L.A.

PERCUSSIONIST
ROUNDTABLE
Alex Acuna, Emil Richards, Joe Porcaro,
Lenny Castro, Luis Conte, and Mike Fisher
are among a select group of top percus-
sionists relied on to add just the right musical
touch to the heaviest LA sessions. That might
mean providing a burning conga rhythm,
traversing a labyrinthine odd-time chart—or
recording an overdub thirty feet under-
ground. This special MD report explores the
unusual requirements of today's unsung stu-
dio heroes.
by Robyn Flans
52

GENE HOGLAN
All outward appearances would suggest
Gene Hoglan is a fiercely independent soul,
whether it's his unrivaled double bass explo-
sions with Death, Testament, or Strapping
Young Lad, his unique battery of percussive
targets, or his gargantuan presence behind
the kit. So how come Gene says he's happi-
est realizing someone else's ideas?
by Matt Peiken
66

LOUIS HAYES
One of the most solid, sensitive, and endur-
photo by Alex Solca
ing drummers to make a mark on the early
'60s post-bop scene (Cannonball Adderley,
Oscar Peterson, and Horace Silver certainly
thought so), Louis Hayes shows no sign of
letup as the millennium approaches.
by Ken Micaleff
80
Volume 22, Number 1 Cover photo by Alex Solca

education equipment
106 ROCK 'N' JAZZ CLINIC
Jungle/Drum & Bass Grooves 34 NEW & NOTABLE
by Travis Huff
38 PRODUCT CLOSE-UP
108 DRUM SOLOIST Pearl Masters Mahogany Classic And Masters Custom Extra Drumkits,
Bill Stewart: "Snide Remarks" SensiTone Snare Drums, And DR-500 ICON Rack System
Transcribed by Billy Miller by Chap Ostrander

43 Remo Poncho Sanchez Signature Series Conga Drums

110 SHOW DRUMMERS' SEMINAR by Victor Rendon
Drumming In The Pits, Part 2 45 Pro-Mark Future Pro Line And New Signature Sticks
by Jonathan Wacker
by Rick Mattingly

116 LATIN SYMPOSIUM 47 Shakee Drums

by Adam Budofsky
Bongo Basics
by Trevor Salloum 48 Perkana Percussion Go-Jo Bags
by Adam Budofsky
146 CONCEPTS
Lessons In Listening, Part 2 130 SHOP TALK
by Steve Anisman DrumFrame: A New Angle For Drummers?
by William F. Miller
154 TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
How To Buy A Used Set—Cheap!
by Phil Philcox
departments
4 EDITOR'S OVERVIEW
profiles
20 UP & COMING 6 READERS' PLATFORM
Jason Marsalis
by Bill Milkowski 28 ASK A PRO
Jim Keltner
98 PORTRAITS
Primus's Brain 30 IT'S QUESTIONABLE
by Robin Tolleson

158 ON THE MOVE 142 CRITIQUE

Jazz Anthology, Killing Culture, and T.S. Monk CDs,
Cuban Drummers video, Bongo book, and more

news 164 DRUM MARKET

14 UPDATE Including Vintage Showcase
Terry Bozzio, Motley Crue's Tommy
Lee, Pete Escovedo, Dino Danelli, and 176 DRUMKIT OF THE MONTH
Darren Jessee of the Ben Folds Five,
plus News

120 PERCUSSION TODAY 78

1997 DCI World Championship Results MD GIVEAWAY
by Lauren Vogel Weiss Win one of 25 amazing packages in celebration of DW's 25th anniversary.
The grand prize?
A six-piece kit in your choice of finish and hardware,
160 INDUSTRY HAPPENINGS plus a set of UFIP cymbals—worth over $9,500!
Mark Craney Benefit, and more
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 I've met. I only hope that someday I'll be
HOW TO REACH US in the Up & Coming column of Modern
Correspondence to MD's Readers' Platform Drummer.
may be sent by mail:
12 Old Bridge Road, TheFatKid
Cedar Grove, NJ 07009 via Internet
by fax: (973) 239-7139
by e-mail: moddrum@intac.com
Thanks for getting legitimate drummers'
hopes up by featuring talented and skilled
CHAD SEXTON drummers in the August and September
I was very issues, and then dashing our hopes into
impressed with millions of little pieces by featuring Chad
your October '97 Sexton in October. Sexton, the rest of 311,
cover story about and the throngs of other alterna-pop-rock-
311's Chad noise around today have lowered the bar
Sexton. I have necessary to be considered a musician, and
been drumming have tarnished the images of those who
for most of my actually have a working knowledge of the
seventeen years, instrument and of music in general.
and I can truly Philip Cantor
say that no drummer has influenced me via Internet
more than Sexton. Listening to his drum-
ming has helped me to learn a lot more
about rudiments and bass drum accents
than I could have possibly imagined. His PAISTE TOMMY LEE AD
skill at the age of twenty-seven is quite I was surprised and disheartened to see the
amazing, and I'm sure that it will become advertisement placed by Paiste America in
even greater as he gets older. the October 1997 issue, where Motley Crue
When I first heard 311, I thought, "Oh, member Tommy Lee is posing in what is
great. Another trendy, alternative band that (or is supposed to be) pig manure, while
all of the kids at school are going to go the ad exclaims, "Happier than a pig in
crazy about." But a friend of mine played sh*t!" (Note: The use of the asterisk is
their first tape, Music, for me, and I was mine, not, regrettably, the advertising
hooked! Chad was laying down stuff that I agency's or Paiste's). My reaction:
couldn't have dreamed about in the begin- 1. The use of the scatological in that adver-
ning of 1996. Listening with my head- tisement goes well beyond any sense of
phones and playing along, I tried to imitate proper taste or decorum in a professional
Chad as much as I could. I completed trade journal such as Modern Drummer.
Music and then moved on to Grassroots, What's next? (Not so long ago, there was
which I feel is his most intricate album, spirited discussion in these pages concern-
musically. Finally, I gave in and bought ing sexist advertising. Well, at least we can
577. The video is what blew me away. It agree that this ad is equally offensive to
was then that I discovered that Chad only members of both sexes.)
uses one bass pedal. So, I took my left 2. The inclusion of a photo where Mr. Lee
pedal off and played with only one pedal. I is giving "the finger" to the camera—i.e.,
can safely say now that my foot is super- the reader—is insulting, and just plain stu-
fast! pid.
Being ten years younger than Chad and 3. I think that Paiste America and
not having taken lessons, I know that I still International owe a very big apology to not
have more to learn about drumming. But, only their roster of otherwise talented and
Chad, if you're reading this, I'd like you to serious drummers who play and represent
know that you have indirectly taught me their product, but to all drummers and
more in the past two years than anyone readers of this magazine.
 My fifteen-year-old son's reaction: ad in the October issue. To any offended least deserves a full-page ad. What about
"Gee, this ad makes me want to go out and parties: That ad captures perfectly what Danny Carey, Bill Bruford, or Eric Kretz?
buy some Paiste cymbals now!" (Heavy on Tommy Lee and the Criie are all about. It Tommy Lee personifies the myth that
the sarcasm.) Are things so desperate on is meant to appeal to hard rock drummers, drummers are animals, and this ad only
Madison Avenue, or in (Paiste's home and is quite humorous. I know some of you proves it. It's a shame Paiste stooped to his
base) Switzerland? Disappointing. out there don't think it's funny and that it level; "swine" doesn't begin to describe it.
Peter Erskine makes a mockery of drummers, but that is I will write to Paiste, and I encourage oth-
Santa Monica, CA simply a matter of opinion. Tommy Lee is ers to do so as well.
a very good drummer, and to portray him DaleVliet
Regarding the Paiste ad featuring Tommy in an ad in any other way would have been via Internet
Lee in the pig pen: I have come to expect the mockery.
this sort of thing from him, but I honestly Modern Drummer does not discriminate, I personally thought it was a cool ad...far
thought that Paiste had a little more class. I and the magazine reports on all drummers from Paiste's norm. So I called Paiste
can see that it was a feeble attempt at and all styles in unbiased fashion. Keep up requesting some literature. A very friendly
humor using an old farmer's expression, the good work! Even though it's an ad, not gentleman answered the phone, and as
and maybe my sense of hilarity is way out an article, accepting and publishing it soon as I mentioned the ad his voice
of whack. But I just don't find some moron shows your magazine's dedication to changed to a very submissive tone. As he
lying in a pile of crap and flipping me the telling it like it is. Tommy Lee is a talent- explained to me all the controversy regard-
bird to be funny at all. I am surprised that ed, but decadent, modern drummer. ing the ad, I was appalled to hear such non-
Paiste would think that a picture of their Doug sense. Ours is a society with homosexuali-
fine product in feces is a good idea. Skymac2@aol.com ty, murder, witchcraft, rape, and much
Darryl Mc Waters worse on prime-time television. Any child
via Internet The ad is a slap in the face to all drummers could watch The Simpsons or the infamous
who work hard to gain respect for playing Beavis And Butt-Head and hear the same
I write this in anticipation of the negative abilities. Of all the drummers Paiste has in words. As far as I know, "happier than a
letters that you will get regarding the Paiste their lineup, Tommy Lee is the one who pig in..." is a saying that goes back a hun-
dred years in American culture.
What I am getting at is that there are far
better things to get riled up about.
Mike Summers
Santa Ana, CA

In light of the recent cancellations of sub-

scriptions due to various petty differences,
I am astonished that Modern Drummer
would run the soon-to-be infamous Tommy
Lee/Paiste advert. For Paiste and Mr. Lee:
I'm not sure who you are trying to flip off,
or why—but I saw it, so you got me.
Here's a big "F U" right back.
For the MD editors: I'm not going to
stop reading your previously top-notch
publication. Only now it's second-notch.
Mike Hoist
via Internet

Well, I hope you guys don't get a bunch of

uptight readers that don't dig the ad. And at
the same time I hope you do! Because my
whole career I have had a blast bringing to
the people the wildest and over the top! I
have only tried to bring the drummer from
behind UP FRONT!!!
I think I've done just that!
Tommy Lee
via Internet

ATHLETE ADS
Like many musicians, I often have sought
refuge in my music from the ridiculous val-
ues shared by much of our culture. I also
have long admired MD for sharing my
admiration for music and musicianship. At
least until the most recent issue, in which
there was not one, but two ads with profes-
sional athletes as drum spokespersons! It's
not enough that we live in a culture in
which music programs are being slashed
from schools for "lack of money," while
grown men get paid tens of millions of dol-
lars to play games. Now athletes are get-
ting paid to tell musicians which drums are
the best! Imagine the reverse: Neil Peart
advertising in Sports Illustrated, selling
baseballs. It wouldn't happen.
Don't get me wrong. I strongly support
athletic programs, and greatly enjoy sports
myself. But I simply do not see profession-
al athletes as credible authorities on musi-
cal instruments, and I am sick of them
being heralded as the ultimate role models
and all-knowing authorities on everything studio player or sideman. The most impor-
from what food we should eat to what tant thing you can possess to fulfill this
clothes we should wear. In the future, dream is your desire. If you have the ability
please let jocks sell jocks, and let musi- and you want it enough (for the right rea-
cians serve as spokespersons for the musi- sons), it will happen.
cal products featured in your fine maga- In November of '96—two years after I
zine. had graduated with an honors degree in
Steven McCornack music—I was working construction, play-
via Internet ing part-time in a band, and teaching a few
students on the side. It was evident that in
I am sure that there will be many letters of order to realize my heart's desire to play
protest to the advertisement for Pearl with professionally, I needed to go where there
Randy Johnson. I would like to commend was work. So in January of 1997 I packed
Pearl on a very effective advertisement. It my bags and my drums and left Elora (a
was a great idea to use someone as high- small town near Toronto, Canada), and
profile as Randy (who really does play the headed for Nashville. I had one contact and
drums and is a big Rush fan) to get the a place to stay for a week, and that was it.
attention of readers. Of course, one might Who could have known that a week later
say that I am biased since I live in the I would be traveling to Colorado with a
Seattle area, I'm a Mariners fan, and I band? Not only that, I also found a great
already own a Pearl drumset. I just hope place to live, with a couple of guys who
we don't see Randy Johnson signature have since become two of my best friends.
drumsticks in the future. While in Nashville I phoned every man-
Matt Drumm agement company I could find, and I
Issaquah, WA developed some great contacts. I also land-
ed an audition with an artist on a big label,
the third day I was in town. Even though I
didn't get the gig, I made a good impres-
JEFF PORCARO TRIBUTE ALBUM sion on the management. That and another
I'm sitting here working at my computer, audition (which didn't go half as well)
listening to my new copy of David gave me extremely valuable experience.
Garfield's Tribute To Jeff on my CD ROM. My money ran out after four months,
The song "My Heart Wants To Know" is and I had to return to Canada. Although I
playing, and all of a sudden I find myself was quite discouraged (because I loved it
crying like a baby. You didn't have to in Nashville), I soon landed a gig with a
know Jeff personally to be touched by him. great band that had heard good things
Over my thirty-plus years of playing I've about my playing through mutual friends.
been greatly influenced by him, and I miss Interestingly, one of the things that really
his playing terribly. Hats off to Garfield. I impressed them was that I had packed it all
think this is absolutely the most tasteful up and gone to Nashville. That showed
tribute album I have ever heard. Jeff would them that I was serious about music.
surely be moved by the incredible perfor- All this is to say: Go for it! You may be
mances his friends and family contributed apprehensive at first, but at least you'll be
to this record to express their love and able to say you gave it a shot instead of just
admiration. sitting there waiting for a miracle break.
Scott Nickerson Chances are that you'll meet a lot of great
Atlanta, GA people in the process as well, like I did. I
haven't made it big—yet—and I'm work-
ing construction again to pay the bills. But
my opportunities are increasing, and I am
HOW TO BREAK IN still pursuing my dream of doing what I
Quite often I have wondered the same love for a living: playing drums! Nothing
things that Chris Callahan was addressing compares to that.
in October's It's Questionable segment. Darryl McWaters
Unfortunately, as the response indicated, Elora, Ontario, Canada
there is no magical solution to the dilemma
of breaking into the music business as a
Black Page Syndrome
For several years, Terry Bozzio has been maintaining two my melodic
identities—one based on his long-standing reputation as a things, but that
band player, the other on his innovations as a solo drumset also have
artist. The two sides of his musical personality have over- enough white
lapped on projects with the Lonely Bears and Polytown, but noise to sound
the release of Bozzio Levin Stevens—Black Light Syndrome like cymbals. They also need a fast decay so that if I hit
on the Magna Carta label represents the fullest realization eight cymbals in a row, you can hear a scale, rather than
yet of the total scope of Bozzio's art. having the first one keep ringing and obliterate all the ones
"When you're playing solo, you have to use that follow. So each cymbal says what it has to say
melody, harmony, form, dynamics, composi- and then gets out of the way."
tion, and orchestration," Bozzio says. "The The new series includes crashes,
more I learn about these musical princi- splashes, Chinas, bells, and hi-hats. "After
ples, the deeper I can function as an "I never the cymbal comes out of the oven, it's
ensemble player. I can contribute hand-hammered, but instead of being
more to the arrangement than just
a drum line that deals exclusively
thought I'd lathed the traditional way, it is radial-
ly scored from the bell to within an
with rhythm."
There are plenty of ostinato
be in the Hall Of inch or two of the edge. The look is
reminiscent of a gong, so it's like
patterns on the album, but
Bozzio also took advantage of
Fame. It really looking to the ancient past for the
sound of the future."
the interplay between himself,
guitarist Steve Stevens, and makes me feel Modern Drummer's most recent
Hall Of Fame inductee says he is
bassist Tony Levin to free himself
from always having to maintain his a sense of absolutely overwhelmed by the
honor bestowed on him by the MD
readers. "I think every drummer looks
own accompaniment. Bozzio also
found that his melodic awareness acceptance." at those polls and secretly hopes he
helped him create more interesting might win," Bozzio says. "But I didn't
timekeeping patterns. seem to fit into any of the categories. I
"Instead of just riding on one cymbal, by hoped that someday there might be a solo
moving my hands laterally around the four cym- drum category.
bals I have on my right, I can create melodic and har- "I never thought I'd be in the Hall Of Fame,
monic rhythmic parts that really enhance what the other though. It really makes me feel a sense of acceptance from
musicians are playing," he explains. "I also got into some my audience. I had no idea how this solo drumming project
double-stroke and paradiddle combinations on my four would be viewed, and I was the first to say that it probably
China cymbals—some stuff I've never done before that was didn't have any practical value. But this award has helped
really fun." me relax a little bit and feel that I must be doing something
Cymbals have been on Bozzio's mind a lot lately, as he right."
has been working with Sabian to create a new series called Rick Mattingly
Radia. "I need cymbals that have definite notes, so I can do
 About a nanosecond into Motley Crue's Generation
Swine you get the feeling that Tommy Lee has taken his
playing to a different level. So, what has Mr. Lee been listen-
ing to in order to capture this new
vibe? "I'd be lying if I said a lot of
new music hasn't inspired me," he
admits. "Things like Dave Grohl's free-
form sporadic drumming, and Prodigy, with
their computer-driven tightness, have really caught my ear. On the new album I tried
to blend those two influences with my style. Thank God for new music, because it
inspires change. Things that don't grow die."
In the studio Lee decided that he was finished with his old-school thoughts of finding
one drum sound and then sticking with it throughout the album. "I'm really into finding the
proper snare drum for the proper track," he says. "I want the sound that makes the song
kick ass, instead of just worrying about how good the drums sound. That's not my objective
anymore. If you're a drummer in a band, you have to be concerned with what's going to
make the song a hit. That's where I'm at these days." The band also pulled some nifty micro-
phone and drum tricks, most of which Tommy's keeping close to his vest. However, he will
divulge that for one track they left the plastic bags on the cymbals to get an ultra short decay,
and tweaked the compression on the equalizer to get some new tones.
Lee relates that as he has grown in technique and style, he's finding that it's difficult to go
back and play some vintage caveman Crue tracks like "Too Fast For Love," which the band
dusted off for the North American tour that kicked off this past October. "At times I go, 'Man, I
don't want to play this. I'm so much better than I was then.' It's really difficult to take a step
back and play that, so what I'm doing is updating some of those beats and performances to
bring 'em up to speed. Everything needs a bit of updating when you get right down to it," (Editor's Note: The previ-
ous interview took place before Tommy's controversial Paiste advertisement appeared in our October Issue. He com-
ments on the ad on page 10 of this month's Readers' Platform.)
David John Farinella

Pete Escovedo's E Street CD, and the band he's led for the last
decade, define the San Francisco Bay area's Latin-jazz
sound—one rich in colors and a hybrid of rhythms.
Beautiful colors are found too in Escovedo's paintings,
which adorn the CD sleeve. "I was all set to go to work
as a professional illustrator,
but I fell in love with the
music business," he
laughs. "Here I am,
sixty-two, and still
trying to be a success.
"I mixed it up a lit-
tle," Escovedo says of E Street. "I've always wanted to do some stuff by Earth,
Wind & Fire. I used the big band on two tracks, with some of the older guys I
haven't worked with in a while, like John Handy, Buddy Montgomery, and Mel
Martin. But instead of spreading it out so much, we kind of kept it within the
band." Bay area stalwarts like guitarist Ray Obiedo, trombonist/arrangers Jeff
Cressman and Wayne Wallace, and of course the Escovedo children, Sheila E,
Peter Michael, and Juan, are also featured.
Escovedo senior is also in the process of acquiring an old Indian restaurant in
Oakland and turning it into a Latin-jazz venue. Not quite his first venture in this
area, Pete in fact had a nightclub some years ago called "Mr. E's." "I've got a
hard head, so I'm going to try to get beat up all over again," he laughs, quickly
adding that he thinks he's smarter this time around. Escovedo hopes to feature
name jazz and Latin players on the weekends, and give local jazz players a
stage during the week.
Pete is impressed with the dedication he sees in the young players today, who are
studying the music of Cuba, Africa, and Brazil. "They're really intent on learning all of it," he says. "I learned
from watching the Cuban drummers who came to town, like Mongo, Armando, Francisco, and Patato—the Cuban drum-
mers that played with jazz guys. And of course, Tito Puente. I fell in love with the Latin-jazz side of it. I'm not really into just
the authentic bag. My music is a combination of jazz, R&B, and whatever else that makes it work."
Robin Tolleson
 It may have taken several years, but this past year
finally marked the induction of the Rascals into the
Rock 'N' Roll Hall Of Fame. Drummer Dino Danelli
has kept his sense of humor, though, joking, "I got
used to being nominated and not making it."
Making it did create its share of difficulties,
though, since the group members were not on the
best of terms prior to the show. "I sent everybody in
the band a letter saying, 'Let's all forget our differ-
ences and just think of our families, appreciate the
award, and go up there and do it. This can be the
last time we'll ever get together to accept what we
accomplished together.' Everybody responded,
and we got together." Then the band was told how
long they had to play at the awards—which Danelli
says was another problem. "We hadn't been
together in thirty years, and we only got eight minutes to perform!"
Dino and original member Gene Cornish have actually been working summers together for years as
the core of the New Rascals, who perform at classic rock festivals and such. But the Rascals—Young,
New, or otherwise—isn't all Danelli has been up to. Dino and DCI's Rob Wallis are working on a "drum
legends" video that Danelli will be featured in and narrate, as well as a video called Modus Operandi, which
he wrote. "It's from a band point of view—how to be successful, how to make your band work, and how to be
a real band communicator," Dino explains. "It should appeal to all bandmembers."
Danelli also just finished a studio project he calls the Beatboyz, which he describes as a mix of R&B and rock
with an urban "street" feel to it. "I felt complete when I did this record, more so than any other record I've worked
on. I had a deal with a studio down in Soho where I had the luxury of working at my leisure, with no pressure. The
band really played well, and the songs are very danceable with heavily mixed drums."
Robyn Flans

Vinnie Colaiuta is on Bill Evans' their recently released album,

newest release, Starfish & The Trysome Eatone.
Moon. Jim Christie recorded Dwight
Frank Colon recently got back Yoakam's new Christmas album,
from South America, where he was Come On Christmas.
When it comes to the old adage. "Mother's always right," Darren Jessee touring in support of his solo Steve "Grizzly" Nisbett is on
of pop sensation the Ben Folds Five w i l l definitely t e s t i l y to i t s truth. "I album. He is currently on tour with Steel Pulse's first release in three
Manhattan Transfer. years, Rage & Fury.
picked up drums around the age of thirteen. I started out on guitar, hut Brian Blade is working on a
Jon Dette is on tour with
everyone else in my neighborhood played guitar, so my mom suggested Testament. solo album for Blue Note records.
drums." Dave Mattacks and Paul Brock Avery is on tour with
Not a bad suggestion, given how well the band's sophomore release. Clarvis are on Richard Thompson ZakkWylde.
For Ever And Ever Amen, has been doing on the charts. The critically and Danny Thompson's new CD, Morgan Rose is on tour with
acclaimed trio's popularity spread in America with the help of a hard Industry. Sevendust.
touring schedule, but the States is hardly the only place you'd hear the Space Needle/Varnaline drum- Gary Husband just completed
Ben Folds Five on the radio, "We caught on really q u i c k l y in Japan," mer Jud Ehrbar's solo project, work on guitarist Steve Topping's
Reservoir, has released its second new disc, Time & Distance, avail-
relates Jessee. In fact, it was the i n i t i a l success of the band's debut CD
disc, Pink Machine. able via the Internet. (They are in
in the land of the rising sun that brought them to the attention of Sony, Keith Moon's sole solo album, the process of setting up a Web
which subsequently helped propel them from underground sensation to Two Sides Of The Moon, has been site.)
MTV. re-released on Mausoleum Classix Rick Latham is on tour with
Jessee's d r u m m i n g success can be partially attributed to time spent at with several bonus tracks (includ- the Edgar Winter Group.
East Carolina University. "I was a music major at ECU, but I didn't fin- ing cameos by Ringo Starr). Mark Nemer is currently on
ish. I wanted to concentrate on drumset, but I wasn't allowed to play set Michael Botts is on Eliza the road with Barbara Mandrell.
in my jurys. I was already making money playing drums, so I just went Gilkyson's new CD, Redemption Mark can also be heard on tracks
with it." Road. for the made-for-TV movie, Get To
Paul Doucette is on tour with The Heart: The Barbara Mandrell
You might have seen Jessee playing drums with h i s Ben Folds Five
Matchbox 20, in support of their hit Story, which will air on CBS this
counterparts this past summer at the H.O.R.D.E. Festival, a situation he debut album, Yourself Or Someone fall.
seems quite happy with. "We played Lollapalooza last year, and there Like You. Brian MacLeod is working on
were a lot more 'rock stars" there. Bands seemed to worry more about Lauracet Simpson is on Jack the new Madonna record. He is
being cool than playing good music. H.O.R.D.E. was great; it's much Off Jill's debut full-length album, also performing in and around Los
more about music." Fans w i l l have ample opportunity to check the band Sexless Demons And Scars. Angeles with his own band, Kaviar.
out soon. They've just been taped for a PBS special, and plan extensive Matt Abts is currently in the Jerry Marotta is on From The
touring to support For Ever And Ever Amen. studio with Gov't Mule. Caves Of The Iron Mountain, a new
Rob Hulsman Frank Ferrer is on the road release from Marotta, Tony Levin,
with Love Spit Love in support of and Steve Gorn.
 F
by Bill Milkowski olks in New Orleans like to reminisce aboul seeing
trumpet great Wynton Marsalis and his sax-playing
brother Branford sit in at local jazz clubs when they
were both still in grade school. Living in the Crescent City,
you get to see musicians grow up and develop their own
voices before ultimately leaving the Big Easy for the Big
Apple.
Such is the case with another gifted young New
Orleans musician who is poised on the brink of
renown. Drummer Jason Marsalis—
youngest in the abundantly talented
Marsalis clan, which also includes
trombonist-producer Delfeayo
and patriarch-pianist-teacher
Ellis -- beginning to grab atten-
tion for his irrepressibly swing-
ing, highly interactive approach
to the kit. Big brother Branford
calls him the most talented one of
the family, marveling at the twen-
ty-year-old's ability to cut up the
beat and intuitively deal with the
mathematics of rhythm and time-
keeping.
I first saw Jason playing on
a rebroadcast of Mister
Rogers' Neighborhood. It was
a segment where Mister
Rogers' pays a visit to his
friend Ellis Marsalis,
who demonstrates for the
kids at home what jazz
music is all about.
Branford is on saxophone,
and a tiny Jason (maybe
all of eight or nine at the
 time of this taping) is behind the drums.
I first caught Jason live as a participant
in the 1992 Thelonious Monk instrumental
competition. He was fifteen at the lime, and
he seemed nervous as he took his place
behind the drums in spacious Avery Fisher
Hall. Indeed, he dropped his sticks a cou-
ple of limes during one tune and was sum-
marily eliminated from the semifinal
round—though I remember being
impressed by his willingness to take more
chances within the strict confines of the
competition than the other participants.
Afterward, a noticeably upset Branford
was heard to exclaim, "He was robbed. He
was obviously the best one there, but they
ended up giving it to the slickest player
instead of the mosl musical plaver. "
Upon moving to New Orleans in 1993, I
began to watch Jason bloom at his regular
Sunday night gig at Snug Harbor with his
father Ellis. I also got a chance to watch
him stretch out in a more adventurous con-
text with tenor saxophonist Ed Peterson.
And there was also the occasional gig with
his own quartet to take in.
To date, Jason has appeared on record-
ings by his brother Delfeayo [1992's
Pontius Pilate's Decision, RCA/Novus], his
father Ellis [Whistle Stop, Columbia],
Marcus Roberts [Time And Circumstance
and Portraits In B l u e , Columbia], and
trumpeter Marcus Printup [Unveiled, Blue
Note].
This interview took place in Jason's
dorm on the campus of Loyola University
in New Orleans. One of the things I was
surprised by, upon entering his room, was was about thirteen, I began studying the The first track was "Medieval Overture"—
the stack of CDs next to a boom box by his playing of Jeff "Tain" Watts, and I started and I didn't understand what was being
bed. Rather than a collection of Max h e a r i n g how T a i n was i n f l u e n c e d by played at all. It's so complex. Lenny White
Roach, Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, and fusion. At the same time, Delfeayo started was playing drums on the record, and it's
Duke Ellington (which one might expect, telling me, "Man, you probably one of the
given the Marsalis name and that family's should check out some "A lot of people make best r e c o r d i n g s of
deep connection to classic jazz), this was a of the M a h a v i s h n u him. I kept thinking,
treasure trove of early fusion classics by Orchestra's records." I a mistake with fusion. "Man, I can't play
the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return To had never heard any They say, 'Man, they any of that. What's
Forever, and Weather Report—all record- of t h e i r m u s i c , b u t going on here?" So I
ed before Jason was born. It seemed like a their drummer, Narada
didn't do this and they called Branford and
natural place to begin the interview. Michael Walden, was didn't do that.' But my asked h i m , "Did
apparently the cat that attitude is to ask, 'Well, you ever hear of
BM: How did you happen to get so heavily Tain had gotten a lot Romantic Warrior?"
into fusion? of his stuff from. So I what did they do?" He set me straight
JM: As a little kid, six or seven years old, I thought, "Well, I ' l l about some t h i n g s .
was really into the music of my brother just see what's happening with it because it Finally it dawned on me that the stuff I had
Wynton. I thought fusion was just that pop- must not be what I think it is. One of the thought was fusion was from the '80s. I
oriented stuff that was coming out in the first records I checked out was Return To hadn't heard any of the '70s music.
'80s, and I didn't like any of it. But when I Forever's Romantic Warrior [ C o l u m b i a ] . BM: And where did that lead you?
JM: Well, after getting heavily into Return that they did in the '70s is totally them.
To Forever I began to wonder if Chick BM: What is it about fusion that impresses
Corea had ever done any jazz records. That you from a drummer's perspective?
led me to Now He Sings, Now He Sobs JM: The thing that first struck me after I
[Blue Note]. Roy Haynes was on that, and checked out Visions Of The Emerald
it was killing. Then I found out about more Beyond was all the complex rhythms and
records by Chick, like Inner Space fast stuff that Narada Michael Walden was
[Atlantic] and Early Circle [Blue Note], playing. He is just firing on that record!
which were both incredible. Around the same time I checked out Billy
After a while I bought a compilation of Cobham's Spectrum. Listening to that
Brecker Brothers music from the '70s, record, I could really hear the connection
which I really liked. Basically, what I start- to Jeff Watts. I began taking notice of other
ed doing was dealing with music for what things, too, like all the unison lines in
it was and not for what it wasn 't. A lot of Chick's writing for Return To Forever. I
people make a mistake with fusion. They really didn't understand that at first. I was
say, "Man, they didn't do this and they trying to figure out whether or not that
didn't do that." But my attitude is to ask, stuff was composed or improvised. When I
"Well, what did they do?" learned it was written out, I was amazed.
BM: Did Miles Davis's Bitches Brew have Chick Corea writes the most elaborate
an impact on you during this period of unisons I've heard so far. There's some
investigation? Mahavishnu stuff, like Inner Mounting
JM: I liked it and it gave me a better Flame and Visions Of The Emerald
understanding of fusion, but there were Beyond, that have unisons too, but Chick's
certain things that I was still trying to fig- stuff gets to where everyone in the group is
ure out about it. Miles had three electric really dealing with strict unison lines and
keyboard players and an electric bass play- breaks. It's really based in classical music.
er. I was trying to understand the role of BM: Is that kind of playing manifesting
the drums in that context. itself in any of your drumming these days?
There's a whole lot of confusion about JM: Only in certain things. What I'm
fusion. People have tried to "blame" fusion doing with fusion now is listening to cer-
on Miles Davis, and that's the biggest mis- tain rhythms and concepts and trying to
take. I hear, "Yeah man, Miles Davis apply those things to my own writing. I'm
messed the music up" or, "Bitches Brew is trying to figure out how to take different
when Miles Davis started BS-ing." But grooves, melodies, and themes from fusion
what Miles was really doing was develop- and use them so it sounds like jazz.
ing some new music with new musicians, BM: So you're interested in the structure
which is what he did throughout his career. of fusion music, but you don't necessarily
The fact is, fusion was inevitable. It was want to emulate the volume level.
going to happen anyway, regardless of JM: Right. I'm more interested in just tak-
Bitches Brew. ing elements from that music. Even in the
BM: You mentioned the Brecker Brothers context of jazz, I wouldn't want to have a
as being influential in fusion. band that sounds just like a 1940s Lester
JM: Yeah, they are very interesting to Young/Jo Jones type of band. I would take
examine. I was reading the liner notes to elements from that and incorporate it into
one of the compilations and found out that my own thing. That's what I'm doing with
Randy Brecker did a recording in the late fusion now. One thing about fusion is that
'60s called Score [1969 recording reissued they expanded on the traditional head-solo-
on Blue Note]. It's a jazz record with him head concept of jazz. Fusion went way past
and his brother Michael, Hal Galper, Eddie that. They'd have this long head, and then
Gomez, and Mickey Roker. And while it's you might get a solo, then there might be
a pretty interesting recording to listen to, I an extension of the head. They had a lot of
felt that if they had continued playing in different structures to their music, which I
that vein they really couldn't have con- found interesting.
tributed anything to jazz. At best all they BM: Romantic Warrior gets into whole
could do was imitate Freddie Hubbard and suites of music.
John Coltrane. The Brecker Brothers could JM: Oh Lord! They get into a whole pile
not have really found their own voice in of stuff. That was really the peak of that
jazz music. They did it in fusion. The stuff band. I'm still into that record, along with
Miles' '70s stuff. I've also been getting JM: Yeah, right. Well, jazz used to be the
into a lot of Herbie Hancock's '70s music main thing. At first it was just the music of
lately. One thing about Herbie Hancock Wynton and Branford, then I also got into
that's great is that he's just unbelievably what Terence Blanchard and Donald
melodic. Harrison were doing together. I got into
BM: Do you make a clear distinction their records, like Black Pearls, which was
between jazz and fusion? really coming from the quintet concept of
JM: Oh yeah, particularly when you talk Wynton and Branford from earlier record-
about drummers and bass players. I don't ings like Black Codes From The
really see any of the bass players from the Underground and Think Of One.
late '60s contributing anything to jazz BM: Did your father tell you much about
music, per se, especially after great bass the late, great New Orleans drummer,
players like Paul Chambers, Charles James Black?
Mingus, and Jimmy Garrison had made JM: I actually knew James Black a little bit.
their definitive statements. Then you get a I had a few drum lessons with him when I
cat like Stanley Clarke, who can play the was about seven. The only unfortunate thing
hell out of the bass. He has a lot of tech- about being young is that as soon as I start
nique. But you know, I don't see him con- realizing stuff about great drummers,
tributing anything to jazz. As far as drum- they're dead. I remember finding this old
mers go, the two drummers who were record that Dad did with James Black called
beginning to establish themselves in the Monkey Puzzle. It's now reissued on a CD
'70s were Billy Cobham and Jack called Classic Ellis Marsalis. Now, I had
DeJohnette. And really, after Philly Joe heard James Black play live in New
Jones, Tony Williams, and Elvin Jones, Orleans, but the stuff that he was doing on
they didn't have anything more to con- this record was incredible. But about a year
tribute in jazz. So they found their own after I heard the record, he died.
voices in fusion. The same thing happened with Ed
BM: You've really been studying music all Blackwell. I only met him once. He gave a
your life, just by osmosis from your family. workshop at Virginia Commonwealth
University when I was just a kid. I knew drummer than Blackwell, but I think he I talked with Dad later, and he said, "No,
who he was and that he was a great drum- was a better musician. Technically, he man, you get the back end of the stick and
mer, but I really didn't know his music. played a little more stuff. Of course, he you lay the stick into the drum. Bam!"
Wynton kept telling me, "Listen to Ed came up a little bit later. Ed Blackwell was When I tried that for the first time, I was in
Blackwell. He's got that African sound in coming more from the Max Roach school, pain. My arms were hurting. I thought,
his playing." Unfortunately, by the time I while James Black was coming from the "Whoa, wait a minute! This stuff ain't
decided to investigate Ed Blackwell, he early Elvin Jones school. But the thing what I thought it was."
had passed away. Still, I started listening to about James Black was he was a very BM: Being primarily schooled in jazz, was
the stuff that he did with Ornette Coleman, musical cat. He played trumpet and guitar, it difficult for you to make the transition to
and it was killing! All I could think was, and he wrote a lot of excellent music. Stuff playing funk?
"Too bad he ain't around now. If he was he wrote back then sounds incredible now. JM: Definitely. I think one problem that
alive I'd be asking him all kinds of stuff Blackwell is pretty easy to hear, as far as jazz drummers have is that some of them
about the drums." the form of what he played. But James have a hard time trying to keep the pocket,
My Dad and I talk a lot about those two Black's stuff was a lot more complex. My which means to really stick with the
drummers. Blackwell used to be the main Dad learned a lot from both of them, and groove. They'll try to add things to the
drummer in New Orleans in the late '50s. that's why he has been a big help to me as beat...try to make it hip. But just play the
He was the guy who really taught my Dad far as playing the drums. groove! That's the hardest part: trying to
to respect the drums as an instrument. Dad BM: What other revelations have you had play simple stuff and still make it groove.
didn't understand anything about the about the drums recently? My brothers had always told me, "Man,
drums. All he knew was that drums would JM: That playing funk music is not easy! I you should really get some James Brown
take these real cluttery solos and then all of discovered that the hard way, while playing records and take those beats off." I liked
a sudden you'd hear the cue for the rest of a gig with Kirk Joseph, the sousaphone listening to that stuff, but I didn't really
the band to come back in. But Blackwell player from the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. It pursue it on drums. But I finally realized
hipped him to the idea of drums as an was the first time I really got to play funk, that I really needed to practice playing
instrument and the role that they play in an and Dad kept looking at me and saying, some funk. Eventually it built up my
ensemble. And after Blackwell came James "Jason, you're not playing that music endurance.
Black, which is almost like a whole other right." I was just playing the beat and not Another thing I discovered was that it's
level. James Black wasn't really a better really hitting into the snare drum that hard. hard to play funk beats slow. An example
is Herbie Hancock's arrangement of stuff all the time. A lot of it has more to do really a jazz drummer. I don't mean that as
"Watermelon Man" on his Headhunters with being valid. criticism, I mean it as a sort of categoriza-
album. It's hard playing funk that slow. Take a drummer like Greg Hutchinson, tion. That's not his way of playing; it's just
But I've been shedding on that stuff, and for instance. He's another outstanding, pol- not him. I always look at what guys can do
hopefully one day I may get some funk ished drummer who has great control over and not what they don't do. For what he
gigs. It helps me get a stronger sound out the drumset. He's been playing with Ray does, Dave is great. Vinnie Colaiuta is
of the drums, a stronger attack. Brown. He goes back to the basics, to what another drummer with a lot of technique,
BM: You mentioned some veteran drum- Philly Joe Jones did. And what he's doing and I really like his music, too. And Dennis
mers as influences. Are there any younger is very important; it's something that I Chambers...man, he's real. I gotta get more
drummers today that you admire? admire. Another drummer that I like now is of his stuff. That's one thing about all of
JM: I like Lewis Nash. He has great facili- Carl Allen. Not only is he a great drummer, those guys, they have some serious chops.
ty, great technique, and a great ride cym- but he also has a good concept of business. BM: Are you still studying with anybody?
bal. He's just a great pyrotechnician on the Carl probably has the most endorsements JM: I'm not really taking drum lessons
drumset. Lewis has done so many sessions of any drummer in the history of drums. right now. But there have been so many
that it's gotten to a point where if you turn He's real creative too. I especially like his things that I've picked up from drum teach-
on the radio, Lewis Nash is probably the album The Pursuer [Atlantic], which had ers. For example, I made it to Boston and
drummer you're hearing. an excellent rendition of Wayne Shorter's had a few lessons with Alan Dawson
I have to say that drummers today aren't "Pinocchio." Carl took a very creative, before he passed away. Imagine being able
really playing a lot of stuff that's new. very free solo on that cut. to study with a guy like that, man...the guy
Now, that's not saying that it's not valid. BM: What about the school of playing rep- who taught Tony Williams when Tony was
Take a drummer like Kenny Washington. resented by drummers like Dave Weckl? thirteen. Alan was such a great teacher—
His thing is researching all of the older jazz JM: Dave Weckl...very interesting. I have and a great player too. He gave me enough
drummers. He's another great technician, to call him kind of a controversial drum- to practice on for a long time. So for me,
and he can emulate all kinds of different mer—only because some cats feel kind of right now, it's less about studying, and
styles. You've got some drummers like strange about him. He has a pile of tech- more about shedding.
him who are going back to the basics. And nique; he can play the heck out of the
that's cool. I don't think that all drummers drums, man. He plays way more drums
should be playing brand-new, innovative than I probably will ever play. But he's not
Jim Keltner
Q
I'm a big fan of yours—especially after seeing the
Bob Dylan tribute show, on which you played in
tandem with Anton Fig. Because you and Anton are
both incredible drummers, I find it interesting that
both of you played on the same show. What was the
purpose of having two drummers? Do you have to
make special allowances when playing alongside
someone else? Does this help or hinder your playing?
And does that gig rate among your personal "top
ten"? (I ask that because it is surely the greatest show
I've ever seen.)
Jesse Steele
Perth, Western Australia

