G’head, ask me anything. I’ve played in many a bar, concert hall, amphitheater, festival, etc. I’ve even shared the stage with the likes of Foghat and Donny Iris, those poor, poor people. I’ve played on 2 CD’s that were distributed, and wrote %80 of the music on a third CD. Not trying to brag or boast at all, just giving you an idea of where my experience lies.
Another thread inspired me to start this one. I doubt anyone will have any questions, and this will tank like my last thread, but what the hell?
I’ve long considered starting an ‘ask the professional musician thread’ and an ‘ask the artist manager/concert promoter thread’ but never got around to it, mostly because my threads also tend to sink like stones. You want to combine them all and make a general ‘ask the music guys’ thread?
FTR, I’m professional guitarist and bassist with many years of touring on both instruments, and with approximately 700 live shows and four studio albums under my belt. I’ve produced quite a few more for other artists, in various genres. More recently, I manage several acts and do concert promotion (club and festival).
And for your first questions, what style(s) of music do you play?
What’s your worst gigging experience?
What would you consider the highlight of your career so far?
I started in a Heavy rock band, went to a Ska band that kind of turned into a funk/rock band, then a Really heavy metal band, and my current project is a cover band for $$$
We played a gig in Chicago (I live in Columbus OH) in a bar with no A/C in the blistering summer, the only 3 people there (yes, only 3) were people we knew, we got paid $25 (gas alone was at least $50). The only saving grace was that the “backstage” area was also where they stored their liquor :D. A bottle of Ketel One later, we didn’t feel as bad.
Two things come to mind, We played a local fesival here called Comfest, a three day music/food/drinking thing, and we got the prime spot. The band that played before us has had songs on MTV. We were truly fortunate to have the Friday night closing slot which is basically the Super Bowl of local music. We came on stage with tons of fog, and Carmina Burana blaring loudly. Probably 5,000 people were screaming and cheering and we had one of the most memorable shows of our lives (even though I played all of the songs way too fast because of nerves).
The other gig was actually a private thing. A guy whom none of us knew apparently loved our band to no end, and his girlfriend arranged for us to play on his driveway as he came home on his birthday. He was very near tears. Those kinds of moments make the big money gigs seem much more small.
No. I especially like “How do you get a drummer off you porch?” Pay him for the pizza.
Having been a drummer and a pizza delivery driver, I find that one pretty funny.
Yes, by all means. I love (and can take) a good joke.
It was pretty gradual, but every CD release gets a lot of press, air-play, and attention in general. Big shows make fans quite easily, just by attrition. Having a horn section in a non-jazz band gave us enough of a “gimmick” to make us pretty memorable as well.
I got out of the band that I’m mainly referencing a couple years ago because I thought we’d peaked. Sure enough, they’re planning their last show as we speak. You usually get a small window in which you can “make it”, but people break that notion daily.
That’s the idea with my latest project, kind of. I should be able to at least match my current salary by just playing a few gigs a week. I will not “quit my day job” anytime soon though. Bands tend to have very little in the way of benefits plans, and security of income for that matter.
Don’t you just hate that? It still happens even when you know it’s going to and you try to stop it.
I have one for you. (Same on drummers ask each other all the time.) Tell me about your set. Brand, size, etc. Do you go for the massive 3 rows of toms and 25 cymbals type set, or the barebones style? Also, do you use any electronics or acoustic only?
Right now I’ve got a Tama Rockstar. It tunes nicely and is relatively “disposable”, meaning I don’t mind carting it up and down stairs. I might upgrade when I get more money and better cases.
I tend to just play on a 5 piece kit although I do have the extra tom to make it 6. 2 crashes, 1 splash, 1 ride, and hats. All Zildjian except for the splash, which is a Sabian. A custom crashes in case you were wondering.
I used to use a Roland SPD 20 for various sounds etc. but it wasn’t worth the hassle. When I joined the metal band I got an Alesis DM5 drum processor for triggering my kick. The kick sounded fine just acoustic, but when you can have bass drum sounds that stir peoples drinks at 50 paces, why not :D?
