Drum August 2013

2013 DRUMMIES!
ARTIST AWARD WINNERS
T e A C H e r f e AT u r e
jAS on
C HA D
BI T T ne r
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August 2013
on wH y Dr uM ClI nIC S
Ray Luzier is Obsessed with being the perfect dad for his
son Hudson. Hes Obsessed with creating the perfect drum
sounds in his home studio. And hes Obsessed with his
21" SABIAN AA Rock Ride. Why? Because in Rays words,
I need a cymbal that cuts and slices music in half.
Learn more about what makes Ray Obsessed.
See the video at Sabian.com/rayluzier
ExtendedFootboard
Patented
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Drummers asked us for a longer footboard and we listened.

Introducing, the 9000 XF. Available in single and double pedal
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2013 DRUM WORKSHOP, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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I N T R O D UC I N G
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Welcome to Ground Zero for a legion of pro
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GUEST HOSTS
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CORPS
PHOTOS: Smith & Bittner: Robert Downs; Blackman-Santana: Jimmy Bruch
BLACKMAN
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MEET & GREET

GEAR EXHIBITS
PRIZE RAFFLE
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FRIDAY
AUGUST 9, 2013
SAN JOSE REPERTORY THEATRE DRUMNIGHT2013.COM
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ISSUE 206. ON SALE 07/16/1308/15/13 VOL. 22, ISSUE 7
COVER STORY
42 Clinician Magicians
What do Chad Smith, Cindy

Blackman-Santana, and Jason
Bittner have in common? Not much,
except for what it takes to put on
the best clinic ever.

FEATURES
Cover photographs: SMITH: NEIL ZLOZOWER/ATLASICONS; BLACKMAN-SANTANA: JIMMY BRUCH; BITTNER: ROBERT DOWNS
34 Drummies!
Artist Award Winners
You, the reader, have spoken. Behold, the new kings and queens of
your drumming universe.
56 Will Kennedy
The Yellowjackets drummer is the

architect of sophisticated rhythms
that keep heads bobbing. Let him
show you how to build yours.

HAND DRUM!
71 Jhair Sala
The Peruvian percussionist has

cajon beats on the brain and rhythm
in his heart.
.
76 Product Test
Duende Cajons

78 Lessons
For Richie Gajate-Garcia, three percussion items are better than one.
Retrofitting your sound at a glance
with Glen Caruba.
PLUGGED IN
83 In The Studio
With Shawn Pelton
104 Lessons
88 Dialed In
VIBE
Chasing that Saturday Night Live drum

sound all the way back to Peltons personal studio space.

New gear from Ddrum, Yamaha,

and Drum Drops.
SOUNDLAB
90 Gretsch Catalina Street Kit

92 Sabian Hoop Crasher

PRACTICE PAD
97 Drum Parts: Eric Moore
The lethal pulse behind Suicidal Tendencies

shows you how to Smash It.

Making backbeats less predictable with

Wally Schnalle. Matt Byrne on the
inverted paradiddle. Danny Gottlieb
does variations on 3/4.
31 Chris Reifert
Autopsys drummer and primary vocalist is doubly threatening.

EVERYTHING ELSE
12
16
18
20
28
107
114
Perspective
Feedback
Notation Guide
Single Strokes
Showcase
Picks
Time Capsule
DRUMmagazine.com August 2013
DRUM!
11
A Roomful Of
Drummers
o you recall your first drum clinic? I remember mine.

And while the clinician himself was impressive, the
optics and atmospherics were the things that stuck
with me for decades afterward.
Id never seen anything quite like it before. Around 30 drummers crammed into an upstairs room of a music store facing a
temporary riser erected for the event. A feeling of community
permeated the evening as we sat shoulder to shoulder, lapping
up licks and tidbits of wisdom flying from the stage. Attendees
reacted to every tricky pattern, whipping heads around, slapping high fives, laughing
excitedly. It felt like a cross between a motivational seminar and sporting event.
Remember this was before YouTube. Back then you couldnt simply dial-up a
long menu of videos of your favorite drummers. You had to wait until a clinician came
to town in order to check out his or her chops. But while Ive spent plenty of time on
YouTube, young readers whove never attended a live drum clinic might not realize that a
video is little more than a pale imitation of being there in person.
First of all, theres the sound. I dont care how much you crank up your computers external speakers; youll never come close to duplicating the range of subtle tones and colors that surround you in a live clinic. While a video can translate the bombast, it doesnt
do justice to subtleties like ghost notes, bass drum feathering, and hi-hat barks. Such
techniques offer the type of delicacy and detail that can breathe life into a performance.
Then theres the all-important interaction between the stage and audience. During
the clinic attendees usually have the chance to ask the clinician to further dissect demonstrated techniques, slow things down, and put specific ideas under the microscope so
that no one gets left behind. Try doing that on YouTube.
And afterward, you often get the chance to meet the drummer face to face, shake
hands, get autographs, and chat for a while. The most common revelation is that
despite the clinicians super chops and impressive track record the drummer on stage
isnt all that different from the drummers in the audience. In other words, to quote Sly
Stone, you can make it if you try.
Ive seen literally hundreds of clinics since that first one, and walked away from each
with a new idea about technique, musicianship, professionalism, or some other vital
facet of the drumming art. In tandem with private lessons, method books, instructional
videos, and just plain woodshedding, drum clinics can play an important role in every
drummers development.
So if you happen to be anywhere close to San Jose this coming August 9, we encourage you to attend our DRUM! Night 2013 drumming festival, featuring the three legendary drummers on the cover of this issue. It will be a great night of drumming, gear
exhibits, and yes, that all-important camaraderie you simply wont find anywhere else.
Go to drumnight2013.com for more info.
See you there!
12
DRUM!
August 2013 DRUMmagazine.com
RECONCEIVED.
Built to play on the front end of innovation,
and the back end of the pocket.
Welcome, Saturn IV.
CLINIC &
EVENT
CALENDAR
Editorial Director Andy Doerschuk

andy@drumlink.com
EDITORIAL
Managing Editor Dave Constantin
Assistant Editor Andrew Lentz
Music Editor Wally Schnalle
Web Associate Jordan Liffengren
DRUMMAGAZINE.COM
YOUR NEW CLINIC & EVENT SOURCE
Featuring tons of upcoming

events with
Mike Portnoy
Cobus Potgieter
Contributing Writers Ken Babal, Robert Barton,

Brad Boynton, John Ephland, Matt Byrne, Glen
Caruba, AJ Donahue, Richie Gajate Garcia, Gary
Gardner, Diane Gershuny, Daniel Glass, Danny
Gottlieb, Terence Higgins, Taku Hirano, David
Jarnstrom, David Libman, Eric Kamm, Robert
Lewis, Billy Martin, Andrew Nusca, John Nyman,
Luga Podesta, Bobby Rock, Brad Schlueter, Wally
Schnalle, Mike Snyder, Karen Stackpole, Norman
Weinberg, David Weiss, John Wicks, Jake Wood
DESIGN
Art Director Richard Leeds
Design Director Cristina Strombotne
Design Associate J.J. Pineda
Contributing Photographers Robert Downs,
Eddie Malluk, Rick Malkin, Christopher T. Martin, Lissa
Wales, Neil Zlozower, Leslie Hampton
Contributing Illustrators John R. Adams
Video Contributors Nate Brown, Glen Caruba,
Giovanni Durst, Richie Gajate Garcia, Libor Hadrava,
Tiger Bill Meligari, Rich Redmond, Brad Schlueter
Video Designer Sibel Girini
ADVERTISING
Advertising Director Eric Frank
Gregg Bissonette
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Publisher Phil Hood
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Accounting Connie Hood
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DRUM!
Vice President
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14
Vice President
Andy Doerschuk
paiste.com
Scan the QR Code to see

Franklin Vanderbilt, Jason Sutter
(pictured), Dean Butterworth and
John Robinson demo the new
Signature Precision series.
THE NEW
ALTERNATIVE
FOR
SIGNATURE
PLAYERS
The new Signature Precision series is created using Paistes proprietary Signature Alloy, and
features the typical hallmarks of Paistes original Signature sound - brightness, fullness, strong
presence and projection, with brilliant musicality. A particular quality of the Signature Precision is its
clean and focused character in combination with a very articulate, straight-ahead sound.
The goal for the Signature Precision was to create a more affordable Signature sound. Part of the
success of this project is the incredible sound potency that already exists within the Signature Alloy.
QUALITY HAND CRAFTED
CYMBALS MADE IN SWITZERLAND
VIC FIRTH
SIGNATURE SERIES
One Hot Missive
Leave it to DRUM! to put Ian Paice

on an American mag cover! Jon,
Cliff, Danny, Ian, etc., the recording tips of Rays record. Then Ian
blows me away with the comments about my timekeeping!
From Andys perspective about the
importance of a good-sounding kit
to the last page with Hal [Blaine]s
timbale kit and everything in
between. So much good stuff. Keep
doing your thing. Youre making
an old man like me very happy and
proud. See you in August.

Via E-mail
Sound Advice
I started drumming about a year

and a half ago, and from the
beginning I thought that having an
electronic kit would mean I could
practice any time. Unfortunately,
my drums still produce considerable noise and my neighbors are
not amused, to say the least. I
did a quick research online for
ways to reduce the noise and
found many people having the
same problem. I also found lots
of ingenious solutions including a noise-isolation platform
constructed with tennis balls! It
would be fantastic to see these issues covered in the magazine, but
Id also appreciate any tips before
I get kicked out of my apartment!
Would it be worth investing in
a better kit with mesh heads or
the Yamaha silicon pads? Would
soft-tip drum sticks make any difference? What about constructing a cage around the kit with
soundproof curtains? Any help will
be hugely appreciated.
. .
Via E-mail
Editors Reply: Our managing

editor, Dave Constantin, built
a tennis-ball platform and had
some success (after some heavy
modifications to what youll find
online), but it depends on what
kind of sound youre talking about.
If you mean vibrations through
the floor (especially if you live
above your neighbors), theyre the
hardest to subdue, but definitely
require a platform. Weve done
soundproofing articles before but
16
Conceived through decades of game-changing

collaborations with the worlds top players,
Vics Signature Series puts the artists personal
touch into your hands.
Check out the entire line at VICFIRTH.COM
well be covering this topic again in

an upcoming issue as its too much
to respond to here. Stay tuned (and
for now, try not to play too late).
Gadd
1983
Weckl
1989
Jordan
2006
SSG
Praise The Ford
I was more than a bit miffed to

learn that Hannah Ford gets hate
mail. People who dis someone
as talented as Ford ought to be
given glass bellies so they can
see where theyre going. There
are plenty of drummers who
play music that I dont care for,
but theyre great drummers
and I enjoy reading about them.
Thanks for covering all of them.

Warren, Ohio
SDW
SJOR
Brand Conscious
I couldn't help but notice on Billy

Rymer's Tama Silverstar set (page
44 of the June issue 204), the snare
appears to be one of Dave Bedrock's
SuperDrum 12 lug Snares.
Lockett
Medium taper for the perfect balance between speed

and leverage. Tip creates a broad cymbal sound
Light and long for great touch and sound around

the drums and cymbals.
2012
Very small round bead for extremely defined

sound. Great for drum set, electronics, timbales,
metallic percussion and more!
SLOC

Via Email
Editors Reply. Thanks for the

query, Lenny. Actually, its a 14"
Tama Starclassic Brass model.
ERRATA
In the Set List page of the July
2013 issue, the photography
credit was mistakenly attributed to
another photographer. All shots of
Brad Wilk, including the cover and
contents page, were taken by Neil
Zlozower/Atlas Icons.
Hannah Fords equipment list
should have included The Kelly
SHU system.
We want to read your mail!
Send letters to
feedback@drumlink.com.
ER!
VIC CONTEST WINN
CHRIS BAKER
PLAYBACK PROVES INVALUABLE
Chris takes his playing to a new level only after

hearing a recording of himself. My eyes
were opened to how much I was
overplaying, fluctuations in my timing,
and the quality of the tone of my
drums when I hit them.
Read Chris game-changing

story and tell us YOURS.
You could win too!
VICFIRTH50.com
2013 VIC FIRTH COMPANY
DRUM!
Designed with a long taper to create maximum

rebound. Barrel tip for a great recording sound.
HERES TO ALL THE
GAME-CHANGING MOMENTS.
THE BIRTH OF PITCH PAIRING
1963
VICS GARAGEDover, MA
With his fledgling business underway, Vic accidentally drops a handful of sticks
on his basement floor. Noticing that each stick makes its own definitive pitch,
he begins pitch pairing all of his sticksrevolutionizing the industry.
Get the whole story at VICFIRTH50.com.
GUIDE TO DRUM NOTATION
By Brad Schlueter
Drum Key
China Splash Cowbell Crash Choked Ride

Crash
Ride Closed Open Tom 1 Tom 2 Snare Ghost

Bell Hi-Hat Hi-Hat
Note
Music Clefs, Staffs, Measures & Bar Lines

Music is written on a music staff,
which features five parallel horizontal
lines. The first thing youll see written on the staff is the clef, which
determines the pitch of the notes.
The drum/percussion clef looks like
a vertical rectangle and is used with

nonpitched percussion instruments.
With nonpitched percussion instruments like a drum set, notes written on
different spaces and lines indicate that
you play a specific instrument: snare
Measure
Drum
Clef
Staff
Rim Snare Snare Tom 3 Tom

Click Doubles Buzz
4
drum, bass drum, or cymbal. The staff

is separated into individual measures
(or bars) of music, with thin vertical
lines, called bar lines. The number of
beats in each measure is determined
by the time signature.
Bar Line
Time Signature
1 e & ah 2 e & ah 3 e & ah 4 e & ah 1 e & ah 2 e & ah 3 e & ah 4 e & ah
Accent
1 e & ah 2 e & ah 3 e & ah 4 e & ah 1 e & ah 2 e & ah 3 & ah 4 e&ah

Crescendo
(gradually louder)
Time Signatures
Time signatures are written like fractions. The top number tells you how
many beats are in each measure. The
bottom number indicates the size of
the note that represents the duration
A double bar line

indicates the ending
Decrescendo
(gradually softer)
Tom
5
Right
Bass
Left Hi-Hat Hi-Hat

Bass Pedal Splash
Triplets
As we go from larger notes down the

list to the smaller notes, the notes and
rests are halved in length. If you want
to divide a note into thirds, youll
need to use a triplet. A quarter-note
naturally divides into two eighths, but
if you want to divide it into thirds, you
need to use an eighth-note triplet. An
eighth-note triplet is played 50-percent faster than normal eighth notes
and would be equivalent to a twelfthnote (although there is no such note).
An eighth-note triplet is written as
three eighth-notes beamed together
with a number three above them. Any
of the three notes can be replaced
with an eighth rest or two sixteenths,
or any other division of an eighthnote allowing for more notational
flexibility. Triplets are usually counted
1 & ah 2 & ah 3 & ah 4 & ah. You can
also divide a note into fifths (quintuplet), sixths (sextuplet), sevenths
(septuplet), and so on.
Dotted Notes & Rests

of one beat. For example, in the time
signature of 5/4, there are five beats
in each measure and the quarter-note
lasts for one beat. The time signature
is written at the beginning of the piece
of music and wherever there is a meter

change. Since most music is in 4/4,
the time signature is often abbreviated with a large letter C, indicating
common time.
Sometimes youll see a note or a rest

with a small dot written next to it.
This indicates that the note will last
50 percent longer, or 1 1/2 times its
normal length.
Note & Rest Values
Notes and rests come in different

lengths, which are written as fractions. For every size note, there is an
equivalent size rest. The note and rest
values include whole (1/1), half (1/2),
quarter (1/4), eighth (1/8), sixteenth
(1/16), and thirty-second (1/32). These
fractions represent the sizes of the
notes and rests. For example, two
eighths fit in the space (or time) of one
Repeats & Counting

Rhythms
The simplest way to figure out rhythms

is to count them with the smallest
note value you have to play. For most
drum music, that means counting
sixteenth-notes. In 4/4, sixteenthnotes are counted 1 e & ah 2 e & ah 3 e
& ah 4 e & ah. Since you are counting
sixteenths, a sixteenth-note or rest
18
WholeNote
Whole
Rest
Half- Note
Half
Rest
quarter, so eighth-notes are twice as

fast as quarter-notes. These relationships define the lengths (and speeds)
of the notes. Rhythms are written by
Repeat
Sign
1e & a h2e & ah
Quarter
Rest
EighthNote
Eighth Rest SixteenthNote
using combinations of notes and rests,

so it is important to memorize them
to quickly identify and play rhythms.
There are several different parts of a
3 e & ah 4 e & ah
will last for one count, an eighth-note/

rest will last for two counts, a quarternote/rest will last for four counts, a
DRUM! August 2013 DRUMmagazine.com
QuarterNote
One-Bar Repeat
(repeat previous
measure)
half-note/rest will last for eight, and a

whole-note/rest will last for sixteen.
Repeat signs are used to abbreviate a
Sixteenth
Rest
ThirtySecondNote
ThirtySecond
Rest
note: the note head, stem, and flags or

beams. Recognizing them will help you
learn to identify notes.
Two-Bar Repeat
(repeat two previous
measures)
Repeat
everything since
the previous
repeat sign
piece of music and minimize page turns.

A few different types of repeat signs are
shown in the example above.
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BDB206
DO YOU GRIP
THE STICK TIGHTLY
OR LOOSELY?
Johnny Rabb
41
35
Independent
PUNKED!
Quinn with one of
his many vintage
kits. Inset: Daft
Punk sessions.
I grip the sticks as loosely as possible

while still maintaining control. This
helps avoid tension and blisters on
heavier hitting gigs.
Ray Luzier
43
37
Korn
When I started playing heavier

music, I would grip super tight. When
I attended Musicians Institute, one of
my teachers, Joe Porcaro, taught me
that I can play hard but with a looser
grip. I hit very hard with Korn, but
my grip is very relaxed and loose. I
havent had a hand problem yet after
bashing for 37 years.
Calvin Smith
25
11
The Safety Fire
I generally hold the stick pretty

loosely because I use a sort of whipping action for my accented strokes.
It gives me a better rebound from the
drumhead, which lets me put less
effort into each stroke since the stick
essentially lifts itself up. Because of
the economy of movement, it makes
it easier to do faster, more consistent
strokes for long periods of time.
Thomas Pridgen
Thundercat
I grip my stick loosely almost to the

point where the stick could easily be
snatched out of my hand. It helps my
mobility around the set and it helps
me to not have calluses.
20
DRUM!
Quinn
Interviewed by Rob McKinley
Session drummer and composer Quinn
is hanging out at Professional Drum Shop in Los

Angeles, where hes indulging his gear fetish. The
mono-monikered artist has an enviable collection
to be sure, but hes primarily a rhythm artist whose
beats have made their way onto everything from
India.Aries latest album to the theme music on
Roseanne Barrs now-defunct talk show. But we
were eager to get the scoop on Quinns latest score
multiple credits on Daft Punks super-hyped new
Random Access Memory. While you cant deny JR
Robinson and Omar Hakims killer kit contributions, Quinns percussive flavorings definitely gave
some shape to the albums much-lauded human
element. Despite the faceless duos robotic reputa-
tion, though, the process wasnt as clinical as he

imagined. The one-time orchestral percussionist
with the New England Conservatory was also kind
enough to share the various ways he earns scratch
with his rhythm skills.
THE HUMAN TOUCH

I went into the Daft Punk thing a little nave, honestly. I didnt really know their music. I knew about
their helmets and stuff, but I didnt know what to
expect, but making electronic sounds organically
is the thing that I enjoy most. I love that its just me
playing with somebody, and they think Im running
loops, or playing to a click track with some tracks,
or triggering stuff and yet its just me playing my
kit or modifying drums in a certain way to make it
sound that artificial way. Im primarily a drum set
player, so honestly I dont think I knew that [Daft
Punk] were electronic. At the time there was talk
with the band about bringing back that [70s disco
heyday] type of sound with live players. So I totally
embraced that whole electronic thing where they
were using real players. So much of [present day
Photography: COURTESY QUINN
29
26
Trash Talk,
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
EDM] is done by DJs or keyboard players

triggering stuff, but on [first single Get
Lucky, Giorgio By Moroder, etc.] those
arent samples; thats me playing all this
weird percussion stuff.
SO MANY BEATS, SO LITTLE TIME

We spent two days just putting down a lot
of grooves. I played on top of Omars and
some of JRs things, or I kind of go in and
out of some of their tracks. They would
sort of morph the two and so I would
generally always have click and whoever
was on tape. Then I did bunch of things on
my own and a bunch of crazy percussion
like a talking drum thing that I did, I think
on Giorgio By Moroder. I had two drum
kits: my left-of-center modified hybrid
setup, and then I had a kind of Gretcsh
hodge-podge vintage thing. And so I would
jump back and forth between those kits
and then a whole table of percussion. So I
was sort of jumping around everywhere,
playing like 16 bars of this or doing something else. And so, I was putting out a lot
of stuff there that got used later. Daft Punk
produced Kanye West [who jacked Daft
Punks Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
for his 2007 mix tape], so on Kanyes [new
track] Black Skinhead, those drums are
actually mine. I was in China a few weeks
ago and a friend of mine told me he saw it
on Saturday Night Live on YouTube.
session artist youre doing maybe some rock

or pop type recordings and maybe touring but
generally you dont go from a record over to
a major film like The Big Wedding. I did all the
percussion on that, which is not a lot, but its
a pretty funny movie with DeNiro and Susan
Sarandon and Robin Williams. I think its still
in theaters. The composer for that movie is
the composer for the TV show True Blood.
Hes actually the guy who introduced me to
Daniel [Lerner, Daft Punk assistant engineer].
Now Im working on the second Percy Jackson
movie, which Im really excited about because

its the second installment of this Harry Potterlike series, and [for the music] its taking
place at 20th Century Fox sound stage. And
actually the guy engineering those sessions
is the guy who engineered the Roseanne Barr
talk-show theme I composed. So, its amazing
how it becomes like a family that champions
you and brings you in on things. I really have
a lot to be thankful to those guys for, forrecommending me, because they can change
your world.
SCHOOLING THE BOTS

