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Prince’s Cora Coleman-Dunham + Ginger Baker in the time machine + The <strong>Drum</strong>mers of vegas<br />
m a g a z i n e<br />
T h e O f f i c i a l P u b l i c at i o n o f D r u m W o r k s h o p • 7. 0<br />
peter erskine & alex Acuña<br />
<strong>on</strong> <strong>cloud</strong> 9<br />
tales from weather report<br />
Plus Live! with yellowcard’s l<strong>on</strong>gineu pars<strong>on</strong>s, dw & Pacific’s latest gear & more!
EDGE 7.0<br />
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46<br />
24<br />
71<br />
ARTIST FEATURES<br />
02 Peter Erskine<br />
This So-Cal-based sessi<strong>on</strong> master and educator c<strong>on</strong>tinues to forge<br />
new territory in the jazz world and bey<strong>on</strong>d<br />
46 Bobby Jarzombek<br />
Backing metal gods like Rob Halford and Sebastian Bach, this<br />
chops-inspired speed dem<strong>on</strong> pulls out all of the tricks<br />
56 Alex Acuña<br />
Raised <strong>on</strong> a healthy diet of traditi<strong>on</strong>al be-bop and Latin rhythms,<br />
Alex is <strong>on</strong>e of drumming’s true multi-taskers<br />
68 Cora Coleman-Dunham<br />
It’s every drummer’s dream to get a gig that catapults them into the<br />
spotlight, and there’s no doubt this savvy newcomer has found it<br />
IN EVERY ISSUE<br />
09 Time Machine: Ginger Baker<br />
15 Tech Tips with Yard<br />
16 Pro-File: New Blood<br />
20 On the Rise: Omar G<strong>on</strong>goria<br />
24 Road Stories: Journey & Def Leppard<br />
34 LIVE! with Yellowcard<br />
40 Backstage Pass: Mad<strong>on</strong>na<br />
44 DW <strong>Drum</strong> Clinic with Tommy Igoe<br />
62 PDP Spotlight: J<strong>on</strong>ah David<br />
72 New Artists<br />
PRODUCT NEWS<br />
36 DW <strong>Drum</strong> News<br />
50 Pacific <strong>Drum</strong> News<br />
SPECIAL TO THIS ISSUE<br />
30 The <strong>Drum</strong>mers of Vegas<br />
54 The Making of <strong>Drum</strong> Duets Vol. 1<br />
EDGE Magazine is a publicati<strong>on</strong> of <strong>Drum</strong> <strong>Workshop</strong>, Inc. ©2006 <strong>Drum</strong> <strong>Workshop</strong>, Inc. All Rights Reserved. #PRCAEDGE-V7 For promoti<strong>on</strong>al use <strong>on</strong>ly. NOT FOR SALE.
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3<br />
2<br />
9<br />
5<br />
6<br />
1<br />
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7<br />
Jazz Times<br />
This Southern California-based sessi<strong>on</strong> master<br />
and educator c<strong>on</strong>tinues to forge new territory<br />
in the jazz world and bey<strong>on</strong>d<br />
Peter Erskine<br />
EDGE: So you started playing drums at a very<br />
early age. What sparked you to play, and when<br />
did you first notice you had a passi<strong>on</strong> for playing<br />
drums?<br />
Peter Erskine: My parents had a photo of me<br />
playing, or air drumming I guess, <strong>on</strong> a tabletop<br />
when I was just an infant. My father had<br />
fashi<strong>on</strong>ed a drum set of sorts out of a c<strong>on</strong>ga<br />
drum that came from Havana, Cuba. I still<br />
have it. It also had a Chinese<br />
tom<br />
tom and <strong>on</strong>e little cymbal with some rivets<br />
in it. And I would play al<strong>on</strong>g with some<br />
of the albums he had at home. By the time<br />
I was 5 years old, I was already taking less<strong>on</strong>s.<br />
At that point I knew that I wanted to<br />
be a drummer and was pretty certain that I<br />
would be a drummer.<br />
EDGE: Why did your father steer you in that<br />
directi<strong>on</strong>?<br />
PE: I think he always hoped that <strong>on</strong>e of his<br />
kids would want to be a musician. He was<br />
a psychiatrist by the time I was<br />
born, but he paid for his<br />
medical school<br />
educati<strong>on</strong><br />
by working as a musician. He was a<br />
bass player, and he had a band called Fred<br />
Erskine And His Music For Moderns. So we<br />
had jazz around the house all of the time.<br />
Some of the earliest recordings I can remember<br />
are a couple of Art Blakey albums and a<br />
Tito Puente record. It’s kind of funny being<br />
here with Alex (Acuña) today, because that<br />
was the kind of music that I knew ever since<br />
I was an infant. When I first heard Alex play,<br />
it was the evening that I met Jaco Pastorius,<br />
and he played us a cassette of “Heavy<br />
Weather.” I was 23, and I said to Jaco, “This<br />
is the versi<strong>on</strong> of Weather Report I’ve been<br />
waiting to hear.” I was just so thrilled because<br />
I’d never heard any<strong>on</strong>e play like Alex.<br />
He really has his own way of playing. It’s<br />
funny now, because when I look back, I was<br />
waiting for some<strong>on</strong>e like Alex.<br />
10<br />
Set-up Specs:<br />
Jazz Series Red Gum <strong>Drum</strong>s with Natural Lacquer over<br />
Custom Redwood Burl Exotic and Chrome Hardware<br />
16x18” Bass <strong>Drum</strong><br />
5x14” Snare <strong>Drum</strong><br />
8x12”, 14x14” Tom-Toms<br />
9000 Single Pedal<br />
6500 Hi-Hat Stand<br />
6300 Snare <strong>Drum</strong> Stand<br />
6710 Straight Cymbal Stand (x4)<br />
6100 Case/<strong>Drum</strong> Thr<strong>on</strong>e<br />
[ E D G E 7 . 0 ]
“I went to my first music camp when I was<br />
seven years old. I met Stan Kent<strong>on</strong>, who I<br />
would eventually wind up working for.”<br />
EDGE: So there was that kind of fusi<strong>on</strong> between<br />
the Latin world and jazz?<br />
PE: Back then, Dizzy Gillespie and Stan<br />
Kent<strong>on</strong> were already making these recordings<br />
of Cuban rhythms and mixing it with<br />
American jazz. I was also very interested<br />
in African drumming. My father had some<br />
field recordings, and I had some albums<br />
from drummers from Ghana and Nigeria.<br />
So, between my father, my drum teacher<br />
and my sisters, who were always dating jazz<br />
musicians at the time, I had plenty to absorb<br />
early <strong>on</strong>.<br />
EDGE: So you menti<strong>on</strong>ed you began formal instructi<strong>on</strong><br />
at around age five?<br />
PE: Yes, from a drum teacher named Johnny<br />
Cevera. He was a drummer who played<br />
in Atlantic City and was from a town very<br />
close to there. He worked with singers like<br />
Patty Page, and played a little bit with the<br />
Billy May Big Band. I took a detour playing<br />
trumpet for a little bit, and for a hot minute<br />
I thought I might want to be a classical<br />
percussi<strong>on</strong>ist. But then I realized that it was<br />
kind of a drag, just standing around counting.<br />
So many measures in music, it was<br />
more fun just to be playing in a rhythm secti<strong>on</strong>.<br />
I went to my first music camp when I<br />
was seven years old. I met Stan Kent<strong>on</strong>, who<br />
I would eventually wind up working for. I<br />
also met Joe Zawinul when I was seven. So<br />
at a very young age, I was hanging around<br />
jazz musicians.<br />
EDGE: When did you make the transiti<strong>on</strong> from<br />
being a drum student to the Stan Kent<strong>on</strong> gig?<br />
PE: At a young age, I could play fairly well,<br />
and had some sense of musical savvy. I d<strong>on</strong>’t<br />
think I was any kind of prodigy, but I have<br />
some recordings that were made when I was<br />
8, 9 and 10 years old, and when I listen to<br />
those, it sounds like me. I was already developing<br />
a sense of musical style. The acorn definitely<br />
becomes the oak. The musical die was<br />
cast, and I d<strong>on</strong>’t know how much of that had<br />
to do with my teacher exposing me to Art<br />
Blakey, Joe Morello and Max Roach. I’m sure<br />
that was a lot of it. Anyway, I learned the language.<br />
So to answer the questi<strong>on</strong>, I went to<br />
my final Kent<strong>on</strong> camp when I was 12 years<br />
old. It was out here in California, and I was<br />
getting a little c<strong>on</strong>fused because I was going<br />
to classical camps and jazz camps at the<br />
same time, and that was the transiti<strong>on</strong> year<br />
for me. I remember that the auditi<strong>on</strong> went so<br />
badly. I used to always make the top bands<br />
in school. I was too young to even be at these<br />
camps really, but that’s because I would always<br />
be assigned to the top band. And then<br />
all of a sudden at 12 years old I looked up<br />
and <strong>on</strong>e of the drum instructors just put his<br />
head in his hands and was like “Oh my God,<br />
what happened to this kid?” They assigned<br />
me to the lowest band at the camp. So it<br />
was a real shock to the system. And it was<br />
just what I needed. Guys like Stan and Ed<br />
Soph, who is now teaching at North Texas<br />
these days, would spend a whole day <strong>on</strong> a<br />
rhythm secti<strong>on</strong> workshop. They’d put me<br />
<strong>on</strong> a drum set, take me apart, and then put<br />
me back together again. And that’s where I<br />
got my first inkling of “OK, you just can’t<br />
imitate what you hear other drummers do,<br />
you really have to know how to play time.”<br />
So, I was lucky enough to begin the process<br />
of seriously learning more about music at<br />
age 12. I went to a place called Interlochen<br />
Arts Academy. They have a summer camp<br />
there, but I went to the winter high school.<br />
They had a symph<strong>on</strong>y orchestra, and they<br />
had a great jazz band there. I think that’s<br />
where I really got serious. From there, I left<br />
high school a year early, went to Indiana<br />
University and spent a year studying the<br />
difference between match grip and traditi<strong>on</strong>al.<br />
I had never formally studied match<br />
grip. I was really curious about it. Musically,<br />
I was playing in the jazz band at school and<br />
had a fusi<strong>on</strong> group. This was 1971-72, and<br />
music was very exciting back then. Every<br />
new record that came out seemed like it<br />
was a postcard from the future. It was like,<br />
“This is what’s possible.” Anyway, I’m playing<br />
with the jazz band, and word gets out<br />
to Stan Kent<strong>on</strong>. He already knew my family<br />
because my family always brought me to<br />
these camps. At that age, I was always too<br />
young to come <strong>on</strong> my own. So he called,<br />
and my father answered the ph<strong>on</strong>e, and<br />
said “Fred, this is Stan, is Peter ready for the<br />
band?” My dad said, “Yeah.” And Stan said,<br />
“OK, well then, we’d like him to come <strong>on</strong> up<br />
and auditi<strong>on</strong>.” So my auditi<strong>on</strong> was at Lincoln<br />
Center, and I had just turned 18. They<br />
were rehearsing for the Newport Jazz Festival<br />
that night, and part of the program was<br />
an appearance by June Christy, a vocalist<br />
that had been with the band back in the ‘40s.<br />
She was going to sing with the band and<br />
<strong>on</strong>ly the rhythm secti<strong>on</strong> knew I was auditi<strong>on</strong>ing,<br />
so the rest of the band didn’t know<br />
that there was going to be a change. So they<br />
all assumed that I was June Christy’s hippie<br />
drummer. Got the gig, and a week later,<br />
I’m out riding in this bus. Funny thing was<br />
that I’d been with the band for a few days,<br />
and after a gig somewhere in Iowa, I’m riding<br />
the elevator up with Stan. We’re going to<br />
our respective floors, and he said, “Peter, we<br />
haven’t discussed m<strong>on</strong>ey yet.” And I said,<br />
“OK, how much do you want?” I think that<br />
was good for an extra $25 a week. He was<br />
charmed by that resp<strong>on</strong>se. Imagine, you’re<br />
18 years old, and you get to go <strong>on</strong> the road<br />
and play. It wasn’t about the m<strong>on</strong>ey; it was<br />
about getting to play.<br />
EDGE: Was going <strong>on</strong> the road at such a young<br />
age a shock to the system?<br />
PE: It just seemed natural. I knew I was doing<br />
my learning in public, and I sensed that<br />
a lot of drummers were thinking, “Who’s<br />
this guy, and why did he get the gig?” At<br />
the time, that was a pretty plump gig. If you<br />
wanted to play big band, that was a good<br />
gig. And I experienced a lot of the same<br />
thing in Weather Report. “Who’s this guy?<br />
He played big band. What qualifies him to<br />
play with Weather Report?” Even in Steely<br />
Dan in ’93, I kinda got that. I’m finally at<br />
that stage of my life where if that questi<strong>on</strong><br />
comes up, it doesn’t bother me.<br />
EDGE: So then it was Maynard Fergus<strong>on</strong>, and<br />
then <strong>on</strong> to Weather Report?<br />
PE: After three years with Kent<strong>on</strong>, I went<br />
back to college and my professor George<br />
Gabber. He just took <strong>on</strong>e look at my hands<br />
and said, “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”<br />
I had gained a t<strong>on</strong> of bad habits out <strong>on</strong> the<br />
road. I was playing so heavy. So I spent the<br />
year trying to unlearn some of the bad habits.<br />
During that time, Maynard called three<br />
times, and I turned him down every time.<br />
Finally they called and they said, “Look<br />
will you just do the summer tour?” And I<br />
said, “OK,” but I really wasn’t looking to<br />
go out again. Then I spent two years with<br />
Maynard, and during that time I met Jaco<br />
Pastorius. He came out<br />
to see the band. I didn’t<br />
know it at the time, but<br />
they were looking ahead<br />
to when Alex might be<br />
splitting the group. So<br />
Jaco filed me away. Initially<br />
they had called me<br />
to come and work <strong>on</strong> this<br />
new album, and I <strong>on</strong>ly<br />
had a couple of days off<br />
with Maynard. It was just<br />
too much pressure for<br />
me. They wanted me to<br />
go out there for <strong>on</strong>ly <strong>on</strong>e day. My recording<br />
experience wasn’t that good, and I didn’t<br />
want to risk missing a Maynard gig. Plus,<br />
the weather was bad, and I didn’t really<br />
want to fly, and I didn’t have the c<strong>on</strong>fidence<br />
at the time, so I turned it down. Luckily,<br />
they called a sec<strong>on</strong>d time, and I had enough<br />
sense to not turn it down. Then, they asked<br />
if I could do a tour of Japan. So, I said yes,<br />
and I told Maynard I would be leaving, but<br />
the band still wasn’t quite sure. Zawinul<br />
didn’t know that much about me. All he<br />
knew is that Jaco had recommended me. So<br />
he had management call me up. I was 23,<br />
and the guy says, “Peter this is so-and-so<br />
from Weather Report management. Joe Zawinul<br />
wanted us to ask you <strong>on</strong>e final questi<strong>on</strong>.”<br />
I said, “Sure, what is it?” “Joe wants<br />
to know if you can play the beat to ‘Nubian<br />
Sundance.’” That’s a tune from the Mysterious<br />
Traveler album. It’s a cool beat. We used<br />
to play it in Maynard’s band at sound checks<br />
just because I liked it. So, with the brashness<br />
of a young 23-year-old, I just blurted out,<br />
“Yeah, you tell Joe I can play the sh*t out<br />
of it.” And the guy said, “OK, thank you.”<br />
Of course that was the kind of answer that<br />
Zawinul loved because they wanted a guy<br />
to come in with attitude. At the time, they<br />
made a new kit for this Weather Report tour,<br />
with cases and the whole nine yards. So I<br />
flew out to Hollywood for the rehearsal. I’m<br />
at S.I.R. and we’re supposed to start at like<br />
1:00, so I’m there at like 10 in the morning,<br />
and I’m setting up this new drum set. The<br />
road manager comes over and says, “The<br />
guys called, they’re going to be a couple of<br />
hours late.” “Okay.” A couple hours later, he<br />
comes up again: “Um, they’re going to be a<br />
couple more hours.” I d<strong>on</strong>’t know what they<br />
were doing. I never found out. But about six<br />
hours later, these guys come strolling in.<br />
Wayne Shorter, Joe and Jaco. Joe looks at me<br />
very wearily, and shakes my hand. Wayne<br />
shakes my hand friendlier. Jaco waves Hi<br />
and runs out the door again. He went to<br />
go get a six-pack of Heineken. So, now I’m<br />
w<strong>on</strong>dering what’s going <strong>on</strong>. Normally, I<br />
would have waited until I was asked, “OK,<br />
Peter, do you want to play this s<strong>on</strong>g?” As far<br />
as I knew, it wasn’t an auditi<strong>on</strong>, it was just<br />
a rehearsal, but thinking back, I’m sure this<br />
> On the<br />
Record:<br />
Alex Acuña:<br />
EDGE: Talk about Peter’s playing<br />
with Weather Report. How did you<br />
feel about him being in the band<br />
after you?<br />
Alex Acuña: I left the band because<br />
family has always been a<br />
high priority, and I wanted to<br />
be with my children and my wife. The<br />
band was taking off, so I said “Oh I can’t<br />
go <strong>on</strong> the road for three or four m<strong>on</strong>ths<br />
without seeing my family. I can’t do<br />
that. I have to be here.” They understood,<br />
and we split <strong>on</strong> great terms. I still<br />
c<strong>on</strong>tinued to play with Wayne and Joe<br />
<strong>on</strong> some of their solo records, and I even<br />
toured with Joe a bit here and there. So<br />
right after that, the band came to play<br />
here live at Santa M<strong>on</strong>ica Civic. I came<br />
to see them. I got a ticket, and I went<br />
by myself. Wow, it was weird because<br />
I was so used to being part of the music,<br />
and now I was just in the audience.<br />
After the show, Joe gave me the new record<br />
with Peter playing. Man! I drove<br />
so fast to my house to play it. I wanted<br />
to see how the record sounded, you<br />
know? So I read who was playing <strong>on</strong><br />
the album. Guys like Steve Gadd, T<strong>on</strong>y<br />
Williams and Peter. When I heard this<br />
track called “Pinocchio,” I said, “Wow!<br />
I admire Peter.” I hadn’t heard a recording<br />
of Peter before that. I heard him live,<br />
but it’s a different thing when you hear<br />
a record; you hear the entire nuance.<br />
Later <strong>on</strong>, I became friends with Peter,<br />
and I still listen to all of the music that<br />
he recorded with Weather Report. I also<br />
listen to Steps Ahead and other recordings<br />
he’s d<strong>on</strong>e with Vince Mendoza and<br />
the big bands in Europe. Amazing stuff!<br />
Lately, we’ve been doing a lot of movies<br />
together. I respect Peter for many reas<strong>on</strong>s.<br />
As a human being, he’s amazing!<br />
As a musician and drummer, also tremendous!<br />
I think he’s <strong>on</strong>e of the leading<br />
drummers in the style of music that he’s<br />
playing. He can play anything. I saw<br />
him playing Latin jazz, and he plays<br />
pop, too. I loved him with Steely Dan.<br />
He has incredible taste, time, technique,<br />
and his cymbal work is impeccable.<br />
He’s <strong>on</strong>e of a kind, and we’ve always<br />
been great friends. Weather Report was<br />
our link, but we have so much in comm<strong>on</strong><br />
bey<strong>on</strong>d that.<br />
[ E D G E 7 . 0 ]
Selected<br />
Discography<br />
1960 Facets Doc Severinsen<br />
1974 Fire, Fury and Fun Stan Kent<strong>on</strong><br />
1977 C<strong>on</strong>quistador Maynard Fergus<strong>on</strong><br />
1977 New Vintage Maynard Fergus<strong>on</strong><br />
1978 Mr. G<strong>on</strong>e Weather Report<br />
1979 8:30 Weather Report<br />
1979 Cables’ Visi<strong>on</strong> George Cables<br />
1979 Mingus J<strong>on</strong>i Mitchell<br />
1980 Night Passage Weather Report<br />
1980 To Chi Ka Kazumi Watanabe<br />
1981 Word of Mouth Jaco Pastorius<br />
1982 Peter Erskine Peter Erskine<br />
1982 Record Weather Report<br />
1983 Invitati<strong>on</strong> Jaco Pastorius<br />
1985 This is This! Weather Report<br />
1985 Magic Touch Stanley Jordan<br />
1986 Camouflage Bob Mintzer Big Band<br />
1987 Getting There John Abercrombie<br />
1989 Waiting for Spring David Benoit<br />
1990 Sketchbook John Patitucci<br />
1991 Sweet Soul Peter Erskine<br />
1992 Manteca Manhattan Jazz Quintet<br />
1992 November John Abercrombie<br />
1992 Street of Dreams Stan Kent<strong>on</strong><br />
1993 Dream Come True Arturo Sandoval<br />
1993 Night with Strings Sadao Watanabe<br />
1993 Sketches Vince Mendoza<br />
1993 Under the Influence Eddie Daniels<br />
1994 Summertime Scofield/Metheny<br />
1995 Alive in America Steely Dan<br />
1995 Five Seas<strong>on</strong>s Eddie Daniels<br />
1995 History of the <strong>Drum</strong> Peter Erskine<br />
1995 Sweetest Days Vanessa Williams<br />
1996 Memory Lane Chuck Loeb<br />
1996 This is Jazz, Vol. 16<br />
Maynard Fergus<strong>on</strong><br />
1996 This is Jazz, Vol. 19<br />
Wayne Shorter<br />
1998 Lava Jazz<br />
Peter Erskine & Lounge Art<br />
Ensemble<br />
1999 Live at Newport Jazz Fest<br />
Stan Kent<strong>on</strong><br />
1999 Slowing Down the World<br />
Chris Botti<br />
2000 Both Sides Now<br />
J<strong>on</strong>i Mitchell<br />
2000 Inc<strong>on</strong>tournables<br />
Chick Corea<br />
2000 Portrait<br />
Wayne Shorter<br />
2001 Look of Love<br />
Diana Krall<br />
2001 Majestic<br />
Original Soundtrack<br />
2002 Best of Weather Report<br />
Weather Report<br />
2002 December<br />
Chris Botti<br />
2002 Rit’s House<br />
Lee Ritenour<br />
2003 North<br />
Elvis Costello<br />
2004 Accentuate the Positive<br />
Al Jarreau<br />
2004 Dana Owens Album<br />
Queen Latifah<br />
2004 Dreamland<br />
J<strong>on</strong>i Mitchell<br />
2004 Girl in the Other Room<br />
Diana Krall<br />
2004 Il Sogno<br />
Elvis Costello<br />
2005 To Love Again: The Duets<br />
Chris Botti<br />
was sort of an auditi<strong>on</strong>. At this point, they<br />
all just kind of ignore me. I’m really bored<br />
because I’ve just been sitting around all day.<br />
Zawinul goes up to his board and starts<br />
checking out the sound, and I just jumped<br />
up <strong>on</strong> the drum set and started playing. He<br />
turned around and shot me a real surprised<br />
look. He started playing, then Wayne started<br />
playing. A few minutes later, Jaco comes in<br />
with a six-pack of beer. He sees what’s going<br />
<strong>on</strong>, and there’s a big smile <strong>on</strong> his face. It’s<br />
almost like it was choreographed. He sets the<br />
beer down, jumps up <strong>on</strong> stage and turns to<br />
his left. In perfect choreography, they throw<br />
him his bass. He catches it, puts the strap <strong>on</strong>,<br />
and we just did this impromptu jam/medley<br />
of all the tunes. I’d d<strong>on</strong>e my homework<br />
so I knew the changes. It was exciting, and I<br />
could tell it was going well. Anyway, we finish<br />
and the guys are all laughing and highfiving<br />
each other. The next day CBS sends<br />
over a photographer. We were posing, and I<br />
say, “Hey, Joe.” He says, “What?” I say, “Can<br />
I tell my friends that I’m in the band?” He<br />
goes, “You can tell your friends that you’re<br />
going to Japan.”<br />
EDGE: So how was Japan?<br />
PE: Here’s a good <strong>on</strong>e: Before the very first<br />
c<strong>on</strong>cert there, they were dumping baby<br />
powder <strong>on</strong> the floor of the stage. So I say,<br />
“What are you doing that for?” And the guy<br />
was about to tell me, and Jaco<br />
came out of nowhere and said,<br />
“Shhh, check it out, you’ll see.”<br />
So we started playing this tune<br />
that Alex had recorded called<br />
“Elegant People.” We did this<br />
big intro, and the adrenaline<br />
is pumping, and I’m a little bit<br />
freaked, nervous, excited and<br />
happy. Then it gets to this funky<br />
thing, and I look over, and Jaco’s<br />
doing this James Brown skate <strong>on</strong><br />
the stage. That’s what the talcum<br />
powder was for. He’s like<br />
mo<strong>on</strong>walking, but hipper. He’s<br />
doing the James Brown, <strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong>e<br />
leg shimmying, and he’s looking<br />
at me like “check it out.” I just<br />
started laughing my ass off. After<br />
that, there was no fear for the rest<br />
of the night. It was like, “Okay,<br />
I’m with friends here. We’re having<br />
fun.” And with Jaco, it was<br />
always about that, just having<br />
fun. And during that first year, it<br />
was very easy to play. It was hard<br />
work, but it was easy.<br />
EDGE: Throughout your career,<br />
you’ve played with a lot of big<br />
names: Chick Corea to Freddie Hubbard,<br />
Steely Dan, Pat Metheny; the<br />
list goes <strong>on</strong>. How do you switch<br />
gears from <strong>on</strong>e gig to another and adapt?<br />
PE: I just try to approach every project with<br />
an open mind. Ultimately, you’re there as a<br />
drummer to enable the artist’s dream or visi<strong>on</strong><br />
to become a reality. So, oftentimes that<br />
means burying your ego for the musical good,<br />
which should always be the goal anyway. A<br />
lot of drummers will impose their thing <strong>on</strong><br />
the project, no matter what it is. I’m very satisfied<br />
to clear the path musically and rhythmically.<br />
I realize that my signature doesn’t<br />
depend <strong>on</strong> a particular rhythm or thing; it’s<br />
there in the sound. It’s just in the way I touch<br />
a drum or play a cymbal. For better or worse,<br />
it’s going to come out sounding like me.<br />
EDGE: That’s obviously why people hire you.<br />
PE: Usually, yeah. One time I was doing a<br />
record, and the producer said, “It’s getting<br />
good, it’s getting good, it’s starting to sound<br />
like Omar (Hakim).” I just said, “You know<br />
what? Can you do me a favor? D<strong>on</strong>’t say that<br />
the rest of the day.” He said, “Oh, okay.” It<br />
was just c<strong>on</strong>fusing because Omar is a great<br />
drummer. I d<strong>on</strong>’t know his vocabulary, and<br />
if I try to sec<strong>on</strong>d-guess that, it’s just not going<br />
to work. And that’s not meant as a defensive.<br />
I’ve always admired the things I’ve<br />
read about Jeff Porcaro. He would just say,<br />
“Hey, I’m not the right guy for this.” Jeff was<br />
a prince am<strong>on</strong>g drummers.<br />
EDGE: Tell us about your foray into composing<br />
live theatre. It seems like you’ve been doing more<br />
of that.<br />
PE: Still doing it. This band I play with now,<br />
The Lounge Art Ensemble, is an area where<br />
I can write in an absolute sense. I d<strong>on</strong>’t need<br />
the literary inspirati<strong>on</strong>. But writing for theatre<br />
is kind of fun because it’s just like playing<br />
music. There are defined parameters, and<br />
there’s a stated goal. In the case of theatre,<br />
there’s a dramatic goal, and the underscoring<br />
is just another element, just like the lighting<br />
or set design. It has to help the artistic whole,<br />
so to speak. But that’s a great influence for<br />
drumming, because if you approach all music<br />
that way, then you’re oftentimes much<br />
happier in the end. It works that way for me.<br />
A lot of times I’m happier when less is more.<br />
The great pop drummers like Jim Keltner figured<br />
that out a l<strong>on</strong>g time ago. The drummers<br />
that tended to overplay, like me, take l<strong>on</strong>ger<br />
to figure it out. That’s really the beauty of<br />
playing now. As a drummer, my greatest joy<br />
comes from being able to nudge the music<br />
in a directi<strong>on</strong>, sometimes in an unexpected<br />
way. So as a composer, I’m still very much<br />
a student. I like tuneful melodies and I like<br />
writing things for a jazz band that will spark<br />
improvisati<strong>on</strong>. I’m not a c<strong>on</strong>trol freak.<br />
EDGE: You’re also a well-known educator and<br />
clinician. How do you balance your life as an<br />
educator and instructor with the professi<strong>on</strong>al<br />
musician?<br />
PE: It’s kind of the same. When I was growing<br />
up, these great jazz musicians were very<br />
generous with their time and knowledge. So<br />
it felt natural to do the same thing. And you<br />
always learn when you teach. It reinforces<br />
certain things.<br />
EDGE: Let’s talk gear. Tell us about your recent<br />
experience with DW.<br />
PE: Well, my first experience was with the<br />
6000 Series cymbal stands, the flush-based<br />
stands. I was playing in Europe at an event,<br />
<strong>Drum</strong>s du Jour. The cymbal stands were all<br />
DW flush-based, and I was thrilled. Why?<br />
Because my cymbals sounded better. I heard<br />
the difference immediately. The cymbals<br />
seemed to vibrate more freely, and there<br />
was more c<strong>on</strong>necti<strong>on</strong> between the cymbal<br />
and stage and the rest of the drum set. After<br />
all, the beauty of a drum set is how everything<br />
just mixes together. And I remember<br />
lamenting with some other drummers<br />
about why today’s drums d<strong>on</strong>’t sound like<br />
the old drums. Well, something happened<br />
in the ’80s and ’90s when the trend was to<br />
achieve more isolati<strong>on</strong> from each drum. So<br />
drum design and hardware improved to<br />
the point where you were able to get a really<br />
great sound from each element of the<br />
kit. But the sense of the whole was not quite<br />
there. Then here comes DW with the oldstyle<br />
banana arm mount. What if we put <strong>on</strong>e<br />
of those <strong>on</strong> the 18”? Of course you guys had<br />
