NAMM Show 101

It's January, and you know what that means - it's NAMM Show time!

So, what the heck is the NAMM Show? Do you hear people talking about it, read about it on music websites, or know people who have gone?

First, you need to know what NAMM is. From Wikipedia, "The acronym NAMM originally stood for the National Association of Music Merchants, but has evolved from a national entity representing the interests of music products retailers to an international association including commercial, reseller members, affiliates and manufacturers."

For a few years, while going to college, I worked at a great music store. The owner took all of his top people to the NAMM Show every year. I had no idea what to expect until I got my turn to go in 2004 and 2005, and it completely changed how I view the business side of the music world.

Simply put, the NAMM Show is an event that allows companies that manufacture and sell music gear and other products (wholesalers) to showcase their offerings to resellers or other companies that offer these products to the public (retailers). Why would they need to do that, you ask? Let me give you an example.

The last time I was at the show, there were over 300 different brands (wow!) of drums. As the drum purchaser (or buyer) for the company, I had to decide on which two or three brands we would carry in our store, and, as you can imagine, every one of those companies tried to convince me that their product was the best and easiest to sell.

So how does a retailer decide what to offer their customers? Well, a lot of factors go into this sort of choice. Among other things, they might consider:

• What is already popular? In other words, is this something people want? Spending less marketing dollars can mean more profit. And offering a product that people already know about and want can make the store more popular and lead to sales of other products and accessories.
• What's going to become popular? Especially in the music biz, being first usually means making the most money. Innovative products can be a risk, but purchasers get very good at seeing something great and snapping it up. Again, how fast and easy it is to sell a product is a major consideration.
• How fast can the manufacturer ship? Doesn't matter how great or cheap something is if it takes six months to get there.
• What is the profit margin? Some of the coolest products on the market will never get really popular, because stores have a hard time justifying making little or no profit when they sell them. And as much as the public (you and me, pal) want stuff at the lowest possible prices, retailers have got to make money, or they'll go away.
• What is the quality and durability of the product, and how good is the warranty? Because if you're not happy after you buy it, you're probably not going to be happy with the store, either.

How do the wholesalers convince retailers to buy? It's a very detailed, well thought out and - usually - expensive process. 

The basic tactic is to display products in a booth setting, sort of like shops in a mall, but much smaller and much more compact. There are thousands of booths, and hundreds of thousands of individual products. And each seller goes to great lengths to make their booth seem hip, cool, trendy, flashy or classy, and to demonstrate why their product is so great. 

Another tactic is product demonstrations by somebody famous. For example, you might see (like I did) Will Calhoun at the Sonor Drums booth showing off the new line of snare drums, or Russ Miller giving a lesson example at Yamaha Drums. 

In addition, many companies will host concerts, parties, jams and contests to woo buyers. One such concert I attended was Yamaha's Groove Night 2004. It was an unbelievable show, and I walked out thinking, "Man, I can't believe how many of my favorite players use Yamaha." Score one for the marketing team, because that year we bought over $40,000 in Yamaha products for our store. 

Oh, and another thing? It's called "swag," and I came home with a ton of it both times I went. Swag is free stuff covered with logos of brands and products, and sellers pass it out by the truckload, especially to important buyers. Some common swag items are shirts, hats, stickers, drum keys, heads, lanyards, and in some cases, jackets and real product samples like microphones and cymbals. It's awesome!

Finally, this post would be incomplete with mentioning maybe the best thing about the show - the people you get to meet. Not only your favorite musical celebrities, amazing players and other famous types, but the people who know the most about gear and how to get the best out of it.

In 2005, we made a point of finding the best sounding drums at the show and asking the highest ranking person we could find to tell us how they got such great sound. In addition to discussions about shell materials, hoops, heads and sticks, we got a ton of advice about how to tune heads and treat drums to get world class tone and sound. Again, awesome!

