Always wanted to call in to Drummer Talk with a question?  Have feedback or suggestions for the show and just hate email?  Well, you can now call the “What is Up?” Hotline at (206) 203-0953 and leave your questions, comments, feedback, and suggestions!  Call now!  Operators are standing by.

Filed under: News | No Comments »

We embrace all things percussion here at Drummer Talk and that includes news of the upcoming Marimba 2010 marimba convention in Minneapolis this Spring.  From April 28-May 1, you can get your mallet on in the first marimba convention of its kind!

The Marimba 2010 International Festival and Conference will be a once-in-a-lifetime event held April 28-May 1, 2010, that will bring together the most innovative marimba artists worldwide and the most distinguished musical organizations in the Twin Cities for the common purpose of celebrating the marimba around the globe. Marimba 2010 will provide an opportunity for the leading personalities of this instrument to join forces with each other and the local community to engage in an unprecedented event comprised of performance, education and celebration

The festival will present approximately 21 recitals and 3 round-table discussions at the Ted Mann Concert Hall, 8 concerts with the artistic partners at various locations in the Twin Cities including Orchestra Hall, SPCO Center, Southern Theater, Weisman Art Museum, Landmark Center, and St. Paul Cathedral, as well as several master classes in schools, community centers and/or churches that will reach a variety of students throughout the larger metropolitan area. At the core of Marimba 2010 will be the bringing together of diverse musical environments, cultures, and creative minds; the celebration of each of the partnering organizations involved in the festival; and the learning opportunities available to those in attendance from around the globe.  This event will create a unique forum for the mix of cultural influences that will merge dynamic art forms and foster cross-cultural understanding between participants, provide future benefits for each of the countries involved, and ultimately celebrate the marimba in a grand way!

For registration and more details head on over to www.marimba2010.org.  Check out this good public radio story on the event.

Filed under: Events, News | No Comments »

Source: Sabian.com

SABIAN, the award winning cymbal company, is sponsoring “The Most Warped Drummer” contest, an online competition at www.mostwarped.com. The contest gives aspiring musicians the chance to upload a performance video to be voted on by fans, for a chance to win a grand prize trip and all-access pass to the Boston Warped Tour stop on July 13, 2010, as well as a collection of SABIAN gear.

Musicians are invited to visit the site and upload a video, up to three minutes long, of themselves playing drums in one of five categories; “Drum Solo,” “With Music,” “Rock/Alternative,” “Jazz/Fusion,” and “Latin-Inspired.” Between April 21 and June 14, the public will be able to vote for their favorite drummers. The 10 videos with the most viewer votes will win cool prizes, and move on to the semi-final round of the competition. Top SABIAN artists on the Warped Tour will then judge the videos, and determine the grand prize winner.

Read More …

Filed under: Events, News | No Comments »

Sad news that Ed Thigpen, father of modern brush technique, has passed away.

From The Chicago Tribune:

Jazz lovers called him “Mr. Taste,” and the nickname couldn’t have been more fitting.

Always fashionably dressed — and sounding as impeccable as he looked — Ed Thigpen conveyed elegance in every aspect of his life and art.

At the same time, his ability to generate propulsive, hard-hitting swing rhythm made him a driving force in pianist Oscar Peterson’s great trio of the late 1950s and ’60s, which also included bassist Ray Brown.

This high-profile spot established Mr. Thigpen, born in Chicago and raised in Los Angeles, as an international figure. It also made him a featured player at Chicago’s long-gone London House, where Peterson’s trio enjoyed extended residencies.

Mr. Thigpen, 79, died Wednesday, Jan. 13, in Copenhagen, said his daughter, Denise. The drummer, who had moved to Denmark in 1972, performed regularly through October. He was hospitalized in the last two weeks with “weak lungs and weak heart,” said his daughter, speaking from Copenhagen.

Read More

Filed under: Artists, News | No Comments »

Exams are bearing down at visible school and the crew can’t make it this week. We apologize and will be back in full force next week.

The Drummertalk Team

Filed under: News | No Comments »

3:05 SB has already taken the stage. He’s taking about the imortance of knowing rudiments.