I was the only one at Conway Studios [in Los
Angeles, where Random Access Memory
was partly recorded]. Everyone was in the
studio but I was the only musician on those
two days. Mick Guzauski was engineering
with all of his assistants, Thomas [Bangalter]
from Daft Punk was producing, and I think
Paul Franco, their live guy, was there. The
other Daft Punk gentleman [Guy Manuel De
Homem-Cristo] I guess people just call
him Guy-Man was in New York. I believe
his wife was having a baby so he was with
her there. But Thomas was walking around
Skyping his kids and stuff, and just kind of
coming up with ideas, throwing things out
there. He was always coming in and out of
the control room. He loves instruments, so
I remember him asking me what my oldest
instrument was. At the time it was a 1920s
Walberg & Auge collapsible bass drum. I
kept on surprising him with the old gear. This
is really his first studio record with actual
musicians instead of just samples, so it was
like a kid in a candy store for him. [laughs]
TOTALLY RANDOM
C2SV.COM
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I was just telling someone the other day

that I consider myself very lucky. As a
DRUM!
21
SINGLE STROKES
By Waldo The Squid
15
Pearl drums and
hardware, Sabian cymbals, and
Vic Firth sticks
@gunnarfletcher,
downbleed.com
Kevin Alcombrack
39
DW Collectors drums
and DW hardware, Zildjian and
Sabian cymbals, and Vic Firth
Buddy Rich sticks.
youtube.com/user/
ddrumbum, facebook.com/
kevin.alcombrack
Kevin Alcombrack is a dyedin-the-wool drum obsessive.
Besides covering the likes of Joe
Bonamassa and Jonny Lang, the
Seattle-area drummer created
a video of himself justifying the
purchase of new gear, and one
showing off a set of Wuhans he
converted into O-Zone-style
cymbals. Whether coasting
on a backbeat or a greasy 6/8,
serve the song is the mantra
he lives by, an interesting
development for a drummer
who started as a prog player
before a blues epiphany. On the
So Many Roads cover, hes
Gunnar Fletcher
doing a lot of rimshotting for

cut and occasionally flamming
with Jason Bonhams tracks
(sort of like playing around
a click). I wasnt miked so the
rimshot helped, and has just
became a part of my style, he
explains. DRUM! music editor
Wally Schnalle would be proud
of his use of paradiddles, too.
Alcombrack started on drums
as a teen but then life got in the
way, and he didnt return to the
craft till his early thirties. Guess
obsessions really never die.
Its probably only a matter of time before Gunnar

Fletchers metamorphosis into
an extreme-metal demon is
complete. But first watch the
Tennessee-based drummers
talent show videos from 2007,
when he was just a kid, to
the more recent ones on his
Facebook page, and you will
immediately see a quantum
leap in finesse; speed; and
control. As the new drummer
for heavy-rock trio Downbleed, Fletcher gets a chance
to play with more feel, groove,
and swing, but given his tender
age were assuming the bands
choice of venues in which to

play are somewhat limited
(then again, all-ages clubs
have the truly passionate fans).
Based on the videos, the dudes
heart is clearly in the style of
modern deathcore/djent, yet
the willingness to adapt to
different music situations is
promising. And if some players
say extreme-metal isnt the
best showcase for dynamic
drumming, with its dialed-in
vibe and all, just remember, its
a style, people roll with it.
YOU CAN APPEAR IN NEW BLOOD. Email newblood@drumlink.com or send a CD or DVD of

your drumming, a bio with your age, equipment setup, contact information, and a hi-res
photo to Waldo The Squid, c/o New Blood, 95 S. Market St., #430, San Jose, CA 95113. No
materials will be returned. Please indicate if you want your email contact published.
SPD-30-BK
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By Daniel Glass
Drumming Innovators,
Part 4: Earl Young
These days, people tend to remember
YOUNG GUN
1970s dawned, Young assumed

the role of first-call drummer
for what was known as MFSB
(Mother Father Sister Brother),
a pool of more than 30 studio
musicians based at Philadelphias famed Sigma Sound
Studios. This group worked
closely with the legendary
Young playing that funky disco music with the Salsoul Orchestra.
songwriting/production team
of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff
to produce some of the biggest hits of the
at its peak, Young hit the jackpot again. The
day. The magic they spun behind artists like
Trammps, a band he founded, won a Grammy
Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, The OJays, The when their dance hit Disco Inferno was
Stylistics, The Spinners, and The Village People
included on the ultimate disco soundtrack:
became known as the Sound Of Philadelphia.
Saturday Night Fever. And thats no jive!
The man who deserves much of the credit

for proliferating the disco beat is Earl Young.
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Young had
almost no formal music education. A near
perfect sense of time, however, more than
made up the difference, and by the age of
15 he had scored his first top-ten hit. As the
In 1974, MFSB scored its own single, TSOP

(The Sound Of Philadelphia), which became
the theme for the TV show Soul Train, and is
arguably the first disco song to reach #1 on the
Billboard Hot 100. Three years later, with disco
the disco era of the 70s as a time of big hair,

polyester shirts, and excessive partying. And
while disco may have been simplistic in terms
of its lyrical content (just about every song
title seemed to include the word dance), we
should not forget that many of the eras hits
are remembered for their incredibly sophisticated production, including some of the
deepest grooves ever committed to tape. In
the last days before drum machines, the fouron-the-floor, hi-hat driven disco beat ruled
the airwaves and clubs, and was a mainstay in
every working drummers vocabulary.
BURN, BABY BURN
DANIEL GLASS plays drums with the

Brian Setzer Orchestra, and is the creator of the award-winning DVDs The
Century Project and TRAPS: The Incredible Story Of Vintage Drums. To hear
audio versions of Moment In History,
please visit danielglass.com
SINGLE STROKES
PUMP
BY BOBBY ROCK
Drumbell Training
Runners, fighters, and football players
all have key weightlifting exercises designed to

strengthen movements specific to their activities. Drummers should have the same, so Ive
developed a few drumming-specific exercises
through the years that will improve power, speed,
endurance, and mobility around the kit.
I call this drumbell training because it involves
using dumbbells to enhance drumming motions. Try
adding these to your regimen two or three times a
week, and be prepared for some great results.
A FEW PARAMETERS
A. Start off with light dumbbells (12 lbers should
be fine). You can increase the weight later,
once you get acclimated to the movements.
B. Exercises are always performed in a rhythmic,
RLRL motion, similar to drumming.
C. Sets are based around duration of time, as opposed to traditional reps.
D. Perform these exercises at the end of your
upper-body workout routine.
Two of my favorites
24
DRUM!
SNARE CRUSHERS This exercise will
TOM BASHERS This exercise will
bring super power and endurance to

your snare drum strokes.
1. From a seated position with your
elbows relaxed by your sides, pretend like youre balancing the bottom of each dumbbell on top of an
imaginary snare in front of you. (Your
knuckles should be facing forward.)
2. Raise your right dumbbell up to the
right side of your head, approximately 4" from your temple.
3. With a controlled motion, return the
right dumbbell to the starting position, while simultaneously raising
your left dumbbell up to the left side
of your head the same way.
4. As you return the left dumbbell to
the starting position, raise your right
dumbbell back up again, and so forth.
Continue this RLRL motion for 30
seconds to two minutes. Do three sets.
increase mobility, speed, and power

between your toms and snare.
1. From a seated position, hold both
dumbbells in front of your chest with
the sides of your fists facing down.
2. Extend your right dumbbell forward
in a controlled, circular motion.
3. Once its all the way forward,
complete the circle with your right
dumbbell as your left dumbbell extends forward to begin its
circular motion. (You are emulating the front-wheel motion of a
locomotive.)
4. Continue this motion smooth and
steady for 30 seconds to two minutes. Do three sets.
Both of these movements should
produce a gradually intensifying
burn in your arms and shoulders, so
embrace the pain!
Robert S. Lewis, Esq.
The Loyalty Clause

I own a
venue that
features a
large variety
of live music
entertainment.
Recently, I noticed a strange
phenomenon. Whenever I hired a
new band, I found that the band
would then be hired by a competing establishment located two
blocks away. Even more infuriating,
the competing establishment was
paying these bands less than I was
and a number of my regular patrons
actually visited the competing
establishment to see these bands.
I spent a substantial amount
of time trying to figure out how
to stop this practice while at the
same time ensuring that I could
still hire the bands in question
with no hard feelings. In a tight
market, venue owners must do
all they can to preserve their
crowd and entertainment quality.
On the other hand, bands need to

make a living.
Bearing in mind that bands
playing at my venues must now
(with certain exceptions) agree
to what is known as a restrictive
covenant as to where they may
play, I still needed to present the
problem to the bands and then
advise then as to how I intended
to fix it, the intention being to
retain high-quality acts in my
venue, while depriving competitors of the benefits of my work in
selecting these bands.
In doing this, I presented the
problem as more competitive in
nature rather than one where I
sought to control where bands
could play. Switching gears, a
restrictive covenant prevents the
band from playing gigs within a
specific geographic boundary for
a specified period of time. Bands
should watch for such provisions
in their performance contracts
A RESTRICTIVE COVENANT PREVENTS

THE BAND FROM PLAYING GIGS WITHIN
A SPECIFIC GEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARY
FOR A SPECIFIED PERIOD OF TIME.
in order to ensure that they do
not agree to onerous provisions
that could restrict their gigging
to an unduly small geographic
area and/or for an unduly lengthy
period of time. Such provisions
may indeed be unenforceable,
and most jurisdictions require that
such provisions be reasonable. But
what exactly constitutes reasonable is subject to interpretation and
depends on the particular facts of
the case. For example, if there are
many competing establishments
in the immediate vicinity, you may
want to carve out some exceptions,
especially for those establishments
that are geographically distant
from the place where your gig is
taking place. The possibilities are
endless, but the point is that bands
must be on the lookout for these

types of provisions and work with
the venue owners so that the interests of all parties are protected.
So how did I deal with the competing establishment? I merely told
the bands that they had a choice:
Play for me, or play for them, but
they could not play for both. In this
case, I was not dictating where
bands were allowed to play, but
merely telling them that they would
not be welcome at my venue if
they played the competing venue.
Every band has thus far agreed to
my request, and has remained in
my rotation, while ensuring that
competitors do not benefit from
the fruits of my labors. I now use
a restrictive covenant in all my
performance contracts.
DRUM!
25
HIT LIKE A GIRL 2013 WINNERS CIRCLE
ith 210 entrants representing 40

countries, and attracting 2 million
visits to the website, the followup to our inaugural Hit Like A Girl
contest was a window on todays top talent
and tomorrows drum stars.
Readers might remember that the 2012 debut of Hit Like A Girl was limited to contestants
over 18. Realizing that drummers shouldnt be
penalized for their age, we created another
category for those over 18 as well. Readers

votes rolled in between February 15 and April 1
while celebrity judges Samantha Maloney, Allison Miller, Dawn Richardson, Kimberly Thompson, Shauney Baby Recke, Meytal Cohen,
Jess Bowen, and Elaine Bradley chose between
20 finalists in each division. The judges then
chose a winner and two runners-up.
Winners received PDP drums with DW
Pedals, TRX or CRX cymbal packs, Evans
drumheads, SKB bags or cases, and six

pairs of Vater sticks. Each winner also got a
Tunebot tuner and instructional packs from
Alfred Publishing. Runners-up got to take
home Yamaha DTX kits a DTX450 for the
first runner-up and the DTX400 for the second runner-up. All entrants receive special
digital products and discounts from Tom
Tom Magazine, DRUM! Magazine, Drumchannel, or Onlinedrummer.
18+ WINNERS
MICHAELA BREZOVSKY First Runner-Up, 18 And Over
The jazz-lite backing track that Michaela Brezovsky
chose to accompany her performance jam seems like
mere window dressing for the Viennese sensations
soloistic display of control, groove, and musicality. The
23-year-old has future session great and touring musician written all over her. It was 3 a.m. in Austria and my
boyfriend and I were watching on his laptop, she gushed
upon hearing about the results. I couldnt speak when I
realized I was a winner.
Having graduated from the Joseph Haydn Conservatory, Brezovsky continues to play jazz drums and study at
ipop (Das Institut Fr Popularmusik) in Vienna. Besides the
DTX450 she took home, Hit Like A Girl 2013 has symbolic
importance for the drummer. Female drumming is growing in Austria, she says. I know about ten other women
drummers in Austria, but there are many young girls in the
schools who play drums now. Its a big change.
VALERIA SEPULVEDA Winner, 18 And Over

The judges were blown away by the
fusion-style solo from Chilean drummer Valeria Sepulveda, underpinned by a
blend of light touch and explosive power.
Its especially impressive for someone
who as a teen snuck into a drum class at
school, started goofing around on a kit,
and caught the attention of a professor.
He taught me a basic rock beat, and as
much to my surprise as anyone, it came
very naturally. I thought to myself, This is
it! This is what I want to do for the rest of
my life!
After earning a bachelors degree in
drum performance from the University
Of Valparaiso in Valparaiso, Chile, in 2011,
Sepulveda moved to the U.S. to pursue
her musical career, and where she will be
touring this summer.
KELSEY COOK Second Runner-Up, 18 And Over

Twenty-three-year-old Kelsey Cook was emblematic of
a trend that emerged this year: mixtape-style club hits
as the soundtrack to a showbiz-oriented approach to
drumming. While many contestants had the same idea,
no one did it with as much panache as Cook. That bizzaro
double rim-click on the floor tom and Johnny Rabbinspired splash on the snare (1:10) That one-handed
double-stroke fill (1:35) The stick twirls (everywhere)
all of it managed breezily in a cocktail dress and high
heels wow!
Perhaps even more remarkable was that she did it
against all odds. I dont come from a family with a musical background, she explains. But Cook knew they were
going to be behind her no matter what, even if it was
extremely annoying when I first started, she says. Which
Im sure most drummers can relate to.
2013 FINALISTS
* N I C X * (Indonesia)
Adi Mashash (Israel)
Amanda Imamura (Brazil)
BCDrums (Australia)
Bijou Bell (US)
Brittany Maccarello (US)
Brooke Hord (US)
26
DRUM!
Caroline Parsons (US)

Cindy raoux (France)
DRUMCHIK25 (US)
DrummerGurl (US)
Drummergyal (US)
Fiamma (Italy)
Freyja Hooper (Australia)
Issy (Germany)
Justine (US)
KatVillalon-TX (US)
Kortney Grinwis (US)
Kynadi Hankins (US)
LaFabulosa (US)
Leticia Santos (Brazil)
MaddieDrummer (US)
Madi Vogt (US)
Marlenedrums (Puerto Rico)
Megan Luce (US)
Melanie DiLorenzo (US)
Misia (me-sha) Vessio (US)
Paige Proctor (UK)
Roo (US)
Sam Landa (Canada)
SBD (UK)
Seneca Falls (Mexico)
Sincerelyilana (US)
tschak boom! (Germany)
<18 WINNERS
TAYLOR ANN KATASE First Runner-Up, Under 18
There was nothing lacking from Honolulus Taylor
Ann Katase and her spot-on cover of Beyoncs
End Of Time. The 17-year-old has been in
concert band for six years, marching band for
four, and cites Tony Royster Jr., Chad Smith, Tony
Williams, and Abe Lagrimas Jr. as influences.
She has been taking private lessons for the last
two-and-a-half years but it seems like easily
twice that. My mother originally wanted me to
play the flute just like she did when she was in
school, Katase says. But I decided to choose
the exact opposite. I thought it fit my personality
a little better. Good move.
ALEXEY POBLETE
Winner, Under 18
Watching ten-year-old Alexey Poblete crush it
on Under It Over It by Five Finger Death Punch
might cause you to do a double take a small kid
shouldnt be able to blaze extreme-metal drum
parts with this much ease. (Hey, the foot cams dont
lie!) Shes even stomping on those twin pedals in
leather pumps.
Though Pobletes career has only just begun, it
was no cakewalk to get to where she is right now.
Hounding her parents for a year, they finally bought
her a drum set, but only if she took lessons. If the
Pobletes had any doubts about their daughter,
Alexeys teacher quickly expelled them. On my first
hour of lessons my drum teacher told my parents
that, Your daughter will become a good drummer
because she tries hard and does not quit easily.
MADDEN KLASS Second Runner-Up Under 18

When Madden Klass incorporated her own solo
into John Bonhams famous Moby Dick solo, the
judges instantly appreciated her ambition, and
rewarded her creative and solid execution. Though
studying jazz drumming, a love of classic rock
informs her current band Youth Be Told. We are
also working on original music which I am excited
about, she says. Performing our own music is
going to be amazing!
A shout-out to our Special Recognition winners
including Little Drummer Girl, Gaia, Marlhy!, and
Shelby. Thanks to everyone especially our readers for making Hit Like A Girl 2013 a total blast.
2013 ENTRANTS
FORDE~ON~DRUMZ (UK)
1 Fallen Angel (US)
Agi (Panama)
Aisha Gaillard (US)
AJ Drumz (UK)
Allie (US)
AmyK (US)
Annebelle (Belgium)
antocoty (Argentina)
Arielle (US)
Aryan (US)
AshleyBloskas (US)
Astrid (Australia)
Baby Goon (US)
bassanddrum (US)
Becky (US)
betka.shell (Slovakia)
Bianca (US)
brooklyntam (US)
caseydelvo (Philippines)
Cassidy (Canada)
CC (Canada)
Chrissy Garvey (US)
Christina Picciano (US)
Clair OBoyle (Australia)
Clibber (US)
Cortney (US)
DaDrummerChick (US)
DEBI DRUMS (US)
delphine (France)
Demetria Dede Anderson (US)
Dhea Princessia (Indonesia)
Domino (Canada)
Dotty (Belgium)
DrumChick (US)
Drumforever (France)
drummer3993 (US)
drummergirl345 (US)
drummergirlgina (US)
Earthquake Bass Bartell (Canada)
Embrace Agony (US)
Emily Hogan (Ireland)
Emma Thomas (UK)
F0R3V3RADRUMM3R (US)
Fadilah Darswa (Indonesia)
FosterOnDrums (Canada)
Gabby Stover (US)
Gabby Vick (US)
Gaia (US)
Genesis (US)
Goober (US)
Grace Plays Drums (UK)
Hailey Storm (US)
Hardcore/Metal Drummer (S. Korea)
Helena Krausz (Brazil)
ixelvarecka (US)
J.Pearson-drummer (UK)
JadeMcHugh (UK)
Jaleesamg (Nepal)
Jazzy (US)
Jennifer_Ventresca (Canada)
Jess (Colombia)
Jess De Vries (Australia)
Jessica Anderson (US)
Jessica Frizzell (US)
Jessica Huynh (US)
Jessika Bane (Jessi B) (US)
Jessondrums (UK)
JJbeatz (US)
Joan (France)
Joanne Phillips (US)

Jodi Joy (US)
jonimasondrums (US)
Karen Moreno (Mexico)
Karinapril (Indonesia)
Kat (US)
Kate (US)
Katherine Stanton (US)
KAZHA (US)
KC Rock Corll (US)
Kelly (Canada)
Kiana Gibson (US)
Kiana Vicari (US)
Kim Andrews (New Zealand)
KlaudiaWorld (Poland)
LA ZURDA (Guatemala)
Lacretia TT Bolden (US)
Laura Diosa (Colombia)
Laura Moakes (UK)
LAURATDRUMMER (Guam)
Lea Ceder (Sweden)
LilDrummerV (US)
Lindsay Bird (Canada)
Little Drummer Girl (US)
Louise Batera (Brazil)
Lucy Campos (Brazil)
Lya Drummer (Venezuela)
Lynette Chiamaka Okoroike (US)
Macai (Qatar)
Malgorzata Miriam Szymecka
(Austria)
Mariah Samrani (Australia)
Marlhy! (US)
Mars Biusing (Malaysia)
Megan Clarke (US)
Meghan Chamberlain (Canada)

MIKEY (Slovenia)
Miss Emily Christine (US)
Miss Karli (Canada)
Molly Wallace (US)
Monica Spasaro (Australia)
Mrs_Rev33112 (US)
Muki (Thailand)
Mustang Allie (US)
Mynameislizkelly (US)
Natalia (Canada)
Ninja Nins (Australia)
Paola Cascante (Costa Rica)
Paris Oconnor (US)
Patty Anne (US)
Pilot Drummer (US)
Rage Paige (US)
Remi F. (UK)
rewing652 (US)
Rikki Woods (US)
Rumi Muhr (Japan)
Sally Zori (Canada)
Sandy Smith (US)
Sara Ricci (US)
Saramore (Australia)
sfdrumgirl (US)
Shelbster (US)
Shelbster the Rockette (Canada)
Shelby (US)
sillysibbles (US)
SkilllzerTard (Australia)
Soap Cu$tom (France)
Sohini Bhattacharya (India)
Sonia Little B Cabrita (Portugal)
SophiaLovesDrums (Germany)
Southberry Lane (Luxembourg)

sozodrummer (US)
Squirrel Girl (US)
Steena (US)
Steff (Canada)
Steffi (Germany)
Stephanie P (US)
Suslucia (US)
Talya Valenti (Australia)
TalzDM (South Africa)
TamarPlaysDrums (Israel)
Test Video (Guatemala)
Test Video 3 ()
Testing Video 2 ()
ThatOneGirl (US)
The Sophie Mophie (US)
The Wahoo Kid (US)
Tiff Kent (US)
Tiffy Pop (US)
Topsticks Drummergirl (Nigeria)
Trisha Drummer (US)
TwinkDrumz (US)
Valerie Franco (US)
Vanessa Domonique (UK)
Verdiana V Gariboldi (Italy)
Vicky Buttfairy Reader (UK)
Weezy (US)
wendig (US)
WileyWWAAAAA (US)
Windy Samantha (Indonesia)
xoxbballgrlxox (US)
XTINE (Canada)
Ziioup! (France)
Hit Like A Girl 2013 produced by DRUM! in conjunction with TRX Cymbals and Tom Tom Magazine. Sponsored by DW Drums, Pacific Drums & Percussion, Yamaha DTX, Evans, Vater, SKB, TRX and CRX
Cymbals, Tunebot, Alfred Publishing, Percussion Marketing Council, Robert Downs Photography, Online Drummer, Drummercafe, iDrum (UK), The Black Page (Canada), Indian Drummer (India), Drums
and Percussion (Germany), Boteros.com (Chile), MEOW (Musicians for Equal Opportunities for Women), DFGS (Drum For Goodness Sake).
DRUM!
27
QUICKSILVER FEETT
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the primary pedal. The anodized linkage joint is silent
and smooth. Both models feature a micro-tune hoop
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BUZZ KILL
The Sleeved Washer from
Hendrix Drums silences
the stray resonance
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The nylon washer has
an extended sleeve that
eliminates the metal-onmetal contact between
the tension rod and the
hoops. Other benefits
include smoother, more
accurate tuning, lower
tunings without rod
rattle, protection of
chrome finish, and drums
that stay in tune longer.
Fits die-cast and tripleflanged hoops.
Hendrix Drums
hendrixdrums.com
334-790-9426
28
DRUM!
ITS GOOD TO BE SHALLOW

