Posts Tagged ‘drums’
As if Halloween wasn’t scary enough already without having to meet customskins.co.uk
Posted by tim in Uncategorized on October 12th, 2009
As we all know, Halloween is a big pointless made-up thing, invented entirely for people who want to throw bricks through old ladies windows, and companies who want to sell you something. Fortunately for our countries’ aging population, we at customskins.co.uk fit into the latter category.
In fact, even that’s not really true. We don’t really want to sell you something, we’d just like to meet you. That’s why we’re going to be at the Jobeky UK Custom Drum Festival on Halloween; October 31st. Here’s the lowdown:
The nice people at Jobeky Drums thought it would be cool to host an event showcasing small custom drum makers and suppliers here in the UK. This mad concept evolved into the Jobeky UK Custom Drum Festival, and it’s the first one this year. Of course, customskins.co.uk were high on the list (top, obviously) of companies Jobeky wanted to be there, so here we are.
The event is being held in the Staffordshire Pavillion at the Staffordshire Country Showground, and runs from 10am to 5pm. There’s lots of custom drum companies exhibiting, plus a really quite enticing selection of clinics from the likes of Robin Guy, Martin Ranscombe and Karl Brazil.
Entry is an absolute bargain at £10 and you can buy advance tickets here.
We’re not entirely sure what we’re going to be doing or showing, but you can rest assured that it will not include contemporary dance or firearms.
Les Paul and his Magical Machinery
Posted by richmond in Uncategorized on September 8th, 2009
On august 13th legendary guitarist, inventor and entrepreneur Les Paul passed away after a decent innings of 94 years. Normally at this point you’re saying – “Yes, yet another old guy has died”, “can’t you write about something else”. This time you may be thinking, yes we know – But what has he got to do with drums and drummers?
Other than the obvious impact he had on the guitar world as a player and inventor – the importance of his iconic Les Paul guitar really cannot be overstated, (see Slash, ZZ top, Jeff Beck, Green Day, Sex Pistols etc for further details) he invented and popularised effects (tape delay anyone?) and pioneered multi-track recording.
And this is where we drummers come in.
Back in ‘the day’ most recordings were done with one or two mics for everyone and a ‘take’ had to be complete. That meant if Johnny Bass player ballsed it up in bar 85 you had to go back and start all over. The advent of multi-track recording meant different instruments could be recorded separately and although it didn’t happen overnight it ultimately lead to the modern approach of recording drums. Now we can have a separate mic on every drum (and more if you really wanna go to town! – top and bottom mics on snare drums and multi mic-ed bass drums are pretty common). This gives control over the drums like no other instrument. You can set effects, levels, stereo (or surround sound) placement for each drum. Imagine doing that for individual guitar strings or for separate keys on a sax?! Bonkers.
So, ideally this technology gave the producer and/or drummer the ability to really capture ‘their sound’. We got the barking toms of Phil Collins, the big bombastic beats of Bonham, the fat ‘n’ wet 70s Steve Gadd sound and Copeland’s poppin’ snare and splashy splashes! So what went wrong, or did it indeed go wrong?
Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin said in interview that it is not the drummers you recognise anymore but the producers like Timbaland instead. Over the years have ‘live’ drum sounds become so well produced that they start to sound the same - Are we striving for the ultimate generic drum sound?
So I’m thinking about my favourite drum recordings and whether it really matters if there are a few rough bits ‘hear’ and there? Squeaky pedals, buzzing snares and rattling toms have all at some point made it onto records. Okay, I’m in danger of sounding like a ‘they don’t make em like they used to’ kind of chap and I’m not. But, and it’s a big butt (and I cannot lie…) When was the last time you recognised a drummer by ‘their sound’?
So come on folks, what’s your favourite drum recording? This may have annoyed you just enough to start compiling a list………
Fundraising Megadude Jim Farey + 581 Drummers Stick It to MS
Posted by tim in Uncategorized on August 10th, 2009
I’ve never met Jim Farey, but I know a few things about him. He’s a drum tutor at Nottinghams MLC Academy, he plays in a band called the Gingernuts, and his bass drum is a healthy 24 inches.
Jim was one of 582 drummers who descended on the unsuspecting midlands city of Birmingham to break the record for the most drummers playing under one roof. Jim is dressed as an 80s jogger - he assures me that this is not his everyday streetwear. I remain skeptical.
Here’s what it sounded like.
Of course, it’s pretty earsplitting, but the most important thing is that £34,535 was raised for a great cause. Did they break the record? Yes they did. Double win.
A big well done to everyone who took part.
Drumming, its all about T…..…iming.
Posted by richmond in Uncategorized on April 3rd, 2009
I’m not one of those people that think the drummers role is 100% keeping time, but it is about 95% of it!
Developing decent ‘time’ on the drums is for many players a long-term goal which gets refined and tweaked over a lifetime. Personally I feel that a drummer in a band who can’t keep good time is about as useful as…..the guitarist. (Joke! Before the axe wielding crowd out there gets upset…)
Here are a few thoughts about developing time which may help you, especially if practising is currently proving fruitless and getting you down.