Q
Your style of drumming has inspired me a lot. Not
that I try to copy the things you play, but rather
that you've made me feel comfortable playing what-
ever I want to play.
A while ago I joined a band playing some old rock
'n' roll tunes. We got into the music of John Hiatt and
Nick Lowe. That's when I discovered how tastefully
you play. "Thing Called Love" from Hiatt's Bring
The Family and "You Got The Look I Like" from
Lowe's Party Of One are some my favorites. And the
entire Little Village album you did is very special; it gets better enjoyed the show.
each time I listen to it. Patrik, I must say that John Hiatt's Bring The Family, Nick
I've read somewhere that you don't muffle your bass drum. Lowe's Party Of One, and the Little Village album all have some
How do you get such a warm sound (like on Rickie Lee Jones' of my favorite playing moments. So it's nice to hear that you like
"Jolie")? What cymbals did you use on Party Of One? There's a them, too.
China that has a particularly cool sound. Finally, are you planning Rickie Lee Jones' "Jolie" also happens to be one of my
to make another Little Village record? I'd love to hear some more favorites. I like the song and its deceptively simple drum part. As
of that stuff! far as the bass drum goes, it was a big (18x24) drum with both
Patrik Lindstrom heads on. The front head was tuned a bit looser than the batter
Sb'dertalje, Sweden side, and I think we used just a little muffling from a towel rolled
up and placed on the floor, barely touching the front head.
Jesse, I guess there can be many reasons for having two drum- Recording in a studio provides the luxury of using certain drums
A mers. But speaking for myself, I don't really feel comfortable
doing it. I think you'd probably get a better answer from drum-
for certain songs. Big, open drums won't work all the time for
everything. Miking, tuning, the room itself, and most of all how
mers like Mickey Hart, Billy Kreutzman, Butch Trucks, or Jaimoe you fit that sound to the music is what will allow the engineer to
Johanson—who really know the subject. I can only speak about make it sound warm or hard (or whatever you happen to be going
the gigs I've done that way. for).
Regarding the Dylan tribute: When I found out that the show All my cymbals are Paistes, and the China you asked about was
was going to involve playing with so many acts and would run so a 22" 2002, low in pitch and surprisingly heavy. It sounded the
long, I asked Anton—who is a good friend of mine—to come and way it did because it was struck gently, with a brush.
help out in case I collapsed. Although it can be exciting at times, Finally, I wish there was going to be another Little Village
for the most part I think double-drumming tends to compromise record, but it doesn't seem likely. Thanks for all the kind words,
each player's treatment of the space. But that's just my personal though.
feeling. In any event, it's certainly nice to hear that you really
 may produce excessive ringing. Because single-headed drums focus on
Jeff Porcaro Tribute Album I realize that the best way to address stick attack, we suggest you try a twin-ply

Q
I read with great interest your October these issues is by experimentation with dif- head (Remo Emperor or Pinstripe, Evans
'97 story on David Garfield's creation ferent types of heads, with and without G2, Aquarian Performance II, etc.). This
of a tribute album to Jeff Porcaro. What is muffling. But I'm in hopes that you can get will add a slightly fatter, deeper sound than
the title of that album, and how can I me going in the right direction to find and most single-ply heads can produce. A coat-
obtain it? maintain the optimum sound I am looking ed head will accentuate the stick attack; a
Sam Franciosca for. non-coated head will sound a little
Cleveland, OH Chris Bishop "rounder."
via Internet The use of a self-muffling head (like a

A Tribute To Jeff (David Garfield and

Friends Play Tribute to Jeff Porcaro) is
on the Zebra Records label, catalog number A You may find it difficult to obtain any
sort of consistent sound between your
Pinstripe) might help reduce your "ring"
worries. However, it's been our experience
that single-headed drums actually ring less
ZD 44005-2. It's distributed through WEA single-headed rack toms and your double- than double-headed drums, owing to the
distribution, and should be available at all headed floor tom. Single-headed drums (no lack of the resonating lower head.
music retailers. matter what type of head they're fitted We suggest that you work first on get-
with) tend to accent the attack sound, with ting the tonality you wish. Then, if there is
a focused projection. Double-headed drums too much ring for your taste, you can apply
Heads For Single-Headed Drums tend to produce more resonance and sus- a bit of muffling to control that ring. Aside

Q
I have a kit on which the rack toms are tain, and a bit more diffuse sound. With from the traditional home-made remedies
single-headed, and the floor tom is dou- that in mind (and since you favor a lot of (like tape, tissue, or cut-up drumhead
ble-headed. (This is not my preference, but stick attack), you might consider removing "doughnuts"), there are plenty of muffling
I'll work with what I have.) I prefer a big, the bottom head from your floor tom, for products on the market (like Zero Rings,
deep sound, with a lot of stick attack. the sake of consistency. Phil Collins is per- gel discs, or clip-on mufflers) to try.
Muffling is not something I prefer, but I'm haps the most famous advocate of this
concerned that without it the rack toms arrangement.
 A Hole
I In The Head? smaller). Also, you don't want all of the Cleaning Vistalite Drums
Q Q
I'm a beginning/intermediate drummer sound within the drum to escape immedi- I am cleaning a Vistalite kit for a friend.
and was wondering how big a hole ately. So we suggest a hole of about 4" in It is scratched, and he never changed a
should be put in the front bass drum head. diameter, cut into the head about 2" in head that was not broken. The snare is
Should a hole even be put in it? Also, can from the drum rim at either the "four missing three tension rods. I think it still
you recommend some heads for the front o'clock" or "eight o'clock" position. This had the original factory-installed Ludwig
and back that can produce good volume will usually give you the best compromise head! What is the best cleaning method?
from the drum? between "big drum sound" and "punchi- Steve Landsberg
Bryan Pogorzelski ness." via Internet
via Internet For excellent volume (and a good deal of

A Whether or not to put a hole in a front

bass drum head is a matter of personal
"ring control"), try Remo Powerstroke 3,
Aquarian Super Kick II, Attack No
Overtone, or Evans EQ3 batter heads.
A Considering your description of the kit,
we suggest that you dismantle it entirely,
including removing all the lugs from the
taste, along with a regard for the require- Remo's Powerstroke 3 Ebony, Aquarian's shells so that you have bare shells and indi-
ments of your playing. If you like a big, Regulator, and Evans' EQ3 Resonant are vidual pieces of hardware. Then clean each
open, boomy sound (and the music you muffled front heads designed to help con- component separately.
play lends itself to that), you may not want trol overling without having to "stuff the When everything is separated, soak the
to use a hole at all. On the other hand, if drum full of padding or muffling. Check bearing edges of the shells in a bath of
you want a more focused, tight, and with a dealer to see what's available to warm, soapy water to loosen all old dirt and
"punchy" sound, a hole is recommended. A you, and do a bit of experimenting. Part of drumstick shavings. Let them soak a while
hole also provides access to the interior of the learning process of drumming is learn- before you even touch them. Then, if possi-
the drum, which can be helpful when it ing what to do to get the kind of sound you ble, rinse the soap (and the dirt) off the
comes to inserting or removing muffling or like. It takes a good deal of trial and error, edges using a water spray. (The object is to
a microphone. so don't be discouraged if you don't get the avoid scratching the shells further by scrub-
The size of the hole you use can vary, "perfect sound" the first time. bing them.) You can wash the larger sur-
but we always recommend starting fairly faces of the shells by hand, using warm
small (since you can always make a small soapy water and a very soft cloth. Be sure to
hole bigger, but you can't make a big one thoroughly rinse off all traces of the soap.
 There are several products available to
polish plastic surfaces; you may wish to
use one to polish the Vistalite shells once
they have been cleaned. Meguiar's Clear
Plastic Detailer is a gentle cleaner/polish.
Eagle I Plastic Polish & Protectant and
Mother's Plastic Polish also claim to
remove fine scratches in plastic surfaces.
All of these products are available in auto
parts stores.
Put the bolts, washers, etc. into a bath
made of liquid dish detergent and water
(heavy on the detergent). Do this in a con-
tainer that you can safely close and agitate.
Shake the bath up to help the detergent
remove old grease and grit from the bolts
and washers. Repeat this with a clean
detergent solution until the liquid runs off
clean. Rinse everything in warm water to
remove the detergent, then dry everything
carefully, using a clean absorbent cloth, or
perhaps a blow dryer. (Do this all in a non-
stop sequence; do not let the parts soak too
long or sit out while still wet.) Once all of
the parts have been cleaned and dried,
lightly coat the threads of the bolts with
machine oil.
You can check with your local auto parts
store for a good chrome polish to use on
the chromed parts of the kit (such as the
lugs, tom mounts, and snare strainer). As
an alternative, try a product offered by the
Fuller Brush Company called Appliance
Cleaner. It combines a grease-cutter with a
wax polish in a very gentle, non-abrasive
compound. It comes in a spray can, and is
very easy to use.
No matter what sort of polish you use on
chrome parts, it's important to use it spar-
ingly, and to apply it to your polishing
cloth, not to the part being polished. The
object is to make sure you can get all of the
polish off of the part, which can be difficult
sometimes due to the sculpted surfaces of
drum lugs and other hardware.
After all of this work, we suggest you
install all new heads on the kit. However, if
you choose to re-install any of the drum-
heads that were on the kit (perhaps for
some historic value), be sure to clean them,
too—paying special attention to the under-
side edges of the heads that will sit on the
bearing edges of the shells. Plastic heads
can usually be cleaned effectively with
soap and water, or with a household spray
cleaner.
 Protection? It's In The Bag
Six/Eight Drummers' Bags
Six/Eight Music Bags is a new company led by two gentlemen who boast thirty
years' combined experience in the outdoor-gear industry. Their drum-equipment
bags feature the same high-tech materials, strong natural fibers, and innovative
sewing techniques used in their outdoor pack designs.
The new drum bags include a cymbal bag, a 14" snare bag, and a stick bag.
They're made from nylon ballis-
tics cloth (used in bullet-proof
vests), and they're triple-
stitched with extra reinforce-
ment at the seams. The cymbal
and stick bags are also available
in bast fiber hemp, the strongest
natural fiber available.
The cymbal bag comes with
twelve individual sleeves inside a
padded pocket. The bottom is fully reinforced with leather, and webbing runs
completely down the side for maximum stress transfer. The bag features a shoul-
der strap and exterior accessory pockets ideal for sheet music, notepads, felts, etc.
The snare bag features a plush, fleece interior, a durable leather bottom, and
handles that run the length of the bag for added strength. The lid opens cleanly,
without bunching or collapsing the bag.
The stick bag is designed to hold more than sticks, with exterior pockets large
enough for a metronome, daily planner, pens and pencils, and notepads. The bag
can be carried horizontally from a shoulder strap, or turned into a backpack.

Better At Both Ends You Are What They Hear

Of The Line Audio-Technica ATM23HE Snare Drum Mic'
Upgrades in Slingerland Joining the ever-swelling ranks of highly specialized drum microphones is
Audio-Technica's ATM23HE, a wide-range moving-coil d y n a m i c mic' pri-
Studio King and Spirit marily designed for snare drum pickup (hut also u s e f u l on rack t o m s ) in
Drumkits h i g h - q u a l i t y l i v e sound reinforcement applications.
The ATM23HE hypercardioid polar pattern a l l o w s it to focus on the
Slingerland's top-of-the-line Studio King desired sound location (such as the "sweet spot" of a drumhead), c o n t r o l l i n g
drumkits now offer ball-and-socket tom feedback and reducing
mounts that are a reworking of the classic "bleed" from unwanted
Set-O-Matic mounts used by the company sound sources. The m i c ' s
throughout the '70s and '80s. Slingerland compact design permits
feels that this improved tom mount "com- convenient placement
pletes the package" of the Studio King line around d r u m k i t hardware,
(along with its die-cast hoops, hand-sanded w h i l e i t s response is
bearing edges, and Pat Foley's world- specifically tailored to
renowned finish work). provide natural-sounding
At the entry level. Slingerland's Spirit reproduction on closely
kits have been upgraded to include new tom miked instruments. I t
mounts (for greater tom stability and range offers a frequency range of
of adjustment), new bass drum spurs (for a 70 Hz. to 16 kHz, i n c l u d e s
more solid anchor against aggressive play- an i n t e g r a l c l a m p t h a t per-
ing), and revised snare throwoffs (for mits m o u n t i n g on any
smoother, surer snare release). In addition, stand w i t h 5/8" - 27
they are now fitted with Remo Ambassador threads, and weighs o n l y
drumheads. 10.6 ounces.
 Brush And Crimp...ls This Drum Equipment
Or A Recipe For Pie Crust?
DW Brushed Finishes and Crimped Drumhead Hoops
"The art of drumming" takes on a new meaning with DW's artist-
style brushed specialty lacquer finishes. The mottled, random-
pattern, rich-color, high-gloss appearance is painstakingly
applied, using "only the finest materials and workmanship."
Brushed finish colors currently include tangerine, blue, green,
and pale purple. They
are available as a spe-
cialty lacquer option on
any DW wood drum.
Also new from DW are
the crimped aluminum
hoops on the company's
line of Coated/Clear
drumheads. According
to DW, "Coated/Clear
heads have always
offered a superior bal-
ance of tone and clarity,
but with the addition of the
crimped hoop they are also
more reliable, more consistent, and
easier to tune." The hoops have also been incorporated into DW's
Coated/Controlled snare drum batter heads.

For those who wish to "punch up" the tion to the beater impact point, for more
attack sound of their kick drums comes or less of the enhanced-attack effect.
the KIK-KLIK (all the way from Originally designed for use in sound-rein-
England). It's not the first self-adhesive, forced situations, the manufacturers claim
Brits On The Attack attack-enhancing impact pad for bass
drums, but it may be the first with the
that it's equally effective on un-miked
drums.
P&B Production KIK-KLIK added feature of being adjustable. Instead
of adhering directly (and permanently) to
P&B Production is a small British com-
pany currently seeking North American
the drumhead, the KIK-KLIK is attached distribution for the KIK-KLIK. However,
to hook-and-loop fastener strips instead. you can order one directly from them sim-
(They are attached to the head.) This ply by sending them a check for $15 (US).
allows the device to be adjusted in rela-

Read About The Manne

Shelly Manne
Biography/Discography/Filmography
Considering Shelly Manne's contributions to the art of drumming—and to music
in general—it's surprising that a major literary work hasn't been devoted to him
before now. Rectifying that situation is Shelly Manne—Sounds Of The Different
Drummer, to be released in limited edition on November 20. Along with the
story of this jazz and studio legend, the work contains what the authors modestly
claim is "the most detailed listing of recordings and film soundtracks ever
assembled about a drummer." Every musician on every album is listed, along
with TV and movie soundtracks Shelly recorded. The nearly 12"-square, coffee-
table bio includes dozens of photos and many transcriptions explaining how
Shelly played many of his solos and fills (including the complete "Un Poco
Loco" solo). This is a limited edition, hand-signed and numbered by the authors.
Copies may be obtained at $60 plus $5 for shipping, from Percussion Express.
And What's More...
PLAYERS MUSIC ACCESSORIES AGNER Swiss drumsticks now are available in the US
are the new distributor of Players Duratech synthetic drum- via Agner USA. The company makes a complete line of drum-
sticks. The hollow-core sticks are molded of "space-age poly- set and marching sticks that have been popular in Europe for
mer," and now feature an internal adjustable-weight system many years.
that allows the user to custom-tailor the balance of the sticks.
YAMAHA now offers an upgraded and improved
SABIAN has been collaborating on a new crash cym- design for the Peter Erskine
bal with Chad Smith. According to Chad, the goal is a crash Free-Standing Stick Bag. The
with more power and punch, and an increased amount of bag now features a simplified
high-end cut to slice through the band sounds around him— setup, requiring the user only to
"a cymbal with big, explosive response, lots of treble tone, unhook one J-strap and set up
and the dura- the free-standing foot.
bility to han- Also new from Yamaha is the
dle my bash- P80SA Slave Anchor. It's
ing." Chad is designed to prevent the slave-
playing proto- side pedal of double-pedal sys-
types on tour; tems from slipping during play.
the model
should be
introduced
into Sabian's
line in the
near future.

Chad Smith (second from left) in the Sabian

vault with (left to right) Sabian cymbal testers
David Williams and Mark Love, and Sabian
manager of artist relations Steve Oksenuk

Making Contact
Agner USA Percussion Express Slingerland
PO Box 291805 PO Box 1731 741 Massman Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90029 Rockford, IL 61110 Nashville, TN 37210
tel: (213)662-9404 tel/fax: (815)229-3131 tel: (615)871-4500
fax: (213)662-2639 fax: (615)871-9862
Players Music Accessories
Audio-Technica PO Box H Yamaha
1221 Commerce Dr. San Jose, CA 95151 PO Box 6600
Stow, OH 44224 tel: (800)817-0017 Buena Park, CA 90622-6600
tel: (330) 686-2600 fax: (408) 270-4337 tel: (714)522-9011
fax: (330) 688-3752 e-mail: info@yamaha.com
Sabian Web: www.yamaha.com
Drum Workshop Meductic, New Brunswick
101 Bernoulli Circle Canada
Oxnard, CA 93030 tel: (506)272-2019
tel: (805) 485-6999 fax: (506) 272-2081
fax: (805)485-1334 e-mail: sabmark@nbnet.nb.ca
Web: www.dwdrums.com
Six/Eight Music Bags
P&B Production 2145 Park Ave., Suite 9
14 Henley Court Chico, CA 95928
Lexden, Colchester tel: (916)342-9282
Essex CO3 4HD fax:(916)342-3730
England
 Pearl Masters Mahogany Classic And Masters
Custom Extra Drumkits, SensiTone Snare
Drums, And DR-500 ICON Rack System
consists of three different metal shells available in two sizes and
by Chap Ostrander two different hardware configurations. And the DR-500 rack sys-
tem constitutes another step forward in Pearl's development of

T
oday's drum equipment market is a tough place. You have to floor support for mounted toms, cymbals, and accessories.
stay two steps ahead of the competition in order to survive.
The Pearl drum company has put a unique spin on this concept Drumsets In General
by introducing new products that take them two steps forward and I'll begin with the features that are common to both new drum-
two steps back—simultaneously. Here's what we have: two drum- sets. The drums utilize the Masters low-mass bridge-style lug,
sets, an assortment of snare drums, and a revised rack system. which minimizes contact with the shell and allows for the greatest
With the introduction of the Masters Mahogany Classic Limited resonance. Nylon spacers underneath the lugs prevent the metal
Edition (MHX) and the Masters Custom Extra (MRX) drumsets, from touching the wood. Each lug is secured to the shell with two
Pearl has doubled the offerings in their Masters series without screws. Inside the casing is a brass swivel nut held in place by a
duplicating any existing style of drums. The SensiTone snare line rubber wedge (no springs). The theory behind the brass insert is
 In response to this situation, Pearl is offering what they modest-
WHAT'S HOT
Masters Mahogany Classic kit offers warm, ly claim are "the only professional mahogany drums in the world."
round, "vintage"-style sound with contemporary The MHX drumset is comprised of thin 4-ply (5 mm) 100%
features African mahogany shells with 4-ply (5 mm) maple reinforcement
Masters Custom Extra shells produce power and rings. The maple rings are there to stiffen the shell where it most
multiple overtones, and can support rack toms needs it, while adding just a bit of "cut" to the sound. No other
steel SensiTone Custom Alloy drum replicates woods make up the composition of the shell, such as intermediate
the sound of an all-time favorite "classic" snare plies of beech or birch. There is certainly no trace of the much
ICON rack allows independent height cheaper luan mahogany often used for entry-level "mahogany"
adjustability for horizontal bars drums.
Pearl's shells are made utilizing their "Heat Compression Shell
WHAT'S NOT Molding System." In that process, separate plies of wood are pre-
Masters Mahogany Classic kit is available in cisely cut for a perfect fit. The company uses scarf joints, which
only one (though striking) finish means that the ends of the plies overlay each other (rather than
butting together, as in some shells). This makes for better contact
that the softness of the metal will serve to keep the tension rod and more glue coverage at the joint. The joints of the different
from working loose while playing, thus keeping the drum in tune plies are staggered for additional strength. The entire shell is then
longer. I personally like the look of the natural brass insert against heated so that the adhesive boils into the pores of the wood (which
the chrome of the lug. also prevents moisture from invading). Then the shell is put into a
There are nylon washers on all the tension rods. The bass drum hydraulic press/mold so that uniformity and stability are achieved.
claws are die-cast and use key rods rather than "T" handles. (Key The adhesive used is specially formulated to take on the same den-
rods make it easier to fine-tune the bass drum, with the added ben- sity as the wood, so that the finished shell will respond as if it is
efit that the drum will go into a case without having to move one piece of wood, not several plies. My point with this lengthy
them.) Pearl's I.S.S. (Integrated Suspension System) is used on all discourse is that through this process Pearl is able to maximize the
mounted toms. Where legs are used for floor toms they have R-40 potential of the woods that comprise their shells. The mahogany
"air suspension" feet, which are rounded on the bottom with a that makes up the MHX drums is the real thing, and thanks to the
"tunnel" cut through the fat part. The tunnel allows the foot to HCSMS process, it lives up to its legendary reputation.
flex, which in turn enables the tom to float, giving it greater sus- Now, back to the MHX kit. The first drum that I unpacked was
tain. (Note: the R-40 tips will fit any standard 3/8" leg and are the 16x22 bass, and I was immediately stunned by its looks. The
available for a list price of $11 for a set of three. Talk about a deep red color of the red mahogany stain brings out the character
"sound investment.") and grain of the wood. The MHX kit is only available in this one
The toms also include the newly designed SuperHoopII, which color, but believe me, it's enough. (It's very much like that of an
is a 2.3 mm triple-flanged steel hoop with a lower profile than pre- original Gibson SG Standard guitar.) The effect is further
vious SuperHoops. I found that I could play rimshots easily by just enhanced by a super high-gloss finish. The inside of the shell is
slightly moving my hands, and I had no trouble playing rimclicks. stained brown and lightly sealed.
The toms on both sets are supplied with Remo clear Ambassador The bass drum came supplied with clear Remo PowerStroke 3
heads on top and bottom. All the drums feature a double 45° bear- heads, which let you admire the finish on the inside of the shell
ing edge that is sharp and finely finished. from front or back. As far as I'm concerned, the combination of
those heads and the mahogany shell is perfect. Right out of the
Masters Mahogany Classic Limited Edition box this bass drum is a killer, with tone that is warm and rich.
(A Step Back) There is plenty of punch there, while at the same time it seems to
The Masters Mahogany Classic Limited Edition (MHX) is a fill the room with its presence. A real plus of thin-shelled drums is
return to the wood that helped give drums that "vintage sound" that they're light—including the bass drum. On the other hand,
that so many players are trying to recapture these days. This is the such a thin-shelled drum can't support the weight of mounted
step back that I referred to in the beginning of this review. It's a toms. They need to be suspended off nearby cymbal stands or on a
new drumset with a historical significance. rack system (more on the rack later).
During the rock revolution that occurred from the late '50s The toms sent for review measured 10x10, 10x12, 12x14, and
through the '70s, the demand was for louder drums with more pro- 14x16. Each tom produced full tone with lots of fundamental.
jection. While mahogany drums had great warmth and fullness of There was good tonal spacing between the drums, which means
tone, maple won out due to its ability to cut through electric gui- that when each one was tuned to a pitch that seemed good for its
tars and other instruments. On the other hand, nowadays anyone size, that note wasn't too close to the pitch of the drum just above
shopping for drums will see as many ads for vintage drums as they or below it. The drums were all very sensitive to slight changes in
will for new ones. The warmth and tone of the old mahogany tuning.
shells has once again become desirable. Of course, if you buy a The MHX kit is a remarkable set both in looks and sound. (A
truly vintage set so that you can have that sound, you also have to matching mahogany snare will probably be in production by the
put up with the drawbacks of the antiquated hardware that goes time this review is printed, but was not available at the time of
with it. writing. It should come in 5 1/2 x 14 and 6 1/2 x 14 sizes.) Here are the
component prices for the MHX drums sent for review: 10x10— The MRX toms on our review set measured 10x10, 10x12,
$450; 10x12—$470; 12x14—$540; 14x16—$630; and 16x22— 12x14, and 14x16 (the same sizes that came with the mahogany
$1,200. set). The sounds that they produced were loud and full. As with
the mahogany set, the toms had good pitch spacing between sizes.
Masters Custom Extra (A Step Forward) A SensiTone Custom Alloy brass snare is a part of the package
Masters Custom Extra (MRX) drums differ from the current when the Masters Extra kit is purchased in one of four prepack-
Masters line by using thicker 6-ply (7.5 mm) shells that are 100% aged sets (which offer high-end hardware plus a better than 10%
maple. This drumset provides an opportunity to those wishing to savings over the component prices; more on the SensiTone snares
have a thick-shell set combined with Pearl's top-of-the-line later). Here are some of the component prices for the MRX drums
Masters-series hardware and finishing. There is no need to use that I sampled: 10x10—$380; 10x12—$400; 12x14—$470;
reinforcement rings, and the strength of the shells allows the toms 14x16—$540; and 16x22—$1,050. The package pricing begins at
to be mounted on the bass drum using Pearl's BB-3 mounting $3,299 and goes to $3,899.
bracket. I'm not sure if the volume put out by the maple set is really loud-
MRX drums are available in eight high-gloss lacquer coatings. er than that of the mahogany drums, or if it just gives that impres-
Our review set was a lustrous piano black. The insides of the sion. I set up the drums side by side in order to compare the differ-
shells were lightly sealed but not stained, which made for a strik- ences between them. The mahogany drums had a strong attack and
ing contrast with the black exterior. a warm, round tone that favored the lower end of the spectrum. The
The 16x22 bass drum came fitted with a clear Remo maple drums also had a strong attack, but they produced a wider
Ambassador batter head and a Pearl Black Beat logo head on the range of overtones in the pitches. I don't think that one set is louder
front (with no hole). I had to tweak this drum, unlike the MHX than the other, just different in its tone production.
bass. I settled on using a single felt strip on the batter head, off-
center and running from top to bottom. A small felt strip was all I Basses For Comparison
needed on the front, just to take the "flap" out of the head. The To give my theory a real workout, I took the two bass drums
voice of this drum is big and loud, like a cannon. apart and traded both sets of heads. The Extra bass drum with
PowerStroke 3 heads sounded very powerful and contained, but
still kept the overtones inherent to the maple shell. The Mahogany
bass drum with the Ambassador heads still had its trademark fun-
damental tone, but sounded louder and more open. I think that it's
a credit to both drums that they retained their original character
even when the nature of their heads changed drastically.