already thought of that. So, the transiti<strong>on</strong> to<br />
DW was running into D<strong>on</strong> Lombardi at the<br />
trade show and wanting to show my wife<br />
these flush-based cymbal stands. “H<strong>on</strong>ey,<br />
here are the stands that made my cymbals<br />
sound so good.” D<strong>on</strong> explained how the<br />
6000 Series has lightweight aluminum legs,<br />
and how the tilter has a cymbal space adjustment<br />
that locks in place. Wow, and no<br />
rattling, and they’re light-weight. Holy cow,<br />
it’s really great! This led me to a trip to the<br />
factory because I wanted to know more<br />
about DW. I started playing <strong>on</strong> the drums,<br />
started tuning them up, and I was flipped by<br />
the sound, how much the drums sang and<br />
how open they were. Now when I’m teaching,<br />
I have students playing <strong>on</strong> my new DW<br />
drum set, and I can hear the difference. I<br />
hear how much more sound the toms are<br />
offering. And I played Yamaha for 25 years.<br />
I knew Yamaha drums very well, so this<br />
is a new relati<strong>on</strong>ship for me with DW. I’m<br />
learning more about how the drums tune.<br />
The threading is different. It’s a more finely<br />
tuned instrument. The really cool thing is<br />
that this is the most fun I’ve ever had playing<br />
a kit. I feel like a kid again. Here I am,<br />
almost 52 years old, and I find myself going<br />
“A lot of times I’m happier when less<br />
is more. The great pop drummers<br />
like Jim Keltner figured that out a<br />
l<strong>on</strong>g time ago.”<br />
out to my studio and jamming by myself <strong>on</strong><br />
the drum set, just playing the drums for the<br />
sheer pleasure of it. It’s been years since I’ve<br />
d<strong>on</strong>e that.<br />
EDGE: And that’s just because there’s something<br />
inspiring you?<br />
PE: Yeah. A great instrument will do that.<br />
It’s a more generous sounding instrument. It<br />
just gives more. I can’t put my finger <strong>on</strong> it.<br />
EDGE: How about pedals?<br />
PE: I like the old 5000 single-chain pedals.<br />
I’m also crazy about the 9000 pedal.<br />
EDGE: And those are two very different feeling<br />
pedals.<br />
PE: They are. The 9000 you can do anything<br />
with; it’s the state-of-the-art pedal. This has<br />
just been a tremendously great surprise for<br />
me. Aside from the pedals and hardware,<br />
the drums are just so great. I mean, aesthetically,<br />
they are absolutely beautiful. I’ve never<br />
seen any instrument like it: the attenti<strong>on</strong><br />
and commitment to detail. To have that kind<br />
of quality is a beautiful thing. And what’s really<br />
cool about it is that the drum you make<br />
for Peter Erskine or Alex Acuña or Sheila E.<br />
or Gary Novak is the exact same drum that<br />
you’re going to make for the next guy that<br />
orders it. That’s rare. That’s the success of<br />
the company. People speak of DW in a revered<br />
way, which I didn’t really get until I’d<br />
seen how it was d<strong>on</strong>e. Every time I’ve read<br />
about DW, I see the words “passi<strong>on</strong>” and<br />
“commitment.” There’s intelligence there.<br />
When I’ve been up to do research and development,<br />
a lot of different guys come in, guys<br />
that work in various parts in the factory, and<br />
that’s what intrigued me. This is vital for<br />
people from all parts of the company. They<br />
wanted to see what was going <strong>on</strong>. And D<strong>on</strong><br />
and John are directly involved, and I can<br />
bounce things off of guys like Gary Novak,<br />
who took the time to come up with his kit<br />
so we could A/B with mine. Then Sheila E.<br />
shows up and is giving her two cents. It’s<br />
really fun.<br />
[ E D G E 7 . 0 ]
Time Machine<br />
G i n g e r B a k e r : A C a r e e r R e t r o s p e c t i v e<br />
b y B i l l y Wa r d<br />
photos by Jill Furmanovsky/rockarchive.com<br />
Nature provides the inspirati<strong>on</strong>—<br />
we take it from there.<br />
ntil now, many of the most precious<br />
and visually stunning exotic woods<br />
<strong>on</strong> earth couldn’t be utilized as drum<br />
finshes. This harsh reality was due to<br />
the fact that these exotic horiz<strong>on</strong>tal<br />
veneers were simply not wide enough<br />
to cover most larger drum sizes. After<br />
countless hours of experimentati<strong>on</strong> in<br />
our custom shell shop, we’ve changed<br />
all of that. Introducing Collector’s<br />
Series Vertical Grain Exotics. The<br />
secret is a special process that allows<br />
us to artfully book-match each piece<br />
of veneer according to its unique<br />
visual characteristics. The result is<br />
something we think Mother Nature<br />
herself would be proud to call her own.<br />
The ultimate custom kit— each drum<br />
a unique creati<strong>on</strong>. Five breathtaking<br />
new exotics are available: Cocobolo,<br />
Koa, Macassar Eb<strong>on</strong>y, Movingue and<br />
Red Gum. And all can be customized<br />
with a virtually endless variety of<br />
custom laquer finishes and any of<br />
four available drum hardware color<br />
opti<strong>on</strong>s. Experience Vertical Grain<br />
Exotics at an authorized DW <strong>Drum</strong>s<br />
retailer near you or <strong>on</strong>line at<br />
www.dwdrums.com.<br />
New Collector’s Vertical Grain<br />
Exotics— as unique as nature herself.<br />
www.dwdrums.com<br />
shown: Collector’s Series Maple VLT in Natural<br />
Lacquer over Macassar Eb<strong>on</strong>y Vertical Grain<br />
Exotic and 24k Gold Hardware<br />
©2006 <strong>Drum</strong> <strong>Workshop</strong>, Inc. All Rights Reserved.<br />
Billy Ward<br />
When DW asked<br />
me if I would be<br />
willing to interview<br />
Ginger Baker<br />
for EDGE Magazine,<br />
my resp<strong>on</strong>se<br />
was automatic:<br />
“Heck yeah! I love<br />
Ginger Baker.” I<br />
first heard Ginger<br />
in ’66 when<br />
Cream’s album, Fresh Cream, hit the shores of<br />
America. He has always been immediately recognizable<br />
because his drumming has such a pers<strong>on</strong>al<br />
touch. Nobody plays eighth notes like Ginger.<br />
There’s a certain swing to his rhythms. His t<strong>on</strong>e<br />
and feel are equally unique, since for <strong>on</strong>e thing,<br />
Ginger seems never to hurry through a secti<strong>on</strong> of<br />
music. He is always the rock. Through Cream’s<br />
success, his notoriety skyrocketed, and he became<br />
somewhat of a pop-culture victim. As critics were<br />
trying to make a fuss out of whether rock music<br />
was as “valid” as jazz, Ginger and the band were<br />
caught in the crossfire. There is no doubt in my<br />
mind that part of the price of Ginger’s popularity<br />
and subsequent fame resulted in his being asked<br />
a multitude of incredibly silly questi<strong>on</strong>s about<br />
rock music versus jazz. It is no w<strong>on</strong>der that he<br />
seems to loathe interviews. I suspect his relati<strong>on</strong>ship<br />
with his trusty drum company brought this<br />
rare interview to fruiti<strong>on</strong>. As for my experience<br />
with the interview, you will so<strong>on</strong> see what kind of<br />
“shot across my bow” I received within the first<br />
10 sec<strong>on</strong>ds of our chat...<br />
Billy Ward: Your drum tech, Yard, recently<br />
menti<strong>on</strong>ed <strong>on</strong>e of your l<strong>on</strong>gtime heroes, an English<br />
drummer named Phil Seaman. Tell us more<br />
about him and how he influenced you.<br />
Ginger Baker: You d<strong>on</strong>’t know who Phil Seaman<br />
is?!<br />
BW: No.<br />
GB: Oh, what a f’in woolly!<br />
BW: [nervous laughter]<br />
GB: Phil Seaman is up there— he’s <strong>on</strong>e of<br />
the best drummers in the world, bar n<strong>on</strong>e!<br />
He was a jazz player, not rock ‘n’ roll but<br />
jazz! He played with Kenny Graham’s Afro<br />
Cubists, Joe Harriet and Jack Parnell’s Big<br />
Band. Phil never got to America.<br />
BW: Why didn’t he get to America?<br />
GB: Why? He was a junkie! The first time I<br />
met Phil Seaman, I was playing in the Flamingo,<br />
and saxoph<strong>on</strong>ist Tubby Hayes heard<br />
my playing and ran out to get Phil, who was<br />
in R<strong>on</strong>nie Scott’s club. I didn’t know he was<br />
there, so I got off stage at my gig to be c<strong>on</strong>fr<strong>on</strong>ted<br />
by God!<br />
BW and GB: [laughter]<br />
GB: We then went back to Phil’s place at<br />
half past three in the morning and listened<br />
to music until half past nine in the morning.<br />
He had a huge collecti<strong>on</strong> of African drum<br />
records. He played them for me all through<br />
the night. He was saying things to me like,<br />
“Okay, now where’s the beat?” It was like a<br />
huge door opening up!<br />
BW: Did you study with a teacher?<br />
GB: No. I’ve never had a less<strong>on</strong> in my life. I<br />
did share a flat with Phil for a while, though,<br />
and that was quite an experience! We used<br />
to practice together, and if I forgot something,<br />
he would whack me <strong>on</strong> the arm with<br />
his stick.<br />
BW: Ouch! So most of your playing is by ear<br />
more than from method books and such?<br />
GB: Yeah. Max (Roach) was also a huge influence<br />
and is a great friend of mine now. I<br />
was listening to Max and Phil when I first<br />
started playing, and I got a gig with a trad<br />
band.<br />
BW: What’s a trad band?<br />
GB: Traditi<strong>on</strong>al jazz—what you call Dixieland.<br />
This trad band was playing New<br />
Orleans music, and there was this clarinet<br />
player named Johnny Dodds.<br />
BW: Any relati<strong>on</strong> to (drummer great) Baby<br />
Dodds?<br />
GB: Yeah, Johnny Dodds was Baby Dodds’<br />
brother. They gave me all the Baby Dodds<br />
Hear Me Talkin’ To Ya records and they said:<br />
“This is what we want you to play like!”<br />
(Hear Me Talkin... is <strong>on</strong>e of an incredible series<br />
of records from the early days of recording<br />
by Louis Armstr<strong>on</strong>g and the Hot Five—<br />
or with the Hot Seven). Those records really<br />
blew me away. They were probably the biggest<br />
influence of all, apart from Phil. I really<br />
learned a lot from Baby Dodds because he<br />
was mostly listening to the other guys. My<br />
main goal is to make the other guys sound<br />
good. Of course, Art Blakey, who I had the<br />
pleasure of doing a drum thing with, and<br />
Elvin J<strong>on</strong>es... Philly Joe J<strong>on</strong>es... these guys<br />
were all influences. They also all became<br />
good friends of mine, as well.<br />
[ E D G E 7 . 0 ]
BW: There are a lot of really nice people in that<br />
list.<br />
GB: All drummers are nice people. That’s<br />
why they always get ripped off, you know?<br />
BW: Max Roach was a<br />
huge influence <strong>on</strong> all of<br />
us with his melodic drumming.<br />
GB: Yeah, when I was 14,<br />
I heard The Quintet of the<br />
Year with Charlie Parker,<br />
Bud Powell, Dizzy Gillespie,<br />
my pals Charlie<br />
Mingus and Max Roach.<br />
It was the (now famous)<br />
Massey Hall C<strong>on</strong>certs. I<br />
hadn’t even started playing<br />
the drums yet.<br />
BW: John B<strong>on</strong>ham?<br />
GB: I didn’t like John B<strong>on</strong>ham<br />
at all. He really pissed me off <strong>on</strong>e day<br />
when he said, “There’s <strong>on</strong>ly two drummers<br />
in British rock; there’s <strong>on</strong>ly me and Ginger<br />
Baker.” I thought he was a cheeky old (expletive).<br />
BW: Your feel always leaves such a pers<strong>on</strong>al fingerprint.<br />
I feel like I can always tell when it is<br />
you. For <strong>on</strong>e thing, your cymbals sound the same<br />
<strong>on</strong> all of these different records you’ve made... so<br />
many different styles.<br />
GB: That’s because they’re the same cymbals!<br />
I’ve had those ride cymbal and hi-hats<br />
since 1966. The youngest cymbal <strong>on</strong> my kit<br />
is, I think, 1973. That’s how good Zildjian<br />
cymbals are.<br />
BW: That splash cymbal in my favorite Blind<br />
Faith s<strong>on</strong>g, “Had To<br />
Cry Today,” is so amazing.<br />
It’s so loud in the<br />
mix and feels so violent<br />
falling down over the<br />
mix. Has any<strong>on</strong>e in your<br />
bands ever given you a<br />
hard time because you<br />
are playing something<br />
more original than they<br />
are used to?<br />
GB: Not nowadays.<br />
BW: Hah! Nobody is<br />
going to mess with you<br />
now, man. But in the<br />
early days?<br />
GB: Not in the early days of Cream. I mean,<br />
there were problems with Jack (Bruce—bassist<br />
with Cream) but there have always been<br />
problems with Jack all the way through to<br />
(our last show in) New York, which is why<br />
Cream will never, ever play together again!<br />
BW: I’m so sorry.<br />
GB: Bass players—there aren’t really many<br />
bass players that I can get al<strong>on</strong>g with at all.<br />
BW: Yeah. I d<strong>on</strong>’t get it. They’re playing four<br />
strings and <strong>on</strong>e note at a time. What’s so hard<br />
about that? Do you have to make adjustments<br />
“I really learned<br />
a lot from Baby<br />
Dodds because he<br />
was mostly listening<br />
to the other<br />
guys. My main goal<br />
is to make the other<br />
guys sound good.”<br />
when you play rock versus jazz?<br />
GB: I’ve never played rock. When have I<br />
played rock?<br />
BW: Well, most people think of Cream as rock,<br />
for <strong>on</strong>e thing.<br />
GB: Well they are totally wr<strong>on</strong>g. Cream was<br />
never a rock band!<br />
BW: But in jazz, the cymbals carry more of the<br />
s<strong>on</strong>ic imprint, and the drums are the chatter beneath<br />
and within the cymbals and...<br />
GB: Well, that’s the fault of those horrible<br />
engineers in that case. Any band you see,<br />
you’ll see the drummer banging away <strong>on</strong> his<br />
cymbals and hi-hat, and you can never hear<br />
them. Because of the engineers, the <strong>on</strong>ly<br />
thing you can hear is the kick and the snare!<br />
Very seldom do you hear the tom-toms and<br />
almost never can hear the cymbals! This happens<br />
in so-called pop music more than jazz.<br />
That’s <strong>on</strong>e reas<strong>on</strong> I like jazz records more.<br />
BW: When I first saw you, you had a Ludwig kit:<br />
Silver Sparkle.<br />
GB: I played Ludwig from 1966 up until<br />
1997 or so, 31 years. I moved over to <strong>Drum</strong><br />
<strong>Workshop</strong> not <strong>on</strong>ly because they were nicer<br />
people to work with, but also because Ludwig<br />
fell apart. I knew all the Ludwig family,<br />
but they sold the company to Boosey and<br />
Hawkes, and it all went downhill. I had a<br />
gig in New York at Iridium (jazz club), and<br />
Ludwig wouldn’t send a kit. DW sent a kit<br />
within five minutes, and then they made a<br />
kit to my specificati<strong>on</strong>s.<br />
BW: What are those specificati<strong>on</strong>s?<br />
GB: Do you mean the sizes?<br />
BW: Yeah.<br />
GB: The bass drums are 11” deep. With Ludwig,<br />
I had to get them to<br />
cut them down!<br />
BW: Wow. Your bass drums<br />
are 11” deep?<br />
GB: Yeah. My right bass<br />
drum is a 20”x11”, and<br />
my left is 22”x11”.<br />
BW: How do you tune<br />
them?<br />
GB: I tune all my drums<br />
pretty loose.<br />
BW: Your drums always<br />
sound in tune with the<br />
s<strong>on</strong>g.<br />
GB: Well, I do attempt to<br />
tune the drums for each s<strong>on</strong>g! I used to get<br />
in big trouble for that in the old days, you<br />
see. The band is tuning up, and I’m joining<br />
in and they yell, “Hey! We’re trying to tune<br />
up!” And I say: “What the (expletive) do you<br />
think I’m trying to do?!” [laughter] They<br />
couldn’t understand that a drummer might<br />
want to be in tune with the band. That’s the<br />
thing with <strong>Drum</strong> <strong>Workshop</strong>, you know?<br />
Their shells are in tune <strong>on</strong> my kit. They tune<br />
the shells before they do anything else, so<br />
there is a good pitch scale to the drum kit.<br />
BW: Yeah: Timbre Matching. Some folks think<br />
the old days of drum making are the best years,<br />
but apparently you d<strong>on</strong>’t feel that way.<br />
GB: No, I love my DWs.<br />
BW: Were some of your bands more fun for you<br />
than others?<br />
GB: Blind Faith was <strong>on</strong>e of the most enjoyable.<br />
Playing with Stevie (Winwood) is a joy.<br />
You know, Stevie plays the drums pretty<br />
well, too. Playing with R<strong>on</strong> Miles in Denver<br />
was also super enjoyable. It’s probably the<br />
best jazz record I’ve ever made! He plays the<br />
trumpet and writes the most incredible music!<br />
It was a quartet and would go to an octet,<br />
going to four pieces to eight pieces. You<br />
should get the record! There’s some incredible<br />
time stuff <strong>on</strong> there!<br />
BW: Now for the stupid questi<strong>on</strong>: <strong>on</strong> “Sunshine<br />
of Your Love”...<br />
GB: No.<br />
BW: You d<strong>on</strong>’t want to go there?<br />
GB: I d<strong>on</strong>’t want to talk about it.<br />
BW: Well, I read in a Mix magazine that Tom<br />
Dowd (engineer great) said it was his idea to<br />
turn the beat around to the<br />
downbeats and then you guys<br />
got the take.<br />
GB: Tom Dowd said it was<br />
his idea?! Now we’ve got<br />
even Tom Dowd trying to<br />
say it was his idea? Totally<br />
“Whatever you are<br />
trying to play, you<br />
should be able to<br />
play at any tempo.<br />
You know, it’s very<br />
easy to play things<br />
fast. It’s a lot more<br />
difficult to play<br />
them slowly.”<br />
> T i m e M a c h i n e : G i n g e r B a k e r<br />
f’in amazing! I mean, I thought he was a brilliant<br />
engineer! Absolute rubbish! Absolute<br />
utter n<strong>on</strong>sense! There’s so much crap written<br />
or said about “Sunshine!” Some people have<br />
been telling lies for so l<strong>on</strong>g about it, they<br />
actually now believe it!<br />
Jack (Bruce) brought<br />
“Sunshine” in and it<br />
was “dada-duda-du-dudu-duda-du”<br />
and it was<br />
that speed. [Ginger sang<br />
this more than twice as<br />
fast as the original!]<br />
BW: Oh my!<br />
GB: I said, “Why d<strong>on</strong>’t<br />
we slow it down, and I’ll<br />
put the backwards beat<br />
<strong>on</strong> it?” So it went: “Bhu<br />
Da Da Da (Hu) Da Da<br />
(Hu) Da Da Bua Da.” I<br />
never got credit for it and I never will, you<br />
see? This is why I didn’t want to talk about<br />
“Sunshine,” because how it came about had<br />
a huge influence up<strong>on</strong> the s<strong>on</strong>g, and I got<br />
no credit whatsoever for it. <strong>Drum</strong>mers get<br />
taken advantage of all the time!<br />
BW: What are your most influential records?<br />
GB: Well, I’ve told you about <strong>on</strong>e, The Quintet<br />
of The Year record. Duke Ellingt<strong>on</strong><br />
at Newport ‘56, titled, Diminuendo<br />
and Crescendo in Blue, is another.<br />
There really aren’t many. John Coltrane’s<br />
A Love Supreme, with Elvin<br />
(J<strong>on</strong>es), is another. Of the stuff I’ve<br />
d<strong>on</strong>e, I think the Blind Faith record<br />
is great. Also, the R<strong>on</strong> Miles record,<br />
Coward of the County, may be my best<br />
jazz record.<br />
BW: Any advice for a younger drummer?<br />
GB: Yeah. Get a day job! [laughter]<br />
I mean <strong>on</strong>e of the best things I got<br />
from Phil is that, whatever you are<br />
trying to play,<br />
you should be<br />
able to play at<br />
any tempo. This<br />
means what<br />
you are playing<br />
you have to be able to play it really slowly<br />
so that all the beats are even. You know, it’s<br />
very easy to play things fast. It’s a lot more<br />
difficult to play them slowly. Another thing<br />
I got from Phil was to use your left [weaker]<br />
hand more. Not just when you are playing<br />
the drums. Do everything the other way<br />
around. I used to be quite a good dance<br />
player, and I used to practice playing my left<br />
hand against my right hand [syncopati<strong>on</strong>].<br />
Also, when I was writing music, I would<br />
write with my left hand. I can still write<br />
pretty well with my left hand, but I’m not<br />
really too active anymore with the writing.<br />
My point is the more you use the left hand, it<br />
equalizes the right hand, and that is ideal for<br />
a drummer. You will notice that when I play,<br />
I lead with either hand. Technique should<br />
be there, not to play the technique, but to be<br />
able to play what you hear. If you can lead<br />
with any hand, then it doesn’t matter where<br />
you finish. At the end of your fill, you can<br />
come off with any hand!<br />
In additi<strong>on</strong> to the obviously great Cream recordings,<br />
Ginger’s playing <strong>on</strong> the Masters Of Reality<br />
album has w<strong>on</strong> my ears and heart for the<br />
last two weeks as I write this. He is a master of<br />
S e l e c t e d D i s c o g r a p h y:<br />
1965 Sound of ‘65 Graham B<strong>on</strong>d<br />
1965 There’s a B<strong>on</strong>d Between Us Graham B<strong>on</strong>d<br />
1966 Fresh Cream Cream<br />
1966 Full Cream Cream<br />
1967 Disraeli Gears Cream<br />
1968 Wheels of Fire Cream<br />
1969 Best of Cream Cream<br />
1969 Blind Faith Blind Faith<br />
1969 Goodbye Cream<br />
1969 I Feel Free Cream<br />
1969 Rock Sensati<strong>on</strong> Cream<br />
1970 All Things Must Pass George Harris<strong>on</strong><br />
1970 Free Kings Ginger Baker<br />
1970 Ginger Baker’s Air Force Ginger Baker’s Air Force<br />
1970 Swlabr Cream<br />
1971 Winwood Steve Winwood<br />
1972 Heavy Cream Cream<br />
1974 Baker Gurvitz Army Baker Gurvitz Army<br />
1975 Cream Cream<br />
1975 Portrait of Cream Cream<br />
1975 Kick Off Your Muddy Boots Graeme Edge Band<br />
1976 Hearts <strong>on</strong> Fire Baker Gurvitz Army<br />
1980 Levitati<strong>on</strong> Hawkwind<br />
1984 Backtrackin’ Eric Clapt<strong>on</strong><br />
1984 Graham B<strong>on</strong>d Organizati<strong>on</strong> Graham B<strong>on</strong>d<br />
1987 Ginger Baker’s African Force Ginger Baker’s<br />
African Force<br />
1988 Crossroads Eric Clapt<strong>on</strong><br />
1991 Storyville Robbie Roberts<strong>on</strong><br />
1993 Stages of Clapt<strong>on</strong> Eric Clapt<strong>on</strong><br />
1994 Cities of the Heart Jack Bruce<br />
1995 Finer Things Steve Winwood<br />
1996 Keep <strong>on</strong> Running Steve Winwood<br />
1997 Sitting <strong>on</strong> Top of the World Jack Bruce<br />
2001 African Force Ginger Baker<br />
2003 BBC Sessi<strong>on</strong>s Cream<br />
2003 Flying In & Out of Stardom Baker Gurvitz Army<br />
2005 Farewell C<strong>on</strong>cert Cream<br />
2005 Live Baker Gurvitz Army<br />
[ E D G E 7 . 0 ] 1 1
T i m e M a c h i n e : G i n g e r B a k e r<br />
Technique should be<br />
there, not to play the<br />
technique, but to be able<br />
to play what you hear.<br />
dynamics and space. Who else can<br />
play such an aggressive fill with<br />
so few notes, and with no extra<br />
muscle? The taste and the musicality<br />
are always there with this cat.<br />
I realize this is a difficult record to<br />
find, but it would be a perfect first<br />
record for a young drummer wanting<br />
to get into jazz. That is, assuming<br />
they are already listening and<br />
playing al<strong>on</strong>g to Louis Armstr<strong>on</strong>g John Good<br />
with Baby Dodds! The rest of his recommended<br />
listening is all first class: Blue Chip.<br />
By far, my favorite single performance is<br />
his treatment of “Had To Cry Today” with Blind<br />
Faith. I look forward to buying that new DVD<br />
simply in the hopes of seeing him play that s<strong>on</strong>g<br />
and whack that little splash cymbal!<br />
As a drummer, he has accomplished so much<br />
with such a steady arsenal of fundamental drumming<br />
skill, while still becoming a true seeker of all<br />
things creative and diverse.<br />
G i n g e r ’ s d r u m t e c h ya r d<br />
g av r i l o v i c o n t u n i n g G i n -<br />
g e r ’ s k i t:<br />
It’s very simple, really. I tune from the<br />
floor tom up to the rack toms, as Ginger’s<br />
instructi<strong>on</strong>s are to let the drums<br />
sing with no damping <strong>on</strong> the toms at<br />
all. The pitch of the tuning comes from<br />
the snare, so that the drums are in tune<br />
with each other. The bass drums have<br />
a DW muffler and an intact head, with<br />
no hole cut out. The snare is tuned to a<br />
fairly low pitch. It’s all determined by<br />
the sound and stick resp<strong>on</strong>se.<br />
J o h n G o o d Ta l k s a b o u t G i n g e r ’ s<br />
K i t w i t h E D G E :<br />
EDGE: Tell us about Ginger’s kit.<br />
John Good: Ginger really<br />
spent a good amount of time<br />
describing to me what his<br />
drums from the past really<br />
sounded like, and it really<br />
made me feel like it was up<br />
our alley. He wanted big, fat<br />
round drums, but smaller<br />
drums really. When I think<br />
about Ginger Baker and<br />
his playing, I just think of<br />
bombastic drumming and<br />
bigger sounds, but in reality,<br />
the drum set was 8x10”,<br />
9x12”, 11x13” and 12x14”. Then, his<br />
main kick drum was 12x20”, and<br />
then the left side was 12x22”.<br />
EDGE: I believe he menti<strong>on</strong>ed his 11”-deep<br />
bass drums.<br />
JG: Well, he says it was 11” deep, but in<br />
reality, it was a 12”. He also plays a smaller<br />
13” snare, and you just wouldn’t think<br />
that’s the kind of sound that he would<br />
have wanted...<br />
Yard Gavrilovic<br />
EDGE: Is that what he<br />
used to play? I didn’t<br />
think they made 13”<br />
snares back then.<br />
JG: No he didn’t,<br />
but he was using<br />
this to do a lot of his<br />
jazz gigs. He had<br />
this thing where he<br />
would play polo during<br />
the day and then<br />
play with his jazz<br />
band at night for all the people that were<br />
playing polo. So he kind of incorporated<br />
what he knows and what he used to play<br />
into this jazz thing that he was doing.<br />
And this was the kit that he used <strong>on</strong> that<br />
big DVD with Cream when they played<br />
at Royal Albert Hall.<br />
EDGE: How about the pitch of the drums?<br />
JG: In this respect, he just wanted them<br />
Timbre-Matched in sort of medium t<strong>on</strong>es<br />
because he was going to use this for some<br />
higher jazz tunings, and he was also going<br />
to use it for some heavy stuff. To my<br />
delight, these shallow bass drums really<br />
punched hard. Remember, the l<strong>on</strong>ger the<br />
bass drum, the boom-ier it is, and when<br />
you shorten up the bass drum, you really<br />
get this nice fat, but punchy, sound. It<br />
really exemplified that kind of c<strong>on</strong>structi<strong>on</strong>.<br />
EDGE: Were the shorter bass drums Ginger’s<br />
idea?<br />
JG: He said, “I’ve always had shallow<br />
bass drums in the past.”<br />
Because he wasn’t used to dealing<br />
with a custom drum maker, he said, “Well<br />
I d<strong>on</strong>’t have to cut them?” I said, “No, no,<br />
we make the drums to the size that you’re<br />
requesting, or the sound that you’re hearing<br />
in your head, just tell me about it.”<br />
I was very happy when we made these<br />
sizes, because Jim Keltner and I had just<br />
made a 12x20” that just roared! So, I<br />
knew that it would work really well. So,<br />
the 12x22” really surprised me, as well.<br />
It was a very nice drum. This was a few<br />
years back, when the shells were 6- and 7-<br />
ply with 3-ply hoops. Smaller drums are<br />
thinner, and thicker drums are larger. So<br />
pretty much, that’s Ginger’s kit.<br />
6700><br />
<br />
6710><br />
<br />
<br />
DW 6000 SERIES CYMBAL STANDS feature tube joint memory<br />
locks, low-profi le fl ush-base design with aluminum legs. Both stands also feature<br />
an infi nite toothless tilter with TechLock ® , making DW 6000 Series cymbal stands<br />
nothing less than professi<strong>on</strong>al grade.<br />
6000 Series Cymbal Stands<br />
Tell us about your 6000 Series Cymbal<br />
Stands:<br />
Billy Ward: All these stands have a small<br />
footprint <strong>on</strong> the stage AND in the trap case! The<br />
hi-hat stand is very smooth and solid. Most all<br />
of my work could happen with these stands and<br />
it does if I’m the <strong>on</strong>e carrying them!<br />
It’s light-weight, but is it heavy-duty enough<br />
for the road?<br />
Billy Ward: Yes. These seem to be modeled<br />
after the old vintage lightweight stands, but<br />
they easily handle the heavier cymbals we play<br />
today. They have str<strong>on</strong>ger locks and better<br />
felt washers than the old stuff. DW is always<br />
improving the smallest details, like the rubber<br />
feet.<br />
“Light and reliable.”<br />
—Billy Ward<br />
the reverend | avenged sevenfold<br />
www.pacificdrums.com
Tech Tips<br />
S e l e c t i n g t h e r i g h t s n a r e f o r t h e j o b<br />
B y Ya r d G av r i l o v i c<br />
E v e r y d r u m m e r k n o w s t h at p i c k i n g t h e r i g h t s n a r e<br />
f o r t h e j o b c a n b e a c o n f u s i n g , a n d o f t e n t i m e s , t i m e - c o n s u m i n g ta s k . T o t h e c o n t r a r y, a s e a s o n e d d r u m<br />