The Silverstar Hyper-Drive concept by Tama was originally conceived for live situations, but artists have increasingly chosen it for recording as well. The distinctively shallower shells have serious attack, and when combined with the warmth
of birch, this new Silverstar Hyper-Drive Limited Edition kit is a secret weapon for
stage or studio. Each 6-piece kit (only 30 will be made) includes a 22" x 18" bass,
10" x 6.5" and 12" x 7" toms, 14" x 12" and 16" x 14" floors, and Tamas popular 13"
x 7" S.L.P. G-Maple snare. Hyper-Drive LE with regular 13" x 7" birch snare also
available (70 kits). Comes as a shell pack or with 60 series hardware. Finishes are
Piano White, Indigo Sparkle, Vintage Burgundy Sparkle, and Hairline Black.
Tama Drums
tama.com
800-669-4226
LEATHER
REPORT
After years of making goatskin heads for drum set
use, Florida-based EarthTone has upgraded its line
with high-quality treated calfskin for exceptionally warm and organic tone. Appealing mainly to
players looking for period-correct sound for their
vintage kit or greater warmth on modern drum
sets, EarthTone heads are constructed with an
aluminum counterhoop same as a conventional
mylar head instead of a traditional wooden
hoop for durability. Every head is prestretched for
ease of tuning in any playing environment. Available in 6"18" tom sizes and 20"24" bass sizes.
Thin snare-side head for the 14" also available.
Thicknesses can be requested in any size.
EarthTone
earthtoneheads.com
800-826-5482
No, you havent seen anything like this before.
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Photograph: COURTNEY MCCUTCHEON
Chris
Reifert
MULTI-TASKMASTER
By Andrew Lentz
hris Reiferts mellow demeanor

is unsettling. Kind of like the
calm before a storm. The
Autopsy drummer/vocalist is
currently at home in Benicia, a town
in Northern Californias East Bay that
sits in the shadow of heavy industry.
The 44-year-old, who at a distance
seems like hed curb your teeth if you
held his gaze too long, is sitting at his
kitchen table enjoying a cup of coffee.
That would be impossible for most folks
considering the toxic breezes wafting
through the window. Oh, yeah, we
deal with it certain days. [laughs] Its
kind of a mood killer. Oh well, I still got
ten fingers and ten toes.
DRUM!
31
Chris Reifert
QUICK LICKS
Transcription by Brad Schlueter
When Hammer
Meets Bone
Chris Reiferts drumming is always
brutal, offering a powerful blend of
thrash and straight metal. Reiferts
double bass onslaught has a
double-time feel due to the snare
placement on all the &s. He breaks
the pattern up with groupings of
three notes played between his
snare/crash and feet that create a
brief polyrhythmic three-over-four
feel in the fourth and sixth measures. At the verse, he simplifies
this thrash patterns footwork.
When youre the driver and we do mean

the driver for one of death metals most
underrated bands, you have to be tough.
Especially since Autopsys new full-length, the
second after an inexplicable 15-year hiatus,
carries more weight than just any old followup. We always want to sound like us, but we
didnt want to do Mental Funeral, Part 2, he
says, referring to their 1991 sophomore effort.
Recorded in Oaklands Fantasy Studios
better known for jazz recordings and Credence
Clearwaters seminal albums The Headless
Ritual reflects almost 25 years of pushing the
death-metal envelope, and the lore-steeped
surroundings imparted a freshness to the
project. You can just feel the history in the
walls, he says of Fantasy. Theres two really
good drum rooms in particular that just make
all the difference in the world. You get that big
sound that just microphones cant get. Youve
got to have a good live room.
VITALS
Autopsy
The Headless Ritual
44
Concord, California
Keith Moon, Neal Smith,
Dave Lombardo
autopsydeathmetal.com
GEAR
Premier Cabria
Zildjian/Sabian
Pro-Mark 2B wood tip
Remo
Premier
32
DRUM!
August 2013
DRUMmagazine.com
I THINK WHEN THERES A LOT OF

BLASTBEATS, THAT BECOMES THE FOCUS
INSTEAD OF THE ACTUAL GUITAR RIFFS
Blending the gut-punch riffs and vocal croak
of death metal with the atmospherics of doom is
an Autopsy signature. Whether or not they were
the first band to meld the two styles is a debate
best left to the extreme-metal snobs, but were
pretty sure Reifert is the only drummer in this
niche who is also the lead singer.
And he doesnt phone in the beats (or
lyrics) like most singing drummers. Between
near-constant fills, Reifert delivers a wide
range of phrasing and inflection along with
agonized wails, sickened rasps, and typical
horror-film memes. You might say the vocals
are the star of the band, but fortunately, not at
the expense of tasty drumming. Its a pain in
the ass, he says of his dual role. In the bands
early days they hired a singer with disastrous
results, so Reifert took over. Its not a smart
thing to do. Like, why would anyone do that? I
just got stuck with it.
Does splitting duties between drumming
and singing lend itself to the death-doom
sub-genre, or did Reiferts multitasking give
birth to it? Its the kind of chicken-or-egg
question that doesnt interest him much. All he
knows is that the unusual combo breeds some
cool beats. [Autopsy drumming]s kind of a
rock and roll feel, you know? Maybe because
of what I grew up on, being the age I am, or
whatever. I like the feeling of looseness, and
theres no looseness in blastbeats. Its more of
a stamina thing rather than a feel thing. I think
when theres a lot of blastbeats, that becomes
the focus instead of the actual guitar riffs.
Whatever double bass runs there are on The

Headless Ritual (Arch Cadaver comes to mind)
they sit low in the mix a refreshing throwback to a time when extreme-metal drummers werent bionic showboats. Reifert is also
dead-set on playing two bass drums rather than
a double-pedal on a single kick. Its just more
drums to hit. Keith Moon wasnt [mimics beaters]
brrrrrh-brrrrrrrrh! on the bass drums, he says of
one of his biggest influences. Theres just more
possibilities, more textures, or whatever you
want to call it. It keeps your legs busy.
It comes as no surprise that Reifert does
not use triggers. In fact, he could go on for
days about how much he hates them. I dont
know why anyone would ever do that for any
reason whatsoever, he practically yells. You
could be touching the snare with a feather and
it sounds like a machine gun. What the hell is
that, man? Its cheating, for one thing, and you
also lose all dynamics.
As one of Autopsys main songwriters,
Reifert has the advantage of making the drum
parts fit the tunes and vice versa. None of [the
songs] are really hard, he says. Mostly the obstacle for me is remembering how many times
a section repeats. Its like, Okay, this part goes
eight times and that goes four and that part
goes six. And we have weird timing sometimes.
Its not always 4/4; it might be 11/16. [laughs]
Some of Eric [Cutler, guitarist/backing vocals]s
songs are really weird and itll take a minute to
get my head wrapped around what hes doing.
He doesnt think about drums when hes writing
music. Hes just like, Heres my song, and Ill be

like Ah, f__k. His songs can be really challenging to me, but after all these years Im used to
his way of playing too. A couple of times and I
can get it down.
That our guy is a quick study shouldnt
surprise anyone. As the original drummer in
seminal tech-death band (and scene icon) Death,
Reiferts parts are memorialized on the Tampa
bands influential debut from 1987, Scream
Bloody Gore. That came about when Deaths late
frontman, Chuck Schuldiner, briefly settled in the
Bay Area, a thrash mecca in the mid-80s, and
where he eventually crossed paths with Reifert.
When the guitarist returned to Florida, Reifert had no intention of leaving California so the
stint with Death came to an abrupt end. Though
momentarily crushed, the drummer stepped
into the drum chair for local thrashers Desecration the following summer, but he was jonesing
to start his own project. Forming Autopsy with
Cutler in 1987, the band went on to make several
records with the small but respected U.K. label
Peaceville (which they are still signed to), but
after a miserable tour in 94, the band fell apart.
Reifert then formed Abscess, his home for the
next 15 years.
Sometimes, though, the past catches up
with you. In 2009, Autopsy celebrated the 20th
anniversary of debut Severed Survival with two
T R X
L T D
new songs for a special reissue. It was only

supposed to be for that and nothing else, he
says. We werent officially back together. Were
like, Oh, this will be a little treat or whatever,
but then that sparked something.
What it sparked was an avalanche of emails
from promoters and booking agents to come
play. The band turned down each and every one
until they couldnt. The guys from Maryland
Deathfest were really aggressive about it, just
pushing more and more, and then other people
in Europe were contacting us. So we actually
started to think about if for a minute. Moreover,
Abscess had fallen apart. At the same time,
and purely by coincidence, the members were
dreaming up Autopsyesque ideas. It was all of
sudden like, Wow, I just got this cool riff in my
head. I better get home and write that down.
Man, it just really avalanched. Im still in shock.
The vibe of Autopsys material from the
mid-90s, around the time they broke up, segues
seamlessly into 2010s The Tomb Within EP,
which marked the bands return. 2011 follow-up
Macabre Eternal, and now The Headless Ritual,
prove the reunion was no fluke but the beginning
of a second act. Its like a continuation, Reifert
explains. We still have the same vision for the
band and the same way of playing. Time has
gone on so were older of course, but were no
less hungry to make a good little bit of noise.
INSIDE TRACKS
Autopsy
The Headless Ritual
Playing slow aint easy. So while the ampedup thrash attack atop Slaughter At Beast
House is certainly attention grabbing, its
the subsequent doom-laden dirge revealing drummer/growler Chris Reiferts eternal
patience and dynamic control that makes
a more lasting impression. Such subtle qualities may no longer be valued in the genre,
but for those who still enjoy hearing a living,
breathing human heartbeat behind their
cacophonous carnage, Autopsys latest is a
nostalgic treat. There are no triggers or click
tracks jailing Reiferts fluid feel on The Headless Ritual, and his penchant for triplet-based
fills adds a classic rock swing to the macabre
mix. Example: When Hammer Meets Bone
offers multiple Keith Moon moments, with
one sprawling tom roll even catching a bit of
cymbal. Some might deem such a technical
slip blasphemous; others will appreciate the
existence of a rare, idiosyncratic happy accident left untouched on a modern recording.
David Jarnstrom
S E R I E S
CHUZ ESTRADA (JESSE & JOY)

VALENTINO ARTEAGA (OF MICE & MEN)
ROB KETCHUM (CHER LLOYD)
DRUM!
33
THE BEST OF
Mike Mangini
DRUMMER
OF THE YEAR
RUNNERS-UP
Taylor Hawkins
Josh Freese
Chris Dave
PROGRESSIVE
ROCK DRUMMER
OF THE YEAR
RUNNERS-UP
Neil Peart
Gavin Harrison
Marco Minnemann
Interviewed By Dave Constantin
34
D!: You went from being a full-time instructor to full-time rock star with Dream Theater.
Was that a difficult transition?
MM: Although I took all the clinics that came
in between Dream Theater tours, I was actually more frantic, more busy, and 20-million
times as stressed out before joining Dream
Theater. Joining Dream Theater relieved me.
My life completely took a turnaround. Even
people hanging out with me noticed my neck
wasnt as tight. [laughs]
Working at Berklee is extremely great. I
mean, really. My colleagues there are fantastic;
Ive always loved teaching; being able to do
that at that facility was really really cool.
However, working with that job, you still have
to supplement your income with another job,
and its really difficult to fill the time. I resigned
at the very end of 2010 when life with Dream
Theater started. And my last few months at
Berklee were even more stressful than any
time in the history of my life, because I was
dealing with all the stuff that went along with
my life at that time, and I had to construct a
drum set to record the first album with the
band. Because I decided I had to go through
the entire catalog of ten records to get a sense
of how to make a combination of the set that I
would be comfortable playing and the set that
I would be required to play in order to play ten
records of material.
D!: Is that kit still evolving?

MM: Tidbits change. My tech and the different
sound engineers were constantly in communication with me. I was constantly asking them
questions like, What about this drumhead
combination? What about this? How does it
really sound? And basically I nailed it. After I
had recorded A Dramatic Turn Of Events and we
went on the road, really nothing has structurally changed on the drums, and nothing really
changed when we did this last record. I did
change a few cymbals and drumhead types.
But pretty much the wisest thing I ever did was
to go through that catalog of Dream Theater
before settling into my own little spot.
D!: At this point, do you feel that new drummer smell has finally washed off and youre
now accepted by fans as the rightful drummer for Dream Theater as opposed to still
being viewed as Mike Portnoys replacement?
MM: Absolutely. And the reality of that can be
truthfully understood from the people that
were there. All of those fans that came out to
support the band gave me such an overwhelming amount of support and positivity that it is
absolutely, totally, completely mind-blowing to
me. Now, Im discussing that reality rather than
a projected reality by a small number of people
that didnt check it out and still had ideas or
opinions. But they didnt even see it. It was the
Photograph: RENAN FACCIOLO
DRUM!: A lot has changed for you over the last

few years. What did this past year look like?
MIKE MANGINI: Ive been in Dream Theater
land, as everyone knows. Its a big commitment, whether were playing together or were
not, because I want to keep progressing, and
there are a lot of things that I havent practiced
enough to be able to do that have always been
in my head. And then each time I achieve
something a whole new set of things comes in.
Its almost like a blessing and a curse. Theres
never enough time. And when Im in between
Dream Theater land Im doing the drum clinic
thing, or with my family. Or, now, I took up golf
within the last year, and thats become like a
disease, in a good way. [laughs]
But Dream Theater finished at the beginning
of September last year. We had been going and
going and going and going. And every single
month off that the band had, I did at least one
weeks worth of drum clinics. So I was away
from home and my family almost all the time.
And when the band finished in early September,
[D.T. guitarist] John Petrucci asked me to go on
tour with him to South America for the G3 tour.
The interesting thing about being in Dream
Theater is theres a ton of downtime. Yeah, we
have press things to do, and we all practice
a lot, of course, but really, theres plenty of
downtime to be doing stuff in the middle. So
its just an awesome situation.
THE BEST!
idea in their head that I couldnt possibly work
out. And a lot of people still stick with that. That
little struggle is not over. But it will be once this
new record comes out. I can say that.
D!: Well, obviously enough of our readers
admire your technical skill as being at the
pinnacle of the craft. Do you have one signature thing on drums that no one else can do
as well as you?
MM: Well, I do, but I do have to have a disclaimer
that our drum community is the greatest thing
probably on planet Earth. We have something
that apparently other instrument communities dont have at the level we have it, with
the camaraderie, the magazines, the festivals,
the whole thing. Its pretty amazing. Because
READERS CHOICE AWARDS
of that, Im friends with most of my peers. So

eventually everybody realizes that each person
is in and of themselves special and unique. But,
there are skills outside of us all that are attainable by anybody. So, if I were to say that, yes,
theres something that I do that nobody else
does, Im not silly enough to think that nobody
else can sit there and just practice to technically do it. But theres a difference between
something being in a persons heart and not.
And what is in my heart is to orchestrate in a
completely ambidextrous way on the drum kit.
If I were playing on a 4-piece kit which
Im totally happy doing, believe me I would
play differently. But true ambidexterity not
just hitting a drum on the left or hitting a pedal
is required to change up the feel. In the stereo
image, when I switch from the right side of the

kit to the left side of the kit, you can feel it. It
doesnt matter if its totally audible by somebody who doesnt know anything about music.
But the feeling is there. And in order to do that,
my limbs have to have a reflection of being as
equal as possible. Thats my calling.
to tell. Like I said, once I do a project, I let it

go and move to the next thing, whatever that
may be. If I hear about it later from a fan or a
colleague, thats cool.
ture. I have been blessed with great parents,

great teachers, and wonderful talents given
to me by the powers that be. What I do and
how I do it is irrelevant. I know that I was
raised listening to a lot of different types of
music and that I was always going in the opposite direction as everyone else. When my
friends were listening to Latin, I was listening to rock, R&B, classical, country-western
oh, and great TV music from theme songs
to commercials to cartoon music. I learned
to switch off my Latin roots to play other
D!: Now that our readers have decided youre

the greatest drummer in the world, whats
next? Disneyland?
MM: [laughs] If I can take the family with me,
yes. But really, I just want to say thank you. I
really appreciate everybody that supported me.
It really is wonderful. Im just smiling from ear to
ear with one piece of good news after another.
It really is a great time in my life.
Lenny Castro
PERCUSSIONIST
OF THE YEAR
RUNNERS-UP
Pedrito Martinez
Pete Lockett
Adam Rudolph
STUDIO
PERCUSSIONIST
OF THE YEAR
RUNNERS-UP
Taku Hirano
John Mahon
Sunny Jain
Photograph: MARCO MASCIOVECCHIO
Interviewed By Dave Constantin

DRUM!: Tell us about the highlights of your
career in and out of the studio over the last
year that have contributed to our readers
voting for you to win these two categories.
LENNY CASTRO: I really cant answer that
question because once I do a session or a
project I move on. Ive done so much even in
one years time I cannot remember what Ive
done. One thing I do remember is the new Joe
Bonamassa Live In The Vienna Opera House
DVD that just came out that might be it, or
the Adele CD 21. There are more. Its very hard
D!: What would you say is your most identifiable signature element in your playing that
no one else can do as well as you or at least
exactly like you, and how did you develop it?
(Were giving you permission to boast here.)
LC: [laughs], I appreciate the opportunity to
brag, but Im not like that. Its not in my na-
DRUM!
35
genres too. But Im not the only one who can

do that. I dont see myself as being so different than my fellow percussionist friends.
D!: Have you learned any new beats, tricks,
techniques, etc. in the last year or changed
any fundamental aspect of your playing?
LC: I was called to do the Joe Bonamassa gig
last year and the producer, Kevin Shirley, said
to me, This is not going to be your regular
congas, bongos, and tambourine kind of gig.
Its going to be a very different approach. To
me, that says, Here is a challenge, and I love
that. It keeps me fresh, thinking out of the
box, so to speak. He also told me that he was
putting together a very eclectic band from all
over the place an acoustic band. One guy
from Ireland, one from Sweden, and me and
another gentleman from L.A. They sent me the
songs and I listened to them and was floored
by the music. It inspired me to put together a
very different setup that included bodhrns,
frame drums, a cajon with a bass drum pedal
in it, a djembe, a washboard. Like I said, very
different. I had very little experience with some
of these instruments, like the bodhrn and the
frame drums, but I have always had a knack
to be able to see, then play, instruments since
I was a child. I did some research and learned
more not only how to play them but the history of these instruments.
I am always looking for new ways to play

and new things to play. Its a never-ending
journey in the life of a percussionist or any
musician. I always like to mix and match instruments. You have to always expand your mind to
think in different ways and challenge yourself.
So, with the learning of these drums and their
techniques come different rhythms and beats.
D!: What is your typical practice regimen like
these days?
LC: I practice when I can but its difficult
because Im pretty busy either in the studio or
on the road or doing stuff around the house.
So there is no regimen. Sometimes I dont
practice at all. If I want to try something new I
do it on the gig. I love the pressure.
D!: At this point in your career, are you
still auditioning for gigs with new artists
or do you get to simply choose what you
do and dont do?
LC: I havent auditioned for a gig since my first
big gig I got with Melissa Manchester in 1974,
I think. I do not audition. If someone wants
me, they call me. I have done enough in my
career. People know what I do. Aerosmiths
management called me one time and said,
We are looking for a percussionist. So, what
have you done? the guys says. I told the guy,
Do your homework before you call someone
up and ask stupid questions, and I hung up.

I dont have time for stupidity. Auditions are
nerve-wracking and a pain in the ass.
D!: Having played with some of the biggest
names in music throughout your career,
is there any band, artist, or musical style
youve yet to experience as a player that
you most want to?
LC: There is a ton of stuff I still want to do,
the biggest being to do a solo CD. But there
are loads of things and people I still want to
experience in my musical life. I recently did a
tour this year in Japan with a Japanese band
called Love Psychedelico. My first tour with a
Japanese artist. It was fantastic. I want to do
more with them. I love them a lot. This is a big
deal for me since Japan is my second home
and I spend a lot of time there.
D!: What can we expect from you in the coming year? What musical projects are you most
excited about?
LC: As far as whats coming up, I cant say. You
know how this business is; you never know
whats around the corner. You just have to be
ready for anything that comes your way. I will
be doing more touring with Joe Bonamassa this
fall, so look out for that. I will be playing with his
electric band and the acoustic band I was talking about earlier. That, Im very excited about.
ROCK/METAL
DRUMMER
EXTREME METAL
DRUMMER
RUNNERS-UP
Glen Sobel
Dave Elitch
Daru Jones
RUNNERS-UP
Glen Sobel
Jordan Mancino
Roy Mayorga
RUNNERS-UP
Gene Hoglan
George Kollias
Tim Yeung
Eric Hernandez
36
DRUM!
August 2013
DRUMmagazine.com
Ray Luzier
Derek Roddy
Photographs: HERNANDEZ: JOSH FOGEL; LUZIER: MARK COFFIN; RODDY: COURTESY MEINL
RISING STAR
DRUMMER
Josh Freese
ROCK/POP DRUMMER
RUNNERS-UP
Abe Laboriel Jr.
Dominic Howard
Daniel Adair
PUNK DRUMMER
RUNNERS-UP
Brooks Wackerman
Eric Moore
Bill Stevenson
Chris Layton
RUNNERS-UP
Butch Trucks
Kenny Kramme
Tony Braunagel
INDIE DRUMMER
HIP-HOP DRUMMER
JAZZ DRUMMER
RUNNERS-UP
Erin Tate
Jen Ledger
Jon Wurster
RUNNERS-UP
Chris Dave
Gerald Heyward
Rexsell Hardy Jr.
RUNNERS-UP
Justin Faulkner
Terri Lyne Carrington
Kendrick Scott
Nick Crescenzo
Photographs: FREESE: LESLIE HAMPTON; LAYTON & GILMORE: COURTESY ZILDJIAN;
CRESCENZO: COURTESY MAPEX DRUMS; ROYSTER: JOSE ALTONAGA; SPEARS: TONY BARBERA/DW
BLUES DRUMMER
Tony Royster Jr.
Marcus Gilmore
Aaron Spears
FUNK DRUMMER
RUNNERS-UP
Joseph Zigaboo Modeliste
Stanton Moore
David Garibaldi
GOSPEL DRUMMER
RUNNERS-UP
Chris Coleman
Calvin Rodgers
Gerald Heyward
COUNTRY DRUMMER
Jim Riley
RUNNERS-UP
Rich Redmond
Chris McHugh
Garrett Goodwin
DRUM!
37
STUDIO DRUMMER
Vinnie Colaiuta
RUNNERS-UP
Josh Freese
Jim Keltner
Shawn Pelton
ROCK/POP/HIP-HOP
PERCUSSIONIST
JAZZ
DRUM SET CLINICIAN PERCUSSIONIST
Giovanni Hidalgo
RUNNERS-UP
Stanton Moore
Keith Carlock
Daniel Glass
RUNNERS-UP
Efrain Toro
Adam Rudolph
Kahil ElZabar
RUNNERS-UP
Daniel de los Reyes
Taku Hirano
Terry Santiel
Pedrito Martinez
RISING STAR
PERCUSSIONIST
RUNNERS-UP
Roland Gajate-Garcia
Chastity Ashley
Luisito Quintero
LATIN
PERCUSSIONIST
RUNNERS-UP
Samuel Torres
Karl Perazzo
Raul Rekow
38
DRUM!
August 2013
WORLD
PERCUSSIONIST
Marco Dos Santos