SensiTone Snares (Another Step Back)

Pearl's latest offering in the genre of metal-shelled snare drums
includes a healthy dose of drum history in its designs. This is evi-
dent in two ways. Number one, all SensiTone snares use a center-
5 1/2 x14 Classic bronze-shell
bead shell design that was first seen in drums of the early 1900s
and continues to be popular today. Number two, the Classic model tube lug gives the same "bite" on the tension rod as the brass swivel
offers a true "vintage" look and sound with tube lugs, single- nut used on Masters lugs, so this lug will give you the same depend-
flanged hoops, and hoop clips for its tension rods. able tuning characteristics. The single-flanged steel hoop has the
SensiTone snares are available in two sizes (5 1/2 x 14 and same low profile as the SuperHoopII. (In fact, the steel hoop with
6 1/2 x 14), and two models (Custom Alloy and Classic). Custom clips is interchangeable with the SuperHoopII if the need should
Alloy snares are available in steel, brass, or bronze shells; Classics arise.) Each tension rod has a rubber O-ring on it to retain the clip
come in brass and bronze only. while making head changes. Just shove them under the clip and out
Here are the features common to both lines: The newly designed of the way.
SR-017 strainer is a side-throw unit that is quiet, smooth, and A thoughtful addition to the Classic drum is what I call the
solidly built. The adjustment knob "bridge clip." Picture if you will a
gives you good resistance while section of die-cast metal hoop that
turning, and there is no concern that covers the single-flanged hoop
it will fall off if the snares are over the distance between two
adjusted loose and you are playing adjacent clips. Two of these bridge
hard. The butt plate is non- clips are supplied with each drum.
adjustable, and both the strainer and The idea is to place the bridge
butt plate ends can be tightened or clips over the spots where you are
loosened with a drumkey. (Yea!) most likely to hit rimshots. This
Each drum comes fitted with 20- gives your sticks a larger, rounder
strand snares. striking surface so that you don't
The center-bead construction fea- chew them up on the single-
tured on all the snares adds strength 6 1/2 x14 Custom Alloy steel-shell flanged hoop during sustained
to their shells. This shell design offers classic good looks, clean hard playing. On the other hand, if you play mostly classical music
lines, and a smooth finish. All of the drums have ten doubled- and/or don't expect to use many rimshots in your performance, the
ended lugs that span the space between the top and bottom heads. company also provides four extra "vintage-style" clips so that you
The lugs for both styles of snare are secured to the shell with two can replace the bridge clips and even out the look of your drum.
screws. A positive attribute of the Classic drums is that, because the tube
Custom Alloy snares are fitted with Masters-style bridge lugs lug has lower mass than the bridge lug, and because the single-
(with brass swivel nuts) and SuperHoopII rims. Classic snares re- flange hoop has less contact with the head than the standard hoop,
create the look and sound of "vintage" snare drums by using tube- the drums have a more "open" sound than their Custom Alloy coun-
style lugs with single-flanged hoops and die-cast clips. The tube lug terparts. This was evident in comparisons between the two styles of
is machined from brass and then chrome-plated. The brass of the the same shell in my testing. My wife, percussionist Adrienne
Wilcox Ostrander, took the 6 1/2 x 14 bronze Classic drum to a
rehearsal, and the 5 1/2 x 14 brass Classic on a short tour during which
she played mostly classical music. She liked the sound of both of
them, and reports that they were sensitive and reliable. She gave
them a definite "thumbs up" for concert performances.
The steel drum that I played was a 5 1/2 x14 Custom Alloy. This
drum had a great overall sound with lots of power and impact. A
drum like this could easily become the workhorse of your snare
drum collection, one that you could take anywhere at a moment's
notice and count on to sound great. A steel shell is only offered in
the Custom Alloy configuration, in 5 1/2 x 14 and 6 1/2 x 14 sizes.
The bronze snare comes in both the Custom Alloy and Classic
styles. I had a 5 1/2 x 14 Custom Alloy and a 6 1/2 x 14 Classic to try
6½ x14 Custom Alloy brass-shell
out. The nature of a bronze shell is that it is bright and ringy, but a The Acid Test
bit drier than a brass drum. In practical terms this translates to less Courtesy of my friend Kevin (a drumming cohort of nearly three
ring during playing, with greater definition of strokes. I found that decades), I was able to do a side-by-side comparison of the steel
if I played a technically difficult passage on both the brass and the SensiTone Custom Alloy 5 1/2 x14 against a vintage 1967 Ludwig
bronze drums, it was easier to distinguish between the strokes on Supraphonic 400 of the same size. I tuned the heads the same so
the bronze snare. that any differences in sound would be due to the attributes of each

Brass shells are also available in both snare series. I had a drum. We hit them hard, soft, and in-between. The impact and
Custom Alloy 6 1/2 x 14 and a Classic 5 1/2 x 14 to play. The brass- response of the two drums was identical. Rudimental passages
shelled drum is bright and ringy, with lots of body. Yet it was one played on one and repeated on the other sounded the same. I
of the best-mannered drums of its size that I have played. The placed one stick on each snare and played a buzz roll, and it
playing response was even and predictable. It was my favorite of sounded like one drum. If Pearl's intention was to produce a mod-
our review samples (but I'd love to check out a Classic drum in ern drum that offers the sound of a venerable and legitimately
the same size). The 5 1/2 x14 Classic was Adrienne's favorite for "classic" favorite, this test seems to indicate that they've succeed-
two reasons: the bright, open sound of the drum, and the good ed admirably.
looks of the vintage-style hardware.
The rimshots and rimclicks were strong and clear on all of the DR-500 ICON Rack (Yet Another Step Forward)
snare drums in this review. Snare response was also right there, The DR-500 ICON rack system that was supplied with the
from the softest touch to the loudest passages. Considering the Mahogany set represents the latest evolutionary step in the process
sensitivity and great features of these drums, I can see using them that Pearl began years ago with the help of Jeff Porcaro and Paul
in any situation, from the classroom to the concert hall. And the Jamieson. The "ICON" name stands for "independent control,"
news gets better when you look at the prices. The list prices for the which means that the horizontal rack bars are not set at a pre-fixed
SensiTone Custom Alloy models are: steel 5 1/2 x14—$299, height, but rather can be adjusted.
6 1/2 x14—$309; brass 5 1/2 x 14—$379, 6 1/2 x14—$409; bronze The system is comprised of 34" legs that can accommodate bass
5 1/2 x 14—$419, 6 1/2 x14—$439. SensiTone Classic prices are as drum sizes up to 28". The "T" style base pieces are square with
follows: brass 5 1/2 x14—$479, 6 1/2 x14—$499; bronze 5 1/2 x14— rubber feet for stability. They attach to the upright sections with
$519, 6 1/2x14—$539. the turn of a wingnut. The 36" rack bars that clamp to the legs are
square, so there is no chance of a clamp or holder slipping, as can
happen with round tubing. A hinged clamp at each end of the bar
allows you to set up and tear down
quickly.
Because the cross bars are clamped
to the legs, the height of each segment
can be established separately. Once
you place memory locks on the legs,
the height of each section is set. I once
had a problem with a fixed-height rack
(from another company) because the
tom arms over the bass drum were too
short, yet the arms for the suspended
floor toms were too long and had to be
mounted upside down. With the
ICON rack this is no longer a
problem! The rack bar above the
bass drum can be set at a work-
able height so that the tom arms
are not overextended or in awkward positions.
The bar supporting your suspended floor toms
can be set at another height, simply by secur-
ing the hinged clamp at one end of the rack bar to the upright leg the ICON rack, taking care to place the toms and cymbals exactly
next to the bass drum, and the other end to a leg assembly in back. where I wanted them. I then tore the whole thing down and moved
Each rack bar has its own set of memory locks for height. Pearl it to another location. I was able to set it back up again quickly and
chose not to use the tongue-and-groove design of standard memo- precisely. I tore it down again and returned to the original site, and
ry locks, probably because any slight movements to adjust the again had no trouble putting it back in position. This is a great sys-
angle of the side would snap off the tongue. Not to worry, howev- tem, and because the rack bars are made of aluminum, it's very
er. If you line up the gap in the memory lock with the open side of stable without being heavy.
the clamp of the rack bar, you get the same effect. The DR-500 rack is three-sided, with a front and two side
The newly designed PC-50 clamps that ride on the rack bars are wings. Four PC-50 clamps come with it. The DR-500L is made up
hinged so that they clamp positively and quickly onto the square of two sections (a front and one side), and also includes four PC-
tubing. This is a solidly built holder for tom and cymbal arms. 50 clamps. The DR-500E is designed to be used as an extension,
Once it's in place, that's it! A groove in the clamp on the PC-50 and is made up of one leg and one 36" rack bar. They are priced as
accepts Pearl's standard memory lock. follows: The DR-500 lists for $459, the DR-500L for $365, and the
When installing the PC-50s for the first time, you can either put DR-500E for $110.
them right in place, or get them near and slide them to their Pearl is keeping up with the times. With the introduction of the
desired position. Once you tighten them down, you're finished. Masters Mahogany Classic and Masters Custom Extra drumsets,
When packing up, just take down the cymbal and tom arms, the SensiTone Custom Alloy and Classic snare drums, and the
remove the bars from the upright tubes, detach the feet, and go. ICON rack system, they've shown once again that their equipment
The PC-50 clamps stay with the bars during transport. is thoughtfully built and designed with an eye towards what the
To test the practicality of this system, I set up the MHX set using market really needs, not just what it will bear.

Remo Poncho Sanchez Signature

Series Conga Drums
by Victor Rendon WHAT'S HOT
excellent workmanship and innovative design
One of the latest additions to Remo's world percussion line is the good open, slap, bass, and muffle tones,
Poncho Sanchez Signature Series of congas, which have been and excellent sound projection
designed to the specifications of master conguero Poncho heads are resistant to changes in weather
and humidity, and are easy on the hands
Sanchez. With its current emphasis on various types of world per-
unique FabriFinish
cussion, it's actually surprising that Remo has taken this long to
come out with a line of professional-quality tumbadoras (known
as congas in the US). However, the time has been well spent, since
WHAT'S NOT
in isolation, drums sound ringy and lack warmth
these drums are a reflection of the care and workmanship that FabriFinish durability is questionable
obviously went into their development.
I used the drums in a variety of musical situations in order to
test for projection, sound quality, and versatility. They were used directly on the floor (as opposed to mounted on stands or in "cra-
in private teaching, in performances with a Latin jazz group, and dles"). This is the traditional way of playing congas.
with a Latin band that specializes in Charanga (a style of Cuban
music that makes use of flute and violins). They were also used to Appearance And Features
play rumba (the generic name of a form of Cuban folklore). I usu- Four drums were sent for this review: an 11" quinto, an 11 3/4"
ally gig on drumset or timbales, making it impossible for me to conga, a 12 1/2" tumba, and a 13" super tumba. Visual inspection
actually play these congas throughout a job. But this was actually revealed excellent workmanship and some very good features. The
a blessing in disguise, because it gave me the opportunity to take drums are 30" in height and have a wide belly and a distinctly
the drums with me and let the band's conguero play them. I was tapered body. Each drum comes with six crown-shaped lugs and a
therefore able to hear them played while playing my own instru- hex tuning wrench. All hardware comes in an attractive black fin-
ment. I was not actually playing with the Charanga band, so in that ish. The drums that I received had an optional soft-touch rim,
case I had a chance to go out into the audience to check out the which sits low on the shell and is cushioned with black rubber.
quality and projection of the drums' sound. On all occasions the This makes playing the drums easier on the hands—especially for
drums were played by a seated player, with the drums placed the novice who may not yet know how to strike the drum without
hitting the rim. The same rubber material was used to produce a weighs 23 pounds, and the weight increases for each drum until
protective ring outlining the bottom hole of each drum. This ring we get to 28 1/2 pounds for the 13" super tumba. Add to that the
keeps the drum from sliding on hard surfaces, such as cement or weight of a carrying bag, plus the sheer bulk of the drum (with its
tile floors. wide belly), and you have quite a load to carry. In all fairness,
The tension screw plates are held on the shell with hex screws. however, I have never seen any high-quality congas that are so
A rubber gasket between the plate and the screw helps to increase much lighter than any others that it makes a difference.
shell resonance. Yet another use of rubber is the positioning of two It was not possible to examine the exterior of the shell itself,
rubber bumpers on each drum. These bumpers keep the drum because of the FabriFinish covering that was glued to it. Removal
hardware from damaging the finish of the shell. Mounting brackets of the head, however, revealed a separate, molded bearing edge
(which fit into pre-drilled holes) are available for mounting the made of plastic and glued to the shell. Remo states that this pro-
drum on a stand. Each drum also comes with a strap handle like vides a stronger, more stable, and more consistent shell/sound-
the type used on certain kinds of luggage. It is firmly bolted and edge configuration. The interior of the shell has a black finish, and
lays flat (as opposed to the type that protrudes from the side). is fitted with metal plates to support the outer tension screw plates.

Shells Heads And Their Sound

The shells of the Poncho Sanchez congas are made of Remo's The drums also include Remo's Mondo Type 4 Fiberskyn 3
proprietary synthetic material, Acousticon (a combination of natur- conga heads. At first glance they look like regular calfskin heads,
al wood fibers and specially formulated resins). Previously, congas but they're actually made of Mylar and poly-spun fibers.
have been made only of wood or fiberglass. Wood appeals to According to Remo they are resistant to wear and tear. That, of
purists for its natural tone, warmth, and historic authenticity. course, can only be proven through the test of time. However,
Fiberglass appeals to working musicians for its projection, bright some things are evident. For one thing, they are waterproof and
tonality, and durability. Remo believes that Acousticon shells offer not affected by humidity—which is a big concern for congueros,
an excellent compromise between the two. Their descriptive litera- especially when playing outdoors. The heads definitely give the
ture claims that Acousticon "has been acclaimed for its low- drum a big sound and excellent projection. This is a great benefit
pitched fundamental and excellent projection capabilities," while for people with smaller hands, or who simply don't have the abili-
also offering "the added benefits of strength, weather-resistance, ty to produce a big sound. Being able to produce a bigger sound
and reduced weight." with less effort also means less wear and tear on the hands (as any
Speaking of weight, Remo claims that the Poncho Sanchez conguero with calluses or cuts in his/her fingers will attest). The
drums are taller, yet lighter in weight than most other congas. only drawback of the Fiberskyn 3 heads is that the sound they pro-
However, I have seen drums made by other manufacturers that duce is not quite as warm as that produced by regular calfskin
have about the same height—within perhaps a quarter of an inch. heads. However, the benefits of weather resistance, consistency,
The drums are not necessarily much lighter, either. The 11" quinto and sound projection seem to outweigh this factor (as evidenced
by the fact that these
heads are now being used
by many professional
congueros).

Drum Sound
In isolation, the drums
sound on the ringy side,
and they lack warmth
compared to wood drums
with calfskin heads. The
Fiberskyn 3 heads, wider
belly, and more tapered
body of the drums result
in a bigger and fatter
sound, but not necessarily
a warmer one (as claimed
by the manufacturer).
This is evident when
playing open tones,
which tend to sound
high-ended with some
slight overtones. Bass
tones are very good.
Open and closed slaps are
relatively easy to produce, and they sound quite penetrating. congueros who play in a sitting position. There is just no way to
In a band situation I found the drums to have excellent sound avoid the movement and touching of drums. My concern is that if
projection—even when surrounded by high amplification. The the fabric covering on the Remo congas gets scratched or ripped, it
ringy sound mentioned earlier was not even noticeable. All open, may start to peel and expose the outer shell. The rubber "bumpers"
bass, slap, and muffle tones sounded very good. I agree with Remo I mentioned earlier should help to prevent this, and the clear-coat
that the 30" height, the wider belly, the Acousticon shell, and the finish over the fabric itself should provide some additional protec-
Fiberskyn heads all contribute to this projecting sound. tion. But only time will tell how durable the FabriFinish will
In order to play guaguanco (a type of rumba from Cuba that prove under actual usage.
makes use of three congas: high, medium, low), I used the 11"
quinto, the 11 3/4" conga, and the 12 1/2" tumba. The drums' tonal Conclusion
qualities were more noticeable in this setting, due to the fact that The industry has come a long way in terms of conga production.
there are no other instruments besides the three drums, clave, and There are currently numerous conga manufacturers (large and
guagua (a piece of bamboo played with two sticks). All of the small), and at least 187 models to choose from. What you buy
qualities mentioned above (sound projection, good bass, and ease should depend on your particular needs and budget. A percussion-
of slaps) held to be true. However, the lack of warmth was more ist in a folkloric group may be looking for a natural wood sound.
noticeable in this situation. A pop or Latin band drummer may be looking for a drum that will
penetrate through heavy amplification and withstand the rigors of
Finishes the road. Up till now, the choice has been between a fiberglass
The drums come with a choice of Remo's exclusive shell or any of the various woods available. Remo has provided us
FabriFinish, which is a colorful fabric glued to the shell and cov- with high-quality instruments that offer yet another alternative for
ered with a clear finish. Available finishes are Fossil Fantasy (see the demands of today's music. They definitely should be on your
photo), Multi-Mask, Batik Kachina, and Blue Kachina. The finish- checklist when considering your next purchase. List price for the
es are unique, colorful, and ethnic, but, as in all "artistic" situa- 11" quinto is $479, the 11 3/4" conga is $499, the 12 1/2" tumba is
tions, they may not be for everyone. $519, and the 13" super tumba is $539.
All conga drums eventually get scratched—especially by

Pro-Mark Future Pro Line

And New Signature Sticks
Text and photos by Rick Mattingly

Future Pro Sticks and Mallets

Pro-Mark's Future Pro line includes snare drum sticks,
timpani mallets, xylo-bell mallets, and yarn mallets for
vibes, marimba, and accessories. Each model is designed
for the smaller hands of students at the junior high or mid-
dle school level.
The SD-1F snare drum stick is made of hickory and is
14 3/4" long, which is about 1 1/4" shorter than a typical 5A.
The diameter is about the same as a standard 5B. I've
taught a lot of beginning band students, and while some of
them are already big enough to use a standard, medium-
weight stick with no problem, quite a few of them haven't
hit that early-teen "growing spurt" yet. In the past, I've
generally recommended a 7A model to students with small
hands, but that's never been an ideal solution, since such
sticks are still fairly long, and are also very thin. Young
hands have better control with something a little fatter.
The Future Pro snare drum sticks are the perfect solu-
tion. There is plenty of stick to wrap the hand around, but
the slightly shorter length makes it less awk-
ward for small hands. I was concerned at first
that the dimensions might cause the sticks to
be badly balanced, but I played snare drum
etudes with them for quite a while with no
problem whatsoever. List price of the Future
Pro SD-1F snare drum sticks is $9.95 per pair.
There seems to be a trend for school band
directors to require beginning drummers to
also learn bells. (I'd like to think that they are
finally realizing the importance of turning out
drummers with melodic and harmonic knowl-
edge. Call me a cynic, but I suspect a lot of
them are just doing it to discourage so many
kids from wanting to play drums.) The bell kits
that are typically rented to students have
instruments with very narrow bars, and stu-
dents have trouble playing them accurately
with standard bell mallets. Some bell kits come
equipped with mallets that have smaller heads
glued to very short wood dowels. They look—and perform—like appreciate the subtle differences in sound and feel produced by all
toys. the new models that appear each year. But I've also felt for a long
Again, Pro-Mark has identified a need and filled it. Future Pro time that if no new drumstick models were ever produced again, the
xylo-bell mallets have smaller heads than standard mallets, to art would not suffer. However, with the Future Pro series, Pro-
ensure greater accuracy for students (which means they can't Mark has identified and filled a genuine gap in the market. Given
blame wrong notes on the mallets). The handles are shorter and the importance of getting students off to the right start, the Future
less awkward for small hands than those on standard mallets, but Pro series isn't just another batch of "product," it's a real contribu-
they are longer than the ones on the "toy" mallets described above. tion.
The handles are made from a synthetic material to withstand the
abuse that mallets used in school band are subjected to, and they Carter Beauford Signature Stick
are thicker in the grip area, as are many professional mallets. I'll If, like Dave Matthews Band drummer Carter Beauford, you
certainly be asking the store where I teach to keep these in stock. find yourself alternating between 5As and 5Bs, you might like
List price is $24.95 per pair. Beauford's new signature stick, which is designated 5AB. The
There may not be quite as big a need for the Future Pro timpani body of this hickory stick is the same length and diameter as a 5A,
mallets, since many junior high/middle school bands do not own but the business end has the thicker neck and larger tip of a 5B.
timpani. Students are more likely to first encounter timpani in high The result is a stick with a little more power than a 5A, but without
school, by which time most of them will have grown enough to han- the extra weight of a 5B. The wood-tip version lists for $9.95 per
dle full-size timp mallets. But for those who are able to play timpani pair; the nylon-tip version (which does not have Beauford's signa-
before high school, or whose hands are smaller, the Future Pro tim- ture) lists for $10.40.
pani mallets will be ideal. Like the snare drum sticks, the timpani
mallets are just a little shorter than standard models, which can Joe Morello Signature Stick
make all the difference with smaller hands. The heads are on the The original Joe Morello signature sticks made by Ludwig in
small side, producing a sound that leans towards the staccato side of the 1960s were standard 11As with Morello's name on them. This
the articulation spectrum—but they would still fall in the general- hickory model is a "beefed up" 11A, with the same small tip and
purpose category. The heads are covered in a synthetic felt to better narrow neck, but a larger diameter in the body, which provides a
withstand the abuse of school use. List price is $29.95 per pair. better grip. The stick provides great response and definition on a
The Future Pro yarn mallets can be used for vibes, marimba, or cymbal, and is easier to control than typical skinny sticks designed
accessories such as woodblocks or suspended cymbals. The heads for jazz. List price per pair for the wood-tip model is $9.95; the
are nearly full-size, which is fine, since even student-model vibra- nylon-tip version (without Morello's signature) goes for $10.40.
phones and marimbas have fairly wide bars. As with timpani, many
students won't encounter vibes and marimba until high school, so at Will Kennedy Signature Stick
the junior high/middle school level these mallets will probably be The hickory stick bearing the name of Yellowjackets drummer
used primarily for accessory use. They have the same synthetic han- Will Kennedy is designated 5A Studio, and is essentially a 5A with a
dles as the Future Pro bell mallets, and could even find favor with jazz profile, featuring a more tapered neck and an elongated, oval
professionals who prefer the type of short-handle mallets used by bead. It has plenty of body for fairly loud playing and rimshots, but
vibraphonist Terry Gibbs. List price is $29.95 per pair. is also light enough for cymbal work requiring finesse. The bead
I believe in using different sticks for different purposes, and I shape pulls plenty of overtones from a ride cymbal. List price per
pair for the wood-tip model is $9.95; the nylon-tip version (you Paul Wertico Tubz
guessed it—without Kennedy's signature) lists at $10.40. These semi-flexible plastic tubes were designed by Pat Metheny
Group drummer Paul Wertico. They produce a "hollow," high-
Mike Portnoy Signature Stick pitched sound that resembles certain slit-drum tones. When used to
Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy's signature model looks strike a snare drum, tom-tom, cymbal, cowbell, conga drum, or
more like something a jazz drummer would use than the stick of whatever, the sound can range from exotic to interesting to down-
choice for a progressive rock drummer. The body of the hickory stick right weird. You'll need some imagination to figure out how
resembles a 7A, but it has the thicker neck and bigger bead of a 5A. they'll work best for your particular gig (or if they'll work at all),
It's light, but has more durability than most sticks this size. Available but for those looking for new sounds and colors, this device should
in nylon-tip only, the Portnoy stick lists for $10.40 per pair. do the trick. List price is $12.95 per pair.

Shakee Drums
by Adam Budofsky

Atlanta Drums & Percussion's Shakee Drums are

designed to add unique sound possibilities to the drum-
mer's arsenal—and unique they certainly are. As the
name implies, Shakee Drums act as a sort of miniature
hand drum/shaker combination. The basic design consists
of a plastic "bowl," somewhat reminiscent of the bottom
part of a plastic flower pot (the part that collects water
over-run). Stretched across the open side is a natural-skin
head whose
straps can be
fitted with
decorative
beads if the
player desires.
I didn't actu-
ally take any
of the Shakee Drums Shakee Drums have no real precedent in the drum world, so it's
apart, but the insides up to you to make of them what you like. I personally thought
seem to be filled with they were perfect for my bossa-nova lounge gig. Wait a minute...I
some sort of beads or ball-bearings. Finally, the drums literally don't have a bossa-nova lounge band. Well, maybe now I have a
come with ivory chopsticks, just like the ones you get at The Jade reason to start one.
Palace or wherever you stop for Egg Foo Yung on Friday nights. Shakee Drums come in
The combination of these various features results in truly (roughly) 3", 4", and 4 1/2"
unusual instruments. (Shakee Drums come in three sizes.) You diameters, are priced between
can strike them, shake $15 and $40, and are avail-
them, swirl them able from Atlanta Drums &
around (getting sort of Percussion, 1776 Northeast
a mini "ocean drum" Expressway, Atlanta, GA
sound), strike and 30329, tel: (404) 633-4070,
shake at the same fax: (404) 633-0085, Web:
time, sit them on top www. atldrums.com.
of your floor tom and
do a rain dance—oh,
you get the idea.
 Perkana Perkussion Go-Jo Bags
by Adam Budofsky
Porno For Pyros drummer Stephen Perkins an instrument like Go-Jo Bags. to be played
is well known for exploring unusual tim- Ostensibly cloth sacks fitted with hook & either alone, in
bres and rhythms on the drumset, so it's no loop fastener-secured straps and contain- sets, or as sort of
surprise that his debut on the marketing ing a number of what appear to be playing a shaker attached
side of drums & percussion should be with marbles inside, Go-Jo Bags are designed to your wrists
or hands while
hand- or stick-
drumming. They
come in three
different models,
with their sounds
designated by
their straps' col-
ors: yellow=high
tone, red=mid
tone, green=low
tone.
Reviewing new items like Go-Jo Bags
(or Shakee Drums) is always a bit difficult,
because there's really no precedent for
them. So basically you have to decide for
yourself whether their unique characteris-
tics are worth plunking down a few bucks.
That said, if you consider yourself an
exploratory type of drummer looking for
new ways to express yourself, Go-Jo Bags
might be a pretty happening addition to
your gig bag. Besides offering three new
tonal colors to your palette, their design
begs for experimentation. For me, the
coolest technique is when you strap them
on and then play either congas, bongos,
drumset, or some other instrument that
requires some arm/hand movement on the
player's part. If you concentrate on the
drum rhythm, you'll notice pretty neat
"sympathetic" rhythms coming from the
bags. Hey, two sounds with one movement!
Go-Jo Bags retail for $39 for the set of
three sizes, and are available from Perkana
Perkussion, PO Box 6061-465, Sherman
Oaks, CA 91413, tel: (800) 406-0402, fax:
(818)783-1995.
 I was hoping that my neighbors wouldn't call the
police. It was 11:00 P.M., and six of LA's greatest
percussionists were making music in my backyard. I
had asked each of them to bring a "toy"—a small percus-
sion instrument—to be photographed with for this MD cover
story. The muse must have been present, because while the pho-
by Robyn Flans tographer did his thing, these great artists started playing, getting an amazingly deep and joyous
groove going. It was obvious that these gentlemen are consummate musicians—bordering on magi-
cians.
Luis Conte, Lenny Castro, Emil Richards, Alex Acuna, Mike Fisher, and Joe Porcaro make magic
in studios and on stages nearly every day, adding color, spice, punctuation, groove, and feel to
artists' records, film and TV scores, jingles, and live performances. Each one's list of accomplish-
ments is staggering.
Luis Conte has toured and recorded with the likes of Madonna, Steve Winwood, Whitney
Houston, and Phil Collins. He is currently working on his fourth solo album.
Lenny Castro's work can be heard on Toto records, with Kenny Loggins, and with Joe Sample,
with whom he has created a setup that encompasses drums and percussion. Most recently Lenny has
been on the road with Fleetwood Mac.
Emil Richards has recorded with a diverse list of artists, from Sarah Vaughan and Frank Sinatra
to the Beach Boys and the Carpenters, and on such classic film soundtracks as Doctor Zhivago,
Chinatown, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, Jurassic Park, Pretty Woman, and Star Trek.
Alex Acuna has played with such people as Larry Carlton, Chick Corea, Al Jarreau, Seal,
Weather Report, U2, Paul McCartney, and Elvis Presley, and on such film scores as An Officer And
A Gentleman, Romancing The Stone, Dirty Dancing, The Lost World, and Batman & Robin.
Mike Fisher has performed with such artists as Larry Carlton and Barbra Streisand, and for such
films as The Lost World, Independence Day, Twister, and The People Vs. Larry Flint.
Joe Porcaro has recorded with such noteworthy singers as Sammy Davis Jr., Rosemary Clooney,
photos by Alex Solca Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Barbra Streisand, and has worked on recent film releases such as
Mission Impossible, Batman, Men In Black, and George Of The Jungle.
The conversation with these men began with a discussion of the importance of drummers having
an awareness of percussion, with the unanimous opinion that drumset players could only benefit by
the knowledge of percussion instruments. Some very enlightening discourse grew from there.
Clockwise from bottom: Lenny Castro, Joe Porcaro, Mike Fisher, Luis Conte, Alex Acuna; center: Emil Richards
Emil: Joe came to town as a drummer, and after about a point of view.
year of his playing mostly percussion gigs, I asked him, The drummers in this room know how to tune their drums
"Aren't you upset that you're just playing percussion and to every tune they're playing. They know if the drum isn't
not playing much drumset?" He said, "No, man, I get to sounding right; it means the drum is tuned to a different key
hear every drummer in town by being a percussionist." And than what the song is in. They can readily tune the drum to
this is for every drummer to know—we percussionists make be within the framework of the melody and help enhance
more money! their playing and the whole orchestra.
Lenny: Maybe we shouldn't put that in—we gotta keep that Joe: Back in the old days in the studios a drummer had to be
in the familia. [laughter] a mallet player and he had to play Latin percussion. He
Emil: In the studios, if you play another family of instru- wasn't really that great at everything—he was a jack-of-all-
ments, your first double [playing another instrument] gives trades. Irv Cottier and Shelly Manne were incredible drum-
you 50% more of scale, and each double after that gives you mers and they played some percussion when they had to.
20% more. If a drummer is playing drums and he's asked to Alvin Stoller not only was a great drummer, but he was a
hit a bell note on a set of bells, he gets 50% extra for hitting mallet player, although his hand drumming was so-so. Now
that bell. If he's then asked to play conga, he gets another everything is a bit more specialized.
20%. If he's asked to play timpani, he gets another 20%. Emil: You can almost liken it to being a physician. You go
Mike: Then there are the overdub opportunities. It depends to a general practitioner who knows a little bit about every
on what kind of a score you're working on, but you may ailment, but if there's something wrong with your eyes, you
stay after the orchestra has gone and start layering different go to a specialist. That's happened in our category as well.

percussion parts. I know the forte of everybody in this room, so if I'm the
Emil: And that is a separate union scale check apart from straw boss on a gig, I will dole out the parts to everybody
the tracking. according to where their strengths are.
Joe: Plus, if you take a guy like Alex here, who, besides RF: What is a straw boss?
being a wonderful hand drummer, plays great drumset and Lenny: He's like the foreman, the first chair.
mallets, composers call him because he can do so many Emil: He's the guy who is going to ask the questions for his
things well. That knowledge opens a lot more doors for him. section. He probably comes in getting time-and-a-half to
Plus, he's an education for us—I've learned more great begin with, so when his first double gives him 50%, he's
rhythms from him.... already starting with double scale on the gig.
Mike: Learn while you earn! Mike: He usually brings the instruments, too, except for
Emil: So one of the important factors about percussion is something like timpani.
earning more money, but the other important thing is that Joe: We should talk about what kind of instruments we
the drummer becomes more musical because he's dealing have to have. It's changed so much, now with taiko drums
with melody; melodic percussion instruments give him the and African drums....
opportunity to approach his drums from a more musical Lenny: It's gotten away from the usual mallets, timpani,
snare drum, and piatti [cym- a picture called Seven Years In Tibet with Brad Pitt. John
bals]. It's gone way into eth- Williams called and said, "I need to know about Tibetan
nic percussion—djun music."
djuns, African drums, RF: You're supposed to be an expert on Tibetan
djembes... music?
Emil: ...talking Emil: I just happened to have many CDs of
drums... Tibetan music, and after rummaging through all
Lenny: ...and of the tracks, I picked a few that would best
rods, water- describe the instruments I have in my collec-
phones—there's tion that could work for Tibetan music. I
a whole array of brought them all over to John's studio, we
stuff that guys talked about them, and we started listening
have invented or to them, to the rhythms, to the scales.
made them- This week I got a call from the copyist
selves that com- telling me what instruments John had decid-
posers know ed on besides the regular standard instru-
they have. ments. All of this precedes everything. There
They'll say, are some scenes where they need some of
"Let's call him these drums in the shot. We're using Japanese
because we have a drums, as well as some of the Chinese and
horror film to do and
he has all that weird
stuff."
RF: Where do these
instruments come from?
Lenny: He's the man [pointing Tibetan drums. So this is how we prepare for a movie.
to Emil]. RF: There are three main arenas for percussion—film/TV,
Emil: As a percussionist, you become a col- records, and live. I know Lenny, Alex, and Luis still play
lector. I have 650 different instruments in my collection. live. Can we educate our readers about the different require-
Alex: Africa has so many different instruments—so many ments of each format?
different sizes. They have wood drums, water drums, skin Mike: One of the major things is the num-
drums.. .and in South America they have a lot of different ber of instruments you're expected to
drums. In Venezuela alone they have over two hundred be able to play. In film work you
different drums, and that's not counting Peru and never know what you're going
Brazil, or Cuba and the Caribbean drums, the to be asked to do.
American drums, the Irish drums, Yugoslavian and Lenny: I keep a basic
Croatian drums, Asian drums—drums from setup of Latin percus-
everywhere! sion—congas, bongos,
Lenny: Emil has traveled all over the world to shakers, bells, tim-
get his collection of instruments, and when I bales, and lots of
first started collecting, you had to really different cymbals.
search to find them. Now world music is And occasionally
huge, and you can turn on your computer I'll bring a little
and go on the Internet and find twenty-five drumset because
places to buy a djembe. maybe someone
RF: What projects want what? Let's go will say, "The
from the inception of the call. drummer didn't do
Emil: Even before the call—I may get a a cymbal on the
call a week before the picture is even ready bridge here, can
to score. For instance, we're just about to do you just overdub a
cymbal on top of it?"
You try to cover your
bases.
Live, you have weeks
and weeks to rehearse and
plan everything out; you
have a chance to really choreo-
graph what you're going to do and
what you need. What I used with Then when you do records, you forget about reading
Bette Midler is very different because you do one tune five or ten times sometimes, and
from what I use with Joe you have to stack many percussion layers. Sometimes
Sample or what I would use you don't read, you're just listening for colors or lis-
with Fleetwood Mac. tening for parts. You punch [overdub parts] a lot.
Alex: What I experi- You change instruments and punch again. You
enced in films is that can do one piece many different times."
you have to really Mike: Another major difference is a lot of
read well to follow times when you're doing a record, you're
the charts. If you working by yourself. Sometimes they'll call
don't have experi- two or three guys and it's a lot of fun, but
ence with that, it's on a motion picture call there will be a lot
going to be very of guys, which is really great because you
hard. You have to can learn so much by hanging out with the
follow the con- guys.
ductor, and if Emil: When I first got to town, I only did
you're playing record dates, and I was averaging nineteen
with a click, it's
going to be very
hard to follow if you
don't have that train-
"S ampling and looping have become pop-
ular. Just last week I was working on
the new Seal album with producer Trevor Horn,
ing. Every time I do
and he said, 'Alex, just play,' and in the middle of
movie dates I feel, "I'd
better be on my toes about eight bars he said, That's enough, We're
because of the 7/4s, 5/8s, going to loop that.'"-Alex Acuna
and 9/8s."
Mike: There was definitely some record dates a week. That lasted from 1959 to 1972. It was
of that in The Lost World. big orchestras at that time. Then the trend went to self-con-
Alex: That was a tough one for exactly the tained groups where the percussionist would come in and
reason I said earlier. I don't do movie dates every day. I've salt-and-pepper the tracks. You'd hear the drummer,
been blessed to do many things, so when I'm going to do a but you never got to see anybody.
movie, my reading has to be sharp to follow the chart. RF: Explain the "punching in" process.
I am very impressed with the level of musician- Alex: Let's say I'm going to do a
ship in Los Angeles. The whole orchestra for track of shaker from the top to the
The Lost World was incredible. Everybody bottom of the tune. Then maybe
sight-read that thing down. Wow! It was in the introduction of the tune
three bars of 5/4, two bars of 7/8, one bar you need some colors, so
of 5/8, two bars of 3/4. In the second bar, you rattle things and play
I was lost. I am very honest about it. It some bells. When the
takes a minute for me to get adjusted to melody comes, maybe
the conducting, the playing, the head- you play some cowbells
phones, and the reading. Then I get and woodblocks. Every
comfortable by the second or third one of those sections is
pass. It was the most challenging punched in.
music for me. I got a lot of help from Luis: Say you're just
the other players, though. There is a going to play shaker
great camaraderie. through the whole
Records are an entirely different song: We all have great
story. I remember when I first came to time, but sometimes we
town, I used to talk a lot to the late may overdub onto a track
Victor Feldman. He told me, "When you where the time is slightly
do movies, you really have to be sharp. off. You get to the second
chorus and maybe you've
"It's gotten away from the usual mallets, rushed a little bit or dragged a
timpani, snare drum, and cymbals. It's gone little bit, and you're not prepared
for that. You play it all the way
way into ethnic percussion-djun djuns, African through, and you listen back and
drums, djembes-everything." -Lenny Castro you're a little bit ahead of the beat on the
second chorus. You punch in that section. something unique out of you. I wound up playing some kind
RF: What are some of the oddest requests you've had? of a surdo-timbale combination, a riff all the way through
Luis: I was asked to bring trash cans to a session. It was the tune. I would never have come up with it, and they
after Stomp came out, and a few composers were asking for ended up very happy—and so did I.I learned something.
that. I didn't realize there weren't that many places that sell Lenny: As far as odd situations go, it wasn't what I was
metal trash cans anymore. playing, it was where I was playing it. I was doing a Pat
Emil: I had to "walk" on a record once, so I put tap shoes Benatar album at Capitol Records. They knew they wanted
on and got a board. tambourine, but they weren't getting the echo they wanted.
RF: How did that request come along? We went through all this stuff with the echo plates, but then
Emil: The guy called and said the song is going to be some- I think it was Myron [Grombacher] who came up with the
thing about walkin', and would I mind walking in place on idea of going down into the echo chambers three stories
this record? below the building. Unbeknownst to me, we had to go down
Then I had a composer call me once while he was writing these little ladders, and it got pretty scary.
at home, going, "I'm in a tunnel." I said, "I beg your par- We got down to the first level and I said, "Okay," and
don." "I'm a train. When I come out of the end of the tun- they said, "No, no, no," and there was another little hole and
nel, I've got to have something that shows..." and he was another little ladder, and I started to get a little uneasy. Here
on the other end playing the piano madly. I'm in the bath- I am under a building and thinking, "God forbid if there's an
earthquake." Then I went down to the third level. It was a