t e c h k n o w s e x a c t l y w h at w o r k s i n e v e r y s i t u at i o n . I n t h i s i n s ta l l m e n t o f T e c h T i p s , v e t e r a n c r e w m e m -<br />
b e r t o t h e s ta r s , Ya r d , e x p l a i n s w h at i t ta k e s t o m a k e t h at a l l - i m p o r ta n t c h o i c e , t h e n m a k e i t s i n g .<br />
ed Ambassadors.<br />
For live work, I steal all the great work<br />
Mick Hint<strong>on</strong> did for John B<strong>on</strong>ham. That’s<br />
a CS Smooth White Reverse Dot with 40-<br />
strand wires—you’ll never ever beat that<br />
sound.<br />
EDGE: Is a drop-style throw-off or side-to-side<br />
better?<br />
is flat, and that the bearing edges are true.<br />
Also, we d<strong>on</strong>’t want any flat spots prior to<br />
re-heading and tuning. That would be a terrible<br />
waste of time. As for bearing edges, I<br />
prefer a 35-degree cut for a drier sound. The<br />
snare bed should suit the snares that you are<br />
using, or you will choke the drum.<br />
If you prefer, use a metal drum for more<br />
ring.<br />
YG: It depends up<strong>on</strong> the drum, but I do like<br />
the drop-style for most applicati<strong>on</strong>s.<br />
EDGE: What do you think of flanged hoops vs.<br />
die-cast?<br />
EDGE: How about miking?<br />
YG: Flanged hoops for me!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Yard Gavrilovic<br />
EDGE: Metal or wood?<br />
Yard Gavrilovic: I love metal snares, especially<br />
6.5x14”.<br />
EDGE: How do you decide what’s right for a<br />
particular venue or recording situati<strong>on</strong>?<br />
YG: It’s not my call unless I am asked. In most<br />
cases, the producer/engineer and drummer<br />
will usually decide <strong>on</strong> this in advance. Ultimately,<br />
my job is to realize the sound that’s<br />
in their heads. I’ll even play the kit for the<br />
engineer until the sound is achieved, so the<br />
drummer is still fresh for the track.<br />
EDGE: What’s the best way to decide <strong>on</strong> the<br />
right head combinati<strong>on</strong>?<br />
YG: For most drummers, this tends to be all<br />
trial and error. From a very early age, drummers<br />
discover a combinati<strong>on</strong> of sounds that<br />
they mimic from their favorite records and<br />
drummers. For that reas<strong>on</strong>, every drummer<br />
wants to hear something different. I like to<br />
show up at a sessi<strong>on</strong> with a 40-foot trailer<br />
full of snares and hand-pick the right sound<br />
for the room. Now, to answer the questi<strong>on</strong><br />
at hand, for most 5x14” snares, a combinati<strong>on</strong><br />
of Remo Coated Powerstroke3 or Ambassador<br />
batter <strong>on</strong> top and a Diplomat snare<br />
bottom will suffice for studios. That’s Steve<br />
Gadd’s favorite choice.<br />
On Vintage kits we use Aquarian American<br />
Vintage top and bottom or Remo Coat-<br />
YG: I am the village idiot when it comes to<br />
technology, so I leave it to the sound crew<br />
to decide. After all those years of reading<br />
manuals <strong>on</strong> the bus, they need an outlet to<br />
relieve the pressure <strong>on</strong> their brains. Generally,<br />
I try not to meddle too much in other<br />
people’s specialties.<br />
EDGE: How often do you use vintage snares?<br />
YG: We use vintage snares for all of our studio<br />
work. We’ve found that they’re easy to<br />
tune and are pretty c<strong>on</strong>sistent in recreating<br />
the sound required for any sessi<strong>on</strong>.<br />
We have a huge selecti<strong>on</strong> of snares, but<br />
our standard studio selecti<strong>on</strong> is a mix of both<br />
metal and wood standards from some of the<br />
better-known American drum companies of<br />
the day. Tuned high or low, they all sound<br />
great.<br />
EDGE: How much does size matter?<br />
YG: In the studio, a 5.5x14” should suffice<br />
with a piccolo for the odd whack!<br />
EDGE: What’s your take <strong>on</strong> bearing edges and<br />
snare beds?<br />
YG: Now this is the most important area of<br />
any drum, because if these are badly machined,<br />
you may as well record the box that<br />
your take-out came in! We strip and overhaul<br />
all of our snares and check them for<br />
“true” <strong>on</strong> our cast ir<strong>on</strong> saw bed in our very<br />
own woodshop. This ensures that the snare<br />
Yard Gavrilovic is the owner of The Vintage<br />
<strong>Drum</strong> Yard (www.vintagedrumyard.co.uk) in<br />
the United Kingdom, and, al<strong>on</strong>g with his five<br />
s<strong>on</strong>s has been a regular crew member for Eric<br />
Clapt<strong>on</strong>, The Who, Cream, Annie Lennox, Eurythmics,<br />
Paul Sim<strong>on</strong>, George Michael and Natalie<br />
Imbruglia. He also has maintained a l<strong>on</strong>g<br />
associati<strong>on</strong> with drummers such as Zak Starkey,<br />
Steve Gadd, Ginger Baker, Jim Keltner, Henry<br />
Spinetti, Steve Barney, Steve Ferr<strong>on</strong>e, Paulinho<br />
da Costa, Ricky Laws<strong>on</strong>, Jodie Linscott, Danny<br />
Cummings, Carlos Hercules, Jerry Brown,<br />
Thomas Dyani and many more. His family is<br />
currently covering tours<br />
with The Who, George<br />
Michael and Ors<strong>on</strong>.<br />
g e t t h e l at e s t:<br />
• T e c h T i p s<br />
• O n l i n e C l i n i c s<br />
• C l i n i c S c h e d u l e<br />
• C l i n i c H i g h l i g h t s<br />
T h e D W E d u c at i o n D e pa r t m e n t<br />
@ w w w. d w d r u m s . c o m<br />
[ E D G E 7 . 0 ] 1 5
Pro-File: new blood<br />
M e ta l ’ s y o u n g g u n s :<br />
C h r i s “ S e v e n ” A n t o n o p o l o u s •<br />
D a n L a m a g n a • A l e x e i R o d r i g u e z<br />
b y Ya e l<br />
T o d ay ’ s n e w c r o p o f m e ta l d r u m m e r s i s a s s e r i o u s<br />
a b o u t t h e i r c r a f t a s o n e m i g h t e x p e c t. A f t e r a l l , t h e y ’ v e b e e n<br />
r e a r e d o n d e c a d e s o f e s ta b l i s h e d m e ta l b a n d s t h at h av e h e l p e d s h a p e t h e m o s t r e c e n t g e n e r at i o n o f<br />
h e av y- f r i e n d l y m e ta l m a s t e r s . O n s p e c i a l a s s i g n m e n t, m e ta l d r u m m e r e x t r a o r d i n a i r e Ya e l m e e t s w i t h<br />
t h r e e o f t h e s e s o - c a l l e d n e w b l o o d s t o g i v e u s t h e i r ta k e o n t h e s tat e o f t h e m e ta l u n i o n a n d w h at<br />
r e v s t h e i r m e ta l e n g i n e s .<br />
Meet Alexei Rodriguez<br />
from 3<br />
Inches of Blood.<br />
You may have<br />
heard of Alexei before,<br />
or you might<br />
even have witnessed<br />
his furious<br />
display of intensity<br />
and relentless<br />
Yael<br />
power <strong>on</strong> the drum kit during his years with<br />
Catharsis, Trial or Walls of Jericho. Currently,<br />
D a n L a m a g n a<br />
P h o t o b y Way n e / H e a d l a m p<br />
he’s recording and touring<br />
with 3 Inches of Blood<br />
and has recently joined the<br />
DW/PDP family of artists.<br />
When I spoke to him, he was<br />
showing off his brand new<br />
LX Cherry to Black Fade<br />
PDP kit with the PDP rack<br />
system. We had the opportunity<br />
to catch a few shows<br />
and catch up with Alexei.<br />
Here’s what we learned:<br />
Yael: How would you describe<br />
the state of metal today?<br />
Alexei Rodriguez: When I<br />
stop for a moment to p<strong>on</strong>der<br />
the state of metal and the<br />
state of the music industry<br />
in general, I become acutely<br />
aware of a sense of déjà vu.<br />
I notice the ebb and flow and<br />
the emergence of innovators,<br />
the explosi<strong>on</strong> of imitators,<br />
the underground determining<br />
what will be mainstream,<br />
then a collapsing <strong>on</strong> itself as<br />
the market saturates. There’s<br />
also the questi<strong>on</strong> of what is<br />
underground versus what is<br />
commercial these days.<br />
Yael: How does that pertain to<br />
your current band?<br />
AR: The <strong>on</strong>ly difference now<br />
is that I’ve finally started<br />
to see myself in that grand<br />
scheme. Hopefully, I get to<br />
add my two cents to the mix. I<br />
remember back in 1985, when<br />
my best friend first turned me<br />
<strong>on</strong> to metal, and like so many<br />
others, my life would never<br />
be the same. At the time, it<br />
“My c<strong>on</strong>scious refusal<br />
to let the industry<br />
dictate what<br />
was good music<br />
inevitably led me<br />
down the path of<br />
punk.”<br />
—Alexei Rodriguez<br />
was too new to me to<br />
differentiate between<br />
this or that sub-genre,<br />
but I knew immediately<br />
that I had found my new<br />
religi<strong>on</strong>. Finally, here<br />
was music that insisted<br />
<strong>on</strong> being heard, while at<br />
the same time, it didn’t<br />
seem to care about being<br />
accepted. Now this<br />
was something I could<br />
relate to!<br />
Yael: How did you arrive <strong>on</strong> the scene?<br />
AR: As I became more deeply involved in<br />
the music, I also became aware of the various<br />
sub-genres and developed a healthy<br />
adolescent c<strong>on</strong>tempt for all things “glam”<br />
or commercial. My c<strong>on</strong>scious refusal to let<br />
the industry dictate what was good music<br />
inevitably led me down the path of punk. At<br />
the time, we all believed punk was corrupted,<br />
with its totally irreverent abrasiveness,<br />
not fully realizing how easily any shtick can<br />
be chewed up by the industry and then be<br />
spat out as a watered-down shadow of its<br />
original intent. It was somewhere during<br />
my metal-to-punk evoluti<strong>on</strong> that I began<br />
playing drums. The two genres probably<br />
got equal playtime in my ghetto blaster, but<br />
my main inspirati<strong>on</strong> will always be rooted<br />
in Black Sabbath, Slayer, Led Zeppelin, Metallica<br />
and Ir<strong>on</strong> Maiden.<br />
Yael: How does your musical evoluti<strong>on</strong> translate<br />
to your playing?<br />
AR: I think my musical ear took over and<br />
let me know that, however much I liked<br />
metal, the <strong>on</strong>ly thing my skill level would<br />
currently allow me to get away with was<br />
three-chord punk rock. My evoluti<strong>on</strong> from<br />
there is a l<strong>on</strong>g, gradual blur as I moved both<br />
into darker spaces in my head and sought<br />
to c<strong>on</strong>stantly challenge myself. I tried to embrace<br />
the intensity of whatever music I was<br />
playing from punk to hardcore, and when<br />
my chops and precisi<strong>on</strong> finally allowed, I returned<br />
to metal.<br />
Yael: Do you participate in the s<strong>on</strong>g writing process,<br />
and do you play any<br />
other instruments?<br />
AR: Needless to say,<br />
when I switched from<br />
alto sax to drums in the<br />
school band, I must have<br />
driven the poor band director<br />
out of his mind.<br />
Throughout my journey,<br />
I’ve discovered the importance<br />
of good s<strong>on</strong>g<br />
writing, and it’s become<br />
clear to me that I could<br />
have just as easily ended<br />
up a music critic in some<br />
other reality. So I try to<br />
have input in the s<strong>on</strong>gwriting<br />
process as much as possible. Aside<br />
from the s<strong>on</strong>g itself, I’ve also learned that<br />
<strong>on</strong>e true thing that separates all good music<br />
in the world from great music is the sincerity<br />
with which it is executed.<br />
Yael: When did you first realize that drumming<br />
was your passi<strong>on</strong>?<br />
AR: It was <strong>on</strong>ly in the last couple of years<br />
that I became c<strong>on</strong>scious that my life literally<br />
revolves around my instrument. It has nothing<br />
to do with earning a living, so much as<br />
it does with just living every moment. You<br />
know, not getting caught up in superficial<br />
social dramas, not playing for the labels,<br />
for the paychecks or for the “market,” but<br />
for the soul. I play for all of the people who<br />
express their most inner selves vicariously<br />
through my music.<br />
Yael: How did you come to find bandmates that<br />
shared your passi<strong>on</strong> for the music?<br />
AR: Anything less has never lasted more<br />
than a hot minute in my world. That’s exactly<br />
what happened to my beloved bandmates<br />
in 3 Inches of Blood. I needed a group whose<br />
music was as fun to play as it was challenging,<br />
whose attitude was fiercely independent,<br />
but didn’t take itself so seriously. I was<br />
seeking that perfect combinati<strong>on</strong> for myself,<br />
but also for the good of metal and the state<br />
of music in general. I wanted to avoid “newmetal”<br />
and the pitfalls of a band that takes<br />
<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong>ly the elements of what they think certain<br />
people want to hear, hoping for the tour<br />
buses and rock star fantasy life.<br />
“I grew up as a<br />
drum geek and<br />
have been playing<br />
drums most of<br />
my life. My style<br />
is inspired by the<br />
drummers I followed<br />
when I was<br />
growing up.”<br />
—Chris “Seven”<br />
Ant<strong>on</strong>opolous<br />
Yael: So how do you fight the system these<br />
days?<br />
AR: Any artist knows that you can <strong>on</strong>ly<br />
plagiarize for so l<strong>on</strong>g before it reaches total<br />
stagnati<strong>on</strong>. I feel I’ve found a band willing to<br />
join me in facing off against such insincerity,<br />
all the while enjoying a<br />
few good laughs. Anything<br />
else that <strong>on</strong>e gets<br />
from 3IOB is up to their<br />
unique perspective, and<br />
I’d never presume to tell<br />
some<strong>on</strong>e else what my<br />
music means to them.<br />
Maybe in some alternate<br />
reality, my band is somehow<br />
the savior of metal,<br />
but regardless of such<br />
pompous noti<strong>on</strong>s, it’s<br />
saved me. It’s helped me<br />
see a bigger picture. It’s<br />
restored my faith in the<br />
art form.<br />
Yael: You seem to be very much <strong>on</strong> top of your<br />
game, respected by your peers and fans alike.<br />
How does that feel?<br />
AR: I’ve g<strong>on</strong>e from a kid who just needed<br />
to vent and bang <strong>on</strong> stuff, to punk rock idealist<br />
would-be revoluti<strong>on</strong>ary,<br />
to artist and then back again.<br />
Only now, I actually feel I<br />
might have the tools to be<br />
exactly where I need to be in<br />
the grand scheme of things.<br />
Today, the day after my 32nd<br />
birthday, the idea of perhaps<br />
living in a tiny studio apartment<br />
forever isn’t the most appealing<br />
idea in the world, but<br />
as l<strong>on</strong>g as I have my music,<br />
my instrument, my art, things<br />
could be a lot worse. I’ve had<br />
the opportunity to do a few<br />
other projects al<strong>on</strong>g the way,<br />
and I love to keep my pallet<br />
varied. For the time being, 3<br />
Inches of Blood is my vehicle<br />
to artistic Zen. Melodramatic<br />
as that may sound, the other<br />
day while playing a surprise<br />
performance <strong>on</strong> my new PDP<br />
kit at a friend’s tattoo shop,<br />
I had a completely religious<br />
experience. I experienced a<br />
moment of transcendence,<br />
knowing I was doing exactly<br />
what I was meant to be doing,<br />
playing exactly what I was<br />
supposed to be playing, with<br />
all of the energy and sincerity<br />
> P r o - f i l e : n e w b l o o d<br />
A l e x e i R o d r i g u e z<br />
P h o t o b y Ya e l<br />
that a body could hold. Those are the moments<br />
that make everything worth it. As<br />
I’m recalling this, I can’t help but practically<br />
leap out of my seat with child-like anticipati<strong>on</strong><br />
for tomorrow’s show, where I get to do<br />
it again.<br />
Next, we sat down with Chris “Seven” Ant<strong>on</strong>opoulos,<br />
who also joined the PDP family this<br />
year. Chris combines showmanship with solid<br />
groove. He’s most recently been touring with<br />
Ministry side project RevCo, and his own band,<br />
Opiate for the Masses, is also making a lot of<br />
noise these days. Chris took a little time out to<br />
talk about his gear and his influences.<br />
Yael: Tell us about your new PDP set-up.<br />
Chris “Seven” Ant<strong>on</strong>opoulos: I couldn’t be<br />
happier to have you here and to have this<br />
amazing company behind me for this tour<br />
and my upcoming recordings with my<br />
band.<br />
Yael: Tell us about the drums you’re using <strong>on</strong><br />
your current tour and the kit you’ll be recording<br />
with?<br />
CA: I’m using PDP all-maple drums with<br />
a custom Exotic Tiger Ash finish. They’re<br />
amazing! I can’t even tell you how many<br />
[ E D G E 7 . 0 ] 1 7
P r o - f i l e : n e w b l o o d<br />
compliments I get with these drums. I’ll be<br />
using this kit when I’m in the studio because<br />
I feel each tom totally sings.<br />
Yael: What pedals and hardware do you use?<br />
CA: I’m about 12 days into a two-m<strong>on</strong>th tour<br />
at this point, and my new gear is so solid. If I<br />
didn’t have my new set-up, I’d be worrying<br />
that something would collapse <strong>on</strong> a nightly<br />
basis and that my rig wasn’t going to make<br />
it through the whole tour. I hit pretty hard,<br />
so I need my gear to stand up <strong>on</strong> the road.<br />
Now, it’s the last thing <strong>on</strong> my mind. I use the<br />
9000s <strong>on</strong> the kicks. Amazing! I’m playing the<br />
5000 hi-hat pedal because I like the feel, and<br />
my new PDP rack is all around me.<br />
Yael: What sizes are you into?<br />
CA: I’m using two 24” kicks, a 14” rack tom<br />
and 16” and 18” floor toms. It’s kind of funny<br />
because when I was putting this kit together,<br />
I was talking to Marc Lewis who also<br />
plays PDP, and he told me how much I was<br />
going to love it. I couldn’t ask for more from<br />
a drum company. You beat the hell out of it<br />
and the very next night, it’s still giving back.<br />
I can’t say the same for my sticks and heads<br />
<strong>on</strong> a tour, but this kit is simply amazing.<br />
Yael: How did you land the tour with RevCo?<br />
CA: I grew up as a drum geek and have been<br />
playing drums most of my life. My style is<br />
inspired by the drummers I followed when<br />
I was growing up. Some<br />
of my main influences<br />
include Shann<strong>on</strong> Larkin,<br />
Tommy Lee and Roy<br />
Mayorga.<br />
Yael: How do you feel about<br />
the metal scene today?<br />
CA: I have been playing<br />
with Opiate for a<br />
while now, and we’ve<br />
been <strong>on</strong> a few great tours<br />
with bands that d<strong>on</strong>’t<br />
normally get radio airplay. These tours<br />
are sp<strong>on</strong>sored by companies like Vans and<br />
Jägermeister, so it seems like there are more<br />
doors opening up for the underground metal<br />
scene today. You just have to work harder.<br />
Get your band in a van and go. I just see myself<br />
playing and c<strong>on</strong>tinuing to play drums<br />
for a very l<strong>on</strong>g time. I’ve been lucky enough<br />
to cross bridges and meet all kinds of people,<br />
and I get to play the kit of my dreams.<br />
“I practice everyday,<br />
that’s how I<br />
got here. I stay <strong>on</strong><br />
top of my game because<br />
you never<br />
know who is listening.”<br />
—Dan Lamagna<br />
music I learned to play first, as a drummer.<br />
A lot of the music I listened to in the early<br />
‘90s became a blueprint for the drummer<br />
I’ve become today. I soaked up a lot from<br />
those drummers.<br />
Yael: How do you feel about<br />
where your career is headed?<br />
DL: I feel like things<br />
have been moving al<strong>on</strong>g<br />
for me. Every year it<br />
seems like I am making<br />
advances. Hopefully all<br />
of these little steps will<br />
add up to something<br />
big. I’ve got DW, Vater<br />
and Sabian behind me, a<br />
band with the four best<br />
players I’ve had the chance to work with,<br />
and we’re out there together spreading our<br />
music to the masses. I’d say that I’m where<br />
I’d like to be, and I’m headed in the right<br />
directi<strong>on</strong>. I also have a drum teaching business<br />
that I’m growing when I’m home. I’m<br />
starting to get to a point where I’m happy<br />
with my playing, and Suicide City has really<br />
opened up some new doors for me. It’s really<br />
an amazing feeling.<br />
Edutainment.<br />
the biggest names in drumming brought to life.<br />
more than a learning experience, more than mere entertainment,<br />
it’s a whole new way to experience your favorite drummers.<br />
Finally, we met up with<br />
the drummer for New<br />
York-based metal outfit<br />
Suicide City. Dan Lamagna<br />
is the PDP veteran<br />
of the three and has<br />
been with <strong>Drum</strong> <strong>Workshop</strong><br />
for almost two years<br />
now. He also chimed in<br />
about the metal biz and<br />
how he initially joined<br />
DW’s rock roster.<br />
Yael: How did you reach your goal?<br />
DL: I practice every day; that’s how I got<br />
here. I stay <strong>on</strong> top of my game because you<br />
never know who is listening. I have this<br />
opportunity because of the people I have<br />
worked with, and I’ve d<strong>on</strong>e my best to make<br />
a positive impressi<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong> people all al<strong>on</strong>g the<br />
way. I’ve been recommended for other gigs,<br />
too, because I try to be as professi<strong>on</strong>al as I<br />
can. I’m learning that it’s a small business,<br />
and every<strong>on</strong>e knows each other.<br />
C h r i s “ S e v e n ” A n t o n o p o l o u s<br />
P h o t o b y H a d a s<br />
Yael: What’s your take <strong>on</strong><br />
the state of metal?<br />
Dan Lamagna: Any<strong>on</strong>e<br />
who listens to metal<br />
can tell you that it is a<br />
style that thrives without<br />
much help from<br />
the outside world.<br />
What that enables us to<br />
do as a band is make a<br />
name for ourselves by<br />
touring and selling our<br />
CD by ourselves, without<br />
a lot of help from<br />
radio or other media.<br />
It’s almost expected to<br />
be that way these days.<br />
Metal was the style of<br />
Yael: What brought you to <strong>Drum</strong> <strong>Workshop</strong>?<br />
DL: Originally, I was looking for help getting<br />
pedals from DW because I’m loyal to<br />
that gear; it’s been loyal to me all these years.<br />
You introduced me to the DW Artist Team a<br />
while back, and I had the opportunity to explain<br />
my situati<strong>on</strong> to them. They offered me<br />
access to the full line of DW and PDP gear,<br />
and I decided to play the drums and hardware,<br />
too. It’s really great having a company<br />
like that behind you. I never have to be worried<br />
that something will break down, but if<br />
it does, these guys are there for me. I think<br />
they treat me better than any other company<br />
because we’re not an established band yet.<br />
We’re a band that’s <strong>on</strong> the rise, but they still<br />
take great care of me.<br />
Check out these other titles from DW DVD:<br />
at right: Stephen Perkins:<br />
A <strong>Drum</strong>mer’s Life,<br />
T<strong>on</strong>y Royster, Jr.: Pure<br />
Energy, Terry Bozzio<br />
and Chad Wackerman: D2:<br />
Duets Volume two and<br />
Solos & Duets, Marco<br />
Minnemann: Live in L.A.<br />
©2006 <strong>Drum</strong> <strong>Workshop</strong>, Inc.<br />
Available in the US from World Music 4all – 866-89-MUSIC (68742)<br />
In Canada from Canadian Print Music Distributors – 800-668-5767
On the Rise<br />
O m a r G o n g o r i a : K i n k y<br />
photos by Hadas<br />
T h e w o r l d o f l at i n a l t e r n at i v e m u s i c c o n t i n u e s<br />
t o e x p l o d e . A n e w g e n e r at i o n o f s pa n i s h - s p e a k i n g m u s i c fa n s i s b e i n g e x p o s e d t o a<br />
n e w g e n e r at i o n o f i n n o vat i v e l at i n b a n d s . O m a r a n d K i n k y a r e b l a z i n g n e w t r a i l s a n d t h e fa n s a r e<br />
r e s p o n d i n g . F o r t h at r e a s o n a l o n e , t h e y a r e o n t h e r i s e . > > ><br />
EDGE: When did you get started playing?<br />
Omar G<strong>on</strong>goria: I started playing when I<br />
was 11 or 12 because I saw this drummer<br />
at a wedding. It was in El Carmen, a little<br />
town like two hours from my home town of<br />
M<strong>on</strong>terrey, Mexico. They were a “Norteño”<br />
band, playing the traditi<strong>on</strong>al style from the<br />
regi<strong>on</strong>. I was inspired watching him play<br />
and decided that I would also become a<br />
drummer.<br />
EDGE: How did you come to join Kinky?<br />
OG: I was studying music in Texas, and I decided<br />
to take a break and go to M<strong>on</strong>terrey to<br />
play with different people. Then Ulises, who<br />
would become the keyboard player in Kinky,<br />
invited me to this music lab project that he<br />
had with Carlos, who is now the guitar player<br />
in the band. It was at Ulises’ house, and<br />
most of it was about recording ideas in an<br />
old computer. He had put some music programs<br />
in there, and we were playing with<br />
loops and samples just to have fun.<br />
EDGE: Tell us about your unique set-up and<br />
how you developed your rig.<br />
OG: From the beginning, all I knew was that<br />
I was into playing different styles of music.<br />
From electr<strong>on</strong>ica to Latin to rock, I knew I<br />
loved it all, but I hadn’t yet decided if I was<br />
going to play drum set or percussi<strong>on</strong>. At<br />
that time, I was learning hand drumming<br />
technique with Roy Galvan, a friend of mine<br />
from Mexico. One day I woke up with this<br />
idea of combining both things. I spent some<br />
time developing the set and was adding<br />
things to it as the music required. Little by<br />
little, it started to turn into what it is now.<br />
Even from the start, I felt really natural playing<br />
standing up and combining percussi<strong>on</strong>,<br />
drums and electr<strong>on</strong>ics. I found it more exciting<br />
than any <strong>on</strong>e of the three, and fun every<br />
time I played. After we recorded our first<br />
album, I had to add some more electr<strong>on</strong>ic elements,<br />
like the TD10 Roland brain and the<br />
Boss 505 sampler. I trigger everything with<br />
pads because I found it interesting and challenging<br />
trying to recreate exactly what we<br />
had recorded in the studio. It’s so funny that<br />
I end up sampling myself.<br />
EDGE: Does the set-up differ live vs. studio?<br />
OG: I d<strong>on</strong>’t really have a studio set. I use<br />
whatever I have around, and I work a lot <strong>on</strong><br />
the computer, making loops and programming<br />
drum machines. The studio is always<br />
about experimenting. I like to create new<br />
sounds. For example, I have a set of pans,<br />
spo<strong>on</strong>s and cans that I d<strong>on</strong>’t use in my live<br />
set, but I use them in the studio. Then, I like<br />
to tweak them with processors or effects.<br />
You can get great things from throwing<br />
away all of the rules. During the recording<br />
process, I also like to separate all of my percussi<strong>on</strong><br />
parts. I d<strong>on</strong>’t really have a formula<br />
for doing this, but I separate it all in secti<strong>on</strong>s,<br />
like for drum set. Then, I do the same<br />
for the c<strong>on</strong>gas, timbales, b<strong>on</strong>gos and every<br />
other hand drum that the s<strong>on</strong>g requires. After<br />
that, I add the colors, such as cowbells,<br />
shakers, cascaras, bells, pans, cans and any<br />
extra sounds I can think up, but there’s no<br />
defined “studio set.”<br />
I never really c<strong>on</strong>sider how I’m going<br />
to play the parts live when I am recording.<br />
That’s how the idea of combining percussi<strong>on</strong><br />
and drum set c<strong>on</strong>tinues to evolve.<br />
EDGE: Do you c<strong>on</strong>sider yourself more of a drum<br />
set player or a percussi<strong>on</strong>ist?<br />
OG: I d<strong>on</strong>’t know. I think maybe a percussi<strong>on</strong>ist,<br />
because <strong>on</strong>ce you start to involve<br />
hand percussi<strong>on</strong>, it takes over. I think that<br />
in the future, both things are going to be<br />
combined more often. I think the Internet<br />
has opened a window to the world, and cultures,<br />
ideas, even styles of drumming, will<br />
be shared. Now you can go and see what’s<br />
happening <strong>on</strong> the other side of the world,<br />
and music is developing faster than ever.<br />
New generati<strong>on</strong>s are growing up with so<br />
many choices of music, that it’s really changing<br />
things.<br />
EDGE: You’ve been playing G<strong>on</strong> Bops percussi<strong>on</strong><br />
instruments for a while now. Talk about<br />
your experience with them.<br />
OG: I heard about the c<strong>on</strong>gas through a<br />
friend of mine, but I’d never really played<br />
them before. Now I’ve been playing them<br />
more than a year, and I think the sound and<br />
the t<strong>on</strong>e that you can<br />
get from them is different<br />
from all other drums<br />
out there. I’m using a<br />
California Series quinto,<br />
c<strong>on</strong>ga and tumba in a<br />
Regal Blue. My kick and<br />
snare are matching, and<br />
they look great. I also use<br />
