Clinic Review – Jojo Mayer Clinic, Memphis Drum Shop
This past Friday (Feb 28th), several of us Visible School drummers saw Jojo Mayer in clinic at the Memphis Drum Shop. Let me tell you… it was a sight to see.
After the typical introductions from his sponsors, Jojo began giving a brief history of drummers and the lineage of drumming from old school Dixie-land jazz to modern rock. He asserted that anytime something big was happening in music, there was a great drummer that was an integral part of it, mentioning drummers like Gene Krupa, Baby Dodds, and Buddy Rich of older jazz and then people like John Bonham and Stewart Copeland for more modern rock.
He then said that he thinks the programmer/producer takes on the same role today, mentioning Timbaland (Justin Timberlake, OldRepublic, Jay-Z, Nelly Furtado) as one of these guys. I think that’s an interesting idea that needs to be discussed more.
Then he began to play… and everyone in the room subsequently decided to give up drums. His sheer technical ability and speed around the kit was phenomenal. He played to two tracks from his band, NERVE. At the end of the clinic, he played to two or three more tracks from NERVE, the final one blew the crowd away.
When it came to his personal journey on drums, he mentioned the time when he first was bit by the electronic bug. He said he was on tour with a band in England and some of his band’s hosts took him to a British rave. He said that he was completely floored by the DJ he saw that night and how the music he spun affected the people and wanted to do everything he could to be like that DJ. He said it changed his life.
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Filed under: Artists, Education, Events, Reviews
I just went to a Jojo clinic this past monday in Wisconsin and was equally floored and EXTREMEMLY inspired by everything he played and more importantly everything he said. Its time for music to start evolving again with great drummers at the helm. One thing he said in particular was “Dont pray to the ashes, pass along the fire” As great as Jazz and Hip Hop and RocknRoll is…maybe its time to find something new. I adapted that philosophy as my own after hearing him.
That “don’t pray to the ashes” line is one he used in his modern drummer interview. It’s a quote from Gustav Mahler a composer/conductor I think.
Jojo is right… time for drummers (and musicians in general) to step up their game and grab music by the horns again.