton Cummings, Dr. John(kybd, vcl), Joe Walsh, Mark Farner, Todd Rundgren, Dave Edmunds, Eric Carmen, Randy Bachman, Peter Frampton, NilsLofgren (gtr, vcl), Clarence Clemons, Timmy Cappello, Mark Rivera (sx, vcl, perc)

“I wanted to play the drums, be the front man on occasion, and perform witha lot of old pals.” So says Ringo. And this is exactly what he does with “a lit-tle help from his friends” on this forty-eight-song, three-CD collection ofgreatest hits from twelve years’ worth of All Starr tours. If you’ve never been to one of Ringo’s shows,this is your chance to join the party. The Anthology…So Far highlights a little something for everyonewho digs classic rock music. Ringo shares drum duties throughout this box set, and it’s a blast hearinghim rocking on what’s almost a jukebox of the past forty years. Todd Rundgren’s track sums up thefeeling of this CD the best: “I don’t wanna work, I just wanna bang on the drum all day.” A good-timerelease of the highest order. See ya at the party! Billy Amendola


critique

K I C K I N ’ O U T T H E N E W

Llama Close To The Silence (MCA)

Sti l l in their teens, Llama hasverve beyond their years. On theband’s MCA debut, Close To TheSilence , drummer Neil Mason

focuses on laying down a solid pop-song foun-dation, refusing to be distracted by all thedrums and cymbals at his disposal. Maturityand confidence mark his approach to playing,which, given his age and the decidedly popnature of the material, is remarkable. Lessassured drummers might go in the oppositedirection, overpowering vocals and sendingsongs off-track.

Smartbomb Yeah. Well, Anyway (Razor & Tie)

Smartbomb’s energy source isundoubtedly drummer DerrickDecker. Powerful and versatile,on Yeah. Well, Anyway Decker

displays a huge repertoire of drum flourishesand a great sense of dynamics. He also knowshow to swing, and he’s showy in positive ways.He’s got great chops, too. Not a moment passeswithout a jaw-dropping commentary. Superblyrecorded drum sounds elevate his considerableskills into the stratosphere.

Geggy Tah Into The Oh (Virgin)

Oh so slick, Geggy Tah and itsroster of drummers and program-mers has crafted a sleekly enjoy-able percussive performance on

Into The Oh . Anchored in the machine, yetorganically rhythmic, drummers James Gadsonand Cyril Atef accentuate the airy drum pro-gramming with abundance of acoustic sounds.This world R&B approach incorporates classicdance grooves without straying too far fromtheir musical territory.

Fran Azzarto and Lisa Crouch

ratingscale poor

classic

R E C O R D I N G SR E C O R D I N G SGreg Osby Symbols Of Light (A Solution)(Blue Note)

Marlon Browden (dr, perc), Greg Osby (sx), Jason Moran (pno), Scott Colley (bs), Marlene Rice-Shaw, Christian Howes (vln), Judith Insell-Stack (vla),Nioka Workman (cello)On this fascinating union of jazz and string quartets, Osby the iconoclast again offers a welcomealternative to the retro jazz crowd. Most jazz experiments with strings leave them sounding

oddly extraneous. But Osby’s arrangementsmake the strings integral, equal partners. Asthe instruments weave, merge, and traderoles, a gorgeously rich texture emerges.Osby’s soloing soars above and through theamalgam with imaginative, playful daring.Drummer Marlon Browden rises to the unusu-al challenge. With little traditional “comping”to depend on, he responds with a gritty,swirling pulse. There’s plenty of tricky inter-play between quartets, yet Browden managesto propel and interact without cluttering thethick texture. It’s a fresh, surprising soundwith a strange, shadowy beauty. Jeff Potter

The Damned Grave Disorder (Nitro)Pinch (dr), Dave Vanian (vcl), Captain Sensible (gtr), Patricia Morrison (bs), Monty Oxy Moron (kybd)

These days even the gnarliest of punk bands suffer at the hands of uptightPro Tools engineers. That’s why the exquisitely real Grave Disorder, a majorcomeback album (it’s been fourteen years!) by the kings of Britishgoth/punk, couldn’t have come at a better time. Grave Disorder also remindswhat sets The Damned apart from their peers: great songs, stellar musician-ship, and incisive lyrics. Founding members Vanian and Sensible ensure that the original magic isintact, though absent is long-time drummer Rat Scabies. Ex–English Dogs/Janus Stark skinsmanPinch lacks perhaps an ounce of Rat’s personality (to be fair, who doesn’t?), but nonetheless gets thejob done with panache, attacking his toms with ferocity, nailing the changes like Thor, avoiding repe-tition, and experimenting with sounds. Welcome back, friends, you’ve been missed. Adam Budofsky


Jack Bruce Shadows In The Air (Sanctuary)Robbie Ameen, Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez (dr), Richie Flores (perc), Jack Bruce (bs, vcl, pno), Vernon Reid, Eric Clapton, Gary Moore (gtr),Dr. John, Bernie Worrell (kybd)

Innovative former Cream songwriter/bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce is stillshaking things up, and in these simmering Latin and Cuban rhythm tracks hegives free rein to a cadre of New York musicians. Cream war-horses “WhiteRoom” and “Sunshine Of Your Love” are reworked with flashes of subtleLatin spice, but elsewhere drummers Robbie Ameen and HoracioHernandez are given total freedom. Ameen is the anchor here, whileHernandez blows amazing flurries of sparks overhead. But the two drum-

mers think as one throughout. On the galloping “Dancing On Air,” they play bubbling counter-rhythms, while “Dark Heart” finds them exploring slower beats with nervy intensity. A lesson inslow burn, Afro-Cuban style. Ken Micallef

Sevendust Animosity(TVT)Morgan Rose (dr, vcl), Lajon Witherspoon (vcl), John Connolly (gtr), Clint Lowery (gtr, vcl), Vince Hornsby (bs)

With producer Ben Grosse in the control room, Sevendust’s Animosity is byfar the band’s most commercial (read: safest) venture yet. But this doesn’tmean the quintet has diluted their sound down to sappy pop rock. Presentare plenty of aggressive moments to whet any hard rock appetite. ButAnimosity is carefully assembled so as to not drown one in chunky sludge.Drummer Morgan Rose drives each song without slipping into the realm ofthe excessive, using his double kick only when necessary, and building

plenty of breathing room into each song for the rest of the band to work with. On “Christmas Day,”check out his tasteful tribal tom intro and his calm groove—nothing technically groundbreaking,but intelligent and well-orchestrated. Rose has already proven his technical ability on pastSevendust material; Animosity is his chance to shine without blinding the listener. Waleed Rashidi

Emperor Prometheus: The Discipline Of Fire & Demise (Candlelight)Trym (dr), Ihsahn (vcl, kybd, gtr, bs), Samoth (gtr)

Early in their career, Norway’s Emperor ignited a storm of controversy whendrummer Faust was convicted of stabbing a gay man to death. But Emperortrudged onward with new drummer Trym on Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk and IXEquilibrium, works that redefined the diabolical black metal genre with weighty,mega-dimensional arrangements. On Prometheus: The Discipline Of Fire & Demise,the group goes absolutely bonkers with manic orchestration and, more thanever, prog-metal complexities. On songs like “The Prophet,” “The Tongue Of

Fire,” and the mesmerizing “In The Wordless Chamber,” Trym whips up a crazed cauldron of patterns,balances enormous force with delicate flourishes, and complements stunning guitar/keyboard interplaywith unforgettable skill. Prometheus is Emperor’s last album, and it’s a grand finale indeed. Jeff Perlah

Small Brown Bike Dead Reckoning (No Idea)Dan Jaquint (dr), Ben Reed (bs), Mike Reed (gtr, vcl), Scott Flaster (gtr)

Small Brown Bike is a band to look out for, combining energetic punk rootswith interesting songwriting, tempo shifts, and varying textures. DanJaquint’s playing helps establish all of this, pushing the melodic, distortedguitars to just the right spot in every song. Check out “More Of Less,” wherean angst-filled build-up gives way to a short, slow release at the close. AndJaquint has some nice chops too, featuring ballistic fills and a refreshingfoot that reminds us how much can be done with a single bass drum at the

louder/angrier end of the music spectrum. Listen to the stand-out track “Vacuum” or “SleepingWeather,” for instance. With their raw sound, high energy, and interesting material, Small BrownBike should have a nice road ahead. Martin Patmos

W H AT I N T H E W O R L D

The World Music Network has recently setits 20/20 vision on the music of Mozambiqueand Brazil, highlighting the broad and deepwell of percussive sounds and rhythms foundin these two diverse countries.

V/A The Rough Guide To SambaSince the founding of the firstsamba school in 1928, sambaremains a fervent musical styleand tradition that began as the

Indians, Europeans, and Africans interacted.This amazing collection showcases the differ-ent “voices” of samba, including some livetracks. A lavish booklet enhances the potpourriof sounds.

V/A The Rough Guide To Marrabenta Mozambique

“Marrabenta” comes from thePortuguese word “rebentar” (toburst), as in, dancing until weburst! The music is still chang-

ing as young players have taken to the task.Guitar-driven, with pulsating drums and per-cussion, and lively vocals, this CD will makeyou move! As a Rough Guide trademark, an in-depth booklet carries you from tune to tune.

Eyuphuro YellelaEyuphuro (“Whirlwind”) is oneof the top marrabenta bandstoday. (They’re included in theRough Guide compilation.) The

6/8 rhythms roll on, led by master percussion-ist Mussa Abdala; the other “rhythm” percus-sionists, Belarmino Rita Godeiros and JorgeCossa, join the hypnotic guitar and bass andfree-flowing vocals, who sing of love, family,fidelity, and Africa today. A beautifully record-ed and packaged CD.