"S ome producers want to hear every- triangle-shaped concrete room with no windows, no
seams, no cracks—no nothing. It was the
thing you own. You learn how to weirdest feeling. I was holding
handle these guys-you start onto the wall going, "Okay,
hiding things! -Luis Conte let's get this overdub done
fast." We did get it and
room and this guy is it sounded fantastic,
calling to tell me but I couldn't get
he's in a tunnel. out of there fast
[laughter] enough. I ran
Alex: I was straight out-
asked to dance side—air!
wearing ankle Mike: What
bells for a Joni was your most
Mitchell album. unusual experi-
She said, "Alex, ence getting a
can you dance like sound on an instru-
the Indians from ment?
Peru?" I said,
Well.. .yeah.. .I'm an Indian,
and I can dance." So I put on the
ankle bells and danced. Then she
"O things
ne of the major
is the num-
wanted to take me on the road so I could
ber of instruments you're expected to
dance. I didn't go. be able to play. In film work you never know
Luis: Some producers want to hear everything you own. what you're going to be asked to do." -Mike Fisher
You learn how to handle these guys—you start hiding
things. But on one date we got to this shaker part: "Do you Lenny: Kenny Loggins—a cowbell, playing it fifty differ-
have another one? Let's listen to another one." I'm bringing ent ways and then going back to the first way I played it.
out every shaker I've got. "It has to be softer." I literally That's the ballbuster of them all.
ended up playing my jeans with my hands. It was a very Mike: Emil, how about the time we were doing the score
small sound, but it ended up working out great. The bottom with Tom Scott for some kind of martial arts movie and
line is you have to have patience. there was an orchestra. I think you were playing something
Mike: One time there was a lot of percussion on a track and like cymbalum, and you had to yell out, "Kung fu you." Do
we were in a large studio, overdubbing. The producer said, you remember that? [everyone laughs]
"What do you think?" I said, "Sounds great, there's a lot of Emil: It was written in the part! [laughs]
percussion on there." He said, "Do you hear anything?" Joe: I've been fortunate that I really haven't had any of this
"Not really." "Well, just set up everything you have in the happen. I worked on the main title of The Wall with Pink
room and go from instrument to instrument." I did not hear Floyd, and they asked me to bring a whole bunch of snare
anything on that tune—that's when you know it's difficult. drums. We were at Western Records, which is Oceanway
What's really incredible is when a great producer can pull now, and I ended up playing a field drum on top of a tim-
pani to get a deep sound. Emil: When you do go on the road and RF: How often do you get to do that?
Emil: For Joe's first gig in town we did perform, it gives you so much confidence Lenny: It used to be always, but not any-
Charlie's Angels. Nobody knew Joe, and that when you come back, I feel you play more.
he didn't have anything to play, so I said, better. After I play in the club with Joe, I RF: So what happened?
"Joe, go out and get me some coffee, will come back to the studios and have confi- Lenny: A lot of the big studios closed
ya?" When he went out to get coffee, I dence in myself again because I got to play down and these little ones opened up. They
wrote on my part, on the very last note of some stuff that lets me know I can play. couldn't get all those guys in there and
the song: "Gong, triple forte, real loud!" Also, what I usually do is not let people there was no isolation, so it was difficult to
When Joe came back, I said, "Joe, quick, know I'm out of town. Have your wife or have all these cats in one room.
put the coffee down. They're going to someone say, "He's booked that week, Alex: Also, sampling and looping have
make a take, and on the last beat of the please call again." You don't have to say, become popular. Just last week I was
music look at my part." The music was real "He's in Japan." It's okay to be too busy to working on the new Seal album with pro-
soft, and the conductor gave the last beat of take a date. ducer Trevor Horn, and he said, "Alex, just
the song, and Joe hit this gong, and every- Lenny: There is the option of overdubbing, play," and in the middle of about eight bars
body in the orchestra turned around! And I so people very often can work their sched- he said, "That's enough, we just sampled
said, "Hey guys, meet the new guy in town, ules around you. you. We're going to make a loop." They
Joe Porcaro." RF: Let's talk a little about overdubbing vs. have the new machine by Otari and they
Joe: I ruined the whole take. They had to tracking. can edit right there on the spot. They can
redo it. Lenny: Tracking is cool for percussionists, even put you in back of the beat or ahead
Emil: But the conductor, Alan Ferguson, because then we get to hang out with all our of the beat.
was a cool guy and dug it. bass player, guitar player, and keyboard RF: How do you feel about that?
RF: When you do both recording and live player friends, and we're able to create with Alex: It's okay, it's part of the job. You
playing, are you concerned about leaving the rest of them. Jeffrey [Porcaro] used to have to grow with technology and move
town and possibly missing out on sessions? love that. He would call me while he was at with the times.
Lenny: If you're good enough, you don't a session, "Lenny, come on down now, we Lenny: As long as they pay you every time
have to be paranoid about leaving town. have a happening session, and we need per- they're going to use it. I have some finger
People will find you wherever you are, and cussion on the date right now." I'd jump in snaps that are working for me as we speak!
they'll wait for you if they want you badly my car. It's so much fun just being with [laughs]
enough. your bros and getting to do it right there. Emil: I come from the old school—I did
the Addams Family finger snaps. In fact, I the session around 5:00 in the afternoon, did where we had one cue that must have
played drums on Mr. Ed. I said, "I don't and the first take was perfect and every been twenty pages long, maybe 500 bars.
play drums," and they said, "We only have take after that was downhill. It got to be Today they'll take up to a certain bar,
a budget for one guy," so I said, "Alright." 3:00 in the morning and Jeff got up from record that much, and make a new start.
Luis: Dig this—the original Mission the drums and said, 'I've got to go make a But on this particular cue they wanted to
Impossible bongo part [pointing to Emil]. phone call.' He went home. They were do it in its entirety. So Mike ripped my
RF: You were mentioning before that waiting for him and waiting for him. The music in half and put it up on three music
sometimes you'll have to play fifty shak- next day he comes back, walks in, and stands together. Then he took the other ten
ers. Have any of you ever been in a situa- Barbra says, 'Jeff, what happened to you pages and taped it on the bottom part, so
tion that bordered on abusive? last night?' He says, 'What are you talking we were reading across six feet! It's getting
Lenny: I've been through some ridiculous about? I just got off the phone.'" crazy, these humongous, long cues. You've
situations and seen some ludicrous situa- Emil: One of the things that gets me in the got to get your reading chops up to look
tions go down, but I've never walked away studio is that each cue we play takes anoth- across six feet of music.
from a session. It's not in my nature. er big set up of instruments. You have to RF: I want to touch on producers and engi-
Mike: Sometimes you get a call and it's move the vibe away from the mic' and neers.
not a big budget, and they want to do the bring the marimba in, you've got to move Emil: There used to be a time when we'd
whole album in one day. Ten songs— the congas away, bring the timbales in. set up in the studio and we could feel each
we've all done it. "Next, next." That was at We're given a ten-minute break every other. Now it's gotten to the point with so
the beginning of my career, and I never hour, so you'll hear the conductor say, many baffles and separation that you don't
really knew what to expect. They were pre- "Okay, that's a take. We're going to go even see the rest of the guys in the rhythm
pared with music, so I would work all day, onto cue three and four, we'll take a ten so section.
and it could get pretty late in the evening. the percussion can set up." I'll usually say, Lenny: One of the main reasons I think
Joe: I was working at Universal one day "No, we're going to take a break and go that Toto IV did so well is because a gentle-
and Larry Carlton came up to me and said, pee like everybody else, and then we'll man by the name of Al Schmitt was the
"Hey, I worked with Jeff last night on a come back and set up." Sometimes we'll engineer. He's one of the old-school engi-
Barbra Streisand session. You really need come back a little early because some of neers who doesn't use all the baffles, and
to talk to him." Mike Melvoin was on the the cues take forever to set up, but we also he believes in mic' positioning and just
session too, and I asked him about it and he have to take our breaks. getting a true sound through the console he
said, "Oh yeah, just typical Jeff. We started Joe: There was this session that Mike and I has. We cut the majority of those tracks
together.
Emil: Engineers miss the first take. Musicians pride themselves on
playing together, correctly, and getting the first take. There's a feel-
ing, an energy we get on the first take that the engineers miss every
time. From then on, we go downhill. We've done it, we've proven
we can do it. We're red-light players, and when that red light is on,
we play our buns off. Some of these guys aren't hip enough to know
they've just missed the best take that ever happened.
Lenny: I was just working with Neil Young, and those engineers
were great—they had a couple of 24-tracks going at all times, even
when someone wasn't playing.
Alex: There are engineers who have a lot of experience and have
been doing this for a while, so they're alert. I want to mention one
I've worked for over the last twenty years, Don Murray. He did all
the GRP records. He's always ready for the first take because he's
been in those situations so many times. He will give you a great
mix. You hear everything. When you work with someone like that,
dinner is served.
Luis: There are great engineers and bad ones. There have been
times when I've already heard the song and I have everything set
up the way I need to play it, and the guy comes over and grabs the
cowbell and puts it over here and takes the woodblock and moves
it over there.
Lenny: Big mistake—you touch the gear, you're dead.
Luis: What's wrong with asking me, "Hey, can you play it like
this?" or "Can you move the cowbell over here?"
Mike: You know you have a good engineer who is going to get a
really good sound on percussion when he comes out of the booth
and says, "Let me hear the instruments."
Luis: Al Schmitt is one of the greatest. I did this one track for
Natalie Cole of an old Nat King Cole song that had never been Lenny: For me, two instances come to mind: The Joe Sample
recorded called "Calypso Blue." The only track they had of this Trio, number one, because I not only got to play what I wanted,
was actually from the Ed Sullivan Show with Nat King Cole on but I got to create a whole drum/percussion setup. I'm currently
piano and Jack Costanzo playing bongos. Andre Fischer was pro- doing that live and in the studio.
ducing it and he had made a loop, so there were all these notes, The other one was Bette Midler's Diva Las Vegas. I was very
and I thought it would be cool to match the congas to the notes. So proud, not only of what I played, but of the whole band. They
I set up and Al came out and said, "Is this comfortable for you?" were unbelievable. I got to play timps and mallets, along with all
That's the number-one best question. "Okay, let me hear it." As I my other percussion. It was like the old Broadway percussion
was playing the part, he put a couple of mic's up, went back into scene, putting it all together—the congas, the timbales, the old
the room, and said, "Play a little bit more." I hadn't played fifteen vaudeville sound effects. It was a lot of fun accompanying her
seconds, and he said, "You ready? Wanna do it?" Boom, it was while she was telling her jokes.
done. RF: What would be a great film date, Emil?
RF: Which brings us to favorite sessions and what makes them Emil: I love mallets, and the hardest music I play on mallets is
special. cartoon music. The days go by so fast when I have a lot of heavy,
Luis: It can be great company, it can be a great tracking date, it hard xylophone parts to play. When we used to do Disney stuff,
can be a great overdub date, it can be a great song—for example, there'd be a little rabbit coming out of a hole, then he'd be looking
"Change The World" by Eric Clapton, which Babyface produced. around, and his tail would be wagging, and we were catching
First of all, the musicians who played on it were J.R. Robinson, everything—playing this crazy jerky music that you can't even
Nathan East, and Greg Phillinganes. They weren't there. I came in begin to count.
the day after they had done their tracks, but it hadn't even gotten RF: Mike, what would make a great day for you?
to the end of the first verse and I looked at Babyface and said, Mike: Having a lot to play. The Lost World with John Williams
"Hey, man, did you write this?" He said, "I wish I had." It was was really enjoyable. I'm starting to learn about tabla, and I got to
guaranteed to be a hit. It's such a great song. And I was given total play a little of that. He had some electronic parts that were very,
freedom to play what I wanted to play. very difficult.
Alex: I would say that my favorite recording experience, musical- RF: And that's fun?
ly and sonically, was in 1977 when I recorded with Weather Mike: Oh yes!
Report. Still, for me, it was the greatest experience. I have experi- RF: Any other sessions come to mind, Joe?
enced many great recordings, but not to that degree. Joe: I had a ball on The Fugitive, which we did with James
Newton Howard. I was playing timps and it was very gratifying
because it was all odd meters. Then there were some parade scenes
with two different drum corps, so he asked me to simulate what
the drum corps were doing on screen. There were about eight per-
cussionists, and we overdubbed on top of what we had already
recorded. We used the quads just like they do in the drum corps
and I spiced it up a little bit. They said they were going to play it
back in an alley so they could get the effect of it being outside.
That was satisfying.
In the non-film era, I used to love to work with Toto. Lenny
played on Toto IV too, but I remember playing bass marimba and
gong on "Africa." When I went in to overdub, the guys would walk
out of the booth, and it would be Jeff and me alone. I was always a
little uptight going in with them because, after all, he was my son
and I wanted to do a good job. We'd work it out and then when we
nailed it, he'd call in the guys.
Working one-on-one with Jeff was really incredible. I think the
biggest moment I ever experienced was when I was in the percus-
sion section at the Grammy Awards and the guys got those seven
awards for Toto IV.
RF: Is there room to break into this field?
Alex: I recently saw a country music awards show and there was a
percussionist playing along with the artist. There's percussion
even in country music! Every band has a percussionist—Madonna,
Phil Collins, Sting, Steve Winwood, Peter Gabriel. Percussion is
here to stay.
by Matt Peiken

G
ene Hoglan is wearing a League games," he says. "I had He learned by using his bed as a That's not Hoglan's sense of
pentagram on a home-cut really long hair and I'd have leg- drumkit, playing along to records humor talking; it's his modesty.
black T-shirt, and an warmers on. People thought I was by KISS, Rush, and dozens of Anyone versed in death and thrash
upside-down cross hangs a kook, but they couldn't do any- other renowned and obscure '70s metal drumming uses Hoglan as a
from his neck. These thing about it. I was bigger than rockers. benchmark to measure other play-
accoutrements are more to any of 'em." "Drumming was the only other ers. His feet, in particular, have
spark stares and glares than A pitcher with major-league thing I was good at, the only other stamped their way into the double-
to hail any anti-Christ. At potential, Hoglan says the moment thing in my life I took at all seri- kick hall of fame—first with Dark
6' 3" and close to 300 he put down his glove for good— ously," he says. "But when I say Angel, then with Death, and now
pounds, Hoglan has never as a social-outcast teenager near 'seriously,' I mean compared to on simultaneously released
needed fashion to draw Long Beach, California—he other things. I'm really just a total records by Testament and
attention—but it's certainly "chunked out" to monumental geek goof-off. Compared to drum- Strapping Young Lad.
helped. "I used to wear my girth, but knew he was destined to mers I and other people consider In sheer speed, few can out-
sister's clothes to my Little make his mark behind the drums. serious players, I'm a joke." pace him. In dexterity, few are as
Alex Solca

Alex Solca
independently limber. And in date, Hoglan instead has commit- life on the road, but the gray he says. "I probably wouldn't care
endurance, well, you try to play ted himself to Strapping Young streaks in Hoglan's hair and the as much as I do, except that even a
some of his stuff. Combine that Lad, a clever, cacophonous band stretch marks across the front of few pounds here and there makes
with some uncommonly quick from Vancouver, British his upper arms and shoulders a difference with my playing. I
hands and a passion for comple- Columbia whose City is one of the make him look older than his play tighter and my double bass is
menting his kit with boat pro- year's most deliciously disturbed twenty-eight years. And though a lot more fluid when I'm lighter.
pellers and torpedo shells, and you albums. Not entirely by coinci- he's not even remotely a health But I think some of that has to do
have one of the most unusual dence, Strapping Young Lad nut, Hoglan obsesses about his with playing a lot when I was
drummers in the business—metal began promoting the disc by open- weight, planting himself on a scale heavy—I'm talkin' 400 pounds
or otherwise. ing for Testament all summer almost daily. heavy. It's sort of like throwing a
While Testament presented him across the United States. (Ex- "I'm doin' pretty good right baseball after throwing a lead
with the opportunity for the great- Slayer drummer John Dette took now—about 295. I was down to weight. It just flies. And right
est exposure and biggest pay- over Testament's drum throne.) 287, but being on the road, you're now, I can fly."
checks he would have seen to Maybe it's his history or just just eating like crap all the time,"
 One of my favorite drum-
mers is Brian O'Brian from
this '80s band called A La
Carte. It was just a local
band in LA, but he was such
a killer drummer—ambidex-
trous, too—and I got him to
come over to my house. He
took a look at my setup, and
he was actually the first guy
who said, "Yes, this is cool."
He goes, "Wow, you could
have a mountain of drums
over here and a mountain of
cymbals over there." And I
was like, "Yes, that's what I
need to hear. I'm not a freak.

Rick Malkin
I'm onto something here."
That was the first time some-
one I respected wasn't call-
ing me a freak, because I'd
been tagged with that my
MP: How did it come about that, of all tours, Strapping Young People would tell me to sit, entire life. And the thing I
Lad got hooked up to open for Testament? and I'd stand. I took music learned from Brian was that,
GH: When I was doing the Testament record, they said it would
be wicked if they brought Strapping out, and they asked me if I
class in school and they
wouldn't even let me play when it comes
could do two sets a night. And I said, "Sure, I've done it before.
Piece of cake." But we all knew they needed a guy who could
drums, so I had to play the
viola. So I'd take that thing
to music, you
commit to them. home and start playing Molly don't have to
MP: Tell me about how you came to play left-hand ride. Do you
feel that being a right-handed player with left-hand ride helped
Hatchet songs on it, like it
was a guitar. I gave that up follow the
you develop in ways you wouldn't have otherwise?
GH: Definitely. I feel I have a lot more control and more
after a while and went back
to drums. rules. You can
options. And it's something that came very naturally. I learned
by playing on my bed, and the whole rea-
stomp on the
son why I play left-hand ride is because rules and make
the record player sat on the right side.
The top corner of my bed had a higher
tone than the center, so it made sense
your own.
MP: Were your parents very
that it was the ride. And I'd seen guys supportive of you in that
cross their hands over and I tried it, but way?
it just never felt comfortable. GH: Yeah. My sister is five
I got my first kit when I was twelve or years older than me, and she
thirteen, and I'd be playing with other took me to clubs and con-
guys who'd tell me I was all messed up. certs all the time when I was

They'd say, "Dude, a kid. I'd stay out all night

and go to parties, but because
you're supposed to of my parents' influence, I
never smoked or drank or did
cross over. You can't drugs—at least back then—

do it like that." But I'm and I got really good grades.

So even though I'd only get

not the right person to an hour or two of sleep some

Rick Malkin

nights, my folks were cool

say "you can't" to. with it because I was holding
up the other parts of my life.
And my folks helped me out
 and he told me that if I want-
ed to practice double bass
stuff I should use my hi-hat
until I actually got another
bass drum. So I did, and I'd
play along to the Judas Priest
Unleashed In The East
record and just hammer away
on that hi-hat pedal with my
left foot, just like it was
another bass drum.
MP: I understand the con-
cept of that, but hi-hat pedals
don't feel anything like kick
pedals attached to a drum.
GH: Well, I didn't know any
differently. That was just the
way I learned. Then I read
about this guy named

Rick Malkin
Leonard Haze [former Y&T
drummer], who supposedly
played all these double bass
parts with one foot. I'd never
at Christmas by helping me buy my first double bass set, a used around, totally different from thought of that before, so I
Tama kit, and I think New Year's Eve, 1984 was my first double the blues stuff they did later. just worked on getting my
bass show. The drummer on the first right foot going really fast.
MP: And that was your first experience with double bass? record was this guy named I'd take my record player
GH: No. Actually, I'd been rehearsing for about a month with Gary Holland, out to the garage after school
another guy's double bass set just before that New Year's Eve and play to anything that
show with Dark Angel. But the very first double bass set I ever seemed like a chal-
played on was Dave Lombardo's. I used to be a big Slayer lenge to play,
fan before they were signed. I thought the stuff they were things like
doing in clubs was the most rippingest thing I'd ever
seen in my life, and Dave was a single-bass drum-
mer at the time. I'd talk to him at shows and we
became friends. I went over to his place when
he first got a double bass kit. And I don't
know what it was, maybe just this natural
aptitude, but I got on his kit and I was just
able to fly. And he was like,

"Right on! How long

have you been playing
Rick Malkin

double bass?" "I don't

know—what time
is it?"
He really dug what I was doing, so I became
sort of this double bass tutor for him, and that
was really cool.
MP: Why do you think double bass came so easily
to you?
GH: Remember the band Great White? When they start-
ed in the LA clubs, they were one of the heaviest bands
Raven, Anvil, and Jag Slayer when I was around fifteen,
Panzer. I played a lot to Gino and I'd get to play Dave's kit dur-
Vannelli's Brother To ing sound checks and things like
Brother, which was the first that. And that was a good starting
jazz-fusiony sort of record I point for me because, at the time,
played along to because their speed was everything. I remem-
drummer, Mark Craney, was ber asking my girlfriend all the
very get-able for me. I had a time if Dark Angel was faster
pretty good ear for picking than Slayer or this or that other
up stuff, and I could air- band. Speed was the way every-
drum the heck out of Rush one judged these types of bands.

Rick Malkin
songs. But then, for me, speed became
Air-drumming is a great secondary. After we saw we
way to develop, as a drum- could be the fastest band in the
mer and as a musician. Pound along to a son, I was able to play pretty fast right out world, it wasn't important anymore. We
Rush song for a while and you'll see. It of the blocks. I didn't know or even care if just wanted to be heavy and wicked. We
teaches you coordination and memory and I was doing it correctly in terms of tech- didn't have to be the heaviest or whatever,
tightness. A song like "Tom Sawyer" may nique, but I could make 'em fly. But to but just be the best we could be. I think it
seem pretty simple, but try to play it note- play with control and timing, that took came from just seeing so many bands that
for-note all the way through. That's where practice, and a lot of that came from air- had no riffs, no songs, no structure—just
you have to use your brain. drumming to some of the best players aarrrrrgghh! But if you go all the way back
MP: And it was important for you to play around. In a way, they were my teachers. to my early stuff with Dark Angel, it was
the drum parts note-for-note? MP: So how did you apply your air-drum- never just about speed.
GH: Very. That was my lesson: "If you ming lessons to the real thing—when you By that time, drummers like Tommy
want to do what he's doing, do it exactly joined Dark Angel? Aldridge, Steve Smith, and Leonard Haze
like he's doing it." So when it came to dou- GH: Even though that was my first band, had already been a huge influence on my
ble bass, I think it came from fifty percent I'd already developed a little aptitude for single-bass playing, so all my licks were
talent and fifty percent work. For some rea- double bass because I'd gone on tour with really just with one bass drum.
MP: Do you think being a strong single-
kick player made you a better double-kick
drummer?
GH: Probably so. I was doing a lot of dou-
ble bass parts with just my right foot,
which has always been pretty quick. So
turning it into quads not only made me fill
up the sound, but I was able to keep up the
speed and play with a lot more power. I
never thought much about my technique,
but even when I'm slammin' on the dou-
ble-kicks, my knees are barely moving. I
don't use my legs that much. I can't, really,
because my legs are too big to really con-
trol them that well. But my weight has
never really been much of a problem, not
even with my stamina. I've always had
good lungs and a strong heart. That's why I
think drumming is so mental, because legs
my size and a body my size should not be
doing this sort of thing.
MP: You make what you do sound so
easy. Between Dark Angel, Death, and
now Strapping Young Lad, has there ever
been a situation that's been physically or
musically challenging?
GH: The most physically challenged I've
ever been, besides right now with
Strapping, was recording Death's Symbolic
record. I threw my back out the day before
we recorded, and I did that record at 273
pounds, which is pretty thin for me. So I
couldn't blame the problems on being fat.
But I recorded the thing in mortal agony,
and I had to be helped and carried from the
drums to the couch, and I had to sit in this
really messed-up position. The same thing
happened to me just before the current
Strapping tour. I couldn't walk; I could
barely sit. I've broken my ankle six times,
and I've had to walk with a cane a lot of
my life. But when I get up there to play, I
don't know how, but I just overcome it and
play. That's where it's all mental.
MP: Has your partying hurt your playing
at all?
GH: Like I said, I never partied at all when
I was a kid. I was really focused on drums
and baseball. But once I started, when I
was about twenty-one, I really went to
town. Over the Death period, I really got
into the drinkin' and smokin' and pukin'.
And there have been times where I've been
really drunk—I mean like passed-out
drunk—and gone out and pulled the shows
off solid. Everybody would be like,
"Wow!" But I remember one Death show
in Vienna, Austria, where I got plastered be all over that." But John really was per- concerned.
before we went on, and it was just the stu- fect for them. And that was really for the MP: Not that Testament is a major band,
pidest show I've ever played in my life. best because, if I'd gotten the gig, I would but there certainly would be more exposure
I'm not saying all that to be funny or have had to take it and I wouldn't have met with them, at least for now, than there is
cool about it, and I can already see all the Strapping. with Strapping. Why did you choose
letters coming in, like "Gene Hoglan is I was at an Iron Maiden show in LA, and Strapping over Testament?
telling kids it's cool to get drunk and do Devin Townsend, the singer with GH: Well, I definitely could have joined
drugs," and I'm not doing that at all. I'm Strapping, was there. I went up and talked Testament, and they have a cool new direc-
just telling the truth about myself. I can't to him and we decided to jam together. tion, but my heart is just so into Strapping.
help but think it takes away from my play- They were in LA writing their second People told me I was crazy; they were
ing somehow, but when you live this record, so I jammed with them that week screaming at me. They were going
strange lifestyle, where you travel all the and we wrote a song at the very first "Dude—the money, the exposure." But
time, stay up all night, and meet all these rehearsal. I was already into Devin just money's never something I've been that
cool, weird people, it's easy to get sucked from what I'd seen of him on a Steve Vai into. If I was, I would have joined Dokken
into all this other stuff that has nothing to video. He was looking for a drummer, so when I was fourteen. Testament's a cool
do with the music. And if you can handle we hooked up and just right from the start band and all, but listen to Strapping—
it, that's fine for you. But it's definitely not we had this great thing going. you'll hear why I made the decision.
for everybody. A week before we recorded the MP: So are you contributing to Strapping
MP: What happened for you after Death Strapping album, [vocalist] Chuck Billy of in ways you weren't able to with other
broke up? Testament called me and told me they'd bands you've played with?
GH: Slayer was looking for a drummer broken up Testament, but were putting a GH: Actually, no. I've written lyrics and
and so was Machine Head. The Slayer new thing together and wanted me to come some rhythm guitar parts in the past, and
dudes called me up, and they auditioned up and check it out. So I did, and it sound- some of what's on the new Testament
John Dette before me, so I knew he was ed like decent stuff, so I did the record, record comes from what I was able to bring
definitely going to get the gig. I mean, he which ended up being Testament anyway. to the drum parts. But I think some of my
knew every Slayer song backwards and It was a cool project and I'm proud to be a best playing has come from what other
forwards, and I was like, "Well, if you part of it. But I was already committed to guys have brought out of me.
wanna play anything up to Hell Awaits, I'll Strapping as far as anything long-term was Everything cool on the Testament record
I owe to [guitarist] Eric Peterson. He
taught me a lot about my playing and he
pushed me in ways I'd never thought of
before. I'm a real busy player, and a lot of
the stuff on the new Testament record is
the most straight I've ever played. I proba-
bly would have gone a lot kookier on some
of the parts, but Eric kept telling me things
like, "Look, we need a drum machine in
this part, so be a drum machine for us,
alright?"
I know a lot of guys probably wouldn't
have taken that so well, but my view of it,
especially in that situation, was that I was a
session guy. I was there to make them
happy. It was the same situation in Death.
Sure, there were parts when Eric would tell
me to simplify it, and I knew I could do
something more to really make it kick.
What's funny is that Chuck would tell
me to go nuts and put more Gene-isms on
there, and Eric would come back and tell
me, "Nope. Tone it down." But it was no
big deal. There were times when I was try-
ing so hard to keep it simple, and even Eric
would say I could throw some double-
kicks in if I wanted to. But it was their
show and it was my job to make them
happy.
MP: It sounds like your parts were very
pieced-together during the recording
process.
GH: Actually, we rehearsed the album for
seven months and we had the songs pretty
much down, but some things changed just
as we went into the studio. The thing that
messed me up most, though, was that I'd
programmed some of the songs on a drum
machine. The reason I did that is that
instead of playing to a click track, I was
going to use the drum machine as my click.
I had programmed every lick, every single
beat, exactly how I was going to play it.
But then Eric would come into the studio
and want to throw some extra beats in here
or a couple more measures there, and I'd
have to go back to the drum machine and
try to fix everything.
MP: So you could hear all your pro-
grammed drum parts in your ear while you
were recording? Wasn't that distracting?
GH: No, not really, because I had all my
parts down anyway. It wasn't like I was
using the machine as a guide or anything. I
just wanted to have something more dri-
ving to play to than this click, click, click. I
played to a regular click on the Strapping
record, but I used the drum machine for trol. The song "Home Nucleonics" was a MP: Watching you during sound check,
Testament. A lot of the kooky beats on damn rippin' drum program, and I couldn't it's amazing how easy you make your parts
Death's Symbolic record were programmed physically play what Devin had pro- look. Just by the sheer speed, I expected to
by Chuck. grammed. I tried, but then I came up with see your arms and legs just fly. But it
MP: So it was your choice to program the something close to it that I could actually almost seems like it's just a walk in the
drum machine. Is that to help you orches- play, and he said it was cool. park for you.
trate parts, too? But to tell you the truth, when I listen to GH: Well, for sound check, yeah, and
GH: Not really. I usually come up with my that record, I can't tell you for sure what I that's the way I used to always play with
parts first, then program them into the played or what came directly from the Death. I get a lot more crazy and loud dur-
machine. But it also helps solidify my drum machine. We triggered the hell out of ing a Strapping show. But doing all that
playing. It's just like how I started playing the drums and there are some things I don't fast stuff is no big deal for me. In fact, the
drums in the first place, like playing to a remember playing that tight, and I've never more you raise your arms and legs, the
record and trying to emulate the exact thing asked Devin about it. But at the time, it more distance you have to bring them
that was on the record. I'm doing the same was more of a session job for me. I was down. So if you're playing really fast
thing now, but only with a drum machine just doing what was asked of me. I didn't music, you don't want to be going too far
instead of a record. know I would end up committing myself to out with that unless you can move your
MP: Does it take you long to develop your the band. limbs fast enough to make up for the dis-
parts? MP: Do you actually prefer playing parts tance they have to travel. If I can put a
GH: Most of what I played on the somebody else writes rather than your show into it without compromising the
Strapping record came straight from what own? music, great.
Devin programmed. A lot of guitarists GH: Definitely. Personally, I don't think MP: When did you start adding things like
don't know how to program drum parts for anything I've come up with on my own is torpedo shells and boat propellers to your
real drummers, but Devin knew what he all that wicked. I'm just not as creative in kit?
was doing. The City record is all his cre- that way. I'm totally emulating other peo- GH: Around '90 or '91 at a Dark Angel
ation. And I'll tell you, he came up with ple. Symbolic was just my own private trib- show, I was just sitting backstage doing my
some of the most challenging stuff I've ute to guys like Deen Castronovo. In fact, warm-ups, and there was this little metal
ever tried to play. He came up with some the first cut on that album is a total ashtray back there. I started banging on it
insane double bass parts, just out of con- Castronovo rip-off. without giving it much thought, until I
noticed, "Wow, this sounds pretty wicked
and evil and ugly—I'm gonna play this
thing tonight." We had an extra stand, so
we just mounted it up, and I played the
ashtray all night. It sounded terrible, but it
was something to bang on, so it was cool.
And in Europe, they had all these differ-
ent metal ashtrays, so I started collecting
them wherever we went and playing differ-
ent ones every night. Soon I started mount-
ing those big metal mic' stand bases and
playing those. Then when I came off tour,
this buddy of mine heard I'd been playing
on ashtrays and he said, "Dude, check this
out," and he gave me this fifteen-pound
brass boat propeller. I was like, "This is
wicked!" It had this weird tri-tone thing
going for it and I was like, "Wow, I'll play
the heck out of this thing."
You know, I'll beat a car door if I can
mount it and get it on stage. I play all that
stuff in the studio when I can. On
Individual Thought Patterns, I only had the
propeller for that, and it's all over the first
track, "Overactive Imagination." What's
great about it is that every time I hit it, it
would spin once, so I had a different ridge
of the propeller to whack every time.
Then the cannon shell came around. It
came from my tech Steve. His dad was in
Vietnam, and he brought back a lot of
shells. Originally that was just a trash can
for us; it was our incense holder. But the
great thing about it is that it has this long
pin on the inside of it, sticking straight
down from the top. So you take a Pearl
heavy-duty stand, pop the center pin out of
it, and slide the shell right over the stand—
fits like a glove.
MP: Does any of that affect the way you
set up the rest of your kit? I noticed that
your toms are perfectly flat and parallel to
the floor, which I guess would give you a
lot of room up top for cannon shells and
anything else you want to mount up there.
GH: I suppose, but that's not why I do it.
In fact, I wouldn't even say that I have "a
setup." Sometimes I'll have my toms flat,
sometimes I won't. I'll play on any kit, and
that just comes from having to play a lot on
other people's kits.
We just came back from this huge
European festival tour. It was a six-band
bill and four of us had to share the same
kit, or at least pieces of the same kit. The
band that went on right after us, the drum-
mer was pretty good, but he was freakin'
out because it was his first big tour and he many over here, but the bands I've played don't give out any sheets of paper with pat-
couldn't handle the extra stress of having in get a lot more exposure in Europe, and terns or rudiments on them. I tell the kids,
to re-arrange the kit after I got off it. So I people there probably take me a little more "Hey, if you're taking lessons, you're way
just told my tech to keep the kit the way he seriously as a drummer. The first clinic I better at theory than I am, so let's just have
played it and I'd just play it like that. did was at Cesar Zuiderwijk's Music fun today." I think my overall message at
MP: But wouldn't that mess you up, espe- Station in Holland. Cesar, who's the drum- these things is that if I can play like this,
cially since you ride with your left hand? mer from Golden Earring, called me up out anybody can play like this. For some, it just
And with your music, I'll bet you have to of the blue when I was in Death and asked takes more practice than it does for other
be particular about your pedals. me to do a clinic. I was blown away, that people. All the kooky things I do—like
GH: It really doesn't matter. It's just the drummer of "Radar Love" was into me. warming up with ankle weights and giant
drums. My philosophy is just to get up So I went and did sort of this master animal bones—are partly to help my drum-
there and play. Even my pedals are pretty class thing—no big deal. But it was cool, ming, but also to keep me from taking
stupid right now. I mean, if I have my because it was kind of a warm-up for my myself too seriously, to have fun with it.
choice, I just like a medium tension and I'd first real clinic, which was with Simon MP: I didn't know you warmed up with
prefer both pedals be the same. But right Phillips, Steve Smith, Bill Bruford, Danny ankle weights. I would think that as fast as
now, I've got a bum spring on one and it's Gottlieb, Chuck Silverman—and me, right you were right out of the blocks, you
all taped up and flopping around. in the middle of them! What a lineup, wouldn't need them.
My tech gets more worked up about it right? I wasn't nervous—I was scared stiff! GH: It was back in '88, a week before
than I do. I'm using these Camco chain- I just went up there and did my thing to a Dark Angel went in to record Leave Scars,
drive pedals that are all patched up like DAT mix of the Individual Thought and I'd totally lost my feet. I just lost my
Frankenstein. There's maybe sixty percent Patterns record without the drums. Playing legs totally, and it's happened with every
of the original pedal left, and every time I with those guys was just wild. I talked with record I've ever done since then—a week
go out on tour, my tech tells me, "I don't some of them afterward and they said nice before recording, I can't do anything with
care what you say, you're gettin' new ped- things. I mean, I'm just a big, fat retard. As them. Well, that first time, I figured I had
als." But I've still got the old ones. drummers go, those guys are gods and I'm to do something to get my legs back into
MP: Tell me how you got involved with puke. shape. Being a baseball player, I was used
doing clinics. The thing is, I don't take myself serious- to slapping batting donuts over my bat to
GH: I probably wouldn't be invited to too ly at all—I'm a ham, I'm a geek—and I add some weight there, so I thought the
same concept should work for my feet. So I
got some ankle weights, and they helped
me get through that session. Then I started
wanning up with them before shows, and
I'd sometimes wear them for the first three
or four songs. Then I'd take 'em off and I
could really fly.
MP: I would think that once you took the
weights off, your feet might move too fast
and that it would take at least a song or two
for you to adjust to the weight loss.
GH: That's where your sense of meter
comes in. With us, the tempos are pushed
anyway, so this just allows me to get up to
that tempo pretty comfortably. And my
meter's always been pretty decent. I never
really used a click track until I did the
Testament and Strapping Young Lad
records. I'd heard all these stories about
how clicks have reduced some drummers
to crying babies, but I think I did pretty
well with it. The thing is, you have to be
comfortable at those fast tempos before
you can have control of them.
One of the things that's problematic with
thrash metal is that a lot of drummers try to
crank it to hyper-blur right away. I guess
one of the things that helped me develop
was that I started playing to standard, solid
drummers. But a lot of these young death
metal drummers only listen to other death
metal drummers. Pete Sandoval is their
god. He's wicked, awesome, and fast, but
kids should temper that with other drum-
mers in other kinds of rock. It's the whole
theory of crawling before walking and
walking before running. That's what I did.
I may be a big, fat blob, but as a drummer,
I can run marathons.
MP: So do you see Strapping as a long-
term commitment?
GH: Right now I do, yeah. But I'm always
open to doing other things on the side. And
I don't have to stick to metal. I think that's
one of the biggest misconceptions, not just
about me but about a lot of other metal
drummers—that it's the only thing we can
do. But I can funk it up like nobody's busi-
ness. Take away one of my bass drums and
I can whip out some pretty wicked beats.
It's just not something I've had a chance to
do with a band. But if anyone out there
gives me a call for something like that, I'll
be all over it—as long as they don't mind
the hair, the body, the whole package. No
matter what I do, I'll still be myself.
 by Ken Micallef

