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SATNAM RAMGOTRA ||| DW DRUMS SM A G A Z I N E SR: Music breaks down language barriers. That’s something that perhaps may be taken for granted by the masses. Music transcends everything, and at the heart of it is rhythm. I always wanted to play the drums. My dad was insistent upon me learning the tabla too. So, when I started snare drum and drum set back in 5th grade in Canada, he taught me tabla simultaneously. Now, when I’m asked this very question, it’s hard to pinpoint. Western drummers say, “I totally hear your tabla influence in your drumming!” And the Indian Tabl-Ji’s (tabla players) all say, “I can really hear your drumming in your tabla playing!” For me, they’re one and the same, but I get how one can hear more drumming influence in the tabla playing. I do way more non-Indian gigs as a tabla player than I do Indian Classical gigs. Indian music by nature is much looser in terms of feel and swing. Playing in a band that doesn’t swing, but wants that ‘Indian’ feel means you’ve got to know how to turn off that Indian swing and match the western ‘clave’ if you will. The first time I understood what Tabl-Ji’s meant by tabla influence in my drumming was back in Greece in 1997. I did a clinic at the Poly- Rhythmos School of Music in Athens. I did a little solo thing on the kit, what I call, “Look at me, look at me, look what I can do!” Then, I did a little solo thing on the tabla. The whole room, including myself, said, “Oh, I see!” Then the questions started to flow. SD: Would you say you have “chops”? SR: I went to PIT, and for about eight years after that, I’d say, “Yes.” By the way, during those eight years, I was broke, playing in an awesome power-trio band that unfortunately couldn’t break loose from the clubs. Anyway, now I’d say that chops don’t grab my interest as much as coming up with a new way to interpret 123- 123-12 accents on 1. Going back to the previous question, that particular rhythm is the universal rhythm. It’s present in every single culture on our mother Earth! SD: Are you well-versed in many musical styles? Talk about your educational background. SR: “Well-versed” is a really subjective 52 S EDGE 10 ||| 2012-2013 term. I get to play many different styles of music on both the drums and tabla. I’ve spent a year in Greece playing drums and tabla on traditional and hybrid Greek music and I also play with an assortment of Persian artists. I’ve been drumming on a legit Funk gig for years and I’ve played on Punk, Pop, Alternative, and Rock gigs in the past. That doesn’t necessarily make me well-versed in my book. Music explorations really started in my home. My mom sings and plays the harmonium, and my late father played the tabla; both were avid music fans. I’m the youngest of five children and all of us are extremely passionate about the music we listen to. Being the youngest, I was turned on to everything from 60’s and 70’s Rock, Disco, 80’s New Wave, to hair bands, Punk, Hardcore, and Skate Rock! Combine that with Indian Classical, Light Classical, Indian film and Pop songs, Western Classical, Big Band Jazz, plus what I was learning in school, and that’s a pretty wide variety. Big Band is, incidentally, what really taught me how to play the drums. My elementary school band teacher would send me home with Fusion and Jazz records to check out Billy Cobham, Steve Gadd, Elvin Jones, etc. I was very lucky to have a basement in Canada that allowed me to practice for a gazillion hours a day. What I’m trying to communicate is that all of the music around me constantly taught me how to play. Practicing was just the vehicle to make it happen. Can you dig it? SD: How did you make the transition from session drumming to composing? SR: I didn’t know that I completely transitioned out of it. [Laughs]. It was more of a natural transition than a conscious transition. To stop playing or performing, those are thoughts that do not exist. In fact, I actually play more now. Since I play on everything I’m writing, and don’t just program it, I actually play the instruments analog-style. It gives me perspective. After years of always