RUNNERS-UP
Pete Lockett
Zakir Hussain
Cyro Baptista
DRUMmagazine.com
Photographs: COLAIUTA: PER OLE HAGEN/ARTISTPICTURESBLOG; JOHNSTON: SASHA LEAHOVCENCO;

HIDALGO: COURTESY LP; SHEILA E.: COURTESY DW; MARTINEZ: TOM EHRLICH; DOS SANTOS: COURTESY SABIAN
Mike Johnston
Sheila E.
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Clinical ly
Proven
Chad Smith,
Jason Bittner
& Cindy
Blackman-Santana
the stars of DRUM! Night 2013
rarely occupy the

same sentence let alone the same stage.
But on the topic of drum clinics,
countless hours playing solo under
the microscope have led them all to the
same conclusion: The learning process
is a two-way street.
By And rew Lentz
As
he carves his way through Malibu Canyon in a rented SUV, Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith tries to recall the first clinic he ever put
on. Late to a recording session with Sugarland singer Jennifer Net-
tles, Smiths a bit distracted, but the memory gets him cackling. Thats because when
the concept was floated to him by a gear rep sometime back in the mid-90s, it was
laughable. Im like, Karaoke drumming, really? he says, chuckling at the memory of
his then-derogatory view of this budding subgenre of drum instruction.
I l lu s t rat io n b y Bl a k e L o o s l i
42
Clinical ly Proven
T here were
people who
ta l ked about
co mpi ng,
but nobody
ta l ked about
ho w [the
cra f t] a r r ived
at that.
Ci ndy Black ma nSa nta na
Hes like, Yeah, its kind of popular now, blah, blah.
It sounded great in theory, but Smiths initial enthusiasm soon vanished once he started thinking about what
he would actually do. I remember being on the plane and
writing stuff down: I went to school here; I played with
this band and it just sounded so boring, so I was, Ill
just wing it.
Jason Bittner had an all together different challenge
on his maiden clinic, which happened to be the Modern
Drummer Festival in 2005. Or it would have been had he
not sought the counsel of an elder statesman. I asked Steve
Smith if he had any advice on doing clinics, the Shadows
Fall drummer recalls over the phone. Bittner is at home in
Schenectady, New York, where he just logged three hours of
private lessons with his students. He said, Yeah, do another
clinic before you do your first real clinic. [laughs]
Lets Get
This Party Started
44
DRUM!
Education
Vs. Entertainment
Sometimes the clinics structure depends on how its being
billed. A tour, a drum festival, or a one-off at a mom-andpop music store have different requirements. Says Bittner:
I dont go through the whole 45-minute double bass
tutorial anymore because now its on the What Drives The
Beat DVD. Im trying to give a clinic that is not just about
heavy metal. Its about drumming, period. Knowing the
roots. Learning to play different styles of music.
Now, lets talk about a clinic tour, he continues. I
had one a number of years ago with Stu Hamm amazing bass player. When we did that, obviously we werent
doing 90 minutes apiece. Wed do, like, 45 minutes each
and then play together. So that was more of a performance
kind of thing where it wasnt that much education.
A milestone in the development of Blackman-Santanas
clinic came when she went through some 50 instructional
DVDs to get ideas, but one thing stood out: No one was talking about the evolution of the drum set, a glaring omission
she has since rectified. But that wasnt all. There were people who talked about comping, but nobody talked about how
[the craft] arrived at that, she says. Thats one of the things
I still talk about today because I think its really important
for people to grasp that concept even if they 1) Are not jazz
drummers, 2) Dont want to play that way, or 3) Dont even
Photograph: MARKUS LACKINGER/JAZZFOTO
We all know teachers agonize over lesson plans. But for

our chosen subjects, preparation is the least worrisome aspect of putting on a clinic. I come with things in mind to
talk about, says Blackman-Santana, but I dont have to
stick to those things. Ive done clinics where we didnt get
to any of that because the questions that they asked me
were so interesting. If I get to the venue and feel a certain
way, I go accordingly.
Preparation is pointless for Bittner because there is no
way you can plan something as chaotic as a gathering of
drumming enthusiasts. Crowds can dictate your clinics
based on their participation, he explains. But when you
have clinics and there are no questions from the audience?
Those can be real long nights.
Smith has an even simpler approach to prep. The
game plan is to not suck, he says. And sometimes its
kind of hard because Im used to playing with other musicians. I much prefer that over playing by myself.
At the start of a clinic, Blackman-Santana, who

plays in various guises including CBS Trio and Another
Lifetime, improvises on the kit. Unlike Smith and
Bittner, she does not bring tracks to play along with,
although someone surely wants to hear Are You Gonna
Go My Way from her time with Lenny Kravitz. I like
people to hear the tone of my drums because I want to
talk about tuning and sound and drum selection and
why I play what I play, she says. I set the tone for that
by playing first.
care about it. Because it gives you a base and something to

build off of. So thats something that I really stress.
Clinics are all about interactivity, but Smith takes the
idea a step further. If theres two drum sets, I get people
to play along. I like to get young kids up because I really
support young people getting involved in music. I really
respect the importance of hard work and doing what you
love. And I just try to pass that along and just a little bit
of my story, how dedicated and in love with music I still
am after all these years. The next thing you know its like
4050 minutes have gone by, maybe play a solo at the end
ba-da boom, ba-da bing! See ya later.
Dos & Donts
Back to that clinic Smith was brainstorming on the airplane

ride. Call it a triple-header: First, Best, and Worst. Taking
place at a rock club in Nashville in the middle of the afternoon (Skid Rows drummer was also on the bill, he thinks),
Smith recalls a box of a place with walls painted black.
Playing along to something from Blood Sugar Sex Magik,
all was fine but it seemed too easy. Im doing my thing and
I just felt, This kinda blows. He noticed the club had cages
for dancing girls suspended from either side of the stage. To
spice things up, why not offer his drum set to the first person
to get into the cages and get naked? A few minutes later
some kid was in the buff with his hand over his privates.
Next day, I get a call I cant remember, it might
have been the Sabian people but somebodys like, Chad,
what did you do at the clinic yesterday?
Im like, What do you mean?
He goes, Were being sued. Pearl is being sued. The
club is being sued. Youre being sued for inciting lewd and
lascivious behavior
Host With The Most:
Donn Bennett
hen it comes
to putting on
a drum show,
retailers who want to grow
their business could do worse
than follow the example of
Donn Bennett Drum Studio,
a vintage super-store just
outside Seattle.
Every November, eponymous founder Donn Bennett
(whose monthly Time Capsule column youll find on the
last page of this issue) puts on
Woodstick Big Beat, or what
he calls the mother of all clinics. The event features a slate
of notable drummers giving
separate clinics throughout
the day. (Woodstick 2012
featured Thomas Lang, Mike
Johnston, Glen Sobel, Tim
Alexander, and others.)
Outsourcing a sound
company and getting up to ten
major clinicians and their kits
in and out in a timely fashion
(plus several hundred drum
set players for Big Beat,
Woodsticks grand finale), is
a logistical nightmare, but
its not the main hurdle for
Bennett. I guess the biggest
challenge of the whole thing is
getting the word out, he says
over the phone from suburban Bellevue. Since we have

a zero-dollar budget we rely
almost entirely on volunteers,
guys in the shop, and whatever
support we can get from the
community.
While social media is a key
promotional tool, Bennett also
avails himself of traditional
platforms such as a popular
morning drive-time show
in Seattle that has regularly
plugged Woodstick over the
years. We could never afford
to get that kind of radio advertising, he explains. I would
think that in most major markets there is some sort of show
like that where an arrangement like that could be worked
out. As long as everybody gets
something out of the deal.
For the last several years
Woodstick has taken place in
a 30,000 sq. ft. field house.
It has also taken place in
QwestField, home of the NFLs
Seahawks. For this years upcoming event, a tribal casino
in Tacoma donated its events
center, including full use of a
stage and P.A. system.
Despite the far-flung
locales, attendees make the
connection between Woodstick and Donn Bennett Drum

Studio. The stores banner is
over the stage and there is
a booth present. In the past,
stacks of cymbals and drums
were brought to the venue,
but that idea turned into too
much trouble logistically.
Basically we make it really
clear at the event that Donn
Bennett Drum Studio is a
cool place that loves drums,
drumming, and drummers,
and sooner or later most of
the attendees will make it
into the shop.
To make it simple for
regular clinics during the
year, artists stop by the store
while on tour, but Bennett has
occasionally flown out talent
for the occasion. Whether its

Woodstick or a regular clinic,
the whole idea, Bennett says, is
to make sure everybody leaves
happy, even if its just with a
free T-shirt, a pair of sticks,
or an autograph. Its also
important that the sponsoring
companies get something as
well, he continues. We try to
promote some kind of special
on their products on the day of
show but, particularly for drum
companies, we might not sell
any of their drums day of show
its a big purchase. We always want to make sure we get
pictures of the artist with their
sponsors product up on our
social media right away. That
way the sponsors get some
immediate gratification.
DRUM!
45
Clinical ly Proven
And Im Oh, holy s__t. Apparently there had been a
preacher and his son in the audience. Fortunately no one
was sued and Smith was duly chastened.
In the weeks preceding a PASIC convention at which
she was scheduled to perform, Blackman-Santana injured
her left hand in a bicycle accident and was about to cancel.
In those dark moments, she found strength from a story
Art Blakey once told her about a televised gig that Buddy
Rich played. On the broadcast you couldnt tell at first, but
as Richs drum riser came up through the floor, viewers
saw his arm in a sling. And so I went and I did the clinic
with one hand, she recalls.
And Peter Erskine and I went to dinner afterward and
Peter said, I didnt even notice until just a little bit ago
that you did the clinic with one hand because it was actually hurt. I thought you were just showing off!
If we didnt know better wed think Bittners best clinic
was lifted from a Sam Ash commercial or maybe a dream
sequence from a primetime sitcom. The town officials in
Krasnodar, in southern Russia, took him out to lunch,

checked him into the citys top hotel, and even presented
him with giant cake decorated like a snare drum with his
name above frosting drum sticks. Later, after checking out
the Tama Starclassic B/B kit set up to his exact specifications, one thing struck him as odd: a banquet table in from
the drum riser. I was, Uh, why is there a table with chairs
in front of the drum set? They said, Youre doing a press
conference at 4:00. I said, What?
Speaking to 30 or so assembled journos was the easy
part. It was the 400 people who showed up to the clinic that
really freaked him out. Calling out Shadows Fall song titles
and even singing along to the lyrics, the sweat-drenched fans
never forgot that the occasion was first and foremost a clinic.
I was like, Do you guys even want me to do exercises and
stuff or just give a concert? And they screamed, Education!
Education! So I did my whole program.
It also highlighted the difference between clinics
in North America and Europe. Its a lot more of the
A Clinicians Best Friend

Unless Bill Gates is the drummer, clinics wouldnt be possible without support from the gear manufacturers. We
spoke to Pearls Mike Farriss, Gretschs John Palmer, and Tamas Pat Graham, endorsees of Chad Smith, Cindy
Blackman-Santana, and Jason Bittner, respectively, to find out what it takes to put on a percussive circus.
DRUM!: Whats the single

greatest challenge in sponsoring a clinic?
Tama: Communication. Even
the simplest clinic demands that
numerous human beings who
may not even know one another
have to come together as a tight
team. Any given Tama clinic
may involve any combination
of the following: An artist, an
artists manager, our artist relations department, one or more
members of our sales team, the
music store owner, its managers
and staff, and of course, my
team. Many of the abovementioned people are very busy
with demands that have nothing
to do with the clinic. So keeping
everyone on the same page, in
terms of deadlines and details,
is most of the work involved in
putting a clinic together.
Pearl: Achieving proper return
on investment. Our clinic
46
program is based on dealer

performance. It is a tool used
by dealers to help promote
the sales of our products
and to build a bond of loyalty
and community with the
drummers in his area. If the
clinic is done properly there
are sales before and after the
event with additional discounts on product. Our hope
is that our artists will inspire
the attendees.
Gretsch: As with any marketing endeavor, the money
needs to be available and
budgeted. We have a dedicated artist clinic budget that
is part of the overall marketing budget. As much as we do,
there are always opportunities that we cannot fit into
the budget. The logistics that
are involved for a clinic can
be tricky. Store dates, artist
schedule availability, infor-
mational marketing materials,

and other variables come into
play. This frequently adds up
to a lot of communication
with little details that need
to be managed. Kim Graham,
our Gretsch artist relations
manager, does a super job
of maintaining this aspect of
clinic management.
DRUM!: With so many highprofile artists on your roster,
how do you choose who gets
to have a clinic and when?
Pearl: We do not choose. It is
the dealers event so we allow
them to choose. Once a budget
is established the dealer picks
from artists whose fees are in
his budgets price range. Artist
fees vary. We then ask the
dealer for the proposed date
of their event. If that artist is
not available we will go back to
the dealer for a second choice.
This is a marketing cooperative
with our dealer base and we

want them to have the best
opportunity to succeed. A successful event is one that both
builds and unites the drumming community and spikes
the dealers sales before, during, and after the event.
Gretsch: There are a few factors involved, including available funds, artist availability,
and specific artist requests by
the retailer. A talented clinician
requires credibility, a focused
content concept, strong communication skills, and an open,
engaging personality. We have
been fortunate to have several
Gretsch artists who fit this
criterion very nicely.
Tama: Like everyone in our
business, the economy has
challenged us to do more with
less. That means a lot of really
tough decisions. We seek to
Photograph: ROBERT DOWNS
T heres a
d i f ference
bet ween
bei ng i n a n
on l i ne cl i n ic
chat roo m
... a nd bei ng
phy sica l ly i n
t he roo m w it h
so meone.
Ja son Bit tner
maximize the benefit to all parties involved. So rather than it

being a yes to this artist and a
no to that artist, were looking
for an alignment of the planets
that answers numerous concerns
such as: Will the clinic promote
our brand in a way that might
help the dealer sell some drums?
Does the dealer tend to cater to
a particular musical genre? Is
the artist a good match for that
clientele? Is the retailer good at
running and promoting events?
Whos available when? Will the
artist already be in the geographic area, therefore eliminating
travel costs? And so on.
DRUM!: How involved are you in
the logistics, in terms of gear,
sound, etc.?
Pearl: Logistics and artist transportation often falls
completely on us as we are the
featured sponsor. We will book
flights and coordinate with the
dealer to make sure the proper
gear is there for the artist the
day of the clinic. We are also
responsible for making sure the
artists fee is paid.
Tama: If the clinic is taking place
in support of a particular dealer,
we work out the details with
the dealer, and the dealer does
much of the figurative and literal
heavy lifting. For our part, we

ensure that the artist is going to
have the gear he or she needs
to give a great clinic. For those
events that arent sponsored in
partnership with a dealer, weve
taken on more of the gear/logistical responsibilities.
Gretsch: We work with the
artist and the store on logistics
for every event. We have drum
set information on file for
each artist that details series
and configurations they are
comfortable with. We work
with the store to make sure
there is a specific Gretsch kit
there that matches the artist
gear profile. We also collaborate
with the store to make sure an
appropriate audio/video system
is in place to use for questions/
answers and artist play-alongs
and other media. In terms of
sound, we leave it up to the
store or venue to provide a professional mix, which in general
they consistently achieve.
DRUM!: What was your biggest
mistake as a clinic organizer?
Tama: Thinking its possible to
ensure things can be so well
planned that everything will be
completely perfectly organized at every clinic. Even with
everyones best efforts, things
come up. You just make it work,

by working with everyone, the
best you can.
Gretsch: In general, we have
had really good consistency
with our clinics. The key is making sure all dates are confirmed
and locked down, both by the
artist and the store. Its important that the artist doesnt surprise the store when they arrive
for a clinic and vice-versa, its
critical that the artist arrives
when expected by the store. It
all comes down to clearly communicating expectations.
Pearl: The organization of the
event in [a given] market falls
on the dealer as he knows his
market better than we do. Our
greatest concern is that the
preparations are well organized
by the dealer on the front end. A
successful event from this aspect would be proper promotion,
production, venue, and product.
We also want the artist to be
very comfortable when setting
up and sound checking. It is
important to a good event that
everything the artist requires to
perform is in place. If everything
is properly organized then all the
pieces will fall into place, and
the event as a whole should be a
stress-free environment.
Pat Grah am | Tam a
Mik e Far riss | Pea rl
John Palmer | Gretsch
DRUM!
47
Clinical ly Proven
technical questions, he says. Im a New
Yorker so I talk really fast. My reps that
are handling me over there are always
like, Remember, youve got to talk slow,
because Im just rambling away and you
can just see that theyre catching every
third or fourth word.
On the f lipside, we assumed Bittners
nightmare clinic was the one in a
London pub a few years ago when a
drunk was heckling him. Or that time
in Poland where an audience member
continuously challenged him (He later
confessed, I kind of liked it.). But
the honor goes to a small music store
in Massachusetts a few months ago. It
all started when the store employees
wanted to remove the click track sound
from the playback. Doing all this stuff
at zero hour made me nervous. I want
to do it the way I want to do it Im the
artist, right? Im not trying to be that
guy, but shouldnt I be the one that has
the say on how Im going to do my clinic?
Its how Ive been doing this for the last
three years and no one has complained
about it before. My argument was you
barely hear [the click] anyways.
Sure enough, the laptop crashed
halfway through the first Shadows Fall
track. On the next track, the metronome
and the song panned out of his headphones in a section that had a tempo
change. No big deal, he just counted and
came back in where he was supposed to,
but it definitely messed up his mojo. It
was one of those things where I knew it
was going to be messed up if it didnt go
down the way that I had been practicing
it for the last two weeks prior.
We all know New Yorkers love to
complain, but Bittners reasons for hating that day are altruistic. Its the first
time that I left a clinic actually wondering if people enjoyed it or not.
Reading
The Crowd
Clinic audiences are a mixed bag including beginners, pros, and everybody in
between. Because of this, clinicians have
to strike the right balance of keeping
advanced students interested without
leaving newbies behind. I try to break
things down, says Blackman-Santana.
And I ask them if they understood, and
if anybody says no, then I would break it
down further. Otherwise how are you going to help somebody?
As a jazz drummer, Blackman-Santanas audience tends to have more of a
foundational understanding of the finer

concepts such as comping and limb independence, but just because youre among
like-minded folks is no excuse to get selfindulgent: Ive seen a lot of drummers
do clinics where they just go in and play a
bunch of stuff and it sounds great, but it
sounds like theyre just doing that: Playing
a bunch of stuff. Theres no real teaching
thats going on.
Despite the stick-twirling antics
of a Chili Peppers show, Smith is as
bothered by performance clinics as
Blackman-Santana is. As a kid in the
late 70s, the future Pepper had anticipated a Billy Cobham clinic coming through Ann Arbor, Michigan, for
weeks, even getting there early to drool
over the Mahavishnu masters kit. As
Smith recalls, Cobham walked out and
sat down without a word, proceeding to
dazzle everyone for 20 minutes. And
then he steps up to the microphone and
says, Any questions? It was so intimidating. I dont know if he didnt want to
be there or was in a bad mood or maybe
thats just what he does. What are you
going say after that? What kind of
sticks do you use, Mr. Cobham?
Its more intellectually gratifying for
Blackman-Santana at a targeted clinic,
like the master class she recently gave at
State University Of New York (Orange
campus). This was with professional
drummers, but there were also guitar
players and a couple of bass players there,
so I was discussing the cohesion of playing together, which I would talk about
anyway, but maybe a little more because
there were other instrumentalists there. I
talked about some of my particular views
on the music business, where things in the
industry are headed. I like to feel people
out and see what they want to talk about.
At the same time, I want to talk about the
topics that I feel are important.
Smith isnt big on handouts or other
materials because it makes the time
together seem like school a death
sentence for any clinician. BlackmanSantanas aversion is more immediate. Im not doing anything like that,
she scoffs. If you say, Im a student of
drums for life, thats beautiful. When
you say Im a third grader and I need a
sheet, then you are going to remain a
third grader and keep needing a sheet.
Nothing wrong with a sheet, you can get
great information. Its just not a tactic
that I have employed.
Bittner is the complete opposite, handing out threeto-five pages every time, no
exceptions. Thats why sometimes they
DRUM!
49
DRUM!
49
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Clinical ly Proven
run so long because they start looking at
stuff and Im going, Oh, man, weve got to
wrap this up. If theres anything you see
here that you want me to go through, ask
me. But I wont sit there and go through
everything on the pages we might be
there for hours.
Speaking of long stretches of time, we
never mentioned what happened in that
trial clinic Bittner did back in 05. Close to
175 people came out very respectable for
a first-timer. But the takeaway was more
valuable. I learned no one wants to see you
there for two-and-a-half hours. [laughs]
Protocol
And Etiquette
The first rule of a clinic is there are no
rules either for the clinician or the
audience. Its more about common sense.
Take the topic of filming, for instance. I
dont care if you record, film, whatever,
Bittner says. I would prefer if you dont,
but if youre going to, please just keep it
for your own personal use. I dont want it
up on YouTube only because 95 percent
of the people that come to these things
have a cell phone and the sound quality is going to be terrible. And then you
read all the comments: I cant hear! It
sounds like crap! Exactly. Which is why
I tape every one of my clinics with the
[Zoom] Q3 and I even tell people, Look,
Im filming this with my own cameras at
good angles so you can see whats going
on and with a good sound card so you
can hear it and Im going to put it all on
the Internet where you can get it for free
anyways. Im not selling it.
Once a clinics over it aint really over.
Smith, Blackman-Santana, and Bittner
sign autographs, hand out schwag, and do
meet-and-greets, not because they have
to but because its a good hang. My thing
is if you do one autograph signing you
should do them all, Smith says. Its not
fair to be like, Im only going sign for 20
minutes and then be, Screw all you guys.
During the Q&A portion, Smith frequently has to rein in the star-struck fan:
Do you think you look like Will Ferrell?
That comes up quite a bit, he says, and
not at all joking. People can start getting
a little kooky with all that Hollywood
s__t, you know?
Bittner has a strategy for modifying
audience behavior when things veer off
topic. Ill get, Do you know Neil Peart?
Yes. Next question. Im not rude but Ill
keep the answer short. Im not here to
tell you about all my famous drummer
friends. 99.9 percent of the guys you ask

