The Gig Log: LKG @ HCT 4 NYE

Couldn't resist the title of this one. Too many acronyms came immediately to mind to be dismissed. Translated into English, the title should read, "Lokalgrown at Hale Centre Theatre for New Year's Eve."

Such a fun gig. We've played the HCT New Year's party - as the pre-show for the opening of the new season's comedy - for most of the last eight years or so. The HCT crowd is always energetic, loud and kind. Truly it's one of the gigs we look forward to every year. It never gets old.

Here's the kit almost fully set. The remaining crash is on my seat. Notice the Pro-Mark cymbal rattler. I don't use it very often, but it seemed like a good idea. Turned out to be a great sound for the room.

I'm also a HUGE fan of the rug! Didn't think it would make things look so classy, but it totally did. The only problem is that the pedals and kick drum "walked" all night long. On a regular drum rug things don't move around that much. I had to keep pulling the kick back toward me.

The Hale has a very unique set up. It's theatre-in-the-round, so the audience is seated all the way around the main stage. There are three sort of mini-stages situated at the top of the seating around the theatre, and we set up on one of these. Here's the view from where I sat.

Quinn's keyboard is right in front of me, then the stage. Pretty cool place to play from.






(Right) Here's the view from a part of the audience.

(Below) The other shot may seem random, but let me 'splain.

At the end of this gig we had exactly seven minutes to get all of our equipment - instruments, sound system, etc. - out of the performance area and into the hallway. Then we had to pack everything up and move it out in almost total silence. Not so easy, friends. Not so easy. So, I took a picture of my entire rig after we had packed up.

My whole load in/out is two bags of drums (kick/snare in one, toms in the other), cymbal bag, hardware bag, bag of tricks (shakers, tambourines, etc.) and my rug, which I didn't use on this gig.





This is the number one reason I use the Yamaha Manu Katche (Junior Kit): it packs up and loads out with not a lot of effort. I drive a relatively small station wagon, and the bass player (Matt Redd) and I were able to carpool to this gig with both of our equipment in the back with room to spare.

Nice.

Anyway, it was another very fun, successful Lokalgrown gig. Thanks for taking a look!

Happy drumming in the new year!

One funny story from the gig that night. 


We usually do a little audience interaction in the form of a "Name That Tune" game. We use TV theme shows (The Office, Andy Griffith Show, Friends, Glee, Cheers, etc.) 


For this gig we decided to use all songs from musicals. It was hysterical! For the first time we actually stumped all three competitors with one song.


It was, "Do You Hear the People Sing?" from Les Miserables.


What makes it funny is that we had expected the audience to "get it" quickly and sing along. Instead, we got crickets. 


Awesome. Well played, gentlemen!

Friday Feature: Emmanuelle Caplette

My favorite link on the drummerworld.com website is this one. If you click on the roulette wheel, it will pull up a random drummer from among the hundreds on the site. I've done this numerous times and been well-rewarded each time. (Sure, a roulette wheel represents gambling, but it's not really a gamble if you know you're going to get something good.)

A couple of years ago, this was the drummer that the ol' wheel pulled up for me.



Needless to say, I was completely sold. And I've tried to keep tabs on her playing ever since.

Emmanuelle Caplette's playing is versatile, fluid and musical, to say the least. She carries herself with both grace and power, and has a unique flair.

Here's another one I love.....you know what? No. I was going to embed another video, but I think it's time to just turn it over to you and let you choose.

Here's Emmanuelle's YouTube channel.  Enjoy. And, as usual, click on her name above and visit her website.

Don't forget to come back and let me know what you think in the comments section.

Happy watching and learning!

Bag of Tricks: Ben Wysocki (The Fray) Song Ending

It's always a challenge to figure out how to end a recording (or live performance, for that matter) in a classy, interesting and clean way.

Because it fits all of the above descriptors, I have always loved this simple, clever lick from Ben Wysocki on the title track of The Fray's album, "How To Save A Life." Along with many other very cool, very musical ideas, Wysocki drops this one without hesitation.

This measure starts at about the 4:19 mark, and is the final measure of the piece.

Happy drumming!

Beyond the Kit: Shaker

It may seem really simple, but playing shaker well is an art. Just like you need to have great hi-hat technique with super-solid time and feel, solid shaker  technique is a critical tool in your arsenal.

While shakers come in an increasing variety of shapes and sizes, the basic form is a tube, capped at both ends, with beads, pellets or other small objects inside. The shaker makes sound as the contents come in contact with the tube. My favorite is the LP Soft Shake, filled with sand.


Here's a basic shaker technique: hold the shaker like a can of soda turned on its side, palm up. Hold the shaker up at eye or top-of-head level. Move the shaker forward and back in time - usually forward on the beat, and backward on the offbeat. Be sure to keep the shaker level - don't let it go up or down, just forward and backward. You can control the articulation and dynamic by how fast and hard you move the shaker.

Give it a go. You'll like it. When you get pretty comfortable with the basic eighth note pattern, try playing a basic rock beat with a shaker in hand. Play kick and snare as normal, but use the shaker instead of playing hat or ride with a stick. It's a cool groove/technique that can be used for ballads, bossas, or soft sections.

Happy.....drumming?

The Weight Room: Playing with the click

As a young man I had the opportunity to play percussion (xylo, BD and the like) in an orchestra with a top studio drum set artist in the SLC metro area. He's a guy I've seen on liner notes my whole life, and he's very well known for being the studio drummer you want on your project.

During the course of rehearsals, studio sessions and performances, I asked him if it was hard to always be creative in the studio. I'm paraphrasing, but the answer was something like this, "You don't have to be creative. You have to play with the click, and sound like a drummer."

