Web Version - Drum Workshop

the-job training for you. Did you ever
take any music business or production
classes to prepare you for this life?
LW: Nope, it was all on-the-job training.
I was lucky enough to work with and
around people who are some of the
best in the world. Still to this day! And I
basically became the drum tech that I am
just by learning, going along, being open
for suggestions and paying attention.
JT: What’s the most important thing for a
drum tech to master?
LW: You know, first and foremost, you
treat the drum kit like it’s your own. I was
lucky enough to work with Steve Smith in
’83. He actually taught me how to tune
drums correctly. Before that, I was just
tweaking them and not really having any
idea what I was doing. Aside from, you
know, just thinking I knew what I was
doing. He actually took time to teach me
stuff. Often, you’ll run across drummers
and drum techs who can’t tune properly.
So, I think that’s the most important thing:
have a good ear and learn how to tune a
drum correctly.
JT: Do you play drums or any other
instruments?
LW: I wouldn’t consider myself a drummer.
I can play the drums, but compared to
some of the guys I’ve worked with over
the years, I don’t come close. So you sit
back and you enjoy the talent that you’re
working with. I don’t really have a whole
lot of interest in being a drummer. Yeah,
guitar techs usually are guItar players.
Keyboard techs are usually keyboard
players. You don’t necessarily have to
be a drummer to be a drum tech, but
obviously it helps. Sometimes you’ll get
on tours where the audio boys would like
to have somebody playing the instruments
in a band-fashion, especIally if the actual
artists don’t like to do soundchecks. I can
play enough to be that guy, but Rush are
there for the soundcheck and they do it
every day.
JT: Do you make yourself an actual
checklist of what you need to bring and
do before the tour?
LW: Yes. Obviously, you have to stock
up on things like sticks. And my man,
Garrison (at DW), is so helpful with us
that even if I gap on something and have
to call up for a last-second request, he’s
so all over it! I feel privileged to be able
to deal with people like that. At the same
time, I try to make sure my memory
still works. I’ll look at how many dates,
because that’s how you base what you
need for backup stuff. Even though Neil’s
not hard on the drum set. As hard as he
plays, he doesn’t break a lot of stuff. So
that’s saying a lot for the manufacturers,
as well. Since he worked with Freddy
Gruber with drum lessons, it’s amazing
how much differently he approaches
the drumset and his playing ability. The
heads last a hell of a lot longer with him
hitting them as hard as they possibly
can be hit versus somebody else, or
even versus himself before he had these
Freddy Gruber instructions. It really does
save drumheads and I don’t change them
half as much as I used to.
JT: Are there any tools in your rig that
you can’t live without?
LW: Probably my screw gun. I use it
for tension rods. That cuts the job to a
quarter of the time. Also, a ratchet driver
because there are a few moving pieces
on the kit that I have to make sure are
nice and tight.
JT: It’s obvious that Neil trusts your
expertise implicitly. How much input do
you have when designing a new kit?
LW: I’m probably his worst critic [laughs].
I’ve been with him long enough to be
able to throw in my two cents, but we
don’t change a lot of things. He likes to
keep everything pretty much the same,
even when we’re building new drum
sets. We have to build boards that all the
hardware screws into and I just template
one board to the other. We throw all the
hardware into exactly the same place. He
doesn’t like to complicate it too much.
JT: What’s the most challenging part of
this upcoming tour for you?
LW: Challenging? It’s always a challenge
because you’re dealing with technology,
and you’re dealing with things that can
blow up. Just spinning the drum riser,
something bad can happen because we
have
all of the cabling
underneath it. So, you know, you just
deal with everything as it comes to
you. We’ve never been stumped by any
challenges. We’ve always been able
to get through somehow. It’s a little bit
more difficult replacing snare drums or
whatever on this drum set because you
can’t really get in there like you can on
a four-piece kit. Neil, and only Neil, fits
in there. So he basically has to jump off
and I get up there, obviously, at the end
of a song. We’ve pretty much mastered it.
Neil is so good with something like that.
If something breaks, he keeps his head;
he doesn’t freak out and he knows it’s
going to be taken care of.
JT: Lastly, how did you get your
nickname?
LW: Well, it was back in the late ‘70s,
I guess it would be, when I was with
Max Webster and we were doing a lot
of touring (with Rush). Geddy was the
one who came up with it. There was a
goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens
named, Lorne “Gump” Worsley. And
since my name is Lorne, Geddy just
started calling me, “Hey, Gump!” It has
nothing to do with Forrest Gump (the
movie). And it’s probably gonna stick
forever too, but I don’t mind it. There are
worse nicknames to have than Gump.
Actually, when you consider all the
saves Lorne makes on the job, being
named after a goaltender is pretty fitting.
And that’s obviously why Neil relies
on “Gump” to hold down the defense
every night.
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