Drummer Talk

Drummer Talk 06/19/2009 - The Right Cymbal for the Job

Dave — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 01:00:05 +0000

Sup guys and gals. Last show of the season. Carter The Prodigal Whipping Boy flies solo today in Dave’s stead. We talk about what kind of cymbal is right for the job. Drummer of the Week is Incubus’ Jose Pasillas. Thanks so much to you all!

Drummer Talk Live Friday Afternoon 1:30pm CST

Carter — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:05:09 +0000

Hey y’all. We’ll have a fresh show this week with Carter flying solo again. I’ll go live at 1:30 pm Central Standard Time. The video feed didn’t agree with me last time so I’ll see if I can get it running this time. Definitely will have a chat room. Topic will be The Right Cymbal For The Job. We’ve discussed cymbals AT LENGTH before on the show, but this particular topic will deal with that sounds are typically used in various styles. I’ll be rockin some news, an album review, plus Jose Pasillas of Incubus as Drummer of the Week. And of course, I’ll have a rant or two cued up about some inanne sports subject. So tune in Friday afternoon for another awesome show!

Dave Matthews Band Video Provides Insight On New Album

Carter — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:38:17 +0000

My love of all things Dave Matthews Band has been discussed much on the show, so here goes again. Hulu.com has a video providing an interesting look behind the scenes of the writing and recording of their new album Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King. Lots of very interesting tidbits in this video, including shots of the band using legit charts, engineer Doug McKean’s thoughts on drum sounds, and the band’s thoughts on the passing of saxophonist LeRoi Moore, who died during the recording. Also, at one point you see drummer Carter Beauford go for it in the studio (8:02 minute mark). I’ve picked up the album, and I must say it’s pretty great. Definitely a solid effort from a band who’s entering their third decade of existence.

Check out the video here!

Roland Visits Memphis Drum Shop

Carter — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:59:08 +0000

Got a cool heads up from Jim Pettit, owner of Memphis Drum Shop (aka The Best Drum Shop on the Face of the Planet) today. For all those in the Memphis area tomorrow the good folks from Roland USA will be in store for free one-on-one lessons and small group lessons on any Roland product. Basically, if you’ve got a piece of Roland equipment that maybe you don’t know how to get the most out of it or have a question, come on down and they’ll help you in person with the gear. Gotta love Memphis Drum Shop. They always go that extra mile for their customers.

Click here for more info

Drummer Talk 06/10/2009 - The Drummer’s Toybox II, Spare Parts

Dave — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 15:51:15 +0000

In part II of the Drummer’s Toybox covers what every drummer should have in a box for parts and repairs. The MD Reader’s Poll is out, the Dr. Rion is the Hybrid Rudiment of the Week, and Carter brings the news! Show Notes

Drummer Talk Live Wed, June 10, 830a (Central)

Dave — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 15:07:41 +0000

You can tell it’s Summer when the DT shows trickle in, but we’re back this Wednesday for an all new show! Join us Wed, June 10 at 8:30am (Central). This week’s topic: The Drummer’s Toybox II - Spare Parts!

DVD Review - Advanced Funk Studies

JABB — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:12:38 +0000

I should note that for this review that I have neither Advanced Funk Studies nor the Contemporary Drum-Set Techniques books themselves but given the information in this DVD I will soon. Rick Latham wrote those two books over twenty-five years ago and they’ve become favorites of the drumming community over that time. At some point along the way Rick decided to supplement the books with a video for each book respectively. Fast forward to today, for the 25th anniversary of Advanced Funk Studies Rick rereleased both of the DVDs together in a single disk with a bunch of extras and it made its way to my house via Netflix… and that’s the story so far.

Before I talk about the instructional content I’m gonna talk about how the DVD is organized because it can be kind of confusing. I’ve read reviews on Netflix from users who obviously didn’t figure out how to access the meat of the DVD and scored it one star and returned it disgusted. I’m not surprised that this happened because the way they set up the DVD menu is really awkward. In most DVDs once you get to the main menu and tell it to start from the beginning it’ll play all the way through the main feature of the DVD; if you want the extras they’ll be neatly packaged in an extras section. In this DVD if start at the first section (the introduction) it’ll play through all the extras and completely skip the main feature! You actually have to select the feature you want to watch and it’ll play through that feature only. The other major flaw this DVD has in its design is that there is no chapter select menu for either of the two main features. You just have to fast forward or skip ahead to the place you want. So in terms of being user friendly this DVD loses some big points.

I can see why the books are so popular if the DVDs are any indicator of the quality of the books. It’s exactly what you want/expect in something titled Advanced Funk Studies, everything in the book is musically applicable and very funky. Much like the Thomas Lang DVD’s it’s pretty much one example after another with some musical interludes and a short talk before each new section of the DVD. The difference is that all the examples sound really cool whereas with Thomas Lang’s DVD the examples will start to grate at my nerves after about 30 minutes. Now, the DVD’s do not follow the books exactly, they skip many of the exercises but still cover enough ground to be informative. They definitely provide a good guide to what the final outcome of the exercise should sound like.

In the Advanced Funk Studies portion of the DVD he covers subjects such as: fixed hi-hat patterns, combination exercises, fills and funk patterns, and transcriptions of solos. I especially enjoyed the fill section of the video because I swear i’ve heard drummers like John Dolmayan and Tim “Herb” Alexander use these fills verbatim in some of their work with System of a Down and Primus (respectively.) In Contemporary Drum-Set Techniques, he talks about: applying rudiments to grooves and fills, grips and contemporary rudiments, using contemporary rudiments, drum-set interpretation exercises, hand/foot doubles and hi-hat substitutions, and contemporary triplets.

Breakdown.