G<strong>on</strong> Bops b<strong>on</strong>gos. They<br />
are very bright and sharp<br />
sounding. The thing that<br />
I really notice is the attenti<strong>on</strong><br />
that the company<br />
pays to its products.<br />
It’s a very special thing,<br />
because every drum is<br />
treated as its own instrument.<br />
I also think the new<br />
DW percussi<strong>on</strong> hardware<br />
“I think that in the<br />
future, both drum<br />
set and hand percussi<strong>on</strong><br />
are going<br />
t o b e c o m b i n e d<br />
more often. Music<br />
is developing faster<br />
than ever. New<br />
generati<strong>on</strong>s are<br />
growing up with<br />
so many choices<br />
of music that it’s<br />
really changing<br />
things.”<br />
> O n t h e R i s e : O m a r G o n g o r i a<br />
works great for people like me, because you<br />
can set everything very easily, and it’s solid.<br />
I use G<strong>on</strong> Bops cowbells too. They have this<br />
new kind of clamp that attaches very easily<br />
and fits all of my other stands. I’ll never go<br />
back to my old bells.<br />
EDGE: Kinky is a blend of so many musical<br />
genres. How do you create your drum parts?<br />
OG: I menti<strong>on</strong>ed I like to work with machines.<br />
I spend a lot of time programming<br />
while we are traveling. I make beats <strong>on</strong><br />
planes, in hotels, <strong>on</strong> the bus and anywhere<br />
I can set up my laptop. Laptops are great<br />
because you can take them anywhere, then<br />
you can layer the other instruments later.<br />
This entire process is without even lifting<br />
a drumstick. After that, I go into the studio<br />
and start recording and combining other<br />
sounds. I never think about a specific drum<br />
part for a s<strong>on</strong>g until the<br />
s<strong>on</strong>g is coming together.<br />
In some s<strong>on</strong>gs I might<br />
not even play at all. In<br />
other s<strong>on</strong>gs, I might<br />
just play a tambourine<br />
or c<strong>on</strong>gas. I respect the<br />
music, and just want to<br />
make the s<strong>on</strong>g work.<br />
The process is very<br />
sp<strong>on</strong>taneous. I am very<br />
influenced by electr<strong>on</strong>ic<br />
music, so I always like<br />
to leave some electr<strong>on</strong>ic<br />
elements in there. For<br />
example, I’ll leave some<br />
parts in there that I had<br />
programmed previously<br />
and let the band play<br />
al<strong>on</strong>g with the parts.<br />
Then, I can add my flavor<br />
over the top.<br />
The live show is incredibly high energy. How do<br />
you get ready for a show? Do you have a particular<br />
warm-up routine?<br />
OG: I definitely have a warm-up routine.<br />
I warm up for 30 to 45 minutes before the<br />
show, playing single strokes, then double<br />
strokes, then triplets and so <strong>on</strong>. I also do<br />
some stretching and warm-up movements<br />
for my legs and arms.<br />
EDGE: What are your major influences?<br />
OG: I listen to lots of different music, from<br />
jazz to electr<strong>on</strong>ica and bey<strong>on</strong>d. With the<br />
band, we are very lucky to have the opportunity<br />
to travel and find new music wherever<br />
we go around the world. We also have<br />
the chance to play in live music festivals<br />
where we can give and receive many musical<br />
influences from different musicians and<br />
fans. These days I’m listening to lots of African<br />
music like Mamady Keita. I really enjoy<br />
the improvisati<strong>on</strong> and the phrasing. My<br />
influences range from Trilok Gurtu to Elvin<br />
J<strong>on</strong>es to Tito Puente, Stewart Copeland, Bill<br />
Bruford and so many of the old Cuban players<br />
like Chano Poso, Changuito and Patato<br />
Valez.<br />
EDGE: What’s in store for Kinky and Omar in<br />
the next year?<br />
OG: We’re releasing a new album this year,<br />
so we’re about to head out <strong>on</strong> tour. The album<br />
is going to be released in the U.S., Canada,<br />
Europe and Latin American countries,<br />
so we’ll be covering all of those places. After<br />
it’s over, we’ll go back home for Christmas<br />
dinner and some tamales. [laughs]<br />
[ E D G E 6 . 0 ] 2 1
When did you start playing 9000 series<br />
pedals?<br />
Stant<strong>on</strong> Moore: I’ve played these pedals<br />
as l<strong>on</strong>g as they’ve been around.<br />
9000 Series Pedals<br />
How’s the feel compared to other pedals<br />
you’ve played?<br />
Stant<strong>on</strong> Moore: The pedal feels super<br />
smooth and sturdy. It feels like it’s not going to<br />
break <strong>on</strong> the gig. It’s the best pedal I’ve played,<br />
and my techs agree.<br />
9002><br />
9000><br />
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to optimize the already incredibly smooth,<br />
gravity-defying acti<strong>on</strong>.<br />
“Smooth, sturdy,<br />
reliable, killer!”<br />
—Stant<strong>on</strong> Moore<br />
<br />
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Road Stories:<br />
Journey’s Deen Castr<strong>on</strong>ovo &<br />
Def Leppard’s Rick Allen<br />
photos by Rob Shanahan<br />
The touring marriage between these two ic<strong>on</strong>ic<br />
rock bands is just that, ic<strong>on</strong>ic.<br />
Def Leppard hails from Sheffield, England and brought the Uni<strong>on</strong><br />
Jack flag to American pop culture with their brand of heavy guitar-laced<br />
anthems. Journey, <strong>on</strong> the other hand, is as American as<br />
apple pie. A Bay Area fixture, Journey was a hit-making machine<br />
for three decades. Together, both bands are making their way<br />
through the summer m<strong>on</strong>ths playing a nostalgic mix of top-ten<br />
hits from a selecti<strong>on</strong> of multi-platinum albums, and fans are packing<br />
arenas and sheds with lighters ablaze.<br />
This was a duo we didn’t want to miss, so we packed our bags<br />
and headed to Las Vegas, where both bands headlined a soldout<br />
Mandalay Bay Event Center. Journey’s high-energy stickman<br />
(and now lead vocalist for three s<strong>on</strong>gs), Deen Castr<strong>on</strong>ovo, and<br />
Def Leppard’s Rick Allen shared a unique experience <strong>on</strong> the tour<br />
that cemented a close b<strong>on</strong>d between the two, but was also a perfect<br />
entrée to our new feature, Road Stories.<br />
[ E D G E 7 . 0 ] 2 5
mile-high milest<strong>on</strong>e (As told by Deen Castr<strong>on</strong>ovo)<br />
Man, do I have a road story. Just happened<br />
<strong>on</strong> this tour, in fact. We were just<br />
at the famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre<br />
in Colorado, and I got a nasty case of altitude<br />
sickness. I wasn’t able to play at<br />
all, period. And they were like, “Are you<br />
going to do this?” And I said, “I can’t, I<br />
can’t play.” I couldn’t even get off the<br />
couch. Jim, my tech, ended up playing<br />
four s<strong>on</strong>gs into the set. Basically, Rick Allen<br />
came up and said, “I’m going to do<br />
something here. I’m going to help you<br />
out here.” He put his hand <strong>on</strong> my head<br />
and he just started calming me down. He<br />
got me to where I could actually stand up.<br />
Then got me to where I could walk up <strong>on</strong><br />
the stage. He walked me all the way up<br />
to my drum riser and helped me through<br />
the whole thing. I didn’t think I was going<br />
to end up playing. I d<strong>on</strong>’t know if<br />
you’ve had altitude sickness, but man, it’s<br />
a scary thing. You really can’t functi<strong>on</strong>. In<br />
the end, I played the set perfectly, which<br />
was great. It really scared the crap out of<br />
me, though. I’ve never been sick like that<br />
in my life and that was pretty frightening.<br />
He’s my brother now. I’d take a bullet for<br />
him.<br />
Deen Castr<strong>on</strong>ovo<br />
[ E D G E 7 . 0 ] 2 7
Rick Allen<br />
Building a<br />
brotherhood<br />
(As told by Rick Allen)<br />
There are so many stories, but not many clean<br />
enough for human c<strong>on</strong>sumpti<strong>on</strong> [laughs]. I<br />
guess the <strong>on</strong>e that’s most fresh was me bringing<br />
Deen back to life in Denver. It was like he was<br />
half way up Everest, you know, but he was really<br />
suffering— worse than I’ve ever seen anybody<br />
from altitude sickness. I actually think it<br />
was the fact that we’d all been at home for two<br />
weeks prior, and it was the first show back. At<br />
6000 feet, just going straight up there and expecting<br />
to play a show, like you’ve never been<br />
away. It really got to him. So 45 minutes before<br />
the show, I went down to see him and just<br />
helped him get back into his breathing again.<br />
He was getting all guilty because he thought he<br />
was letting the band down, and I just had to say,<br />
“Hey, this is something that can’t be helped. Let<br />
go of the wheel you know what I mean?” And<br />
he did. I stayed with him for about half an hour,<br />
came back about 10 minutes later, and he was<br />
standing up. He’s like, “Dude, I’m going <strong>on</strong>, I’m<br />
going <strong>on</strong>.” It was a very special moment. It was<br />
really special for both of us, cause I really felt at<br />
that point that Deen and I c<strong>on</strong>nected. It was like<br />
we were brothers. It was really, really cool. I’m<br />
just very fortunate that I was in that situati<strong>on</strong><br />
where I could help him. It’s a two-way street<br />
when some<strong>on</strong>e’s vulnerable like that. It really<br />
made me look at my own situati<strong>on</strong>, and it gave<br />
me a sense of gratitude.<br />
[ E D G E 7 . 0 ] 2 9
The <strong>Drum</strong>mers of Vegas<br />
L a r r y A b e r m a n • “ Z u m a n i t y ”<br />
J a m i e B o r d e n • “ P h o e n i x ”<br />
T r i s I m b o d e n • C h i c a g o<br />
F r a n c o i s J u t r a s • “ O ”<br />
H e r m a n M at t h e w s • T o m J o n e s<br />
R u s s M c K i n n o n • B a r r y M a n i l o w<br />
E r i c S c r i b n e r • “ K a”<br />
I’ve been here in Las Vegas for three years<br />
playing with the show “Zumanity – Another<br />
Side of Cirque du Soleil” at the New York<br />
New York Hotel and Casino. In those three<br />
short years, I’ve witnessed a lot of change<br />
in this town. New c<strong>on</strong>cert venues are opening<br />
all the time, and with all of the new casinos<br />
come new shows. New houses, c<strong>on</strong>dos,<br />
parks, malls, roads, even music stores<br />
are popping up all over the place. There’s a<br />
reas<strong>on</strong> why some say it’s fast becoming the<br />
entertainment capital of the world.<br />
Because there are more shows than ever<br />
here in Las Vegas, there are also more musicians<br />
here than ever before. In fact, some<br />
of the most recognized drummers around<br />
either live here, or are here for extended periods<br />
of time gigging.<br />
Herman Matthews is in Las Vegas 10<br />
to 12 weeks a year with Tom J<strong>on</strong>es. Russ<br />
McKinn<strong>on</strong> is here 30 weeks this year with<br />
Barry Manilow. Tris Imboden is here about<br />
six weeks with Chicago, and Nigel Olss<strong>on</strong><br />
is with Elt<strong>on</strong> John over at Caesar’s Palace.<br />
François Jutras just finished an eight-year<br />
run with Cirque du Soleil’s incredibly successful<br />
show, “O,” and is staying in town as<br />
a sessi<strong>on</strong> drummer. Eric Scribner with “Legends<br />
in C<strong>on</strong>cert,” a Vegas mainstay, is here<br />
year-round and has been for 22 years, while<br />
Jamie Borden is LV “born and raised.” Jamie<br />
performs at the Rio and is an educator with<br />
several instructi<strong>on</strong>al DVDs to his credit: a<br />
pretty accomplished bunch of guys and a<br />
great support system. After all, drumming<br />
is a brotherhood, and we all tend to stick together.<br />
Needless to say, I spend a lot of time<br />
hanging with my peeps here in LV. No coincidence,<br />
many of them play DW drums.<br />
There really is quite a scene developing.<br />
After reading about Nigel in the last issue<br />
of EDGE magazine, I thought it might<br />
be interesting to talk to the drummers of Las<br />
Story and photos by Larry Aberman<br />
Vegas as <strong>on</strong>e of their own and try to share<br />
some insight into the drumming lifestyle<br />
here and how it’s rapidly evolving. DW<br />
agreed.<br />
I decided the best way to get the input<br />
I was looking for was to hit the street. I<br />
wanted to talk to my drumming compadres<br />
around town to see if they could shed some<br />
light <strong>on</strong> what it’s like to be a working drummer<br />
<strong>on</strong> (and off) the strip.<br />
The first questi<strong>on</strong> was fairly straightforward:<br />
what’s your impressi<strong>on</strong> of Vegas?<br />
Herman remarked, ”Vegas is the place to be.<br />
You can tell just by the growth of the city itself.<br />
You can’t even get a flight in or out <strong>on</strong><br />
the weekends. Seems like when I tell people<br />
I’m going to Vegas, they’re either coming<br />
here or going back.” Tris added, “Vegas has<br />
g<strong>on</strong>e through a metamorphosis. Chicago’s<br />
been playing here regularly for at least 12<br />
years now. In the ‘80s I think most performers<br />
perceived Vegas as the great entertain-<br />
ment b<strong>on</strong>e-yard. The reality<br />
is now everybody plays here.<br />
It used to be, ‘Oh, you’re<br />
playing in a casino?’—like it<br />
had a bad c<strong>on</strong>notati<strong>on</strong>. It’s<br />
not like that anymore at all.<br />
Those days are way over.”<br />
Russ explained, “I started<br />
working in Vegas 20 years<br />
ago. In the ‘80s and early<br />
‘90s, the town was pretty<br />
dead. But when the Cirque<br />
du Soleil shows and the big<br />
name artist c<strong>on</strong>tracts started<br />
rolling in, all of a sudden you<br />
could work with the best musicians<br />
around, make a good<br />
living and sleep in your own<br />
bed every night.”<br />
Immediately I recalled<br />
Vegas entertainment history,<br />
the old Rat Pack days, the<br />
golden era of the ‘60s and<br />
‘70s. Russ had an interesting<br />
take, “Elvis played over 800<br />
shows <strong>on</strong> the stage I play <strong>on</strong><br />
at the Vegas Hilt<strong>on</strong>. The vibe<br />
there is incredible.” Eric’s<br />
been here a while, so he’s<br />
seen it all. He comments,<br />
“I’ve worked in a lot of casinos<br />
that d<strong>on</strong>’t exist anymore.<br />
The Sands, the Dunes, the<br />
Landmark, they’re all g<strong>on</strong>e, imploded. The<br />
original dressing rooms at the Sands were<br />
really cool. There, you could feel the vibe of<br />
the Rat Pack, like it was yesterday.”<br />
Every<strong>on</strong>e can easily agree <strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong>e thing:<br />
the town has been undergoing a renaissance<br />
of sorts for over a decade and shows no<br />
signs of slowing. So<br />
“I think most performers<br />
perceived<br />
Vegas as the great<br />
entertainment<br />
b<strong>on</strong>e-yard. The reality<br />
is now everybody<br />
plays here.”<br />
—Tris Imboden<br />
what does it mean<br />
for drummers and<br />
the drumming community<br />
as a whole?<br />
How has all of this<br />
changed the drumming<br />
landscape<br />
in Vegas? I asked<br />
that, as well. Jamie<br />
replied, “The<br />
scene has definitely<br />
changed. I played<br />
the Las Vegas PAS<br />
[Percussi<strong>on</strong> Arts Society] Day of Percussi<strong>on</strong><br />
this year and <strong>on</strong> the bill were two of<br />
my biggest inspirati<strong>on</strong>s in my career: Raul<br />
Pineda and Danny de los Reyes. So, guys of<br />
this caliber are coming here, not just to play,<br />
but to educate.” Herman added, “I see so<br />
many guys just being in Vegas for a couple<br />
of weeks at a time, be it you, Larry, Charlie<br />
Watts, Charley Drayt<strong>on</strong>, Gene Lake, Zac<br />
Alford, Omar or Sterling<br />
Campbell. They’re all coming<br />
through Vegas with different<br />
bands, and we get to<br />
hang out.” Tris laughed and<br />
commented, “It definitely<br />
wasn’t like that in the early<br />
‘90s. Back then, we would<br />
basically have<br />
Siegfried and<br />
Roy come<br />
by, but that<br />
was about it!<br />
But man, if you sit here l<strong>on</strong>g<br />
enough, you’re g<strong>on</strong>na see<br />
just about everybody, all of<br />
your friends, all of your heroes.<br />
Either they’re playing a<br />
big arena like the MGM Gardens,<br />
Aladdin or a venue like<br />
House of Blues.”<br />
In recent years, I can’t help<br />
but notice the transiti<strong>on</strong> back to entertainment<br />
geared toward adults. The “What happens<br />
in Vegas stays in Vegas” tag line is all<br />
too true these days. But during the ‘90s, the<br />
city took a different approach. Vegas billed<br />
itself as a place to bring the entire family—<br />
not anymore. François explained, “Now the<br />
town is built around adults. There’s not a lot<br />
to do with the kids. They d<strong>on</strong>’t want to see<br />
> T h e d r u m m e r s o f v e g a s<br />
Herman Matthews<br />
Tris Imboden<br />
kids. The theme park at MGM shut down.<br />
Wet and Wild is closed. Treasure Island had<br />
a pirate show outside and now it’s sexy girls.<br />
They just want adults playing and drinking.<br />
They’re the <strong>on</strong>es spending the m<strong>on</strong>ey.” Herman<br />
added, “When I was first coming here,<br />
it was very family-oriented. Now it’s basically<br />
become more like its name, ‘Sin City.’<br />
You can come here and get as nasty as you<br />
wanna be.”<br />
So what does a drummer do in “Sin<br />
City” during his down time? My day usually<br />
goes something like this: between 10<br />
a.m. when I get up, until my artist call at 6<br />
p.m., I’m free to do what I like. I spend a lot<br />
of time in my studio. With the Internet, I’m<br />
able to do a lot of sessi<strong>on</strong> work for people<br />
that live hundreds, even thousands, of miles<br />
from me. I also do a lot of composing. I like<br />
[ E D G E 7 . 0 ] 3 1
T h e d r u m m e r s o f v e g a s<br />
> T h e d r u m m e r s o f v e g a s<br />
to hike in nearby Red Rock Cany<strong>on</strong>; it’s <strong>on</strong>e<br />
of the more beautiful places I’ve seen. After<br />
the show, I might go to a club to see a<br />
band, hang out or go eat. I definitely have<br />
to make sure I get enough sleep! So what<br />
do my counterparts do<br />
in their off-time? When<br />
Jamie’s not playing with<br />
his band, Phoenix, he’s<br />
crazy busy. He noted,<br />
“I just signed to do a<br />
seven-title DVD series.<br />
I have exclusive license<br />
to use 22 Rush tunes for<br />
these upcoming projects.<br />
I’ve been working<br />
closely with Neil Peart<br />
<strong>on</strong> this whole thing and<br />
have his blessing. So basically,<br />
I’m in hardcore<br />
creati<strong>on</strong> mode. I mean,<br />
I’ve got seven DVD<br />
titles to script!” For Tris<br />
and Herman, their visits<br />
to LV are limited to two weeks at a time.<br />
But they do enjoy the break from the c<strong>on</strong>stant<br />
travel that’s inherent in a busy touring<br />
schedule. Tris said, “What’s cool is you get<br />
to actually unpack your suitcase. You get to<br />
hang up your shirts and use the drawers in<br />
the hotel room. I like to get into a routine<br />
here. Get a little breakfast, hit the gym every<br />
day, and hit the pool. It’s nice.” Herman has<br />
a similar experience, “When I get to Vegas, I<br />
settle in. I like to read and catch up with my<br />
website. It’s like a vacati<strong>on</strong>. Also the Tom<br />
J<strong>on</strong>es organizati<strong>on</strong> looks<br />
at Vegas as our<br />
home base. We do<br />
any rehearsing<br />
w e ’ r e<br />
h e r e .<br />
while<br />
“Barry Manilow is<br />
riding an incredible<br />
wave. We recently<br />
performed<br />
<strong>on</strong> American Idol<br />
in L.A. and had to<br />
fly back to Vegas<br />
in Barry’s jet to do<br />
the show here that<br />
night. We’re booked<br />
until 2009.”<br />
—Russ McKinn<strong>on</strong><br />
Also, here I try out new stuff, new gear.”<br />
For Russ lately, things seem to be a bit of<br />
a whirlwind. “Barry Manilow is riding an<br />
incredible wave. We recently performed <strong>on</strong><br />
American Idol in L.A. and had to fly back<br />
to Vegas in Barry’s jet to<br />
do the show here that<br />
night. I’m so glad to be<br />
here. Pretty so<strong>on</strong> we start<br />
recording the follow-up<br />
disc to his number <strong>on</strong>e<br />
music of the ‘50s disc<br />
with a music of the ‘60s<br />
disc. We’re booked until<br />
2009.” On his down time,<br />
Eric likes to spend a lot<br />
of time with his family.<br />
“Music is something that<br />
I do, but I’m also a father<br />
and a husband. Family<br />
always comes first.”<br />
Finally, I couldn’t<br />
let the opportunity go by<br />
without talking about<br />
gear. After all, we’re all DW afici<strong>on</strong>ados.<br />
For “Zumanity,” I use a custom all-Built-In<br />
Bottom drum set. I’d put VLTs in there, but<br />
I’m scared they might shatter the plexi-glass<br />
booth I’m in! I do use VLTs in my studio. The<br />
sound is just amazing! With all the playing<br />
I’m doing, I’m especially grateful for the Air<br />
Lift tractor seat with the backrest. Comfy!<br />
I also love the 9000 pedals something awful.<br />
I’m not al<strong>on</strong>e. Tris enjoys his 9000s and<br />
VLTs. “Well, how do you improve up<strong>on</strong> perfecti<strong>on</strong>?<br />
Yet they manage to do it again and<br />
again. Their 9000 pedals are incredibly silky<br />
smooth. I never thought they could top<br />
the 5000s, but somehow they did. And<br />
with the VLT drums, all I know is<br />
when I first heard them, I couldn’t<br />
believe the low end, and the sustain<br />
was just stupid.” François happily plays<br />
an Edge snare with his Pacific kit. “The shell,<br />
the bearing edge, it’s all quality. I use a 7x12”<br />
Edge snare. I love it—it’s an amazing drum.”<br />
Russ uses Collector’s Series drums that are<br />
Timbre Matched a bit higher than usual.<br />
“When the drums are Timbre Matched low,<br />
I tend to overdrive them. I hit them too hard.<br />
But I want the 16” to have the bottom of an<br />
18”, so we used VLT technology <strong>on</strong> the floor<br />
toms to get that.” Herman says, “If John<br />
Good and D<strong>on</strong> Lombardi say this new thing<br />
is good, I trust them. I just use it. They know<br />
what they’re doing.” Tris went <strong>on</strong> about<br />
DW, “Man if something doesn’t exist, it will<br />
in about five sec<strong>on</strong>ds. They’re so <strong>on</strong> it.”<br />
I can recall an interesting observati<strong>on</strong><br />
about DW drums that came after I played<br />
each <strong>on</strong>e of these guy’s drum sets. Most of us<br />
have a very similar set up—VLT drums with<br />
coated Ambassador heads. I have to say, I<br />
was amazed how each set had its own pers<strong>on</strong>ality.<br />
My c<strong>on</strong>clusi<strong>on</strong> was that DW drums<br />
allow every artist to have their own voice,<br />
their own expressi<strong>on</strong>. The drums d<strong>on</strong>’t tell<br />
me how to sound. Tris also commented <strong>on</strong><br />
the subject, “That’s so true, but it’s all within<br />
the DW color of sound, though. Isn’t that<br />
amazing? The sound is unique, and I definitely<br />
feel part of a special family with DW.<br />
They’re a great company.” Herman closes<br />
with these words of wisdom, “DW drums<br />
and hardware adapt to your pers<strong>on</strong>ality all<br />
the way around. My set-up sounds like me.<br />
So in the end, DW is always true to what<br />
you do.”<br />
So <strong>on</strong> your next trip to Las Vegas, keep<br />
an eye out for the LV drummers. The DW-<br />
Pacific-Vegas c<strong>on</strong>necti<strong>on</strong> is growing as fast<br />
as Vegas itself; you’ll hear us in the shows,<br />
arenas, clubs, by the pool, everywhere you<br />
go in the real “city that never sleeps.” One<br />
day, you might even join the club.<br />
François Jutras<br />
Larry Aberman<br />
Eric Scribner<br />
Jamie Borden<br />
Russ McKinn<strong>on</strong><br />
[ E D G E 7 . 0 ] 3 3
LIVE!<br />
Y e l l o w c a r d<br />
L o n g i n e u Pa r s o n s I I I<br />
photos by Hadas<br />
W i t h t h e f o l l o w- u p t o t h e i r p l at i n u m - s e l l i n g d e b u t,<br />
o c e a n av e n u e , L P a n d t h e b o y s i n y e l l o w c a r d h av e<br />
h i t t h e r o a d o n c e a g a i n t o s u p p o r t t h e i r s o p h o m o r e<br />
r e l e a s e , l i g h t s a n d s o u n d s . t h e b a n d i s n o t o n l y<br />
s e l l i n g r e c o r d s , t h e y ’ r e s e l l i n g o u t<br />
l i v e v e n u e s a s t h e y c e m e n t t h e i r<br />
r e p u tat i o n a s o n e o f t h e m o s t h i g h -<br />
e n e r g y b a n d s a r o u n d . t o s e e m o r e<br />
e x c l u s i v e p h o t o s o f l p a n d y e l l o w c a r d<br />
i n a c t i o n , c h e c k o u t t h e “ B a c k s ta g e<br />
Pa s s ” l i n k @ w w w. d w d r u m s . c o m .<br />
[ E D G E 7 . 0 ] 3 5
DW <strong>Drum</strong> News<br />
N e w p r o d u c t s a n d i n n o vat i o n s<br />
D W E x o t i c s g e t<br />
v e r t i c a l<br />
G r o u n d b r e a k i n g n e w g r a i n -<br />
m at c h i n g p r o c e s s m a k e s i t a l l<br />
p o s s i b l e<br />
The latest Exotic offering from DW is a<br />
new way of looking at rare wood finishes,<br />
literally. The idea was born<br />
from the desire to use exotic woods<br />
that were just not large enough to<br />
wrap larger drums such as bass<br />
drums and floor toms. “The issue has always<br />
been the seams,” comments Executive Vice<br />
President and <strong>Drum</strong> Designer, John Good.<br />
He adds, “We knew if we could just find a<br />
way to artistically book-match the vertical<br />
seams, we would be able to create our own<br />
versi<strong>on</strong> of what Mother Nature might have<br />
intended.” In 2005, after much experimenting<br />
in DW’s own custom shell shop, the<br />
process was perfected. The drums were officially<br />
launched at the winter NAMM show<br />
and have been the talk of many trade shows<br />
since their release early this year.<br />
The new Collector’s Series ® Vertical<br />
Grain Exotics drums are available in five<br />
distinct Exotics, including: Cocobolo, Koa,<br />
Macassar Eb<strong>on</strong>y, Movingue and Red Gum.<br />
Each can be customized by combining it<br />
Collector’s Series ® Maple <strong>Drum</strong>s with Natural Lacquer<br />
finish over Red Gum Vertical Grain Exotic<br />
with any of DW’s virtually limitless array of<br />
lacquer color choices. Then pick from any of<br />
four drum hardware colors to create a completely<br />
pers<strong>on</strong>al look. The Exotic finishes are<br />
added to either DW maple or birch shells<br />
to ensure the s<strong>on</strong>ic clarity and c<strong>on</strong>sistency<br />
DW is famous for providing. All Collector’s<br />
Series drums are crafted utilizing DW’s exclusive<br />
Timbre-Matching ® process and include<br />
the unique True-Pitch ® tuning system,<br />
S.T.M. ® (Suspensi<strong>on</strong> Tom Mounts), Built-in<br />
Bottom with VLT technology and a<br />
choice of DW Coated Clear or Clear Edge<br />
drumheads by Remo USA.<br />
“With Vertical Grain Exotics, we’ve<br />
found a way to take what nature has already<br />
made beautiful and turn it into a work of<br />
art,” Good says.<br />
The new 9000 Series rack system<br />
easily complements any set-up.<br />
N e w D W R a c k<br />
s y s t e m r a i s e s<br />
t h e b a r<br />
T o u r i n g d r u m m e r s w i l l<br />
a p p r e c i at e t h e f e at u r e - pa c k e d<br />
9 0 0 0 r a c k<br />
Over the years, <strong>Drum</strong> <strong>Workshop</strong> hardware<br />
has become syn<strong>on</strong>ymous with professi<strong>on</strong>al<br />
quality, reliability and heavy-duty roadproven<br />
performance, but if drummers preferred<br />
a rack system, they would have to<br />
look elsewhere. That is, until now. This<br />
year DW unveiled its new 9000 rack system<br />
and gained immediate praise from those<br />
drummers who had always wanted a more<br />
thought-out, drummer-friendly design.<br />
The 9000 rack features heavy-duty<br />
stainless steel tubing, matching hinged rack<br />
clamps and a wide variety of accessories<br />
to accommodate virtually any set-up. DW<br />
Founder and R&D Specialist D<strong>on</strong> Lombardi<br />
explains, “We wanted to utilize a tubular<br />
system that drummers were used to seeing,<br />
but we also wanted to add a few bells and<br />
whistles to make their life easier.” Some of<br />
the “bells and whistles” Lombardi refers to<br />
include a nameplate with a cleverly integrated<br />
level for accurate set-up, and rubber<br />
feet with integrated spikes to eliminate<br />
creep <strong>on</strong> carpeted surfaces. “We knew what<br />
drummers would expect from DW, and we<br />
wanted to come to the table with some innovative<br />
ideas that wouldn’t disappoint,”<br />
Lombardi explains.<br />
DW 9000 rack systems are available<br />
anywhere DW hardware is sold,<br />
and a full selecti<strong>on</strong> of rack parts and<br />
accessories can be found <strong>on</strong>line at<br />
www.dwdrums.com.<br />
