Web Version - Drum Workshop

More documents

Recommendations

Info

HEADS UP DARU JONES ||| BROOK DALTON JACK Daru WHITE’S Jones by Brook Dalton If you’ve seen Jack White perform with The Buzzards as his backing band on his recent tour, you are lucky enough to have also witnessed one of the most energetic and demonstrative drummers in the realm of modern rock. That may sound a bit hyperbolic but trust me, Daru Jones brings an intensity and heartfelt style to the show that is something to write home about. Mr. Jones is such a stand-out performer that he has earned a spot at the front of the stage alongside the band leader. His kit in itself seems to be as non-traditional as the tour he’s currently immersed in (there are two alternating backing bands, one is all-male and the other is all-female), with the toms and cymbals noticeably tilted away from his body. Although his mastery of this unique set-up somehow makes perfect sense while watching him wail away, there are certainly questions that arise from the experience. Luckily, I spoke to Daru while he was preparing for a show in Atlanta and was able to inquire about the tour, his passion for producing, and his inimitable style behind the kit. BROOK DALTON: You’re from Michigan, but you currently live in Brooklyn. Was living in New York always a goal for you? Did you choose New York or did you end up there for any other reasons? DARU JONES: New York was definitely a goal for me. It’s a working town for what I do. There are a lot of different jobs that don’t specialize in a particular field, you can do Hip Hop, you can do Rock, or whatever you want. After high-school, I started making my New York rounds because I’m also a producer. In ’96 I was a teenager and I went to New York and performed at this A&R conference with my sister and we got exposed to labels like Sony and EMI. After that, I relocated to Pittsburgh and played the scene there until 2008 when I worked out some growing 58 EDGE 10 ||| 2012-2013 A A A pains which resulted in me making the transition to New York. BD: You mentioned that you’re a producer. You actually run your own company, right? DJ: Yes, I run my own production company called, Rusic Records. BD: What sort of projects do you have going on with Rusic now? Or are you even currently active with it since you’ve been on the road so much? DJ: Yeah, it’s cool that I’m in this scenario, with consistent work, because it allows me to work on my own projects with Rusic. The sound is more of my style. I call it, Soul-Hop, which is a combination of Soul music and Hip Hop. It has a Hip A Hop production with singers on top of it. One of the projects is with my sister, Rena. She’s a Soul singer and the project is called, Honey. On the flip-side, another project that is not associated with Rusic Records is the band I play with from Austria called, The Ruff Pack. That’s a project that’s coming out really soon and I’m very excited about it. BD: Do you prefer playing live and touring over producing or session work? Does one appeal to you more than the other? DJ: Well, those are two different beasts. Right now, I’m fitting in the production material in-between the breaks that we have on the road. We’ve been touring since March and we do have some breaks
etween the runs. It’s equal; it’s a balance I have. Really, I do a lot of drumming and I enjoy doing it because it keeps my chops up, but after a certain period I get the longing and get inspired to produce and make some new music. BD: Right, you’ve got to mix it up. DJ: Exactly. BD: Since you’re so influenced by Hip Hop, Gospel, and Soul music, do you feel that you bring a lot of those elements to the Jack White gig, or is it strictly a Rock performance for you? DJ: No, I believe he hired me because he liked what I brought to the table and my style is a combination of all the things that I listen to, from Soul and R&B to Jazz, it’s all of that in one. I think he was looking for me to bring that type of element in this situation and that’s why I got the job. BD: So, you didn’t have to adjust much to play in this band. DJ: No, it was cool. BD: How did you get the job? Did you audition? DJ: There’s a Hip Hop artist that I work with from Detroit named, Black Milk. And, you know, Jack is from Detroit, as well. I played on Black Milk’s last album and Jack had heard the track called, Deadly Medley, which has a real Rock-type of vibe to it. I think that made Jack kind of excited. He produces these 7” singles with his company, Third Man Records, and he wanted to collaborate with Black Milk. Since I was touring with him, he didn’t just go down and do the project with Jack on his own, he brought the whole band. That allowed me to meet Jack and to record with him. We also did a performance at Third Man (they host live shows, as well) and I’ll never forget it. We