Content wise this thing is full and very well done. It’s meant to be a paring with the corresponding book so all the stuff he does and more is transcribed in there so there’s no need for PDFs this time around. It’ll definitely have the most value for people who are new too using the book because it’s a great learning aid and shows you what you should be shooting for when you play the exercises. It is to the books what the Groove Essentials DVD was to the Groove Essentials Poster. Yes, technically you could probably play all the grooves on the poster and sound great without ever using the DVD, but using the DVD makes it that much easier. Especially for those of us who don’t have teachers or someone to ask for help.

Presentation wise it’s… lacking. Like I said before the way they decided to organize the DVD is just crappy and all of the main content was shot decades ago. Only the stuff that was shot for the 25th anniversary edition of this DVD looks well put together Rick makes sure you’re paying attention to all the little details that can make or break your practicing session so props for him being a good teacher.

It’s a 25th anniversary edition so it’s got lots of extras as you would expect. In fact it’s one of the few Non-Hudson DVDs that really has a good amount of extras. There is two new lessons from Rick and and interview with Louie Bellson and Ed Shaughnessy, a gear tour and a picture slide show. Normally I hate picture galleries on my DVD’s but when it’s in slide show form with music in the background it’s not so bad. Oh and as far as the music played on the DVD it’s… not my thing. It’s really really light funk fusion that I think has no real bite to it. It’s a minor nit pick but hey, that’s my job.

Over all if you own the two books you should own this. Because of it’s symbiotic nature with the books it’s one DVD that I actually recommend buying and keeping for as long as you keep the books. The exception to this rule are people who just honestly easily grasped the material without aid or have gone through the book so many times they can play it in their sleep. It’s an instructional aid, not much additional material so if you have no need for aid then you might want to rent it for kicks and giggles or maybe just skip it.

Ludwig Shows Off Limited Edition Stainless Steel Kit

Carter — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 04:32:24 +0000

Now THIS is cool. As part of their 100th anniversary celebrations, Ludwig is releasing a gorgeous stainless steel kit. Every kit will be fashioned by Ronn Dunnett, owner of Dunnett Classic Drums, who knows a thing or two about making metal drums. Too bad they’re only making 100 of them. I’d love to get one.

Source: Harmony-Central.com

Since 1909, Ludwig has been making exceptionally crafted percussion products for drummers of all styles. During the 100th Anniversary year, Ludwig is proud to announce the release of the Ludwig Anniversary Edition Stainless Steel Pro Beat outfit.

The 1970’s were a time of great innovation at Ludwig’s Damen Avenue facility. True to Ludwig’s tradition of innovation, these stainless steel kits were forged for unprecedented volume, sustain, and power in heavy music. Ludwig’s new Anniversary Edition Stainless Steel Pro Beat outfit is a true testament to our timeless roots. Only 100 kits will be made available, all of them hand-rolled and tooled by drum smith Ronn Dunnett.

The first 50 made will feature a polished chrome steel finish and brass hardware; the second 50 with brushed stainless finish and chrome hardware. This ultra-thin stainless shell and bearing edge on each drum creates a tone of such enormity that they simply have to be experienced to be believed. “Each drum in this collection tells a story,” says Symphonic Percussion Director of Marketing Jim Catalano. “There is so much history that is represented in these drums and they are truly something special.”

These models will be limited to 100 pieces each worldwide.

Taye Unveils New BeBop Kit in Classic Walnut Finish

Carter — Sun, 31 May 2009 19:57:09 +0000

This makes me drool. Taye’s unveiling a new finish for their BeBop kits. This classic walnut finish is seriously mouth-watering. Maybe it’s because I’ve been playing and listening to a lot of jazz recently, but my favorite part of this kit besides the finish is the 18″x14″ kick drum. Looks marvelous. Bet it sounds great too! Always been impressed with how Taye’s kits sound. They do great work.

Source: Harmony-Central.com

Taye Drums’ introduction of their new BeBop configuration back in late 2008 included Black Oyster and White Pearl and was warmly received. Now in 2009, Taye fills their passion bucket with a Classic Walnut lacquer finish. This set is sure to be something worthy of passing from generation to generation.

You will enjoy the smooth sound and traditional look of a 12″x8″ rack tom, 14″x14″ floor tom, 18″x14″ bass drum with a matching 14″ x 5″ snare drum.

At a retail price of $1919, you can make sure you have Taye on your side.

Memphis Drum Shop Featured in MTV’s Flipside Memphis

Carter — Wed, 27 May 2009 05:00:50 +0000

Good things come in groups, I guess. Flipside Memphis, which is a series of videos about local Memphis music and such that MTV has recently put out, put together a short video about the Memphis Drum Shop. I know we’ve talked about our love for MDS ad nauseum on the show, but I think this video really sums it up. AND, the main narrator is my own instructor, Renardo Ward. Pretty cool. Check it out. Links to the Flipside Memphis site can be found after the jump.

Click here to view the embedded video.

From flipsidememphis.com

Where does the Memphis beat come from? The endless procession of great drummers that has powered the city’s sounds had to get their drums somewhere, and the preferred place for drummers in the know is the Memphis Drum Shop. This Midtown institution has more cymbals than you can shake a stick at, and an unbeatable selections of skins for every skill level. From the beginner to the expert to the rock god, anything a drummer wants to hit, they’ve got it. Even more amazing is their collection of vintage drums, many of which are signed souveniers from rock and soul legends.

But it’s more than just a store, it’s a center of education. Countless Memphis drummers got their first lessons here, whether they’re marching in the drum line or seated behind the kit. With a staff who is dedicated to the art of the beat, Memphis Drum Shop truly is “Drum Heaven”.

Flipside Memphis - MDS

Flipside Memphis

Drummer Talk

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