h o t n e w<br />
g l a s s<br />
f i n i s h p l y <br />
c o l o r s m a k e<br />
t h e c u t<br />
D W a d d s s e v e r a l n e w G l a s s<br />
f i n i s h e s a f t e r t h e r u n away<br />
s u c c e s s o f “ B r o k e n G l a s s ”<br />
When Executive Vice President and<br />
<strong>Drum</strong> Designer John Good launched<br />
Broken Glass in early 2004, he had<br />
no idea how wildly popular the finish<br />
would become. More than two<br />
> D r u m N e w s<br />
years and hundreds of Broken Glass kits<br />
later, Good reflects, “We received the sample<br />
and immediately thought it outshined the<br />
sparkle finishes we all grew up loving. But<br />
we had no idea it would become the new<br />
standard.” He c<strong>on</strong>tinues, “If an artist wants<br />
something showy for stage, the first thing<br />
we’ll suggest is glass because when the light<br />
hits it, it puts <strong>on</strong> a show all its own.”<br />
Available in Blue, Champagne, Green,<br />
Gold, Ruby, Super Tangerine and the original<br />
that started it all, Broken Glass, each<br />
glass laminate is applied to the shell using<br />
DW’s proprietary manufacturing process<br />
that b<strong>on</strong>ds the entire surface of the material<br />
to the shell. In additi<strong>on</strong>, overlap seams are<br />
employed to ensure that drumheads always<br />
seat firmly against the bearing edge surface.<br />
The result, Good says, is a drum that looks<br />
as good as it sounds.<br />
Like all Collector’s Series drums, the<br />
new Glass FinishPly colors can be ordered<br />
in combinati<strong>on</strong> with any shell c<strong>on</strong>figurati<strong>on</strong><br />
or drum hardware color opti<strong>on</strong>. The Glass<br />
finishes are also integrated into DW’s <strong>on</strong>line<br />
Kitbuilder ® kit c<strong>on</strong>figurator that can be<br />
found at www.dwdrums.com/kitbuilder.<br />
Above: Gold Glass<br />
Cocobolo<br />
Koa<br />
Macassar Eb<strong>on</strong>y<br />
Movingue<br />
Red Gum<br />
Blue Glass<br />
Broken Glass<br />
Champagne Glass<br />
Green Glass<br />
Ruby Glass<br />
Super Tangerine Glass<br />
[ E D G E 7 . 0 ] 3 7
D W ’ s L at e s t<br />
h at t r i c k i s a<br />
w i n n e r<br />
9 5 5 0 a n d 9 5 7 7 s p e c i a l t y H i -<br />
H at s R e p r e s e n t t h e L at e s t i n<br />
H a r d wa r e T e c h n o l o g y<br />
The 9550 Universal Remote Hi-Hat uses<br />
DW’s famous universal linkage assembly<br />
to increase resp<strong>on</strong>se and virtually eliminate<br />
the drag associated with many cable remote<br />
hi-hat systems. The smooth, effortless feel of<br />
the 9550 makes it a perfect candidate for a<br />
primary offset hi-hat or for a same-side remote.<br />
All of the heavy-duty features associated<br />
with the 9000 Series line of hardware,<br />
like heavy-gauge steel tubing, integrated<br />
vise memory lock and lateral cymbal seat adjustment,<br />
all come standard. The 9550 comes<br />
complete with auxiliary pedal, DWSMMG1<br />
and DWSMMG2 mounting clamps and universal<br />
linkage with tow extensi<strong>on</strong> opti<strong>on</strong>s.<br />
With the 9577 hi-hat accessory, drummers<br />
can add a unique tandem hi-hat to<br />
their bag of tricks. The 9577 is an upper hihat<br />
attachment that fits any DW hi-hat stand<br />
that accommodates a 1” tube. It allows two<br />
sets of hats to be c<strong>on</strong>trolled from the same<br />
stand. DW Founder and R&D Specialist<br />
D<strong>on</strong> Lombardi comments, “It’s perfect for<br />
drummers who want to add a smaller set<br />
of hi-hat or effect cymbals, but d<strong>on</strong>’t want<br />
to deal with a massive amount of hardware<br />
to pull it off. Plus, you can play patterns by<br />
alternating between the two sets of cymbals.<br />
It really is a revoluti<strong>on</strong>ary way to approach<br />
playing hi-hats.”<br />
Collector’s Series ® Bamboo Snare<br />
E a s t m e e t s W e s t<br />
C o l l e c t o r ’ s S e r i e s B a m b o o<br />
S n a r e c o m b i n e s t h e wa r m t h<br />
o f w o o d w i t h a b r i g h t c r a c k<br />
u s u a l l y a s s o c i at e d w i t h m e ta l<br />
s n a r e d r u m s<br />
DW has l<strong>on</strong>g been known for its wide variety<br />
of metal and wood snare drum shell<br />
opti<strong>on</strong>s, so what could offer something so<br />
unique as to get the attenti<strong>on</strong> of Executive<br />
Vice President and <strong>Drum</strong> Designer John<br />
Good? “We had toyed with so many shell<br />
ideas in the past and felt like there was really<br />
nothing new out there that we hadn’t seen.<br />
That, and the snare drum is an interesting<br />
instrument. Its t<strong>on</strong>al qualities are different<br />
than every other drum <strong>on</strong> the kit, yet it’s the<br />
s<strong>on</strong>ic signature for every drummer. In a nutshell,<br />
it has to sound like a good snare drum<br />
should sound,” Good explains.<br />
The new Bamboo Collector’s Series<br />
snare comes in 5x13” and 5x14”, and is crafted<br />
using horiz<strong>on</strong>tal bamboo stave c<strong>on</strong>structi<strong>on</strong>.<br />
The drum has no reinforcement hoops<br />
for added projecti<strong>on</strong> and DW’s 45-degree<br />
bearing edge for res<strong>on</strong>ance and attack. The<br />
drum also features DW crimped Coated<br />
heads by Remo USA and DW’s Delta ballbearing<br />
throw-off. The drum also can be<br />
customized in any available finish to match<br />
any new or existing drum kit.<br />
“This drum has surprised some of our<br />
most discerning artists. I think they’re so<br />
familiar with the sound of brass and maple<br />
that they are skeptical about anything that<br />
might replace their favorite drum. With<br />
bamboo, we might have found a new favorite,”<br />
Good c<strong>on</strong>cludes.<br />
9550 Universal Linkage<br />
Remote Hi-Hat<br />
> D r u m N e w s<br />
9577 Tandem Hi-Hat
One of the most enduring and prolific artists in music history has just<br />
hit the road for another sold-out world tour. Make no mistake, being<br />
knighted by the Queen of Pop is an h<strong>on</strong>or reserved for <strong>on</strong>ly a few<br />
elite drummers. Mad<strong>on</strong>na’s Steve Sidelnyk has held the drum now for<br />
quite some time, and when we asked him to document life <strong>on</strong> the road<br />
with the Material Girl, he jumped at the chance. Private jets, five-star<br />
hotels and thr<strong>on</strong>gs of adoring fans... tough gig, Steve!<br />
To see more of your favorite artists backstage, check out<br />
www.dwdrums.com/artists<br />
[ E D G E 7 . 0 ] 4 1
One of the most enduring and prolific artists in music history has just<br />
hit the road for another sold-out world tour. Make no mistake, being<br />
knighted by the Queen of Pop is an h<strong>on</strong>or reserved for <strong>on</strong>ly a few<br />
elite drummers. Mad<strong>on</strong>na’s Steve Sidelnyk has held the drum now for<br />
quite some time, and when we asked him to document life <strong>on</strong> the road<br />
with the Material Girl, he jumped at the chance. Private jets, five-star<br />
hotels and thr<strong>on</strong>gs of adoring fans... tough gig, Steve!<br />
To see more of your favorite artists backstage, check out<br />
www.dwdrums.com/artists<br />
[ E D G E 7 . 0 ] 4 1
DW <strong>Drum</strong> Clinic<br />
G r o o v e E s s e n t i a l s<br />
B y T o m m y I g o e<br />
A r e y o u r e a d y t o g e t y o u r g r o o v e o n ? G o o d , b e c a u s e n o<br />
m at t e r w h at k i n d o f m u s i c y o u p l ay, w h e t h e r i t ’ s s i m p l e o r c o m p l e x ,<br />
i t h a s t o b e i n t h e g r o o v e .<br />
The word “groove”<br />
doesn’t simply mean<br />
it’s perfectly in<br />
time—if it did, drum<br />
machines and computers<br />
would have<br />
the best grooves in<br />
the universe, and<br />
we know that’s not<br />
the case. Rather,<br />
Tommy Igoe<br />
“groove” means how<br />
you play the time. A little <strong>on</strong> top, a little bit<br />
behind, intenti<strong>on</strong>ally phrasing in fr<strong>on</strong>t of<br />
the bass or behind the guitar, or perhaps<br />
right down the center to let other instruments<br />
play in fr<strong>on</strong>t or behind. These are just<br />
some of the possibilities when you have full<br />
command of your groove.<br />
Every drummer has different tendencies.<br />
A few comm<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong>es, for example, are<br />
to simply rush or drag, play faster when<br />
you get louder, slower when softer, speed<br />
up coming out of a fill, slow down when<br />
switching grooves and a thousand more. We<br />
all have some of these tendencies and the<br />
so<strong>on</strong>er you discover what your tendencies<br />
are, the so<strong>on</strong>er you can eliminate them from<br />
your groove, because they truly are groove<br />
destroyers. While great grooves are often<br />
organic and very human, sloppy playing<br />
will ruin any hope of getting a deep pocket.<br />
My “Groove Essentials” series is designed<br />
for all players, of all skill levels, to discover<br />
those tendencies and take the acti<strong>on</strong> needed<br />
to c<strong>on</strong>quer anything standing between you<br />
and your groove, and expand your groove<br />
vocabulary. We’re going to look at a basic<br />
groove, a few variati<strong>on</strong>s for each groove<br />
and, best of all, a chart and play-al<strong>on</strong>g track<br />
for you to explore. Let’s get to work...<br />
The groove essentials universe is broken<br />
into five families that all grooves can fit<br />
in: rock, funk, jazz, world and, the groove<br />
we’ll discuss here is from the hip-hop/R&B<br />
family. It is the 15th groove of the 47 explored<br />
in “Groove Essentials.” Let’s take a<br />
look. (See Fig. 1)<br />
Can you see the “c<strong>on</strong>nective tissue” of<br />
this groove? Before I tell you where it is, try<br />
to visualize it yourself. See it? This groove is<br />
an example of a more “open” c<strong>on</strong>structi<strong>on</strong>,<br />
where multiple limbs work together to form<br />
the c<strong>on</strong>nective tissue that binds it together.<br />
The eighth-notes in this groove are formed<br />
by the ride cymbal and hi-hat working together<br />
<strong>on</strong> the downbeats and upbeats to<br />
form a c<strong>on</strong>tinuous line of eighths. Coordinati<strong>on</strong><br />
is naturally an issue with this groove<br />
and should be approached with cauti<strong>on</strong>.<br />
Take it slow and steady, practicing with a<br />
metr<strong>on</strong>ome at all times while learning the<br />
coordinati<strong>on</strong>.<br />
As with all grooves, what counts is how<br />
you play it. To give this groove a hip-hop<br />
flair, try giving it a little bit of a swing. All<br />
the sixteenths need to sit back in the pocket<br />
a little bit to give a rounder feel that is <strong>on</strong>e<br />
of the hip-hop genre’s calling cards. You can<br />
play this groove straight, too, of course, and<br />
it works great like that, too.<br />
For you budding sessi<strong>on</strong> players out<br />
there, in terms of authenticity, this groove is<br />
definitely too “wet” to use <strong>on</strong> a hip-hop recording.<br />
One thing that most R&B and hiphop<br />
producers insist <strong>on</strong> is a very dry drum<br />
track. So, the ride cymbal part you see here<br />
would have to go. You can just move the<br />
right hand to something that doesn’t ring so<br />
much or do what I did <strong>on</strong> a sessi<strong>on</strong>, throw<br />
some tape <strong>on</strong> your ride cymbal so it barely<br />
rings. The artist loved it! Then again, I saw<br />
?uestlove last week, and he was playing his<br />
ride the entire time, and it sounded great,<br />
so maybe things are changing yet again. The<br />
moral of the story: be open to any possibilities.<br />
It’s variati<strong>on</strong> time <strong>on</strong>ce again. Let’s take<br />
a look at what kind of trouble we can get<br />
ourselves into by creating two variati<strong>on</strong>s<br />
of the main groove. These variati<strong>on</strong>s are<br />
related to the main groove but skewed just<br />
enough to make a powerful difference. First<br />
up: Variati<strong>on</strong> A. (See Var. A)<br />
Looks pretty easy, right? Well, as usual,<br />
looks can be deceiving. This uses <strong>on</strong>e of my<br />
favorite hi-hat techniques: using the open<br />
hi-hat sound <strong>on</strong> the downbeat (instead of<br />
the upbeat, which is more comm<strong>on</strong>). The<br />
open hi-hat must be a perfect eighth-note<br />
in length, no shorter, no l<strong>on</strong>ger. Why? Good<br />
F i g . 1<br />
Va r . A<br />
Va r . B<br />
C h a r t<br />
questi<strong>on</strong>. It’s because the length of the<br />
open hat sound is the c<strong>on</strong>sistent “glue”<br />
that holds this variati<strong>on</strong> together. Any<br />
shorter or l<strong>on</strong>ger than a perfect eighthnote<br />
and it will start to clash the snare/<br />
bass drum interplay going <strong>on</strong> underneath.<br />
It is so easy to play this groove<br />
badly, so be careful.<br />
(See Var. B)<br />
Here’s a different approach to this<br />
feel that I recommend you play at letter A<br />
<strong>on</strong> the upcoming chart. As far as the c<strong>on</strong>nective<br />
tissue, we have the eighth-notes<br />
being played by the foot <strong>on</strong> the hi-hat and<br />
>DW <strong>Drum</strong> Clinic<br />
E x e r c i s e s<br />
the upbeats <strong>on</strong> the ride cymbal. Please,<br />
please, please, d<strong>on</strong>’t flam! Unintended<br />
flams are groove killers. They create clutter<br />
and c<strong>on</strong>fuse the ear of the listener. To<br />
be sure, you must record yourself and listen<br />
back with a critical ear to see if your<br />
groove is as accurate as you want it to<br />
be.<br />
K E Y<br />
And finally, the chart (see chart).<br />
Whoa, there’s a lot going <strong>on</strong> here, wouldn’t<br />
you say? D<strong>on</strong>’t worry if you can’t read, just listen<br />
to the s<strong>on</strong>g a few times first. For advanced players,<br />
you’ll notice letter A is repeated the last time<br />
through the form. I’ve c<strong>on</strong>structed the arrangement<br />
this way so you have some solo space to explore.<br />
Perhaps “fill” space may be a better word<br />
here, since the s<strong>on</strong>g doesn’t stop and there are little<br />
accents from the other musicians popping around<br />
you as you make your c<strong>on</strong>tributi<strong>on</strong> at letter A. It’ll<br />
be obvious when you get to this point in the chart<br />
that there is a lot more space, so musically fill it up<br />
a bit and take charge. Too bad the chart doesn’t tell<br />
you all that stuff, right? Ah, yes, the joys of chart<br />
reading; get used to it.<br />
The fun of this chart is taking a hip-hop inspired<br />
groove and then throwing it into a decidedly<br />
un-hip-hop musical situati<strong>on</strong>! I’m a firm believer<br />
that all music cross-pollinates and doesn’t<br />
live in a vacuum; we all borrow from, and influence,<br />
each other. This is <strong>on</strong>e of my favorite tracks<br />
in “Groove Essentials” and I hope you have a ball<br />
with it. Go to tommyigoe.com and download the<br />
MP3 file “groove 15-FAST.”<br />
I’ll leave you with <strong>on</strong>e thing to think about<br />
as you head down to the practice room: you are<br />
never as accurate as you think you are when playing<br />
in real time. You must record yourself playing<br />
with these s<strong>on</strong>gs and then listen back with a<br />
critical ear to truly judge your performance and<br />
groove c<strong>on</strong>tributi<strong>on</strong>. Record yourself with the latest<br />
computer gizmo or a cheapo vintage cassette,<br />
doesn’t matter, just record yourself somehow,<br />
some way. When you do, you’ll hear things you<br />
never thought were happening as you were actually<br />
playing, and you’ll be in a great positi<strong>on</strong> to<br />
fix them and c<strong>on</strong>centrate <strong>on</strong> the stuff that’s really<br />
important: the music.<br />
Tommy Igoe is the leader of New York’s Friday<br />
Night Big Band at the famous Birdland Jazz Club. He<br />
is the principal drummer, assistant c<strong>on</strong>ductor and creator<br />
of the drum set book for the “Li<strong>on</strong> King” <strong>on</strong> Broadway<br />
and is the author of the “Groove Essentials” series<br />
of products published by Huds<strong>on</strong> Music. More info <strong>on</strong><br />
Tommy can be found at Tommyigoe.com.<br />
For more “Groove Essentials,” visit<br />
www.dwdrums.com/eddept<br />
[ E D G E 6 . 0 ] 4 5
BJ: Yeah, like <strong>on</strong> this new Sebastian Bach<br />
CD, there’s a few ballads. I mean, unless you<br />
can really competently play a ballad, you’re<br />
in trouble. It’s something that you can learn,<br />
just listening to records and learning feel,<br />
not the technical side, but the feel. I mean<br />
you really have to feel that music in order to<br />
play like that. You have to be in those situmetal<br />
Bobby Jarzombek<br />
Hammer<br />
He’s the thinking man’s metal drummer, backing metal<br />
gods like Rob Halford and Sebastian Bach. this chopsinspired<br />
speed dem<strong>on</strong> pulls out all of the tricks, while<br />
years of experience have taught him to still lay it down<br />
like a metal hammer.<br />
EDGE: You’re new to DW. What made you decide<br />
to switch?<br />
Bobby Jarzombek: Well, I’ve always been<br />
intrigued with drums and the innovative<br />
stuff that’s been coming out of DW. I’ve also<br />
noticed that a lot of guys have been heading<br />
over to DW, and I’ve been w<strong>on</strong>dering<br />
why. In looking a little further and checking<br />
out some of the products, I thought that everything<br />
was cool, and the finest drums for<br />
sure. I was a little bit dissatisfied with my<br />
former company, and that’s what led to me<br />
checking things out. So I went out to Oxnard<br />
and checked out the whole factory and the<br />
making of the drums. I was definitely sold<br />
<strong>on</strong> it, you know, when I saw everything going<br />
down. I saw the entire operati<strong>on</strong> at work,<br />
with everybody involved all the way from<br />
the guys in the paint area with the masks<br />
over their faces to D<strong>on</strong> Lombardi at the top.<br />
I was just impressed with the whole operati<strong>on</strong>,<br />
so I had to make the change.<br />
EDGE: So as a hard rock/metal drummer, you<br />
have to have some pretty serious stamina obviously<br />
to make it through a show. Talk a little bit<br />
about how you stay in shape and your practice<br />
routine.<br />
BJ: Well, I think it’s important to always to<br />
be in shape to play metal drums. I mean, obviously<br />
when I go into a rehearsal situati<strong>on</strong>,<br />
I make sure I know the s<strong>on</strong>gs really well. I<br />
run through the set <strong>on</strong> my own, just with<br />
a click track, multiple times <strong>on</strong> each s<strong>on</strong>g.<br />
Then, I’ll do the whole set again and again,<br />
just keeping up double bass chops, keeping<br />
up speed chops. So when you’re doing<br />
a 45-minute show, it’s like a breeze. The idea<br />
is to be relaxed up there, but intense. So I<br />
just make sure that I’m in shape to play the<br />
shows.<br />
EDGE: Do you also have a workout routine that<br />
involves physical training or cardio?<br />
BJ: I used to run years ago. For like two<br />
years, I would run steadily about three or<br />
four times a week, you know, a few miles at<br />
a time. I did that <strong>on</strong> and off for many years.<br />
And I think it was right around the Rob Halford<br />
(lead singer for Judas Priest) “Crucible”<br />
time in 2002. We were doing rehearsals and<br />
pre-producti<strong>on</strong>, then were in the studio for<br />
a l<strong>on</strong>g time. That was such an intense time,<br />
and right around that time I quit running, I<br />
never went back to it. Maybe it’s not a good<br />
thing that I never did, but I still try to stay in<br />
the same frame of mind as if I was running<br />
a few times a week, just with my practice<br />
routines.<br />
EDGE: Do you have certain rudiments or foot<br />
exercises you focus <strong>on</strong> when you practice?<br />
BJ: I work <strong>on</strong> what I call “c<strong>on</strong>cepts,” where I<br />
have particular patterns that tend to evolve<br />
and become more complex patterns. You<br />
can take it as far as your ability and your<br />
drumming vocabulary allows. I have these<br />
c<strong>on</strong>cepts that I work <strong>on</strong>, and they’re intense.<br />
It might be a hand exercise or a foot exercise,<br />
but if you work <strong>on</strong> it diligently in the<br />
rehearsal room for three or four hours a<br />
day, then you’re going to get a pretty good<br />
workout. These c<strong>on</strong>cepts are not anything<br />
specific, just something that I happen to<br />
stumble up<strong>on</strong>, or something that I think is<br />
a cool exercise or rudiment. Sometimes it’s<br />
a stamina kind of thing or a polyrhythmic<br />
thing; it always changes.<br />
EDGE: What other styles of music have you<br />
studied, and what other types of music have influenced<br />
your playing?<br />
BJ: Oh, you’re going to open up a can of<br />
photos by Matthew Fried<br />
worms if I go there. I grew up playing in<br />
South Texas, where I’m from, San Ant<strong>on</strong>io,<br />
and if you want to make a living in that area<br />
of the country, then you have to know a lot<br />
of different styles. Obviously I grew up with<br />
a lot of heavy metal drumming and heavy<br />
metal drummers. I’m a fan of drumming,<br />
and being a working musician, I learned to<br />
play a variety of styles. There was a lot of<br />
country music and there was Tejano music,<br />
for example. I’ve d<strong>on</strong>e CDs and live shows<br />
for years and years doing country music and<br />
Tejano music. I’m a hell of a country drummer,<br />
too, by the way. I d<strong>on</strong>’t know if you<br />
knew that. I’ve d<strong>on</strong>e quite a bit of that kind<br />
of stuff. But it’s kind of a weird mixture because<br />
it’s country music mixed with heavy<br />
metal music. I was part of the regular “A”<br />
team of studio players down in San Ant<strong>on</strong>io,<br />
which isn’t saying a whole lot when you<br />
c<strong>on</strong>sider where San Ant<strong>on</strong>io is <strong>on</strong> the musical<br />
map, but it was still cool. I’d also play<br />
a lot of classic rock, whatever San Ant<strong>on</strong>io<br />
allowed me to do in order to make a living.<br />
I really stayed true to my heavy metal roots,<br />
though. That’s where my passi<strong>on</strong> comes<br />
from when it comes to drumming, and that’s<br />
what I grew up listening to. Even then, I go<br />
through days where I listen to nothing but<br />
Cuban stuff, or bebop ‘50s jazz, like older<br />
Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra. I owned<br />
a lot of that stuff.<br />
EDGE: So do you feel that any of those styles of<br />
music influence your rock playing?<br />
[ E D G E 7 . 0 ] 4 7
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I d<strong>on</strong>’t know if there’s a dream gig. I’ve always<br />
been a side man and never really been a band<br />
member, so that would be a dream for me: To be<br />
an equal partner in a successful band.<br />
ati<strong>on</strong>s where you’re able to play that music<br />
and express yourself within that music. I<br />
think that playing different styles of music<br />
has really helped my timing and c<strong>on</strong>trol. If<br />
you’re just a metal drummer, you’re just going<br />
to play the same fills that everybody else<br />
has played in that particular genre. And if<br />
you think about the guys who are well educated<br />
in metal drumming and rock drumming,<br />
they pulled from so many different<br />
genres of drumming.<br />
EDGE: What was the last tour you were <strong>on</strong>?<br />
BJ: Lately I’m back and forth with Sebastian<br />
Bach. At the moment, we’re not <strong>on</strong> the road<br />
steadily, but we’ve been doing a t<strong>on</strong> of flyins.<br />
We just came off doing some dates with<br />
Guns ‘n’ Roses, and we were in Japan playing<br />
with KISS, Alice in Chains, Godsmack,<br />
Steve Vai and a whole bunch of bands. It<br />
was awesome! We just did some headlining<br />
shows in Europe, too. I’m back for a little<br />
break, and then we’ll go back out do some<br />
more stuff, then who knows?<br />
EDGE: Do you have a tech that you normally<br />
work with <strong>on</strong> the road?<br />
BJ: There’s been a few different guys over<br />
the years. When I was with Halford, we<br />
went through a few different guys. Sadly,<br />
<strong>on</strong>e of the guys, Clint Leteiur, died about a<br />
year ago. He was teching for us for a couple<br />
of years, and he’d also worked with a lot of<br />
different people like Racer X and Godsmack.<br />
For a little while I was using Jose Baracio<br />
who was the tech for Mike Portnoy, and he’s<br />
<strong>on</strong> the road with Joe Satriani. Lately with<br />
Sebastian, we’ve been doing so many flyins<br />
that the promoter will provide a guy to<br />
kind of help me. It’s hard to use a tech when<br />
you do fly-ins because they d<strong>on</strong>’t know the<br />
set-up and how you want everything set. If<br />
I’m there, and there’s a guy that speaks English<br />
in whatever country I’m in, and he can<br />
just hand me stuff, I’m cool. So that seems<br />
to be the way we’re doing it lately, until we<br />
get steady dates where we’re <strong>on</strong> a tour with<br />
routing, then we’ll hook that up. But yeah,<br />
if there are any of you guys out there that<br />
want to tech for me, give me a call.<br />
EDGE: What do you think your dream gig would<br />
be? I know that’s kind of a loaded, questi<strong>on</strong> but<br />
let me rephrase that—are there any artists that<br />
you haven’t worked with that you think might be<br />
fun to work with in the future?<br />
BJ: When I was growing up, I was really into<br />
Zappa. I was hoping that <strong>on</strong>e day I would<br />
play with Zappa, but obviously, that’s never<br />
going to happen. I d<strong>on</strong>’t know if there’s a<br />
dream gig. I’ve always been a side man and<br />
never really been a band member, so that<br />
would be a dream for me: to be an equal<br />
partner in a successful band. Tool is a great<br />
band. Opeth is a great band. I really like<br />
the fact that those guys are heavy, and they<br />
play heavy music, but their s<strong>on</strong>gs are great<br />
s<strong>on</strong>gs.<br />
EDGE: We talked a little bit earlier about other<br />
styles of music, and you menti<strong>on</strong>ed some artists,<br />
but are there any rock or metal drummers<br />
who influenced you when you were learning the<br />
ropes?<br />
BJ: I guess my biggest influence when I<br />
started playing was Neil Peart. He’s still a<br />
great drummer. If you ever have any doubts<br />
about Neil, just because of the way drumming<br />
has evolved, you know, there are guys<br />
out there that are doing really crazy polyrhythmic<br />
four-way coordinati<strong>on</strong> things, but<br />
if you go back to the Rush records and really<br />
try to listen to the parts that were played<br />
and learn the parts, you’ll realize how musical<br />
his drumming is. I loved Sim<strong>on</strong> Phillips<br />
and his whole approach to the drum<br />
kit. I’m still playing the whole left-handed<br />
thing, partly because Sim<strong>on</strong> Phillips plays<br />
open-handed. Terry Bozzio, the stuff he did<br />
with UK, Zappa, Missing Pers<strong>on</strong>s, that was<br />
really big for me early <strong>on</strong>. Then later <strong>on</strong>,<br />
Deen Castr<strong>on</strong>ovo, just his fire and the way<br />
he played, the power in his drumming was<br />
totally amazing. Deen, I guess, was probably<br />
the <strong>on</strong>ly player I ever heard <strong>on</strong> a record<br />
and 30 sec<strong>on</strong>ds later was like, “Who is this?<br />
This is the most amazing drummer I’ve ever<br />
heard.” You know? I listen to a lot of guys<br />
like Thomas Lang, Marco Minnemann and<br />
Virgil D<strong>on</strong>ati for ideas as well. These guys<br />
do crazy things with a drum set.<br />
EDGE: You just menti<strong>on</strong>ed Sim<strong>on</strong> Phillips and<br />
having the ride cymbal over <strong>on</strong> the left side. Can<br />
you talk about that a little bit? Also, talk about<br />
the cymbal behind you, because that’s kind of an<br />
unusual thing, too.<br />
BJ: Well, the left-handed thing, I speak about<br />
it briefly <strong>on</strong> my DVD. It just kind of evolved.<br />
I guess it came about in the early ‘90s. For<br />
a few years, I played a c<strong>on</strong>venti<strong>on</strong>al, right<br />
hand <strong>on</strong> the hi-hat crossover. I was playing a<br />
few patterns, <strong>on</strong>e of these c<strong>on</strong>cepts that I was<br />
working <strong>on</strong>, and I was trying to get my right<br />
hand to move around the toms and my left<br />
hand was stuck underneath my right hand.<br />
It was becoming difficult, so I pulled the left<br />
hand and said, “Well, maybe I can put the left<br />