David Licht


Fugazi The Argument (Dischord)Brendan Canty (dr), Jerry Busher (dr, perc), Ian MacKaye, Guy Picciotto (gtr, vcl), Joe Lally (bs, vcl)

Look elsewhere for quantized beats and Pro Tools perfection; The Argument isthe rough-hewn product of tortured inspiration. Of course, Fugazi has alwaysheightened its impact with well-thought-out, unpredictable arrangements. TheArgument, which tempers the D.C. band’s moody punk-influenced rock with sev-eral hypnotic, mellow songs, takes that concept to euphoric levels. There’s asurprise at every turn, be it an eerie piano line, an acoustic guitar, or a (no fooling) Beatlesque har-mony. Brendan Canty, a fountain of powerful beats and wrist-flicking fills, has never sounded morerelaxed or confident. When the volume comes down, he shows a cool, light touch. And JerryBusher’s percussion adds a poppy sheen to a few songs, while his occasional kit drumming rein-forces Canty’s already sturdy foundation. Michael Parillo

Sense Field Tonight And Forever (Nettwerk)Rob Pfeiffer (dr), Jon Bunch (vcl), Chris Evenson (gtr), Rodney Sellars (gtr, vcl), John Stockberger (bs)

Sense Field succeeds in achieving a balance between songs with hooks andones with brute attitude. A distinct ’60s vibe arises long before the fifth track,“Beatles Song,” in which Rob Pfeiffer does the required four to the bar withthe snare drum. In “Weight Of The World,” Pfeiffer invokes a crunchy, tubemic’ sound, seemingly due to an adjustment in his tuning—very tasteful. He’sgot this great dotted feel going, and then, around the 1:50 mark, he does a roundhouse fill—simple asdirt and absolutely appropriate. Elsewhere he displays cleverness without sounding like a dabbler—for example, in “Waiting For Something,” with its glockenspiel-sounding intro and power rock choruswith dropped beat. T. Bruce Wittet

Mofro Blackwater (www.fogcityrecords.com)George Sluppick (dr, perc), John “JJ” Grey (vcl, gtr, hrm), Daryl Hance (gtr, dobro), Fabrice Quentin (bs),Nathan Shepherd (kybd, sx)

Mofro lay down a tasty southern soul groove smothered in syrupy vocals—but the rhythm section is this band’s gravy. Drummer George Sluppick neverveers from the pocket of his soul/swamp/New Orleans beats, and FabriceQuentin’s bass leaves holes big enough to drive an 18-wheeler through.Sluppick is a creative and versatile drummer with a great feel. He shows off amastery of New Orleans rhythms when he eases second-line and Meters-style stuff into their Floridaswamp sound. The band comes out of the gate strong with “Blackwater,” a drawn-out drawl that dis-sipates in piano and harmonica burbling over fuzz bass and drums. Sluppick breaks into someinspired fills in the final bars to close this well-produced gem. Linda Pitmon

Dom Um Romão Lake Of Perseverance (JSR)Dom Um Romão (dr, perc), Luciano Alves, Paula Faour, Ricardo Bomba, Eumir Deodato (kybd), Jorge Pescara (bs),Ithamara Koorax (vcl), Jose Carlos Ramos (sx, fl), others

Many listeners will resort to playing this CD with the “program” buttonbeneath their thumbs, while others will revel in the wild stylistic leaps. LakeOf Perseverance seesaws between well-worn jazz standards and hybrid“acid jazz” attempts at crossing Brazilian jazz with various dance clubforms, including house and trip-hop. The problem is not that the THWUB-THWUB-THWUB of the dancehall sound may cause jazz purists to dive for cover. Rather, the less-than-fascinating programming buries the wonderful individualism of a brilliant percussionist/drum-mer. It’s telling that the most exciting, personal cuts are the title track, written by Romão, and aspontaneous drum and vocal duet. The man’s got an original “voice.” Let him be heard! Jeff Potter

Ulu S/TUlu are into old school funkimprov, very heavily in f lu-enced by early ’70s HerbieH a n c o c k . Sophisticated

lines, hip-bop asides, and interesting foraystake the music to another level, and drum-mer David Hoffman resists the urge to busyit up, adding subtle but sure direction.Check out the limberpocket on “The Grape.”Hoffman’s playing is asmuch influenced byCrusaders as avant-gardejazz, with hints of reggae.“Braintree” is Dead-like inthat the jam band drops itdown and builds something new. Theresults here are pointed and edgy, and thequintet leaves space to breathe. (www.catapul-

trecords.com)

Om Trio LiveOm Trio presents a postcardf rom the i r seeming lyunending tour on L ive .Drummer I lya Stemkovsky

plays hard, heavy, and intense from theopening thirteen-minute “Hippopotamus.”He’s not in any hurry, letting the big kick talkloud, laying it down on the marathon“Clydedogg.” Om sounds at times like TheRamsey Lewis Trio, at others like MMW. Athree-minute splice of the drummer’s compo-sition “Phobophobe” brings to mind both SlyStone and Tony Banks (Genesis), and itallows Ilya to show super finesse and all

sorts of polyrhythmic sleight of hand. Thedrummer is so far back off the beat as to elic-it a howl or two. These guys are in it for theplaying. (Slimtrim, www.omtrio.com)

Robin Tolleson

I N D I E I M P R OV

Accelerate Your Drumming by Larry Finn (Berklee Press/Rittor Music Videos)level: beginner to intermediate, $24.95


Veteran funk drummer and Berklee instructor Larry Finn is a good choice to host the drummer’s side ofthis series. (There are also “Accelerate” videos for bassists, guitarists, and keyboardists.) Finn has adry, workmanlike attitude; he’s not in it for laughs. What he does is present a good general course forgrowth. Finn starts with hand development exercises, but always emphasizes an understanding of themusical application behind the patterns. He encourages students to learn the drum rudiments, andincludes exercises based on them, such as single-double-triplet-roll and inverted-paradiddle exercises.Finn keeps it simple, working mostly with hi-hat, snare, and kick, and he emphasizes achieving goodfeel as he gets into basic and then advanced grooves. The author also explains the basic songo beat,

the “funky mambo,” the “ah of 2 funk beat,” and several funky shuffles, including the “LA style syncopated shuffle” popu-larized by Jeff Porcaro. Robin Tolleson

Transitions: A ComprehensiveIndependence Play-Along System by Russ Miller (Warner Bros.)level: intermediate to advanced, $19.95 (with CD)

Russ Miller presentsa logical course ofindependence studyhere: Players gradu-ate from two limbs, tothree, to four, whiletuning in to the inter-nal dynamics of theirplaying. Miller startswith linear hand-to-hand figures, playing

consistent flows of notes with different limbs,then adding accents in different places. He linesup the limbs, sizing up each one’s dynamic rela-tionship to the whole.

When he gets to three limbs, Miller dis-cusses “muscle memory,” the body’s abilityto recall small movements. The author putsthis concept in terms of “faking out the brain”to order l imbs to do different groove/time/rhythms without having to concentrateon three things at once. Each idea has high-lighted “developmental ideas” and “exercisetracks” that help make hand-foot transitionsfeel more natural. The odd groupings andbass drum leads are synapse openers, andMiller’s emphasis on articulating phrasesmakes them sound all the more musical. Andthat’s really the point. Robin Tolleson

I Love What I Do! A Drummer's Philosophy Of Life At Eighty by Sam Ulano (Enhancement Books)level: all, $14.95

If you’re looking to improve your four-way independence or increase thespeed of your pataflaflas, this book is completely wrong for you. WhileUlano gives us tips on how to practice more effectively and become abetter drummer (one chapter proclaims, “Study only with people whoknow how to teach”), the thrust of this uplifting tome is not in making youa perfect beat box, but in helping you take care of yourself physically,mentally, and spiritually. You’re probably thinking, “Yeah, right, what’s thisold guy gonna teach me?” Well, just read his simple, down-to-earth style,and you’ll be clued in. Unlike works written by self-proclaimed self-helpgurus, this book motivates without being too preachy or promoting gim-

micky exercises or contrived catch phrases. What’s more, Ulano isn’t writing this to be loved, butto bring to the surface the conventional wisdom we sometimes bury in our everyday busy lives.Regardless of your level of skill or experience, you’ll surely find something of meaning in thesepages. Will Romano

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Drumset Tuning Theory by Tony R. Adams (Two One Publishing)level: all, $26.95 + shipping and handling

Bearing edges, chamfer cuts, getting it “true”—these are some of thethings you’ll learn about in Tony Adams’ informative book. Not only willyou learn how to tune, but how to pick a shell in the first place, because,as the author explains, a drum with a bearing edge out of true will nevertune properly. Adams tells how to find a drum’s fundamental, the frequen-cy at which the shell vibrates. He talks about “culling” a head before youbuy it, tapping it to listen for its fundamental pitch. Adams also gives tun-ing interval suggestions for different-sized kits, drumhead recommenda-tions, and troubleshooting tips to help remedy lug rattle, overly loud snareringing, and other problems. I’m sure the author would lose his lunch if he

knew how I have tuned “on the run” in the past. But I took his advice, stripping all the hardwareoff my practice-room kit and tuning from scratch—and I’m definitely enjoying the results. Thisbasic course in tuning is absolutely as important as learning the basics of music theory.(www.tadrums.com, [888] 966-5403) Robin Tolleson

B O O K SB O O K S

V I D E O SV I D E O S


on the move

If you’d like to appear in On The Move, send us an audio orvideo cassette of your best work (preferably both solo andwith a band) on three or four songs, along with a brief biosketch and a high-quality color or black & white close-upphoto. (Polaroids are not acceptable. Photos will not be paidfor or credited.) The bio sketch should include your full name

and age, along with your playing style(s), influences, currentplaying situation (band, recording project, freelance artist,etc.), how often and where you are playing, and what yourgoals are (recording artist, session player, local career play-er, etc.). Include any special items of interest pertaining towhat you do and how you do it, and a list of the equipment

you use regularly. Send your material to On The Move,Modern Drummer Publications, 12 Old Bridge Road, CedarGrove, NJ 07009. Material cannot be returned, so please donot send original tapes or photos.

Joe MitchellForty-two-year-old Joe Mitchellhas had a checkered career in histhirty years as a drummer. Backin the 1980s he was a member ofHoly Terror, a speed metal bandon Roadracer Records. “We werean international touring band,”says Joe. “Our first CD, TerrorAnd Submission, was released in

1987, followed by Mind Wars in ’88. We disbanded due to internalproblems before fulfilling our five-record deal. But the experiencewas great, because it pushed my drumming skills into new areasand made me rise to a higher level.”

The 1990s saw Joe playing with Seattle band Shark Chum. “Weplayed hardcore x-rated bar-b-cue music,” says Joe. “Very amus-ing. We recorded two CDs and toured quite a bit. It was an intense,chaotic band that left a trail of dropped jaws wherever we ham-mered down.”