In short, the NAMM Show is the place to see what's new - and everything else - in the music products world. If you ever get the chance to go, don't pass it up.

Happy shopping!

Friday Feature: Steve Jordan

Another favorite drummer who is much, much more than that. Steve Jordan is an artist. He is a producer, musical director, composer, drummer....you get the picture. For a fairly complete look at his career and musical works, visit the Drummerworld site.

One of the things I admire most about Steve is that he's multi-faceted, and approaches music from a variety of angles. He never thinks about music - or performs, writes, etc. - from only one aspect. He seems to always consider what his contribution will do in terms of affecting the whole. He's thoughtful about his choice of sounds, grooves, fills and overall style to make sure that the music achieves the desired affect.

In short, he's a musician. He listens. Communicates with his band mates. Plays well with others. Again, you get the idea.

Two of my favorite Steve Jordan moments are his appearance in the documentary film, "Standing in the Shadows of Motown," and his work with John Mayer and Pino Palladino. I just can't get over the "Try" album. It's one that I can listen to for many reasons and for many hours.

And as I've said about some other players, you won't do any harm to yourself by learning some of his techniques and tricks.

Happy drumming!

Bag of Tricks: (Another) Carter Beauford of DMB

Carter, to me, is infinitely creative. His style is very distinctive, and is a critical component of the Dave Matthews Band sound.

This lick, from the Busted Stuff version of "Grey Street," is not too hard, and very fun to play. It brings instant intensity to your playing.

It happens right at the beginning of the track.

Happy drumming!

Beyond the Kit: Percussion Ensemble

The percussion ensemble, also known as percussion orchestra, is rapidly becoming a major player in the modern chamber music arena. The ensemble can be made up of anything you can hit, er....strike. Any struck instrument is technically considered percussion, so it's fair game. From traditional instruments to trash cans, boat propellors, car doors, flower pots, whatever.

A standard ensemble line up would include marimbas (4), vibraphones (2), xylophone, bells or glockenspiel, battery percussion (bass drum, snare drum and cymbals), timpani, chimes and a variety of auxiliary percussion such as triangles, shakers, tambourines and more.

The first percussion ensemble experience most of us get is in junior high or middle school, and - I'm not gonna lie - it's usually pretty bad. It's probably one of what we call "drummy drummy" ensembles where a bunch of 11 and 12 year olds bang on snare drums, bass drum, wood block and cymbals. Most of those pieces aren't very musical, and they aren't very fun.

Fortunately, percussion ensemble literature has exploded in recent years. Probably the greatest advancement in percussion's public perception (also known ppp, or piannississimo) is the realization that percussion isn't just banging and crashing. It's also capable of breathtakingly beautiful melody and harmony, sensitive dynamic expression and exquisite mystery, just to name a few.

Check out some of my favorite places to pick up percussion music. (Did I miss some? Let me know!)

Drop 6 Percussion

Tapspace

Bachovich Music Publications

Row-Loff

KT Percussion

And, just for fun:

The Weight Room: Your diddles need work, right?

The double stroke, or diddle, is one of the basic strokes you need to master to be able to play most basic rudimental music, and a staple of drum kit technique. You can totally be successful, musical, and groovy without solid diddles, but trust me, you'll have more fun and be more free to express yourself if you can master them.

Here is a simple exercise to get your diddles smooth and even*. In this case we're striving for very open, clear sounding strokes. Each note should sound the same.

Then, switch hands.

When you're feeling pretty comfortable playing this with a click or a track, add in a foot pattern of your choice, and play the exercise over it. Do it a lot. I find that if you can do the exercise comfortably and with no mistakes for 40 seconds or more, you probably are ready to move a little faster.

The next step is to work this thing up to lightning speed, staying relaxed and using good technique. You'll find that there will be a certain tempo plateau that will force you to use a bounce stroke for the second note. Once that stroke feels comfortable, you'll be able to get fast very quickly.