hand <strong>on</strong> the hi-hat and the right hand <strong>on</strong> the<br />
toms.” You know, try it open-handed. Needless<br />
to say, I ended up getting the pattern<br />
that way. I thought, “Man, you know I’ve<br />
always wanted to do this switch-over thing,<br />
I’m g<strong>on</strong>na go for it.” And I just started practicing<br />
everything open-handed. So I would<br />
play gigs, and I would play right-handed,<br />
and my set at home would still be set up lefthanded.<br />
I would practice left-handed, then<br />
go off and play gigs right-handed. I kept doing<br />
that for about six m<strong>on</strong>ths. Then I had a<br />
tour with Riot. I told myself, “I’m going to<br />
learn all these Riot s<strong>on</strong>gs left-handed. And<br />
I’m going to play them that way.” I started<br />
learning everything at the time, playing<br />
things left-handed. So I just went into it full<br />
force and ended up sticking with it. That<br />
was how I initially got over the hump, by<br />
just forcing myself to learn all of the material<br />
left-handed. So it wasn’t so much like I<br />
was doing particular exercises or anything.<br />
It was more like I was learning material and<br />
playing that way.<br />
EDGE: How about the cymbals behind you?<br />
BJ: Yeah, that’s a crazy story. A friend of<br />
mine was a guitar player for Dokken. D<strong>on</strong><br />
Dokken split from Dokken and formed his<br />
own band. So my friend was talking to me<br />
about auditi<strong>on</strong>s they were having for drummers,<br />
and he said, “Yeah, we had this <strong>on</strong>e<br />
Set-up Specs:<br />
DW Collector’s Series Birch <strong>Drum</strong>s in Regal<br />
Blue to Black Burst Lacquer Specialty with Black<br />
Hardware<br />
20x22” Bass <strong>Drum</strong> (x2)<br />
6.5x14” Solid Shell Snare <strong>Drum</strong><br />
9x10”, 10x12”, 12x14” Tom-Toms<br />
16x16” Floor Tom<br />
5000TD3 Delta3 Turbo Single Bass <strong>Drum</strong> Pedal (x2)<br />
9500 Hi-Hat Stand<br />
9900 Double Tom Stand<br />
9999 Single Tom/Cymbal Stand<br />
9700 Straight/Boom Cymbal Stand (x8)<br />
9100M Standard <strong>Drum</strong> Thr<strong>on</strong>e<br />
drummer that auditi<strong>on</strong>ed for the gig, and<br />
he had this <strong>on</strong>e cymbal, it was almost like it<br />
was behind him or something.” And I was<br />
like, “What? Cymbal behind him?” And<br />
he was like, “Well not really behind him. It<br />
was like when he played around the kit, did<br />
a roll around the kit, the guy had to reach<br />
really far toward the back of him to hit the<br />
cymbal.” I was like, “Wow, that’s kind of different.”<br />
I thought about it, and I went out<br />
to my practice room, and I thought what it<br />
might be like to put a cymbal behind me and<br />
play. So I set up a cymbal <strong>on</strong> my right side<br />
and played around with it and kinda took<br />
a back swing at it, and it was pretty easy. I<br />
thought, “Well, this is cool,” so I fooled with<br />
that for a few days and then set <strong>on</strong>e up <strong>on</strong><br />
the left side and did the same thing. On the<br />
left, I ended up having to have it a bit higher;<br />
it just felt more comfortable with the left<br />
<strong>on</strong>e a little higher than <strong>on</strong> the right side. So,<br />
I ended up with those two cymbals behind<br />
me. I started doing that in the early ‘90s live<br />
when I was with Riot. Then, it got to be sort<br />
of a trademark thing where people started<br />
to notice it.<br />
EDGE: Do you c<strong>on</strong>sciously work <strong>on</strong> being a<br />
“showy” or visual player?<br />
BJ: There was a time when Tommy Lee and<br />
everybody started to do the stick twirling<br />
stuff, and I told myself, “I’m not going to<br />
do that. I’m not going to be a part of that<br />
whole stick twirling, throwing sticks thing.”<br />
For a while I thought that, then I changed<br />
my mind. I thought it’s <strong>on</strong>ly going to make<br />
it more visually appealing if I do it, so I started<br />
to twirl the sticks again. You know, that<br />
technique between the middle finger and<br />
the index finger. I started to work <strong>on</strong> that<br />
when I was playing, and I thought, “This<br />
is pretty cool. You can do a lot of stuff with<br />
this.” I was already playing open-handed,<br />
so there was never a crossover problem,<br />
and I was able to do it with<br />
both hands. Then I thought,<br />
“There are endless possibilities<br />
with this,” so I just started getting<br />
into twirling with both hands, and then<br />
started throwing tosses and whatever else<br />
I could think up. The cymbals behind me<br />
added a whole new dimensi<strong>on</strong> to that. It’s<br />
not something that I practice all the time.<br />
I’ll go sometimes weeks or m<strong>on</strong>ths without<br />
even twirling a stick if I’m recording or<br />
whatever.<br />
EDGE: There must be a lot of work that goes into<br />
all of those tricks.<br />
BJ: There is, but I really <strong>on</strong>ly have about three<br />
or four different moves. If you do them in<br />
the right places, in certain ways, you learn to<br />
make the most of them. You can hit a drum<br />
and come back with a twirl, or hit a cymbal<br />
and do kind of this upstroke cymbal twirl.<br />
That’s where you can hit the cymbal from<br />
underneath and then follow with a twirl.<br />
There’s a lot of different tricks you can use<br />
to make it a little bit more unique.<br />
EDGE: Do you have any final thoughts or any<br />
advice that you’d give younger players?<br />
BJ: I’d say that the main thing is to stay in<br />
school and to take less<strong>on</strong>s. Learn as much<br />
as you can and widen your drumming vocabulary<br />
and your musicality. Say, if you’re<br />
18 years old and you’re anxious to get out<br />
<strong>on</strong> the road, you can wait a few years. You<br />
d<strong>on</strong>’t have to go out there and go crazy.<br />
Take a few years to learn what you can, go<br />
to a music school and take a few less<strong>on</strong>s. The<br />
road will always be there, all that stuff will<br />
be there, and you’ll be that much more prepared<br />
for it.<br />
[ E D G E 7 . 0 ] 4 9
Pacific <strong>Drum</strong> News<br />
N e w p r o d u c t s a n d i n n o vat i o n s<br />
Pa c i f i c g o e s b i g<br />
w i t h M X R<br />
R o c k S i z e s a n d 8 - p l y A l l - M a p l e<br />
S h e l l s m a k e t h i s k i t a t r u e<br />
r o c k e r<br />
Rock drummers rejoice: your wait is over.<br />
With an eye for detail and desire to outfit serious<br />
rock players with a kit that’s ready for<br />
the stage or studio at a price they can actually<br />
afford, Pacific has recently unveiled its<br />
new MXR Series. Pacific artist and drummer<br />
for Moti<strong>on</strong> City Soundtrack, T<strong>on</strong>y Thaxt<strong>on</strong>,<br />
comments, “I fell in love with my Pacific kit<br />
immediately. The drums sound and look<br />
amazing.”<br />
MXR comes with Pacific’s first ever 24”<br />
bass drum. In fact, the 18x24” kick comes<br />
n<strong>on</strong>-drilled. Instead, the 9x12” rack tom can<br />
be mounted to any existing cymbal stand via<br />
a PDAC991 tom clamp that comes with the<br />
kit. Both the 12x14” and 14x16” floor toms<br />
come <strong>on</strong> DW-style res<strong>on</strong>ant floor tom legs<br />
for maximum projecti<strong>on</strong>. A matching 6x14”<br />
snare drum completes the package and<br />
helps to make MXR a hard kit to pass up.<br />
DRUMMER Magazine, <strong>on</strong>e of the United<br />
Kingdom’s premier drum publicati<strong>on</strong>s, proclaimed,<br />
“When you want it hard and loud,<br />
T<strong>on</strong>y Thaxt<strong>on</strong> and his MXR Cherry Fade (photo by Hadas)<br />
but with plenty of scope for finesse, then<br />
you really have to check this baby out.”<br />
Available in an Eb<strong>on</strong>y Matte finish and<br />
Cherry to Black Fade Matte finish, MXR has<br />
looks, too. And if that wasn’t enough, Pacific<br />
has added a host of impressive pro features<br />
usually reserved for more expensive custom<br />
kits. The set also comes with an 8.155 hardware<br />
pack that includes a CB800 straight/<br />
boom cymbal stand, CS800 straight cymbal<br />
stand, HH800 hi-hat, SS800 snare stand and<br />
SP450 single bass drum pedal. For more<br />
informati<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong> the MXR and the full line<br />
of PDP drums, pedals and hardware, visit<br />
www.pacificdrums.com.<br />
S t e e l 8 0 5 s a r e a<br />
R e a l S t e a l<br />
Pa c i f i c a d d s C h r o m e - O v e r - S t e e l<br />
8 0 5 S n a r e D r u m s t o t h e M i x<br />
So you want a side snare that has plenty of<br />
attack, or a main snare that’s loud enough<br />
to cut through the Marshalls? Pacific has<br />
the snares for you. These chrome-over-steel<br />
beauties are available in 6x10” and 6x14”<br />
sizes and come in three different drum<br />
hardware colors for a totally custom look.<br />
Choose from Chrome with Chrome, Chrome<br />
with Black or Chrome with Red, each with<br />
matching throw-off and butt plate. The 6x10”<br />
“popcorn” snares even come with an included<br />
10.5 mm tom bracket for easy set-up. Just<br />
add a PDAC991 tom clamp, and you can put<br />
the 10” 805 anywhere you want using any<br />
existing stand. No need for additi<strong>on</strong>al snare<br />
baskets or heavy mounting hardware. With<br />
a retail price tag of $217.99 for the 6x10” and<br />
$254.99 for the 6x14”, every drummer can<br />
add this firecracker to their arsenal.<br />
Chrome-over-steel 805 Series snare drums<br />
Pa c i f i c E x pa n d F S A l l - B i r c h k i t s<br />
w i t h N e w A d d - O n<br />
T o m s<br />
D r u m m e r s C a n N o w a d d 8 ” a n d 16 ”<br />
T o m s t o t h e i r 5 - p i e c e F S O u t f i t s<br />
In additi<strong>on</strong>al to two brand-spanking-new<br />
color opti<strong>on</strong>s for 2006, Natural to Charcoal<br />
Burst and Cherry to Black Fade, Pacific is<br />
now offering 7x8” and 14x16” add-<strong>on</strong> toms<br />
to the line. The 8” tom comes complete with<br />
an S.T.M. (suspensi<strong>on</strong> tom mount) and can<br />
> p d p D r u m N e w s<br />
be mounted via a PDAC991 tom clamp or<br />
TS900 tom stand. The 16” floor tom comes<br />
with legs and is the perfect additi<strong>on</strong> for<br />
those drummers looking for a double floor<br />
tom set-up or an opti<strong>on</strong> to the 12x14” that<br />
comes with the 5-piece package.<br />
<strong>Drum</strong> <strong>Workshop</strong> Executive Vice President<br />
and <strong>Drum</strong> Designer John Good explains,<br />
“The entire kit, including the new<br />
add-<strong>on</strong>s, are F.A.S.T. sizes. It’s a term we<br />
coined for Fundamentally Accurate Sized<br />
Toms. This means that the depths are designed<br />
to be the most versatile and provide<br />
the maximum amount of res<strong>on</strong>ance.”<br />
MXR Eb<strong>on</strong>y with opti<strong>on</strong>al<br />
8x10” add-<strong>on</strong> tom<br />
[ E D G E 7 . 0 ] 5 1
p d p D r u m N e w s<br />
DW Classic Logo Tee<br />
(PR20SSBL)<br />
Above: DW Trucker Hat with Patch (PR10HAT05), PDP Camo Hat (PR10PDPHAT06), DW Retro Ball Cap (PR10WNHAT06),<br />
DW White Logo Hat (PR10WHAT06), DW Corporate Logo Hat (PR10HAT01), DW Flex-Fit Hat (PR10HAT04)<br />
Birdseye Maple LXE in Natural to Tobacco Burst lacquer<br />
P D P ’ s L at e s t<br />
E x o t i c i s a n E y e<br />
F u l l<br />
Pa c i f i c A d d s B i r d s e y e M a p l e t o<br />
i t s L X E L i n e<br />
Following the success of last year’s LXE<br />
launch, Pacific has added a stunning new<br />
wood to its Exotic LXE Series. The new<br />
highly figured Birdseye Maple kits are finished<br />
in Tobacco Burst lacquer and join the<br />
SXE Solid Maple Snare <strong>Drum</strong>s with Exotic Finishes<br />
already popular Charcoal Fade Kurillian<br />
kits being offered. Executive Vice President<br />
and <strong>Drum</strong> Designer John Good comments,<br />
“When we released LXE, we were really<br />
proud of the way they looked and sounded,<br />
but we didn’t know if Pacific was ready for<br />
an Exotic. It’s a slightly different sound than<br />
DW, more open sounding with that 8-ply<br />
maple shell. And with the high-end Exotic<br />
finish, people really got what we were trying<br />
to do.”<br />
LXE comes in standard 5-piece c<strong>on</strong>figurati<strong>on</strong>s<br />
that include an 18x22” bass drum,<br />
8x10” tom, 9x12” tom,<br />
11x14” floor tom and matching<br />
5x14” snare drum. 7x8”<br />
and 14x16” add-<strong>on</strong> toms are<br />
also available, and drummers<br />
can also upgrade to<br />
a matching SXE solid shell<br />
snare if they so choose. The<br />
basic c<strong>on</strong>figurati<strong>on</strong> comes<br />
with a heavy-duty 9.155<br />
hardware pack, and that<br />
includes an HH900 hi-hat<br />
stand, CB900 straight/<br />
boom cymbal stand, CS900<br />
straight cymbal stand, SS<br />
900 snare stand and SP500<br />
pedal.<br />
“It’s great to be able to<br />
use years of custom drum<br />
making experience to create<br />
a kit that more drummers can afford to<br />
own,” Good adds. Birdseye Maple LXE kits<br />
are available through any authorized Pacific<br />
<strong>Drum</strong>s retailer. To find the dealer nearest<br />
you, visit www.pacificdrums.com.<br />
N e w S X E S n a r e<br />
D r u m s a r e a<br />
S o l i d C h o i c e<br />
P D P ’ s F i r s t E v e r S o l i d S h e l l S n a r e<br />
D r u m D e l i v e r s P r o P e r f o r m a n c e<br />
Pacific is following up <strong>on</strong> the success of its<br />
line up of SXE snare drums with the launch<br />
of two new SXE Solid Shell snare drums. The<br />
5x14” drum features an all-maple steam-bent<br />
solid shell for warmth and s<strong>on</strong>ic clarity. Its<br />
exterior is finished in a choice of exotic Kurillian<br />
with a Charcoal Fade lacquer or new<br />
Birdseye Maple with a traditi<strong>on</strong>al Tobacco<br />
Burst lacquer. Both have a recently upgraded<br />
drop-style throw–off, crimped-coated<br />
DW heads by REMO USA and heavy-gauge<br />
steel flanged hoops.<br />
SXE Solid Shell snare drums match the<br />
two available LXE Series colors for those<br />
drummers who want to upgrade to a solid<br />
shell or simply prefer the added projecti<strong>on</strong><br />
that a <strong>on</strong>e-piece shell can provide. The full<br />
line of SXE Snare <strong>Drum</strong>s is available for<br />
view at www.pacificdrums.com<br />
Above: DW colored Tees (navy/white, olive/orange,<br />
maro<strong>on</strong>/yellow, yellow/black and white/navy)<br />
DW Bottle Opener<br />
(PR60BOPENER)<br />
DW DVD Travel Mug<br />
(PR60TUMBLER)<br />
DW Golf Towel (PR60TOWEL)<br />
DW Wristbands<br />
(PR60BAND)<br />
Above: DW Hoodie (PR20BKHOOD06), DW Dickies Shirt (PR20DICKIES06),<br />
DW Collector’s Series ® Badge Tee (PR20BADGE)<br />
All DW <strong>Drum</strong>wear and DW DVD Items can be ordered at www.dwdrums.com. Select items are available through authorized DW dealers.
The Making Of<br />
<strong>Drum</strong> Duets Vol. 1<br />
B y J o h n Wa c k e r m a n<br />
As a child, I was surrounded by drummers<br />
and always wanted to do a project that focused<br />
solely <strong>on</strong> the instrument. The idea<br />
was to play these musical drum duets with<br />
drummers that I had always admired and<br />
that had inspired me to be a drummer. I had<br />
also wanted the players to be extraordinarily<br />
diverse, with styles ranging from rock, jazz,<br />
fusi<strong>on</strong>, punk and ska to progressive, R&B<br />
and bebop. Many different genres, <strong>on</strong>e comm<strong>on</strong><br />
denominator: they’re all great drummers!<br />
And with help from my wife Linda,<br />
we began to plan the logistics of how we<br />
would record these noted drummers. It goes<br />
without saying that working with some of<br />
the world’s best drummers was an amazing<br />
experience, and the resulting project was a<br />
true labor of love. Here’s an artist-by-artist<br />
look inside the making of my new CD, John<br />
Wackerman: <strong>Drum</strong> Duets Volume 1.<br />
S t e v e G a d d<br />
Linda and I flew<br />
into Rochester,<br />
New York, and<br />
headed to The<br />
Studios at Linden<br />
Oaks. It’s a worldclass<br />
facility, and<br />
Steve’s drums were<br />
set up in fr<strong>on</strong>t of<br />
the studio’s acoustically<br />
designed<br />
brick wall. Steve says it’s <strong>on</strong>e of the best<br />
rooms for drum sounds. The engineer and<br />
drum tech got sounds<br />
up before Steve arrived.<br />
Steve came<br />
to the sessi<strong>on</strong> early,<br />
which gave us a little<br />
time to hang out in the<br />
c<strong>on</strong>trol room and talk<br />
for a bit; he’s extremely<br />
cool and easy to talk<br />
with. For my duet<br />
with Steve, I chose a<br />
cover of Jimi Hendrix’s<br />
“Manic Depressi<strong>on</strong>.” I<br />
wanted it to be a classic<br />
rock s<strong>on</strong>g, and I knew<br />
Steve would play some<br />
amazing stuff <strong>on</strong> it. It’s<br />
also in three-quarter<br />
time, so I thought it<br />
would make an interesting<br />
drum duet. Because<br />
it had been a while since he’d heard<br />
it, Steve asked to hear the original Hendrix<br />
track to get the vibe of the s<strong>on</strong>g. After that,<br />
we looked at the chart, and he headed into<br />
the tracking room for some fine-tuning and<br />
last minute tweaks. It was interesting to note<br />
that Steve plays his hi-hats with the heavier<br />
cymbal <strong>on</strong> the top.<br />
We recorded the first take, and Steve<br />
played amazing! He nailed everything we<br />
discussed <strong>on</strong> the chart. The excepti<strong>on</strong>al<br />
thing about Steve is his musicality. When<br />
he solos, you can hear melodies that take<br />
the duet to new heights. Not <strong>on</strong>ly does he<br />
have incredible technique, but<br />
also an infectious groove; when he<br />
plays it’s truly soulful. After that<br />
first take, he came into the c<strong>on</strong>trol<br />
room, and we listened. Steve had a<br />
couple of ideas and did <strong>on</strong>e more<br />
take. He took the sec<strong>on</strong>d take in a<br />
slightly different directi<strong>on</strong>, and it<br />
was also amazing! After listening<br />
to the playback, Steve made some<br />
excellent arrangement suggesti<strong>on</strong>s<br />
for the piece that we ended up using<br />
in the final mix. Steve Gadd is<br />
<strong>on</strong>e of the most professi<strong>on</strong>al and<br />
gracious people I have ever met<br />
and is deservingly a drum ic<strong>on</strong>.<br />
P e t e r E r s k i n e<br />
I first met Peter when I was a kid.<br />
My dad would take my brothers<br />
and I to the Stan Kent<strong>on</strong> Jazz Camps. Later, I<br />
was influenced by Peter’s playing with Stan<br />
Kent<strong>on</strong>, Maynard Fergus<strong>on</strong> and Weather<br />
Report. Having<br />
the opportunity to<br />
work with Peter<br />
<strong>on</strong> this project was<br />
amazing. Peter’s<br />
piece is an original<br />
compositi<strong>on</strong>, and<br />
I wanted it to be<br />
c<strong>on</strong>temporary jazz<br />
with an edge. He<br />
picked up <strong>on</strong> that<br />
immediately and captured the essence of<br />
what I was trying to achieve.<br />
On Peter’s duet, I used a DW Classics<br />
Series prototype set. This is DW’s new vintage-inspired<br />
series that utilizes a specially<br />
designed shell c<strong>on</strong>figurati<strong>on</strong> to mimic the<br />
vintage drum sounds we sometimes look for<br />
in certain recording situati<strong>on</strong>s. I thought it<br />
was a good “old school” choice for the piece,<br />
and it sounded amazing! The sessi<strong>on</strong> took<br />
place at Peter’s home studio in Santa M<strong>on</strong>ica,<br />
California, and it was a really relaxed<br />
vibe. Peter’s wife Mutsuko was a gracious<br />
host and made us feel right at home. Once<br />
we began, Peter played through the chart<br />
and nailed all of the odd-time measures and<br />
solo secti<strong>on</strong>s. His playing is so musical, and<br />
I love his phrasing. Peter is <strong>on</strong>e of the nicest<br />
people I know and is deservingly known as<br />
<strong>on</strong>e of the purest of jazz drummers today.<br />
S t e v e S m i t h<br />
My old friend, and legendary drum tech and<br />
drum designer, Jeff Ochletree set me up with<br />
Steve. Jeff has been teching for Steve as of<br />
late and has also teched for John B<strong>on</strong>ham,<br />
Billy Cobham and many other great drummers.<br />
We recorded the track up in Oreg<strong>on</strong>,<br />
where Steve owns a home. He’s also living<br />
in New York these days and is part of the<br />
NYC jazz scene. Steve is a great guy. He’s<br />
very meticulous about his playing and gives<br />
110 percent. It’s obvious that he loves to play<br />
drums and loves to record. He has a reputati<strong>on</strong><br />
as a serious player, but he also comes up<br />
with some great ideas. He added many creative<br />
fills against the odd time measures and<br />
made the duet come alive. It’s interesting to<br />
note that he’s into Eastern Indian rhythms<br />
and incorporates them into the drum set<br />
flawlessly. Not <strong>on</strong>ly a great drummer, Steve<br />
was also a great host.<br />
J o s h F r e e s e<br />
I’ve known Josh<br />
and his family<br />
since we were kids,<br />
and it’s been fun to<br />
watch his drumming<br />
career really<br />
explode over the<br />
past several years.<br />
He’s worked hard<br />
to get where he is<br />
and now is a firstcall<br />
drummer. When I decided to do a drum<br />
duet versi<strong>on</strong> of Queen’s “We Will Rock<br />
You,” I instantly thought of Josh. Josh had<br />
just finished up a tour with Sting, and we<br />
pulled an early morning sessi<strong>on</strong>. He played<br />
<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong>e of my DW sets and felt right at home.<br />
There’s no questi<strong>on</strong> that <strong>on</strong>e of the reas<strong>on</strong>s<br />
for his busy work schedule is that he plays<br />
> T h e M a k i n g o f D r u m D u e t s V o l . 1<br />
with great intensity<br />
and really lays into<br />
the drums. That,<br />
combined with his<br />
feel and ability to<br />
“play through,”<br />
means he has great<br />
pocket and gets a<br />
great sound out of<br />
the kit. Josh was so<br />
easy to work with<br />
and added a great flair to the track. Another<br />
great thing about Josh is that he’s willing to<br />
try anything and is open to suggesti<strong>on</strong>s. He<br />
really cares about how the compositi<strong>on</strong> is<br />
evolving and wants to capture the best performance<br />
possible for that particular track.<br />
A l e x A c u ñ a<br />
I’ve been a huge fan of Alex’s playing my<br />
entire life. He has the unique talent of being<br />
both a master drum set player and percussi<strong>on</strong>ist.<br />
His career is a testament to his<br />
natural ability. From his days with Weather<br />
Report to the countless movie and televis<strong>on</strong><br />
soundtracks <strong>on</strong> his résumé, he’s a true<br />
drummer’s drummer and an all-around<br />
great guy. For Alex, I wanted to do a piece<br />
that would feature him in a fusi<strong>on</strong> setting.<br />
It was important to keep him in his element<br />
and play off of his strengths. The result was<br />
a duet that shows off Alex’s prowess. His<br />
feel is sec<strong>on</strong>d to n<strong>on</strong>e, and he has Latin roots<br />
that influence every style of music he plays.<br />
When he sits behind the drums, he really<br />
comes alive. He was open to collaborating<br />
<strong>on</strong> the tune, and it took the piece in some<br />
interesting new directi<strong>on</strong>s. Alex is another<br />
seas<strong>on</strong>ed drummer with some amazing stories<br />
to tell. It was a blast to work with him,<br />
and I hope the opportunity presents itself in<br />
the future.<br />
F o r m o r e o n t h e m a k i n g o f D r u m d u e t s<br />
v o l . 1 , g o t o w w w. d w d r u m s . c o m<br />
H e a r a u d i o c l i p s a n d b u y t h e C D<br />
at w w w. d w d r u m s . c o m<br />
This project dem<strong>on</strong>strated that as unique<br />
and different as each drummer can be, they<br />
all have a comm<strong>on</strong>ality; they’re talented,<br />
meticulous, serious and extremely creative<br />
musicians. They all have impeccable technique—and<br />
they know when to use it! They<br />
all take directi<strong>on</strong> and never let their egos<br />
get in the way of the recording, and they<br />
all think musically. To reach such heights<br />
as a professi<strong>on</strong>al drummer is no easy task,<br />
and these players proved that it takes more<br />
than luck to build a l<strong>on</strong>g-standing career in<br />
the business. This project also proved that<br />
drumming is a comm<strong>on</strong> language. No matter<br />
which style of music we were performing,<br />
we always had a comm<strong>on</strong> understanding.<br />
This CD is a dream come true for me, so<br />
why stop here? Look for <strong>Drum</strong> Duets Vol. 2<br />
coming so<strong>on</strong>, and always realize your own<br />
musical dreams. No <strong>on</strong>e will do it for you.<br />
What the<br />
artists have to<br />
say:<br />
“I think that John’s recording,<br />
with all of the different guest<br />
drummers, will prove to be a<br />
very important documentati<strong>on</strong> of<br />
drum set percussi<strong>on</strong> in this new<br />
millennium.”<br />
—Peter Erskine<br />
“He has a lot of spirit in his music,<br />
and his playing reflects that of his<br />
soul.”<br />
—Gary Novak<br />
“We need more of this kind of music<br />
because drum or solo instrumental<br />
projects now are so predictable.”<br />
—Ricky Laws<strong>on</strong><br />
“He’s got many of the world’s best<br />
drummers playing <strong>on</strong> this, and he<br />
gets to show what he’s about as a<br />
unique player and writer.”<br />
—Chad Wackerman<br />
“It took a lot of foresight and<br />
backb<strong>on</strong>e to tackle this project.”<br />
—R<strong>on</strong> Tutt<br />
“Basically, John wanted me to really<br />
go for it and play to my peak, which<br />
is always fun and exciting to do.”<br />
—Steve Smith<br />
[ E D G E 7 . 0 ] 5 5
9<br />
3<br />
6<br />
8<br />
1<br />
2<br />
7<br />
5<br />
4<br />
10<br />
Latin Style<br />
Born in peru and raised <strong>on</strong> a healthy<br />
diet of traditi<strong>on</strong>al bebop and latin<br />
rhythms, he’s <strong>on</strong>e of drumming’s<br />
true multi-taskers<br />
Alex Acuña<br />
photos by T<strong>on</strong>y Barbera<br />
EDGE: You come from a very musical family.<br />
How did that influence your drumming?<br />
Alex Acuña: From the very beginning, my<br />
brothers took less<strong>on</strong>s from my father. My father<br />
was a music teacher, and I observed the<br />
nuances and different ways he taught my<br />
brothers. He never used the same method<br />
because he was able to understand that everybody<br />
was different and had a different<br />
understanding. So he treated them differently,<br />
and he taught them differently. I thought,<br />
“Wow, that’s a great thing.”<br />
EDGE: Were you all playing music?<br />
AA: Yeah, all six brothers.<br />
EDGE: And were you all playing percussi<strong>on</strong>?<br />
AA: No, my father was a high school music<br />
teacher, so he was able to teach them<br />
guitar, saxoph<strong>on</strong>e and trumpet. He played<br />
every instrument including percussi<strong>on</strong>,<br />
but he didn’t want to teach me because my<br />
mother told him not to teach me music. She<br />
didn’t want me to be a musician. I was the<br />
youngest of six, and she wanted to me to be<br />
a mechanic or carpenter, something different<br />
than my brothers, so I’d always have a<br />
job. Ir<strong>on</strong>ically, I’m the <strong>on</strong>e who became the<br />
musician in the family. I really learned from<br />
my brothers and how they approached my<br />
father’s less<strong>on</strong>s. Some of them were very<br />
perseverant about studying and being prepared<br />
for my father. The <strong>on</strong>es with more talent<br />
didn’t need to study as much. They just<br />
thought, “Oh, I can get it, no problem.” And<br />
my father was serious about that. He said,<br />
“You have to respect this. You wanted to be<br />
a musician, I’m going to teach you, and you<br />
better practice.” So I learned those things<br />
from the family, especially how to read music<br />
and how to formally play music. At a<br />
very early age, I got a sense of that from my<br />
brothers. They loved music and they played<br />
for the love of the music, not just for m<strong>on</strong>ey.<br />
I learned that from them.<br />
EDGE: Did you get formal musical training<br />
from your father, too?<br />
AA: No, I played <strong>on</strong> my own. My brothers<br />
were the <strong>on</strong>es who were teaching me. I also<br />
used to play trumpet when I was a kid, but<br />
my brothers taught me, not my father. Not<br />
to menti<strong>on</strong>, I always had an incredible love<br />
for listening to music, and my passi<strong>on</strong> is still<br />
listening to music. I choose percussi<strong>on</strong> because<br />
rhythm was, and still is, a mystery. I<br />