It seemed like a strange answer. You don't have to be creative? Just play with a click? Obviously there's more to being successful than just keeping good time, but it's an absolutely critical skill - besides, I think he was just being modest.

Seriously, though - nobody cares about your "chops" if you can't play in time. Call it what you will - the pocket, groove, solid - whatever. If you can't do it, you won't find a place as a drummer.

So, how do you start? Let me suggest three steps to get you started.

1. This seems obvious, but get a metronome. A good one. I recommend one with a tap function, and a wide range of tempos (tempi?). A set of isolation headphones is a good idea, too. Then use it enough to get to know what it can and can't do. Read the instruction manual (seriously, do it!).

2. Play very easy stuff while getting used to playing with the click. Start with an exercise that you can play in your sleep without thinking about it - so you can think about playing with the click! Focus on "landing" with the click on each beat and making your subdivisions very even. It shouldn't take long for you to get comfortable and progress to more complex exercises, grooves, etc. But be aware of the click always. Treat it like another musician, and focus on staying together.

3. Test yourself without the click. I have a metronome with a "mute" button. It doesn't stop keeping time, it just stops making noise. Try playing a measure with the click, then one without (Benny Greb has a fantastic example of this on his "Language of Drumming" DVD - check it out!) to make sure you're keeping good time. Another way to do this is to reduce the number of beats you're hearing per measure. For example, if you're playing in 4/4 at 100 beats per minute (BPM), turn the click down to 50, and play the same exercise at the same tempo. Instead of getting all four beats, you'll just get 1 and 3 (or 2 and 4).

Many of my students hate playing with the metronome. But I view it as one of my "real" friends. You know, the kind that can look you in the eye and tell you that you're fat - and you're still friends.

If you learn to be comfortable keeping great time (and feel) along with the metronome, you're well on your way to being a great drummer - one that other musicians will love playing with.

Happy grooving!

Gear Up: Drum Dial

I'm having a serious conundrum. To Drum Dial or not to Drum Dial?

The Drum Dial is a relatively simple tool (similar to a durometer) that measures the tension of a drumhead. You use it by placing it on the drumhead next to each tension rod, relatively close to the hoop.

In theory, when you get the tension exactly the same around the entire head, it's in tune. Of course, you have to take into account the type of drum, its depth, the type of heads, and the relationship of the heads to each other (resonant to batter).

Drum tuning purists (yep, there really are such people - including me, to a degree) argue that tools like the Drum Dial are "cheating," for lack of a better term. They say that you should be able to tune your drums yourself, by ear. And if you can't, well, then you don't deserve to sound good. And I know plenty of skilled drummers who have never learned to tune their own drums. They play great, but sound awful.


I mean, hey, if Peter Erskine* uses it, it can't be all bad, right?

My DW Kit

About six months ago I put all new batter heads on my DW drum kit. As an experiment, I used the Drum Dial on all of the heads, both sides. Also, I used the recommended tensions from the Drum Dial web site.  I was pretty happy with the results in my studio, but I needed to get out on a gig with them, so I took them to the very next show I had.

I got an interesting reaction from the bass player on the gig (Ryan Tilby). While we were sound checking, he turned to me and said, "Wow. That sounds exactly like a backline kit."**

Truth be told, the heads required quite a bit of fine tuning after using the Drum Dial. Just having the dial read the same number at each lug wasn't enough to get the head to sound "clear" (without waves or beats) and open. That part had to be done by ear. But the dial did drastically speed up the process of getting the drumheads to the fine tuning phase.

To me, I think that's the answer. The tools we have are still only tools, so the actual work of getting your drums to sound the way you want them to is still up to you. It's like fixing cars. Sure, we have power tools, hydraulic equipment and sophisticated computers, but the work is still in the hands of the mechanic.

The Drum Dial, and tools like it, are just a part of your arsenal to achieve great sounding drums.

That being said, I'd love to have a spreadsheet of every drummer in the world that showed which drum they're using, what heads, and at what tension. Then I could sound like anybody I want. Does that seem like giving up too many trade secrets?

What do you think?

As always, happy drumming!

*If you don't know who Peter Erskine is or aren't familiar with his work, click his name above. He has been a huge, positive influence on many a drummer, including me.


**A backline kit refers to a rented drum set that is tuned in a very standard, generic way. The drums will sound good, but usually not distinctive. It is left up to the drummer or tech to individualize the sounds to the specific style or venue. 

No New Year's Resolutions!!

I'm serious! Don't make ANY New Year's Resolutions! They're hazardous to your health, and I mean that sincerely.

When I say resolutions, I mean those useless generalizations like, "Lose weight," or "Read more books." Musicians say things like, "Practice more," or "Get better."

Two words for you: USE. LESS. That's like wandering around a maze and feeling good about yourself because you're still walking. Nice. Or not!

Allow me to suggest something better: set specific goals. Specific goals are aims that are measurable and achievable, and that point at your larger overall goals.

For example, say you really do want to "get better." (Don't we all?) Start by defining this goal. What does it mean to get better? Are you faster, louder, softer, more creative or keep better time? Write down a handful (5-6) of items that describe each of your goals.

Finally, write the answer to this question for each of your goals: How will I know when I've achieved this goal? The answer to that question will guide you to make actual, real improvements this year.

Okay, two things I've heard this year (via Twitter) that I absolutely have to pass on:

"Julie Hanks, LCSW @Julie_Hanks

Instead of resolution, try re-solution: apply a new solution to an old problem."

"iHustle @therealFeagin

1 Jan

RT from Nike: "Decide what you want, decide what you are willing to exchange for it. Establish your priorities and go to work."#makeitcount"