Joe’s current project is another Seattle group, a punk/hardcoreoutfit called Playland. Besides playing local gigs and short tours,they’ve just released their second CD, Turnup The Suck (www.play-landmusic.com). Its seven tracks display Joe’s speed, aggressivestyle, and colorful chops. “We wrote, played, engineered, recorded,and did the layout for the CD ourselves,” says Joe. “We have nolabel or management at the moment, so we all do what we can.

“I’m committed to refining my ability on the drums,” Joe contin-ues. “I’ve worked hard at it all my life, and I still do. Once you buildup a little technique, your momentum can be unstoppable. Eventhough I’ve never really made a living playing drums, I do haverecordings that I’m proud of, and I’m still out there doing what Ilove. That’s gold to me!”

Bob Walker“I expected mymusical styleand taste tomellow as I gotolder,” musesOhio drummerBob Walker.“But I’m forty-three now, andif anything, ourmusic has morepunch, edge,

and versatility than ever before.”“Our music” refers to Bob’s current project, a duo with

long-time collaborator and multi-instrumentalist HowardFencl called Boho Zen. Their self-produced CD, 60-WattRock, was recently released on mp3.com (at Boho Zen)and through www.yourband.com. “There’s a wide rangeof styles,” says Bob, “from straight 4/4 rock, to burners,to swing. I hope people will find the songs to be provoca-tive and fun. Recording them was a sheer delight.”

Apparently it was a drumming delight, too, since Bob’splaying on the CD is solid, tasteful, and always appropri-ate to the style of the tune. Besides performing onRogers acoustic drums, Zildjian and Sabian cymbals, aRoland TD-5 electronic kit, and a variety of percussioninstruments, Bob also contributed lead vocals to half thesongs. He and Howard hope to augment the band withadditional members and to start playing live soon.

“I’ve been playing since I was eleven years old,” saysBob, laughing. “And I’m just getting started.”

Mike OrrisMike Orris’s On The Movesubmission was short andsweet. “I’m sixteen and inmy junior year of highschool in Sparks, Nevada,”he told us. “I’ve been play-ing diligently for sevenyears. My favorite playingstyles include technicalhardcore metal and jazzfusion. Some of my influ-

ences are Billy Cobham,Buddy Rich, Neil Peart,Dennis Chambers, AkiraJimbo, Terry Bozzio, ChrisP e n n i e , a n d T h o m a sHaake.”

Mike is currently play-ing in a hardcore metalband called Existence([email protected]).He says they play mostly

in clubs in California’s Bay Area. A demovideo of Mike with his band reveals himto possess a powerful yet fluid style,with tons of speed and a good grasp ofinteresting phrasing. He plays DW drumsand Sabian cymbals.

Mike states his musical goals withcharacteristic brevity, saying simply, “Iwant to be heard and respected as aplayer.”

Other great titles available from Hudson Music...ttiittllee/artist length vhs dvd

Buddy Rich: The Lost West Side Story Tapes NEW RELEASE! 110 minutes $29.95Buddy Rich: At The Top 65 minutes $24.95Buddy Rich: Live at the Montreal Jazz Festival 60 minutes $24.95A Salute to Buddy Rich Dennis Chambers, Phil Collins and Steve Smith 105 minutes $24.95Swing, Swing, Swing! Gene Krupa 60 minutes $24.95Classic Jazz Drummers Catlett, Krupa, Rich, Bauduc, Jones, Levey, Clarke, Lewis 60 minutes $24.95 $29.95Classic Drum Solos Rich, Bellson, Morello, Blakey, Cole, Jones, Payne, Hamilton 60 minutes $24.95 $29.95Making Music Victor Wooten and Carter Beauford 95 minutes $39.95 $29.95Live In New York City featuring Peter Erskine 65 minutes $24.95Live at Jazz Baltica The Peter Erskine Trio 67 minutes $19.95Liquid Drum Theater Mike Portnoy 170 minutes $59.95 $49.95Modern Drummer Festival 2000 - Saturday and Sunday Highlights DVD 170 minutes $49.95Modern Drummer Festival 2000 - Saturday Lombardo, Leim, Brewer, Hernandez 80 minutes $29.95Modern Drummer Festival 2000 - Sunday Jones, Colaiuta, Ward, Jimbo 90 minutes $29.95Modern Drummer Festival 2000 Horacio Hernandez 63 minutes $29.95Modern Drummer Festival 2000 Don Brewer 55 minutes $29.95Getting Started On Drums-Setting Up!/Start Playing! Tommy Igoe 140 minutes $24.95 $24.95Getting Started On Drums-Setting Up! Tommy Igoe 65 minutes $9.95Getting Started On Drums-Start Playing! Tommy Igoe 75 minutes $19.95Document Karizma featuring Vinnie Colaiuta Music CD $15.98Drumming With The Mambo King Tito Puente with Jim Payne Book and CD $35.00

Hudson Music DVD’s and videos are available from your local music retailer. Or directly from Hudson Music • Call toll-free: (888) 796-2992 • E-Mail: [email protected] • Internet: www.hudsonmusic.com

Dealer Inquiries: Hal Leonard Corp. (414) 774-3630 • In Europe E-Mail: [email protected]

Special Edition DVDA Two-Disc Set

• Two bonus live performances.• Over 20 minutes of new footage.• Full-length commentary by Mike.• Exclusive camera switching option

allows the viewer to "direct" four studio performances.

• 190 minute running time

Disc One features music from both CDsby Liquid Tension Experiment. Mikeperforms eight songs/segments andbreaks down parts from each. Featuredthroughout, is exclusive footage of themaking of the first LTE album,as wellas rare live footage of the band.

Disc Two focuses on the music ofDream Theater. Mike performs elevensongs/segments from the “Falling IntoInfinity” and “Scenes From AMemory” CDs and isolates the drumparts from each song. He discussesplaying in odd-time signatures, devel-oping double bass technique, soloing,and more. Includes exclusive livefootage of Dream Theater from their1998 World Tour.

first person

I recently had the opportunity to see ElvinJones perform with his quintet at a jazz

club in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was a per-formance that reaffirmed my belief in theessential beauty and goodness of thisworld.

The night began inauspiciously. Elvinwas scheduled to appear at 9:00 P.M. But itwasn’t until 10:15 that the seventy-four-year-old drummer slowly walked onto thestage. I was shocked at how tired and agedhe looked. For some reason, until thatmoment it had never occurred to me thatlegends get old.

I felt sad. I also felt guilty. I had broughtalong a fellow drummer who was unfamil-iar with Elvin’s work. The cover chargewas a bit steep, and frankly, Elvin justdidn’t look capable of performing at thelevel that I had promised. For me it was noloss; I had been waiting for years to see thegreatest drummer of all time. But I wasconcerned for my friend, who had to get upearly to go to work the next day.

My apprehension only grew when Elvintook the microphone to introduce the bandand the tunes they were going to play—entirely forgetting the name of one of thesongs. His voice was wobbly and barelyaudible. After the announcements, he madehis way behind his set (with a little assis-tance), sat down, and began to play.

There are moments in life that burn intoyour consciousness. Moments of such pro-found clarity that you truly—if briefly—understand the fundamental nature of exis-tence. A first kiss...the birth of a child...aray of light illuminating the sky in just theperfect way. Elvin Jones lifting his sticksand laying them into his drums will foreverbe one of those moments to me.

He started with a simple fill: just somepickup notes to kick things off. The bandbegan to play, and the music swelled.Elvin’s face beamed. He was ageless.Clusters of sounds floated from his set.There was an eerie inner logic to what heplayed. Tempos fluctuated, yet remainedconstant. Time signatures became irrele-vant, yet were always there. Lightness andweight, circularity and linearity existedsimultaneously. Toms alternately thun-dered and whispered. Cymbals crashed andthen sighed.

The band rode Elvin’s wave, darting inand out of his rhythms, first pointing inone direction, then quickly heading inanother. The music transcended notation;the musicians played in the realm of rawemotion. I began to smile, then I lookedaround. It was clear that everyone in theroom, including my friend, was as enrap-tured as I was.

The next ninety minutes passed in sec-onds, but they will remain with me forever.Elvin’s artistry, passion, and genius tran-scended all physical frailty. His conscious-ness poured forth with beauty and courage.He welcomed a room of strangers into hisworld and shared with them the core of hissoul. He created immediate and eternalintimacy, and all who were present clearlyresponded to his call. At the show’s end,people stood and screamed. We had sharedan epiphany. Time stood still.

On September 11, 2001, time also stoodstill. For several awful minutes, we wereunder attack. With the rest of the world, Iwatched in horror as the Pentagon and theWorld Trade Center were hit by hijacked

I watched the news coverage for days.

Then I shut off the television, turned on my stereo,

and listened to Elvin Jones play drums.

The Healing Power Of Musicby Matthew Sumera

airplanes full of innocent citizens. In theaftermath of the tragedy, we all struggledto make sense of the senseless, and to graspthe enormity of the situation.

I watched the news coverage for days asthe story unfolded. And then, on the fourthday, I shut off the television, turned on mystereo, and listened to Elvin Jones playdrums. I listened to John Coltrane’s A LoveSupreme. I listened to Ascension. I listenedto Larry Young’s Unity, Sonny Rollins’ ANight At The Village Vanguard, and SonnySharrock’s Ask The Ages. My mind trav-eled back to that night in St. Paul.

I listened to as much Elvin as I could inthe following days and weeks. I had aninsatiable need to hear the majesty ofdrums made holy. I didn’t listen to avoidthe situation; there was no possible way ofdoing that. I didn’t listen out of fear of theuncertainty, or with hatred or malice. I feltnone of that. Instead, I listened with sorrowand with pain. I listened with love and aweat the beauty of which we are capable. Andultimately, I listened for one simple reason:If evil is represented by the act of destruc-tion, then surely the reverse must hold true.

Good—indeed the greatest good—is per-sonified by the act of creation.

That is what music can and should do.The moment of creation...of discovery...ofinspiration that changes the ordinary intothe extraordinary—that’s the essence ofmusic played glowingly. Elvin Jones turnsdrums and cymbals into thunder and light-ning, sheets of rain and glimmers of sun,the calm and the storm coalesced into one.To do that in front of an audience is an inti-mate act of love. There were no strangersin that club in St. Paul. There existed nostrife, no competition, and no anger. Therewas only a community of musical believ-ers, honoring the sanctity of sound and theministry of Elvin Jones.

