Before I begin the review, I have to make everyone aware of a policy change that I will make effective as of this review. From now on I’m going to review DVD’s with more then one volume (like this one) each on their own individual merits. I realized in my review of Joe Morello’s DVDs that I barely mentioned the first DVD at all in my review. Granted, my opinion at that time (and it hasn’t changed since) was that there really wasn’t much to talk about. Still, it merited it’s own separate review. I will still talk about the relationship between the (or more) related products, but my score at the end will be reflective of the product as it stands by itself.

And now, on with the review!
(more…)

Filed under: Education, Music/DVDs, Reviews | 1 Comment »

Source: Drum! Magazine

The sound of drums will rumble across North America on Sunday, November 2, as ten Five-Star member drum shops launch the Big Beat. This effort will bring together the largest gathering of drummers ever assembled, celebrate the joy of drumming, and raise money for worthwhile causes. Not only will each location try to break the Guinness world record for the most drummers playing the same beat at one time (previously set by Donn Bennett Drum Studio, with 533 participating players), but the participants will also try to set a record for drummers in all cities playing simultaneously.

Big Beat events will benefit the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation and in some cities, the addition of a local charity as well.

Of the shops participating, Memphis’ own Memphis Drum Shop will be banging away as well!

Read the full story …

Filed under: Events, News, Randomness | No Comments »

Andrea VaDrucci, A.K.A. VaDrum has released a video of his latest creation. A drummer’s version of the Barber of Seville.

This guy is definitely potential drummer of the week material.

Filed under: Artists, Videos | 6 Comments »

Videos are now beginning to circulate from Guitar Hero’s website which feature Chad Smith, Stewart Copeland, and Travis Barker all weighing in on Guitar Hero’s new drums feature.

Chad Smith is stoked about the idea and loves the thing: “It’s a real as you can get. For a Video game, it’s impressive. If it holds up to me beating on it, it should be pretty good.”

It looks as if Travis Barker does some motion capture for the game. “One of the things I has actually said when I was asked to be involved with this was, ‘will it be an exact interpretation of what that drummer is playing? Can I close my eyes and play a song I wrote the drum part for and socre a perfect score if I’m playing it right?’ And it was, ‘yes.’”

Man .. at first I wasn’t at all into this idea, but now I can see myself getting excited for it. I am cautiously optimistic.

Thanks to Big Drum Thump.

Filed under: Gear, News, Randomness, Videos | 4 Comments »

Source: Rhythm Magazine

Keep your eyes and ears peeled for more non-Chilis drumming action from Chad Smith, following the announcement from Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ frontman Anthony Keidis that the band has temporarily disbanded.

Talking to Rolling Stone magazine, Keidis has said that: “We’re disbanded for the moment. We actually took a very long time to make the Stadium Arcadium record, because we wrote a lot of songs and then got way too married to them and decided we need it to be a double album. Which was a great experience, but it took forever.  We were all emotionally and mentally zapped at the end of that run. Cooler heads prevailed and the discussion at the end of our last tour was, ‘Let’s not do anything Red Hot Chili Peppers-related for a minimum of one year, and just live and breathe and eat and learn new things.’”

Read the full story …

Filed under: Artists, News | 3 Comments »

Todd Sucherman (drummer of Styx) will soon be the first drummer ever to have an instructional video on Blu-Ray. The trailer for which you can view is below or you can view a higher quality version here. Little is known about the feature as of yet. However, I don’t think that it’s too much of a stretch to say that it will be a euphoric experience for your eyes and ears (if you’re a drummer who likes/loves Styx.)

In case you’re wondering, yes, I’m definitely going to be doing a review of it. It might be pricey… but that’s why I have a Summer Job!

JABB-B-B-B-B-B (Review Monkey 3.0™)

(more…)

Filed under: Artists, Music/DVDs, News | No Comments »

To compete with Rock Band, it looks like Activision is adding drums and vocals to its lineup with Guitar Hero: World Tour. Personally, I think this is a horrible idea! Why doesn’t GH stick to what they do best – GUITAR!

According to MTV.com:

“Guitar Hero: World Tour” adds drums and vocals to the mix. Previously, the “Guitar Hero” series had only centered on the instrument in its title. Feature for feature, it matches almost everything the “Rock Band” experience provides — and them some.

Activision’s peripherals are once again courtesy of Red Octane. “Guitar Hero”’s drums are slightly more complicated than “Rock Band”’s. There are only three drum pads, compared to “Rock Band”’s four, but with the addition of two cymbals. Both sets feature a kick pedal.

The most significant new addition, however, is the implementation of user generated content in the game’s “Music Studio” mode. Shareable online via a new service called GHTunes, the press release states Music Studio includes “a full compliment of tools to create digital music from scratch, utilizing all of the instruments.

Check out the recently released commercial …

Filed under: Gear, Randomness, Videos | No Comments »

Source: LA Times

THE GREAT jazz drummer Elvin Jones carried on a constant musical conversation with John Coltrane. It inspired me to have that kind of dialogue with Jim Morrison. Not that I was in Elvin’s league, but his courage gave me the “huevos” to stop the steady rhythm on the Doors’ “When the Music’s Over,” and just jab at my kit during Jim’s rap about “What have they done to the Earth, what have they done to our fair sister, rip her and bit her, stuck her with knives in the side of the dawn, and dragged her down.”

As a teenager, I saw Elvin play many times at these “sacred gin joints” (jazz clubs) in Los Angeles. I was too young to make the Central Avenue scene, but I knew it was much more than a major thoroughfare.