photos by E b e t Roberts

I
' ve been fired many times," laughs anchored the then groundbreaking "soul jazz" sound with his own brand of firecracker-fueled
Louis Hayes. Coming from one of rhythm.
the most respected drummers in A turbulent, three-year stint with piano genius Oscar Peterson followed (an association
jazz, this is a shocking remark. that prompted Louis's scalding opening comments), then a return to a busy Manhattan ses-
"Early on," he recalls, "l let people sion career with Freddie Hubbard, Frank Strozier, Joe Henderson, Cedar Walton, and Dexter
know I wasn't just there to accompany, I was Gordon. The first of many Hayes-led bands then began, including ones with Woody Shaw,
there to make a statement. Now, there is a Joe Farrell, and Junior Cook, until Hayes joined McCoy Tyner in the mid-'80s for a very fruit-
way to make a statement without stepping all ful three-year alliance. More recently, Hayes has recorded albums under his own name with
over people, but some guys won't let you do young turks like Javon Jackson and Riley Mullins, plus a new album with old boss Horace
that. I have to be myself, I can't sell my musi- Silver.
cal soul for money or nothing." From the early days as a nineteen-year-old playing at Birdland, to busy session dates in
Slight of frame but large of stature (not the '60s recording stables of Blue Note, Riverside, and Prestige, Louis Hayes maintained an
unlike his cousin, the artist formerly known as intense, demanding drum style. When '70s fusion threatened his livelihood, Hayes joined
Prince), Louis Hayes is perhaps the greatest the ranks of jazz musicians who remained true to their art while their country of birth turned
unsung jazz drummer of the past thirty years. its back on them. Still largely unreleased on CD, this era of jazz continued to evolve over-
Tried and tested in the same Detroit furnace seas long before Wynton Marsalis and others reinvented the music as a backwards-looking,
that produced Elvin and Thad Jones, Yusef money-making fashion statement. Hayes' Ichi Ban, Una Max, Light And Lively, The Crawl,
Lafeef, and Doug Watkins, Hayes developed and The Real Thing are potent examples of exploratory jazz with a dark, serious edge.
a style born of the hard bop school of Art Still keeping a regular practice routine at the age of sixty, Louis Hayes lives in the comfort-
Blakey, Art Taylor, and Philly Joe Jones. able village of Riverside, right above the island of Manhattan. From his spacious apartment
Hayes furthered those hard bop batteries into you can see the Hudson River slowly winding downstream, while the forest of the New
a unique signature, bridging sharp snare jabs Jersey coastline creates a lushly verdant view, A worn Billy Gladstone pad sits on a stand,
and bass kicks with the note-dense, thicket- and multiple snare drums fill the apartment's corners. And numerous plaques and awards
like drumming of Elvin Jones, but with a line the walls, mementos of appreciation for a rich career.
sound, wit, and depth of conviction entirely Spry and funny, Hayes insists we watch a recent performance of himself and tenor saxo-
his own. phone titan Kenny Garrett before beginning our interview. Playing duets culled from bebop,
In the early 1960s, after a successful stint yet bent by a blistering avant-garde approach, the pair surge through deep paths of improvi-
with Horace Silver, Hayes joined one of the sation, trading ideas in a blizzard of musical conversation. Like a dream meeting of jazz's
most popular groups in jazz history, the future with its not-so-distant past, this modest home videotape nonetheless reveals where
Cannonball Adderley Quintet. On a string of jazz may be headed. Free of marketing terms and retro schemes, the tape shows two musi-
hit albums that included At The Lighthouse cians caught up in selflessness and the pure love of playing their instruments. As usual,
and Cannonball Adderley Quintet Plus, Hayes Louis Hayes sits at the center of the storm, blazing a path,
KM: There is so much conviction in
your playing, from Horace Silver to
Cannonball Adderley, through your
many records as a leader. Conviction
seems to be your trademark.
LH: My father started me out in Detroit,
but my cousin, Clarence Stamps, really was very young I used to get upset when back with a 1953 newspaper clipping
taught me the drums. He always said, the saxophonist wanted me to play one that reads, "Louis Hayes and the
"If anything goes wrong in the band, way, the trumpet player another way; I Sudaners Live at the Club Sudan."] We
they will look at you like it's your fault. didn't like that. I would tell people real played jazz like "Red Top" and "Strike

So if you're going to make a mistake, fast, "I'm not here just to accompany." Up The Band." I was playing with my
don't make a small one, make a big KM: That was a pretty radical idea back compadres, who were very good musi-
one." And I've always thought about the in the hard bop days. cians. And we had musicians in Detroit
drums, besides being just accompani- LH: This is the early '50s, back in that I was very nervous playing around,
ment, as an instrument that I chose to Detroit. But coming to New York with like Kenny Burrell and Tommy
play as an out-front instrument. When I Horace.... [Louis gets up and comes Flanagan, and Elvin was still around
too. There were so many great musi-
cians there.
I'd hang at a club called the World
Stage. How well you played determined
who you would play with. The musi-
cians were very critical. I was a nervous
wreck. My legs were shaking. But the
guys liked me and I began playing with
the older musicians. I was about seven-
teen. I got a six-week trial gig with
Yusef Lateef, which included Curtis
Fuller, Hugh Lawson, Ernie Farrell, and
me. That lasted five to six months
before they realized how old I was. I
was as happy as I could be.
KM: Did the players in Detroit have
their own unique sound?
LH: Most definitely. The sound came
from Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie,
and Bud Powell. As for me, I heard Max
Roach. He caught my ear first, then
Kenny Clarke. I liked Kenny as a person
and I respected him, so I started getting
that Kenny Clarke sound. But for solo-
ing, I heard Max Roach and Buddy
Rich. I had heard Max at the Madison
Ballroom in '55 with Clifford Brown,
and he scared me to death. He made a
deep impression on me.
KM: On one of your early solos, "Our
Delight" with Cannonball Adderley,
there is so much intensity. Maybe that
comes from Rich and Roach. There is
an edge to your playing that stands out.
LH: I wrote out all my own parts when
I was with Horace. But his band was so
 musicians, and if they couldn't play well,
we'd take their jobs. [laughs] Yeah, Detroit
was like that. At these after-hours places
each guy could play really well. They'd be
waiting for you. They would really chal-
lenge you. That's the environment I came
up in.
KM: What did you practice as a kid?
LH: I knew the rudiments and learned how
to read music by the time I was twelve. I
got my drums from my dad, and I began
playing left-handed. My cousin changed
me to right-handed. But I was always very
competitive, which pushed me along. Then
going to all these different cities with
Horace...I was nervous, I thought every-
one was like I was—looking to take my
gig. But as I traveled around I saw that
nobody was there to challenge me. Nobody
was giving me any problems.
Louis with Kenny Garrett
KM: How did you join Horace Silver's
structured that when I played a solo, I ny people? group?
would play a certain amount of choruses LH: No, I was there to make a statement. LH: Kenny Burrell and Doug Watkins got
and then stop so the band could come in. I When I came up I was playing a certain in his band, so they said, "Get the baby boy
had to figure out in my head how to struc- way, so people knew me for that. Actually, out of Detroit." It was wonderful. I didn't
ture the solo so it all landed together. I started playing a single cymbal beat audition for Horace; the word was good, so
Horace would write shout choruses and stroke [straight 8ths] with Horace Silver. It he sent for me.
other things, so I learned how to build and worked with him. I got a reputation for I first lived in New York at the Alvin
structure my drumming very well. I heard that. But I didn't try to copy people. It's Hotel at 51 st and Broadway. It was amaz-
how I grew from the time we made Six hard to copy somebody; it takes a lot of ing; that's where everybody stayed, and all
Pieces Of Silver in 1956 to the last record, thought and time. I said "later" to that and the clubs were around there. I could look
Blowin' The Blues Away, in '59. went for my own thing. out my window right down at Birdland and
KM: You're on many of Silver's classic I've always had this thing in me about see who was going in and out. And playing
tracks, "Cookin At The Continental," playing better than people. I'm very com- with Horace got me introduced to every-
"Sister Sadie," "Senor Blues," "Blowin' petitive. As a kid, my friends and I would body. I can't remember all of the records I
The Blues Away"; those are early soul-jazz drive to Inkster, on the outskirts of Detroit. made at that time, but I recorded with
hits. You weren't there strictly to accompa- We'd walk in the club and listen to the Coltrane. [Louis gets up and brings back
 Drumset: Sonor Force Cymbals: Sabian
Custom series 1.15" Hand Hammered
A. 6 1/2X14 Designer Series hi-hats
(wood) snare 2. 20" AA medium ride
B. 9x13 tom 3. 22" Hand Hammered
C.16x14 floor tom medium ride with rivets
D.18x16 floor tom 4. 17" AA medium-thin crash
E.16x22 bass drum
Sticks: Regal Tip 2B model
(with nylon tip)

an old, dog-eared copy of an album titled was trying to play at their highest level. We
Mainstream 1958 with John Coltrane, weren't trying to make hit records; it was
Wilbur Harden, Tommy Flanagan, Doug about establishing some great music. And
Watkins, and himself.] I also recorded with the record labels didn't try to make us play
Grant Green, Cecil Taylor, Kenny Dorham, anything we didn't want to play.
Clifford Jordan, and Sonny Clark. It started getting tricky in the mid-'60s,
KM: How much did they pay you for those when the labels started asking us to play
Blue Note sessions? something they thought would sell more
LH: It's kind of hard to remember, but it records. They wanted a backbeat—Donald
seems like a rehearsal paid $5. Then you Byrd and Lee Morgan had a few hits with
went to the union to pick up your check. that. I was on Horace Silver's "Senor
Belonging to the union was very important. Blues," which was a hit like that. Horace
And they had those cabaret cards you had wrote that kind of stuff without trying.
to have to work. Those cards meant you "Sister Sadie," "Homecoming," those were
hadn't been arrested. Outside of New York his hits. And then with Cannonball, Bobby
it didn't matter, though. Timmons wrote "This Here." They had that
KM: Were you making better money in soul/gospel thing.
New York than back home in Detroit? KM: Who were your favorite musicians of
LH: For a week working outside of New that period?
York I might have made $125. You paid LH: [long pause] It's like this. Doug
your own hotel bill, which was cheap, and Watkins and I were roommates. We had a
your own food. I was so happy to be in place on West End and Riverside; we paid
New York, I thought it was fantastic. After $100 a month. Nobody had any big respon-
a couple years, though, it wasn't that great. sibilities, nobody was married. I was nine-
I began thinking a little differently about teen. Curtis Fuller lived there, Donald Byrd
the money. lived upstairs, Paul Chambers was there—
KM: How many sessions would you say all these guys lived together and they were
you did back then? my favorite musicians. And Philly Joe
LH: Two or three hundred, something like Jones was a very big influence on me when
that. I came here. When you came to New York,
KM: When you were in the thick of all this everybody would have a sponsor of sorts.
work, did you think you were making Philly Joe adopted me. So did Ed
music that would last, or was it just a good Shaughnessy, and he got me with
time? Slingerland. Papa Jo Jones was my mentor,
LH: We were aware that we were doing too.
something special, because the music came Philly Joe had a big influence on my
first. There was real dedication. Everyone playing. He was creative and he was a very
good technician—Joe had a lot of facility. With Papa Jo, his mind impressed me as
He was such a visual drummer, too. We well as his drumming. He was so intelli-
never practiced together, but certain things gent. Jo knew everybody and everybody
he would do automatically went into my respected him. He was on another level. He
body. I wouldn't copy him, but I was was a people person. He always kept his
Here are the albums Hayes lists as most
impressed with certain sounds and things door and his Bible open. He helped people representative of his drumming as a leader.
that he did. who came to New York who didn't have
ALBUM TITLE
anywhere to stay. He always liked Gene Louis Hayes Featuring
Krupa. Krupa actually gave me a cymbal Yuseef Lateef And Nat Adderley
once. [Louis brings out a small splash cym-
The Real Thing
bal with the Zildjian symbol barely visible.}
KM: When you were with Cannonball, Variety Is The Spice
your playing really came into its own. Una Max
LH: One night at Birdland it was Hank Louis Hayes/Woody Shaw Quintet
Mobley, Bobby Timmons, Booker Little, Live At Lausanne 1977
Sam Jones, and me on the bandstand. Sam Louis At Large
asked if I'd like to join Cannonball's band.
I said yes. I'd been with Horace for three And these are the ones that best represent
his playing as a sideman.
years and was ready to make a change.
Sam and I played so well together. That ARTIST ALBUM TITLE
Horace Silver A Prescription For
was in 1959. The Blues
I really enjoyed Cannon as a musician Phineas Newborn A World Of Piano
and as a person. We got to be very close. Horace Silver Finger Poppin'
With Horace we would rehearse a lot Joe Henderson The Kicker
Wilbur Harden/ Mainstream 1958
before a record date, but Cannon was spon- John Coltrane
taneous. We didn't plan anything too long. Cannonball Adderley Quintet Plus
We would go in the studio and just hit it Oscar Peterson Reunion Blues
Freddie Hubbard Body And Soul
without really rehearsing too much. Horace Silver A Prescription
KM: But the arrangements are so detailed For The Blues
and demanding.
LH: Most of the time it wasn't rehearsed We recorded with Nancy Wilson, did a lot
that much. They called Sam and me the of traveling, and made a lot of recordings.
dynamic duo. We were very close friends, In fact, they're still sending me checks
and we played so well together. That's from recordings we made.
what made Cannon's band such a strong We had some good pianists in that band,
unit. And Cannon took chances, so we had too—Joe Zawinul, Victor Feldman, and
a lot happening to make the band a success. Barry Harris. In fact, Joe was very nervous
at first and didn't know if he could come had very defined, distinctive personalities stuff over without beating up on people.
up to the level to do the gig. But we got to on their instruments. Now for Tony Williams: When he was
be good friends. At night we would have LH: Now the record companies put the fifteen I met him and we got to be friends.
these rhythm section talks. Joe had the guys of my era off to one side. They want We'd talk about music. Tony would come
knowledge but hadn't been in that kind of the young guys—some of whom can play all the way from Boston to Brooklyn to
environment before. We spoke about the well, but they're not on that level. But the talk with me. We'd practice together. Tony
art form and how to approach it so you labels want them to have their own groups. loved this art form more than most people.
could make it work. Joe was kind of timid It stunts their growth. I was never thinking He had a direction he was going in.
and I was kind of forceful. You have to be about being a leader back then. KM: On the records with Cannonball, your
very confident. We discussed concepts, When I was with Horace Silver, watch- drums were tuned very crisply. It almost
direction. It made our rhythm section very ing him play really fascinated me. He put sounds like Tony took his early tuning with
strong. so much energy into every tune. I'd play a Miles from you.
KM: Those players you mentioned are game with the audience where I would try LH: Drums are harder to play when
now being copied by today's younger jazz to get some of that attention he was getting. they're tuned tightly. You have to have
musicians. But with Cannonball, there was nobody your facility together. Tony's drums
LH: The era I came up in was a fantastic strong like that in the rhythm section, so it sounded like that also, but I don't know if
era. We weren't copying each other and put it more on me. That's how I started to he got that from me.
there were a lot of bands around. You learn another way of approaching this art One thing I know Tony did get from me
could play what you wanted to play. The form and how to take charge without taking was my focus on the ride cymbal. You
next generation didn't have the opportunity charge. have to have your ride cymbal technique
of playing with bands where they could get To me, you can play the drums and be in together to control a band; it's not like
experience. We weren't getting rich with command without playing so loud that you when Papa Jo was coming up and you had
those bands, but we had the opportunity to drown everybody out. I always like to see a to have a strong foot. I actually sat down
create the music we wanted to create. drummer who can be tasteful and get his and practiced the cymbal beat for hours.
KM: You played many different grooves own sound across without being a pain in And my cymbal beat and sound is some-
with Cannonball. "Sack O Woe" is like a the butt. I like to be very musical but be thing that has always gotten me over. After
hip twist; "Azule Serape" has that cool able to do what I want to do tastefully—not Tony met me he sat down and practiced
Latin pattern. The jazz musicians back then be a bully. You have to be clever to get your that too.
 Some people can play a lot of things, but I'm a free spirit. I've always felt that I had contain myself drum-wise and not play
people don't realize how much time it something special to say in this art form. "me." That worked for him, and he didn't
takes to get one or two things to a high All of the groups I played with—up until want it to change.
level. It takes a lot of hours. That's why Oscar—allowed me the freedom to create Stuff would build up in my head. I'd tell
most people play pretty good and they the way I wanted to create. him everything that was on my mind about
sound a certain way, but they may never Oscar liked the way Sam and I played how I wanted to approach the music. I'd be
put in the time to sound really great. It together, so when his trio disbanded he fired again. [laughs] We really liked each
takes time to be head and shoulders above asked us to come with him. During my other, but it couldn't go on forever. In a sit-
other people. time with Cannonball he was playing too uation like that you have to surrender. I
KM: Where did you learn your Latin many hit tunes for me. I was young and I couldn't continue to do that.
beats? wanted to play. I wanted to be creative. So KM: It's telling that after Oscar Peterson
LH: My cousin Clarence showed me a I was ready to make a change. I realize you went with Freddie Hubbard.
samba, a tango, a rumba, a montuno, a now that Sam and I should have gotten our LH: Well, I knew Freddie a long time. He
mambo, and I went home and practiced own group. We could have been successful came to New York in 1958, I came to New
them. I play the same things today, I just because we were so close and we had all York in '56. We got to be very close
change things up a little bit. When the the connections. We were popular. But we friends. He lived upstairs from me for
bossa nova came in and we made that went with Oscar Peterson because he want- eleven years in the '60s. We played togeth-
record, "Jive Samba" [with Cannonball ed us and the money was great. er with Joe Henderson during that time in a
Adderley], I had met Dom Um Romao. He KM: What did you earn at your peak with group called the Communicators.
was from Brazil and had been in Brazil Oscar Peterson? [Henderson's The Kicker and Tetragon
'66. LH: When I started out with Oscar in 1965 came from this period.]
Dom was the cat. I would teach him how I was making $400 a week, plus off-time When I was out playing with Oscar, they
to swing and he taught me how to play the salary when we didn't work. were in New York recording with every-
bossa nova. He showed me how to mix up KM: How did you have to change your body. When I was home I'd be playing
the clave and that it didn't have to be so style? with Freddie, but out on the road I was
stiff and formal. Changing up the rhythm LH: That was the problem. First of all, making all this money with Oscar.
like that allowed everyone to be more cre- Oscar is a person who plays at a high level Eventually Oscar fired me for the last time;
ative. So I kept the form but I moved it every night. Everything about him on and I couldn't give up my soul for the money.
around, from the cymbals and the tom- off the stage is on the highest level. But I So I came back to New York and started
toms to the sock cymbal. The main thing is didn't like that he wanted me to change the my own bands—this was in the '70s—the
to keep the constant pulse on the bass way I play. first one with Junior Cook and Woody
drum. I just mixed it up. Sometimes I would talk to myself in the Shaw. That was an excellent band. We
KM: After Cannonball Adderley you went hotel room: "Louis, now when you play recorded Ichi Ban, The Real Thing, and
with the Oscar Peterson trio. That seems you know you have to do this and this to Live At Lausanne.
like a drastic change of style for a drummer keep the peace." That can work for a while, KM: What happened after your association
to make. but when that is not really in your charac- with Woody Shaw?
LH: It was. I'm a certain kind of player; ter, it can only last for so long. I had to LH: Then I made Variety Is The Spice with
Frank Strozier, Stafford James, and Harold cymbals. But I also noticed that you seem do you feel about that?
Mabern. That was the best group I ever to use larger sticks. LH: I was very excited about the session. I
had. LH: First, let me say that I am very, very respect him for originally bringing me to
KM: How did the incoming fusion music happy with Sabian cymbals and Sonor New York. I learned so much from being
of that period affect you? drums. They make great stuff and I love in his company. I've had a great relation-
LH: It affected me a lot. Without a good their products. As for sticks, I use Regal ship with Horace. We never stopped talk-
businessperson, that band didn't last long. Tip 2Bs. I like a heavier stick because I can ing to each other.
Music was going a different way, with rock control it better and I can get a big sound KM: How do today's young jazz players
and fusion. We weren't working in with it. I can't get any sound out of a little stack up next to the musicians you came up
America, only Europe. That was a lean stick. And I can play soft if I want to with a with, like Mobley, Shaw, and Silver?
time. 2B. LH: I love all the younger artists playing
I had to find something else to do. I Often I'll put tape around the shank, this art form, and I wish them all the luck
worked in Europe and kept going. In 1985, 'cause I tend to break them right there. and health in the world. Keep going. But I
I went with McCoy Tyner's trio. We got Also, I like nylon tips for the sound on the don't feel that they are on the same level.
along great. He is "Mr. Dependable" all the cymbal and because they don't chip as fast. It's harder to have a unique voice now like
way, and we worked all over the place. The When wooden tips chip they change the the guys did when I was coming up. That
group became very popular, but I didn't sound of my cymbal. has diminished from the days when there
want to stay with him forever. I was with KM: And you play the bass drum wide weren't so many records to listen to. The
McCoy for four years. open with no muffling? musicians lived in different cities, and you
KM: What young musicians do you like? LH: Yes. I used to use a damper on the really didn't have the opportunity to hear
LH: On drums, I like Victor Lewis and bass drum, but Papa Jo told me not to do musicians from other parts of the country.
Kenny Washington. Kenny used to follow that. You have to be able to control the They really developed their own styles
me around and help me carry my drums. sound of the bass drum. All I do is put a because of that. Now that we have so many
We used to practice together. He got the Dr. Scholls foot pad on the head where the CDs, videos, and tours, the ability to have
cymbal beat from me, just like Tony did. beater hits. That's all I use. your own voice is lessening.
We're close. Kenny plays a lot like me, but KM: How do you view the jazz scene KM: You've played with and outlived a lot
he's not as powerful. today? of the greats. Do you remember how the
KM: Are you a loud drummer? LH: You have Max Roach out there; he's guys played, or the people themselves?
LH: Yeah, I'm pretty powerful. the elder statesman. And you have Roy LH: I remember the playing more than the
KM: Do you still practice? Haynes and Elvin Jones, both with bands. people. Once Bud Powell, Sonny Stitt, and
LH: When I was younger I could actually They are all older than me. But after them, I went over to Clifford Jordan's apartment
not practice. That's when I was performing I'm the one with the band. Tony Williams on 25th Street. Bud played for hours, just
a lot. But now I have to practice more. My made big waves with his band. But now, for us. Being in the company of my heroes
facilities are not as sharp as they were back doggone it, Tony is out of here. He was my at that time was fantastic. Those were great
then. I enjoy practicing and I have to prac- buddy. days.
tice in order to make it. KM: You're on the new Horace Silver
KM: You play Sonor drums and Sabian album, A Prescription For The Blues. How
 by Robin Tolleson
Photos by Jay Blakesburg

T
he drummer called Brain
has played with some pret-
ty fair bassists lately. He
was Bill Laswell's drummer of
choice in Praxis, working with
Laswell. Bootsy Collins, and
Bernie Worrell (Transmutation
on Axiom-Island), and now he's
joined flamboyant thumper Les
Claypool in a revitalized, (dare I
say) more focused Primus on
The Brown Album (Interscope).
"When I was playing with Bill
[Laswell] and Buckethead. that
was free," Brain laughs. "We
would play shows in Europe,
and it would be like. 'Bill, what
are we playing?' 'Whatever you
want, just start a beat.' 'What?'
"With Primus, it's more of a
job, and I'm not saying that's
bad. I needed that in my playing.
I was kind of floating every-
where. With Primus it's a real
thing, a profession. We have to
be on every night, and I've
learned a lot.
"One great thing about this
band—and it's kind of the mys-
tery about Primus—is that we
just do whatever we want. It's
the way Primus has played all
along, and somehow it's become
a popular band. I have an open
mind, and a background with a
lot of different musical styles,
especially funk music. Les is
really into funk music. Ler
[Primus guitarist Larry
LaLonde] is just kind of into
punk rock, and it's a little easier because
I like the same things they do."
Brain (born Brian Mantia) grew
up in the South Bay city of
Cupertino. His pop music interests
gravitated towards James Brown and
Sly Stone. "Even the rock bands I
was listening to, like Led
Zeppelin and Hendrix, always
had a kind of swing feel, a funky
groove to them," he says. "So I
was always into that style."
Brain began playing drums at
sixteen, and went into it head-
first, working his way up to
studies with Scott Morris in
San Francisco, then the
Percussion Institute of
Technology in Hollywood,
then classical snare studies. "I
just did whatever it took to
learn how to read and know
everything about the drums."
Brain got his nickname while in high school concert
band. After learning that Terry Bozzio had transcribed Anthony
Cirone's infamous snare etude collection "Portraits In Rhythm" to
play on the drumkit, he became obsessed with learning it. "People and a 21" A Rock ride. He uses DW pedals and
used to say, 'What are you, some kind of brain?' It stuck." hardware, Roc-N-Soc thrones, and Zildjian 6A wood-tip sticks. He
Tony Williams and Buddy Rich were the first two drummers also uses a Technics SL-1210MKZ turntable with an M44Gs sty-
who had a big influence on Brain. "When my mom took me to see lus, and a Vestax PMCO5PRO DJ mixer.
Buddy Rich over at the mall," he Brain has been resourceful
recalls, "I was just floored. And enough to make his living solely by
then Tony, he's probably like my playing drums. That used to mean
number-one guy. And it's not real- going so far as changing clothes in
ly even his drumming, it's more "I'd play a the car between gigs. "I'd play a
just the attitude, the kind of Zen wedding in a tuxedo, wedding in a tuxedo," he recalls,
"then put on my earrings and punk
thing he had going on.
"I'm not really into the drums as
then put on my rock clothes, go to the Nightbreak,
far as wanting to copy somebody's earrings and punk and play a punk rock gig with
gear or anything," says Brain. "I'm
more into people's attitudes.
rock clothes and play MCM & the Monster. That's what I
had to do to get my hundred bucks
Denardo Coleman is another exam- a gig with MCM & the that night. Then the next day I'd
ple. When I heard the Ornette Monster. The next day play a Taco Bell commercial. I just
Coleman Prime Time Band, I was figured, 'This is what I do. I enjoy
floored. I thought, 'You can do
I'd play a Taco Bell all these styles of music, so I might
anything you want with that kind commercial. as well do it.'"
of approach.' If I could play with
anybody, it'd be Ornette Coleman.
I just figured, 'This Brain's recording career includes
dates with artists as diverse as Tom
After I saw that I said, 'Wow, this is what I do.'" Waits (Bone Machine, Island), Jon
is the free-est it'll ever be.'" Hassell (Dressing For Pleasure,
Brain may not be into gear, but Warner Bros.), Godflesh (Songs Of
he has an interesting set of Ludwig Love & Hate, Earache), Giant
Vistalites. The 26" bass drum is green, the toms are red, yellow, Robot (NTT), and the aforementioned MCM & the Monster
and amber, and he has two North toms mixed in. His snare is a (Collective Emotional Problems, Self Inflicted). He was also a
black Vistalite. He plays Zildjian cymbals, including a 6" Zil-Bel, member of the Limbomaniacs, a band made up of friends from
an 8" EFX-1, an 8" A splash, 13" Quick Beat hi-hats, a 16"A medi- San Jose, Cupertino, and Mountain View, California. The band
um thin crash, a 16" A medium crash, an 18" A China Boy low, released the album Stinky Grooves (In Effect) in 1990, earning a
following of P-Funkers and Beastie Boy lovers (and a parental
advisory for explicit lyrics). The band's mighty rhythm section,
with bassist House, guitarist Mirv, and Synclavier wizard Pete
Scaturro, was quite capable of thrashing rhythmic assaults like
"Maniac" and the insistent "Shake It" with Troublefunk's T-Bone.
"When the Limbomaniacs first came out," says Brain, "a friend
turned me on to the Go-Go stuff in DC, and I really got into
Troublefunk and the Junkyard Band."
Guitarist Joe Gore played with Brain in Big City during the
World Beat invasion of San Francisco in the early '80s. "Joe got
me into Zulu Jive and the Ice Cream For Suckers album, and then
Fela," says Brain. "I've always been attracted to the rawest side of
music. The Limbomaniacs would play Zulu Jive sets based off that
tape, when no one really knew what it was. People would say,
'You guys play a really weird style of surf music.' Joe got me into
O.J. Ekemode, South African Jive, and Kenyan music. Then I
turned him on to the Beastie Boys," Brain laughs.
Primus was also going for a raw sound on their new album,
called simply The Brown Album (Interscope). "We went into the
studio and started jamming—three nights a week, for a couple
hours each night. Somebody would start something and we'd just
let the tape roll. We made a CD out of all that, then we went
through each jam to take the best parts and decide which grooves
we wanted to make into songs. We realized that we had enough
for two more albums."
When it came time to record the album, the band chose
Claypool's home studio, Rancho Relaxo, where they could record
on their own time, "in between snowboard- rock groove, while "Restin' Bones" has we'd switch it around and experiment. But
ing, mostly," Brain reports. Again they more of a hip-hop feel. "Bob's Party Time that raw sound is just what we wanted to
went for the raw drum tracks. "Some of the Lounge" is almost out of Las Vegas, as it do on this album. We never used more than
songs are recorded with just one mic', showcases several styles in an eclectic mix. six mic's, and that's what it sounds like.
where I set up in a room and just jammed Brain says the band was attempting to re- But that's the kind of tones I like.
on something. To be totally fresh on one create a John Bonham sound, so they "We went for a big, huge, messed-up
particular tune, we said, 'Hey, let's put one didn't cut out the front bass drum head, and kind of room sound," Brain continues.
mic' up there and just play something.' A they put the bass drum mic' about two feet "One of my favorite albums is the Public
couple of the tracks sounded so good that away from the drumhead. "Instead of Image album that Bill Laswell produced
way, we just kept 'em." close-miking the snare and hat, we used [Album, Elektra]. He also told me that he
"Golden Boy" is pure funk with a one microphone for both," he recalls, once recorded Tony Williams in an eleva-
Zeppelin-ish guitar and bass line, "Shake "about a foot away from them. We added a tor shaft with three or four mic's, and it
Hands With Beef is a simple, marching couple overheads, and that's about it. And was huge and crazy-sounding. We wanted
that big sound."
Brain has known the members of Primus
for several years. In fact, he was in the
band briefly six years ago. "I was in
Primus for two weeks, but I broke my foot
skateboarding," he explains. The band
wound up hiring Tim "Herb" Alexander,
and Brain did the Limbomaniacs CD. "I
appreciated Primus, but I wasn't a huge
fan," he says. "I liked Les's solo stuff
more, like Sausage and The Holy
Mackerel. As a matter of fact, we play the
bass/drum duet from 'The Awakening' off
Holy Mackerel when we play live, and I
love it. My point is that a lot of the Primus
material was relatively new to me when I
joined. But I'm adjusting to the structure,
and Primus is my foundation now.
"One of the things that scared Les about
me was that I was always moving around,"
Brain continues. "I was more of a session
guy. But I realized, hey, they're my
friends, it's a cool thing. If there's any
band I'd want to join, this'd be the one, as
far as having freedom to play."
Another thing Brain is very excited about
with Primus is the inclusion of the turntable
in his drumkit. He began learning the
scratching technique while working with the
world-champion DJs the Invisible Scratch
Pickles with Praxis. "I've been learning it
from DJ Disc, and I'm going to incorporate
it in my drumset because it's such a percus-
sive instrument," he says. "The way the
really good DJs approach the lines they cut
against the rhythm is like listening to Elvin
Jones again. There haven't been too many
drummers that have been turning me on, but
as soon as I heard these turntablists it hit me
that they're taking it to the next level. So
I've been listening to them for inspiration as
far as where to go rhythmically—and for
learning how to do it, too. It's pretty incred-
ible."
 Jungle/Drum & Bass Grooves
by Travis Huff

F
urious syncopation! Lightning-fast tem-
pos! Tons of grace notes! With character-
istics like these, you would probably con-
jure up visions of hardcore fusion. But no,
this is dance music! "Jungle/Drum & Bass"
has landed on American shores, bringing with
it a fresh perspective on some classic beats.
Originating in the British underground club scene, jungle com-
bines influences from hip-hop, reggae, and electronica into one
highly danceable hybrid. The style began by producers taking a
drumbeat from an old record, like the classic "Funky Drummer"
break, speeding it way up, and adding a half-time reggae bass line
underneath. Tempos average 160 beats per minute in the drums,
while the bass line anchors a head-boppin' 80 bpm. Like African
tribal "drum & singing" music, the polymetric nature of the
rhythm makes it even more infectious.
Jungle evolved into a more electronica-influenced form as pro-
ducers moved into the realm of programmed drum parts. This pro-
gramming retained all the notes, all the syncopation, and all the
amped-up speed of the earlier form, but upped the complexity fur-
ther still by creating densely layered grooves. These chopped-up
beats and their breakbeat counterparts are a wellspring of ideas for
drummers to incorporate into their playing.
Like most rhythm-oriented music, jungle has a clave or "time-
line" that gives coherence to a sometimes dizzying complexity.
Compared to Latin or African genres, in jungle the snare acts as
the high bell while the bass drum acts as the low bell. And, as in
Latin or African music, this clave is implied at all times but not
always spelled out verbatim. Here is the basic "pulse":

Here are a few examples of the types of grooves you might hear
in this style. (Play these at a tempo of quarter note = 160.)
 To hear some of these grooves applied in a musical setting,
check out such artists as LTJ Bukem, Photek, Omni Trio, and
Nico. Also, the Metalheadz and Renegade labels from the UK are
known for their excellent selection of jungle.
The best way to catch the spirit of this music is to go to a dance
club where DJs spin jungle, so you can feel the bass in your chest.
Watch the dancers. Emulate the dancers' motions as you play
these beats on the drumset, and the groove will flow much better.
To drum is to dance.
 Bill Stewart: "Snide Remarks"
Transcribed by Billy Miller

T
his month's Drum Soloist features Bill Stewart on his first offering
as a leader, Snide Remarks (Blue Note, released 1995). This drum
solo, from the title track, begins about four minutes into the tune.
Bill takes the listener on a fun rhythmic jaunt here, playing some great
three-over-four "Stewart-isms." It's an ear-catching performance from a
hot young player. (By the way, all 8th notes are swung unless noted.)