As we begin to put our lives back togeth-er and re-establish our daily routines,remember this: Music can transcend adver-sity and help to make you whole again.Music can heal. It will never replace ourloss; nothing ever could. Embrace yoursorrow and let it wash over you. But whenyou’re ready to move on, turn towards thesacred sound.

I’ve listened to a lot more than just Elvin

in the past weeks. I’ve also listened to BobDylan, Fela Kuti, Miles Davis, CharlesMingus, and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. I’vecleansed myself with Black Flag’sDamaged and with The VelvetUnderground & Nico. I’ve listened toMonk’s silence and to Cecil Taylor’sblocks of sound. And perhaps most impor-tantly of all, I’ve gotten together withfriends, and I’ve played my drums. Ibelieve that this is what all of us can andmust do.

Give blood absolutely. Give money ifyou can. Give of your time and energy. Butremember to give of your talents as well.Musicians are the storytellers, the modern-day oral historians. We have the ability tocommunicate a different message, toreframe the story, and to retell it as ourown.

I ask of you all: Go out and create thatsacred sound. Pick up your sticks, breathe,and play your drums. Generate that intima-cy, that freedom, and that community. Thatis your special gift to the world. You havethe power to heal.

For a free brochure or information on authorized TreeWorks® dealers near you, visit: treeworkschimes.com or call toll-free: 877.372.1601©2001 TreeWorks

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Some people think we go too far to create the perfect chime; like individually selecting 60-80 year old Tennessee Black Walnut, then kiln-drying, cutting, drilling and sanding 16 times, and finally applying a clear oil finish, by hand — as if your music didn’t matter. Listen. It matters.


health & science

A little over a year ago, GeorgeLawrence (drummer for country singer

Jo Dee Messina) couldn’t lift his suitcaseor lower two dinner plates from an upper

cupboard. His tingling arms kepthim from sleeping, and he hadconstant numbness and painin his hands and arms. On

his doctor’s advice, hewore a brace for sixmonths religiously, butn o t h i n g c h a n g e d .Surgery was recommended.

Trey Gray (with FaithHill) is known for his

huge, overhead left-handbackbeat. He woke up onemorning recently and

was unable to lift his leftarm. He’d heard about the

possibility of repetitive-motioninjuries. Now he was faced with it

first-hand.Ron Ganaway took a few months off the

road from touring with Steve Wariner, thenreturned for an extra-long, extra-demandingseries of shows. For the first time in hiscareer he felt a tingling in his forearms,along with pain that wouldn’t go away.

What do these three top Nashville record-ing and touring drummers have in common?Each had pain, tingling, and numbness intheir shoulders, arms, or hands. Eachthought he had carpal tunnel syndrome. And

each is now playing pain-free, surgery-free,and drug-free.

The “miracle cure” that George, Trey, andRon experienced came about through visitsto Nashville’s Dr. Preston Wakefield. Dr.Wakefield grew up playing guitar, so he hasfirst-hand familiarity with the connectionbetween musical activities and repetitive-motion injuries.

“Anyone who performs a repeated motionlong enough—without proper warm-up,stretching, and rest—will have a musculo-skeletal imbalance problem at some point,”says Dr. Wakefield. “This imbalance hasbeen given the fearful name of ‘carpal tunnelsyndrome’—a catch-all diagnosis for repeti-tive-motion injuries from the fingertips tothe shoulders.”

Other PossibilitiesDr. Wakefield claims that ninety percent

of carpal-tunnel diagnoses are incorrect, andthat the patients actually suffer from other,more easily treatable conditions. “Carpaltunnel syndrome,” he says, “is inflammationand entrapment of the medial nerve withinthe ‘tunnel’ formed by the carpal bone at thebase of the hand. This nerve controls thethumb, index finger, and middle finger onthe palm side of the hand. Now, numbnessin these digits could indeed be caused bycarpal tunnel syndrome. However, themedial nerve runs the full length of the armand up to the spinal column. There are actu-

ally nine prime spots alongthat route where entrapmentcould be occurring, producingthe same effect.

“Doctors use electro-diag-nostic testing to determine thetime it takes for an impulse totravel down the nerve. If ittakes longer than expected,they often assume that carpaltunnel syndrome is the prob-lem, and they recommend

by Jennie Hoeft

It May Not Be Carpal Tunnel Syndrome!E x p l o r i n g O t h e r C a u s e s F o r H a n d A n d A r m P a i n

Dr. Wakefield claims that ninety percent

of carpal-tunnel diagnoses are incorrect, and

that the patients actually suffer from other,

more easily treatable conditions.

Hand pain attributed tocarpal tunnel syndromemay be caused by nerveentrapments in nine keylocations.


surgery to cut the carpal tunnelopen to ‘make room’ for thetrapped nerve. But in most ofthe cases that I see with thesesymptoms, the entrapment issomewhere other than the carpaltunnel. That’s peripheral nerveentrapment.”

Dr. Wakefield maintains thatthe same symptoms that lead todiagnoses of carpal tunnel syn-drome or peripheral nerveentrapment are more oftencaused by something else entire-ly: tendinitis. “Tendinitis is aninflammation of the tendon dueto the muscles adhering to oneanother,” he explains. “Whenyou move a muscle, it tightensup, pulling on the tendon at theinsertion onto the bone. Undernormal conditions, the muscleacts like a resilient, flexible elas-tic tube. But when it gets tootight, it develops a ropey texture,which increases the tension onthe tendon when the muscle con-tracts. And muscles get too tightbecause they aren’t properly

warmed up and stretched, in addition tobeing over-used in repetitive motions forwhich they were never designed.”

Other factors that can contribute to ten-dinitis include cigarette smoking, too muchalcohol, little or no aerobic activity, lack ofsleep—and, most especially, stress. “Thebody’s natural response to stress is to tightenup,” says Dr. Wakefield. “And this includesall of the blood vessels. So not only are wedemanding more work out of a muscle thatis already unusually tight, but we’re asking itto work with reduced blood flow. Stress is amajor factor in developing tendinitis.

“In my experience,” he continues, “overeighty percent of patients who had carpaltunnel surgery suffer recurring symptoms.They think that the tingling and pain arejust a fact of life, and they go on becausethey had the surgery. But their symptomsare usually the result of tendinitis—andwere all along.”

TreatmentDr. Wakefield treats patients suffering

from tendinitis using a program calledActive Release Techniques, which wasdevised by Dr. Michael Leahy, a chiroprac-tor working with Olympic athletes to treattheir over-use injuries. “Athletes over-exertand damage their muscles with a suddenforce, like a muscle strain,” Dr. Wakefieldexplains. “Musicians injure themselves overa longer period with repetitive motions. Butthe body heals both of these injuries in thesame way: by forming scar tissue.Fortunately, a simple examination involvingmuscle testing and palpation of the injurycan reveal where the scar tissue has formedand is blocking the natural, easy flow ofmovement.”

Treatment actually begins with a visualevaluation. “I tell drummers to bring a prac-tice pad so I can see how they play,” saysDr. Wakefield. “I’m concerned with whatgrip they use; how much movement is gener-ated in their forearms, hands, and fingerswhen they hit; whether they can maintain atempo for a long time; whether they can con-trol their movements as their arms begin tofatigue; and whether they get cramps in theirdigits.

“I’m not a drummer,” he continues, “but Ido know about balance and efficiency ofmovement. And what I’ve learned is thatmost drummers use way too much effort try-ing to get a really loud sound. I suggest thatthey visit an instructor who can help them

Dr. Preston Wakefield performs Active Release Techniques to treatan adhesion affecting Ron Ganaway’s left hand.


with their technique. That alone can reducethe potential injury factor in their playing.”

In terms of the actual hands-on treatmentinvolved with Active Release Techniques,Dr. Wakefield explains, “I start at the originof the pain, on the prime moving muscle. Iapply tension with my fingers to release theadhesions at that point. Then I release theantagonistic muscle (the muscle that worksin opposition to the prime moving muscle),which is working just as hard. If all else fails,I’ll trace the pain to the spine and do somespinal manipulation. But that’s usually notnecessary.

“I also give drummers advice on how totreat their injuries off the kit, includingwarming up, stretching, icing, and exercise.If the person responds within two or threevisits, I know my diagnosis is accurate. I’mnot going to suggest spending big money ona bunch of tests if two or three of my treat-ments can cure the problem.”

HomeworkDr. Wakefield adds that once a drummer

obtains relief from his symptoms, he or shestill must guard against their recurrence.“Drummers have a predisposition to these

problems, simply because of what they do. Ifthey continue to play the same way, and theydon’t maintain a preventive program, theirproblems will undoubtedly reoccur. Theyhave to be willing to change their routine—most likely for the rest of their lives—inorder to protect themselves from this possi-bility.”

According to Dr. Wakefield, of the more

than forty drummers he has treated usingActive Release Techniques, ninety percentare now playing pain-free. “Some come infor a ‘tune-up’ every six weeks to sixmonths,” he adds, “depending on how fre-quently they play and how often they exer-cise and stretch.”

And the other ten percent? “Some haveother conditions that affect muscles and

Stretching “homework” to avoid hand pain

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nerves,” replies Dr. Wakefield, “like dia-betes or hypothyroidism. Some may legiti-mately require surgery. And some simplydon’t invest the mental energy necessary todevelop essential preventive habits. Thebody has a marvelous ability to heal itself,and I’m here to help align the muscles andtendons to help facilitate that healing. Butafter that it’s up to the patients to stretch,strengthen, and re-train their muscles tomove without strain or pain.

“Active Release Techniques is a greatplace to start,” Dr. Wakefield concludes.“But there is no one-treatment protocol thatcan cure everything. Health problems are asunique as the people who have them. Sowhether you see an ART practitioner likemyself, an orthopedic specialist, or yourfamily doctor to begin with, the importantthing is to get checked out right away if youfeel pain, tension, numbness, or any otherunusual symptom.”

You can learn more about Active ReleaseTechniques, or find a practitioner in yourarea, by surfing to www.ActiveRelease.com.Or you can contact Dr. Preston Wakefield at3820 Cleghorn Ave., Nashville, TN 37215,www.prestonwakefield.com.


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shop talk

In our previous two installments we dis-cussed theories of noise reduction and

room treatment for improved sound. Wealso examined how to construct effectivewalls for a practice room or rehearsalspace. This time, we’re going to finish offour space by adding the ceiling and thefloor.