if I know them, I know them. Probably
every one is in my phone right now. You
get those people where you can tell when
theyre asking, theyre looking for you to
say something maybe not positive [about
that drummer].
Sometimes Blackman-Santana gets
what she calls the ugly girl questions:
Whats it like to be a female drummer? She used to find it irritating, but
lately doesnt mind it. If people dont
understand someones perspective,
their thoughts about that might never
change, she reasons. So when they ask
me about that I tell them, My hands
dont know whether theyre male or
female; they just know whether theyre
making a certain sound or not.
Besides blowing chops and being rude,
what are the biggest gaffes clinicians
make? I dont know, Bittner says, maybe
asking for too much money? Expecting the
world and not getting it?
When Students
Are Teachers
How many clinicians would own up to
learning something from an audience
member? In Japan a few years ago, a
young unschooled girl actually had
Smith rethinking his crossover on hats
and snare. Its hard for him to describe
her unorthodox technique, but, he says,
I remember the power that she got out
of her right hand. It opened my eyes like,
Wow, that sounds really cool. I did it for
a while, but I wasnt confident enough to
pull it off on stage or anything like that.
As for shameless pilfering from other
drummers, its open season all year round.
I have no qualms about that, he adds
gleefully. What are clinics for? You go to
guitar clinics and they tape up their pedals and knobs so you cant see what their
settings are. Whats that about?
As for the stolen lick, Smith wont say
what it was but he will cop to the victim:
Ian Paice. Thats all you need to know.
He did a one-handed roll on the snare,
which Ive seen but never in person and
it was amazing, he says, adding, but
thats not the thing I stole.
Blackman-Santana recalls a time
in Sydney where an audience member
asked if the traditional-grip player ever
reversed her grips, so that the right
hand was traditional, her left matched.
I said, Ive never tried it, but I might
as well right now. It was very awkward.
[laughs] I dont think he was a drummer
DRUM!
51
DRUM!
51
Clinical ly Proven
Its jus t
bei ng able
to have t hat
exper ience
o f seei ng
so mebody
i n person,
seei ng t hem
s weat, i n
rea l ti me
no t w it h
a phone
or v iewf i nder i n
y our face.
C had Sm ith
because its a weird thing to ask. But it

was an interesting challenge.
Photograph: DAVE CONSTANTIN
New Media:
Help Or
Hindrance?
Ever since the recession, the availability
of clinic dollars has dropped considerably.
Even before then, online education and
the increasing quality of the digital experience Skype lessons, etc. encroaches
on the traditional territory of clinics. I
think its great to integrate that with your
clinic because then youre able to share
with many more people, says BlackmanSantana. I definitely plan on doing that.
But I dont think that should ever replace
seeing clinics live. If you never saw Tony
Williams play then you would never
understand his power, his tone, the voracity with which he attacked the drums. If
you never saw Art Blakey play, who I was
fortunate enough to see, you would never
have felt him shake the stage.
For Bittner, the golden age of

clinics was 1985 till the early 90s.
Drome Sound, the local music store in
Schenectady, was his go-to spot, and
he caught every one the store put on
because it was a constant barrage of
education. Yes, music instruction has
adapted to the Internet, but as far as
replacing the clinic? You can get online
with anybody in the world but theres a
difference between being in an online
clinic chat room or whatever and being
physically in the room with someone. I
may be able to look at you through the
computer screen and go, Okay, can you
please play this? And okay, well, you
can sort of see what Im doing and kind
of hear it I guess but
Smith is equally skeptical. Its just
being able to have that experience of
seeing somebody in person, seeing them
sweat, in real time not with a phone
or viewfinder in your face. Being in
the moment and always having that as
your memory and your experience, I
hope that that will always be there. Im
confident that it will.
DRUM!
53
DRUM!
53
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MAKING M
AS THE RHYTHMIC BACKBONE OF THE FORWARD-
THINKING JAZZ-FUSION OUTFIT YELLOWJACKETS,
WILL KENNEDY
HAS LEARNED PLENTY OF LESSONS ABOUT MUSICAL
EXPRESSION AND HOLDING DOWN A FAT GROOVE.
THE KEY IS HOW TO MAKE THAT WORK RIGHT NOW.
ill Kennedy is sitting idly in his car in the dusty parking lot of a casual restaurant in southeastern Texas. Despite the artificial attractiveness of the manicured suburban landscape
around him the very embodiment of the American Dream his gaze is pointed downward, away
from the light streaming through the windshield and into the darkness below the dashboard.
BY A NDRE W NUSC A |
56
DRUM!
PHO T OGR A PH BY SERGIONE INF USO
MOMENTS
DRUM!
57
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W ILL KENNEDY
This is, admittedly, a strange position for someone
behind the wheel. But Kennedy is striking an all-toofamiliar pose in the 21st century: the distracted digital
operator. (Good thing the car is parked.) With neck tucked
and eyes locked, he flicks at the glowing screen of his mobile phone, transfixed by lines of text as they whiz by. The
keys hang limply from the ignition.
Nope, nothing important today.
At this time of year right around election season much of the United States is too cold to sit with
the windows down. But this is Katy, a satellite city of
Houston that Kennedy now calls home, and the average

temperature in the winter is the rough equivalent to what
is experienced further north in the spring. Its the perfect
weather to let the breeze seep into the car.
Out of the blue, a woman Kennedy has never met
walks up to the window and peers in.
I feel like I should introduce myself.
She pauses, then smiles.
Im the other Democrat in the neighborhood.
Kennedy pauses, searching for something to say. How
on Earth did she know that?
KENNEDYS SE TUP
3
D
A
2
4
1
CYMBALS Zildjian
A 14" A Custom Hi-Hat
1 22" x 18" Bass Drum
B 16" A Custom Crash
2 14" x 6.5" Snare Drum
C 20" K Custom Dry Ride
3 12" x 8" Tom
D 17" A Custom Crash
4 14" x 14" Floor Tom
E 18" A Custom Crash
60
DRUM!
August 2013
Will Kennedy also uses Pearl Eliminator chaindrive single pedal, Pro-Mark Will Kennedy 5A
signature wood-tip and MJZ5 Jazz Caf sticks,
and Evans heads (Clear EC2 tom batters, G1
tom resos, ST Dry snare, and EMAD2 bass)
DRUMmagazine.com
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THAT, THAT HAS SOME S T RE TCHING

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TERMS OF MUSICA L IT Y A ND GROOV E BU T
K ICK BACK A ND ENJOY A SHUF FL E .
7A Stretch
L 16 3/4" 42.55cm D .540" 1.37cm

VH7AS
Oh, right. The Obama 2012 sticker on

the back bumper.
Oh, wow, nice to meet you. They both
laugh at the awkward moment.
And thats when William Kennedy
realizes hes not in California anymore.
EMBRACING CHANGE
In his decade-and-a-half of drumming

for famed jazz-fusion quartet Yellowjackets, Kennedys mantra has always
been this: Create moments that take
people places.
That is certainly what the 53-year-old
is hoping he has done with his playing
on the bands new album, A Rise In The
Road, which consists of ten new songs
and features a fresh face on bass: Felix
Pastorius, son of the late (and legendary)
Weather Report bassist Jaco Pastorius. It
is no small matter to change 25 percent of
any band, never mind one that is 33 years
old. But Kennedy is buzzing about the
potential to break new ground.
Theres fear involved replacing a
founding member, that big footprint of
sound. What do you do? We didnt do a
big cattle call, but we played with a few
guys. Felix stood out. Were so glad, so
happy that we captured him. Hes been
a wonderful addition to our band and
our sound. He brings a youthful spirit
that is really wonderful to have, and that
commitment to being a musician and
character of sound is just an honor to see
and experience.
In this way, A Rise In The Road is aptly
named: the personnel change represents both a challenge and a chance at
something new for this veteran group of
musicians, which includes pianist Russell
Ferrante and saxophonist Bob Mintzer.
Little did the band know of the fortune
that would come when it first set out
on this road in 1981; more than three
decades and 22 albums later, its members

are preparing to turn yet another corner
in pursuit of new adventures.
A Rise In The Road chronicles that
moment of transformation: personally,
professionally, and, most importantly
given the nature of the change, sonically.
Nowhere is that more evident than in
Kennedys drum playing.
Its a snapshot of time of our interpretation of these new songs. Some of
them were really challenging in terms of
creating groove and shape to them, and
others were easier to fall into and play
and have fun. Its cool to create a project
like that, that has some stretching going
on, pushing the envelope in terms of
musicality and groove, but kick back
and enjoy a shuff le.
The Jackets, as they call themselves,
arent interested in duplicating past projects, and for the new album, its members
composed new songs with the clear intent
of going in new directions. They got
what they asked for: one such tune, An
Informed Decision, carries a 4/4 time
signature but has phrasing on top in 11.
The song was written by Ferrante, and its
structure initially perplexed the rest of the
seasoned musicians in the group.
It was just an enormous puzzle to
find a groove. Its an interesting Yellowjackets challenge because were always
excited about a strong melody. Thats really important for us; we want that to be
the statement of the song. Its not about
the groove so much as the content of the
melody. And here we are with a song
with such a technical base, with a great
melody. So what do you do to support
that melody and create that emotional
arc in the song?
To create that experience, Kennedy
stripped the song down to its component
parts using a tiny drum kit in Ferrantes
garage in Los Angeles. First, he laid down
DRUM!
61
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DRUM!
61
W ILL KENNEDY
a basic 4/4 beat so that his bandmates could work their
way through their parts. I found that it was important to
lay a bed for them to get comfortable. Once they internalized the underlying structure of the song, Kennedy
cued up Ferrantes original demo, which Ferrante had
composed in Apples Logic Pro software without drum
programming. Then Kennedy just went at it, tackling its
many nuances right there in rehearsal.
It turned out to be a kind of funk-based groove that
supports the four but implies the eleven. As I began to shed
with it, I started by playing a backbeat of the four and using
the bass drum to catch the hits of the eleven. That helped
me evolve to a groove that
did not have the backbeat
though at the end, the vamp
WILL KENNEDYS
of the song, I brought the
SELECTED
backbeat back to fade it out.
DISCOGRAPHY
Its a loose, jazzy funk groove.
In hindsight, it seemed to
take him only a moment.
KEEPING UP WITH
BIG BROTHER
62
1987
Four Corners
1988
Politics
1989
The Spin
1991
Greenhouse
1993
Like A River
1994
Run For Your Life
1995
Dreamland
1997
Blue Hats
1998
Club Nocturne
2011
Timeline
DRUM!
August 2013
Will Kennedy sat behind his

first drum set at age five, in
the modest home in which
he grew up in Oakland, California. His parents were not
musicians, but his father had
a sizable record collection
and a passion for playing music at all hours. It was enough
to perk up young Wills ears.
We were hearing music
at all times in the house. Big
band stuff, smaller trios,
classical music, countrywestern the whole gamut.
It was a really great school
for us. Even before I knew
what jazz was, I was rolling
with that sound.
This, of course, was a
time of great transition for
music, from the prim sounds
of the 1950s to the increasingly looser tones of the
1960s. Fond memories of
Count Basie playing April In
Paris were soon replaced by
something decidedly funkier.
Those early years left a massive impression on Will and
his older brother Hershall.
Tony Williams and The
New Lifetime. Billy Cobhams
Spectrum. And the funk
Parliament Funkadelic,
Sly And The Family Stone,
Tower Of Power I had the
best of both worlds.
DRUMmagazine.com
With six years on Will, Hershall began mastering the

keyboard. (He is now a well-known multi-instrumentalist
for funk outfit Graham Central Station.) The younger
Kennedy was forced to keep up on the drum set.
Supporting my brother as he played keyboards was a
great challenge. He being older than me, I had to be on my
toes to keep up with him. It pushed me. I had the desire to
be pushed and keep up. We would write songs, learn songs
from other artists, and countless hours of jamming.
We had the police called a few times. We got to know
those guys.
So began Kennedys first drum lessons, and a series of
formative experiences that gave him the vocabulary and
tools to be confident on the throne. At age nine, Kennedy
began taking formal lessons, getting an education on
rudiments, note values, and the drummers role in a band
of musicians.
Playing an instrument that could be considered the
loudest, how is it that I could affect the performance by
doing the opposite of that, arc the emotion of the song by
using dynamics? Discovering things like that. Those types
of things evolved in my mind.
In a flash of entrepreneurialism, Kennedy turned his
brisk skills progress into a position in the house band of a
local club. It was his first taste of music not just as a hobby, but as a career. It was like, Oh, wow, I can get paid for
this! Up until then it was just fun and games, something
that Hershall and I did to have fun. I realized that this is
really an art, a profession, to get good at and leave a legacy
and a mark on the industry.
Kennedy fondly recalls playing at the Keystone Korner
jazz club in San Francisco with his brother. Born in 1960,
I wasnt conscious of Coltrane and Miles. I wasnt old
enough to see them then. But they were appearing there
often. When I discovered that playing drums could turn
into a career, in my teens, we started playing there. It was
awesome. The Doobie Brothers, Kenny Loggins a wide
variety of artists would come and play. There was just a
great community of musicians from the Oakland-Richmond-BerkeleySan Francisco area.
Given such support, Hershalls career began to blossom in
the 1970s he went on to join Graham Central Station after
founder Larry Graham left Sly And The Family Stone and
shortly thereafter, so did Wills. In the ensuing years, Will
undertook more practice, played more gigs, and acquired
plenty of chops all around the San Francisco Bay Area.
But he was still a young man, in awe of his elders.
Nowhere was that more apparent than at his first drum
clinic, held sometime in the late 1970s, at the well-known
shop Drum World, then in San Francisco.
Sharing the session with him? Some guy 14 years his
senior named David Garibaldi. From a hugely successful
band called Tower Of Power that Kennedy may or may not
have used to listen to as a kid. No pressure!
I was nervous as a puppy. I didnt really know what to
say or do, other than to be myself and share techniques.
Watching David do his presentation was a great learning
experience and he just had a ton of techniques and approaches to share. We all went to school watching him do
that clinic.
Even as he absorbed Garibaldis chops, Kennedy
was terrified. What was he supposed to say? To do?
MAKE THE QUALITY CHOICE.
THEY DID.
1A Wood
THIS IS A GIG YOU V E GOT TO SHED FOR. IL L

GO IN TO THE PR AC T ICE ROOM AND PU T THE
PHONES ON A ND PL AY A LONG OR JUS T PL AY
A BIT. JUS T TO REMEMBER W HO I A M.
SHAWN PELTON
FOREVER THE SEEKER
So, how does a guy whos been playing in the

same band for years keep it fresh? Thats the
question on Kennedys mind as he embarks
on yet another tour. The Yellowjackets have
already been preparing with the occasional
show here and there, but with A Rise In The
Road to support, they will certainly be playing well into 2014.
This is a gig youve got to shed for. If
theres a span of time where were off
like right now, three weeks of downtime
before the next run of dates, Ill listen
to some of the music and if not, go into
the practice room and put the phones on
and play along or just play a bit. Just to
remember who I am.
DRUM!
63
Saturday Night Live
L 17 43.18cm D .590 1.50cm
VH1AW
Chad Smiths Funk Blaster
Despite the improvisational tendencies

that the band embraces on the road, the
need to serve the song is always top of mind
for Kennedy. He remembers when he was
a session musician in Los Angeles, recording drum parts for film soundtracks. The
exacting experience informs his expressive,
free-flowing playing today.
When youre hired for a movie date,
in certain situations the producer desires
you to come to that place of maximum
content and contribution to what hes
written right away. He wants you to arrive in that place as quickly as possible,
because he has a 100-piece orchestra
waiting in the lobby and 20 scenes to
record for. Youre in that seat, the music
is going and the chart is in front of you.
Youre looking at a very vague roadmap
of the music youre playing, and its on
you to contribute the emotion and peaks
and valleys. Sometimes you have specific
things to play, other times hell give you
direction. Its nerve-wracking. Millions
of dollars are being spent. If you blow it,
there are 20 other guys lined up to fill
what you couldnt do. There are some
butterflies in your stomach. You have to
be confident enough to make a moment.
Still, there are risks in mastering
this moment-making like boredom,
or stagnation. With so many Yellowjackets shows under his belt, how does a
veteran like Kennedy keep from falling
into a rut? Simple: He tries to recognize, then actively avoid, old habits
wherever possible.
Through a couple of recordings, in
some of the Latin tunes, I found myself
playing similar ride cymbal patterns.
It shows up on the gig, too. Once you
line up those tunes next to each other
[on a set list], its Oh, man, I played the
same ride cymbal pattern on that tune
two years ago as the one I just did! Its
almost shocking.
To combat this, Kennedy seeks out new
approaches to his instrument. He recalls
CHAD SMITH
Red Hot Chili Peppers
L 16 40.64cm D .605 1.54cm
VHCHADW
New Orleans Jazz Wood
Should he get up there on stage and just

play? Should he take questions? At a
young age, Kennedy had the equivalent
of a masters degree in drum technique,
but he was still in grade school when it
came to the art of giving a presentation.
He gave it his all anyway.
The reaction was very positive, if I
remember correctly. The advantage of
having enough playing time under my belt
to confidently deliver a performance and
shape a solo and take people on a musical
journey behind the kit, thats what saved
me through my nervousness.
In other words, he made some moments.
By 1986, Kennedy was a Bay Area
fixture, and thats when he was asked to
audition for the five-year-old band Yellowjackets. He aced it. Replacing founding drummer Ricky Lawson, Kennedy
redirected the bands funky inflections
toward a more swinging, rocking path.
The following year, the band recorded and
released its album, Four Corners. It would
be a milestone that set in motion a string
of Grammy-winning recordings for the
band and clarified to the industry at large
what jazz fusion was and ought to be.
VICTOR INDRIZZO
Alanis Morissette / Independent

VHNOJW
L 16 40.64cm D .555 1.41cm
VATER.COM
DRUM!
63
W ILL KENNEDY
Photograph: JUSTIN STEYER
STRAIGHT JACKETS
The band laying it down
at a live radio performance at Seattles KPLU.
the 1997 Yellowjackets song Capetown, from the bands

Blue Hats album, which is based on a 6/8 groove nicknamed Magabu that he borrowed from the West African
country of Cameroon, courtesy of native musician Paul
Tchounga. The moment Kennedy heard the groove, he
couldnt resist.
I met Paul at a gig somewhere; he was playing. I
talked with him for a while and realized he was from another place. We exchanged numbers and kept in contact.
We got together one afternoon with two drum sets. Were
jamming, and he suddenly fell into this groove. I had
a [Sony] Walkman at the time, and I asked him, Man,
what is that, what are you playing? Where is the 1?
He showed me, and I recorded it, but I still couldnt
grasp playing it. Its very angular and syncopated, yet has
this floaty, bouncy feel about it thats really cool. I ended
up showing it to our pianist, Russell. He fell in love with
it, and we ended up writing this song.
Like with any syncopated groove, every groove has
a pulse, a heartbeat. Once you can discover what its root
pulse is, you can discover where the other limbs fall in
relationship to that. I had to internalize the foundation
of the 6/8 with accents on 1 and 4 before I could add the
hi-hat part and bass drum part.
Kennedy was so happy with how the final composition
came out that he proudly notes Tchoungas influence on it,
E V ERY GROOV E HAS A PUL SE, A

HE A R T BE AT. ONCE YOU CA N DISCOV ER
W HAT I T S ROOT PUL SE IS, YOU CA N
DISCOV ER W HERE THE OTHER L IMBS
FA L L IN REL AT IONSHIP TO THAT.
even 16 years later. Its all about switching it up and being

open to new influences, he says.
The important thing to remember is, bottom line, you
can never know it all. Theres always something new to
learn. Be a sponge; always be a sponge. Soak that stuff in
and try to capture it. Even if you acquire a pattern thats
difficult, you can break it up and play parts and create variations. Simple things like that help keep things interesting.
As interesting as the time you met what appeared to be
the only other registered Democrat in Katy, Texas?
He just laughs.
Here we are again, creating those moments.
DRUM!
65
W ILL KENNEDY
Yellowjackets
Yellowjackets
Will Kennedy
Yellowjackets
Will
Kennedy
Madrugada
Will
Kennedy
Madrugada
Madrugada
GROOVE ANALYSIS By Brad Schlueter
GOOD W ILL
GROOVING
WILL KENNEDY IS A STELLAR DRUMMER
and musician. One of the reasons he has
such a unique, interesting, and funky
groove is that he plays open-handedly,
with his left hand on the hi-hat. That allows his right hand to add offbeat hi-hat
accents and tom notes in spots that a
right-handed drummer wouldnt. Hes
also one of those rare drummers who
can get ten tones from his snare drum.
He explores middle and lower dynamic
levels more than the upper ranges, which
brings out subtle timbres from his kit and
cymbals that most drummers ignore.
Madrugada
Kennedys percolating and dynamic
Madrugada groove has a funky oddtime feel due to the 5/5/6 note phrasing,
yet is always very musical. Kennedy also
wrote this cool track for the band.
Cant We Elope
This tracks title uses a play on words
from Herbie Hancocks Cantaloupe
Island and also borrows the bass line
from that song. It has a relaxed feel, but
Kennedy adds lots of subtle embellishments to keep his groove from being
anything but repetitive.
I Knew His Father

This song welcomes bassist Felix Pastorius to the bands lineup and features
one of those percolating grooves that
Kennedy executes so well. This time he
plays a bouncy up-tempo reggae groove
(that Ive written in 4/4 rather than cut
time) with a shuffle feel. Kennedy usually
keeps his hi-hat opening very narrow,
so the difference between his open and
closed hats is very slight and all the snare
notes in this transcription are ghosted. On
this CD, Pastorius plays his fathers bass
graciously loaned to him by its owner and
family friend, Robert Trujillo of Metallica.
66
DRUM!
August 2013
DRUMmagazine.com
Madrugada
q = 110
q = 110
Intro
q = 110
Intro
>> >> >> >>

>> >> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >>
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y
>
y
y
y
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>
@ y >Y y y yy >yye >yye yy yy > yyY>Y y yye yy >yye >yye yy yy > yy >YY y yye yy ye yye yy yy > yy >YY
4
4 @@ yy YY y yye
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e e e e e e e e
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e y y y y y y y y y z y @@ y >Y y ye
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e e e
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Intro
Yellowjackets
Yellowjackets
Will Kennedy
Will Kennedy
Can't
We Elope
Can't We Elope
Cant We Elope
q = 116
q = 116
Intro
Intro
44
4
>
>
j
T
yj y y T
y y y

y t t y y yy
y y
y t t e
e
y
y
y tt tt tt yy YY tt tt tt yy tt yy tt yy yy y YY YY YY

Yellowjackets
I Knew His Father

q = 106
q = 106
Intro
q = 106
Intro
q = 106
Intro
q = 106
Intro
Swing all 1/16ths