Currently I play a lot of rock, bluegrass and reggae (electric, acoustic and bass,
respectively). My main electric influences are Hendrix, Trey Anastasio (Phish), Chris Castino (The Big Wu), Joe Pass and Joe Satriani. On acoustic, it’s Tony Rice. On bass, it would be Jaco Pastorius, Rocco Prestia and Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett.
What’s your worst gigging experience?
The time my lead singer got busted in the parking lot by a good-old-boy cop half and hour before show time. For possession, despite the fact that he only had about a gram of reefer on him, in his pocket, and he was merely sitting in the van talking to his girlfriend on the cell phone. But this was a deep south town, and our singer was black, with huge dreads and was wearing a dashiki. He was detained, searched and cuffed in the back of the squad car before we knew anything had happened. So we ended up playing a lovely show with ME singing everything (hah!) and we got to experience first hand the lovely spectre of racism in a very heavy handed manner.
What would you consider the highlight of your career so far?
I’ve played some pretty major festivals - but the biggest to date was a major wine festival in Virginia, for about 15,000 people. That was a rush. Also the day we signed our first major management contract, and our first label contract. Those were heady days. Now, I tend to take a little more jaundiced view of both management and labels, having worked on the other side of the fence for some time.
More recently, the concert I promoted here in Madison for the Pat McGee Band, when I managed to bring out almost 400 people on a Monday night. I was already walking on air when the National Radio Rep (All Formats) for Warner Brothers asked me if I wanted to bring some larger acts to town, starting with Robert Randolph. Naturally, I declined, considering the cost, but that was pretty damn cool. Also when the first act I started to manage FINALLY released their first full length album, to a sellout crowd of over 500 people at The Pub here in Madison. I was quite proud of those guys.
How big a drum kit is too big? (see above’s kit that looks to be four kits - one facing in each direction)
Do you have any influences? If so, who are they?
If it’s not some sort of professional taboo, which drummer is overrated? Underrated? (IANAD, but I think Clem Burke (Blondie, Eurythmics) is underrated)
Peart is a great drummer much the same as symphonic drummers are top notch. They can play anything, but nothing ground breaking usually. He’s still great though.
Peart knew how to make good use of his rotating kit and he actually used all those instruments. Some drummers have way too many drums for their own good. For some reason the enormous kit that the drummer from Slaughter had comes to mind. That jackass couldn’t play his way out of a paper bag.
Unless you’re in a metal band, you probably don’t need more than 6 or 7 drums tops, and maybe 8 to 10 cymbals.
My drumming hero is Akira Jimbo he plays in a Japanese prog-jazz band called Casiopea, his instructional videos make me want to put the sticks down for good. I’ll try to list some of my favorites, but I know I’ll leave out some important ones. Tim Alexander(Primus), Stewart Copeland (Police), Bill Bruford (Yes), Carter Beauford (Dave Matthews), Neil Peart (Rush), Danny Carrey (Tool), Mike Portnoy even though he’s a dick (Dream Theater), Bonzo (Led Zeppelin), the guy from Simple Minds, Vinnie Paul (Pantera), Dave Grohl (QOTSA/Foo Fighters), Dave Lombardo (Slayer), Nick Barker (Dimmu Borgir), and the drummers from Soul Coughing, In Flames, Our Lady Peace, Ozric Tentacles, and Cradle of Filth.
The first person that came to mind as being over rated was Peter Criss from KISS. That guy sucks bad. Even guys in pro recording mags have said “well, he’s not the greatest drummer, but…”. The second one that came to mind is Tommy Lee, absolutely nothing special. Lastly, and unfortunately, is Neil Peart. He is truly a very very good drummer, but people act like he’s the best in the world by a wide magin, he’s not. Don’t get me wrong, I love the guys stuff, but if I were in a Best Drummer Ever conversation with another drummer, his name probably wouldn’t come up.
I can’t say that I know much about Clem Burke though.