CeilingsThe ideal ceiling would be identical to

the ideal wall, which we discussed atlength in our last installment. However,your existing ceiling structure may notsupport the weight that we added to thatwall. You need to choose methods that willgain the greatest amount of sound controlper pound.

The first step is a no-brainer: Insulate. Ifyou have trusses or fairly deep joists aboveyour ceiling, go for the thick stuff—R-30fiberglass insulation or better. And try tofill even small, odd-shaped gaps in yourceiling’s framework. If your practice spacehas a flat roof with shallow joists (no atticspace) or has floors above it, treat it like anon-insulated wall as described in lastmonth’s article.

The next no-weight step is to seal every-thing up. Treat light-fixture mountingboxes like we treated outlets and switchesin the walls. If you’re adding fixtures,

remember that on-ceiling lights are betterthan in-ceiling lights. From an acousticstandpoint, “top hats” or “can lights” arethe worst choice. Each one is like an 8"hole in your ceiling that lets sound comescreaming out. The best bet is surface-mounted lighting that doesn’t penetrate theceiling at all, such as track lighting.

While we’re on the subject, if you’redoing a major remodel or starting fromscratch, you should consider surface-mounting all of your electrical compo-nents—lights, switches, outlets, and eventhe wiring itself. You can get a completesystem of attractive, ready-to-assemble“Wiremold” components that will enableyou to wire your room without putting anyholes in the walls or ceilings. (See photo 1.)

Bulk UpAs we already know, additional mass is

an important ingredient for sound reduction.When it comes to adding mass to a ceiling,most ceilings will support an additionallayer or two of drywall. But check with acontractor if you’re not sure. You don’twant your drumming to literally bring downthe house.

If you’re adding two layers, remember tostagger the seams, and use dissimilar thick-nesses or materials if possible (so they havedifferent resonant frequencies). In other

words, use one layer of 1⁄2"drywall and one of 5⁄8", oreven a layer of soundboardtopped by drywall. If youcan, hang the new layer(s)onto resilient channel (alsomentioned last time) ratherthan directly to the existingceiling. It’ll cost virtuallynothing in terms of weightor reduced headroom, butit will give you additionalisolation. (See diagram 1.)

FloorsIf the floor under your practice space is a

concrete slab, consider yourself lucky. Forthe type of results we’re looking for, yourfloor is going to be the least of your wor-ries. (However, it’s still important to havea good floor-to-wall seal.)

For the rest of you, we’re going to attackthe floors with the same principles we usedon the walls and ceiling. Only the applica-tions will be a bit different.

If there’s a crawlspace under the floor(or you can otherwise access the spacebetween the joists), again the first step isto insulate. Install R-30 or better ifthere’s enough depth. This is moreimportant if your practice space is on asecond floor (where leakage to the roombelow is the primary concern) than ifyou’re on the first floor (where the leak-age is mostly through the sub-floor to theoutside). However, even in the latter situ-ation some sound will leak into adjacentrooms via the sub-floor, so insulate if youcan. And while you’re insulating, breakout the caulking gun and seal any gaps inthe floorboards.

Probably the most cost-efficient way toadd mass to your floor is to use drywall.Fit it on top of your existing floor—afterremoving any carpet and padding, ofcourse. But don’t nail it down. Nails andscrews transmit sound through sheathingand into whatever framing is underneath,so don’t use them when it’s not neces-sary. If your floor is uneven, you can useconstruction adhesive to hold the drywallin place. Top it off with a layer of ply-wood (tongue-and-groove is best) helddown the same way. If you need evenmore reduction, add a layer of vinylsound barrier beneath the additional lay-ers. This will not only add mass, but alsoprovide some mechanical isolation. (Seediagram 2.)

A Practical Guide To Noise ReductionP a r t 3 : H i t t i n g T h e H i g h s A n d L o w s

by Mark Parsons

1

Wiremold components will enable you to wire your room without puttingany holes in the walls or ceilings.

Whatever Floats Your...Serious isolation involves building a

“floating floor” framed almost directly ontop of the existing floor. I say “almost”because the new floor joists are actuallyisolated from the old floor by rubber insu-lators. One innovative product made forthis application is the U-Boat fromAuralex. It’s a U-shaped neoprene channeldesigned specifically to fit under standard“two by” joists (2x4, 2x6, etc.). (See dia-gram 3 and photo 2.)

Regardless of how you accomplish it, theidea is to mechanically isolate the floor(and everything on it) from the structure orfoundation below, thus avoiding (or at leastreducing) the passage of sound out of theroom by that particular route. But what ifyou don’t have the time, money, or avail-able headroom to frame a new floor on topof your old one? Or what if you rent yourhome and you’re not allowed to make thiskind of modification to your practicespace?

There is at least a partial solution. Whatyou’re really trying to do is isolate thesound source from the floor below.Instead of floating the entire floor, howabout floating the drumset? You couldframe a platform big enough to hold yourkit, float it by one of the methods men-tioned above, then top it with plywoodand carpeting. Or you can employ an even

simpler method.A new product

from Auralexcalled PlatFoamhas but one purposein life: to makefloating a drumsetas easy and eco-nomical as possi-ble. You lay strips

of PlatFoam onyour floor (typi-cally in an 8'x8'pattern), thentop it with acouple of sheetsof heavy-duty,t o n g u e - a n d -groove ply-wood. Finish

with carpet, and you’re done. The special-ly engineered foam is stiff enough to sup-port you and your kit, but soft enough toacoustically isolate the kit from the floor.(See photos 3 and 4.)

If an entire band regularly rehearses inyour practice space, you might want toconsider building small platforms to floatthe amps—especially the bass amp.Remember that these platforms will onlyremove or attenuate the mechanicallytransmitted component of structure-bornenoise transmission. So don’t expect acomplete solution to your sound prob-lems. They will help, however—especial-ly with the bass frequencies.

This takes care of the walls, ceiling, andfloor of your practice space. Next timewe’ll discuss some smaller components ofyour room that have big consequences asfar as keeping the noise inside.

ManufacturersAuralex Acoustics, Inc.

(800) 95-WEDGEwww.auralex.com

Wiremold(800) 621-0049

www.wiremold.com

BooksThe Master Handbook Of Acoustics

by F. Alton Everest

Building A Recording Studioby Jeff Cooper

Modern Recording Techniques

Resources

Auralex Platfoam makes “floating” a drumset as easy andeconomical as possible.

3

4

The U-Boat from Auralex is a U-shaped neoprenechannel designed specifically to fit under floor joists.

Diagram 1 Diagram 2 Diagram 3

Components of a retrofit ceiling

Retrofit Ceiling Retrofit Floor

Components of a retrofit floor Components of a floating floor

Floating Floor

2


percussion today

Indian tabla virtuoso Sandip (pronouncedSan-DEEP) Burman is recounting calling

Steve Smith to recruit him for a band pro-ject he was putting together.

“This is Sandip Burman.”“Okay. What do you want?”“Steve, I’m not from the phone compa-

ny, I’m not trying to sell pizza. I’m tryingto interest you in playing some Indianmusic.”

“Oh yeah, I love Indian stuff.”“That works for me. I have a gig for

you!”The energetic Durg, India native, who

has worked with Jack DeJohnette and JohnScofield, used this direct approach torecruit a band to play his own challenging

music. Besides Sandip and Steve, the all-star group features pianist Howard Levy(Bela Fleck), bassist Victor Bailey(Weather Report), violinist Jerry Goodman(Mahavishnu Orchestra), and saxophonistDave Pietro (Toshiko Akiyoshi JazzOrchestra).

MD caught up with Sandip and Steve atthe third gig of their month-long EastMeets Jazz tour. During the soundcheck, itwas evident that the musicians were stillcoming to terms with the difficult musicthey were presented with. Many of thecharts are eight to nine pages long. “Underthe circumstances, the first two gigs wentwell,” Steve says. “We only had one five-hour rehearsal.”

Everyone’s busy schedule made rehears-ing difficult. Victor was in Germany andDave came back from Japan. “The music isvery difficult for Western musicians toplay,” Steve admits. “It’s incredibly com-plex rhythmically and hard work for all ofus. Right now we’re really concentratingon reading the charts and getting comfort-able with the music. So it would have beennice to have at least four days ofrehearsal.”

So why did Steve take on such a chal-lenging gig? “The main attraction is thenovelty and the opportunity to learn some-thing new,” he replies. “We’re doing itbecause we love the music, we love to playwith each other, we like to learn—just thewhole experience of it.”

The music that Sandip writes is basedon ancient Indian raga and tala systems.Unlike Western music, the rhythms flowin a way that doesn’t let the band justhold a groove and jam on top of it. AsSteve explains, “This material is rhyth-mically complex. It involves odd metersin a way that Westerners don’t normallydeal with. In the Indian style, which I’mjust learning, there’s something similarto what we call “displacement.” Forexample, one song we play is in 5 1/4!”

East Meets JazzS t e v e S m i t h A n d S a n d i p B u r m a n M i x Tw o D i f f e r e n t W o r l d s

by Michael Bettine

“Discipline and practice—you have toeat it, drink it, and dream it to be able to play.”

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Sandip explains it this way: “It’s 16thnotes divided 12-6-3: four groups ofthree, three groups of two, and three sin-gle beats.”

Even though these Indian rhythmicideas were new to Smith, he feels that hisstudies years ago with master teacherGary Chaffee gave him the necessarytools to understand the music. “FromGary I learned a lot about rhythms, subdi-visions, and groupings—the raw materi-als that make up the rhythmic stuff ofIndian music,” Steve says. “So I canrelate to it on that level of beats, rhythms,phrases, and phrasing over four or oddtimes.

“It’s been a very serious process withmath equations,” Steve continues.“Sandip is trying to expand one thing andcontract another. It all has to make sensein a mathematical way. There’s a symme-try to the music. So it’s real differentfrom how we think of rhythm. It’s beenvery educational so far, and it’s only beena few days. I t’s l ike going back toschool.”

Sandip has likewise been inspired byworking with Smith and combining theirdifferent drumming styles. “It’s fantas-tic,” he enthuses. “Steve plays a groove, Iplay a groove. Sometimes he plays amelody, then I play a melody.”