Swing all 1/16ths
Swing all 1/16ths
Swing all 1/16ths
y t t t yY t t t t t t t t yY
y
t t t y Y t t t t t t t t y Y
Yellowjackets
Will Kennedy
Yellowjackets
Yellowjackets
Will Kennedy
I Knew
His Father
Will
Yellowjackets
Will Kennedy
Kennedy
I Knew
His Father
II Knew
His
Will Kennedy
Knew
His Father
Father
I Knew His Father
y yy yy y y y y yy y y y Y Y yyy yy
444 yy yy yy yy yy zz yy zz yy yy yy yy yy zz yy zz yy yy YY y YY yzz yy yy yy yy yy
44 yy yy yy yy yy zz yy zz yy yy yy yy yy zz yy zz yy yy YY yy YY yyzz yy yy yy yy yy
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y yz z yz z y yz z
yyz
YY YY YY YY YY YYy YY y YY YY yy yy y yy yy yy yy
Yy y yy yy yy
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YY yy YY yy YY YY YY YY YY YY yy YY yy yy yy yy yy yy yy YY yy yy yy yy
Y yy Y yy Y Y Y Y Y Y yy Y yy y y y y y y Y yy y y y
j y y
yzzjj YY yy yy yy yy yy yy yYY y yy yy yy yy yy yy yyzz YY y yy yy yy yy
y
zj
yyzj YY yy yy yy yy yy yy yy YY yy yy yy yy yy yy yyzz YY yy yy yy yy yy
yz Y yy y y y y y y Y y y y y y y yz Y yy y y y y
yy yy yy YY y yy yy yy YY
YY yy YY
yy yy yy YY yy yy YY yy yy y YY zz
y y y Y y y y y Y y Y y Y y y y y Y yy y Y y y Y z
yy yy yy YY yy yy yy yy YY yy YY yyy YY yy yy yy yy YY yy yy YY yy yy YY zz
y
yy yy yy
yy

y
Intro
Swing all 1/16ths
played near rim

played near rim
played near rim
played near rim
played near rim
Make it there.
Make it anywhere.
LPMUSIC.COM
Duende Percusin Pro Cajon 76
Jhair Sala
Afro Peruvian Plus Salsa, Squared By Talent
By j. poet
Photograph: TOM SCHWARZ
hair Valencia, known professionally

as Jhair Sala, might seem a little
young (at 25) to be considered a
world-class percussionist and master of anything. But when you hear him
play cajon, the Afro Peruvian box drum
thats currently turning up in salsa, pop,
and folk bands worldwide, its hard for
the m word not to pop into mind. Sala
also aces congas, timbales, bongos, and
bata, but its his unique approach to the
cajon thats made him a force to be reckoned with on the New York City Latin
music scene.
Afro Peruvian rhythms are in a 6/6
or a 6/8, while Afro Cuban tunes are
in 4/4, 12/8, and 6/8, Sala explains.
The Afro Peruvian 6/8 can mesh with
the Cuban 6/8 and, as long as you
have threes and fours in the beats, the
numbers can be broken up and merged.
If I play a fill in an Afro Cuban song, its
always going to feel different because
I maintain my own Afro Peruvian feel
and that gives a twist to the sound when
Im playing the Cuban stuff.
Sala lives in New Jersey, not far from
the home of Cuban percussionist Pedrito
Martinez, his boss, and the man who introduced him to the New York City salsa
scene. Like Sala, Martinez is known for
his melodic approach to hand percussion. The duo often gets together in the
basement of Salas home to practice and
stay in shape. We dont play as much as
we used to in the early days, but we do
warming-up paradiddles, develop our
solos, and run through the grooves were
working on. We just play what we feel in
DRUM!
71
Catholic churches for collections. The lid

is snapped open and closed and the side
of the box is played with a small stick. It
sounds like the Cuban clave. The quijada is
a donkey jawbone with the teeth loosened
to produce a sound that is part shekere,
part guiro. But it was always the cajon that
fascinated him.
The family of Rolando Campos, the
man who started the group in 1969, and
his son Ronny, the groups current director, lived near the Sala family. My family
knew the Campos family even before my
mother was born. We considered ourselves
part of their family and there were parties
at my house where wed all get together
and play. As a child, Sala would go to Peru
Negro rehearsals and the bands percussionists would show him how to handle
different percussion instruments.
After leaving Peru Negro, my mom
was a back-up singer for [Afro Peruvian
singing star] Eva Ayllon, who was also a
friend of the family, so I was always listening to the cajon. Eventually, Salas mother
the moment to stay in shape, so we dont

drop the ball when were on stage.
Weaned On Rhythm
Sala was born and raised in Lima, Peru.

His extended family was full of musicians
and included many well-known Peruvian
singers. My grandfather sang and my
father, who passed away when I was 16,
was a musician and composer, Sala says.
I dont recall any trouble or sadness in
our house. I think because the family was
always playing music.
Salas mother, Mariela Valencia, was
one of the original singers and dancers
in Peru Negro, the folkloric troupe that
helped reintroduce Afro Peruvian music
to the world. She performed with them
from the time she was 12 until she was
21, starting as a dancer and moving up to
become one of the groups lead singers.
The music is known for its inventive use of
unique percussion instruments including
the cajon, the cajita, and the quijada de
burro. The cajita is a lidded box used in
Jhairs Setup
A
D
5
2
2
1
1
6
3
CYMBALS Zildjian
A
B
C
D
16" A Custom
15" Azuka Latin Multi Crash
17" FX El Sonido Multi Crash Ride
18" A Custom
PERCUSSION LP
E Salsa Downtown Timbale Cowbell, Salsa Sergio
Bongo Cowbell, and LP Stealth Jam Block
Jhair Sala also uses Vic Firth timbale sticks and Remo heads including Fiberskin3 for congas.
72
DRUM!
August 2013
DRUMmagazine.com
DRUMS LP Durian Wood Classic Series Congas

1 11.75" x 30" Congas
2 12.5" x 30 Tumbas
3 Percusin Real Jhair Valencia-Sala
Signature Series Cajon
4 LP Legends Series John Dandy Rodriguez Bongos
5 14" & 15" LP Prestige Timbales
6 Bass Drum
started her own band, The Mariela Valencia Show. When I was three years old, I
started taking lessons from Lucho Gomez,
one of the percussionists in my mothers
band. My father played cajon too, and Id
already been sitting next to him and trying
to follow what he was doing.
Gomez taught Sala the finger, hand,
and palm techniques for cajon and other
percussion instruments, but he wasnt
a conventional teacher. He didnt focus
on technique, he taught Sala to learn the
basic rhythm patterns and stick with
them. After Sala knew the basics, Gomez
stopped correcting his hand positions. He
showed him how to keep the focus on his
hands and the patterns he was beating out.
Id look at his hands and try to accommodate his technique to my own, but he told
me there was no way to define a proper
method of playing. He encouraged me to
find a style I was comfortable with. He had
a sharp, clean attack when he played cajon
and had me practice until I was able to
reproduce that sound on my own.
By the time he was five, Sala knew he
wanted to be a percussionist. He got his
first professional paying gig when he was
seven sitting in with his mothers band,
and turning in a professional performance
that belied his young age. Since I was
little, playing music was normal for me.
Sometimes I was a bit nervous if I was
playing at parties in my house, but not
when I was playing on stage. I was always
comfortable on stage.
Sala was seven when he began rehearsing for Peru Negrito, Peru Negros youth
group, in hopes of getting into the troupe.
There, he was able to continue his formal
study of the cajon and other instruments.
He attended a couple of rehearsals, but
soon after that, his mother moved the
family to New Jersey and Sala met Pedrito
Martinez, who was married to a close
friend of the family. He came to Salas
house for a holiday party. I was only nine
years old, but I brought out my cajon. We
sat down together and started playing
folkloric music from Peru. Martinez lived
nearby and was so impressed with Salas
playing that he suggested they start practicing and jamming together. He became
Salas mentor and teacher and taught him
how to handle bongos, timbales, bata, and
other Cuban percussion instruments.
The first thing I noticed is that he
doesnt play like anyone else, Sala says.
Hes always trying to develop a sound
thats outside the box, new ways of playing that stretch the limits of the instruments, while keeping the groove going
Jhair Sala
NOLA PERUVIAN
Brooklyn Bowl 2012 with
The Pedro Martinez Group
(notice Stanton Moores
unmistakable Galactic kit
chilling in the background).
forward. Hes a singer as well and I think

that affects his melodic approach. Hes
discovered a way to play melodies on percussion instruments and combines those
melodies with the groove. That makes
him sound different from other players.
Hes a pocket percussionist, so I took
some of that, and he places the congas
and tunes them in a way that makes
them blend with the other instruments.
Theyre never too loud or overwhelming.
Moving Up The Musical Ladder

Although Sala had studied with Lucho
Gomez when he was young, he considers
Martinez his main teacher, even though
Martinez insisted that they werent

student and teacher, but equal partners.
They just jammed together and developed
their individual approaches to melody and
rhythm. When Sala was 15, Martinez recommended him for his first professional
American gig outside of his mothers band.
Salsa violin player Alfredo de la F, known
as the Jimi Hendrix of the Latin violin,
had started his own band and needed a
substitute percussionist for a local gig.
Needless to say, Sala acquitted himself
with his usual combination of flawless
technique and passion. When Pedrito
Martinez finally started his own band, he
tapped Sala as an original member.
When he wasnt hanging with Martinez, the teenage Sala was playing second
cajon in the new incarnation of The
Mariela Valencia Show his mother had put
together after coming to the United States.
His father stayed behind in Peru, so his
mother had to work to help support her
extended family. With his mothers group,
Sala played dates in Mexico, Central and
South America, Columbia, and Europe.
He became musical director of the band,
which allowed him to develop as an arranger and bandleader. When his mother
made Valses, her first album in the States,
Sala stepped behind the boards and produced the record. He was only 16.
Photograph: TOM SCHWARZ
J H A I R S A L A S S E L E C T E D D I S C O G R A P H Y
ART NOT
AVAILABLE
2006
What I Want
2006
Island Life

2010
Amarte
2012
Por Fin En
La Calle
2012
Primero
Amarilla
Despus Malva

2013
La Locamotive 2
TBA
Bill Cosby
Comedy
Special
(soundtrack)
ART NOT
AVAILABLE
TBA
TBA
DRUM!
73
It wasnt that intimidating. My mom

usually produced her own albums in
Peru and I watched her in the studio
when I was growing up, so I had an idea
of how to go about it. Her guitar player,
Pepe Torres, wrote the original songs
and we did some classics and standards
with new arrangements. Salas main
contribution was getting his mother to
overcome her aversion to using a drum
kit on the recording. He wanted to give
the music a jazzy edge to differentiate
his mothers band from other Afro Peruvian groups. The drum set was going to
be unique to that record, but from then
on, she used it in her music. It changed
the color of the whole band and gave her
a little tweak, a little flair that allowed
her to add more colors to the sound she
was creating.
At the same time, Sala was learning
the intricacies of Afro Cuban rhythms,
and began lessons with Roberto Chino
Bolaos, one of the top Afro Peruvian
bandleaders and percussionists in the tristate area. His band, Kambalache Negro,
takes a strictly traditional approach to
Afro Peruvian styles. Sala wanted to
make sure that the sound he was developing stayed close to his roots. When
Kambalache Negro made their debut album, 2012s Por Fin En La Calle, Bolaos
asked Sala to appear on the album as a
special guest.
As word began to spread about Salas
inimitable solos and propulsive grooves
with Kambalache Negro and Pedrito
Martinez, he began getting calls from
performers like Desmond Child, Patience
Dabany, and Brenda K. Star. Hes recorded on albums with Ileana Santamara,
Osmany Paredes, Edmar Castaeda, Patience Dabany, and Yerba Buena, but his
main interest is still the work hes doing
with his friend and mentor Pedrito Pablo
Martinez. He was a featured performer,
alongside Steve Gadd and Pedrito
Martinez, at the Percussive Arts Society
International Convention in 2012 and
joined his friends when they presented a
percussion clinic during the event.
From Player To Writer
Until recently, Sala hadnt done that

much writing or arranging, at least
in public, except for his work with his
mothers band when he was a young
man. That changed in 2010 when he
started working with his friend Sebastian Natal, a talented pianist. They put
together La Tematica, a 13-piece timbaand salsa-style band that touches on
most of the genres he loves: funk,
74
DRUM!
I dont see myself

as a virtuoso, but as a
good percussionist who
knows how to accompany other musicians
and play with the rest
of the band.
R&B, rock, and Cuban folkloric music.
Theyve been playing gigs up and down
the East Coast, focusing on Washington, D.C., and New York City. Sala and
Natal collaborate on the lyrics, music,
melodies, and arrangements. Sebastian
usually lays down a bass line first, Sala
explains. That gives you something to
build the lyrics on. Then we compose
the piano part and decide on the percussion Ill add. The last thing we write is
the horn charts.
While theyre finishing up work on the
album, theyve put up a few videos of their
tunes on YouTube and the Latin Percussion channel, congahead.com. In addition
to their own gigs, theyve been backing up
singers from Cuba and Puerto Rico when
they play gigs in the area such as Tirso
Duarte and Mayito Rivera, former lead
singer of Los Van Van.
While he is excited about recording
his still unnamed debut as a bandleader,
Sala has no intention of leaving the Pedrito Martinez band. He also intends to
keep working as a sideman on as many
projects as time permits. His mastery of
Afro Peruvian styles infuses his work in
other genres and makes him one of the
most in-demand players in the New York
area. Lima is a very musical city and
growing up there, listening to different
styles, made it easy for me to play different rhythms and stay in the pocket, Sala
says. I know how to flow from rhythm
to rhythm, be it in a salsa situation, a
Puerto Rican band, or playing with pop
artists or rock bands. I dont see myself
as a virtuoso, but as a good percussionist who knows how to accompany other
musicians and play with the rest of the
band. My goal is to help the performers
by building a good foundation. Im not
interested in getting people to say how
good Im sounding. I want the whole
band to get the credit.
PRODUCT TEST
A BOX FU
OF AUTH LL
E
F L A M E N NTI C
CO
FLAVOR
Duende
Percusin
PRO CAJON
By Gregg Juke
he closest thing to a literal translation of the Spanish word duende into English might be soul,
or perhaps magic. It seems that
instruments made by Duende Percusin
have a little bit of both. Duende Percusin
is a Spanish cajon manufacturer that uses
traditional methods to make finely crafted
instruments by hand. The attention to
detail shows, and now that Duende has
distribution in both the U.S. and the U.K.,
its likely youll be hearing a lot more about
this company and its products. Duende
already has recruited a rather impressive
endorsement roster, including luminaries
such as Efrain Toro and Mino Cinelu.
While the cajon drum is a Cuban/Peruvian instrument with roots in West Africa
that has become popular throughout the
Duende Pro Cajon .............................. $290
All-birch chassis and tapas, guitar-string

snare-wire with internally suspended
sleigh bells, sturdy rubber feet.
Duende Percusin
duendepercusion.com
info@duendepercusion.com
76
world and in a number of musical genres,

it has found a special place in the hearts of
flamenco performers. It was only a matter
of time before Spanish instrument makers
threw their hats in the ring to showcase
their own high-caliber offerings to add to
the already crowded playing field of pro
instruments on the market today. But Duende has something quite special in its Pro
cajon model; the company moniker proves
to be an apt choice.
THE NUTS AND BOLTS
The Duende Pro model is made entirely

of birch. The chassis is constructed of a
top, bottom, back, and sides that are 0.75"
boards themselves made from 1213
thin birch layers glued together. The tapa,
or playing surface, is 0.125" thick and
provides a beautiful tone and response.
The tapa is held securely in place with 18
recessed screws, and there is no need to
loosen or adjust any of them to improve
the resonance or tone; the Pro sounds
great out of the box. The sound-hole is
an approximately 5.25" oval, which helps
provide for plenty of bass tone.
Inside the Duende Pro are more
percussive treats there are two sets of
internal snares in a V-shape on the back of
the tapa, and eight tiny sleigh bells hanging from a wire loop suspended from the
top of the drum, which are set into motion
with a bit of vigorous playing. The bells
add just a touch of seasoning to slaps, accents, and louder bass tones. The internal
snares and the bell-suspension loop appear
to be made from very light-gauge acoustic guitar strings; probably 8-gauge. The
guitar string adds another level of detailed
musicality to an already well-designed and
constructed instrument. There are four
small but solid rubber feet to isolate the
drum from the floor and improve tone.
While there are several finishes available from Duende, the drum I received for
review had a natural birch chassis, while
the tapa playing surface was stained in a
gorgeous striped-ebony finish, emblazoned
with a white Duende logo that created a
stunning visual contrast. The Pro is sized
18.25" x 12" x 12", and fits just perfectly in
a standard cajon case (not included).
The drum is a joy to play. Very responsive to light touches, taps, and finger rolls,
but with lots of full low end available, and
nice sharp slap tones as well. The guitarstring snares and accent-activated sleigh
bells really do add a unique sound to
rhythms played on the Duende Pro.
TESTING AND OBSERVATIONS
While using the D.P. in a live situation on

a fairly large stage with a full P.A., it only
took an SM58 placed just off-center from
the sound-hole to fill the stage and the hall
with plenty of percussive tone. The addition of an all-purpose overhead percussion
mike set about 5' high and pointed down at
an angle picked up lots of crispy slap and
pop sounds; in fact, the microphone had
to be scaled back a bit in order to avoid
being overwhelmed by the DPs plentiful
projection. While waiting for a late-arriv-
BOOM
BOX CAJON
BOBBY ALLENDE
TITO NIEVES
ing drummer, musicians during the first

set remarked that they didnt miss the
drum set at all with yours truly and the
Duende Pro on the job. Thats probably as
grand (albeit succinct) an endorsement as
a non-percussion playing, contemporary
Western musician can give a cajon. Job
well done.
appeared to be quite a bit of pants-fiber

had become stuck to the cajon (or it could
have been small bits of material from the
cajon case Ive been keeping it in), and
would require a bit of scrubbing to get
into pristine shape.
TAILOR-MADE?
I noticed one very small problem with

the model that I received for review. I
doubt that its an issue with the line as a
whole, but as a matter of full-disclosure,
I should probably mention it the
top/seat area of the cajon had a bit of a
tacky/sticky quality, probably just a
very new model with a recent coat of varnish. But after using it for a few practice
sessions and a gig, I did notice that what
PCJ633BB630
FIBERGLASS BODY
VIBRANT
COLOR
THAT GETS YOU NOTICED
AMAZING LOW END
WITH BASS PORT
The Duende Pro Cajon is a wonderful instrument; both beautiful to look

at and full of great sounds. If you are
looking for a serious cajon, either to
add to an existing arsenal, or as a first
professional cajon drum, the Duende
Pro should definitely make your final
possibilities cut-list.
Look for this cajon and many

more at your local Pearl Dealers
CAJON ZONE!
DRUM!
77
WWW.PEARLCAJONZONE.COM
LESSONS
Conga, Mounted Guiro, And Cha-Cha Bell
By Richie Gajate-Garcia
One of my favorite ways to play
is to incorporate several instruments at the same time. If I am
the only percussionist in a band
and we are doing a charanga,
two other instruments besides conga that are
used in this style the Cuban guiro and the
cha-cha cowbell would be greatly missed if
left out. In the following lesson, I have outlined
the patterns for all three instruments for you
to try to work out. Several techniques would
have to be practiced in order to play them
together for starters, a one-handed conga
tumbao and a one-handed guiro while playing
the cha-cha bell with your foot.
If you are right-handed, follow this key. If
you are left-handed, do the opposite.
KEY:
S = Slap
O = Open Tone

!"#$

- has played with Phil Collins, Diana Ross, Hiroshima, and John Denver, recorded movie
soundtracks, taught at Musicians Institute for ten years, and
performs clinics worldwide.
Back To Funky Town

By Glen Caruba
On a recent session for
Saturday Night Fever The
Musical, I had to capture
some of the authentic
sounds of the disco-funkinfused 70s. However, like the major-
1.
For the congas, youll

need some thick skin ...
literally. Thick heads tuned
down, preferably on wood
drums (although fiberglass
was around).
78
DRUM!
2.
ity of us, I did not necessarily have all

the percussion gear from that era. Back
then, drums and percussion were drier,
a bit mellower and with more thud, as
opposed to the brighter, higher-tuned,
and more cutting sounds of todays
Shakers with heavy

shot and metal cylinders
ruled.
3.
standards. No need to freak out, though!

If you need to re-create those sounds, I
have some easy modifications that can
temporarily transform some of your
instruments back to the sounds of the
70s, you dig?
For the timbales, swap

your clear heads for coated
and also tune them down
a half octave. Listen to the
band War (Low Rider) and
youll understand.
4.
Finally, you have to

have cowbell ... and duct
tape! Wrap it up and dry
the tone out.
Introducing
KAT Digital Drum Sets
Feature-packed, incredibly playable,
surprisingly affordable
Meet the all-new KAT digital drum sets.