There was a song that I almost always did that during. It got to the point where the guys in the band would look back at me at the point where I usually ended early, and shake their heads no. Some sort of mental block there I think.
As someone with no musical experience, training, or talent, I’ve always wondered if there is some tension between classical musicians and “popular” musicians. It seems the classical folk have a much higher level of training and, dare I say, talent (in most cases anyway). They also rarely achieve the fame and fortune levels of many even mediocre bands. I mean, I’ve never heard of a self-taught violinist starting a “garage orchestra” and going on to world renown while still in their early 20’s.
I"m thinking of the Metallica video that has them playing with the San Francisco (I think) orchestra playing in the background. Are the classical musicians thinking “these guys suck, and I have to BACK them??” Ever seen or heard anything along these lines?
Actually the musicians were a bit apprehensive at first. But once the curtain went up, they heard something most of them have never heard before. Screaming. The concerts these people played all began with silence and ended with polite applause.
The adrenaline rush that those people got (at least a good number of them) was nothing less than massive. I can play countless rock shows and still get goosebumps when I can tell that I’m almost forcing everyone in the room to nod their heads or shake their ass.
Besides, backing up a group of shredders like Metallica comes with it’s own rush. The fan response made those introverted prodigys feel like big freakin rock stars for the first time in their lives. Powerfull stuff, believe me. It’s kind of funny that you mentioned that, since every time I hear a song off of S&M I think about the thrill that those guys must have experienced.
No he didn’t. He was a pretty cool guy, but he stayed in his “bus” most of the time. He executed his songs well(heh double entendre). We were quite surprised that so many people were still so enthusiastic about his music.
[Pittsburgian accent]
Donny frickin’ Iris. I wonder if he was pissed that the venue didn’t have no chip-chop ham.
What do drummers think of Mitch Mitchell? I think he is the most creative drummer I have heard. There isn’t a dull measure. Why does he not get more respect?
How does one start on the drums? Can you teach yourself from a book?
Funny you should mention that, I was seriously going to include him on my list but I couldn’t remember his name exactly (I thought it was Mitch Mithum for some reason) I now hang my head in shame. He had a very unique approach to the feel of drumming. Listen to “Manic Depression” or “Fire” for good examples. Everytime I start to play that riff from Manic Depression I just don’t want to stop, it just feels good. Modern drummer magazine seems to think highly of him, but I think the untimely death of Jimi kept Mitch’s popular catalog to a minimum. Damn shame.
I’m self taught (actually I had 3 or 4 lessons in high school) but I recommend some good mentoring in order to get past the initial coordination hurdle. Books are great, but you have to know how to read music, which you can learn from the same book presumably. My sight reading is super rusty so I can’t give too much specific advice on that topic.
Three words for the aspiring drummer in order of importance: Practice, Metronome, Rudiments.
Practice should probably have been all three, but that joke’s been done to death. I can’t stress enough how practicing develops your groove.
Metronomes are good to get used to since you’re going to have to basically become a human version of one. They make metrophones but they’re not cheap. That was the lowest price I could find with the metronome built in.
Rudiments tend to seem silly, and useless, but there’s nothing better for building up your hand chops. There’s a ton of good rudiment books and everyone has their favorite. Basically you can go to the sheet music store, ask for the best rudiment exercise book, make sure the guy on the cover is an old dude, and leave with a pretty good starting guide. If you need a name, try Roy Burns. He once re-headed my entire 6 piece kit for free since he’s an Aquarian expert now. That was the highlight of being Drum Department Manager at Sam Ash (except for the time I sold gear to the drummer from GWAR).
That reminds me, Remo Pinstripe heads are by far my favorite drum head. Coated Ambassador’s for the snare, and a Powerstroke 3 for the kick. I kept the freebie Aquarian resonant heads since they don’t make a huge difference.
since he’s an Aquarian expert now. That was the highlight of being Drum Department Manager at Sam Ash (except for the time I sold gear to the drummer from GWAR).