On an off night from the Orbit, a Santa Monica bar gig I got with my very lame fake ID from Tijuana, I stumbled into the Renaissance Club on the Sunset Strip, where Lenny Bruce had performed. It was my first time in a jazz club, and I was ushered to a table in the back behind a pole. I was one of very few white people in the place, and the Renaissance Club was intimidatingly cool. It had an attitude. I hadn’t cultivated one yet.

Read the Full Essay …

Here’s a cool video of John Densmore on the Dennis Miller Show from 1992.

Filed under: Artists, Education, Opinion, Videos | No Comments »

Today, we talk about our worst gig experiences. Chris Pennie is the drummer of the week, the 17-stroke roll rounds our our roll rudiments as rudiment of the week, and Ask Dave answers where to get a cheap drum set online! Show Notes

Filed under: Opinion, Podcast | 1 Comment »

Last week, we told you about the Bucket Drumming Competition, but now, it looks like someone’s (Scott Rockenfiled of Queensryche fame) actually started making drums made out of buckets.

To me, it seems a little self-defeating. What makes bucket drums bucket drums is the fact that they’re just buckets. What we have here are buckets with drumheads, resulting in drums with buckets for shells. Not much fun for little harpo. Regardless, they are here now so I’m sure we’ll be reading more about them.

Here’s what their press release had to say:

BucketDrums LLC, introduces the world’s first bucket based drum. Using a revolutionary new Head Mounting system and a 100% Recycled Plastic Bucket, BucketDrums has now made drums affordable for everyone. In addition, the BucketDrums come complete with easily installed “tom mounts” for adding the BucketDrums to any drum or percussion setup, Drumsticks, sticker pack, and drum tuning key.

“You’ve never seen anything as cool as these things. They are easy to tune, fun to play, and really sound amazing,” said Founder and CEO Scott Rockenfield.

Prices are $49.95 each. Read more over at Harmony Central.

Filed under: Gear, News | 4 Comments »

The problem with reviewing these old drum technique instructional videos is that their modern counterparts just blow the old ones out of the water. These new DVD’s like Secret Weapons for the Modern Drummer and Drum-Set Technique/History of the U.S. Beat are so thorough and comprehensive that there is not very much to be gained by viewing these old ones. This is somewhat true of Joe Morello’s Drum Method 1 & 2, but not as much as I expected.

There are only two volumes. Morello mentions a third installment in both volumes one and two, don’t bother looking for it, it doesn’t exist. Each volume is sold separately and comes with it’s own little booklet with detailed transcriptions of the exercises Morello goes through. It would be perfect if they would just sell it as two disk set with one big booklet/downloadable PDFs… but, alas, they don’t. I’m reviewing these two as a pair because they are at there best as a pair. I wouldn’t recommend buying one buy itself and I wouldn’t recommend renting them if you are serious about learning from them. The reason I wouldn’t rent them is because you won’t get the little booklets that come with them. The reason I wouldn’t buy one without intending to get the other is because the second volume is the juicer one of the two, but it refers you back to the first volume on several occasions. Meanwhile, the first disk just isn’t worth it in terms of content if it isn’t paired with the second. What a pickle. (more…)

Filed under: Education, Music/DVDs, Opinion, Reviews | No Comments »

We have a great show this week as we talk all about drum heads!  Also, the 15-stroke roll is the rudiment of the week, Mike has news, we talk about the state of the music industry, and Mike Portnoy is the Drummer of the Week!  Show Notes

Filed under: Gear, Podcast | No Comments »

Source: Sabian.com

It’s been a busy few months for endorsements as John Blackwell and Chris Layton moved to Zildjian. It looks like Sabian has just secured drumming prodigy, Tony Royster, Jr.

“HHX cymbals are my sound,” commented Royster. “I love the smooth responses of the Evolutions, the hot tone of the Xtreme and Legacy crashes, and the multi-hole design and wicked sound of the O-Zone, which is the real kicker! With SABIAN I’ve found a great range of sounds that cover everything from hip-hop and heavy metal to jazz and fusion. I didn’t know it before, but I know it now; SABIAN has it all.”

Added Christian Stankee, SABIAN artist relations manager (USA): “Tony Royster Jr. is one of the hottest young drummers on the planet. Not only can he play, he can groove, which is why he’s so popular at drumming events and, even at his young age, he’s playing serious gigs such as Jay Z. Tony is a great modern drummer and a perfect player for SABIAN.”

Who can forget Tony’s 12 yr-old video clip?

Filed under: Artists, Gear, News | No Comments »

Source: MusicRadar.com

According to a story in the Sun newspaper on 12 May 2008, Zak Starkey is unlikely to play with Oasis again, following completion of the band’s seventh studio album, due later this year.

The newspaper quoted a source close to the band as saying: “There have been arguments with Noel Gallagher and general disagreements. It looks like the album will be his last involvement with the band.”

It seems likely that Starkey will continue with his other day job as The Who’s drummer.

Meanwhile, Noel Gallagher’s search for a new sticksman appears to have ended. If reports are to be believed, Chris Sharrock, currently backing Robbie Williams, is set to become the fourth Oasis drummer, and incredibly, the 18th either temporary or permanent member of the band since their debut single, Supersonic, was released back in 1994.

Filed under: Artists, News | No Comments »

Source: kbsradio.ca

Original Rush drummer John Rutsey died this past weekend at the age of 55, according to Toronto radio station Q107. Rutsey’s death was announced by Rush’s management company, Anthem Management. The cause of death was not disclosed. Rutsey and guitarist Alex Lifeson formed Rush in 1968, with bassist/singer Geddy Lee joining a short time later. Rutsey played on the band’s self-titled 1974 debut album, but left the group due to health concerns. A diabetic, Rutsey was unable to commit to long-term touring and elected to step down.

Read the full story …

Filed under: Artists, News | No Comments »