performing as a side man and always playing someone else’s parts, I’ve started looking at what gigs I really love doing, and which ones have become chores. I know that sounds a bit ungrateful, it’s not. It’s just the opposite. When you’re on a gig and you’re not happy, no one is benefiting. If it was just about a paycheck, we’d take jobs that don’t require a lot of passion, and we wouldn’t mind being bossed around. I discovered the idea of recording on movie dates as a soloist, but collaborating on people’s songs and working with producers is the most gratifying for me. On movie dates you might get handed a chart, but it’s a blank palette in terms of the level of creativity you want to bring to it. Most of the time, composers and producers send me their music and a click track and just say, “Can you make it better?” I realized that, in a way, this is sort of like composing. Then, more gigs started coming to me as a composer, where they would ask, “Can you just do a drum/percussion bed?” I quickly found out that’s actually harder for me. So, the first time I was presented with this scenario, I played a solo on my dulcimer, found a pattern I liked, and wrote a tune from that. It’s important to note that I don’t play the dulcimer, nor have I ever been trained on it, but it has a series of strings that aren’t rocket science to tune. It’s played with two thin mallets, otherwise known as hammers, which are very similar to playing with drumsticks. Then, I went back and layered in all of the drums and percussion. When I played it for them they loved it, and put in the film as is. Voila, I had my first additional music credit, although I don’t think I actually got a credit in the movie. About a month later, another composer asked me if I’d like to co-compose on a demo for the theme to Outsourced. At the time, it was a new NBC sitcom. Lo and behold, we got it! But I’m not composing full scores just yet, I’m mostly composing for music libraries, and it’s really fun. SD: What’s it like engineering your own drumming performances? SR: [Laughs] Some days it’s great, and some days it’s not so great. Sometimes you’re so ‘in the pocket’ and other times, you want to be at the beach. I’m just kidding, a little. At first it was weird, but it’s been a great learning experience. I’m sort of old school, so I always want to attempt to deliver a solid take from beginning to end.
Sometimes I just don’t have the time, so I’ll punch in, especially if it’s a crazy time signature that the composer has written in to match what’s happening on the screen. Like, where you are grooving along in 4/4 at 160 bpm and all of a sudden a bar of 9/8 shows up at the very end of the cue. Thank god for the ability to punch in if you miss it the first time around! SD: Who do you look up to? Do you have a mentor for drumming/composing as well? SR: Physically, anyone over 6’ 2”. [Laughs]. My biggest drum heroes/influences are: Vinnie Colaiuta, Billy Cobham, Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette, Steve Jordan, Omar Hakim, Bill Stewart, Abe Jr., Steve Gadd, Peter Erskine, Alex Acuña, John Bonham, Mitch Mitchell, Michael Bland, Buddy Miles, Philly Joe Jones, Stewart Copeland, Neil Peart, Matt Frenette, and Paul Brochu. Plus, so many I’m forgetting, but I can’t forget my instructors: John Fisher, Toss Panos, Efrain Toro, Chuck Flores, Casey Scheuerell, Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, Amritpal Singh Jabbal, and, of course, my dad. As for composing, I definitely have a few composers that give me their honest, and sometimes not-sohonest, critiques. The person who has truly become my unsung mentor is Lorne Balfe, who also happens to be a Classicallytrained percussionist. SD: What do you listen to in your car? SR: After reading this, nobody is going to believe me when I say, Massive Attack, Radiohead, old U2 and Joni Mitchell. Mainly, I like to keep things mellow while driving. LA can be testing on the nerves. SD: Do you see yourself touring again? SR: Yes, absolutely! If Massive Attack came calling…peace, everybody! Seriously, yeah. If the right gig came knocking on my door, I would, without a