d<strong>on</strong>’t say a mystery in that it’s difficult or<br />
mysterious. I say mystery because it’s still<br />
being discovered: more and more and more<br />
rhythms. Plus, the sound of the c<strong>on</strong>gas and<br />
the b<strong>on</strong>gos and timbales, the drums, the<br />
cymbals and cowbells all fascinate me. Since<br />
day <strong>on</strong>e, I’ve enjoyed playing both percussi<strong>on</strong><br />
and drums. I d<strong>on</strong>’t know<br />
if I have mastered both, but<br />
I truly love it.<br />
EDGE: Didn’t you have<br />
formal musical training<br />
at some point?<br />
AA: Later <strong>on</strong>,<br />
when I came<br />
to San Juan,<br />
Puerto<br />
Rico, I got<br />
married,<br />
and my<br />
daughter<br />
was born.<br />
At that<br />
time, I was<br />
already working<br />
and playing in<br />
big bands. I already<br />
knew how to read<br />
trumpet and follow<br />
the chart. Then, when<br />
my oldest daughter<br />
was born, I said, “I’d<br />
better take this seriously,”<br />
so I went to<br />
the c<strong>on</strong>servatory. As<br />
it turns out, I <strong>on</strong>ly<br />
went to 5th grade because at a very early<br />
age, I also needed to support my mother.<br />
My father was there, but he was like a single<br />
father. So when I was 12 years old, I had to<br />
quit school to be the head of the house. Even<br />
though I was the youngest <strong>on</strong>e of the whole<br />
family, my brothers got married at a very<br />
early age, so they left to the city. So I was<br />
taking care of family. I have always taken<br />
care of family. That helped me musically<br />
because I always had to gig a lot to pay the<br />
bills. When I was 10, I had to make m<strong>on</strong>ey.<br />
Even though I was pursuing the m<strong>on</strong>ey or<br />
pursuing the job, the music was never left<br />
out.<br />
Set-up Specs:<br />
Collector’s Series® Maple <strong>Drum</strong>s with Natural Lacquer over<br />
Redwood Burl Exotic and Chrome Hardware<br />
18x20” Bass <strong>Drum</strong><br />
5x14” Snare <strong>Drum</strong><br />
9x12”, 14x16” Tom-Toms<br />
9000 Single Pedal<br />
6500 Hi-Hat Stand<br />
6300 Snare <strong>Drum</strong> Stand<br />
6710 Straight Cymbal Stand<br />
9100 Standard <strong>Drum</strong> Thr<strong>on</strong>e<br />
[ E D G E 7 . 0 ] 5 7
“One of the main reas<strong>on</strong>s I play<br />
is because I love people. When you<br />
love people, you love cultures.<br />
When you love cultures, you love<br />
their music. And when you love the<br />
music, you just love the world.”<br />
EDGE: So what led you to go to music school<br />
in Puerto Rico? At that point, you had already<br />
been gigging for a l<strong>on</strong>g time.<br />
AA: Right. Well, I wanted to go to the<br />
next level. My daughters inspired me to<br />
be home and to get to another level. And<br />
I was discovering other styles of playing,<br />
seeing other great musicians and admiring<br />
them. I’d ask, “How did you learn this? Oh<br />
man! You study multiple percussi<strong>on</strong> and<br />
study a little harm<strong>on</strong>y, and that’s how to<br />
play ballads and this and that?” So I went<br />
to c<strong>on</strong>servatory with my basic 5th<br />
grade music educati<strong>on</strong>. I knew the<br />
<strong>on</strong>ly way I would be accepted was<br />
to lie, so I told them I graduated<br />
from high school. They gave me<br />
a reading exam and a recital and<br />
they said, “Oh, so you can read...<br />
you’re in.” To this day, I still like to<br />
read and still read a t<strong>on</strong> of books in<br />
my free time. They put me in the<br />
ensemble playing percussi<strong>on</strong>, and<br />
I started with little ballads and a<br />
little timpani. Then came the entire<br />
spectrum of classical percussi<strong>on</strong>. It<br />
was a great thing. It’s such a w<strong>on</strong>derful<br />
thing, because now when I<br />
do movie dates, I’m <strong>on</strong>e of the few<br />
Latin percussi<strong>on</strong>ists in Los Angeles<br />
that can follow a c<strong>on</strong>ductor.<br />
EDGE: So what led you to be a studio musician<br />
before you came to the United States?<br />
AA: Well, even in Peru, I was already doing<br />
a lot of sessi<strong>on</strong>s in the little town where<br />
I was born and raised until I was 16. I<br />
menti<strong>on</strong>ed that my brothers started getting<br />
married and going to Lima, the main<br />
city of Peru, but I stayed in my little town<br />
to raise my sisters and my nephews, and<br />
take care of my mom. I was just gigging<br />
with little bands around town, just trying<br />
to survive, but my brothers started recommending<br />
me for gigs in Lima. They’d say,<br />
“You know my little brother can really play<br />
drums, and he reads really well.” So they<br />
used to call me to do some gigs in the city.<br />
Finally I said, “Oh yeah, maybe I should<br />
move to the city.” So I moved to the city<br />
and immediately I started working <strong>on</strong> televisi<strong>on</strong><br />
and radio. I was 16 years old and recording<br />
and working from 9 a.m. to about<br />
3 p.m., five to six days a week. So anyhow,<br />
I first came to the United States <strong>on</strong> a c<strong>on</strong>tract<br />
with Perez Prado. He was the original<br />
Mambo king. When he saw me playing in<br />
Peru, he said, “I have a nine-m<strong>on</strong>th tour in<br />
the United States. I want you to play with<br />
me.” I laughed at him. I was <strong>on</strong>ly 18. I said,<br />
“Come <strong>on</strong> man, the Americans are the <strong>on</strong>es<br />
who invented the drums,” meaning, there<br />
are plenty of drummers over there, you<br />
d<strong>on</strong>’t need me. He said, “No, no, no, the<br />
feel that you have for the music is what I<br />
want for my music.” So I came here with<br />
a nice c<strong>on</strong>tract and a residence card. Now<br />
they call it a green card. When I finished<br />
the c<strong>on</strong>tract, he left for Mexico, and that’s<br />
when I went to Puerto Rico.<br />
EDGE: What made you come to the United<br />
States to stay?<br />
AA: When I was in Puerto Rico, I was just<br />
preparing myself. Then, when I discovered<br />
Miles Davis and John Coltrane, Aretha<br />
Franklin, The Jacks<strong>on</strong> Five, Ray Baretto<br />
and Tito Puente, you know all that great<br />
music from the ‘60s, it changed me, and I<br />
said, “I’d better go around there.” But let<br />
me tell you something, I think every human<br />
being has an inside mirror where you<br />
look at yourself and say, “I d<strong>on</strong>’t think I’m<br />
ready. I d<strong>on</strong>’t think I’m ready to go there,<br />
but I’m going to test it out.” Then, people<br />
started calling me from Puerto Rico to<br />
come to record in Miami and New York;<br />
the word gets around. So I came to New<br />
York and said, “Man, this city’s too big for<br />
me! I d<strong>on</strong>’t think I’m ready for this place.”<br />
So I kept going back to San Juan, Puerto<br />
Rico. Then, when I discovered Weather<br />
Report in 1970, I said, “That’s the band I<br />
wanna play with.” Then I got a c<strong>on</strong>tract to<br />
come to Las Vegas and worked there for<br />
three m<strong>on</strong>ths. My passi<strong>on</strong> for Latin music,<br />
jazz and all kinds of good music kept<br />
growing, and I knew I’d be coming back to<br />
the United States to play jazz. Really, that<br />
was my visi<strong>on</strong>, my goal.<br />
EDGE: So mid-’70s you hit Las Vegas, right?<br />
You played with the likes of Diana Ross and Elvis<br />
Presley in what many c<strong>on</strong>sider Vegas’ heyday.<br />
Describe that scene in Vegas at the time.<br />
AA: Believe it or not, every time I made a<br />
move, it’d be with the band. Every seas<strong>on</strong>,<br />
I’d make the trek from Peru to the United<br />
States to Puerto Rico, and back to the United<br />
States again. I was ready to come back to<br />
the United States now, but I wasn’t ready<br />
to come to New York or Los Angeles. I said,<br />
“I’m not ready for Los Angeles, either. It’s<br />
way too big.” When I say it’s too big, I d<strong>on</strong>’t<br />
mean the physical distance; it was more the<br />
musicianship in Los Angeles at the time. I<br />
was still intimidated, and the c<strong>on</strong>cept of Los<br />
Angeles was just way too heavy. I was working<br />
at the Playboy Club in Century City,<br />
[laughs] and I already had my family. Then<br />
I said, “No, I can’t stay in L.A. I’m going to<br />
Las Vegas. Pack everybody up!” So we all<br />
drove to Las Vegas. I think I had about $2,500<br />
in my pocket. In those days, Vegas was <strong>on</strong>ly<br />
$300 a m<strong>on</strong>th for a two-bedroom apartment.<br />
I thought, “I can survive here.” I started at<br />
the Hilt<strong>on</strong> as the house drummer. There<br />
were like 25 drummers lined up for the gig,<br />
but they kept me employed. They took good<br />
care of me for reas<strong>on</strong>s I d<strong>on</strong>’t know. Maybe it<br />
was because I was able to double <strong>on</strong> percussi<strong>on</strong>,<br />
and it saved them some m<strong>on</strong>ey. A lot of<br />
the big acts that came to the hotel had their<br />
own rhythm secti<strong>on</strong>s, so they’d say, “Can<br />
you play percussi<strong>on</strong>?” I said, “Sure!” Back<br />
then, I was playing with Ike and Tina Turner,<br />
the Temptati<strong>on</strong>s, Paul Anka, Gladys Knight<br />
and the Pips and even Elvis. I was playing<br />
percussi<strong>on</strong> because they’d have their own<br />
drummers <strong>on</strong> tour with them. My first gig in<br />
Las Vegas was Olivia Newt<strong>on</strong> John. She was<br />
opening for Charlie Rich. Charlie Rich was a<br />
country western singer. [laughs] So I stayed<br />
there for about a year, and I’d get my steady<br />
check every week. So, I bought a house, and<br />
my kids were going to school. Everything<br />
was very comfortable. Then this percussi<strong>on</strong>ist<br />
from New York named D<strong>on</strong> Alias came<br />
through town and saw me perform with the<br />
Temptati<strong>on</strong>s. That’s when he said, “Man,<br />
we have to play together.” He invited me<br />
to play with his band, and we played with<br />
> On the Record:<br />
Peter Erskine:<br />
EDGE: Tell us about your earliest experiences<br />
listening to Alex play in Weather Report and<br />
the influence that he had <strong>on</strong> your playing with<br />
the group.<br />
Peter Erskine: I really discovered Alex <strong>on</strong><br />
Heavy Weather, and I didn’t have to wait<br />
for the album to be released. I got a cassette<br />
from Jaco the night I met Jaco. They had<br />
just finished the album, so I got a sneak<br />
peak, and I said to Jaco, “This is the versi<strong>on</strong><br />
of Weather Report that I’ve been waiting<br />
for” and I absolutely fell in love with<br />
Alex’s drumming. It was perfect. Those<br />
were perfect drum performances <strong>on</strong> that<br />
Willy Bobo and just gigged around Los Angeles<br />
and San Francisco.<br />
EDGE: So, when did Weather Report come into<br />
the picture, and how did that impact your career<br />
at the time?<br />
AA: Everything changed. Oh yeah! Joe (Zawinul)<br />
came to Las Vegas to hire me. He’d<br />
heard about me, but he wanted to see how I<br />
looked. He said, “Hey, Alex!” And he’d look<br />
at me. I would say, “What are you looking<br />
at?” Every time we walked together in the<br />
lobby of the hotel, he’d look at me, the way<br />
I walk. Then he’d say, “Stop! You can play,<br />
man, I can tell you can play!” Later he told<br />
me he could tell I was a serious musician,<br />
just by the way I walked. That’s the kind<br />
of guy Joe is, very insightful. Next thing he<br />
said was, “I’ll give you a list of instruments<br />
that you’ll need for the gig.” The very next<br />
week, we’re rehearsing at Frank Zappa’s studio<br />
in L.A. Before me, they had been playing<br />
Chester Thomps<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong> drums. On bass<br />
was Alf<strong>on</strong>so Johns<strong>on</strong>, Joe <strong>on</strong> keyboards and<br />
Wayne (Shorter). I really didn’t understand<br />
what they were playing. It was way over my<br />
head. Sometimes I was able to get the beat,<br />
and sometimes I didn’t get it. Harm<strong>on</strong>ically,<br />
I couldn’t follow them at all. That’s because I<br />
was a little self-c<strong>on</strong>scious, and I was making<br />
it more difficult for myself by over-thinking<br />
things. I thought, “Music isn’t supposed to<br />
be intellectual; jazz isn’t supposed to be intellectual.”<br />
These guys were just improvising.<br />
[laughs] So another voice said in my head,<br />
“So why are you just standing there, jump<br />
<strong>on</strong> it!” So I jumped up <strong>on</strong> the percussi<strong>on</strong> that<br />
was there. We jammed, and it all sounded<br />
so modern, for lack of a better term. Wayne<br />
got up from the table and he came to me. He<br />
said, “Alejandro, nice to meet you.” I said,<br />
“Man, you’re my idol. The music that you<br />
wrote for Miles Davis...” Then Wayne said,<br />
album. After<br />
getting to know<br />
Alex and working<br />
with him<br />
over the years,<br />
I knew that if<br />
I was ever in a<br />
positi<strong>on</strong> where<br />
I was the producer<br />
of an album, Alex is the first percussi<strong>on</strong>ist<br />
I’d call. And I love playing with<br />
him. It’s a luxury to work with a percussi<strong>on</strong>ist<br />
who’s also a drummer. They really<br />
understand the choices that the drummer<br />
is going to make and the elbow room that<br />
the drummer wants and needs. I never feel<br />
like we have to discuss anything when we<br />
“If I were a percussi<strong>on</strong>ist, I would play the<br />
way you play.” I said, “Wow, man, really?<br />
Am I hired?” He said, “Oh, no, no, no, we<br />
are not auditi<strong>on</strong>ing you. I just wanted to tell<br />
you that if I were a percussi<strong>on</strong>ist, I would interpret<br />
music the way that you interpret it.”<br />
EDGE: So they never told you that you were actually<br />
hired?<br />
AA: No, they never told me anything. We<br />
spent a week here in L.A. rehearsing, and<br />
then I went back to Las Vegas to pack my<br />
luggage. They were already working <strong>on</strong> my<br />
visa and my first tour to Europe. We started<br />
in Amsterdam, and we were there for two<br />
whole m<strong>on</strong>ths.<br />
EDGE: And that was before Jaco Pastorius?<br />
AA: That was before Jaco. This is 1975.<br />
EDGE: That was a legendary rhythm secti<strong>on</strong>.<br />
How did that come to be?<br />
AA: I was still playing percussi<strong>on</strong> at the<br />
time. Chester was <strong>on</strong> drums. Man, beautiful!<br />
I have some live Weather Report recordings<br />
that are amazing. I learned so much with<br />
those guys.<br />
EDGE: You’re known not <strong>on</strong>ly as a hand percussi<strong>on</strong>ist,<br />
but also as a world-class drum set player.<br />
You’re equally respected <strong>on</strong> each. Not many<br />
people can claim that. How did you develop that<br />
skill?<br />
AA: Man, interesting! From the very beginning,<br />
I loved to play anything percussive. To<br />
me, it’s all the same, whether I’m playing<br />
with a stick or my hands. When I hit a c<strong>on</strong>ga<br />
or a b<strong>on</strong>go, my hands—it just feels amazing.<br />
It’s a transforming feeling. Also, translating<br />
rhythm to the drum set through your<br />
play. I think the admirati<strong>on</strong> is mutual.<br />
We really like each other.<br />
EDGE: In the c<strong>on</strong>text of Weather Report,<br />
did his prior performances influence<br />
the way you played certain tracks?<br />
PE: Sure. I didn’t have a lot of that<br />
vocabulary, and I had to resp<strong>on</strong>d to<br />
the musical challenges the best way I knew<br />
how. Ultimately, it would come out sounding<br />
quite a bit different because Alex is<br />
Alex, and I’m me. But it wasn’t for my lack<br />
of trying. Some things were almost out of<br />
respect to him. It was the way he did it. I<br />
wouldn’t even try to imitate that.<br />
[ E D G E 7 . 0 ] 5 9
Selected<br />
Discography<br />
1971 This is Jazz, Vol. 10 Weather Report<br />
1973 Best of Ella Fitzgerald Ella Fitzgerald<br />
1976 Black Market Weather Report<br />
1977 Arabesque John Klemmer<br />
1977 Captain Fingers Lee Ritenour<br />
1977 D<strong>on</strong> Juan’s Reckless Daughter J<strong>on</strong>i Mitchell<br />
1977 Heavy Weather Weather Report<br />
1978 Black Forest Luis C<strong>on</strong>te<br />
1978 Captain’s Journey Lee Ritenour<br />
1979 Collecti<strong>on</strong> Lee Ritenour<br />
1979 Extensi<strong>on</strong>s The Manhattan Transfer<br />
1980 Autoamerican Bl<strong>on</strong>die<br />
1980 Ella Abraca Jobim Ella Fitzgerald<br />
1981 Mecca for Moderns The Manhattan Transfer<br />
1982 Heartlight Neil Diam<strong>on</strong>d<br />
1982 Touchst<strong>on</strong>e Chick Corea<br />
1984 How Will the Wolf Survive? Los Lobos<br />
1985 Rit Lee Ritenour<br />
1985 Atlantis Wayne Shorter<br />
1985 Dog Eat Dog J<strong>on</strong>i Mitchell<br />
1986 Brasil ‘88 Sergio Mendes<br />
1987 All Systems Go D<strong>on</strong>na Summer<br />
1987 Richard Marx Richard Marx<br />
1988 Rattle and Hum U2<br />
1988 Urban Daydreams David Benoit<br />
1989 No Woman, No Cry Joan Baez<br />
1989 Selected Sadao Watanabe<br />
1989 World in Moti<strong>on</strong> Jacks<strong>on</strong> Browne<br />
1990 Neighborhood Los Lobos<br />
1990 Tiempo de Vals Chayanne<br />
1991 Cerem<strong>on</strong>y The Cult<br />
1991 Heart of the Bass John Patitucci<br />
1991 Mambo Kings Original Soundtrack<br />
1991 Storyville Robbie Roberts<strong>on</strong><br />
1991 Woodface Crowded House<br />
1992 Fat City Shawn Colvin<br />
1992 King of Hearts Roy Orbis<strong>on</strong><br />
1992 Matters of the Heart Tracy Chapman<br />
1992 Night Calls Joe Cocker<br />
1993 Native Land D<strong>on</strong> Grusin<br />
1994 De Mi Alma Latina Placido Domingo<br />
1995 Vanessa Rubin Sings Vanessa Rubin<br />
1996 Hits J<strong>on</strong>i Mitchell<br />
1996 This is Jazz, Vol. 19 Wayne Shorter<br />
1997 Cookin’ For You Eddie Marshall<br />
1997 Loving You Shirley Horn<br />
1998 Human Being Seal<br />
1998 Priceless Jazz The Yellowjackets<br />
1998 Todos Los Romances Luis Miguel<br />
1999 Looking Forward Crosby, Stills, Nash<br />
& Young<br />
1999 Slowing Down the World Chris Botti<br />
2000 Telling Stories Tracy Chapman<br />
2002 Best of Weather Report Weather Report<br />
2002 Faces & Places Joe Zawinul<br />
2002 Silver Lining B<strong>on</strong>nie Raitt<br />
2003 Alegria Wayne Shorter<br />
2003 Escapology Robbie Williams<br />
2004 Dreamland J<strong>on</strong>i Mitchell<br />
2004 Only You Harry C<strong>on</strong>nick, Jr.<br />
2005 Good Night and Good Luck Original<br />
Soundtrack<br />
2005 The L<strong>on</strong>g Road Home John Fogerty<br />
2005 S<strong>on</strong>gs of a Prarie Girl J<strong>on</strong>i Mitchell<br />
2005 Rio/On The Line Lee Ritenour<br />
2006 Forecast: Tomorrow Weather Report<br />
limbs—equally as amazing. They’re<br />
so different, but at the same time, they<br />
influence each other so much. But <strong>on</strong>e<br />
of the main reas<strong>on</strong>s why I play both is<br />
because I love people. When you love<br />
people, you love cultures. When you<br />
love cultures, you love their music.<br />
And when you love the music, you just<br />
love the world. I’ve been blessed, traveling<br />
to Cuba and going to Puerto Rico,<br />
coming to the United States, going to<br />
Brazil, going to Africa, going to Japan,<br />
going to Europe and so many parts of<br />
this world. All those places have incredible<br />
music. Seeing those cultures<br />
and people first-hand has given me a<br />
passi<strong>on</strong> that c<strong>on</strong>tinues to grow in me,<br />
and is still growing. When I was living<br />
in Puerto Rico, I’d play in the streets<br />
and become friends with people. When<br />
I came to the United States, it was the<br />
same thing. I saw the rock drummers,<br />
and I said, “Wow, man, amazing stamina.”<br />
When I saw the jazz drummers<br />
like Jack DeJohnette, T<strong>on</strong>y Williams,<br />
Gadd, Erskine, I said, “Man! I wanna<br />
play like these guys.” If there’s ever an<br />
opportunity to be inspired or further<br />
my understanding of the drums, I’m there.<br />
When I’m not working, I practice at home.<br />
For example, tomorrow I have a Latin percussi<strong>on</strong><br />
sessi<strong>on</strong> at 2 p.m. By 10 a.m., I’ll be<br />
playing with a couple of Latin CDs so I can<br />
get warmed up to go and perform. Day<br />
after tomorrow, I have a pop sessi<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong><br />
drums, so in the morning I’ll play R&B or<br />
whatever for a couple of hours. Sometimes<br />
I just play with a click, and try to grab that<br />
style, that groove.<br />
EDGE: You have such an energetic vibe when<br />
you play live. Is that just Alex being in the moment,<br />
or is it something you c<strong>on</strong>sciously do to<br />
be a performer?<br />
AA: It’s not so much being a performer,<br />
it’s just that the music really takes you to<br />
another place. We can define it in many<br />
different ways, but I have a word to define<br />
this: it’s like “worship.” It’s like giving<br />
thanks. It’s like being thankful and enjoying<br />
the moment, not <strong>on</strong>ly because I’ve<br />
had a good career, but just being thankful<br />
that I’m alive, healthy and still playing and<br />
making music. I really admire people like<br />
Roy Haynes. When I saw him last year at<br />
the Modern <strong>Drum</strong>mer Festival, he was 80,<br />
and I said, “That’s how I want to be.” So, I<br />
take care of my health. I exercise, eat properly<br />
and try to avoid bad times. The idea is<br />
to play as l<strong>on</strong>g as I can.<br />
EDGE: You’ve worked with so many artists in<br />
so many genres of music. You talked about doing<br />
a Latin sessi<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong>e day and a pop sessi<strong>on</strong><br />
the next. How do you adapt from gig to gig and<br />
mold yourself to play with such a wide variety<br />
of musicians?<br />
AA: One example is when I was hired to<br />
do a sessi<strong>on</strong> with U2, the first day I sent<br />
all of my percussi<strong>on</strong> gear, everything that<br />
I owned. B<strong>on</strong>o and Edge were there, al<strong>on</strong>g<br />
with the producers and engineer. I thought,<br />
“Man! What can I play to complement this<br />
band? They have a sound, they have a<br />
style.”<br />
“I can get that Latin sound, and<br />
that’s the drum set I’ve always had<br />
in my heart and in my head.”<br />
EDGE: And you d<strong>on</strong>’t want to mess with it.<br />
AA: I d<strong>on</strong>’t want to mess with it! [laughs]<br />
Right there, the h<strong>on</strong>esty has to come out.<br />
You have to tell them, “You really want me to<br />
play this tune?” They said, “Oh no, we want<br />
you to c<strong>on</strong>tribute.” I replied, “OK, play me<br />
the track.” They played the track over and<br />
over for me, and I just relaxed and listened<br />
al<strong>on</strong>g. Not thinking, just listening. Listening<br />
is what it was all about. All of a sudden, I<br />
heard an overt<strong>on</strong>e in the music. That overt<strong>on</strong>e<br />
gave me an idea to use this drum that<br />
I hadn’t used in a while. They didn’t hear<br />
the overt<strong>on</strong>e, but I did. I said, “You d<strong>on</strong>’t<br />
hear that?” They said, “What?” “That t<strong>on</strong>e!”<br />
“No we d<strong>on</strong>’t hear that.” “Well I’m going<br />
to try that, OK?” So I went and I got <strong>on</strong>e of<br />
my huge frame drums and started playing.<br />
They liked the fact that it was a complementary<br />
bass t<strong>on</strong>e that was rhythmic, but not<br />
clashing with the bass or bass drum. It was<br />
an open door, you know. Now we had comm<strong>on</strong><br />
ground. I was more relaxed, they were<br />
more relaxed, and<br />
we could just be<br />
creative.<br />
EDGE: So that’s<br />
how you approach<br />
all these different artists, you listen?<br />
AA: Yeah, listen and see what you can do<br />
with the track.<br />
EDGE: How does working with an artist in a<br />
recording situati<strong>on</strong> differ from doing a movie<br />
sessi<strong>on</strong>?<br />
AA: Well, with a film sessi<strong>on</strong>, everything<br />
is written down for you. You kinda have<br />
to read what is there. Oftentimes, they call<br />
me in to be the utility man, you know, if<br />
they need an extra snare player, or an extra<br />
g<strong>on</strong>g player, cymbal player or bass drum<br />
part. With the timpani or mallets, nobody’s<br />
going to touch that; Emil Richards<br />
has a lock <strong>on</strong> that. Those guys are hired<br />
to play that stuff. Just like they hire me<br />
to play the c<strong>on</strong>gas, timbales, b<strong>on</strong>gos and<br />
shakers. That’s my territory and nobody’s<br />
g<strong>on</strong>na touch that. There are other special<br />
drums, other sounds, effects and everything<br />
is written, and right there is when you<br />
have to also listen. The utility stuff is also<br />
written down, but it’s up a for a little more<br />
interpretati<strong>on</strong>. For film, the important thing<br />
is to follow the click, follow the c<strong>on</strong>ductor,<br />
and play with the ensemble. With a movie,<br />
it’s also more like a perfecti<strong>on</strong> situati<strong>on</strong>.<br />
You’re following a recipe. It always has to<br />
be perfect. It’s orchestrated, and you have to<br />
respect that situati<strong>on</strong>.<br />
EDGE: You’ve very recently made the move here<br />
to DW. Talk a little bit about why you’ve made<br />
the change and how you feel about your new kit.<br />
AA: Sure! First of all, I was made aware of<br />
G<strong>on</strong> Bops. I had played G<strong>on</strong> Bops drums<br />
for years, and most of my friends still have<br />
and cherish their G<strong>on</strong> Bops c<strong>on</strong>gas. When I<br />
found out I could be a big part of re-releasing<br />
G<strong>on</strong> Bops to the masses, I thought it was<br />
a very special opportunity. It made me emoti<strong>on</strong>al<br />
and I said, “Wow, man!” It’s not about<br />
m<strong>on</strong>ey or becoming famous or being in the<br />
“They played the track<br />
over and over for me,<br />
and I just relaxed and listened<br />
al<strong>on</strong>g. All of a sudden,<br />
I heard an overt<strong>on</strong>e<br />
in the music. it gave me an<br />
idea to use this drum that<br />
I hadn’t used in a while.”<br />
magazines. You know, we all had that. Been<br />
there, d<strong>on</strong>e that. It was about respect and<br />
the respect that <strong>Drum</strong> <strong>Workshop</strong> has for me<br />
as an artist. They also value my input as a<br />
player that has experienced many situati<strong>on</strong>s.<br />
I’m a part of the design team, and that’s<br />
something I’ve always wanted. So, I was introduced<br />
to DW drums after being up at the<br />
factory for G<strong>on</strong> Bops. They make their custom<br />
drums up there, too, and it’s just amazing!<br />
I had already tried the pedals and was<br />
sold. Once I got my first taste of the drums,<br />
I also knew this was the sound for me. I<br />
wanted a full tom sound, but with plenty of<br />
attack. John Good made me a special VLT kit<br />
with 6-ply hoops, and that was it! To tell you<br />
the truth, I wasn’t so interested in the drums<br />
at first because I’d been with Yamaha for<br />
almost 25 years. I was in the NAMM show<br />
and was tapping a lot of the drums in the<br />
DW booth. In the past, every<strong>on</strong>e said, “No,<br />
those drums are rock ‘n’ roll.” In fact, they<br />
probably still say that, but I said to myself,<br />
“I’m not going to be influenced by any<strong>on</strong>e<br />
else.” Once I gave them a chance, I realized<br />
how versatile they were and how this had<br />
been a sound I had been searching to find<br />
for a very l<strong>on</strong>g time. Every<strong>on</strong>e at DW told<br />
me to take my time and think it over. They<br />
said, “Alex, take your time with the drums.<br />
There’s no rush.” Then <strong>on</strong>e day I went to<br />
the factory, and John Good started explaining<br />
the philosophy about shells and wood.<br />
He physically played some toms and some<br />
bass drums, and then I was able to understand,<br />
not that I was trying to be c<strong>on</strong>vinced.<br />
It hit me. I said, “I’m going to improve my<br />
sound.” I wasn’t changing my sound; I was<br />
making it better.<br />
EDGE: So what is the s<strong>on</strong>ic difference between<br />
your DWs and what you had been used to?<br />
AA: My new kit has depth, it has t<strong>on</strong>e, it’s<br />
so easy to tune. It also has color—or timbre,<br />
as it is referred to—that I had never experienced.<br />
They’re also incredibly versatile and,<br />
in my case, the drum set has to be versatile. I<br />
can record it in the jazz studio, <strong>on</strong> a pop gig,<br />
record it with rock or R&B projects. I can get<br />
that Latin sound, and that’s the drum set I’ve<br />
always had in my heart and in my head.