Alex Solca
 Drumming In The Pits, Part 2
by Jonathan Wacker

I
n part one of this article, leading professional conductors and play is the "two-beat." This style is found in country, rock,
show drummers described what is required of the pit drummer Dixieland, swing, and many other musical settings. Use of the
when he or she is playing in a professional pit orchestra. We two-beat is usually determined by the bass player's part; if he is
learned that among other skills, a show drummer must be prepared playing two half notes in each measure of 4/4 time, then he is
to competently play any musical style. In this article, we will playing two beats per measure, or "two-beat." The drummer is
examine excerpts from the drumset books of Broadway-type usually expected to support this harmonic motion in whatever
shows to give you an idea of how to prepare your part when you style the music calls for. A standard show two-beat pattern is
have been asked to play in a pit orchestra. notated below. The simplicity of this pattern will allow you to
If you have never played a show before, you might be surprised focus on keeping good time, and establishing a good feel.
to see that their drumset parts are often quite vague, if not confus-
ing. This requires the drummer to apply his experience to translate
the notes on the paper into a performance that will assist the rest of
the orchestra to provide good music for the audience.
One of the most prevalent styles the pit drummer is asked to

In the following example from the musical Hello Dolly, the is written up to measure 5. At this point, the drummer is expected
drumset part is really quite questionable. If you were to play to rhythmically support the melody with the proper style while
exactly what is indicated in the part, the performance would sound maintaining a steady tempo (i.e., "play time"). The "two-beat"
rather stagnant and dull. This is where one must use intuition to example shown above would suffice here. The tempo indicated is
determine the best interpretation of the music. presto, so the drummer should concentrate on simply keeping a
The first four measures of this part look like an introduction to steady tempo with a rhythmic pattern that won't confuse the
the melody, which begins in measure 5. The simple rimclicks in remainder of the orchestra. Emphasizing the accents on the snare
the part help to accent the other instruments and establish a clear drum would be helpful.
tempo. With this in mind, you should probably play exactly what
 Another two-beat can be found in "You Could Drive A Person piece should find a recording of the soundtrack to hear what the
Crazy" in Stephen Sondheim's musical Company. The written original cast drummer played, which was the following version of
part (not shown) is a classic case of a badly written drumset part. a two-beat.
It gives the drummer no indication of the style. The bass drum is
indicated on beats 1 and 3, and the snare drum is on beats 2 and 4
of each measure. This is clearly intended to function only as an
outline or sketch for the drummer to improvise within. The drum-
mer who wants to be well prepared for the first rehearsal of this

As you gain experience playing shows, you will find that the Another style that appears frequently in musical theater is the
drumset parts are frequently vague. With this in mind, I often rec- jazz waltz. This style is not exactly jazz, and not exactly a waltz,
ommend to students that they find a copy of the original sound- but something in between. In the following example, again from
track performance of a show they expect to play, and to listen to Company, the part calls for a jazz waltz, and shows notation for
the original drummer's playing. This is a good way to help you cymbal, snare, and bass drum. (The drummer must assume this,
decide what to play if the written part isn't clear. In addition, it is because there is no indication anywhere in the part of what each
quite likely that the composer was present during the recording line of notation really means.)
and would have approved of what was being played.

It is rather clear from this notation that the person who wrote
this part had little or no experience as a drummer. If an inexperi-
enced drummer saw this part and read it as written, it would likely
confuse the orchestra more than help it, and not swing nearly as
much as if he or she had simply "faked" a jazz waltz. A simple
jazz waltz pattern such as the one that follows would be appropri-
ate for this section.

As with any of these simple patterns, if you can fake a good jazz specific musical idea or with stage action.
waltz, then all you have to do is count measures to maintain your A few years ago, I played drums for the touring production of
place in the part. This will allow you to get your head out of the The Unsinkable Molly Brown. That show has a lot of dancing and
music, listen to what is being played around you, and maintain stage action that the drummer is expected to highlight.
good eye contact with the conductor. Emphasizing stage action or specific lines of dialog with the
Specific parts, such as the snare roll in measure 37, should be drums is called "catching" the action. In Molly Brown, the drum-
played exactly as written, because they may be coordinated with a mer is kept very busy "catching" dance kicks while playing time.
 In the following excerpt of "He's My Friend," from The From this, any drummer with even minimal experience would
Unsinkable Molly Brown, the style is clearly indicated to the have a good idea of the style required. The actual notation, howev-
drummer. The text above the staff says "country style side-stick." er, is confusing.

He's My Friend Unsinkable Molly Brown

Country Style-Sidestick arr: Hummie Mann

Lite Country Time

The part should probably be a simple two-beat, with a slight In the next example, also from "He's My Friend," we can see
country feel. In this example, the accents written above the part the drum part written in the staff and the dance kicks written as Xs
indicate musical accentuation, as opposed to "catching" stage above the staff. In this case, the drummer is expected to play loud,
action. (I should mention here that when you "catch" stage action short, percussive sounds (usually cymbal crashes) at the moment
such as dance kicks, the accent occurs simultaneously with the each dance kick is executed. This should be at the place in the
action. When "catching" a comic's jokes, show drummers usually music indicated by the X, but often occurs slightly before or after
leave a moment of space between the punch line and the accent in that exact spot if the dancers get off the beat.
order for the audience to hear and understand the joke.)
 In this example we see dance kicks at measures 153-154, 162,
and 167-168. At this point in the piece, the drummer is playing in
a 6/8 march style (another style the show drummer should
know...) and "catching" the dance kicks with cymbal crashes. The
accents at measures 137-138 and 141-142 are accents to be
played on the snare drum.
To further complicate things, while keeping time and "catching"
kicks, it is critical that you maintain good eye contact with the
conductor. In large dance scenes, the tempo is critical; some dance
steps simply cannot be performed at the wrong tempo. If the
tempo is wrong, for whatever reason, the conductor could face a
stage full of angry singers and dancers. As the conductors said in
the interviews in part one, the conductor will determine where the
tempo should be and will expect to communicate it to the drum-
mer immediately. If you are not watching him, he cannot commu-
nicate the tempo, and the scene could become a catastrophe.
So far we have examined drumset parts from a couple of differ-
ent shows and discussed how one might approach playing them.
We must keep in mind that our function in the pit orchestra is pri-
marily that of the timekeeper. We also establish the proper feel,
accentuate the stage actions, and communicate tempo changes to
the remainder of the orchestra. These are extremely important
functions in a show orchestra. A drummer who cannot fulfill these
needs can ruin an orchestra comprised of even the best players.
Playing drums in show pits can be a fun and rewarding way to
make a living. Show tours allow you to travel and work with a
wide variety of musicians. Applying the ideas discussed above and
the suggestions of the drummers and conductors interviewed
in part one will give you a good start.
by Trevor Salloum

I
nterest in hand drumming has
exploded, with everyone from inner
city youth, to the elderly—even cor-
porate executives—trying their hands on
the skins. One of the most enjoyable of
these hand drums to reemerge is the bon-
gos. Among the most adaptable percussion
instruments, bongos are well suited to many
styles of modern music, including Latin,
rock, funk, rap, jazz, symphonic, flamenco,
etc.
Bongos have many advantages, one in
particular being their small size. As a drumset
player, I've often envied vocalists and horn players
because of the portability of their instruments. Now to be played with virtually any other instrument. Also, bongos
drummers can take their bongos to a jam session and not have to require minimal maintenance and are quite durable in construc-
schlep so much gear. And modern amplification allows the bongos tion.

Bongo Resources
Suggested Recordings: Latin American Percussion: Rhythms And Rhythm
Ahora Si Here Comes Changu (Corason, released 1995) Instruments From Cuba: Video Session Featuring Birger
Jack Costanzo And His Afro-Cuban Band, Mr. Bongo Sulsbruck (Wilhelm Hansen, 1988)
(Palladium, 1989)
Cuba Fully Charged (Earthworks, 1993) Internet Web Sites:
Cuban Counterpoint: History Of The Son Montuno (Rounder The Bongo Page: www.rhythmweb.com/bongo
Records, 1992) Les Bongos et la Campana:
Machito And His Afro-Cuban Orchestra, Tremendo Cumban salsa.media-site.com/FichierHTML1/BongoCamp.html
(Tumbao, 1991)
Eddie Palmieri, The Truth—La Verdad (Fania, 1987) Internet Newsgroups:
Routes Of Rhythm, Volumes 1-3 (Rounder Records, 1990) (These newsgroups often have interesting discussions on bongos
Mongo Santamaria, Afro-Roots (Prestige, 1958) and bongoceros.)
Santana, Borboletta (Columbia, 1974) rec.music.afro-latin
rec.music.makers.percussion
Books: rec.music.makers.percussion.hand-drum
Progressive Steps To Bongo And Conga Drum Technique by
Ted Reed (Ted Reed Publishing, 1961) Suppliers:
The Bongo Book/CD by Trevor Salloum (Mel Bay (Sources for purchasing books, CDs, and videos on bongos.)
Publications, 1997) Mel Bay Publications, Inc., 4 Industrial Dr., Pacific, MO
63069-0066, (800) 863-5229
Videos: Descarga, 328 Flatbush Ave., Suite 180, Brooklyn, NY
(These Latin percussion videos include short sections on bongos, 11238, (800)377-2647
mainly demonstrating the martillo.) DCI Music Video, 15800 NW 48th Ave., Miami, FL 33014,
Manny Oquendo On Timbales And Bongo (800)628-1528
(Alchemy Pictures, 1996)
 History from the skins of cow, calf, mule, goat, or kangaroo. In Cuba you
Many people think of the bongos as a toy or novelty item, but will occasionally see X-ray film being used on the macho. (I prefer
they have a rich cultural history. Bongos were developed in east- natural-skin heads and wood drums both for sound and aesthetics.)
ern Cuba in the Guantanamo province in the late 1800s, and are When purchasing bongos, choose an instrument that meets your
the principle drums of the music styles known as changui and son needs. Many of the professional models, such as those from JCR,
(pronounced "sone"). These styles are a blend of the rich African LP (Generation II and III), and Matador have superior tone and
and Spanish cultures of Cuba and contain the roots of modern solid construction, but are very heavy for a beginner. For the price,
salsa. the best beginner bongos I have seen are the CP 227 model. They
In the '40s and '50s, the bongos emerged as the guiding sound are made of oak, have fairly durable hardware, are lightweight,
for the beat generation. During this period famous bongo drum- and generally sell for under $100. Gon Bops also makes lighter
mers gained commercial success, as evidenced by Jack Costanzo beginner-to-advanced models.
("Mr. Bongo"), who accompanied the Nat King Cole Trio. I'm
sure many of you recall having your parents buy a set of bongos Playing Position
because of their reasonable price and suitability for small hands. The bongos are traditionally played with the hands and fingers,
in a seated position with the drums held between your knees. Your
Design And Construction back should be straight, with your forearms resting on your thighs
Bongos consist of two drums, the macho (small) and the hembra and with your feet positioned flat on the floor. Occasionally, the
(large), which are joined by a bridge. (In Spanish "macho" means bongos may be played on a stand to provide easier movement
male and "hembra" means female.) The bongos are usually made between various percussion instruments. (Timbale sticks may be
from oak or mahogany, with metal lugs and rims. Most bongos are used instead of hands to obtain a varied tone and greater volume.)
constructed from wood, but some companies manufacture fiber-
glass models. Basic Patterns
Bongos usually feature one of two styles of rim—either alu- The basic traditional bongo pattern is called the martillo (mean-
minum cast, as in the LP Generation II, or Cuban-style steel rims, ing "hammer" in Spanish). This rhythm has been used in various
as offered by JCR, LP Generation 11I, CP 221 (made by LP), and styles of music including Latin, jazz, rock, and folk. The following
Gon Bops models. Other common professional brands include is the basic martillo pattern, as well as two basic jazz and rock pat-
Toca, Afro, Meinl, and MOPERC. The heads are usually made terns.
 A note on the music notation: The macho part appears above the
line, the hembra part below. The "normal" note head indicates an Listen
open stroke (simply striking the head with all of the fingers). The The most valuable resource for learning the bongos is listening
square symbol indicates a right-hand stroke played while the left- to the recordings of the great bongoceros (bongo players). I would
hand thumb presses against the head. The "x" indicates a single suggest starting with the early recordings of the son musical style.
finger strike. And a diamond-shaped note head indicates a thumb Son is best represented by groups such as Sexteto Habanero,
strike. (For a more detailed analysis of the different striking tech- Septeto Nacional, Sexteto Bolona, Sierra Maestra, and Isaac
niques, check out one of the books or videos mentioned in the Olviedo. These groups typify some of the early roots of modern
resource sidebar.) salsa.
Try to obtain recordings of Latin music by Arsenio Rodriguez,
Martillo
Machito, Cal Tjader, George Shearing, Tito Puente, Stan Kenton,
Nat King Cole, Ismael Rivera, Willie Bobo, Celia Cruz, and
Poncho Sanchez. And listening to the bongocero legends like
Armando Peraza, Jose Mangual Sr., Jack Costanzo, Candido
Camero, Ray Romero, Willie Rodriguez, Manny Oquendo, and
Mongo Santamaria will provide exposure to a wide variety of indi-
Jazz vidual styles. Finally, investigate the more recent wave of dynamic
bongoceros, including Anthony Carrillo, Jose Mangual Jr., Marc
Quinones, David Romero, John Santos, Louis Bauzo, Luis
Chacon, and Jose Miguel Velazquez.

Trevor Salloum is a percussionist, author, and teacher. He has

made several trips to Cuba to study Afro-Cuban rhythms. He
Rock recently wrote The Bongo Book, published by Mel Bay
Publications, Inc., 1997.
 1997 DCl World Championship Results
by Lauren Vogel Weiss program featured music from composer demonstrated that visual appeal as he did
Alfred Reed. some "behind-his-back" crossover sticking

F
ollowing a week of spirited competition On Wednesday, August 13, over six and even used four mallets. Matt Beck, a
(held at Walt Disney World in Florida), hundred performers participated in the sixteen-year-old high-school junior in his
Drum Corps International crowned its Individual and Ensemble contest at Walt third season with the Glassmen, won the
1997 champion in the Citrus Bowl in Disney World's Pleasure Island. mallet keyboard award with a score of
Orlando on August 16. Sixty-five corps Seventeen-year-old Cavaliers rookie Jason 98.0. He performed "Third Dance For
from three countries (Canada, Japan, and Parker won the individual snare drum Marimba" by Tom Hasenpflug.
the US) vied for this coveted honor. award. (His score of 99.7 was the highest The timpani honor went to Keith
Thirty-five Division III (up to sixty of any percussionist of the day, so he also Rawlins of the Cavaliers, who scored a
members) and Division II (averaging 80 received a $1,000 scholarship from Avant 97.4. His solo (an original composition
members) corps competed on Monday and Garde.) His solo was composed of several called "BMF") included all the usual flair
Tuesday, August 11 and 12. Ultimately, different styles of music, including a of a pit timpanist and even some three-mal-
Mandarins, from Sacramento, California, Scottish section. let work. Nathan Ratliff (another
won their fifth Division III title with a The multi-tenor award went to Peter Cavaliers rookie) won the award for multi-
score of 94.8 (9.7—out of a possible Friedhof of the Blue Devils, who scored a ple percussion with a score of 96.5. He per-
10.0—in drums). They performed music 99.0. Friedhof says he chose the tenors formed Ney Rosauro's "Brasiliana" on
from "The Ghost Train Triptych" by Eric over snares because, "It's the most exciting marimba, various woodblocks, and bam-
Whitacre. The Spartans, from Nashua, instrument to watch. It's like watching a boo chimes.
New Hampshire, won their first Division II drumset player instead of a snare drummer Eight members of the Santa Clara
title by scoring a 94.2 (9.2 in drums). Their who's on just one drum." Peter's solo Vanguard pit—Leah Batt, Josh Bowman,

1997 DCI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

TOTAL TOTAL DRUM COLOR CYMBAL STICK/MALLET
DRUM CORPS SNARES TENORS BASSES CYMBALS BATTERY PIT DRUM LINE COMPANY (DRUMS/HARDWARE) COMPANY COMPANY

Blue Devils 7 4 5 0 16 8 24 Yamaha Black/Chrome Zildjian Vic Firth

Blue Knights 7 4 5 5 21 11 32 Premier Dark Walnut/Black Sabian Vie Firth
Bluecoats 7 5 6 4 22 9 31 Pearl Blue Silver Swirl/Chrome Sabian Vic Firth
Cadets of Bergen Co. 8 4 5 0 17 10 27 Pearl Red Wine/Chrome Zildjian Vic Firth
Carolina Crown 8 4 6 0 18 9 27 Pearl Stainless Steel/Chrome Zildjian Vic Firth
Cavaliers 9 5 5 0 19 8 27 Yamaha Silver/Black Zildjian Silver Fox
Crossmen 9 4 5 5 23 11 34 Pearl Cherry/Chrome Zildjian Vic Firth
Glassmen 7 3 5 4* 15/19* 8/12* 27 Yamaha Copper/Black Zildjian Pro-Mark
Madison Scouts 9 5 6 4 24 9 33 Yamana Red Mahogany/White Paiste Vic Firth
Magic Of Orlando 8 4 5 4 21 11 32 Premier Gold Satin Flame/White Sabian Silver Fox
Phantom Regiment 6 4 5 0 15 8 23 Premier Topaz/Black Sabian Pro-Mark
Santa Clara Vanguard 7 4 5 5 21 9 30 Pearl Bronze/Chrome Zildjian Vic Firth

*(Four cymbal players marched for half of the show and played in the pit for the remainder.)
Eric Drotning, Jennifer Duckworth, America Garden Theater by the Shore. The
Johnathon Echols, Erin Folchi, Showcase presented the winners of the
Montgomery Hatch, and Tanner I&E categories, along with exhibitions by
Jacobsen—comprised the "Best 1996 co-champions Phantom Regiment
Percussion Ensemble," which scored a and Blue Devils.
99.5. They performed an arrangement of Thursday's Open Class Quarterfinals
Glinka's "Ruslon And Ludmilla" on six included twenty-one open class corps (120
keyboards, timpani, a multiple-percussion members maximum) and the top five
setup, chimes, and tambourine. Bobby Division II/III corps. Seventeen corps
Arriola, Rafael Bretado, Peter advanced to the Semifinals on Friday night.
Karnowski, Armondo Olivares, and Although their Quarterfinals score (77.4;
Scott Wagner—SCV's cymbal ensem- 7.8 in drums) wasn't quite enough to
ble—scored a 97.5 for their second consec advance them (they finished eighteenth),
utive victory. And SCV bass drummers Les Etoiles, from L'Acadie, Quebec,
Juan Gomez, Phil Vallejo, Brian Canada offered one of the most creative
Marsalli, Jim Olea, and Kyle
Rausch won the "Best Bass-Drum
Ensemble" title for the fourth year
in a row. Their score was a 98.0.
Wednesday evening saw the
Madison Scouts and Disney's
Lauren Vogel Weiss

own Future Corps performing in

EPCOT's Future World, a parade
around the lake in the World
Showcase by thirteen corps, and
The Individual and Ensemble
Showcase of Champions, held in the The "spinning drummers" of Les Etoiles, from L'Acadie,
Quebec, Canada, during Quarterfinals
percussion features of the entire season. During their finale of "Terpsichore," Edward Elgar's "Enigma Variation IX
Patrick Doyle's "Creation," six drummers were strapped onto piv- ('Nimrod')," and Gustav Hoist's "Gigue."
oting backboards with RotoToms in front of them, and spun Bill Register, program coordinator and percussion caption
around as they played a linear drum part. Forget rotating drums— supervisor, considered "Terpsichore" the percussion highlight:
this was rotating drummers. "We had the segmental features doing some hemiolas against the
keyboard melodies and rhythms." Register also praised the excep-
tional tenor line and the outstanding snare line, where six of the
eight were drum-corps rookies.
In eleventh place (85.6; 8.7 in drums) were the Bluecoats from
Canton, Ohio. Their "Midnight Blue...Jazz After Dark, The
Bluecoats' Way" program offered such tunes as Ennio
Morricone's "Moon," and "You And The Night And The Music"

Lauren Vogel Weiss

by Dietz/Schwartz. Later, the seven snare drummers marched up a

John David Guzman on drumkit, with the rest of the pit players of the
Dubuque Colts during Semifinals

Twelve corps advanced from Friday's semifinals to the finals on

Saturday night, leaving the Colts, from Dubuque, Iowa, in the
"unlucky thirteenth" position (84.1; 7.9 in drums). Their "Rock
And Roll" program featured music of Blood, Sweat and Tears.
The "Top Twelve" ranking for 1997 begins with Carolina

Dan Scafidi
Crown, from Charlotte, North Carolina, (85.0; 8.6 in drums) in
twelfth place. Their "Postcards from Britain" program included
William Walton's "Crown Imperial," Bob Margolis' The snare drummers of the Bluecoats, from Canton, Ohio, played "kit"
bass drums and cymbals on "Harlem Nocturne."
 ramp to an elevated platform—where each Ben Hur by Miklos Rozsa, along with drum: one down, one up, and two in
one stood behind a "drumkit-style" bass Samuel Barber's "Little Girl, Brown Girl" between." The Knights also experimented
drum and a crash cymbal to play Earl and "Father In Heaven—Prayers Of with the Sabian marching cymbal rack by
Hagan's "Harlem Nocturne." Kierkegaard." adding mounted toms to it.
"We wanted to initiate more drumset- "We tried some different approaches on Back in the "Top Twelve" after missing
type feels and grooves," explains Matt the percussion features," says Ralph a year were the Glassmen, from Toledo,
Savage, co-caption head and arranger of Hardimon, program coordinator and per- Ohio, in eighth place (90.0; 9.3 in drums).
the battery and auxiliary percussion. "I had cussion coordinator. "Many people were Their theme was "The Age of Gold: The
experimented successfully with using a doing a lot of downstroking this year, and Music of Georges Bizet," including
drumset bass drum in the past, so we we tried to expand that a little bit. We "Introduction," "Scene and Variations,"
thought we'd add to that idea by doing it incorporated some upstroking, too. It's "Changing Of The Guard," "Intermezzo—
on a ramp and adding a crash cymbal. It mainly just four different approaches to the The Mountain Pass," and "Farandole."
was nice to get the drums up off the ground
to give a 3-D look and help get a powerful
sound."
The hometown corps, Magic of
Orlando, finished in tenth place (85.7; 8.9
Dan Scafidi

Even a passing thunderstorm during

Semifinals couldn't dim Magic Of Orlando
drummer Lyle Carr's spirits—or his satin
flame drumkit finish.

in drums). Their "Carnivale: Celebrations

For Sinner And Saint" program had the
audience singing along with the corps, who
paraded in from the left sideline to the tra-
ditional Mardi Gras songs "Li'l Liza Jane"
and "When The Saints." The rest of the
show, written by Magic's program director,
Robert W. Smith, included "Bourbon
Street Crawl," "Mass," "Mintzer's Voodoo
Magic," and Rebirth Brass Band's "Parade
Out: Do Whatcha Wanna." A highlight of
the show was the percussion feature, which
had a Brazilian flavor.
Magic's program also prominently fea-
tured a drumset in the pit. "For the
jazz/fusion type of music that we did, you
have to have a drumset," says percussion
caption head John Campese (who also
plays in EPCOT's Future Corps). "You can
have some of the grooves happening in the
back battery, but we were looking for a real
drumset color."
Taking ninth place (88.2; 9.1 in drums)
were the Blue Knights from Denver,
Colorado. They performed selections from
 "We took variations from themes throughout the Bizet and put 9.5 in drums). Their "Colors Of Jazz" show featured classics like
them all together to create a lot of little flavors," says first-year "Birdland" and "Blues in the Night," along with "Niner-Two" by
percussion caption head Lee Beddis. "The voicing was basically Don Ellis.
an orchestra, with the battery—snares and tenors—putting colors "'Niner-Two' was very energetic and rhythmic," says percus-
in between all the other elements." sion arranger and instructor Thorn Hannum, "and we arranged it
The Cavaliers, from Rosemont, Illinois, placed seventh (92.8; so the percussion had several solo spots. There was an area where
9.4 in drums). Their everybody had a chance to show off in the middle section, and it
program—Stravinsky' s concluded with a nice tutti rhythmic effect. For the drum solo sec-
"The Firebird"—was tion, we tried to imitate what was on the original record, which
sandwiched between a was a drumset that traded off with hand drums—which then traded
somewhat unusual off with a timpani player. So it was tailor-made for our battery to
opening and closing imitate the drumset."
that featured the entire Although the Madison (Wisconsin) Scouts finished in fifth
corps in a tight circle, place (93.9; 9.0 in drums), their program—"The Pirates Of Lake
"whooshing" their Mendota"—was a huge crowd-pleaser (and earned them the

Lauren Vogel Weiss

arms to a cappella $4,000 "Spirit of Disney" award for creativity and entertainment
vocal chants. The for the second year in a row). From the color guard acting as
introductory bass drum pirates, to a wind machine in the pit, to an "undulating waves"
roll from the original drill, to screaming soprano horns, the audience couldn't get
orchestral score was Multiple Percussion Individuals enough of the Scouts. They played three tunes by horn arranger
recreated by four con- Champion Nathan RatIiff, of the Scott Boermaand and one by percussion arranger Taras Nahirniak.
cert bass drums in the Cavaliers, from Rosemont, Illinois The Scouts also created one of the most exciting percussion fea-
pit. "It was like Battlestar Galactica coming overhead at the begin- tures of the season with a "sword fight" between the snares and the
ning of the show," laughs percussion caption head Bret Kuhn. tenors, conducted on a "spinning cymbal rack." "One side of the
The Cavies' percussion feature was developed in "Carillon rack had leaf-spring metal cut at the nodal points so that it would
Retinue," which featured textures and colors from every part of resonate," says percussion director Jeff Moore. "The six tenors
the battery on the field. "Little parts of the line would pop out and struck it with carriage bolts to create the 'clangy' sound of a
play," says Kuhn, "and then eventually form a section. Then the sword. The other side had ten Trash Set cymbals from Paiste, for a
next section would come in. The pit had some integral parts, too. 'white noise' effect that sounded like a sword striking a shield.
They were great for us this year." "In an actual sword fight," Moore continues, "sometimes you're
An interesting effect was created during "Carillon" when the the aggressor, sometimes you're the defender. We spun the rack to
snare drummers put 4" Bohning gel-like practice pads on their signify that change. The color guard decided that they were going
drumheads. Kuhn explains, "Playing on a pad in the center of a to jump on the rack—and there was our sword fight. Of course, if
Falam head makes the drum sound like an old rudimental field you got obsessed by the rack, you missed a great pit lick going on
drum. It's a cool snare sound." underneath it. It was both a musical and a visual moment."
The Crossmen, from Newark, Delaware, took sixth place (93.0; Last year's co-champions, the Phantom Regiment, from
Rockford/Loves Park, Illinois, placed light of the percussion show. "The program tunes, the pit featured some special sound
fourth (94.2; 9.2 in drums). Their show offered a lot of variety," says percussion effects, including a slapstick, a police
featured excerpts from Richard Wagner's caption head and arranger Jim Casella. whistle, cowbells, a sizzle strip, and metal
operatic cycle The Ring Of The Nibelung. "We had a little bit of jazz, plus a lot of bell plates.
Dressed all in black, with no props and emotional music from one end of the spec- Finishing second were the Cadets of
only one flag design for the color guard, trum to the other. It was very intense for Bergen County, from Bergenfield, New
the corps looked as if it would be more at the percussion." During one of the jazzier Jersey (97.6; 9.6 in drums). Their show,
home on a concert stage than a
football field.
Phantom Regiment's third tune,
"Hammering The Ring," had a per-
cussion feature that utilized six dif-
ferent-sized steel plates, plus a
variety of Sabian cymbal discs and
Mega-Bell ride cymbals. "In the
first opera of the Ring cycle, Das
Launren Vogel Weiss

Rheingold," explains percussion

coordinator and head arranger Kirk
Gay, "Wagner wrote a part for sev-
enteen anvils. We just expanded on Percussion Ensemble Champions, from the Santa Clara
that. Another highlight was 'Magic Vanguard: from left, Montgomery Hatch, Josh Bowman,
Leah Batt, Tanner Jacobsen, Erin Folchi, Eric Drotning,
Fire Music,' where we used the pit Jennifer Duckworth, and Johnathan Echols
and a small horn ensemble, then
added the battery—using thinner
sticks on the snares, felt mallets on
the tenors, and puffs on the bass
drums to try to get a totally differ-
ent, more orchestral sound."
The Santa Clara (California)
Vanguard took third place (96.9;
9.7 in drums). Their program, "Fog
City Sketches," featured music from
Leonard Bernstein's On The Town,
On The Waterfront, and Age Of
Anxiety. Cymbal Ensemble Champions, from the Santa Clara
On The Waterfront was the high- Vanguard: from left, Scott Wagner, Armondo Olivares,
Bobby Arriola, Peter Karnowski, and Rafael Bretado
which featured
music from
Phillip
Sparke's
Celebration
and Year Of
The Dragon,
won top honors
in the "Overall
General Effect"

Dan Scafidi
category.
"We had
three separate The Blue Devils, from Concord, California, won both the 1997 World
percussion fea- Championship and the "Best Drum Line" category.
tures," says
Tom Aungst, percussion caption head. color guard dressed in period ball gowns
"The first, in the opener, was a traditional, and white tuxedos, their music featured
'get the crowd going' movement. The sec- "The Marketplace" (based on Max
ond was to show the facility of the players. Steiner's Casablanca score), "One Night
The third was just kind of a 'rammin' solo In Bangkok" (from the Broadway show
where the percussion section got to show Chess), "Rick's Americain" (based on
off. The kids really enjoyed that." Dizzy Gillespie's "Night in Tunisia"), and
Concord, California's Blue Devils won "The World Will Always Welcome
an unprecedented ninth World Lovers" (based on Herman Hupfeld's "As
Championship with a score of 98.4. Their Time Goes By").
program was "As Time Goes By...," Along with the awards for "Best Guard,"
inspired by the film Casablanca. With their "Best Marching," "Musical Ensemble,"
"Brass Performance," and "Visual
Ensemble," the Blue Devils also won their
tenth "Percussion Performance" award
with a 9.8. A highlight of their percussion
show was the use of "cocktail" drumsets
during "Tunisia." "We wanted to play
authentic jazz," says percussion director
Scott Johnson. "We figured the best way to
do it was with drumsets. Since Casablanca
was set in the '40s, we wanted to bring
back the cocktail sets that were also from
that era." The pit also used djembes, finger
cymbals, tambourines, and a doumbek to
create authentic Moroccan sounds.
DCI's World Championships will return
to Orlando August 10-15, 1998. For more
information on drum & bugle corps, write
Drum Corps International at PO Box 548,
Lombard, IL 60148-4527, call (630) 495-
9866, or go on-line at www.dci.org. And
watch for a special supplement on march-
ing percussion in Modern Drummer's May
'98 issue.
by William F. Miller
"T
oday's drumset is essentially the that he lives for change; he thrives on inno- Traveler—has contained bits of creative
same instrument that was played vation. It's this inventive spirit that has dri- genius that have caused ripples across the
eighty years ago when it was first ven Bob Gatzen to become one of the most industry.
created. The drums are set up on the floor prolific design innovators in the history of Yes, Gatzen's design work has impacted
and we position ourselves next to them. the drumset. many different areas of drumming. But four
Why? Isn't there a better way to play the Some examples of Gatzen's patent-win- years ago Bob began to work towards
drums? Well, I felt it was time for a change." ning work? His snare drum designs for changing the entire drumset. "I made the
Change is the key word here from Bob
Gatzen, a man who spends most of his time
thinking of ways to improve products for "You don't realize how much ener-
drummers. With over twenty years of expe-
rience in the industry as a product designer,
gy is exerted just by holding your
drumshop owner, and most importantly, a
drummer, Gatzen has consistently shown
body in the traditional playing
position. I've been able to practice
for hours on the DrumFrame and
not feel tired. It's amazing."
Noble & Cooley in the mid-'80s spearhead- decision that I only wanted to invent things
ed a movement throughout the industry that would be unprecedented or revolution-
towards wider selection in sound and func- ary in nature," he says. "So much of what
tion. Bob's work with Evans drumheads, we see coming out today are really only
especially his radical ideas for subtle muf- 'tweaks'—minor changes in the products,
fling techniques (small holes, ports, Mylar like new finishes, sizes, or wood types. But
additions, pads), has improved the sound of how do these things help drummers or
drums (and inspired many imitators). Even expand the industry?"
his less grandiose work—designing sticks How could Gatzen improve the drumset in
for Regal Tip and cases for Tough a major way? According to Bob, "The only
area of the 'total drumset' that hasn't been
explored is ergonomics—how the drummer
and the drumset work together. Like I said,
that relationship hasn't changed since the
instrument was first created."
Gatzen decided to approach the problem
from a different angle.