doubt, tour again. SD: How did you arrive at DW? SR: Actually, I’m beginning to think that it was inevitable. My dear friend, Curt Bisquera, had never stopped planting the bug in my ear. And even Alex Acuña had said, “Man, you’ve really got to check it out, it’s happening!” The curiosity and desire was confirmed when I was at Peter Erskine’s place for a session and he was playing his DW kit. I couldn’t get over how amazing they sounded! We got to talking about them, and he told me how they had totally revamped their philosophy on drum making. Still, I was too shy to reach out myself. Last month, I was on a studio gig with Curt and he suggested I check DW out. He organized a tour of the facility, and I was sold after that! I didn’t want to leave the building, and couldn’t see myself not playing DW Drums. Honestly, I’m honored to be a part of the DW family. They’re good people, making and promoting great music and drums. SD: Tell us about the kit you designed. SR: Y’all don’t know about this right here! It’s a Jazz Series kit with Electric Blue transparent lacquer over Angel Pearl exotic wood. My custom sizes are 7x10”and 7x12” toms, 16x16” and 16x18” floors, and 17x23” and 14x24” bass drums. There’s also a matching 5.5x14” snare and a 6.5x14” oak stave snare. Generally, I play one tom up and one or two floors down. The thing about the small-to-larger tom sizes has everything to do with the tabla, and its high-end/low-end ratio. I really like that contrast and want it to reflect in my kit, as well. SD: What’s the fastest land animal? SR: Cheetah!! Although, Shane Gaalaas has some pretty fast feet!!! Integrated Felts No detail is too small on our most popular pro cymbal stands. Drummers really appreciate a good quality cymbal felt, especially when it’s part of our innovative adjustable cymbal seat. Together, they allow drummers to create just the right cymbal tension for optimal playability and tonality. The only way to make it better was to streamline it, and we did. The entire assembly has gone from three removable parts to just one. We designed an integrated, barbed cymbal protector to capture the bottom felt, then we went one step further and combined the top felt, washer and wing nut into a revolutionary one-piece design. There’s an art to refining even the smallest details. It’s what has made us the Drummer’s Choice for over 40 years. Learn about DW’s latest innovative details YEARS www.dwdrums.com www.youtube.com/dwdrums ©2012 Drum Workshop, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Page 3 and 4: S S Contents Editor’s Notes: The
Page 5 and 6: DW Airlift Hardware: Revolutionize
Page 7 and 8: PDP CM5 Pearl Black with DW 3000 Se
Page 9 and 10: PHOTO BY ROB SHANAHAN As much as th
Page 11 and 12: DAVE GROHL ENOUGH SAID.
Page 13 and 14: Bogota, Colombia 20 JUNE 2012 - SHO
Page 15 and 16: James Wormworth Photo Credit: Megha
Page 17 and 18: airs Monday through Thursday, with
Page 19 and 20: Big Gigs by Atom Willard Change. A
Page 21 and 22: off or you just got off a 14 hour f
Page 23 and 24: 5000SERIES WWW.DWDRUMS.COM Chad Wac
Page 25 and 26: GEARING UP for the eil peart writes
Page 27 and 28: minutes, somewhere in the middle of
Page 29 and 30: the-job training for you. Did you e
Page 31 and 32: So, you probably get the idea. Cont
Page 33 and 34: you are creating, not the licks you
Page 35 and 36: with the band, Parmalee. Their curr
Page 37 and 38: WE HOPE YOU’D FOLLOW US ANYWHERE.
Page 39 and 40: IN THE Studio JR Robinson WITH by S
Page 41 and 42: 9 3 6 2 5 4 10 technique. Once the
Page 43 and 44: JR revolutionized his bass drum. Jo
Page 45 and 46: NEW ARTISTS ENOUGH SAID. EDGE 10 ||
Page 47 and 48: I got deeper into the material, the
Page 49 and 50: RM: This could potentially be a via
Page 51 and 52: EDGE 10 ||| DWDRUMS.COM 49
Page 53: Satnam Ramgotra may not be a name y
Page 57 and 58: 9000SERIES WWW.DWDRUMS.COM Carl All
Page 59 and 60: is just right for shell making. It
Page 61 and 62: etween the runs. It’s equal; it
Page 63 and 64: Trends Deep Snare Drums by Dave Eli
Page 65 and 66: 9000 HEAVY DUTY • 7000 SINGLE-BRA
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