SB: we are gifted as drummers. When you hear something new, try to go for the sound. That’s what makes the difference. I want to go over the basic sounds (strokes) of the drum. Singles, aka tap. Means freedom and natural movement. It’s easiest to express yourself. How do you make singles musical without sounding like a machine? It’s natural motion. Next: the unison. We play more unison strokes than any other stroke. We play it every time we play a groove between the hh and sd. Harmony, power. Like playing chords on a piano. Next: the buzz roll. Long continuos sound. Smooth. Next: double aka diddle. Rebound, bouncing. Next: flam. Natural accent. Grace note before a loud note. Next: drag. These are the 6 main strokes. Concept to application. We’ll look at this on the drumset. First, pad or pillow? NEITHER!! You don’t play a pad on the gig, so when possible practice on the drumset. The rudiments are also great bc it teaches us subdivision. Notation, accents. And also the fact that you are forced to alternate. Spend twice as much time on the weaker limb.

Permutations. Practice slow. The slower you practice the quicker you learn.

You can also apply the strokes on the clave.

3:27 Moves to kit. He’s a lefty! About to play to a James Brown track.

SB: instead of using a metronome all the time, practice to music. You’ll find that you might find some really good ideas! Here’s a cool exercise to help with rudiments. Dr. Beat. Quarter bass. 8th on ride. 16th with hh. 8th Triplets on snare. This will help your inner pulse.

2 weeks per Rudiment. 52 weeks of work. Start on snare the begin to explore on the set. And use the bass drum! That’s what makes it drumset. (demonstrates singles around the kit.)

3:41 SB: with doubles, everybody’s fascinated. Make sure to take a breath. Once you get them faster the temptaion is to do this (blows heat). But let’s make it more musical. Inverted doubles: the second note is on the downbeat. (demonstrates).

3:48 Paradiddles. Mixing doubles and singles around the kit. Flamacue. (demonstrates several other rudiments around the kit and splitting hands and working the rudiments around grooves.

3:53 Wraps of the clinic and plays us out. Nice touch!

Filed under: News, PASIC Blog | 1 Comment »

there is NO live show today! there will be an archive show dropped in your podcast feed instead.

Filed under: News | No Comments »

We are tracking live Thursday at 8am (Central). The topic: the history of Zildjian and Sabian!

Filed under: News | No Comments »

Hey guys. As you’re probably guessed, we did not do a show this morning. We had some severe internet connection issues with Dave’s computer and he couldn’t get to any of his information on the show. We’ll throw a rerun up today and will (hopefully) be back in full force next week with a show about the Zildjian/Sabian splito. Very sorry for the lack of show. Hope you all understand. If there’s anything we’ve learned from this incident its..

SAVE THE FELTS!!!

Until next week…

Carter

Filed under: News | No Comments »

Industry titan, George Baldwin joins us in show this week as we pull back the curtain on the music industry and provide industry insights. The Flam is the rudiment of the week, Aaron Gillespie is the drummer of the week, we review the new MUTEMATH record, and we discuss the new Cover Band contest. Show Notes

Filed under: Interviews, News, Podcast | 1 Comment »

Ustream seems to be acting up so no live show today. This is for all you non Twitter folk out there who didn’t get the tweet. There will still be a show download later though! Better luck next week.

Filed under: News | No Comments »

Something like this comes along. Neil Peart, the professor of percussion has branched off into the world of cooking. Drummer, lyricist, composer, author, philosopher, and now helpful kitchen helper. A renaissance man if ever there was one. Hopefully he and Mario Batali will team up for something crazy. After all Batali already has contatcs in the drumming world…

More details on Bubba’s Bar n’ Grill here.

Filed under: News, Randomness | No Comments »

Hi all! Drummer Talk is live again this Thursday at 8am Central. The topic this week is “Industry Insights” with special guest, George Baldwin.

Filed under: News | No Comments »

Hello everyone out there. I hope you’ve had a great Summer. Drummer Talk returns THIS WEEK to kick off season 5 of the Internet’s longest running drumming podcast. Tune in Thursday (Aug 6) morning at 8am Central to catch the live feed. This week’s topic: in-ear monitors. You don’t wanna miss it!

Filed under: News | 6 Comments »

This is NOT an instructional and don’t let anyone tell you different! This is a glimpse into the mind of Neil Peart and what he was thinking about when he was with Rush making their Test for Echo album. Remember how I said that there wasn’t much deep thinking or drumming philosophy in Drum Philosophy? I think I might have found where it went. Neil Peart shows himself to be a very deep thinker and quite articulate. In other words he’s the perfect drummer to undertake a project like this. (more…)

Filed under: News | 1 Comment »