Generous libraries full of high-quality
drum, cymbal and percussion sounds,
plenty of preset and configurable drum
sets and connectivity to MIDI, USB and
dozens of other input and output devices.
Choose from two models, the featurepacked KT1 and the high-performance
and expandable KT2. KAT kits feature
natural-feeling drum and cymbal pads,
quick and easy set-up and are designed
to be among the quietest kits available.
KATPERCUSSION.COM
IN THE STUDIO WITH
SHAWN PELTON
This is where the

magic happens!
Pelton laughs,
peering out over his
close-miked set.
Text And Photos By Sam Pryor
hough Shawn Pelton is renowned for

his seemingly endless gig with the
Saturday Night Live Band, among
New Yorks inner circle of late-night
recording rounds, he is the go-to man for
sessions of every stripe. And as physical
space and recording budgets in New York
City are always at a premium, Pelton has
increased his value as a super session
drummer by recording tracks in his home

studio then sending the results (typically
via Dropbox) to artists and producers across
the globe. Peltons workload-in-progress
includes Billy Squier, Rosanne Cash, The Late
Night With David Letterman bands Will Lee,
and singer-songwriters Ayo and Mary Fahl.
Peltons extensive resume includes Bruce
Springsteen, Van Morrison, Ray Charles,
The SNL Drummer

And Session
Ace Throws Back
The Curtain On His
Percussive Lair
DRUM!
83
Sheryl Crow, Elton John, Johnny Cash, Pink,

Shakira, Kelly Clarkson, Pavarotti, Carly Simon,
and Buddy Guy for starters!
Working out of a 17' x 15' studio in his
spacious Greenwich Village apartment,
Peltons rig includes two DW drum sets (one
on a floating floor filled with seven layers
of insulation), a corner closet positively
bursting with percussion, a small rack with
hardware effects, another closet full of
snare drums, a serious laptop workstation, and a vintage Zildjian cymbal signed
by Steve Gadd, Roger Hawkins, Jim Keltner,
Zigaboo Modeliste, and Bernard Purdie.
Beyond the star-striking scenery, Peltons
studio has that lived-in, 24/7 look.
IMPORT/EXPORT
Doing tracks for people is like being in the
export business, Pelton says. People like
to get a lot of options. So even if the music
might be better served with fewer microphones, Ive found thats not really my call.
I give them three bass drum microphone
options, various tom and snare drum sounds,
multiple overhead and room microphone
and reverb choices, and then the artist or
producer takes it from there. I try to make a
musical statement about how I hear it, but
by giving people so many options with the
stripes, the artist or mixer or producer at
the other end doesnt feel boxed in by my
interpretation. Part of the role of the session
musician is being flexible. I give them enough
raw material to run with the ball and sculpt it
how they hear it.
Coming from the era when cutting a
track meant recording in one of New Yorks
storied studios like Avatar or Right Track, Pelton believes that the big studios are perhaps
less relevant than in years past. Hes excited
about what can be achieved through careful
microphone placement and choice of software
in a home studio environment.
What does major label sound mean
now? Pelton ponders. There was a time in
the 80s that if you didnt record at Power Station or Hit Factory it was almost considered a
demo. But ever since Beck made records in his
bedroom on a 4-track and they became hits,
and then with hip-hop in the 90s, it blew the
doors wide open. If you have a great idea and
a concept for a sound you can make it happen.
So I am not sure you need the class-A microphone pre to do it. You really can get great
sounds these days without having to buy the
super-duper high-end gear. When it comes to
vocals you have to use high-end microphones,
but a Shure SM57 has been one of the classic
choices for snare drums for decades, and its
a $120 microphone. Its the music and the
performance that matters.
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August 2013
DRUMmagazine.com
1. Sitting on a suspended sub-floor, Peltons home studio includes work station to the left, drum set
to the right, and effects rack. 2. The drums are further isolated on their own riser, with barely enough
room to cram in Peltons multiple miking setups.
TRACKING VIBES, AND

THE VIBE-ULATOR
Ableton Live through an Apple MacBook Pro
with Retina Display is Peltons DAW of choice,
and he cites WaveMachine Labs Drumagog,
BFD FXpansion, and PSP Vintage Warmer
as critical tools in his ability to give clients
multiple sound options. But of course it all
begins with his drum set, which consists of 13"
x 9" and 16" x 16" DW toms and a 24" x 14" bass
drum, augmented with a 14" x 6.5" Ludwig
Black Beauty snare (with a Yamaha Russ Miller
Groove Wedge signed by Roger Hawkins) and
an alternate 13" x 7" Brady jarrah wood snare
drum. Peltons Zildjian cymbal assortment, left
to right: vintage 14" A Zildjian hi-hats, 17" A

Custom crash, 21" Custom Special Dry ride, and
18" Custom Session crash.
Peltons microphone setup is straightforward, but detailed. He offers three different
overhead configurations for his clients: a pair
of Earthworks QTC40 omni microphones (2'
away from left and right crashes), two Coles
4038s arrayed in a mini Glyn Johns setup one
directly overhead and the other to the right of
the floor tom. If the track is a lighter, brushoriented thing, he says, I will physically bring
the overheads in closer. The other option for
overheads is a pair of AKG 451s that Pelton will
use if the track needs more sparkly high end.
In The Studio With Shawn Pelton

Pelton uses room mikes even in this small
space, including a retro-looking Potophone
ribbon microphone placed in front of the set.
I pull it back a little bit, between tom and
bass drum height, 3' away. He also runs a
Crown PZM microphone on the ceiling to pick
up more room ambience. A Shure SM57 hangs
in the room corner as well, going through an
older Roland SP-808, which has a compression patch its just trippy, he says. I call
that the Vibe-ulator. Picking up his left
side snare drum, an M Audio Solaris then runs
through various compression plug-ins. I
have 16 different microphone options that I
can give people, and that doesnt include the
room sound.
Peltons close-miking options include a
really expensive Josephson 22S microphone
aimed right at edge of the rim pointing toward
the center of the drum, he explains. And a
handkerchief on the snare drumhead for mut-
ing or not depending on the track. The snare

microphone is covered in a foam Crash Guard
by Prime Acoustic, which creates a baffle
between the hi-hat and the microphone. I
put a kinky old Electro Voice talkback mike
under the snare; 2" off the bottom head, he
continues. It really picks up the midrange
of the bottom snare. It has a musicality that I
really like. An AKG 451 picks up hi-hat (aimed
to record the chick but still retain air), then a
Sennheiser 421 on each tom, 1" off the head
and 1" in toward the center. Three microphones record the bass drum: an AKG D 112
inside the shell, a modified Yamaha NS-10
sub-kick for sub frequencies outside the
drum, and for attack and click a Shure Beta 91
sitting on a towel inside the bass drum.
Peltons outboard rack hardware includes
an RME OctaMic mike pre/A-to-D converter, an
API Discrete 4-Channel Mic/Line pre, Apogee
Big Ben clock, Universal Audio 4110 4-Channel
Precision Analog Microphone Preamp (all into

an RME Hammerfall DSP MF 2 PCI interface), and
below those items, the Roland SP-808, which
affects the corner-hanging Shure SM57.
WILL, BILLY, AND BILLY

Though Peltons set sounded great in his
studio, he takes full advantage of software
and hardware effects to give clients multiple
options. After dumping the artist demo into
Ableton and recording his drum track to it,
Pelton is free to improve on the basic drum
and room sound with a tried-and-true approach that includes sound replacement and
software reverb manipulation.
Pelton brings up a version of Allan Toussaints Get Out My Life Woman, that he
recently recorded for a Will Lee project with
ZZ Tops Billy Gibbons. Raunchy and funky, the
track sounds upfront and immediate, Pelton
Known as much for his atmospheric percussion as his drumming, Peltons arsenal includes a wealth of snare drums, percussion toys, and multiple sticks;
brushes; rods; and more.
DRUM!
85
thwacking a meaty 2 and 4 while generously

bashing hi-hats. This is an example of a
track meant to be old timey and not highend sounding, Pelton explains. He breaks
down the track to its separate unaffected
drum sources, beginning with the bass drum,
which sounds crackly when soloed. He then
brings up Drumaggog and blends in a sample
of a low end, wombly bass drum titled CR78
drum machine. He goes further, adding an
electronic sub sound for extra thump, and
then tunes it down and blends it in behind the
acoustic bass drum sound. You could play
it on cardboard boxes and send that off, he
laughs. He then plays the other bass drum
microphone (Shure Beta 91) that has more
click and attack, finally blending all three. The
client will receive all three bass drum sounds:
AKG D112 blended with a Drumagog sample,
Yamaha Subkick, and the click or Beta 91
stripe. And thats just an example of what you
can do with a couple of bass drum microphones and software.
Next, Pelton plays a remake of Zeppelins
Whole Lotta Love by 80s rocker Billy Squier.
A finished track, Peltons drums boom like
Bonham battling a hurricane. We are not in
Avatar Room A, so how do you make that kind
of room sound so big, you might ask? he
queries. I take the kick and snare and overheads and put them into a room sound with
one of Abletons reverbs and compress it. Then
I also use Drumagog [he plays the dry, AKG
D112 bass drum microphone]. Drumagog has
a selection where you can remove the MIDI
out of the bass drum track and feed it into BFD

FXpansion. Drumagaog is replacement software; BFD is a drum library where they have
recorded all these different mike locations and
samples of room sounds. With BFD I can move
the physical placement of the microphone on
the screen and you can hear the change in
the room reverb. I use BFD to create my own
room sounds and microphone placement, its
real drums triggering the sounds. And you
choose different bass drums like a bass drum
through an amp, or through an Oberheim
drum machine, or a 70s Ludwig kick drum, or
even a stomping boot sound. BFD can turn any
small room into the room size you need for the
recording. Its essential.
THEME TO 30 ROCK
Finally, Pelton plays the booming, swing-oriented theme to the hit show 30 Rock. Peltons
drums are absolutely storming, seemingly
modeled after Gene Krupas drum solo in
Benny Goodmans Sing Sing Sing.
For my room sound I took the drums dry,
he explains. I used the small hall preset in
Ableton reverb, then on top of that I added
the PSP Vintage Warmer for tape saturation
and compression. The other element is BFD;
it has another room character that I blend
with my room sound. Its the MIDI of my bass
drum, snare, and toms going into BFD. The PZM
microphones add another room character. You
have to be tricky about tuning the BFD drums
to the real drums so its not discordant.
With the resurgence of analog gear in most

recording studios and the predominance of
relatively inexpensive software its become
the perfect union of past and present, of classic technology and modern convenience. And
pro New York drummers from Pelton to Steve
Wolf and Steve Jordan are making the most
of the technology. But the balance between
analog and digital remains in flux.
As Ive gained more experience Ive
drifted away from using samples, Pelton
says, but Drumagog is key. People generally
want a certain room sound so I have to give
it to them. With Drumagog you can take the
MIDI of a snare drum and change the sound.
For instance, with Drumagog I can basically
create a 60s Ludwig snare with a towel
taped to it, and blend it in. I can tune that
sample up or down to change its resonance
and increase its slap. Then, if we add
compression and I take the MIDI out and run
it into the BFD, which adds the room sound,
its massive now.
And with such powerful software tools
available, Pelton believes that while microphones and preamps are important, the
ability to affect the hardware with software
is perhaps a bigger game changer.
It used to be about going to tape with
drums then all these tape emulation plug-ins
came in, he says. When you solo individual
elements then listen in the context of a complete mix, it seems some of these subtleties may get further buried as far as what
mike preamp was used. Is that really the
A pair of Zildjian hi-hats is testament to Peltons fascination with his drumming brethren, autographed by Levon Helm, Jim Keltner, Steve Gadd, and
Zigaboo Modeliste.
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August 2013
DRUMmagazine.com
In The Studio With Shawn Pelton

room sound of Avatar A or a simulation that
someone who worked there was able to dial
in? You can really make great music and great
tracks, but it comes down to the musician.
Bernard Purdie will sound awesome out of a
cassette player.
Whats interesting is that the microphone choice makes a difference, and
theres a difference between ribbon and
condenser microphones; they all have their
character, he continues. But the compression chain can make an equally huge
difference. For instance, with Ringos drums,
the fact that it all went though the Fairchild
660 compressor at the end of the chain
the color that added and how it brought up
the punch of his drums those tools can
add broader swatches of color than the
microphone preamp choice. I might have a
drum going through a cheaper microphone
pre, but with certain software I can make a
bigger personality statement. And the software is cheaper than a microphone preamp.
Drumagog is $350 and PSP Vintage Warmer
is $150; thats powerful software.
ing my playing on the screen showed me

where not to rush and how to pace myself.
Tracking myself has been great for learning. The fact that we can make these kind of
drum sounds happen and in a floating studio
in Manhattan! That would have never happened when I first came to the city in 1988.
Its empowering now.
To further empower yourself as a musician, and to make the most of technology
and talent, thinking beyond the box (computer or otherwise) is essential.
The traditional role of the drummer

always puts you as a sideman and always
working for somebody else, Pelton concludes. But the moment you get involved
with the programming and recording side of
it you become more marketable in so many
different ways. Surviving in the business has
gotten harder so the more things you can
do the better, and the gateway is not that
expensive. You can get a setup going with
three or four mikes and some software, and
you can really start making music.
THE PELTON METHOD

Peltons process for recording tracks in his
home studio is not unlike working with live
musicians in a larger studio. He often receives
an mp3 version of a track, to which he requests a two-bar or eight-click count-off be
added as a visual and audible intro cue.
I want eight clicks before the song
starts, Pelton explains, because there may
be latency, and by having the clicks I know I
have a visual reference.
After he tracks his part and emails the
result to the artist they discuss it via phone
to make adjustments in style or sound. He
then sends a second round of the beat with
changes that can be inserted into their mix,
for further review.
Then I export a session of all the different
stripes with the two-bar count-off, he says.
They usually either want to change the sound
or your drumming. The drumming is more
important if they know they have options to
tailor the sound to what they want.
As important as it is to understand the
recording process and the details of microphone placement and software operation,
Pelton admits that its really still all about
the sound the musician makes on his instrument. You might be a technical whiz, but if
you cant play, you wont get called.
Its ultimately about your touch and
feel as a musician, Pelton says. Can you
tune your toms for tone and warmth? Do
you know how to get a good sound? The
more I recorded myself, the more I learned
by being on the other side of the glass. See-
NICKCRESCENZO
The Dear Hunter
GLENSOBEL
Alice Cooper Band
,
Hey g u y s
o n y o ur
Congrats
!
S Awards
D RUMMIE
ien ds at
-Y o u r fr
DRUM!
87
MORE THAN A PRETTY FINISH

If Ddrum kits are often seen in hard rock and
metal situations, then its likely a lot of such
players seeing as how they play in super-loud
bands need to use triggers. And they need
those triggers to look good, dont they? Chrome
Elite Triggers, which got a major overhaul for
2013, fit the bill. The mirror-like cowl gleams
under stage lights and protects the upgraded disc
transducer. This larger transducer has even greater
sensitivity and tracking capabilities. The upgraded wiring
harness adds stability and security to the heaviest hitters. Available
in sets and singles: Tom Tom Trigger, $64.99; Dual Snare Drum Trigger,
$109.99; Bass Drum Trigger, $109.99; and Trigger Kit, $384.99
Ddrum
ddrum.com
866-859-9737
RELIVING THE DREAM
EVERYONE NEEDS A GOOD EDITOR

Yamahas DTX700 Editor allows users to customize all the internal sounds as well as any
user-uploaded files in the DTX700 kit module, so now creating custom kits is a snap. The
intuitive software package eliminates the need for time-consuming multipage navigation on the trigger module screen, letting users modify the sounds and features, helping
to foster creativity. Exceptional graphics enhance the editors features and all edited
DTX programs can easily be saved on a computer. A DTX700 Librarian is included so that
musicians can easily arrange and save their newly created kits with a convenient graphic
interface. Available for Windows and Mac OSX.
Yamaha
usa.yamaha.com
714-522-9105
88
DRUM!
Sample-pack series Drumdrops has a thing for the

decade of teased hair. Latest beat collection Now
Thats What I Call 80s Drums nods toward grooves
influenced by the styles of George Michael, De
La Soul, Soul 2 Soul, Happy Mondays, Michael
Jackson, Depeche Mode, and more. Performing
the tracks is drummer Steve Sidelnyk (Madonna,
Annie Lennox, Massive Attack) on a DW Collectors Series kit with Ludwig Black Beauty, Ludwig
Coliseum, and DW Craviotto snares surrounded by
19 microphones. Featuring 20 drum tracks ranging from 71179 bpm, the collection is offered as
drum multitracks, mixes, stems, and drum loops.
The stem and mix packs come with the full mix
of the kit, as well as separate drum stems of each
individual drum component. Stems are ideal if you
want ready-mixed versions of the track. The loops
come formatted as WAVs, Apple Loops, and Rex2
files. Works in all major DAWs.
Drum Drops
drumdrops.com
Gretsch
Club Street Kit
COMPACT, ADJUSTABLE,
AFFORDABLE, COOL
By Brad Schlueter
retschs new addition to

the Catalina Club series is
the appropriately named
Street Kit. This diminutive
kit is designed to transport easily
for working drummers on the

go and may have been created
to take advantage of the market
share left vacant by Yamahas
discontinued HipGig kits. There are
DETAILS
100 percent mahogany
with 30 degree bearing edges
with a natural shell interior.
4-piece kit with
a 13" x 5" snare drum: 10" x 6"
mounted tom, a 13" x 11" floor
tom and a 16" bass drum whose
depth varies from 12" to 14.5".
Adjustable-depth
bass drum, elevated bass drum,
compact sizes, ride cymbal arm,
and Remo heads.
Includes floor tom
legs, single ball-and-socket tom
arm, bass drum lift, cymbal arm.
$925.99
Silver sparkle or red
sparkle wrapped finishes.
90
DRUM!
August 2013
DRUMmagazine.com
gretschdrums.com
860-509-8888
several important differences between those two kits. The Gretsch

Street Kit has one very unique
feature an adjustable sized bass
drum. If youre scratching your
head now, read on, my friends.
SHELLS
The kit features 100 percent
mahogany shells and has Gretschs
signature 30 degree bearing edges
top and bottom. The drums have a
natural interior and not the Silver
Sealer interiors found on Gretschs
high-end kits.
CONFIGURATION
The Street Kit has just one
configuration. Its a 4-piece kit
with a 13" x 5" snare drum, 10" x
6" mounted tom, a 13" x 11" floor

tom, and a 16"-diameter bass
drum whose depth varies from 12"
to 14.5". More about this unique
feature in a minute. Its similar to
a bebop configuration but with
slightly undersized shells.
FINISHES
There are currently just two
wrapped finishes available for the
kit; Red Sparkle and Silver Sparkle.
Our review kit had the silver sparkle finish and it looked great. The
sparkles are very small and quite
reflective. The finish popped under every lighting situation nicely.
If Gretsch were to augment the
finish selection Id like to suggest
the companys surprisingly nice
Walnut Lacquer thats available

on other kits in the Catalina line
and perhaps a White Marine Pearl.
Those additions would appeal to
jazz drummers even more than
the current offerings.
FEATURES
The drums are sold as a shell pack
without hardware, though this
kit actually includes a bit more
hardware than many shell packs.
Youll find floor tom legs, a single
ball-and-socket tom arm, but
also a bass drum lift and cymbal
arm that attaches to a bracket on
the bass drum so you wont need
to bring a ride cymbal stand. The
tom arm and cymbal arm also
have memory locks for repeatable settings. The kit is set up for
right-handed drummers; lefties
are out of luck.
I really liked the inclusion of
the ride cymbal arm and loved
the bass drum lift. Though pretty
much mandatory on such a small
bass drum, elevating the drum allows the beater to strike the head
at its center for a natural response
and doesnt force you to lower the
beater and change the feel of your
pedal, something floor-bound 18"
drums often require.
The kit uses thinner 1.6mm
hoops for all the drums, even the
small bass drum.
There is no suspension
system for the mounted tom,
though it isnt necessary as I
found the drum to have lots of
sustain anyway.
All the brackets are isolated
from the shell with gaskets.
The kit uses coated single-ply
Remo heads for the snare and tom
batters with clear resonant heads.
The bass drum has a premuffled
clear batter and a premuffled
coated logo head without a port.
The snare uses Gretschs
simple but effective vintage side
throw-off and has a solid butt
plate. The snares are 20-strand
chrome. The floor tom, kick, and
snare have a six-lug design and
the mounted tom uses just five,
like many other Gretsch kits.
The bass drum is where
things get really interesting. It
has a novel adjustable-depth
feature that will definitely turn
some heads. Though just 16" in

diameter, its depth, as mentioned,
can vary from 12"14.5". Gretsch
accomplishes this by cutting the
drum in the middle and using
three pairs of brackets that connect to each other via short rods.
By loosening half of the brackets
you can pull the drum apart up to
2.5". There are notches in the rods
to make precise adjustments easy.
This takes a minute to do and is
probably best done during a set
break rather than between songs.
The kit looks a bit like a jazz kit
with a woofer attached. I think it
looks very cool.
The real question, of course,
is whats the point? Gretsch says
you can alter the sound of the
bass drum from a traditional jazz
sound with more overtones with
the drum shell closed, to a punchier and drier sound with more
attack as you open the distance
between the shell halves.
SOUND
So, youre undoubtedly wondering does it work? Yes, it does.
The sound difference is noticeable,
though not radical, and might be
likened to cutting larger and larger
holes into the resonant head of
a drum. Since air is escaping the
drum much faster and not resonating around a closed chamber,
the sound gets drier and punchier
as the drum is opened. With the
drum closed you get a pretty
traditional bass drum tone. This
flexibility could be useful if you
play different types of gigs from
night to night or at a wedding

where you could leave the drum
closed if you were playing jazz in
the first set or two and then open
it for rock and pop later in the gig.
A couple of things about this
clever feature: This kit is advertised as being easy to move and
Gretsch offers a pair of cases for
the kit, though I didnt get to try
them. Since you can open the
bass drum you could probably
transport the snare and rack tom
in the bass drum from gig to gig.
Id recommend cases for every
drum if you try this.
Since the small tom and ride
cymbal arm mount to the outer
half of the bass drum shell, opening the drum will move them
away from you, which could prove
to be a bit inconvenient if youre a
stickler for such things.
With the bass drum opened,
though, its very easy to set a
microphone inside it should you
need to compete with amps.
I did notice one thing about
this feature: Since the tom mount
attaches to the outer half of the
drum shell, the weight of the
tom slightly compresses the
bass drum shell. I cant help but
wonder if after years of use the
outer half of the shell might go
slightly out of round due to that
weight. It struck me that if the
drum shell were instead cut at a
45 degree angle to its edge rather
than 90 degrees, the two halves
of the drum would maintain and
reinforce a circular shape when
the drum was closed.
Since the drums are all

slightly undersized, the drum
kits bottom pitch range is a tad
higher than one featuring larger
diameter drums. That said, Ive
often thought standard jazz sizes
are too large for the high tunings
often used. Smaller drums work
better at higher tunings and dont
sound as choked as bigger drums
do when tuned tightly. For that
reason, I think these sizes are
pretty much ideal for jazz.
The kit does sound bigger
than its sizes suggest, though
a 16" bass drum will never be
mistaken for a typical 22" rock
kick. I tuned this kit toward the
bottom of its range since I play
more rock than bebop and was
able to get a deep enough sound
for it to work across styles. The
floor tom doesnt get really deep,
but the mahogany shells offer a
lot of warmth, so it sounds deeper
than a brighter species would.
The toms had lots of sustain and a
very warm tone.
Though many drummers will
prefer a 14" snare, the 13" snare
sounded virtually indistinguishable. It was warm but still had a
crisp top. If I loosened the wires it
worked well for quiet jazz and ballads. Rimshots were cutting and
not too wet. My only issue with
it was that a smaller snare has a
smaller sweet spot for rim-clicks
(and the thin 1.6mm hoop makes
that even more of an issue). If this
were my kit Id upgrade the top
snare hoop to a 2.3mm tripleflanged or die-cast model.
VERDICT
This kit is a blast to play
and can sound bigger than
its sizes might suggest. Its
an ideal set if you play a lot
of different types of gigs
or have to bring a kit to
rehearsals but dont want to
have to use several different
kits. Heavy metal drummers
might not be tempted but for
busy working pros this little
kit can adapt to most gigs
remarkably well. Saving the
best for last: Its also really
affordable. I want one!
DRUM!
91
Sabian
Hoop Crasher
A COOL NE
W
JOJO MAYE
R
MULTITOO
L
By David E. Libman
pparently when Jojo Mayer isnt busy grooving his

butt off in various electronica, dub step, jazz, or
whatever else you want to call
it projects, he spends his spare
DETAILS
/
14" Hoop Crasher

$399
Two 14" premium

B20 bronze hoops, top hoop
with 32 holes, bottom hoop
with air-waive lip; also included are three adjustable black
clips in a black velvet bag.
sabian.com
800-817-2242
92
DRUM!
August 2013
time designing new elements

of the drum kit. Previous Jojo
Mayer inventions and collaborations include Sabians Jojo Mayer
signature Vault Fierce models
(hi-hats, ride, and crash), the
AAX OMNI cymbals, and Sonors
Perfect Balance single bass drum
pedal. While this represents a
rather impressive track record of
specialized gear, Sabians Hoop
Crasher could be Jojos most
creative design yet.
JUST ANOTHER
EFFECTS CYMBAL?
Not by a long shot. Made from
Sabians premium B20 bronze,
the Hoop Crasher, which won
the coveted Best In Show award
at the 2013 NAMM Show, starts
DRUMmagazine.com
its life much like a set of 14"

AAX X-Celerator Hats but then
immediately undergoes major
reconstructive surgery. An approximate 11"-diameter hole
is cut from the middle of both
cymbals. (The cutaway is melted
down again and reused, in case
youre wondering.) Whats left
are two bronze hoops that stack
atop each other.
The top hoop is lighter
because its thinner. Its weight
is then further reduced by
punching it with 32 equidistant
0.5"-diameter holes. The heavier
bottom hoop retains the same
Air Wave lip found on the bottom
X-Celerator Hi-Hat cymbal. The
hoops are connected to each
other with two rivets that are
removable by using two flathead

or Phillips screwdrivers. Sabian
completes the Hoop Crasher
package by including a lovely
velvet bag with three black plastic clips inside.
HOW DO YOU USE IT?