Suitable For Framing

"I had some intuitive thoughts about sit-
ting at the drumset from different positions,"
Gatzen says, "but I didn't have a clear con-
cept of what to do." But thanks to Bob's
passion for drumming, he "backed into" the
right direction. "I keep a very busy schedule,
 wasn't driving), the concept came to him: "I was tilting back in the
car seat and my back was completely supported, which felt great,
and because of the angle there seemed to be less resistance with
the sticks hitting the pad. It was like, wow, this concept could be a
really cool innovation if I could somehow apply it to the drumset."
With a rough sketch of an idea in mind, Gatzen went to work on a
prototype. "The initial concept," Bob offers, "was to create a frame
that could support both the drumset and the drummer in a slight back-
ward-leaning angle that would gently hold the drummer against the
backrest of the seat. I made the first prototype out of wood, mounted
drums on it, and set it up in my studio next to a traditional kit. Then I
started playing, going back and forth between the two and observing
the differences in feel. It was obvious: The new, recumbent-position
design felt far superior to the traditional kit." i
Bob felt he was on to something, especially since he noticed that
he could play the "framed kit" for longer periods of time without
fatigue or back pain. But regarding the actual medical aspects of the
angled effect, Gatzen felt he should consult with an expert. He dis-
covered that noted physical therapist Peter Behnke, known for his
DrumFrame's V1 model does not require the use of their rack sys- work with musicians, dancers, and Olympic figure skaters Victor
tem. You can use floor stands to mount toms and cymbals. Petrenko and Oksana Baiul, owns a therapy center near Bob's
home. "I met Peter and asked him to come over to my studio,"
and to make sure I have time to practice, I keep practice pads all Gatzen says. "I had the framed kit set up next to a traditional kit,
over the place—in the bedroom, in the bathroom. I also have one in and I asked him to observe me playing both. Within five minutes he
the car, so when my wife drives I can sit in the passenger seat and pointed to the frame and said, 'That's the better way to play.'"
practice." Behnke was impressed: "Bob's drum frame displayed obvious
One day, while Bob was practicing in the car (presumably he advantages for playing the drumset. Creating additional back support
to reposition the spine increases mobility of the arms and legs. These patents for over twenty different design elements. With all of this
are critical elements in developing a relaxed and flowing motion at the momentum building, he felt it was time to begin manufacturing
drums." Gatzen, along with Behnke, began a long period of research the product. Gatzen's company, DrumFrame, was born.
to carefully measure the benefits of the concept. It was at this point
that Bob knew he had something special to offer to drummers. Behind Your Back
Having a good idea and turning that idea into a workable product Looking at the cockpit-like VI, the specific model offered by
are two very different things. Gatzen began a three-year process of Gatzen's DrumFrame company, you get the impression that it's a
creating various designs for the frame, honing the product with very involved product with many different parts. "I'd like to be sure
local craftsmen. "It was a very extensive prototyping procedure," to make the point that the VI is actually two separate elements,"
Bob admits. "I went to great lengths to find the best way to make Bob urges. "There is the basic frame, which holds the drummer,
the concept work and to make it flexible enough to work for any bass drum, snare drum, and hi-hat in a reclined position. You can
drummer." add floor stands to mount toms and cymbals around this basic
One particularly interesting area of Bob's research involved get- frame. The second element I designed for the frame, which can be
ting input from many drummers. "I needed to create a database of considered an option, is a new concept for a rack system that I call
different players' setups so I would be able to design a frame that 'frame work.' It does away with all of the floor stands."
could accommodate any drummer," he says. "I had a drumkit set Being able to use either a simple frame design or an involved
up in the back of Creative Music [Gatzen's drumshop], and as rack system shows that there is a great deal of flexibility designed
drummers would come in I would invite them to go to the kit and into the product. But let's answer the big question: How will the
set it up in such a way that they were comfortable. Then I took reclined position improve your playing? Bob jumps right in: "One
eighteen measurements to see exactly what the relationships were of the first things you will notice about drumming in a reclined
between the different elements of the kit. I did this with thirty position is that you'll be far less fatigued. If you're the type of
drummers, and it was invaluable for determining exactly how drummer who practices for long periods of time or who plays long
much flexibility I needed to design into the frame." gigs—those four-set nights—you'll be able to handle it much better,
After years of research and a strong gut feeling about the con- because the backrest completely supports and stabilizes the body.
cept, Gatzen went to work designing his first frame. When he said You don't realize how much energy is exerted just by holding your
that he only wanted to invent things that are unprecedented in body in the traditional playing position. I've been able to practice
nature, Bob wasn't kidding: Gatzen's frame has been awarded for hours on the DrumFrame and not feel tired. It's amazing.
 "Another thing that happens when work-
ing with the DrumFrame over time is that
you begin playing more from your 'power
center,' that point down near the lower
abdomen and the hips. Boxers and karate
experts talk about using a stance that gives
them more power, a stance that builds from
that lower torso area. That's exactly what
the frame promotes—a more powerful and
relaxed way to play the drums."
While a reclined position helping to sup-
port the back makes sense, how that posi-
tion affects a drummer's hand technique is
less obvious. "I have a test that you can try
to prove that the reclined angle will help
your technique," Gatzen says. "Hold a pair
of sticks and strike a flat surface and pay
attention to the way the sticks rebound.
Then walk over to a wall and tap on it. The
stick will come back at you much faster and
more easily. Of course, the DrumFrame
doesn't place you at that extreme of an
angle, but the principle is the same."
Another advantage Bob feels strongly
about is the consistency the DrumFrame
provides to a drummer's setup. "No matter
how involved a rack system may be or how
carefully you have your stands marked,
drummers can't exactly duplicate their
setup when they move it," he asserts.
"With a DrumFrame, your setup will
remain exactly as you have set it. Since the
seat, snare drum, bass drum, and pedals
attach to the frame, those distances do not
change. You have a consistent setup no
matter how many times you set up and tear
down. That consistency can really help
your performance."
It would seem that having so much of
the kit attached to the frame might affect
the sound of the drums. "It certainly does,"
Gatzen says. "For one thing, the bass drum
is supported on three points, so the sound is
improved because the drum is not being
forced into the ground. It makes the bass
drum sound bigger and feel more lively.
"Having everything attached to the
DrumFrame creates something I call
'shared vibrational energy': as you play the
kit everything is vibrating slightly. You
feel the kit in a big way because you are
connected to it through the frame. There's
also a phenomenon that happens that I call
the 'idling mode,' where all of the drums'
sound is enhanced because they're vibrat-
ing, yet it doesn't promote sympathetic
vibrations. To better explain the concept, I
use the analogy of a gong. To get the best designed in such a way that different parts [rack] if you already own a rack system."
sound out of a gong, you warm it up by of the mechanism perform multiple func- How adjustable is the seat? "The angle
getting it to vibrate before you hit it. That tions. What that means is we're able to and the height of the seat can be adjusted,
same effect is created with the design something that isn't too large. The and the height of the two backrests can be
DrumFrame. It warms up the drums." basic frame is 32" long." changed to provide the most comfortable
How long does it take to set up ? "It takes support for your back."
All The Angles no more time to set up your kit with a Does a drumkit that is set up "on an
The DrumFrame concept is radical. DrumFrame than it does a traditional kit, angle" affect a drummer's preferred
While it offers a lot of benefits to drum- because there are no floor stands to adjust. setup? "It doesn't have to. However, you
mers, it's understandable that there'd be a You just position it on the floor." may very well find a better way to set up
certain amount of reluctance to such a total- Does the DrumFrame require a special your kit—one that will help your playing—
ly new idea. To help alleviate some of the case? "Yes, and we provide it." once it's on the DrumFrame. For example,
fear, Bob Gatzen responded to several How do the pedals attach to the a jazz drummer who tried it found that he
drummer-specific questions. DrumFrame? "The basic mechanism has could play ride patterns more comfortably
How sturdy is the DrumFrame? "Very two small 'wings' that have a hook & loop after he moved his ride cymbal slightly to
sturdy. Our technique for fabricating the fastener attached to them. The pedals sit on the right and lower than it had been when
DrumFrame was to over-design. It's a tech- the wings and attach to the fastener. By the the kit was set up on the floor."
nique you see in aeronautics and automobile way, the bass drum pedal is not connected Drummers do occasionally have to sit in
development. The DrumFrame can hold up to the bass drum, which allows you to use a on other drummers' sets. If you're used to a
to anything, and it will not tip over." smaller bass drum and have the beater kit mounted on a DrumFrame, is it difficult
How heavy is it? "The basic frame com- strike the center of the head." to play a traditional kit? "It's just the oppo-
ponent—the part of the mechanism that Will the DrumFrame work with any site: I've found that the time spent playing a
holds the snare drum, bass drum, hi-hat, brand of drums? "Absolutely! It's designed kit mounted on a DrumFrame helps my pos-
and seat—weighs fifty-five pounds. The to accommodate all acoustic and electronic ture when I'm playing a traditional drumset.
seat itself weighs ten pounds and can be drums, and even certain types of hand The mechanism promotes the best playing
easily removed from the frame, reducing drums. And the basic frame will easily position, and you find yourself using that
the carrying weight to forty-five pounds." adapt to any brand of rack system. You position on any type of drumset."
Is the DrumFrame portable? "Yes. It's don't need to purchase our frame work Do drummers have to alter their kits in
any way to fit it to a DrumFrame? "Yes. I
recommend removing the legs from your
hi-hat stand. The legs are not necessary to
hold it in place—along with the hook &
loop fastener on the frame there's a bracket
designed especially for that function. You
must remove the legs from your snare
drum stand, as the downpost of the stand
fits into a clamp on the base of the mecha-
nism.
"One other thing to be aware of is the
bass drum hoop. Since the bass drum is
suspended above the point where the pedal
is mounted, you need to cut a small section
out of your bass drum hoop so that the
beater shaft can reach the head. However,
we do offer a specially-designed black
coated or chrome bass drum hoop with a
small slot as an accessory for those drum-
mers who don't want to cut their hoop."
How much does the basic DrumFrame
cost? "The retail price for the VI is under
$1,000."

A New Outlook
DrumFrame is making its introduction to
the drumming community at the Percussive
Arts Society International Convention,
November 19-22 in Anaheim, California. involved in the project, because not only is direct-sales basis from DrumFrame both
The VI will not only be available to check he a fantastic player, he's a very special through their Web site, which is
out on the exhibit hall floor; it will be seen person. And he's made several suggestions www.drumframe.com, and their toll-free
in use by DrumFrame's first endorser, the that have been very helpful." number, (888) 410-8884. (You can also get
Yellowjackets' Will Kennedy. "We don't Besides launching the VI at PASIC, more information about the company from
call them endorsers," Bob Gatzen corrects, Gatzen has several plans to promote either source.) Bob also has a videotape
"we call them 'drum partners.' We want DrumFrame. "We realized that it would be project in the works that would be, as he
the people associated with this company to impossible for us to open our doors and describes, "A video-manual showing the
not only believe in the concept of the prod- have hundreds of dealers stock the VI. We benefits of the DrumFrame in detail."
ucts, but to also believe in a philosophy of hope to have a few select music dealers Is DrumFrame the next step in the evolu-
trying to expand drumming, to modernize across the country carry it, so drummers tion of the drumset? There's no doubt
it, and to make drumming more accessible. who are interested in the VI can actually about it in Bob Gatzen's mind: "We're
It's incredibly exciting to have Will try it." At this point it's available on a heading into totally new territory here, and
drummers are going to benefit from it. To
me, the concept of recumbent drumming is
the way of the future. It offers so many
benefits to drummers that I sincerely
believe it will be accepted."
The question is, who will be the first
ones onboard? "I think every drummer
who sees or hears about DrumFrame will
be curious about it," Bob muses. "But the
first people who get into it will be the ones
with an adventurous spirit. Yeah, they'll be
the pioneers, out there discovering new
things about the concept—and taking the
instrument to the next level."
 SIGNIFICANT
OTHERS
RECORDINGS The taiko drummers of KODO are
captured in awesome tones by
producer Bill Laswell on their
Anthology Of Jazz Drumming latest release, Ibuki (TriStar Music).
Volume 1, 1904-1928/Volume 2, 1928-1935
Low on academics but high on
(Masters Of Jazz, Media 7) the good vibes produced by
top-level percussive interaction,
drummers: Tommy Benford, Vic Berton, Jimmy Bertrand, Baby Dodds, Buddy Gilmore, Talking Drummers (Homespun
Sonny Greer, Charlie Johnson, Howard Kopp, James I. Lent, Kaiser Marshall, Jack Roth, Video) features JACK
Tony Sbarbaro, Zutty Singleton, Cuba Austin, Paul Barbarin, Ray Bauduc, Wallace Bishop, DEJOHNETTE and longtime ally
Lionel Hampton, Brace Johnson, Walter Johnson, Stan King, Gene Krupa, Leroy Maxey, DON ALIAS "documenting the
Jimmy Spencer, George Stafford creative process of the drum as a
Behind the scratchy haze, a melodramatic megaphone-voice announces, '"The Ragtime complete instrument." Fans of
Drummer,' played by Mr. James Lent and the London Regimental Band! Edison Records!" the duo (who worked together in
Brittle syncopated snare rolls and brass band suddenly blare forth; it's the ghostly tinny sound the groundbreaking, early-'70s
Miles Davis lineup) are treated to
of history from a 1904 cylinder, heralding the opening of this ambitious journey through early rare in-the-studio clips of the pair
jazz drumming history. These two French-produced CDs, laying down hip drum & percus-
compiled by Phillipe Baudoin, are the initial releases of a sion grooves, reminiscing, and
forthcoming seven-CD anthology spanning 1904 to 1945. discussing the role of the drum-
The series will also serve as a cross-referenced companion mer in spontaneous music-mak-
to Georges Paczynski's book, Une Histoire de la Batterie ing. (Box 325, Woodstock, NY
de Jazz (in French only). 12498-0325, tel: (914) 246-2550,
The chronologically sequenced cuts begin with the "jazz fax: (914) 246-5282, e-mail:
hmspn@aolcom)
precursors" (brass bands, vaudeville, and ragtime), then
progress to early New Orleans jazz, the evolution of the ROD MORGENSTEIN shows off his
New Orleans style in Chicago, and the New York scene of usual quick-witted musicality on
the '20s. Volume 2 continues with the booming New York the self-titled debut from Rudess
scene of the late '20s into 1930, coverage of "territory Morgenstein Project (Domo
bands" (regional groups outside of New York and Records), where Rod plays with a
Chicago, mostly in the Southwest), washboard bands, and melodic ear, and rocks fiercely
a brief nod to tap dancing. Giants like Baby Dodds and Sonny Greer are featured, as well as with keyboard wiz Jordan
less-remembered figures such as Jack Roth. Rudess. (245 South Spalding Dr.,
Ste. 105, Beverly HilIs, CA 90212,
Although important for archival interest, the earliest recordings naturally suffer limited Web: www.domo.com)
fidelity, sometimes leaving only a splash cymbal and woodblock audible. But even when the
sonics are lacking, the drummers' spirits and pulse permeate the cuts; the evolution of time- NARADA MICHAEL WALDEN's solo
feel within changing jazz styles is evident. recording career is the focus of
If the next five releases fulfill their promise, this set will endure as a valuable document, Ecstacy's Dance: The Best Of
especially since most jazz anthologies cover little pre-swing history. The ample booklets fea- Narada Michael Walden (Rhino).
ture informative, scholarly biographies, historic texts, recommended reading lists, and detailed It's a study in groovesmanship, a
track info. Keep the guide open as you enjoy the cuts, and you'll be treated to a fun and growing sense of the recording
enlightening history/heritage lesson. (Masters Of Jazz, [800] 888-8574) studio as a tool, and a display of
his graceful, masterful drumming
Jeff Potter prowess.

Killing Culture TERRY SILVERLIGHT came on the

scene with Barry Miles' band
Killing Culture (Edel America) twenty years ago, and since then
has quietly built up an impressive
drummer: Pat McGrath resume. Silverlight's composing,
with Paul Puljiz (bs), Marcus Peyton (vcl), Scott Sargeant (gtr) programming, and playing
Some would argue there's no discernible range of quality in death metal, that there's no chops shine on a new self-titled,
occasionally daring pop instru-
good death or bad death—just death. And they'd be dead wrong. Killing Culture is among the mental release. (CEI Cymekob,
few new bands of this ilk injecting fire, passion, and creativity. PO Box 600, Daly City, CA 94017-
Their self-titled disc is so good, in fact, that some would argue it 0600)
isn't death at all.
While the lyrics often border on a deathly domain, Peyton's
voice is refreshingly distinctive and palatable, and the musicians
behind him are clear and precise without sacrificing aggression.
Drummer Pat McGrath leads with his feet, delivering taut and
fast double-kick through much of the record. But just when you
start growing punch-drunk from the onslaught, McGrath breaks
up the kicks with tasty fills, hand-foot exchanges, and cool
grooves.
 McGrath's beat in "Resurrection 2000" is relatively simple, standing of the clave and Afro-
yet so well executed—particularly his use of the hi-hat—that the Cuban music to master.
entire groove could have been created around his performance. Listening to the percussion-
An avalanche of toms breaks up "Slave Of One." Then just when filled performance of Cuban drum-
you think McGrath can't play any faster, here comes the bridge mer Horacio "El Negro"
of "Rhetoric God." Hernandez on Thru My Eyes
Killing Culture is reminiscent of the band Death, particularly makes it all sound easy, though.
in its Symbolic era, though there's also an edge of thrash you Hernandez incorporates a vast
have to attribute somewhat to producer Scott Ian, best known as array of Latin percussion into his
a guitarist in Anthrax. No matter who's responsible for what, drumset, including timbales, bon-
they can all take credit for a striking record—deadly or not. gos, and lots of cowbells, generat-
(Koch International, [800] 688-3482) ing an ensemble effect that adds diversity and authenticity to
Matt Peiken Camilo's intricate trio arrangements. El Negro's unique use of
the left-foot cowbell to produce clave patterns beneath his
T.S.Monk already complicated grooves makes it hard to believe this is all
coming from one person. "A Night In Tunisia," Chick Corea's
Monk On Monk (N2K Encoded Music)
"Armando's Rhumba," and "Mambo Inn" are the best examples
of Horacio's ambidextrous multi-layered technique. Hernandez's
drummer:T.S.Monk sensitive, dynamic, and thought-provoking concept on Thru My
with Willie Williams, Bobby Porcelli, Roger Rosenberg, Howard Eyes has raised the level of Latin jazz drumming to new heights.
Johnson (sx), Don Sickler, Virgil Jones, Laurie Frink, Wallace Drummer Cliff Almond also appears on several tracks, with
Roney (trp), Eddie Bert (tbn), Danilo Perez, Ronnie Matthews, his "School of Weckl" Latin approach, giving notable perfor-
Herbie Hancock, Geri Allen (pno), Ron Carter, Dave Holland, mances on "St. Thomas" and "Manteca."
Gary Wang, Christian McBride (bs), David Amram (fr hn), Mike Haid
Kevin Mahogany, Dianne Reeves, Nnenna Freelon (vcl),
plus guest soloists
Being the offspring of a legend can be dicey. A pianist son of
CannonballAdderleyQuintet
a renowned jazz figure once told me that after performing his Paris, 1960 (Pablo)
own material, he was often confronted by rude club-goers
demanding to hear his father's famous hit. T.S. has long since drummer: Louis Hayes
transcended such stigmas, forging with Cannonball Adderley (al sx), Nat Adderley (cor),
his own identity as a strong, smart, Victor Feldman (pno), Sam Jones (bs)
swinging drummer and bandleader Cannonball's quintet was the opening act on Norman Granz's
over the course of several albums. 1960 Jazz At The Philharmonic tour, and this disc contains two
Yet, now he has made his finest, brief opening sets they performed one evening. Charming tunes
most exciting, and personal record and a great lineup grace Paris, 1960.
by embracing his dad's composi- Cannonball and brother Nat form a
tional legacy in this all-Thelonious savvy, ferocious front-line, and
tribute. Louis Hayes sounds wonderful on
Kudos to T.S.'s wise leadership this never-before-released recording,
and Don Sickler's wonderful driving a superb rhythm section.
arrangements for the inspired sounds here; they know Monk's Hayes pushes "Jeannine" with a
music was meant to be deep but brimming with fun as well. rimshot and well-placed bombs; this
T.S.'s vibrant drumming lifts the brilliant soloists and luminous is supreme swing, hard-charging and
ensemble from peak to peak. His authoritative touch manages to tasty, with no let-up for nine min-
make the "small big-band" sound huge and kicking, yet as inti- utes-plus. The right hand is simply
mate as a smaller, interactive band. Too many tributes become unmovable. "Dis Here" is taken in a strange waltz tempo that
bogged in self-conscious sincerity; this magic session swings Hayes sticks to religiously in the early going before spreading it
like it's the first time. gracefully around the set. Hayes has extraordinary equality in the
Jeff Potter left and right side of his playing, and he fascinatingly shifts the
emphasis at irregular junctions. The time is like a rock, so he can
MichelCamilo just have fun with the rest of it. A highly sophisticated perfor-
Thru My Eyes (TropiJazz) mance by a master rhythmatist.
Robin Tolleson
drummers:Horacio"ElNegro"Hernandez,CliffAlmond
with Michel Camilo (pno), Anthony Jackson, Lincoln Goines, BluesTraveler
John Patitucci (bs) Straight On Till Morning (Polygram)
The music of Santo Domingo-born pianist Michel Camilo has
consistently upheld a rich tradition of exciting and inventive drummer: BrendanHill
Latin jazz drumming. His early recordings Suntan, Why Not, percussionists: Brendan Hill, Sammy Figueroa
Michel Camilo, and On Fire feature the mind-bending Latin with John Popper (hrm, vcl, gtr), Chan Kinchla (gtr),
drumming of Dave Weckl and Joel Rosenblatt, and the more Bob Sheehan (bs), John Medeski (org)
recent projects showcase the talents of Cliff Almond. A deep Blues Traveler isn't what you'd consider a drummer-led
understanding of complex odd meters, four-way independence, group. But listen closely: It's amazing how much of their materi-
and traditional Latin rhythms are mandatory in Camilo's materi- al is fueled and driven by the solid, in-the-pocket New Jersey-
al, which seemingly requires a lifetime of practice and under-
brand Southern rock drumming of Robben Ford
Brendan Hill. Tiger Walk (Blue Thumb)
There are little gems throughout
...Morning: Hill's simple, out-
front syncopation on "Felicia," the
drummer:SteveJordan
musicality of his work on
with Robben Ford (gtr), Charlie Drayton (bs),
"Canadian Rose," the driving
Bernie Worrell (org, clavinet), other musicians
groove of "Business As Usual." Giving his chops a back seat, Steve Jordan lets his supple feel
And check out the precise stick do all the talking on this collection of funky blues tunes (or is
and rimshot work on "Most that bluesy funk tunes?). The spare arrangements, in which
Precarious," as well as the sensi- groove reigns supreme, combined
tive ensemble instrumental work behind vocalist Popper on with the instrumentation of bass,
"Make My Way." drums, keys, and guitar, place
"Great Big World" is an effective collaboration between Hill Tiger Walk firmly in the classic
(music) and Popper (lyrics), with a tight double-time hi-hat early funk neighborhood of the Meters
on, and some wide-open stickwork later. To add to the impact, and the JBs. The mitigating factor
the sound of the drums is excellent here, and each slight kick is that this is, after all, an instru-
impacting the music is documented well by producer-engineers mental guitar record, and Ford
Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero at Bearsville, Sear himself (with his wah-enhanced,
Sound, and other New York studios. Hill's on-target playing cer- speech-like tone) supplies all the
tainly gave them plenty to work with. slinky melody lines and takes the
Robin Tolleson bulk of the solos, which are sear-
ing and inventive, while the rhythm section parties behind him.
Each tune finds Jordan coming up with a signature beat that he

VIDEOS
Drumset Artists Of Cuba DCI would be well served to expand on this concept and real-
ly dig into the heads of Raul Pineda and Jimmy Branly; these
by Chuck Silverman two young monsters should soon be joining the ranks of Horacio
(Palito Productions) "El Negro" Hernandez in deification by the drum community.
Mike Haid
level:advanced
$24.95,60minutes Hand Drumming
Chuck Silverman has provided an enormous service to the
world drumming community by capturing four of the finest Afro- by John Bergamo
Cuban drummers performing in their native land of Cuba (with (Tal Mala)
the exception of the performance of
the group Sintesis, filmed in level:beginnertoadvanced
Montreaux, Switzerland). $55(withaccompanyingbookandCD)
Although we are correctly This video/audio/book package presents ideas for hand drum
warned that the audio and visual technique mostly derived from fingering patterns used by drum-
quality of this video are sub-par mers in India. Bergamo presents us with fingering patterns, the
(camera angles are highly restrict- use of vocal syllables to express rhythm and meter, and drum
ed), the wealth of ideas and tech- harmonics.
niques displayed are worth straining All of these ideas are adaptable to any drums played with the
your eyes and ears for. Drummers hands. To demonstrate this, Bergamo presents seven solos on
Raul Pineda (Sintesis) and Jimmy djembe, frame drum, congas, spaghetti pot, and various combi-
Branly (NG La Banda) open with an nations thereof, which demonstrate the many possibilities using
astonishing Roach vs. Rich-style these lessons. The written manual includes a discussion of the
drum duet, displaying the influences concepts, fingering and rhythm notations, a rhythm scale of
of Dave Weckl, Dennis Chambers, vocal syllables, and an addendum, which analyzes some of the
Vinnie Colaiuta, and Steve Gadd on solos. The CD contains sixteen demonstrations, which include
this new generation of Latin/jazz pronunciation of the rhythm scale syllables, various subdivisions
drummers. More "traditional Latin"- of beats, meters, and some excerpts from the CD On The Edge.
sounding in their technique are The video is a supplement that visually demonstrates some
Jose Manuel Sanchez with his band Rojitas and Samuel Formell solos and many of the ideas presented.
with Los Van Van. Mr. Bergamo encourages much experimentation with the
All four drummers are shown performing with their bands, and given syllables, or substitution of your own. This brings us to the
each incorporates Latin percussion in their drumkits, providing realization that the same pattern can be played on different res-
groundwork for new and very challenging ideas to explore. onating surfaces to achieve different sounds. It follows that one
Though there are a few short lesson segments, without the can get more mileage with the same "lick." As stated by Mr.
accompanying mini-booklet the majority of this information is Bergamo, "Yes, there are some kitchen sinks that have incredi-
nearly impossible to digest, especially since none of the drum- ble sounds when played with the hands."
mers speak English. (Silverman does supply subtitles for the les- Victor Rendon
son segments.)
adheres to with minimal fills and embellishment, emphasizing hauls them across the sea and into
economy over flash to the point that every cymbal crash or brief the streets of Brazil. He's aided by a
switch to the ride has tremendous impact. He plays for the tune, flood of talent on this album: pro-
making the quick ones percolate, and letting the slow ones ducer Wally Badarou of Benin, New
breathe. To sum it up: Once Steve Jordan shimmies into the pock- York-Brazil connector Arto
et, he's not coming out. Lindsay, and a host of vocalists
Michael Parillo including Caetano Veloso, Marisa
Monte, Gilberto Gil, and Gal Costa.
Carlinhos Brown The seamless mesh of talents and
styles in this album is quite extraor-
Alfagamabetizado (Metro Blue/Capitol)
dinary.
The smoothness of Brazilian music lies in its deceptiveness, and
percussionists: Carlinhos Brown, Boghan, others Brown is a master of deception. "Covered Saints" is, to a casual
with other musicians listener, just a sweet pop song, but listen closely to the musical
This master of the Brazilian beat has taken many famous artists bed. Carlinhos lays down a bass tambourine, unexpected wood
to the outside edge with his creative approach to rhythmic struc- blocks, an acoustic guitar that almost disappears at times, and
ture. He has played drums for (and his songs have been recorded layer upon layer of instruments that come and then quickly go,
by) Sergio Mendes, Djavan, Daniela Mercury, Gal Costa, Caetano quoting West African styles, reggae grooves, and mainstream jazz.
Veloso, and countless others. Alfagamabetizado gives us the full None of it is obvious, but all of it is important.
vision of the man who re-named himself after James, the godfather In music the whole is not always the sum of its parts; it is the
of soul. echo of them, the residue left when you filter out the individual
Alfagamabetizado pulls together modern dance grooves and ideas and are presented with the greater reality—the long note, the
merges them with the rhythms of the world, from Africa to Arabia groove that sits apart from the music. Carlinhos Brown has heard
to East LA. In the classic Brazilian style of tropicalia, Carlinhos that note and played that groove, and he's finding ways to get it on
takes the cliches of Caribbean and North American pop music and tape.
Cliff Furnald

BOOKS
The Bongo Book The Vibes Real Book
by Trevor Salloum (Mel Bay) by Arthur Lipner (MalletWorks Music)
level: beginner to intermediate level: beginner to advanced
$17.95 (with accompanying CD) $34.95
In The Bongo Book the author attempts to fill a void in instruc- The Vibes Real Book is—just as it claims—"the ultimate book
tional material for bongos. A short history of the instrument is pro- for vibes," especially for people who are learning the instrument.
vided, tracing the bongos to its roots in Cuba during the early The first 68 pages of this 200+ page spiral-bound book includes
1900s in a style of music called "son." This is followed by a sections on method, theory, and improvisation. Useful musical
description of the instrument and the correct position for playing exercises are interspersed with thorough text explanations on
it, a discussion of clave, and the creation of different sounds, topics from dampening to chord voicings to scales.
which the author calls "strokes." The "martillo" (the main pattern But the heart of the book is the section on repertoire. Lipner
or ride on the bongos) is thoroughly discussed, accompanied by presents each of six songs ("Bag's Groove," "Don't Get Around
photos showing the hand and finger positions. This is followed by Much Anymore," "St. Thomas," "Waltz For Debby," "My Little
many variations starting on different parts of the measure. One- Suede Shoes," and "Moonlight In Vermont") in a step-by-step
bar fills are also provided in a later section, which gives the read- progression. "Step 1" is the basic melody; "Step 2" adds the
er an idea of how to play improvised riffs on the bongos. chord roots; "Step 3" is a two-mallet solo; "Step 4" is a two-mallet
Other aspects of the book include warm-up exercises, the use arrangement; "Step 5" is a harmonized melody; "Step 6" is a left-
of a handbell, and adaptations of jazz, rock, Brazilian, danzon, hand accompaniment; "Step 7" is a four-mallet solo; and "Step 8"
Mozambique, and other styles. The accompanying CD demon- is a four-mallet arrangement. A bonus seventh song ("Solar") is a
strates all the examples in the book. complete transcription of Lipner's performance with a quartet.
Among the best treats of the book are interviews with Jack Keyboard percussionists will welcome this book to their reper-
Costanzo, Armando Peraza, Jose Mangual Sr., and Candido toires, and drumset players—especially those with limited knowl-
Camera, four prominent bongo players in the United States. A edge of harmonic structures and improvisation—should immedi-
glossary of terms is also provided, as well as a bibliography and ately add this to their libraries. Congratulations, Mr. Lipner, on
a list of resources, which names several other prominent "bongo- taking the mystery out of making music!
ceros." What is lacking, however, is an in-depth study of how to Andrea Byrd
play "repiques" (riffs) and solos in clave, which could have been
provided by showing transcription examples from some of the
masters mentioned. Despite this, the book will serve as a good
beginner's source for people wanting to find some basic informa-
tion on this much-overlooked instrument.
Correction
Victor Rendon In the review of Bill Bruford's If Summer Had Its Ghosts i n
November's Critique, we incorrectly stated that Joe Morello appears on
the cut "Some Other Time." Ghosts is available from Discipline
Records' mail-order hotline, (213) 937-3194.
 Lessons In Listening, Part 2
by Steve Anisman