Pdp spotlight<br />
J o n a h D av i d • M at i s ya h u<br />
the practicing just doesn’t happen, but I really<br />
try to keep that goal if at all possible. I also<br />
stretch every day and do my best to hit the cardio.<br />
If I can get in 30 minutes of cardio three<br />
days a week, I feel great. I’ve been slacking <strong>on</strong><br />
my regular workout routine this last run— just<br />
too jetlagged.<br />
EDGE: What have been some of your favorite gigs<br />
recently?<br />
JD: H<strong>on</strong>estly, it all depends <strong>on</strong> what style I’m<br />
playing. I like a lot of overt<strong>on</strong>es <strong>on</strong> the highpitched<br />
toms when I’m playing jazz. The added<br />
resp<strong>on</strong>se of the heads makes it easier to articulate<br />
at lower dynamics more clearly. When<br />
I’m playing with Matisyahu or Roots T<strong>on</strong>ic,<br />
I love a clear, warm sound. I never tune my<br />
toms very low. I use Evans drumheads. In my<br />
opini<strong>on</strong>, the EMAD is the greatest bass drum<br />
head <strong>on</strong> the market.<br />
B r e a k i n g t h e b o u n d a r i e s o f P o p, R o c k a n d R e g g a e i s<br />
n o e a s y f e at. D e s p i t e t h e p i t fa l l s , r i s i n g s ta r J o n a h D av i d i s r e a d y f o r t h e c h a l l e n g e . I n<br />
t h i s l at e s t i n s ta l l m e n t o f P D P s p o t l i g h t, J o n a h s p e a k s o u t a b o u t pay i n g h i s d u e s , l i f e o n t h e r o a d a n d<br />
l a n d i n g t h at b i g g i g .<br />
EDGE: You’ve been <strong>on</strong> tour for a bit supporting<br />
this latest release. How’s the road treating you?<br />
J<strong>on</strong>ah David: It’s treating me well and<br />
changing me, that’s for sure. I’m becoming<br />
more and more used to living out of my<br />
suitcase and depending <strong>on</strong> the tour manager<br />
to schedule my life. I was more used<br />
to staying at home and hustling my schedule<br />
m<strong>on</strong>ths in advance. It’s a weird feeling<br />
to come home off tour and sleep in my own<br />
bed. Sometimes, I wake up in the morning<br />
and get scared because I feel like I’ve forgotten<br />
to play or I’ve missed sound check.<br />
I also noticed that I’ve started asking questi<strong>on</strong>s<br />
like, “What day is it?” or “Where am<br />
I?” There’s also the all-important, “Hey, do<br />
you have that European adapter I lent you?”<br />
I remember waking up <strong>on</strong>e morning in the<br />
middle of the last run incredibly jetlagged<br />
and calling the fr<strong>on</strong>t desk asking a hotel recepti<strong>on</strong>ist,<br />
“What country am I in?” Other<br />
than that, I’m seeing so much of the world<br />
and meeting so many people. I’m learning<br />
more now than I ever have before.<br />
EDGE: Have you always played reggae or have<br />
you had to adapt to that particular style of music?<br />
6 2 [ E D G E 7 . 0 ]<br />
JD: I can’t remember exactly when I was first<br />
exposed to reggae, but I’d definitely say that<br />
I was pretty taken back by it. I just remember<br />
falling in love with<br />
that sound. It was a<br />
groove that I was able<br />
to grasp and develop<br />
fairly quickly. I didn’t<br />
think that I was going<br />
to really play reggae at<br />
the time. I was a jazzhead.<br />
Then I got a call<br />
from a buddy of mine<br />
named Mike Heady,<br />
who wanted to stop<br />
playing with a reggae<br />
band to focus his studies<br />
<strong>on</strong> jazz. I needed<br />
the work to pay the<br />
rent, and he knew I<br />
could play, so it all<br />
worked out. Within<br />
a couple of years, I<br />
was playing in four<br />
Top 40 reggae bands<br />
and touring New Jersey.<br />
We’d go up and<br />
down the Garden State Parkway during the<br />
summer. It was the busiest time of year for<br />
me. Sometimes I’d play 13 shows a week.<br />
Playing “Margaritaville” and “The Electric<br />
Slide” paid my college fees for quite a few<br />
semesters. I had no idea that I was paving<br />
the way for the gig with Matisyahu. I feel<br />
that I still have a lot to learn in terms of the<br />
style, and I d<strong>on</strong>’t always play it traditi<strong>on</strong>ally,<br />
“We’d go up and down<br />
t h e G a r d e n S t a t e<br />
Parkway during the<br />
summer. It was the<br />
busiest time of year<br />
for me. Sometimes I’d<br />
play 13 shows a week.<br />
Playing “Margaritaville”<br />
and “The Electric<br />
Slide” paid my<br />
college fees for quite<br />
a few semesters. I<br />
had no idea that I was<br />
paving the way for the<br />
gig with Matisyahu.”<br />
but we’re not playing<br />
strictly traditi<strong>on</strong>al reggae<br />
anyway.<br />
EDGE: You have some<br />
pretty serious chops.<br />
How do you stay in shape<br />
while <strong>on</strong> the tour?<br />
JD: Wow, thanks for the<br />
compliment! Ideally, I<br />
try to keep sticks moving<br />
in my hands for<br />
at least four to seven<br />
hours per day. We’ve<br />
been playing <strong>on</strong>eto<br />
two-hour sound<br />
checks where we run<br />
through grooves and<br />
new material. After<br />
that, I’ll usually practice<br />
for another two to<br />
three hours before the<br />
show. The set is another<br />
<strong>on</strong>e to two hours <strong>on</strong> top of that. I carry my<br />
books, pad and metr<strong>on</strong>ome around with me<br />
almost all the time. I’m actually kicking myself<br />
right now because I just left everything<br />
backstage at the Chiemsee Reggae Festival<br />
in Germany. It’s getting mailed back to me,<br />
but I w<strong>on</strong>’t see it for a couple m<strong>on</strong>ths because<br />
I’m still <strong>on</strong> tour. I have to stop at the<br />
Guitar Center when I get home. Sometimes<br />
JD: Playing in Japan was a blast! The shows<br />
themselves were nothing spectacular, but I<br />
had never been there before. I also brought my<br />
fiancée with me and proposed <strong>on</strong> the steps of<br />
the Seen Temple in Asakusa, Tokyo. The country<br />
was so incredibly beautiful. I really fell in<br />
love with it. I want to visit again for a l<strong>on</strong>ger<br />
period of time and really soak in the culture. I<br />
wouldn’t mind living there and studying Taiko<br />
drumming and karate for a year or so.<br />
EDGE: Talk a little bit about your new kit and how<br />
you got hooked up with <strong>Drum</strong> <strong>Workshop</strong>.<br />
JD: Man, my new kit is really beautiful. 8” and<br />
10” mounted toms, 12” and 14” floor toms, 22”<br />
kick and 14” snare. I’m seriously digging the<br />
Kurillian finish. It’s <strong>on</strong>e of the new PDP exotic<br />
kits. It’s a Charcoal to Natural Fade, and it<br />
looks and sounds amazing! I have another DW<br />
kit being built with the same finish, but with<br />
a Blue to Natural finish and with Gold hardware.<br />
To answer the questi<strong>on</strong>, I got into DW<br />
because of the pedals. When I was just starting<br />
out, I had a DW 5000 single pedal, and it was<br />
amazing. I wound up trading it for some cymbals<br />
when I bought a double kick pedal, but I<br />
wasn’t ready to lose the DW 5000, so I wound<br />
up trading the double with some<strong>on</strong>e else just<br />
to get that exact 5000 back! At the time, I knew<br />
nothing about the h<strong>on</strong>esty and integrity of the<br />
company; I just wanted to get through the first<br />
couple pages of “Realistic Rock” and “Syncopati<strong>on</strong>”<br />
with a metr<strong>on</strong>ome. When I got older,<br />
and my career started blossoming, my good<br />
friend Yael made a call to Steve Vega over at<br />
DW. We talked, and everything just felt right.<br />
It’s good to work with people who you could<br />
c<strong>on</strong>sider to be family.<br />
EDGE: What’s your idea of the ultimate drum<br />
sound?<br />
EDGE: Which drummers have influenced you<br />
most, and have you met any of them?<br />
JD: I’d have to say that most of my influences<br />
have been Jazz drummers. Many of them<br />
passed away or retired before I even picked up<br />
sticks. Let’s see: Art Blakey, Philly Joe J<strong>on</strong>es,<br />
T<strong>on</strong>y Williams, Billy Higgins and Max Roach<br />
are all big influences. Elvin J<strong>on</strong>es is a major<br />
influence <strong>on</strong> my playing, and I got to meet<br />
him through my teacher Ralph Peters<strong>on</strong> at the<br />
Blue Note a few years before he passed. I met<br />
Roy Haynes too and he is still killing it! Lenny<br />
White is also a massive influence. There are<br />
too many to name; it all depends <strong>on</strong> what style<br />
we’re talking about. I got to really hang with<br />
Sly Dunbar while he was working <strong>on</strong> Matisyahu’s<br />
new single, “Jerusalem,” and Desi J<strong>on</strong>es<br />
who works with Jimmy Cliff. He’s crucial. He<br />
wrote <strong>on</strong>e of the first and <strong>on</strong>ly good books<br />
out there <strong>on</strong> reggae drumming. I also listen to<br />
some of the Philly guys too, Questlove from<br />
The Roots and Chuck Treece.<br />
EDGE: Where do you see yourself in a few years?<br />
JD: Well, married for starters! I do have a l<strong>on</strong>gterm<br />
goal of finishing college. It’s something<br />
that I’m going to do when the time is right.<br />
The next few years are not completely clear<br />
because nothing is cut in st<strong>on</strong>e in the music<br />
business. A safe assumpti<strong>on</strong> would be that I’m<br />
still playing with Matis, but I’ve also appeared<br />
<strong>on</strong> a number of other recordings with Roots<br />
T<strong>on</strong>ic and some other artists. I’ve also released<br />
<strong>on</strong>e of my own recordings. I’m really just c<strong>on</strong>tinuing<br />
to get a foot-hold in the entertainment<br />
industry. Who knows: maybe I’ll start my own<br />
label, maybe I’ll try acting or fashi<strong>on</strong>. Maybe<br />
I’ll be teaching English in Japan while I study<br />
Karate, or living in Ohio with my wife. You<br />
never know where life takes you.
Why does the 5000AD3 work for you?<br />
Greg Upchurch: I’ve never really used<br />
another pedal, and when I’ve tried other pedals,<br />
they never react the same. It’s the <strong>on</strong>ly pedal<br />
that’s really quick and c<strong>on</strong>sistent.<br />
5000 Series Delta3 Pedals<br />
Tell us about the feel:<br />
Greg Upchurch: Well, it’s powerful without<br />
having to put too much power into it.You d<strong>on</strong>’t<br />
have to fi ght it. It becomes almost like that extra<br />
limb. It’s very h<strong>on</strong>est to what you’re playing<br />
without feeling overly mechanical.<br />
5000AD3><br />
<br />
cora coleman-Dunham<br />
Prince’s<br />
Trust<br />
It’s every drummer’s dream to get a<br />
career-altering gig that catapults<br />
them into the spotlight. There’s no<br />
doubt this savvy newcomer has<br />
found her prince.<br />
EDGE: What drew you to play drums?<br />
photos by Stephen Morales<br />
sense, c<strong>on</strong>sidering my dance experience.<br />
Cora Coleman-Dunham: I actually started<br />
beating <strong>on</strong> buckets, and in middle school,<br />
just playing around in the backyard. Then,<br />
in high school, I joined the marching band.<br />
EDGE: So how did you make the transiti<strong>on</strong> from<br />
playing <strong>on</strong> buckets and being in the marching<br />
band to drum set?<br />
CC: Well, I actually got some c<strong>on</strong>gas from<br />
a pawn shop to travel with the jazz band in<br />
high school. In 11th grade, the drummer that<br />
had been the primary drummer for the jazz<br />
band graduated, and my teacher noticed<br />
that I was a pretty quick study, and he said,<br />
“Hey, why d<strong>on</strong>’t you just try the kit.” It just<br />
sort of went from there.<br />
EDGE: So, were you self-taught or did you take<br />
formal less<strong>on</strong>s?<br />
CC: I started taking formal less<strong>on</strong>s in college<br />
at Howard. I had played drum set for about<br />
two years before college. My drum teacher<br />
was a trumpet player, actually. He was a<br />
great communicator, I mean, he played keyboard,<br />
too, but he could communicate what<br />
I needed to be a drummer. He’d say, “Hey,<br />
you know you have to practice rudiments.”<br />
You know, just fundamental stuff.<br />
EDGE: But that’s interesting, coming from<br />
some<strong>on</strong>e who’s more melodic than rhythmic.<br />
CC: Yeah, it was funny because in elementary<br />
school, I tap danced, which is another<br />
rhythmic aspect, I guess. I did tap dance,<br />
ballet and jazz dance. It all helped me hear<br />
things a little differently, but it’s really the<br />
same approach as drum set. My drum teacher<br />
at Howard would say, “If you can dance<br />
to it, then every<strong>on</strong>e else can.” That made<br />
EDGE: For people that d<strong>on</strong>’t know, a few years<br />
ago you w<strong>on</strong> Guitar Center’s <strong>Drum</strong> Off competiti<strong>on</strong>.<br />
How did you get involved with that?<br />
CC: Actually, I was staying with family<br />
friends at the time, and I couldn’t really play<br />
drums at their house. So, I would always go<br />
down to the Guitar Center in Hollywood.<br />
The manager of the store and I became<br />
friends, and he encouraged me, “Hey, you’re<br />
always in here playing, you should do the<br />
<strong>Drum</strong> Off.” Plus, I had d<strong>on</strong>e it before when I<br />
lived in DC, and, man, did I need a new car.<br />
That was the grand prize that year. I’m still<br />
driving the car I w<strong>on</strong> at <strong>Drum</strong> Off.<br />
EDGE: So you w<strong>on</strong> the <strong>Drum</strong> Off, and that’s<br />
how you were noticed by the drum industry. Before<br />
that time, had you ever thought about endorsements?<br />
CC: I was looking at Remo and definitely<br />
looking at DW, but figured there was a timing<br />
thing about it, you know. I was interested,<br />
but I didn’t really know the process. I<br />
knew people who were endorsed, and I was<br />
like, “Man, that must be pretty cool.” I always<br />
saw Sheila E. with DW, for example.<br />
EDGE: Now that you’ve transformed from aspiring<br />
drummer to a professi<strong>on</strong>al player, what<br />
recommendati<strong>on</strong> would you give to players starting<br />
out who maybe d<strong>on</strong>’t have a big gig yet, but<br />
are looking to get there?<br />
CC: I would definitely encourage them to<br />
play as many styles of music as possible and<br />
learn to read, I mean, as much versatility as<br />
you can create for yourself. It just makes you<br />
that much more marketable and gives you a<br />
wider vocabulary.<br />
[ E D G E 7 . 0 ] 6 9
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“My drum teacher was a trumpet player, actually. He<br />
was a great communicator. He Could communicate<br />
what I needed to be a drummer. He’d say, ‘Hey, you<br />
know you have to practice rudiments.’”<br />
EDGE: What styles of music do you play, and<br />
which <strong>on</strong>e would you c<strong>on</strong>sider to be your specialty?<br />
CC: Let’s see, now I’m playing pop. I was<br />
playing gospel and started off playing jazz.<br />
I d<strong>on</strong>’t know if I have a specialty. I’ve also<br />
played R&B, and I’ve played blues a lot, too.<br />
I really enjoy the blues, come to think of it.<br />
I’ve even played some alternative stuff. I<br />
mean, I toured with Pink for a sec<strong>on</strong>d. So I<br />
d<strong>on</strong>’t know if I have a particular specialty.<br />
I’d like to say that I could at least approach<br />
all styles.<br />
EDGE: Right now you’re touring with Prince.<br />
How did you land that gig?<br />
CC: He came to a gig. I was playing with this<br />
keyboard player and R&B singer out here in<br />
L.A., and Prince came. We played two sets,<br />
and in between his bodyguard came up and<br />
said, “Hey, Prince is back there, and he wants<br />
to talk to you.” So, <strong>on</strong> the break, we just talked.<br />
We talked about music and gear and everything.<br />
One of the things he said was that<br />
it’s important to have the best gear for whatever<br />
your craft is, to produce the maximum<br />
results. After the gig, he was g<strong>on</strong>e, but his<br />
assistant came up and was like, “Hey, you<br />
know, P wants to get you a kit, whatever kit<br />
you want.” That’s when I got my first DW<br />
kit. Then, we did a party at Prince’s house.<br />
He had all these “after-parties,” like the BET<br />
awards, the Grammys and the Oscars. Every<br />
major event, he had a party, and we were<br />
playing, and he was always sitting in with<br />
us. It wasn’t an announced thing, it just kind<br />
of happened.<br />
EDGE: Now the rhythm secti<strong>on</strong> of Prince’s new<br />
band is you and your husband <strong>on</strong> bass. What’s it<br />
like playing, working and living together? It’s a<br />
fairly unusual scenario.<br />
CC: It’s really good, actually. It’s sort of relaxing<br />
because we d<strong>on</strong>’t have to w<strong>on</strong>der<br />
what the other pers<strong>on</strong> is up to. It’s also cool<br />
because, in additi<strong>on</strong> to playing in band together,<br />
we’re both from Houst<strong>on</strong>, we share<br />
a lot of the same values and, most importantly,<br />
we’ve been friends all of this time, so<br />
music is just another comm<strong>on</strong> thread. It’s<br />
definitely fun in the house, you know.<br />
EDGE: What do you listen to around the house<br />
for inspirati<strong>on</strong>?<br />
CC: Always Aretha, always Patti LaBelle. I<br />
d<strong>on</strong>’t know, Nancy Wils<strong>on</strong>, a lot of gospel.<br />
EDGE: What’s in your iPod?<br />
Set-up Specs:<br />
Collector’s Series® Birch <strong>Drum</strong>s with Tangerine to Blood Red<br />
Sparkle Lacquer and Black Hardware<br />
18x20” Bass <strong>Drum</strong><br />
8x14” Collector’s Birch Snare <strong>Drum</strong><br />
7x8”, 8x10”, 9x12”, 10x13”, 11x14” Tom-Toms<br />
9002 Double Pedal<br />
9500 Hi-Hat Stand<br />
9300 Snare <strong>Drum</strong> Stand<br />
9900 Double Tom Stand<br />
9991 Single Tom Stand<br />
991 Single Tom Clamp<br />
9700 Straight Cymbal Stand (x2)<br />
9100M Standard <strong>Drum</strong> Thr<strong>on</strong>e<br />
934 Cymbal Arm<br />
934S Cymbal Arm (x2)<br />
CC: I’m always adding things, but here’s<br />
what I have right now: Tye Tribbett, James<br />
Brown, CeCe Winans, Prince, Patti LaBelle,<br />
Larry Graham, a few audio books by Robert<br />
Kiyosaki, The Avila Bros, Bootsy Collins,<br />
Bobby McFerrin, Aretha Franklin, Bill Withers<br />
and India.Arie. I also just added the Foo<br />
Fighters and Maro<strong>on</strong> 5!<br />
EDGE: Who are some of your favorite drummers<br />
and why?<br />
CC: Let’s see: Terri Lyne Carringt<strong>on</strong>, Gord<strong>on</strong><br />
Campbell, Billy Cobham, Aar<strong>on</strong> Spears,<br />
Philly Joe J<strong>on</strong>es, Munyungo Jacks<strong>on</strong>, Clyde<br />
Stubblefield, Poogie Bell, Mickey Hart, Ed<br />
Thigpen, Grady Tate, Li<strong>on</strong>el Hampt<strong>on</strong>,<br />
Buddy Miles and Jabo Starks.<br />
I think these guys are my favorites<br />
based <strong>on</strong> my experience with many of these<br />
great drummers and having the fortunate<br />
opportunity to learn directly from many of<br />
them. Besides the fact that Aar<strong>on</strong>, Terri Lyne,<br />
Gord<strong>on</strong>, Grady and Munyungo are phenomenally<br />
talented, the thing that I admire<br />
most about their playing is the humility and<br />
integrity that these artists possess. Although<br />
they have chops for days, they <strong>on</strong>ly play<br />
parts that complement the music. If at <strong>on</strong>e<br />
point it calls for a crazy fill or lick, then they<br />
do it, but they respect music enough to play<br />
what makes sense. I appreciate Ed Thigpen<br />
and Grady for their “feel” and brush work,<br />
and revere Clyde, Poogie and Jabo for their<br />
commitment to the groove. Buddy Miles,<br />
Mickey Hart and Li<strong>on</strong>el Hampt<strong>on</strong> are my favorite<br />
because they take risks, and they were<br />
innovators. It’s hard not to also appreciate<br />
their aggressiveness and their creativity.<br />
EDGE: It’s funny, many of the serious R&B<br />
drummers we know learned to play at church,<br />
and a lot of them still do. They attribute a lot<br />
of their chops to playing at church. Do you feel<br />
that’s affected your playing, as well?<br />
CC: I actually think it comes mostly from<br />
marching band. That’s where I got my chops.<br />
I really <strong>on</strong>ly started playing gospel the last<br />
couple years in high school. I didn’t grow<br />
up playing in church. I grew up Catholic, so<br />
that was mostly tambourine and guitar.<br />
10<br />
EDGE: Let’s talk gear. Tell us about the new kit.<br />
CC: Tangerine Sparkle Fade, it’s a beautiful<br />
kit. It’s got 8”, 10”, 12”, 13” and 14” toms. I<br />
got the Neil Peart Snare, and I got this crazy<br />
8x14” snare; it’s beautiful! It’s all with 9000<br />
hardware, of course. Prince loves the kit, I<br />
love the kit, it’s a great, great color and great<br />
sound. The shells are birch, and all of the<br />
drum hardware is black.<br />
EDGE: Does your studio kit differ from your<br />
tour set-up?<br />
CC: Yes. I <strong>on</strong>ly use the SPD-S pads and the<br />
TD-20 module for live shows, unless I am<br />
actually recording <strong>on</strong> V-drums. Otherwise,<br />
my basic set-up is the same. I might switch<br />
a cymbal or two around or remove a tom; it<br />
really depends <strong>on</strong> what the music calls for.<br />
EDGE: When you get a new kit or a new piece of<br />
gear, do you feel like it changes your playing?<br />
CC: Definitely my approach, because it’s<br />
got a different character, you know. I’ll also<br />
change up the way I sit sometimes. Like if I<br />
sit lower, I feel old, like an old guy, [laughs]<br />
you know, like the old school approach.<br />
Michael Bland, Prince’s old drummer, used<br />
to sit low, and that’s a different way of approaching<br />
the kit. Because the toms used to<br />
be so big, they sat so low, I guess. I have a<br />
more aggressive approach if I’m sitting over<br />
the toms, so sometimes I sit much higher.<br />
Little subtleties like that make a big difference.<br />
EDGE: Describe a typical day <strong>on</strong> tour.<br />
CC: I guess it depends <strong>on</strong> whether we are <strong>on</strong><br />
the tour bus or flying, but for the most part,<br />
we wake up, pray, work out, eat breakfast,<br />
do a little reading, tour around the city a bit<br />
and get to sound check a few hours before<br />
the show. Depending <strong>on</strong> how far away the<br />
hotel is, I might bring my clothes al<strong>on</strong>g to<br />
the venue. We usually get to the venue while<br />
the workers are still setting up chairs and<br />
getting the room together. I c<strong>on</strong>nect with<br />
Mike, my tech, and we discuss any changes<br />
or set-up c<strong>on</strong>cerns. Sometimes we play for<br />
an hour or so, and then <strong>on</strong> to dinner. After<br />
dinner, I get hair and make-up d<strong>on</strong>e, get a<br />
warm-up in and head for the stage. After the<br />
show, there will usually be an after-party,<br />
where we’ll get to jam for another two hours<br />
or so. We normally d<strong>on</strong>’t finish until around<br />
2 a.m.! I’m usually back in the hotel room<br />
just before sunrise. Then, we’re <strong>on</strong> to the<br />
next city.<br />
EDGE: What’s your warm-up routine like?<br />
CC: My warm-up is usually whatever time I<br />
have between sound check, hair and makeup.<br />
I usually grab a<br />
towel or two in the<br />
green room al<strong>on</strong>g<br />
with a pair of 3S<br />
sticks. Sometimes<br />
I spend time just<br />
twirling the sticks<br />
between my fingers<br />
just to get them<br />
moving. Other times,<br />
I sit and just play<br />
single, double and<br />
triple strokes aggressively.<br />
I try to let my<br />
warm-up time be a<br />
secluded activity, if<br />
possible, just to get<br />
my mind in showmode<br />
and refresh<br />
myself <strong>on</strong> any pivotal<br />
arrangements or transiti<strong>on</strong>s.<br />
I also work <strong>on</strong> page changes and<br />
patch changes <strong>on</strong> the SPD-S pad.<br />
Electr<strong>on</strong>ics are usually an afterthought<br />
for many drummers, but<br />
I try make it part of my warm<br />
up. Let’s see, I also do traditi<strong>on</strong>al<br />
marching rudiments, such as<br />
flams and Swiss armies, in the<br />
warm-up as well.<br />
EDGE: Does Prince give you a solo?<br />
Describe your recipe for the perfect<br />
drum solo.<br />
CC: Yes. I think the perfect drum<br />
solo gets right to the point. It<br />
should also have some sort of<br />
directi<strong>on</strong> and dynamic range, instead<br />
of playing for the sake of<br />
playing. I think a great solo makes<br />
a n<strong>on</strong>-musician say, “Wow.”<br />
EDGE: Where do you see yourself<br />
headed and what goals<br />
have you set for yourself<br />
in terms of your<br />
music career?<br />
CC: That’s a good<br />
questi<strong>on</strong>. I try to<br />
pride myself <strong>on</strong> just<br />
staying positive, but<br />
I really d<strong>on</strong>’t know<br />
what’s next. I’m always<br />
networking.<br />
I’m always communicating<br />
with people<br />
and always establishing<br />
relati<strong>on</strong>ships.<br />
I want to get more<br />
into writing and<br />
leave a mark there. I<br />
also definitely want<br />
to perform and have<br />
opti<strong>on</strong>s.<br />
[ E D G E 7 . 0 ] 7 1
new artists<br />
[17]<br />
[11]<br />
[3]<br />
[7]<br />
[9]<br />
Jan Windszus<br />
[12]<br />
[13]<br />
[14]<br />
Adrian Ost • Powerman 5000 [1]<br />
Alex Acuña • independent<br />
Alvaro Lopez • independent<br />
Andrew Hurley • Fall Out Boy [2]<br />
Andrew “The Butcher” Mrotek • The Academy Is...<br />
Angel • PIG/Switched<br />
Benjamin Byrne • Starsailor [3]<br />
Bertram Engel • Peter Maffay<br />
Billy Goodness • Sean Patrick McGraw<br />
Billy Miller • independent [4]<br />
Bobby Jarzombek • Rob Halford/Sebastian Bach<br />
Bodo Stricker • 2$Haircut/Final Virus [5]<br />
Bradley Webb • Blue Man Group/independent<br />
Brand<strong>on</strong> Saller • Atreyu<br />
Brand<strong>on</strong> Wakeham • If Hope Dies [6]<br />
Brian Flenniken • The Mad Caddies [7]<br />
Caesar Griffin • Joss St<strong>on</strong>e<br />
Chris Witten • World Party<br />
Cory Jenkins • Tito Jacks<strong>on</strong> [8]<br />
Craig Randolph • independent<br />
Daniel Galluci • Cirque du Soleil “Quidam”<br />
Dan Lamagna • Suicide City [9]<br />
Dave Hooper • independent<br />
David Carr • Third Day [10]<br />
David Lem<strong>on</strong>ds • Keith Anders<strong>on</strong> [11]<br />
Derek Bloom • From First to Last<br />
D<strong>on</strong>ald Guillaume • Fugees/Wyclef Jean [12]<br />
Eric Boudreault • Cavalia/Waza [13]<br />
Eric Scribner • Cirque du Soleil “O”<br />
Gene Trautmann • Eagles of Death Metal [14]<br />
Gord<strong>on</strong> Marshall • The Moody Blues<br />
Guy Davis • Reuben [15]<br />
Henry Cole • independent [16]<br />
Hernan Hecht • Hernan Hecht/X-pressi<strong>on</strong> Quartet<br />
Ian Matthews • Kasabian<br />
Jas<strong>on</strong> McGerr • Death Cab for Cutie/educator<br />
Jeff Gilbert • Kutless<br />
Jimmy Fox • James Gang [17]<br />
Joey War<strong>on</strong>ker • independent<br />
J<strong>on</strong>ah David • Matisyahu [18]<br />
J<strong>on</strong>ny Quinn • Snow Patrol<br />
Joshua Eppard • independent<br />
Kevin Haskins • Bauhaus [19]<br />
Lawrence “LB” Breaux • independent [20]<br />
Lori Peters • Skillet<br />
Marc Allen • Finch<br />
Maria Martinez • independent/educator [21]<br />
Mark Chadwick Hagedorn • Gizmachi<br />
Meggers • The Casualties<br />
Nathaniel Mullins • Gloria Trevi/David Melillo/studio [22]<br />
Omar Abidi • Fightstar [23]<br />
Patrick Caccia • Eric Sardinas<br />
Patrick James Keeler • The Rac<strong>on</strong>teurs<br />
Peter Erskine • independent/studio<br />
Raul Pineda • independent [24]<br />
René Detroy • independent/We Will Rock You<br />
René Martínez • Intocable<br />
Richard Bailey • Incognito<br />
Robert Perkins • Michael Bublé [25]<br />
Rod Bland • Bobby Blue Band<br />
Ryan Hoyle • Collective Soul/studio [26]<br />
Sammy Siegler • Nightmare of You/Rival Schools/CIV [27]<br />
Scot Ellis • She Wants Revenge<br />
Sean McDaniel • M<strong>on</strong>ty Pyth<strong>on</strong>’s Spamalot<br />
Seven Ant<strong>on</strong>opolous • Opiate for the Masses<br />
Shawn Fichter • Peter Frampt<strong>on</strong><br />
Spencer Smith • Panic! At The Disco<br />
Tom Meadows • Lucie Silvas<br />
Trevor Freidrich • 18 Visi<strong>on</strong>s<br />
Walter Rodriguez • Yanni<br />
[2]<br />
[23]<br />
[21]<br />
[6]<br />
[8]<br />
[10]<br />
[16]<br />
Adriana Hernandez<br />
[1]<br />
[15]<br />
[24]<br />
[22]<br />
Ben Rose Photography<br />
[26]<br />
[4]<br />
Dinah v<strong>on</strong> Niessen<br />
[5]<br />
[18]<br />
[27]<br />
[25]<br />
[20]<br />
[19]<br />
DW <strong>Drum</strong>s, Pedals & Hardware<br />
DW Pedals & Hardware<br />
PDP <strong>Drum</strong>s, Pedals & Hardware