played a song called, Losing Out that has a drum solo in it. After I played that solo, Jack ran up to the stage and yelled, “Yeah!” like he was blown away. A few months later, he contacted me to see if I wanted to come down and do a session for a collaboration he was doing with RZA from Wu-Tang Clan. I was excited and flew down there but, unfortunately, RZA had to cancel at the last minute. However, it turned out to be a blessing because that actually started Jack working on the solo project. He felt bad and didn’t want to send us home, so he said he had a couple of tunes we could mess around with and record. One of the songs ended up being Trash Tongue Talker from the Blunderbuss album. So, that’s how we ended up working out the first tunes for this record. BD: Can you talk a bit about the two different bands that are on the road for this tour? There’s either an all-male or an all-female band (The Buzzards and The Peacocks) that will play the show. How do you guys decide which band is playing? DJ: Y’know, we don’t have control over that. In fact, we don’t find out who’s playing until the morning of the show. They want to have a surprise for the audience, and that’s the vision that he has, and that’s what we signed up for. All of the gear is covered up and, y’know, one of the things that can give away which band will be playing is the drums. Literally, right before we hit the stage is when everything is unveiled to the crowd. BD: Wow, so you need to be on your toes. Is the set list the same from night to night? DJ: Well, there is no set list. [Laughter]. Sometimes we’ll get some curve balls and we’ll have new stuff added right before the show, so you never know, and we have to be watchful. But, I’m playing with really good cats; everybody was hired for a specific reason. Everybody holds their weight and I’m thankful to be a part of this scenario. BD: Well, it’s probably a learning experience, too. I’m sure you’ll look back at this someday and you’ll have stories. There aren’t many people that can say they’ve played a tour that’s set up like this. DJ: Yeah, it’s cool. I’m just glad that he’s allowing the drummer to have a ‘shine point,’ even with the set-up. Usually, the drummer is way in the back, but with this stage plot, the drums are right up front and he really allows me to express myself. I mean, I play the songs like the records but I’m allowed total freedom if I want to switch it up. In this scenario, if we want to express ourselves, it’s embraced. I just try not to take advantage of it and add some flavor when I can. BD: I’m curious about your set-up. Aside from you being at the front of the stage, allowing for some of the spotlight, your kit itself seems downright wacky. I mean, the angle of your toms and cymbals really stands out, but that appears to allow you to play full-throttle on them. Was this a natural progression from a standard traps set-up or have you played the kit that way from the beginning? DJ: No, I’m always experimenting, I’m always growing. Y’know, as drummers we always evolve. Within the past seven or eight years, I’ve been doing a lot of Hip Hop stuff, and in that community it’s important to have an identity. Something that’s going to separate you from the next person. I’ve always been that type of creative person, switching things up, so I made that sort of transition around 2005. I started experimenting, moving things around with the toms, and it just worked well with my style. I can be kind of a neat freak at times and I had my snare tilted, so I thought, “What would happen if I tilted my floor tom?” It ended up looking cool and, of course, I adjusted to playing it and I just kept adding to that. It works well for me. BD: It works well for the audience, too. It’s great, man. You make it look like you’re driving the kit; you play it like you own it. It’s unique, for sure. DJ: Thanks! The way I sit is very high, so I like to dominate the drums. I like to come down on them from the throne, and I try to perform from my heart and soul, so it just works for the way that I play. I’ll do some showmanship stuff but it’s more or less like a ‘feeling’ thing, y’know? Like, if I stand up and play it’s because that’s what I’m feeling at that moment. There’s an energy that I want to give out to the audience. That’s important to me. EDGE 10 ||| DWDRUMS.COM 59
Page 1 and 2:
S ISSUE 10 ||| 2012-2013 ||| DWDRUM
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 and 54: Satnam Ramgotra may not be a name y
Page 55 and 56: Sometimes I just don’t have the t
Page 57 and 58: 9000SERIES WWW.DWDRUMS.COM Carl All
Page 59: is just right for shell making. It
Page 63 and 64: Trends Deep Snare Drums by Dave Eli
Page 65 and 66: 9000 HEAVY DUTY • 7000 SINGLE-BRA
show all

Web Version - Drum Workshop

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?