When playing with a metronome, try dividing the click in half but still play at the same speed. Eg: if playing a groove at 110 bpm, cut the click to 55bpm so it sounds on every ½ note (minim) rather than every ¼ (crochet). This increased space between each metronome beat will deepen your sense of pulse/ meter and make you less reliant on the metronome.
The next time you sit down at your drums try playing (without any predetermined beat/ tempo in mind) what you would term a slow beat. Make a note of what bpm this is. On another occasion do the same but with a ‘medium’ speed beat. And again, another time with a fast beat. Doing this will establish your ‘comfort zone’, the tempos that are likely to be where you feel most confident and comfortable with keeping steady time. Ideally you need every tempo (within reason!) to feel like this. If you find your medium tempo is 120 bpm, try working on speeds above and below that, eg: 117 or 124. DO NOT underestimate how significant these small increments can feel! Even 1 or 2 bpm can make a difference to you either dragging or rushing the beat.
If possible with a drum machine or metronome, program a pattern that has a click for 1 bar and then silence. Or even better 2 bars click, 2 bars silence. If you can’t do this then simply play along with a metronome for a few minutes then switch it off. Play time, again for a few minutes and then switch the click back on to see if you’ve sped up or slowed down.
Great rhythm sections have players who all feel time in a similar way. Although you do on occasions get a great feel from rhythmic tensions, generally its gonna be hard work if the bass player drags, the guitarist pushes and you are stuck somewhere in between! Try working on simple grooves with your band, nailing the tempos whether they are slow or fast.
Work on slow tempos. And I mean slow! Its often harder to play slow beats well as the increased space between beats gives you plenty of time to waver.
If your general time is good on grooves but you want to work on fills and solos, try playing as if the accented beat or flashing light on your metronome is your beat 2 instead of the normal 1. This will give the time a different feel and removes the emphasis from beat 1 which can inspire you to make fills and solo phrases sound a little less ‘obvious’. Try this same idea by practising with the accent on beats 3 or 4 as well. This can give grooves a good ‘hump’ and add a funky edge which can be lost when beat 1 is laboured!
Great time does not have to be robotic. Check out classic recordings and you may find there is an elasticity to the time. Gaining control over your playing will allow you to push certain sections in a song or hold them back, without it all going to pot! Good luck.
Mitch, Michael & Me
Posted by richmond in Uncategorized on February 24th, 2009
By now most of you will have heard of the death of Mitch Mitchell in November 2008. The legendary British drummer who shot to fame as one third of the Jimi Hendrix experience was just 61.
There have been lots of suitable tributes by far more knowledgeable folk than I but I wanted to share my own, albeit, brief meeting with Mr. Mitchell back in ‘the day’.
I was a whipper-snapper doing ‘work-experience’ in a music store in Kent when Mitch came into the shop for a few bits’n’bobs. At the time I was clattering about on a state of the art Simmons kit (by this point I had been playing a few years and was at least 3 quid closer to the 5 zillion-pound price tag on said kit). I was sure the black/white Simmons on rack would look the biz once I was on TOTP.
Anyhow, one of the local drum teachers told me in hushed tones who he was and although I knew the name I would not have recognised him as the 60s mop of hair and lurid trousers had long since gone. He took time out to come over and have a chat. He was very complementary about my playing and asked me how long I’d been drumming and about lessons etc. We spoke for 10-15 minutes and he came across as a very unassuming guy, never once coming over as superior to a teenage lad.
The store owner happened to have all of Hendrix’s vinyl in the office so with marker pen in hand he bowed and scraped his way into get Mitchs autograph on each sleeve. Mitch duly signed his name in large letters right across his face on each gatefold cover, remarking how he didn’t like the pictures! ….Something about the hair I think.
It was only afterwards that it really hit me and the other guys in the shop. I mean, this guy was at Woodstock! I couldn’t imagine what he had seen, done and the music he had played. Years later I listened to more of Mitch’s playing as the band I played with covered various Hendrix tunes and I tried to get some of his beats and fills down. He created a fantastic partnership with a guitar player where he could really cut-loose and play some crazy shit! The ‘power-trio’configuration is one I find myself listening to (The Police, Cream & Primus perhaps!) and playing in when given the chance.
Mitch’s influence on me becomes more apparent as I reflect on a current band I play in where as a drummer I have very few boundaries and the singer (rather than guitarist) is my sparring partner. Fortunately I have an awesome bass player on my side who lets me get away with murder 
Anyhow, if you do find yourself at a gig, drum clinic or whatever and the occasion arises to meet the players and performers who shape you as a player (and modern music in general), then I urge you to take it. My meeting with Mitch Mitchell was a chance one but its great to think that I did meet one of the last true British drum legends; and there really aren’t that many of them left!
And before you think there is always time for it, I must also point out the recent passing of Michael Lee, again November 2008. A top British rock drummer who performed with Page & Plant, Lenny Kravitz, The Cult and Thin Lizzy amongst many others.
He was just 39. ‘Nuff said.