L
ast month we discussed the concept of "listening actively," chickaboom chickaboom" thing.
examining recorded works with an analytical ear, understand- Another important Latin concept is the clave ("KLAH-vay").
ing the concepts behind the playing, and then hopefully apply- The clave is the Latin music equivalent of rock's backbeat. Latin
ing what we've learned to our own playing. This month we'll look drumming is a very important part of good drumming, and you
at specific songs and discuss the musical concepts they clearly will have a huge advantage over your competitors if you under-
illustrate. stand Latin rhythms. In this song, listen to how far ahead of the
I've tried to limit myself to songs that have stood the test of beat Airto is, and how he manages not to rush. Notice how the
time; feel free to use other examples when making your own drumming is mostly straightforward and supportive, with not too
"compilation" tapes, as we discussed last month. Ask yourself (or many flourishes. He's not showing off, he's just doing his job, yet
your students) to figure out where each drummer (and later, where he manages to communicate to the listener that this music is per-
each of the other members of the band) is playing in relation to the cussive and very Latin. Most importantly, he makes everyone else
beat. Try to figure out how they are communicating their respect sound great.
for the quarter note. Try to figure out how they enable the other
members of the band to sound good. Listen to when (if at all) they "Jessica" (The Allman Brothers Band:
take any opportunities to show off, and try to figure out how (if at Brothers And Sisters, Butch Trucks £ Jaimoe)
all) they got away with it. Try to figure out what it is that these This one is a big, swinging, Southern rock groove. You can hear
drummers are doing that makes the music feel so good. that the whole band is thinking about and contributing to the
groove. The nature of this one is to give all of the 8th notes an
"Black Cow" (Steely Dan: Aja, Paul Humphrey) almost equal weight, with a slight emphasis on the backbeats, and
Play this song note for note, all the way through, and see if you a constant hint of a flowing dotted quarter note added for flavor. It
can keep the groove as wide open as Paul does. It's not a showy sounds very seamless and musical, and if you don't listen very
part, but he nails it. A thought to keep in mind when playing along carefully it might sound like Butch and Jaimoe were just having
with tapes: If you're playing the part correctly, you won't be able to fun. I'm sure they were having fun, but they also listened to the
hear the drummer on the tape, but your drums will sound like his: other musicians. Notice how they pick up on the little rhythmic
When you hit your tom, it will have the same timbre as the drum- statements the other members of the band are making. Everyone
mer's on the tape. This is obviously because it is the taped drum- gets quiet together, and everyone gets loud together. The drum-
mer's tom you're hearing. But if you're really "locked in," you mers emphasize the cool rhythmic figures of the soloists, which
won't be able to tell the difference, and things will sound very cool. makes the soloists sound better and makes the band sound more
like a cohesive group. Notice, however, that although the drum-
"Fantasy" (Earth Wind £ Fire: All 'N All, Freddie White) mers are trying to pick up on what the other bandmembers are
These guys, along with George Clinton, Stevie Wonder, Sly & doing, they never forget to keep the pulse moving. And the time
the Family Stone, James Brown, and a few other people, virtually never shifts.
invented the modern concept of "groove." It started as funk, with
the emphasis on the "downbeat," meaning the "1" or the first (and "Dixie Chicken"
sometimes third) beat of every measure. It's the beat where you (Little Feat: Dixie Chicken, Richie Hayward)
tap your foot, something EWF is great at making you do. They A really fat, cool, Cajun/funk groove. Listen to how Richie
make sure that you know the location of every quarter note. "locks in" with conga player Sam Clayton. Even though the snare
drum makes a brief, percussive sound, the fact that it's being
"Spain" (Chick Corea: Light As A Feather, Airto Moreira) played behind the beat makes it sound fatter, seeming to take more
This is a Latin jazz groove called a samba. It's very important, space each beat.
and mastering it will make you a better drummer. It's a fast "boom
 "Escape" (Journey: Escape, Steve Smith) does on the cymbals. The right hand should lead the rest of the
Yes, Journey was cool in the '70s, and this music sounds a little body. But at the same time, the right hand should be responding to
dated today. Steve Smith is one very smart drummer, though, and the rest of the band and to the groove. Good jazz cymbal playing
what he figured out is still as true today as it was then. This is an imitates a bass player playing a good bass line.
interesting contrast to the previous song: Steve has his snare drum
tuned loosely, but he plays ahead of the beat, so somehow it "Rosanna" (Toto: Toto IV, Jeff Porcaro)
sounds more "percussive" than the tightly tuned snare in "Dixie This groove, which is famous in its own right, is based on
Chicken." another, equally famous groove: the Purdie Shuffle, originally
Listen to the little things Steve does to highlight the quarter invented by Bernard Purdie. Jeff Porcaro starts with perfect time,
notes: hi-hat swishes leading into the bass drum and snare beats, and plays a well-spaced shuffle with cool syncopations in the bass
ghost-note drags on the snare leading into the downbeats, and an drum. But what really makes this kick is the use of ghost notes in
insistence on hitting something on each quarter note, even when the space between the shuffles. Each "shuffle" uses two of the
the band is playing syncopated parts. This is something called three notes in a triplet: the first and the third. Jeff barely brushes
"setting up figures," which Steve learned as a jazz drummer. It the stick against the snare drum on the other note, and this is called
means that you don't just let the horns (or the band) hit random a "ghost note." Try playing this groove with the ghost notes and
syncopated notes in space. Instead, you tell them exactly where the then without them. There's a world of difference, even though the
beat is by playing something that helps to clarify it. This helps ghost notes are barely audible on the album. Jeff used a very simi-
everyone hit the "punches" together. You want to do this in a lar groove on "The Lido Shuffle" with Boz Scaggs, and it sounds
musical way, which you only learn through practice (and, of great there, too. (By the way, if you "open" the shuffle up a little
course, through listening). bit, you're moving towards a reggae groove—you need to empha-
size the "3" and do a few other things, too, but that's for another
"Swingin' At The Haven" (Branford Marsalis: lesson....)
Royal Garden Blues, Ralph Peterson)
Swing is a very particular kind of groove that takes lots and lots "Shadows In The Rain"
of listening to jazz music to understand. This is one of my favorite (Sting: Dream Of The Blue Turtles, Omar Hakim)
examples. The essence of jazz drumming is in the right hand: You This beat is a variation on the Purdie Shuffle, with Omar Hakim
can always tell if a drummer swings by listening to what he or she really pushing the band. This grooves not only because of where
Omar plays in relation to the beat (quite a bit ahead, in my estima- "Lone Jack" (Pat Metheny Croup:
tion), but also because of the spacing of his notes. It's possible to Pat Metheny Group, Danny Cottlieb)
play shuffles with a lot of room between the two shuffled notes, Listen to what Danny does with the ride cymbal on this light-
and it's also possible to play shuffles without a lot of that space. speed samba. The quarter notes go by so quickly here that you
Omar doesn't leave a lot of space; the first "shuffle beat" comes need to pay constant attention. Dan and Mark Egan (the bass play-
only a fraction of a second before the strong beats, and makes er) are close friends, which is probably the only reason they were
things feel a little rushed. (They're not, they just feel that way.) ever able to play this song. They are so locked in to one another
that they manage to make room in this track for Pat and Lyle
"Moondance" (Mays, keyboards) to really stretch out. You should hope to have a
(Van Morrison: Moondance, Gary Mallaber) relationship like this with a bass player once in your life; it will
Listen to how Gary and the bassist are exactly together. (It make you sound really good. Listen to how the drums are being
sounds like the drummer is playing the bass guitar with his ride used as a musical instrument, and to how they highlight the play-
cymbal.) Listen to how aware they are of the passage of each quar- ing of the other musicians. Note how Danny sits out (doesn't play)
ter note. Listen to how they never do anything to take away from during part of the piano solo (and then comes in being immediate-
the importance of a single quarter note during the entire song. This ly supportive), how he makes the piano solo groove even more
is an incredible demonstration of musicality and tasteful drum- when he re-enters, how he complements the guitar solo, and how
ming. Also important is the nice "chick" Gary makes with the hi- everyone is so together all the time.
hat on the backbeats ("upbeats," technically, in jazz), and how he
also uses a cross-stick to add emphasis to those upbeats. "The First Circle"
(Pat Metheny Croup: First Circle, Paul Wertico)
"Fembot In A Wet T-Shirt" All of the songs so far have been primarily variations on 4/4
(Frank Zappa: Joe's Garage, Vinnie Colaiuta) feels. This song is a great example of how these concepts can be
Vinnie is about two thousand light-years ahead of the rest of us applied to more complicated time signatures. The main time signa-
in terms of being able to groove. Buy this album and listen to it ture is 22/8, with parts in 4/4 and a piano solo in 9/8. Yet you
until your ears bleed, and you still won't be able to understand never notice the time signature changing. The flow just moves you
what he's doing. Just fry to play this song the way he does, and right through it, mainly based on the strength and musicality of
you'll know what I'm talking about. Paul Wertico's ride-cymbal playing. The time is rock-solid, and
the drummer never shows off—but he and "What Would You Say" few seconds. Notice the rock-solid time,
everyone else sounds incredible. This hap- (Dave Matthews Band: and the use of syncopation as a device to
pens because Paul is supporting the band, Under The Table And Dreaming, "push" the band—particularly his use of
keeping the pulse, and listening to what's Carter Beauford) the hi-hat (as well as the bass drum, which
going on around him. Normally, the focus Carter Beauford is part of a group that is locked in with the bass player). Notice
would have to be on the quarter note, but in includes John Molo (Bruce Hornsby's the strength Carter gives to each backbeat,
a song based on rhythmic groupings of 2 drummer), Joey Baron (currently playing and the confidence with which he plays
and 3, that doesn't work. So Paul redefines with John Zorn), Paul Wertico, and just a quarter notes on the bell of the ride cymbal.
the pulse, sometimes letting it last two 8th few others who are defining the new breed This guy takes a lot of liberties beyond his
notes; sometimes lasting three. This track is of "smart drummers" these days. In this basic role of timekeeper in this band, but
a great education in how to play the drums song, notice how Carter drives the pulse by he does it within a framework of being a
in a musical way, while still doing your job accenting every quarter note on the snare rock-solid workhorse, so the added bits of
as the timekeeper. Plus, it's a great song. drum when the song shifts into 3/4 for a cleverness propel the music instead of dis-
tract from it.

Other important examples worthy of

study include: Gene Krupa ("Sing, Sing,
Sing" with Benny Goodman); Buddy Rich
("Norwegian Wood"); John Bonham
("Fool In The Rain" with Led Zeppelin);
Steve Gadd ("Aja" with Steely Dan,
"[Round, Round, Round] Blue Rondo A La
Turk" with Al Jarreau, "50 Ways To Leave
Your Lover" with Paul Simon, "Chuck E's
In Love" with Rickie Lee Jones); David
Garibaldi ("What Is Hip" and "Squib
Cakes" with Tower Of Power); Keith
Moon ("Who Are You" with the Who);
Manu Katche ("Red Rain" and "In Your
Eyes" with Peter Gabriel); Stewart
Copeland ("Every Little Thing She Does"
and "Synchronicity" with the Police); John
Guerin ("Help Me" with Joni Mitchell);
Alex Acuna ("Ascent" with Lyle Mays,
"Birdland" with Weather Report); Elvin
Jones ("Resolution" with John Coltrane);
Bill Bruford ("Long Distance Runaround"
and "Heart Of The Sunrise" with Yes); Joe
Morello ("Take Five" with Dave
Brubeck); Neil Peart ("Limelight" and
"Subdivisions" with Rush); Phil Collins
("No Reply At All" with Genesis); and
Jaco Pastorius ("Teen Town" with
Weather Report).
There are lots of lessons to be learned
from each of the drummers listed here, as
there are from thousands of other drum-
mers around the planet. So keep your ears
open.
by Phil Philcox around $30 to run a ten-word ad for ten days if
the item costs more than $500. During the

I
f you're in the market for a used set of time the ad runs, the seller deals with an assort-
drums, there are some excellent deals out ment of annoying callers: deadbeats with no money,
there—if you know how to buy. It all comes people who just want to talk drums, lookers, testers,
down to your ability to strike a deal, and the winner would-be musicians, insultingly low offers, and people
is the one who walks away with what he or she who are downright crazy. Often, the seller wonders if
wants—the drums or the money! he's ever going to sell his drums.
My last three drumsets were all purchased used, and According to the advertising manager of my town's
I'm a legend in local music circles for winding up with paper, about 70% of advertisers who don't sell on the
fantastic stuff at rock-bottom prices. I use what I call the first ten-day run renew their ads for another ten days. The
"psychological buying system." It's based on the fact remaining 30% are dropouts, no longer interested in
that once a seller decides to sell something, he really investing another $30. After the second run, only 30%
wants that money. Here's how it works: renew their ads. That means there are a lot of drums out
First, figure out how much you have to spend. If it's there for sale, but not being advertised. Also, stay alert for
$1,000 or less, add $30 for each $100. If it's more sets advertised last week at "$650 firm," but at "$550 firm"
than $1,000, add $150 for each $100 over $1,000. For this week. That's a good indication the seller is getting restless.
example, if you have $800 to spend, you can consider And because you kept your list, you know it!
sets selling for around $1,040 ($800 plus $240). If you
have $1,200 to spend, you can consider sets selling for Making Your Move
up to $1,500, and possibly more. This is called your Once you have a good list of dropouts, Xs, and price-chang-
"dealing edge," which enables you to at least consider ers, it's time to move. Start with the first entry on your list—the
drumkits you think you can't afford, but probably can if oldest and hopefully the most desperate. Call and ask if the
you use the system. drums are still for sale. If they are, ask the standard questions
regarding condition, features, and age. If it still sounds inter-
Working The Classifieds esting, arrange for a personal visit.
We'll limit our search to private sellers who advertise If I were in the seller's shoes, I'd start getting excited. Think
in the classified section of the newspaper under "musical about it. I just spent $30 to $90 or more trying to sell those
instruments." Advertising costs money. And when an ad drums. I've dealt with an assortment of annoying people and
doesn't produce buyers, the seller has to run the ad still haven't sold anything. I'm anxious to order that new set I
again. In large cities they also have to compete with recently saw in MD, but I can't until a buyer shows up with
other drum sellers, so their patience level can quickly some money.
dwindle. After you've checked out the drums, and assuming you
Start out by keeping a daily list of sets being like what you see, make an offer. Go prepared; offer the
offered that meet your "dealing edge" figure. If you seller cash on the spot. Green is an exciting color. Checks
live in a small town, check the Sunday edition of are boring and suspect. If you're hesitant to carry a lot of
nearby big-city newspapers. Take notes on asking cash, be prepared to leave a deposit and ask the seller to
price, seller's phone number, and exactly meet you at the bank.
what's being offered. If the ad was Always show the seller some respect.
in the newspaper yesterday but not Make an offer that can seriously be con-
today, mark that entry with a big sidered, rather than one he'll be forced to
X. What happened to that drumset? Was refuse. I've found that sellers often start
it sold, or is it still for sale? If it's still available out asking top dollar because they think
but no longer being advertised, only you and the seller know it's they can get top dollar, they put more value on the drums than they're
still out there, which further builds up your edge. actually worth, or they want to cover the cost of advertising. What
Let's pause for a moment and look at the mechanics of selling a they start out with and what they wind up with weeks or months later
used set for $600 through the classifieds. In my town, it costs are often two different things. Remember, as time passes without a
sale, the seller's hopes fade. if your phone rings later that night and some guy says, "I've been
Even if the seller turns down your offer, always leave your thinking it over. You can have them for $525, and I'll throw in my
name and number. If you've picked the right seller, with the right Engelbert Humperdinck fake book and sequined band jacket."
itch and the right set of drums, at the right time, don't be surprised

name" set I found for $150 at a higher price.

Pawn Shop Power the answer is "no," you're probably better off
leaving the drum for someone else to take a But at $150, I could justify putting the set on
chance on. If it's necessary to replace heads layaway, and then taking it to my guitarist's
As a sales rep for a company that sells to pawn or hardware, you'll want to adjust what you house for rehearsals. My original idea was to
shops, I spend a good deal of time in these pay for the item. Don't be afraid to haggle. avoid schlepping my primary kit for rehearsal
stores. I've been lucky enough to find some once a week, thereby saving wear and tear on
real bargains during my visits, including a set of Know What You Want both me and my drums. Whatever the "no-
Toca bongos for $40, a hi-hat stand with Keep a list of what you want or need. name" set sounded like, I got my money's
Zildjian New Beat hi-hat cymbals for $140, and Research those items to determine what you'd worth. Happily, these drums actually sound
a "no-name" drumset for $150. My most recent pay for them new. The more you know about quite good since I put new heads on them.
find was a nice cymbal bag with two Zildjian A the various lines and models of drums and Buying used is also a great way to pick up
20" ride cymbals, a pair of 14" Zildjian Scimitar cymbals, the better prepared you'll be to spot a items you don't really need, but would like to
Rock hi-hats, and a Sabian AA 18" medium bargain when you see one. If you need specific have. I've yet to use my pawn shop bongos
crash—all for just $120! items, carry a list with you. Explain what you're on stage, so it would have been hard to justify
Pawn shops provide an alternative source looking for to the clerk, and make an offer buying a set for $100 or more. But at $40, I
for equipment at much lower prices than you'd based on what you'll need to spend to get the could afford to get them just to practice my
pay new. They also present an opportunity to items "up to specs." When buying used, the hand drumming skills.
pick up things that you'd like to have, but strictly object is to realize significant savings.
speaking, don't really need. The key to shop- The simple fact is that pawn shop pricing is Try Layaway
ping in pawn shops is to be prepared. Keep the all over the board. These shops often base Don't rule out the possibility of putting some-
following tips in mind as you browse. their asking price on what they paid the per- thing you find on a layaway plan. Sometimes,
son pawning the item, as well as the brand $10 to $30 down is enough to hold an item you
All Sales "As Is" name. Since pawn shop operators are rarely may find unexpectedly. Put down the minimum
Inspect each item carefully to be sure it's a drummers, it's possible they'll price a top-of- if you're in doubt, since you won't get your
good investment. Dirty cymbals can always the-line cymbal the same as an entry-level deposit back if you change your mind.
be cleaned, but a cracked or dented one one, even though better cymbals commonly Many pawn shops offer layaway plans for
should probably be left on the shelf. Heads, sell for more than twice the price entry-level anywhere from thirty to ninety days. Keep in
rims, lugs, and other hardware can be ones do when purchased new. mind, they will keep your deposit if you don't
replaced, and you can recover or refinish a pick up the item in time. So be sure you fully
set that's just "ugly," but pass on a cracked or Be Flexible understand how long you have to pay off the
warped shell. Always have a drumkey and Sometimes, the savings offered through a item, and how often you'll need to make pay-
screwdrivers with you. If you're really interest- pawn shop opens up possibilities you'd never ments. Then follow those terms to the letter.
ed in a drum, ask if you can remove the explore at a higher price. For example, I Happy browsing.
heads and inspect the drum more closely. If would never have even considered that "no- Larry T. Kennedy
 began expanding his activities, learning
Jeff Stone Chris Grunwald
Bay City, Michigan's Chris Grunwald
other instruments and developing his skill
Twenty-nine-year-old Jeff Stone of at song writing.
Bloomington, Indiana definitely quali- taught himself to play the drums at sixteen. In 1997 Chris joined an original metal
fies for the title of "complete percus- "I started out with simple things like band called Noxious. In addition to drum-
sionist." He's classically trained (at AC/DC and Quiet Riot," says the twenty- ming and writing for the band, he also pro-
Indiana University's famed school of nine-year-old drummer. The duced their eponymous cas-
music), and he regularly performs on more I learned, the more I sette recording. Chris's
symphonic and mallet percussion in realized how much there playing on that recording
solo recitals and with symphony orches- was to learn. I was influ- amply demonstrates his
tras in Indiana enced by everybody from power, imagination, and
and Kentucky. the Monkees and the grasp of the nuances of
He's also a Beatles to KISS. Eric Carr metal drumming.
busy instruc- was my personal inspira- Chris plays a kit com-
tor, with over tion, but I'm also into drum- prised of 1970s Ludwig
sixty private mers like Nicko McBrain, toms and bass drums, an
students and a Lars Ulrich, Vinnie Paul, extra-deep Pearl Free
hectic clinic Mike Portnoy, and Scott Floating snare, Remo
and workshop Rockenfield. My main crite- RotoToms, and Sabian B8
schedule at ria for any music is passion and Pro cymbals. As for his
schools and and professionalism." goals: "I want to continue
music stores Chris's playing career to work for a living and be
in Indiana and began in 1986 with a metal involved in music 'til I
Ohio. band called Bishop's Gate—but was inter- die," he says. "I love recording and playing
On drum- rupted in 1988 when Chris (then in the live. If the people dig it, great. If not...so
set, Jeff per- army) was sent to Germany during the Gulf what! I'm having a good time!"
forms every- War. Upon his return home in 1991 he
thing from mainstream rock to
Dixieland to country to bebop. His most promote drumming among drags.
high-profile gig is with the Dynamics,
an eight-piece R&B ensemble that
Keith Capsuto young people. Frustrated at Keith is also an
Central California's Keith school budget cuts in the artist/clinician for Evans
serves up plenty of greasy funk and Capsuto was given a arts, he joined the Ventura drumheads, and has given
good-time grooves. Tracks from the drumkit for his fifth birth- County Performing Arts clinics to thousands of chil-
band's debut CD, Make That Change, day. It began a lifelong con- Foundation (which stresses dren and adults at schools
reveal Jeff to be a drummer with taste nection that has led Keith, music as an alternative to and shops around
and chops—and a righteous funky feel. now forty-one, to a career negative activities for kids), California. He uses and
The group tours much of the Midwest, as a performer and clinician. endorses GMS
playing the college circuit, private par- While in high school, drums, Meinl cym-
ties, and clubs. Jeff also plays with Keith toured with a pop bals, Pro-Mark
Plaid Dissent (a folk-rock group with band called WindRose. sticks, Shure micro-
two CDs to its credit) and Beeblebrox (a In 1977 he was recruit- phones, Roc-N-Soc
jazz fusion band with three CDs and ed by the Wes Marquett thrones, Anvil
two awards from Downbeat). Jazz Quartet, with cases, and L.T. Lug
Jeff cites Dennis Chambers, Vinnie whom he toured for two Lock and HQ
Colaiuta, and Buddy Rich as influences years. He returned to Percussion acces-
(although he must have listened to WindRose, but became sories.
Stubblefield, Starks, and Purdie some- ill with ulcerative coli- "We want to bring
where along the line). He performs on a tis. The disease brought out the natural abili-
Yamaha Power Recording Custom kit him near death. ties that are hidden
with Zildjian cymbals, and on Musser Debilitated for over a gave several Drums For in our youth," says Keith of
mallet instruments. He states his goal year, Keith used his music Fun clinics, and ultimately his band and his sponsors.
simply: "To tour and record on the to keep himself focused on formed E'nuff Said, a nine- "Hopefully, with the help of
national level." life. Upon his recovery, he piece R&B/Funk band of everyone—including God—
began working in a Santa veteran studio musicians we can bet more kids off the
Barbara drum shop, which that performs in schools, streets."
gave him the opportunity to pushing music instead of

If you'd like to appear in On The Move, send us an audio should include your full name and age, along with your you do and how you do it, and a list of the equipment
or video cassette of your best work (preferably both solo playing style(s), influences, current playing situation you use regularly. Send your material to On The Move,
and with a band) on three or four songs, along with a (band, recording project, freelance artist, etc.), how often Modern Drummer Publications, 12 Old Bridge Road,
brief bio sketch and a high-quality color or black & and where you are playing, and what your goals are Cedar Grove, NJ 07009. Material cannot be returned, so
white close-up photo. (Polaroids are not acceptable. (recording artist, session player, local career player, etc.). please do not send original tapes or photos.
Photos will not be paid for nor credited.) The bio sketch Include any special items of interest pertaining to what
Mark Craney Benefit chance at getting his health completely together."
"I'd do whatever I can to help," said Walfredo Reyes Jr., on
break from the Steve Winwood tour. "This is something that could
happen to any of us or our children."
Additional help for Mark has come in the form of a benefit CD
called Mark Craney & Friends—Something With A Pulse. It fea-
tures a variety of recorded performances—many previously unre-
leased—by such artists as Jethro Tull, Eric Burdon, Tower Of
Power, Gino Vannelli, Fairport Convention, Talking Drums, Mike
Keneally, Terry Bozzio, Thread, and James Taylor. All proceeds
from the sale of the CD will go directly to aid Mark—who is him-
self on several of the tracks. It's available via the World Wide
Web courtesy of Vie Records, at www.ginov.com.
Anyone interested in donating to Mark's cause can do so with
checks made payable to Mark Craney and sent to Mark at PO Box
5603, Sherman Oaks, CA 91413-5603. You can also check Mark's
Web site: www.rthl.com/markcraney.html.
Robyn Flans

Left to right: Gregg Bissonette, Mike Piazza (LA Dodgers),

Mark Craney, Doane Perry (Jethro Tull), Myron Grombacher In Memoriam:
Larry Imbordino
(Pat Benatar); kneeling: Carmine Appice

Those fortunate enough to have heard about the benefit for Mark Larry Imbordino, drum-
Craney at Hollywood's Guitar Center on September 7 were treated mer for the Chicago-area
to an incredible day of performance—all for the price of a $15 electric jazz group Rush
donation for Craney. Mark, whose recording and touring credits Hour, died on May 25,
include Jethro Tull, Gino Vanelli, Jean-Luc Ponty, Tommy Bolin, 1997, at the age of forty.
Eric Burdon, Tower Of Power, Jeff Beck, Caldera, and Dweezil He had been battling lym-
Zappa, is in need of an immediate kidney and pancreas transplant. phoma, a form of cancer,
The benefit was organized by drummers Doane Perry, Gregg for nine years.
Bissonette, and Myron Grombacher. Musical luminaries who per- Larry's story is one of
formed included Gregg, Myron, Peter Erskine, Steve Smith, dedication and persever-
Walfredo Reyes Jr., Ralph Humphrey, Luis Conte, Mike Fisher, ance. After years of "scuf-
Terry Bozzio, Eric Burdon, Aynsley Dunbar, Mike Keneally, Joe fling" amid pop and rock
Travis, Jorge Palacios, Jimmy Haslip, Richard Baker, John Pena, gigs, Larry (and Rush
and David Garfield. Peter Aykroyd, Joe Benson, Chad Smith, Jon Hour) enjoyed moderate
Lindstrom, Mike Piazza, and Carmine Appice served as hosts. success with a record called Bumper To Bumper in 1988.
"There were many, many people who helped organize this," Unfortunately, just as that success was developing, the record
said Gregg Bissonette. "It was a great chance to help Mark out. company folded. Shortly thereafter, Larry was stricken with his ill-
He's such a great friend, and such a great drummer. I was in col- ness.
lege in 1977 when Gino Vanelli's Brother To Brother came out. I Over the next several years Larry went through alternating peri-
remember thinking, 'Mark Craney? Who is he? Where is he ods of remission and relapse, and various forms of chemical and
from?' When I came out to LA I found out where he lived, hooked surgical therapy. But through it all he maintained his determina-
up with him, and took lessons from him. Eventually I became his tion to make Rush Hour a success. After their first record company
roommate, and we've been great friends ever since. It's sad to see folded, the group toured the Midwest, developing a following and
all the setbacks Mark has had, but it's great to see all his friends pitching themselves to other labels. In 1994 the group produced
banded together to show their love for him." their own CD, called Autobahn. On the strength of that effort, the
Steve Smith, who came down from the Bay Area to support band was signed by Fahrenheit records. The CD—which featured
Mark, recalled, "Mark was inadvertently instrumental in helping exceptional drumming by Larry—was released in July of 1995,
me get my start twenty-one years ago. His decision to leave Jean- and received an excellent review in the March 1996 issue of MD.
Luc Ponty's band in order to tour with Tommy Bolin left Ponty's Larry himself was featured in the On The Move department in
drum chair open. I got the chance to audition and I got the gig, MD's January 1996 issue. At that time his illness was in remis-
which gave me my start touring. I just want to support Mark's sion, and although he knew that a relapse was always possible,
Larry had an optimistic outlook: "I've been beating cancer regu-
larly over the past eight years," he said. "I'm confident in my abil- International
ity as a drummer, composer, and keyboardist. My goals are to
keep on recording and performing with Rush Hour, to be a great Drum Month "Meet The
dad and husband, and to go on loving life, my friends, and—espe-
cially—the drums." Modern Drummer extends its condolences to
Larry's family and musical associates.
Drummer" Contest
A "Meet The Drummer" sweepstakes will take place as part of
November 1997's International Drum Month activities. Twelve

MD Giveaway Winners
In the May, June, and July '97 issues of MD, readers were given
first-prize winners will receive a selection of CDs from
Hollywood Records, including a copy of the drummer compilation
Flyin' Traps, featuring some of today's most popular alternative
the opportunity to win a variety of percussion prizes from Meinl. drummers (and featured in the December '97 MD). Winners will
Grand-prize winner Wendy O'Donnel of Nutley, New Jersey also receive a pair of dinners at any Hard Rock Cafe, along with
received a $5,000 Luis Conte percussion setup, including Floatune tickets and passes to see one of the Flyin' Traps drummers per-
congas, conguitas, bongos, timbales, a djembe, a tambora, a talk- form (subject to band/drummer availability). Second- and third-
ing drum, a shekere, a cabasa, and many hand and specialty per- prize winners will receive drum equipment and accessories from
cussion items. The $2,175 second prize (Marathon congas, con- leading drum manufacturers such as Big Bang/Easton,
guitas, bongos, and timbales) went to George Civitate of D'Addario/Evans, Danmar, Drum Workshop, Vic Firth, Gray-
Camdenton, Missouri. Duo series congas and Marathon timbales West/Cymbal Buddy, HSS/Sonor, Kaman/Toca, Ludwig,
(worth $1,050) went to third-prize winner Terry Mackey of Mainline, Mapex, MBT International, Modern Drummer,
Belleville, Illinois. Luke Ercanbrack of Gooding, Idaho won a Montineri Snare Drums, NDA, Pearl, Premier, Pro-Mark, Remo,
Floatune wood djembe as fourth prize, and Fuad Saba of Reunion Blues, Sabian, SKB Cases, Slug Percussion, Slingerland,
Englewood, Colorado won Livesound bongos as fifth prize. Forty- Tama, and Zildjian.
eight other winners earned weekly-drawing prizes that included Complete details and entry forms will be available during the
Conga Watches, Meinl vests and baseball caps, and Egg Shakers. month of November at participating drum shops and music stores
Congratulations to all the winners from Meinl Percussion and throughout the US and Canada. Winners will be drawn and prizes
Modern Drummer. awarded in early December. No purchase is required, but entry
forms must be validated by a participating drum shop or music in their present roles as managing director of Premier Percussion
dealer. IDM '97 is sponsored by the Percussion Marketing Ltd. and president of Premier Percussion USA, Inc., respectively.
Council and supported by music organizations such as NAMM,
NABIM, and PAS, as well as the entire drum industry. For fur-
ther information contact IDM '97 at 12665 Kling St., Studio
City, CA 91604, tel: (818) 753-1310, fax: (818) 753-1313,
Endorser Hews
Remo marching drumheads were used by all of the "Top Twelve"
e-mail: DLevine360@aol.com. drum corps at the 1997 DCI World Championships, including the
world champion Concord Blue Devils.

Indy Quickies
Ryzer-Rax, makers of drum risers and racks, is now based in
Matt Sorum is now endorsing DW drums, pedals, and hard-
ware, while Mike Mangini (Steve Vai) is playing DW bass drum
pedals and hi-hats.
Nashville, at 157 8th Ave. North, Nashville, TN 37203, Mapex's newest artist endorser is Gregg Bissonette.
(615) 255-2567. Stephen Perkins (Porno For Pyros, Jane's Addiction), Taylor
Sabian has expanded its National Education Program (N.E.P.) Hawkins (Foo Fighters), and Gary Novak (Alanis Morissette) are
into a larger, more comprehensive program now called using Perkana Percussion Go-Jo Bags.
Educational Seminars in Percussion (E.S.P.). Specially designed to Randall Stoll (k.d. lang, Sacred Linoleum) is a new Yamaha
take percussion education into North American schools, the pro- artist.
gram (fronted by Sabian director of education Dom Famularo) Author/clinician Ronald Vaughan is now endorsing Obelisk
involves a lineup of drummers and percussionists versed in a vari- drums.
ety of styles, and is as much about motivation as it is about perfor- Rock 'N' Roll Hall-of-Famer Dino Danelli (BeatBoyz, the
mance. Rascals) is playing Pro-Mark sticks.
Premier Percussion Ltd.'s current ownership, Verity Group
PLC, has agreed to sell the English drum company to Fifield
Ltd.—a new company controlled by the current management of
Premier and financed jointly by the management of Premier,
Guinness Flight Venture Capital Trust PLC, the Bank of Scotland,
and Verity Group PLC. John James and Tom Meyers will continue
 ENTRY LEVEL DRUMSET
AN EXCLUSIVE MD REPORT ON THE BEST KITS ON THE MARKET!
ABE LABORIEL JR.
STUDIO SENSATION
NEW WITH GENESIS
NlR Z
OUR LADY PEACE'S
JEREMY TAGGART
PLUS: MD GOES IN SEARCH OF
THE PERFECT DRUMSTICK
Jim Esposito

ADVERTISER PAGE NUMBER ADVERTISER PAGE NUMBER ADVERTISER PAGE NUMBER

Agner Swiss-Drumsticks 114 Evans Products 1,147 Noble & Cooley 133
AHEAD Drumsticks/Big Bang Distribution 163 Fibes Drum Co. 150 Not So Modern Drummer 140
Alex Merck Music GmbH 102 Vic Firth, Inc. 48,113,123 Paiste 37,60,71,73,75,77,153
Applied Microphone Technology (AMT) 170 Fork' s Drum Closet 124 Papa Bear Records 168
Atlanta Drums & Percussion 166 GC Music 121 The Parziale Corp. 124
Atlanta Pro Percussion 150 Gemini Percussion Systems, Inc. 91 Pearl Corporation 16/17,72,Inside Back Cover
Audio-Technica 19 Gretsch 86 Peavey Drums 89
Audiophile Imports 161 Grover Pro Percussion 162 Percussion Express 166
Ayotte Drums 93 HSS 148 Perkana Perkussion 92
Berklee College of Music 32 Homespun Video 171 Precision Drum Co. 124
Boom Theory 152 Houston Percussion Center 166 Premier 5,100,127
Bosphorus Cymbals 88 HQ Percussion Products 125,164,166 Pro'Mark 12,121,155,171
Brady Drums 170 Humes & Berg 64/65 PureCussion 107
Canadian Music Week 167 Husher International, Ltd. 170 Regal Tip 22
Cannon Percussion 135,137,139,141 Impact Industries, Inc. 90 Roland 103
Caribbean Rhythms 164 Interstate Musician Supply 121 Remo 30/31,122
Chuck Silverman 118 Joe Morello 164 SKB Cases 70
Clear-Sonic Mfg. 168 L.T. Lug Lock, Inc. 126 Sabian 26/27,29,95
Creative Drummer Magazine 166 Latin Percussion 119 Sennheiser 139
Danmar 84 Los Angeles Music Academy (LAMA) 162 Slingerland 61,63
DCI/Note Service/Warner Bros. 74,87,149,169 Ludwig Inside Front Cover Super Gloss/Sam Barnard 166
ddrum/ Armadillo Enterprises 132,136 Magstar Drums 124 Sunlite Industrial Corp. 117
Disc Makers 170 Mainline 138 Tama 58/59,76,167,174
Discount Distributors 164 Mapex 85,159 Taos Drums 109,168
Dixon 49 MBT International 140 Taws Drum Works 151
Drum Center of Lexington 168 MD Buyer's Guide 134 Thoroughbred Music 126
Drum Doctors 101 MD Drum Instructors Only 151 Tribes Drums 164
Drum Essentials/Musicians Resources Int'l 171 MD Festival Videos 128/129 UE Systems 125
The Drum Pad 124 MD Progressive Independence 104 UFIP Cymbals 24/25
Drain Tech 94 MD Subscription 96/97 Vater Percussion 62,124
Drum Workshop 33,115,135 MD Working Drummer 165 Vintage Drum Center 168
Drum World 88 Meinl Cymbals/Percussion 6/7,8 VeriSonic 132
Drummers Collective 10 Music Tech 170 Waddell's Drum Center 170
Drummer's Helper, Inc. 10 Musicians Institute 173 West L.A. Music 107
Drums In The Wind 150 Musician's Pharmacy 168 Yamaha 50/51
Drums On Sale 170 Night Ranger/Sony-Legacy 23 Zildjian 9,11,13,23,63,10 l,105,Outside Back Cover
M
ax Malone of Boone, North Carolina has dubbed his
unique percussion assemblage the "Plastikit." The
main "drumkit" consists of pickle buckets, waste-
baskets, garbage cans, water jugs, sheet metal, serving
pans, an LP Jam Block, a Sabian crash cymbal, and two
bass drum pedals—all mounted on a custom wooden
frame.
The hand percussion setup includes a doumbek, a 10"
CP conga, Moroccan bongos, and Max's original
"Hempaphone." Max describes it as being made of "ski
poles cut to the key of C, strung tightly with hemp rope
for good resonance."