Burman, who first cameto the States in 1989 underthe sponsor sh ip o fMaharishi Yogi, nowdivides his time betweenChicago and Calcutta. Thebusy drummer has studentsspread out in places likeMexico City, San Diego,and Tampa. Unlike in theWest, he explains, in Indiayou don’t just l isten torecordings and decide to bea tabla player. “To learntabla in India, you have to

stay in a guru’s house,” Burman explains.“The guru is very respected. I was sixyears old when I started. My parentswanted me to play. In India it’s a verydisciplined life, and you go through yourparents. This is called ‘passing the tradi-tion.’ From guru [teacher] to shishya [stu-dent], the parampar [tradition] is passedand then repeated.”

The road to tabla is one of devotion.“Discipline and practice—you have to eat

One of the main rhythmic concepts in Indian music is that of“expansion and reduction.” The idea is to take a rhythmicphrase and expand or reduce it by shifting it through differentnote levels, or by adding/subtracting notes.

The following example, a drum interlude played by Steve andSandip on the East Meets Jazz tour, is an eight-bar rhythmicphrase that reduces. As Steve explains, “The first part of thisinterlude involves four groups of five notes that reduce. Thefirst five-note group involves each note being separated by two

8th notes. [Play each written note with the right hand and ghostthe spaces in between with the left.] The notes in the secondfive-note group are separated by one 8th note. In the third, thenotes are separated by two 16ths. And in the fourth, the notesare separated by one 16th note. It’s a perfect example of rhyth-mic reduction.” The rest of the interlude (starting on the “ah” ofbeat 3 in the fifth measure) is simply 16th notes phrased 5-5-5-4-5-5-5-4-5-5-5.

Rhythmic Reduction

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it, drink it, and dream it to be able toplay,” Burman says emphatically. “Thereis nothing in the short way. Don’t learn itbecause you want to be a star. Get yourego out and give yourself to that. Youhave to work hard and be very disci-plined. Learn, practice, learn—that’s theway I learned. There is no, ‘Why I amdoing this?’ You just follow the guru andyou’ll find the answers. I met [banjoplayer] Bela Fleck at a concert and thenwe started to play. Then I was on hisrecord. You do your duty, you know?You don’t do it because you are going toget a gig.”

The tabla themselves are a pair of smalldrums played with the fingers, palm, andheel of the hand. The specific drumplayed with the right hand is also calledthe “tabla.” It is cylindrical and carvedout of a solid piece of hard wood, with asingle head about 51⁄2" in diameter. Thedrum played with the left hand is calledthe “bayan.” It’s bowl-shaped and usuallymade of metal with a single head approxi-mately 9" in diameter. The sound ismelodic and delicate. “As long as we’reclose enough together and I play softenough,” Steve says, “it feels pretty goodand locks up. I altered my setup so Icould have the right sounds to accompanythe tabla.” For the tour, Steve used aSonor Jungle Kit with mainly Zildjian flatrides and splashes to keep the volumedown.

“Sandip doesn’t have the sort ofWestern concept of ‘grooving hard,’Steve says. “It feels a little more ethereal.So I have to be very sensitive and try toplay underneath him, because it’s a verydelicate sound. I try to play a real sup-portive role and get underneath as muchas I can because he’s playing so much ontop. It’s interesting to listen to a lot of thethings we play because he’s playingthings that are thousands of years old.”

Tapping out these ancient rhythms,Burman’s fingers are often a blur.“Sandip really gets a lot of momentumgoing,” Steve offers. “He creates this for-ward motion. Within that he plays somenice phrases that he pulls off with ease,no matter what the time signature.”

East Meets Jazz

In addition to their world tours, every year the Kodo taiko drum-mers of Japan host their Earth Celebration festival on Sado Island

in the Japan Sea. The event brings percussionists and musiciansfrom around the world together for three days of performances andworkshops.

This year’s guests were Indian tabla master Zakir Hussain andhis Taal Ensemble: Ustad Sultan Khan on sangi (an Indian cello),T.H. Vinayakram on ghatam (a clay pot with a single mouth,which is played against the belly), and V. Selvaganesh on kanjira(a hand-sized frame drum with a lizard-skin head that is wet togive a deep bass tone).

Zakir had previously collaborated with Kodo at Mickey Hart’sstudio in March of 2001, recording a CD that combined tabla andtaiko for the first time. From then until just before the Sado con-cert, Zakir and Kodo exchanged notes about the songs they wereto perform. Since Indian music is rife with improvisation, the twoensembles left abundant room for spontaneous creation, withmany of the pieces only taking final form during the performance.

Kodo started the concert off with a surging seven-beat piece.The Indian percussionists next took the focus. They diced up eachmeasure into bite-sized chunks, creating patterns that might haveseemed random were they not perfectly synchronized. Theiraccents were answered by exclamations of alternating drums fromthe Kodo members, who were still reciting the fundamental mantra

rhythm. After each individual had a chance to spin riffs off thetheme, the ensembles joined for a final recitation on the funda-mental accents, coming to an abrupt and simultaneous halt.

Zakir next dizzied us with patterns on two tablas. When his fin-gers became a steady blur, Yoshikazu Fujimoto, Kodo’s mostsenior odaiko player, entered with a single, body-writhing slam onthe thousand-pound drum. Zakir’s smooth barrage of finger tapscontrasted with the stillness between Fujimoto’s contemplativestrikes. Then Fujimoto gradually built up to a rolling tempo, shak-ing the audience with the odaiko’s low-pitched growl. Zakir’stablas, played into microphones, matched the roar of the odaikowith accents bouncing off the blurred flutter of fingers. As Zakirgradually reduced the pace, Fujimoto reentered the pattern. Zakirstarted a regular beat, as if accompanying Fujimoto, mirroring hisaccents, filling their intervals with trills, spilling out permutationsof beats that fit the intervals, and finally following Fujimoto’s hes-itation to the final climactic scream of “Wasah!” Boom!

The second half of the concert featured a piece in which sixKodo members played small shimedaiko (rope-tightened taiko)with delicate taps reminiscent of insect sounds or trickling rain-drops. Zakir’s tabla matched the shimedaiko in terms of intensityand expressiveness.

Kodo’s collaborative concerts merge diverse percussive stylesinto a collage that highlights their common elements and unique

backbeats

Kodo Earth Day Celebrationby Christopher Arnold

Kodo drummers performed with guest Zakir Hussain on tablas.

characteristics. In this case, taiko establishes space, while tabla isconcerned with filling it. The gripping experience of Kodo’s ultra-physical performance, paired with the mentally dazzling networkof Indian rhythms, is a musical metaphor for the union of bodyand mind.

Kodo’s 2002 Earth Celebration will be held in May. For moredetails visit www.kodo.com. In the meantime, watch for theupcoming release of the Zakir/Kodo CD Percussion Forest, nowin Japan on the Sony label and slated for release in the US in Aprilon the Red Ink label. For more pictures and interviews from theKodo Earth Celebration 2001, please visit www.rhythmatism.com.

It isn’t often that New York City’s Lincoln Center (home of theNew York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera) gets down

with the earthy, sweaty vibe of West African drumming and dance.But that’s exactly what happened recently when Badenya performeda free concert held outdoors on the Center’s concourse.

The group hails fromBurkina Faso (next door toMali), and their full name isBadenya les FrèresCoulibaly. In the Bwabalanguage, “badenya” means f ami ly . Les F rè re sCou l iba ly i s F rench for “the brothers Coulibaly,”and in fact this family actincludes three brothers,the i r th ree nephews ,and a niece. The group,w h i c h i s l e d b y p e r f o r m e r / c o m p o s e rSouleymane Coulibaly,performs songs withthemes based on simpleproverbs, such as “a gooddeed is never lost.”

Percussion, dance, andsinging combined tomake Badenya’s LincolnCenter performanceauthentic, exciting, andmusically dynamic.Instruments includedhigh and low balafons(marimbas), talkingdrums, and djembes withresonating metal flaps(normally used for anannual celebration in thefamily’s home village).

The concert featuredsongs from Badenya’sSeniwe album, whichwas reviewed in MD’s October 2001 Critique. Reviewer JeffPotter was at the Lincoln Center show, and had this to say: “TheCD doesn’t do them justice. Even with everything going on—tra-ditional drumming, balafon and percussion playing, singing, anddancing—their performance was tight and exciting. I was reallyknocked out!”

Rick Van Horn

Badenya At Lincoln Center

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What are some of your favoritegrooves? Bernard Purdie on Live At TheFillmore (Aretha Franklin) and StevieWonder on Innervisions. Stevie issuch a funky drummer and plays suchoriginal parts. Sometimes theapproach of a great musician playingan instrument other than their mainone can be great because they’re notso caught up with playing that instru-ment per se—but just playing music.Stevie is a great example of this,especially on that album.

What are some of your favoritegrooves that you’ve recorded?The Spin Doctors’ “Two Princes.”Everything just came together on thattrack. We lucked out with greatsounds and a great take. Another is“Love Poems,” from Bilal’s 1st BornSecond record. It’s a simple, repeti-tive groove that worked really well. Ialso like the track “Baby Love” fromJoan Osborne’s Righteous Love CD.

What records and books did youstudy when you first started playing?I used to play along with a lot ofrecords, but one that definitely standsout is Led Zeppelin’s first album. I

used to play along with that all thetime. John Bonham is one of thegreatest rock drummers, but he wasincredibly funky at the same time. Forbooks, I worked with Ted Reed’sSyncopation—I still do. I was luckyenough to have a great teachernamed Henry Okstel, who showed mea thousand and one ways to use thatbook.

Pick one song that you wish youcould have played on.Anything by Miles Davis. He leftbehind some of the best musicever—and just about all of it had

AARON COMESS (SPIN DOCTORS, SESSION WORK)

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The Percussive Arts Society recently inducted Joe Calato, MelLewis, Babatunde Olatunji, Al Payson, and Tito Puente into the

PAS Hall of Fame. The ceremony took place at the organization’sannual convention, held this year in Nashville, Tennessee.

Since 1972, the PAS Hall Of Fame has recognized outstandingachievement in percussion performance, education, composition,and instrument innovation. For more information about PAS Hallof Fame members, visit the PAS Web site at www.pas.org.

DDRRUUMM KKIICCKKSS

“When Do We Get To Do Double Bass?”

Berklee Honors ElvinJazz legend Elvin Jones was recently presented with an hon-

orary doctor of music degree by the Berklee College Of Musicat the school’s 2001 Convocation. Along with co-recipient AlKooper, Elvin helped to welcome Berklee’s new entering stu-dents.

The event included a concert featuring music associated withthe two honorary doctorate recipients. In tribute to Elvin, a stu-dent jazz quartet performed “Lonnie’s Lament” and “Liberia” byJohn Coltrane, whose quartet the drummer graced for six years.

