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DVD Review – Behind the Player: Stephen Perkins

February 20, 2010 in Music/DVDs, Opinion, Reviews by JABB

Hola! Yeah, I know it has been a while but now I’m back!

To make up for slacking I’m doing a trio of videos to make up for lost time. The three videos come from a new series of instructional videos I discovered on Netflix. A Los Angeles based company called IMV has flooded Netflix with its line of “Behind the Player” (BTP) DVDs. They have videos for guitarists, bassists, and drummers and they feature mostly artists of the rock/metal/alt variety. They also donate a portion of their earnings to a charity called Little Kids Rock. I suspect it’s all a part of an evil plot concocted to boost membership in the KISS Army, but that’s just my theory.

On to the review!
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Todd Sucherman: Methods & Mechanics for Useful Musical Drumming

December 15, 2009 in Music/DVDs, Opinion, Reviews by JABB

I’ve been excited to see this one for a while. I was waiting for the promised Blu-Ray version to come out so I could see if the instructional experience is that much better in HD. Alas, my patience expired when I saw it available on Netflix. I saw the preview for this DVD and thought “that guy sounds like a more progressive version of Steve Smith… and I like that.” As it turns out Todd Sucherman: drummer for Styx, session drummer, and clinician, is a big fan of Steve Smith. In fact Todd actually tells a touching personal story about his relationship with Steve Smith which is one of the nice little touches in this DVD that make it so great, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
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Victor Wooten & Carter Beauford: Making Music

December 3, 2009 in Music/DVDs, Opinion, Reviews by JABB

This review might be a little nontraditional but you’ll have to forgive me because this DVD is quite nontraditional. It’s one of those most rare of animals, the drum and bass instructional video. Carter Beauford, (drummer for DMB) and Victor Wooten, (bassist for Béla Fleck and the Flecktones), decided to turn the recording session for Victor’s album Yin-Yang into the foundation for an entire drum/bass instructional DVD. This isn’t two separate instructional DVDs that Hudson Music decided to sell as a package. It doesn’t try to teach everything you need to know to play either instrument. Rather, it focuses on the music on the Yin-Yang album and examines the give-and-take between Carter and Victor when they play. This is an instructional that demands you pay attention to what they play and analyze it for yourself. Read the rest of this entry →

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DVD Review – Matt Sorum: Licks and Tricks from the Rock & Roll Jungle

November 14, 2009 in Music/DVDs, Opinion, Reviews by JABB

If there’s any drummer who can claim they’ve come from the rock and roll jungle it’s Matt Sorum. With seven years under his belt, he’s the longest sitting Guns N’ Roses drummer ever. Matt Sorum was ejected from the band by Axl Rose after he defended Slash’s decision to leave. So along with Slash and former Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan they formed Velvet Revolver… which is now on hiatus because their lead singer left the band. Lead singer issues aside, Matt Sorum is a road tested rock drummer and well qualified to speak on the topic of rock drumming. Read the rest of this entry →

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DVD Review – Alan Schechner: Coordination & Groove

November 2, 2009 in Music/DVDs, Opinion, Reviews by JABB

Coordination & Groove is a video that is pretty much honest about its content. It’s a video about coordination and groove, in that order IMO. Alan Schechner (the host) is another one of those working drummers. The kind that we’ll probably end up like if we pursue the working drummer career path. Not famous, but then again… who needs fame if you have a job making music with the instrument of your choice? Read the rest of this entry →

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Gear Review – Tama Iron Cobra

October 31, 2009 in Gear, Opinion, Reviews by JABB

The Tama Iron Cobra is one of the staple pedals of the rock and metal scene. The money Tama has been putting into that marketing has been working; they are one of the most popular pedals because they are fast, smooth, and will survive a nuclear firestorm. Tama has built that fan base and is pretty well happy to stick with the thing they have going on. They haven’t had a major change in design for a while. Ironic, considering the words ” The Legend in Innovation” are etched in the foot board and they’ve been using the same basic model for years. Read the rest of this entry →

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DVD Review – Rockabilly Rocking Swing with Slim Jim Phantom

October 10, 2009 in Music/DVDs, Opinion, Reviews by JABB

Slim Jim Phantom is awesome… more awesomely awesome then you will ever be, and this video proves it! Woe unto you he who knowith not how awesome he is for he is just that awesome. Is what I would proclaim smugly if I weren’t above such things. Which I’m apparently not but seriously that is how smug this video comes across to me. Almost to the point of making the thing too comical to watch. I’m gonna keep this review short because the less I say  the less likely I’ll say something I’ll regret. Read the rest of this entry →