This exercise can also apply to your feet, whether on double kick or using a single kick and hat. A double stroke in your feet is also a fantastic tool to have at your, uh, toe-tips.

Happy drumming!


*One exercise alone will not produce good diddles. Continue to practice exercises to develop your basic stroke with proper technique, and find ways to apply diddles in your playing. If you do it consistently and over time, you'll find diddles popping up in your playing quite naturally. 

Gear Up: Microphones Part 2

Last week, I mentioned a few suggestions on some microphones to get started with for drums.

This week, where in the world do you place them? What will get the best and most consistent sound?

First, don't reinvent the wheel. Whenever you work with a good sound tech, watch what they do, and ask them questions (nicely, at appropriate times, and respectfully, of course) about why they do it the way they do. Listen and learn. There are also myriad websites that have very clear, complete information.

I'm definitely not a sound engineer, but there are a few really simple concepts that I have used for years that have produced good, consistent results. Again, there are a lot of factors at play here, including your drums/heads, tuning, the size and shape of the room, how loud you play, other sound sources on the stage, etc*.

One semi-funny story: Back in the day, I played with a band called Hillside Nine. We got a gig playing at a high school for a huge senior party. Lots of fun. After sound check the engineer asked if there was anything else we needed, and I jokingly said, "Just make us sound amazing, okay?" He replied without missing a beat, "Ah, okay. I'll turn the 'Talent' knob all the way up, and the 'Suck' switch completely off. Will that work?"

Oh, if only it were that simple! Anyway, on to the good stuff.

Snare and Toms
Line up the end of the microphone (the end where it captures the sound - it usually has a screen) with the hoop/rim of the drum, at least an inch above the hoop - mine are about 2-3" up - and angle the mic at the dead center of the drum. The microphone will end up at about a 30ish degree angle up from the plane of the drum head. Try it out. You'll like it!

Kick Drum
My drum's resonant (front) head is ported. That means it has a five inch hole cut in the head, at about the 4 o'clock position. I have had good results putting the mic through the port, with the end of the mic (again, the screen/capture side) about three inches inside the drum, pointed at the dead center of the batter head. If your kick drum doesn't have a front head (or if you've removed it for recording), move the mic to about the halfway point of the shell, right in the middle, and point it at the center of the resonant head.

Overhead/Cymbals
I like to use two identical mics to capture the cymbals and full kit sound. One mic sits over my left hand area, pointed at the place where my left side crash overlaps my hi-hat. The right side hangs over my ride cymbal where it hangs over my floor tom. Both are just above head level, out of range of an errant stick stroke.

Especially if you're using mics a lot, and even more especially in a recording setting, it's worth experimenting with different placements - angles, heights, alignments and how far over the drum it sits.

Happy drumming!


*Okay, one MAJOR tip: the best mics, sound engineer and placement won't make your drums sound good if they don't already. Before you go to the gig, make sure that your instrument is in good working order - heads in good shape, and well tuned. This will have the BIGGEST impact on how good you sound. That, and the P word: PRACTICE!!

The Gig Log: Lokalgrown at Zermatt

On Thursday, January 12th, Lokalgrown had the privilege of performing for Miro Industries, Inc. at the amazing Zermatt Resort in Midway, Utah.

The audience was comprised of company associates from all over the country, and they were very ready to be entertained. It was a very fun show, complete with wigs, mohawks, dancing, sing alongs, and even a guest drummer.....what?

Yep. The new idea to get an audience member involved in the show was for me to walk out mid-set on my "15 minute union break." With me gone, the band had to ask if anybody in the house played drums. It took less than 30 seconds to get a volunteer up, and he actually killed it! The band played Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl" with the guest drummer, and even tried to get him to play a drum solo. It was...epic!

Overall, and from top to bottom, it was a great show. And I'd be remiss if I didn't give a huge shout out to our de facto crew for the evening, Jared and Jeremy. Thanks for all the hard work, men!