Berklee President Lee Eliot Berk said of Elvin, “In the world ofmusic, there are leaders and followers, innovators and imitators.Elvin Jones is both a leader and an innovator—and one of themost influential drummers in the history of jazz.”

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Zildjian CEO and Berklee trustee Craigie Zildjian and honorary doctor of musicrecipient Elvin Jones at Berklee’s Convocation.

PAS Hall Of Fame Inductees

Joe Calato is the inventor of the nylon-tip drum-stick and the retractable wire brush, and is also the founder of Regal Tip Drumsticks.

Mel Lewis was a prominent jazz and big banddrummer/bandleader highly regarded for his abili-ty to support soloists and make a big band swing.

Babatunde Olatunji brought African drumming tonational prominence with his 1959 album Drums OfPassion. He established the Olatunji Center ofAfrican Culture, and now teaches at California’sEsalen Institute and New York’s Omega Institute.

Al Payson retired from the Chicago Symphony in1997 after a forty-year career as a percussionistand teacher. He has also authored several per-cussion textbooks, and is responsible for manyinnovations in percussion instrument design.

Tito Puente, known as the “King Of The Mambo,”led some of the world’s greatest Latin bands, andmade over one hundred recordings. He alsocomposed for his groups and for others, includ-ing the Count Basie Orchestra and Santana.


Gene & Buddy’s MuseumNow open inConcord, NorthCarolina is amuseum named inhonor of GeneKrupa and BuddyRich and dedicat-ed to preservingdrumming history.On display are over one hundred vintage sets and three hun-dred snare drums, drum pedals dating back to the 1800s, andan extensive collection of Krupa and Rich albums, videos,movie clips, and other memorabilia. For more information call(704) 721-3111.

Go North, Young DrummerThe second CCaappee BBrreettoonn IInntteerrnnaattiioonnaall DDrruumm FFeessttiivvaall will beheld Friday, April 26 through Sunday, April 28, 2002, at theBoardmore Playhouse in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada.Performers at last year’s inaugural event included New Yorkstudio/touring drummer Billy Ward, along with such Canadianpercussion notables as Randy Cooke, Charlie Cooley, LucyMacNeil, and Bruce Aitken. Tickets can be purchased on theWeb at www.cbdrumfest.com. For information, [email protected], or call (902) 727-2337.

Go South, Young DrummerLatin percussion specialist CChhuucckk SSiillvveerrmmaann has organized aseries of two-week study trips to Cuba and Brasil. Drummersattending these events will study hand percussion and drum-set with local professors, delve into the culture, and, accord-ing to Silverman, emerge with a better understanding of whatgroove is all about. Email [email protected] or visitwww.chucksilverman.com for more details.

Give The Drum-Maker Some!

Following his drum solo during a recent show at Detroit’s DTE-Pine Knob Music Theater, Poison drummer RRiikkkkii RRoocckkeettttstepped to the microphone to salute—and bring onstage—theperson who made his drumkit. That person was InnovationDrums’ SStteevvee BBaaddaallaammeenntt, who was in the wings but totallyunaware of Rikki’s intentions. A native of Detroit, Steve wasboth thrilled and touched at Rikki’s gesture—made, as it was,before 5,000 of his “homies.” Said Badalament, “This signifiesthe special relationship between drummers and those who buildtheir instruments.”

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VViinnttaaggee PPhhoottoo CCaattaalloogg!! Download from ourWeb site. Ludwig, Slingerland, and more!Money-back guarantee. Visa/MC, Discover. Forfree hardcopy, call or write: Vintage Drum Center,2243 Ivory Drive, Libertyville, IA 52567, tel: (800)729-3111 or (641) 693-3611, fax: (641) 693-3101.Always buying! WWwwww..vviinnttaaggeeddrruumm..ccoomm..

Download your favorite music from drummersand percussionists. Interviews, photos, and on-line lessons from your favorite artists, freemonthly email newsletter, Drum Circle info f r o m a r o u n d t h e w o r l d a n d m o r e .WWwwww..DDrruummssOOnnTThheeWWeebb..ccoomm..

Study MaterialsHHaarrdd--ccoovveerr drum books by Joel Rothman.Complete Rock Drummer, Complete JazzDrummer, $99.95 each. Send for catalog. J.R.Publications, c/o Charles Dumont & Son, #1085Dumont Dr, Voorhees, NJ 08043. Tel: (800) 257-8283.

20 popular rudiments cassette package. Send$15.00 to: SLW, 370137 Ave., Tranquila, RPV, CA 90275.

InstructionCCoonnnneeccttiiccuutt:: Study with Frank Aquila. Become acomplete drummer, have great stick control andmaster the double pedal. Call : (203) 410-8582.

drum marketAdvertise in Drum Market

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RRAATTEESSMMiinniimmuumm ffrreeqquueennccyy:: 3 monthsMMiinniimmuumm aadd cchhaarrggee:: $10

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PPAAYYMMEENNTTAds must be prepaid prior to closing dateof the issue.Acceptable forms of payment: personalcheck, money order, Visa, andMasterCard.

TTEERRMMSSPublisher reserves the right to edit all clas-sified ads.Ad positioning is solely determined by thepublisher.

CCOORRRREESSPPOONNDDEENNCCEEDiana LittleModern Drummer Magazine12 Old Bridge RoadCedar Grove, NJ 07009Tel: (973) 239-4140Fax: (973) 239-7139Email: [email protected]

Modern DrummerCLASSIFIED ADVERTISERSIf you find yourself missing

deadlines, or not sure of whenyour ad will run, please refer

to the calendar below.

IISSSSUUEE CCLLOOSSIINNGG OONN SSAALLEEDDAATTEE DDAATTEE DDAATTEE

JAN Sept 15 Nov 30FEB Oct 15 Dec 30MAR Nov 15 Jan 30APR Dec 15 Feb 28MAY Jan 15 Mar 30JUN Feb 15 Apr 30JUL Mar 15 May 30AUG Apr 15 Jun 30SEPT May 15 Jul 30OCT Jun 15 Aug 30NOV July 15 Sept 30DEC Aug 15 Oct 30

BBoossttoonn,, BBrroocckkttoonn,, PPrroovviiddeennccee,, RRII:: HorriganDrum School, all levels. Tel: (888) 258-0021.

NNaasshhvviillllee:: George Lawrence at Fork’s DrumCloset, www.drumguru.com. Tel: (615) 665-2198.

Drummers: Learn all styles of drumming on allthe percussion instruments, including drumsetand mallets. John Bock Percussion Studio, (914)592-9593.

NNJJ DDrruummmmeerrss.. Ray LeVier now teaching in FortLee. Accepting serious-minded students. All styles. Tel: (201) 585-1939.

NYC—Tabla. Study Indian classical drummingwith performer Misha Masud. All levels. Specialtraining for musicians of jazz, East/West fusioninterested in Indian rhythm. Tel: (212) 724-7223.

BBaallttiimmoorree--WWaasshhiinnggttoonn:: Grant Menefee’s studioof drumming. B.M. Berklee College of Music. Allstyles and levels. Tel: (410) 747-STIX.

AAuussttiinn TTeexxaass DDrruummmmeerrss:: Nick Marcy at Nick’sDrum Studio. All levels and styles. Tel: (512) 255-1786, nniiccddrruummss@@aaooll..ccoomm..

DDrruummmmeerrss—Study with Jim Payne in NYC orWestchester. Author of three widely acclaimedinstruction books, including Give The Drummers Some. Tel: (914) 232-8075, orwww.funkydrummer.com.

NNYYCC DDrruummmmeerrss: Study with JJoohhnn SSaarrrraaccccoo, oneof the most knowledgeable pros in the NY area.Accepting only the serious-minded for druminstruction tthhee pprrooffeessssiioonnaall wwaayy. Manhattan andStaten Island studio locations. (718) 351-4031.

LLoonnddoonn , England: Study drums with JJooeellRRootthhmmaann. Tel: 020-7431-0873.

WantedAny Gretsch, Ludwig, Leedy, Rogers, etc. Also, KZildjian (Istanbul) and Paiste. Cash or trade. BlairN Drums. Tel: (800) 733-8164, (616) 364-0604,fax: (616) 363-2495.

VViinnttaaggee DDrruummss—Immediate cash for Ludwig,Gretsch, Rogers, Slingerland, Sonor, Leedy, KZildjian, and Paiste. CCaallll:: ((880000)) 772299--33111111 oorr ((664411))669933--33661111.. EEmmaaiill:: wwwwww..vviinnttaaggeeddrruumm@@lliissccoo..ccoomm..

MiscellaneousNew! Video clips, free drum lessons, drumvideos, monthly giveaways at Dave Bedrock’samericandrumschool.com.

MMuussiicciiaannss NNaattiioonnaall RReeffeerrrraall:: Where pro musiciansand bands connect. World’s largest, most preferredreferral. Ask about our lifetime membership. Tel:(800) 366-4447. Www.musicianreferral.com.

PPrrooffeessssiioonnaall MMuussiicciiaannss RReeffeerrrraall—Musicians/bands: connect with the right group or player. CallPPMMRR—America’s original national referral! Tel:(612) 825-6848.

TThhee DDiissaabblleedd DDrruummmmeerrss AAssssoocc.. Don’t jump,your life’s not over. We’re here for you. All specieswelcome, be part of our global family. Tel: (305)621-9022, or email [email protected].

Drum Bum: T-Shirts and gifts for drummers!WWwwww..ddrruummbbuumm..ccoomm..


For SaleAA DDrruummmmeerr’’ss TTrraaddiittiioonn features an incredible collection of vintage drums for sale. Visit our shop inSan Rafael, California, or check our Web site at www.adrummerstradition.com for weekly updates.We are always buying! Call 10–6 PST, Mon–Sat, tel: (415) 458-1688, fax: (415) 458-1689.

We have an ear for sound. Blair N Drums, since 1987. We feature: Vintage Gretsch, and K Zildjian.Also, Ludwig, Rogers, Paiste, etc. 3148 Plainfield, N.E., Suite 250, Grand Rapids, MI 49525. Pleasecall only to buy sell or trade. Tel: (800) 733-8164, (616) 364-0604, fax: (616) 363-2495.

VViinnttaaggee:: Snares, sets, singles, cymbals, hardware, logos, and trades. Look/see,www.drumatix.com.

Bobby Chiasson’s JJoolllliittyy DDrruumm FFaarrmm mail-order list includes hundreds of drums, and RRooggeerrss SSwwiivv--OO--MMaattiicc. 420 Coach Road, Argyle, NY 12809. Tel: (518) 638-8559, [email protected],www.drumfarm.com.

Wm. F. Ludwig II autobiography just released! Rogers book, Slingerland book, and other drum histo-ry publications. Rebeats Vintage Drum Products, PO Box 6, Alma, MI 48801. Tel: (989) 463-4757,www.rebeats.com.

Ludwig 90th Anniversary Black Beauty snare drum, #79/90. Still in box. Tel: (502) 633-4152,evenings only.

Pearl 50th Anniversary snare drum, #39/500, certificate included. Tel: (502) 633-4152, evenings only.

VViinnttaaggee PPhhoottoo CCaattaalloogg!! Download from our Web site. Ludwig, Slingerland, and more. Money-backguarantee. Visa/MC, Discover. For free hard copy, call or write: Vintage Drum Center, 2243 IvoryDrive, Libertyville, IA 52567, tel: (800) 729-3111 or (641) 693-3611, fax: (641) 693-3101. Always buy-ing! WWwwww..vviinnttaaggeeddrruumm..ccoomm..

WantedVintage Gretsch, Ludwig, Leedy, Rogers, K Zildjian, Paiste, etc. Blair N Drums. Tel: (800) 733-8164,(616) 364-0604, fax: (616) 363-2495.

IImmmmeeddiiaattee ccaasshh for Ludwig, Gretsch, Rogers, Slingerland, Leedy, K Zildjians, Paiste, Sonor. Call:Vintage Drum Center, ((880000)) 772299--33111111 oorr ((664411)) 669933--33661111.. EEmmaaiill:: vviinnttaaggeeddrruumm@@lliissccoo..ccoomm..

MiscellaneousWWwwww..vviinnttaaggeellooggooss..ccoomm.. Vintage-style logos for kick drums. Free catalog. Tel: (513) 351-0075.

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ADVERTISER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WEB ADDRESS . . . . . . . . . . PAGE NUMBERAhead Drumsticks . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.bigbangdist.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80AJ’s Pro Percussion . . . . . . . . . . . . www.ajpropercussion.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 94Aquarian Drumheads . . . . . . . . . . . www.aquariandrumheads.com . . . . . . . . 105Attack Drumheads . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.universalpercussion.com . . . . . . . . . 83Audix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.audixusa.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56/57Cadeson Drums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.cadesonmusic.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . 121ClearSonic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.clearsonic.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18D'Amico Drums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.damicodrums.com. . . . . . . . . . . 94,112Doug Tann . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.dreamwater.net/dougtann . . . . . . . 135Drum Center of Lexington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115Drum Perfect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.drumperfect.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123Drum Solo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.drumsolo.cc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135Drum Supply House . . . . . . . . . . . . www.drummaker.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135Drum Workshop (DW) . . . . . . . . . . . www.dwdrums.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20/21Drum World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.drumworld.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90Drumat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.drumat.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112Drumatix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.drumatix.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115DrumDial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.bigbangdist.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Drumfun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.drumfun.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115Drummers Collective . . . . . . . . . . . www.thecoll.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78Drums In The Wind. . . . . . . . . . . . . www.wwandbw.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149Drums On Sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112Evans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.evansdrumheads.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Everyone’s Drumming . . . . . . . . . . www.everyonesdrumming.com. . . . . . . . 135Vic Firth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.vicfirth.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27,75Flix Stix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.bigbangdist.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134Fork's Drum Closet . . . . . . . . . . . . www.forksdrumcloset.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 80Gibraltar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.kamanmusic.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133GK Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.gk-music.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123Gretsch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.kamanmusic.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . CV3HardWear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.bigbangdist.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147Hart Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.hartdynamics.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82HQ Percussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.HQpercussion.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136Hudson Music. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.hudsonmusic.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129Humes & Berg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.humes-berg.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79Interstate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.interstatemusic.com . . . . . . . . . . . 104Istanbul Mehmet Cymbals . . . . . . . www.istanbulmehmet.com . . . . . . . . . . . 142Joe Morello Productions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115Gibraltar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.kamanmusic.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107Latin Percussion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.lpmusic.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81Long Island Drum Center . . . . . . . . www.lidrum.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106Los Angeles Music Academy . . . . . www.lamusicacademy.com. . . . . . . . . . . 135Ludwig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.ludwig-drums.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . CV2Mapex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.mapexdrums.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Matt’s Music Center . . . . . . . . . . . . www.mattsmusic.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115Mayer Bros. Drums. . . . . . . . . . . . . www.mbdrums.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112Meinl Cymbals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.meinl.de . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Meinl Percussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.meinl.de . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Memphis Drum Shop . . . . . . . . . . . www.memphisdrumshop.com. . . . . . . . . 135

ADVERTISER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WEB ADDRESS . . . . . . . . . . PAGE NUMBERMidwest Percussion . . . . . . . . . . . . www.midwestpercussion.com . . . . . . . . . 76Mod Music Records . . . . . . . . . . . . www.modmusicrecords.com. . . . . . . . . . 137MRP Drums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.mrpdrums.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74Musician's Friend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.musiciansfriend.com . . . . . . . . . . . 119Musictech College . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.musictech.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107Nuncies Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.drumschool.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115NYPT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.protoolsny.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115Pacific Drums & Percussion . . . . . www.pacificdrums.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103Paiste America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.paiste.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,77Peace Drums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.peacemusic.com.tw . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89Pearl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.pearldrum.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/11,95Peavey Drums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.peavey.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Pintech Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . www.edrums.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96Pork Pie Percussion . . . . . . . . . . . . www.porkpiedrums.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112Precision Drum Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . www.precisiondrum.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 112Pro•Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.promark-stix.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,66PureSound Percussion . . . . . . . . . . www.puresoundpercussion.com . . . . . . . . . 8Remo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.remo.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64/65Roland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.rolandus.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113Roli Garcia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.roligarciajr.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115RTOM/Moongel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.rtom.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112Rupp’s Drums. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.ruppsdrums.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112Sabian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.sabian.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Sam Ash Music. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.samash.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Sam Barnard’s Drum Wrap . . . . . . . www.sambarnard.net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123Samson (Slicknut) . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.slicknut.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112SHS Audio/JTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.shsaudio.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Sonor Drums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.hohnerusa.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Sticks Grip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.sticksgrip.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147TA Drums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.tadrums.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115Talent 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.talent2k.com/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135Tama. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.tama.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42/43Taye Drums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.taye.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93The Drum Pad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.thedrumpad.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115Toca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.kamanmusic.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Tone Center/Dennis Chambers . . . . www.shrapnelrecords.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Treeworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.treeworkschimes.com . . . . . . . . . . 131Tribes Drums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.tribesdrums.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115Trick Percussion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.trickdrums.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115Turkish Cymbals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.turkishcymbals.com. . . . . . . . . . . . 121Vater Percussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.vater.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35,92,135Vintage Logos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.vintagelogos.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115Washington Music Center . . . . . . . www.meinl.de . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135Warner Bros. Publications . . . . . . . www.warnerbrospublications.com . . . . . . 91West L.A. Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.westlamusic.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66Wright Hand Drums . . . . . . . . . . . . www.wrighthanddrums.com. . . . . . . . . . 115Yamaha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.yamahadrums.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Zildjian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.zildjian.com . . . . . . . . . . 5,36,102,CV4Zoro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.zorothedrummer.com. . . . . . . . . . . 135

AA DD VV EE RR TT II SS EE RR II NN DD EE XX


Rick Schneider of Garland, Texasuses his “ElectroMechAcoustic” kit

when performing with his rock band,The Touch. It started life as a Dynacordelectronic kit in 1985, but has beenalmost totally modified since.

The kit is on a customized Gibraltarrack for compactness. If an even small-er “footprint” is required, the left sidecan be removed and the hi-hat’s (nor-mally folded) legs utilized. For a cleanerlook, Rick replaced most wing nuts with

Ny-lok aircraft fasteners or extra longnuts. The pedals are all Ludwig SpeedKing or Atlas vintage models. PintechRS-5 triggers are installed in all thepads.

The brains of the system consist of aYamaha PMC-1 Percussion MIDIConverter driving a Roland R-8 drummachine and a Korg M1-R keyboardmodule. The tone signals are processedby an Alesis MidiVerb-II, then moni-tored by a Yamaha MV802 stereo 8-channel mixer fed into a Biamp EQ-210and an Electro-Voice 7100 power amp.Sounds reach the audience through apair of customized Acoustech/TOA-JBLspeaker enclosures.

Rick’s cymbals are primarily Zildjian,along with a Paiste China. A Pearl 13"brass piccolo shares duties with theDynacord snare pad, and a rack ofbrass-tube wind chimes rounds out theensemble. The entire kit travels in tensoft bags and four hard cases.

drumkit of the month

PP HH OO TT OO RR EE QQ UU II RR EE MM EE NN TT SS1. Photos must be high-quality and in color. 35mm slides are preferred; color prints will be considered; Polaroids not accepted. 2. You may send more than one view of the kit. 3. Only show drums, no people. 4. Shoot drums against a neu-tral background. Avoid “busy” backgrounds. 5. Clearly highlight special attributes of your kit. Send photo(s) to: Drumkit Of The Month, Modern Drummer, 12 Old Bridge Road, Cedar Grove, NJ 07009-1288. Photos cannot be returned.

www.zildjian.com

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n Co.

JOHN OTTO PROVIDES THE SHEER FORCE, EXTREME POWER AND RAW EMOTION THAT IGNITES LIMP BIZKIT. SPARKING THE INFERNO, HIS NEW ZILDJIAN ARTIST

SERIES MODEL DRUMSTICK. COMBINING A BEEFY PROFILE FOR HEFT WITH A BARREL SHAPED BEAD FOR IMPACT, THIS STICK PROVIDES YOU

WITH HIGHLY EXPLOSIVE FUEL TO DRIVE YOUR BAND.WITH ZILDJIAN STICKS IN YOUR HANDS YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE

NOT TO PUSH THE LIMITS OF YOUR DRUMMING.

PUSHTHE LIMITS

February 2002 - Modern Drummer Magazine

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Transcript of February 2002 - Modern Drummer Magazine