You start by setting the Hoop
Crasher on any 14" drum. A word
of caution: If you use an S-Hoop
(like I do on one of my snares), the
reduced diameter from the inward
bend of the S-Hoop makes it so the
Hoop Crasher wont fit. Otherwise,
the Hoop Crasher fit just fine on all
my other 14" snares with die-cast
or traditional triple-flanged hoops.
(Of course, you could also set it on
a 14" tom, but all my floor toms are
16" in diameter.)
open with more sustain.

I can also imagine that
when I remove the clips,
I might throw them on
the stage floor and not be
able to find them again
because of dark mood
lighting. Hence, Id like
to see Sabian offer these
clips in colors other than
just black. I propose
orange sparkle, but I suppose white would work
just as well.
on another. They each sound different. The

heavier hoop sounds clangier, while the
lighter hoop sounds wispier. I then stacked
both hoops atop each other without rivets.
They have enough weight that they didnt
come apart and function in the same manner as when rivets are attached. If I owned
a Hoop Crasher, Id immediately remove
the rivets to allow quick access to these
increased options.
WHY REMOVE
THE RIVETS?
Once on the drum, you can play the

Hoop Crasher alone, or you can play it in
combination with the drum using the inner raised edge as a sort of rim for varying
effects. When struck, the top and bottom
hoops vibrate together creating a whitenoise sound that incorporates the rich
tonality of B20 bronze. In many ways, the
sounds I coaxed from the Hoop Crasher
remind me of the sheesh effects I hear on
electronic kits. Because the Hoop Crasher
has an 11" hole in the middle, it also still
allowed me to play my snare drum without
the Hoop Crasher sound effects. However,
the Hoop Crashers weight (even with its
minimal contact on the head) rather significantly dampened the drums overtones, not
unlike a thicker O-ring.
I wondered, so I tried. I
didnt find the process of
using two screwdrivers
to remove the rivets particularly easy, but
once removed, I was able to ask my wife if
she would like a screw. (I seem to find that
joke much more amusing than my wife does.
Go figure.)
Once the rivets are removed, guess what:
The two hoops come apart. You can place
one hoop on one drum and the other hoop
VERDICT
This is a new instrument that screams for
creative people to experiment. I suspect
I may have only scratched the surface of
the possible sounds this device offers. If I
owned it, I would use the same restraint
I apply to any China cymbal playing it just often enough to give some
wow factor, but not so much that it
gets annoying. If youre bored with your
traditional palette of sounds, the Hoop
Crasher may be a refreshing new addition
to your kit. Plus, the 11" hole in the middle
is big enough that you can wear it around
your neck as some serious bling.
WHAT ABOUT THOSE BLACK CLIPS?

From my perspective, these clips serve
the same function as the tension knob on
a snare strainer. The Hoop Crashers top
and bottom hoops vibrate the most when
no clips are used at all. As a result, with
no clips, the white-noise sound has its
longest possible sustain like extra loose
snare wires (but quite a different sound).
The clips, when used, attach to the drums
rim. The portion of the clip that hovers
over the Hoop Crasher has three notches.
As you progress through those notches,
you decrease Hoop Crasher vibration and
reduce sustain. To put it another way: No
clips = most sustain. Clips at the tightest
setting = most articulation.
These clips have a good design that
allows them to be attached and removed
quickly and easily. I can imagine using
them on one tune at a gig where I want
increased articulation, and then removing them to play the Hoop Crasher wide
SHEILA E.
2013 Drummies! Winner
Rock/Pop/Hip-Hop Percussionist
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93
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Eric Moore
OF SUICIDAL TENDENCIES
Photograph: COURTESY ADRENALINE PR
By David Weiss Transcription by Wally Schnalle
he rules of punk drumming have

been officially pronounced dead. Our
ruthless assailant of tried-and-true
rhythms is Eric Moore, drummer for
punk/thrash legends Suicidal Tendencies
who, as you will see, had zero interest in the
beaten path for 13, the bands first studio
album in what else? 13 years (not to be
confused in any way with the new Black Sabbath album of the same name).
SMASH IT
Youll find a plethora of original drumming
up and down 13, and the subtly schizophrenic
approach of track #2, Smash It is no exception, pushing relentlessly forward with a
surprising number of styles Moore effortlessly
weaves together. I wanted it different right
out of the gate, says Moore, who recorded
the album at Def Jam Studios in L.A. This
song is about getting into it. You know how
right before you get into a fight, you stare
into somebodys eyes, and just get pumped?

Smash It is just really angry. Its just about
going berserk.
But theres a method to Moores madness,
starting with the first microsecond of Smash
It, which kicks off with a fast straight-stick
volley on the snare, followed by a series
of suffocating hi-hat chokes. Then, from
0:080:19, Moore unleashes a hyper, off-time
polyrhythmic cascade where a fast/skippy
DRUM!
97
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ous, but Im going to play it different being

I pronounce the drum fill. It can
hi-hat/snare/kick pattern goes
out of the box and still killing it. Creativity is
make a world of difference.
off under raw, wiry guitar.
the whole point.
Arriving at the 2:16 mark
In the intro, we go straight
Smash It collapses into half time at
another super-busy polyrhythinto it it just has to attack
3:02, announced by big rock flams that Moore
mic beat begins, going to some
you, he says. Then for the next
strange places between the snare, launches from around the kit (when the
section, [lead singer] Mike Muir
song goes into half-time you have to make a
kick, and hat. Right there, he
said, I want you to be out of the
stand), followed by a spacious, patient, hatsays, I wanted to play a little
box. We never want the drums to
:
prominent rock beat at 3:04. Then listen for
more off-time accents, playing
sound obvious. All punk music is
Suicidal Tendencies
just a few measures of punky funk that follow
again with the guitarist. Its havalways the same, so I want to play
:
at 3:17. Even though its a funky part, it makes
ing fun, talking back and forth to
what the guitar player is playing,
13
sense for the song, he says. If you werent
each other, and not just playing
but I want to freak it so its not
:
Smash It
the snare on 2 and 4, and evolving listening closely, you wouldnt notice. Youd
just a beat. It makes it way more
the beat. Thats the type of drum- just be grooving with the music.
interesting, and a lot more fun.
As soon as the funk begins it ends, resolvPlaying with a single kick (Moore does play mer I like to be: change the mindset, and
ing itself into a solid 4/4 rock beat pushing
switch it up a little bit.
double kick, but opted out of that configuraforward until the end, mirroring the intro
It evolves even further at 2:35, as Smash
tion for Smash It), he then does go into a
with a furious/fast snare fill that sets off
It! goes into a strange, pulsing rock beat
more traditional punk-rock feel from 0:19
one last halting hi-hat series. As Moore and
where something is missing quite inten0:41, reeling off a solid, fast, and hyper-buthis fellow Suicidals expected, this all works
tionally. Most rock players will play that part
focused punk beat for verse one. After that,
extremely well live.
with a double pedal, doing exactly what the
the idea was to just jump into it so the people
Oh, man, the crowd goes off and we
guitar player is doing, Moore observes. I
can get their slam on inside the pit, says
love double bass, but I dont feel it needs to be bring the energy, he grins. For some
Moore. Youve got to have that energy, and
people its hard to believe youre playing live
this song brings so much energy. Thats how it added all the time. I want to take punk rock to
a whole other level, beyond the 80s and 90s. what they heard on the record: They dont
came about playing the off-time stuff, then
think its possible.
The machine gun double bass beat is so obvifor the verse we launch into the fast part.
Its more of a gallop, he continues. Its
like a horse trotting, and the bass drum is
single-double-single-double, which gets
you into a steady flow. Thats how I approach
music all the time even the fast stuff has to
be grooving.
At 0:42, a fast single-stroke snare fill
H
J
shoots Suicidal Tendencies into the chorus,
G
noteworthy here for its plainspoken efficiency.
E
D
Its just a good build it doesnt have to be
C
F
I
over the top, Moore says. Sometimes you
6
10
5
want to be outlandish, but its also good to be
4
B
B
2
simplified and just go to the next part. That fill
7
is a nice crescendo into the song. Its all about
1
8
3
being musical.
A
From 0:431:08, Moore cruises on the
9
straight-ahead punk beat. After a big tom/
snare fill at 1:10, a return to the intros hi-hat
chokes injects fresh space into Smash It.
We wanted to make it breathe and still be
heavy there, he says.
After a fusion-style tom fill at 1:16, the
drummer digs into a halting spacious beat
for a bridge to verse two, eliciting visions of
DRUMS PDP Concept
CYMBALS Zion Eric Moore II Signature series
early Primus via prominent hi-hat strokes
A 14" Hi-hat
and a snare that really pops. Right there,
B 20" Crash
me and the guitar player are really, really
3 14" x 5.5" Snare
C 17" Crash
vibing, says Moore. Im playing a side hat,
D 10" Effects Splash
4 8" x 8" Tom
so Im in and out of the groove, and I just
E 21" Ride
5 10" x 8.5" Tom
pick and choose where I place the snare, just
6 12" x 9" Tom
F 12" Effects Hats (stacked)
to be different.
G 19" Crash
Be sure to note how Moore caps the long
H 18" Crash
snare fill at 2:10, where one quick strike on
I 17" China
the hi-hat precedes a shot on the snare right
10 20" x 18" Gong Drum
J 18" China
before a pause. It just felt right, he says of
the move. Open hi-hat before the snare hit,
Eric Moore also uses DW 9000 hardware and pedals, Aquarian heads (Force 10s on beater side; Response
it sounds like stop! Say stop [as you play it]
1 Clear resonant side; and Super Kick10 on bass drums), and Pro-Mark Eric Moore signature series sticks.
MOORES SETUP
DRUM!
100
Eric Moore
SMASH IT
(continued on pg. 102)
DRUM!
101
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2:16
102
Eric Moore
SMASH IT
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DRUM!
103
tocapercussion.com
Wally Schnalle
Playing With
The Backbeat
THE GUITAR PLAYER turns
around and yells More
backbeat! So, being the
supportive team player
you are, you start smackin 2 and 4 on that
snare harder. After all, 2 and 4 are universally understood to be the backbeats. But we
can play around with the placement of the
backbeats to add some rhythmic spice to the
groove and still keep it funky. Ex. 1 shows a
pretty standard groove. Exs. 2 and 3 move
the snare off of beat 4 in the first measure.
Exs. 46 play with moving the snare off of
beat 2. Ex. 7 places the snare on beat 1 in the
second measure. Not a traditional backbeat
location but it works in a lot of situations. And
Ex. 8 is a four-measure pattern that moves
the snare on beat 2 forward a sixteenthnote every measure. Have fun and create
your own patterns as well.
DRUM! music editor is a drummer,
composer, and teacher based in the San Francisco Bay Area,
and has performed with Eddie Gale, Ernie Watts, and the San
Jose Symphony Orchestra. itrhymes.com
104
DRUM!

Matt Byrne
Inverted
Paradiddle
THIS MONTH, WE are going
to explore some different
sticking patterns to apply
around the drum set. This
will be the first of four lessons involving this
varying-stick-pattern concept. This particular pattern is basically a paradiddle, however,
the sticking is offset by one note. This is
called an inverted paradiddle, which creates a different sound and groove from the
straight paradiddle. Its funkier and grooves
a lot! Be sure to move this pattern around
the kit and cymbals to make it truly musical.
bashes for the Grammy-nominated heavy
metal/hardcore band Hatebreed. In his spare time, he is
working on his special ed./elementary ed. teaching degree.
facebook.com/matthew.p.byrne.5
Instagram- @iammattbyrne
Danny Gottlieb
WHEN PLAYING IN 3/4, one
of my favorite devices to use
is accents on the & of 3. Roy
Haynes would have to be cited
as the biggest influence for this type of feel. Here
are some basic patterns that might be helpful in
developing a swinging and more open and overthebar line approach to playing in 3/4.
Ex. 1 is a basic feel with the bass drum on
1 and the hi-hat on 2. Ex. 2 adds a syncopated dotted-quarter feel in the bass drum.
Ex. 3 moves the second bass drum to the
snare. Ex. 4 ties the cymbal to match the
bass drum, giving the feel more of a float. In
Ex. 6 we add the snare beat along with the
cymbal on the & of 3. Ex. 7 moves the second
bass drum to the snare. Ex. 8 ties the & of
3 over to the downbeat, again adding more
float. I hope you find these helpful, and a
great starting place for more variations and
rhythmic experiments in 3/4.

3/4 Accents

has played with Pat Metheny, John McLaughlin, the NDR Big Band, and is currently a member of Gary Sinises
Lt Dan Band (ltdanband.com). He is an associate professor of jazz studies at the University Of North Florida. dannygottlieb.org
DRUM!
105
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DRUMPICKS
THE ALMOST
Fear Inside Our Bones

joined The Almost in 2008 with Monster

Monster, has a resume that includes the
bands Beloved and Advent. He also has
repaired drums and given lessons at a shop
in his hometown of Greensboro, North
Carolina, so hes more of the full drummer
package. As if responding to the albums
conflicted heart, the drummers approach is
literally re-invented for each track. Theres
ginormous fills and robust playing on Come
On but nothing comes close to the title
tracks club-wielding abandon. The slurring
hats on The Florida Sun set the mood on
this home state valentine. In the chorus of
Fight Song the tribal toms are more Echoplex than ethnic, but the ones on opener
Ghost actually employ a digital doubling
effect. The kick drum eighth-notes at 1:07
on Never Be Like You are a nice touch.
As if to prove his writing chops (and
maybe assert his Southern pride?), Gillespie
serves up Fear Inside Our Bones as a broad
stylistic showcase with a whiff of classic rock
nostalgia. The former drummer has successfully made himself over in the vein of Dave
Grohl whose career he is unconsciously (or
consciously?) aping. For the moment, though,
The Almost is getting more chameleonic as
they search for who they are.
Photograph: PARKER YOUNG
aron Gillespie is a tricky one. First he

was at the vanguard of Christian metalcore with his band Underoath as
both drummer and backing vocalist.
When he formed The Almost a few years back,
he expressed a commercial side that was
mostly realized with debut Southern Weather
and refined further on Monster Monster in
2009. Now the carrot-topped altar boy has
made a devils bargain with Fear Inside Our
Bones, a huge-sounding record cloaked in
Southern rock and blues. Did he make a secret
pilgrimage to the proverbial Crossroads?
Recorded live in a short window at Nashvilles Omni Studios with producer Marshall
Altman, Fear Inside Our Bones is Gillespies
most personal statement thus far in his
career and the message is delivered with
unvarnished anger. On opener Ghost the
brawniest offering here, underpinned with
scorching guitar flourishes the singer howls
You cant trust the ghost inside ... quickly

answering himself No you cant like an
angry preacher before the flock. Im Down
slithers along on a dusty vintage blues. Gillespie: Im down dont count me out.
Another reason for the albums gritty feel
is that Gillespie has now availed himself of
the talents of guitarists Jay Vilardi and Dusty
Redmon, and bassist Jon Thompson. Most of
these guys have been with The Almost for a0
while but Fear Inside Our Bones kaleidoscopic
moods just feels like more of a full-band effort.
Halfway through Bones it feels as if Gillespie loses interest in the blues rock experiment begun so audaciously, reverting back
to the conventionally slick impulses of the
first two albums, and in many ways, amplifies
them. The snotty So What is pure power-pop
while the whimsical Love Is Coming Down
could be anything from 90s indie rock to an
MOR track on a TV show theme song, and for
the briefest moments, I Wont Let Go might
have been an outtake from The Killers. Not a
bad thing to have sticky gem or two, but the
radical shift makes the album as a whole less
coherent. Luckily, the analog vibe of Altmans
production dirties up the bubble gum.
In Underoath, Gillespie drummed with
good feel and lots of heart. Joe Musten, who
DRUM!
107
THE MOTHER HIPS
MIDDLE CLASS RUT
Behind Beyond
Pick Up Your Head
The creators of California soul celebrate 20 years of existence with the follow-up to
2009s Pacific Dust. Greg Loiacono coaxes everything from jangle to dobro and slide tones from
his guitar. On Jefferson Army Tim Bluhm sings, Weve got water and timber and weed, and
all they got is insatiable greed / Were tired of the vampires sucking the blood of the land.
That John Hofer is innovative and supportive within roots-rocks parameters
is cause for celebration. At 2:25 of Jefferson Army, the drum-machine sounding beat
makes you wonder how he can uncross his arms so quick unless hes open-handed, or the
snare single-strokes are onehanded. Creation Smiles
feels like a march till you
realize its a kind of half-time
shuffle. Tuffys rock shuffle
rocks harder than most.
From thunderous rock grooves to

machine-like propulsion and places in between,
Stockham never puts his eggs in one rhythmic
basket. Mostly fat, wide-open bass drum like on
No More, Sing While You Slave, and the hypnotic title track with its percussion overdubs
are the dudes default. But the hugeness of
the drums is never more apparent than on Aunt
Betty. How he does Cut The Lines industrial
clanks is anyones guess.
This is one of the summers great rock
records and it feels like Middle Class Rut is only
getting started.
Photograph: RODRIGO PENA
No need to decamp
for Big Sur and build a yurt
to get your Golden State on
when Behind Beyond is coming
through the speakers.
On follow-up to No Name No Color, Sacramento hellions Zack Lopez and Sean Stockham
make a giant racket for a mere duo. At one point
Lopez who definitively evokes Janes Addictions Perry Ferrell warns You better stay
away, shes a po-leece man on Police Man.
Lopez writing is almost as provocative as the
video for Aunt Betty is disturbing.
TREETOP FLYERS
THE BLACK
DAHLIA MURDER
The Mountain Moves
Everblack
Photograph: JAMES RHODES
Michigan melodic death metallers have

expanded their palette and toughened up their
sound on their sixth release. Ryan Night has a
memorable guitar lead in every track. In Hell
Is Where She Waits For Me is written from the
perspective of Elizabeth Shorts killer, who gave
Black Dahlia their name. Max Lavelle steps in for
outgoing bassist Ryan Bart Williams who stuck
around to help produce.
New drummer Alan Cassidy brings
polish and sophistication from previous band
Abigail Williams to BDMs bruising riffage, mainly
in the way of transitions and accents. Foot speed
on Into The Everblack and Every Rope A
Noose are inhuman, as are the fills on Control.
Only 23, a future of extreme-metal drum stardom is looking good.
The Black Dahlia Murder are now the
official conduit for a malevolent force. Be
very afraid.
Coming up in the open-mike scene that

spawned Mumford & Sons, Laura Marling, and
other folky Brits, Treetop Flyers mine a similar
roots terrain, albeit with a Laurel Canyon twist.
With its shooby-doo-wah refrain, Postcards
is the perfect summer escape. Reid Morrisons
creamy, lilting voice could be the love child of
James Taylor and Donald Fagen.
Whats not to like about the tasteful
approach of Tomer Danan? Hes a happy crasher
on Making Time in a way that enhances the
ecstatic vocals. Haunted House boasts at
least three different grooves. Hes the perfect
click for the glockenspiel pings on Shes Gonna
Run. The meandering Rose is a showcase of
subtle dynamics.
Despite the folky medium, The Mountain Moves will rock your world like its 1973.
LETLIVE.
Deceiver Of The Gods
On fourth release and first for Epitaph, the Los Angeles quartet blend hardcore, rock,
and screamo for their own aggro hybrid. The croon-slashmad bark of Ryan Butler recalls
Glassjaws Daryl Palumbo crossed with The Mars Voltas Cedric Bixler. Jean Nascimento and
Jeff Sahyouns guitars seem to alternately caress and claw at your face.
Rarely does a band sound

new without being quirky or trying
too hard. Save for the typographic
affectations in its name, letlive. is a
glaring exception.
DRUM!
Viking metallers Amon Amarths ninth

album is inspired by Loke, the prankster god of
Norse mythology. Johan Heggs gurgling roar
next to guitarist Olavi Mikkonens heroic leads
herald the dawn of a new age or maybe the end
of this one. Victory is our reward for all the blood
we spilled, Hegg shrieks on We Shall Destroy.
In Father Of The Wolf and the midsong detour of Blood Eagle, Fredrik Anderssons blasts are intimidating, but this Swede
is more interesting in the 140150 bpm range.
In Under Siege hes combining the d-beat of
thrash with a standard DM blast beneath occasional splash hits for a staggered-yet-fluid
effect. Rad sextuplets before the breakdown at
3:03 on We Shall Destroy.
Deceiver Of The Gods feels angrier and
more threatening than anything the band has
done in ages. We cant wait to see the long
ship the horde drags on stage for the North
American tour.
Photograph: JONATHAN WEINER
Not a moment is wasted in the caffeinated neck-snapping beats of Chris

Crandall, who was recruited when longtime drummer Anthony Rivera left last year. Cool
hats on Pheromone Cvlt and Tommy gun bass drum eighth-notes on Younger and
27 Club. Theres crystalline ride
cymbal that pops out at the oneminute mark of That Fear Fever,
but overall the albums washy cymbals function more as a time marker
than a source of accents.
110
AMON AMARTH
The Blackest Beautiful
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Maryland Area: Pro Rock / Metal Teacher Tommy
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111
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112
DRUM!
MEET YOUR MAKER
MONTH
>>Gaai Drums
After the 1995 Kobe earthquake, Masayoshi Nakamura

realized that life is short. The quake, which killed more
than 6,400 people and cost $100 billion in damages,
bitter-sweetly inspired him to follow his heart. What I
wanted to do for a long time was to make drums in the
United States, where all the classic super drums were
made, Nakamura says.
As a teen, performing was his passion, and he had
customized his drums to create a better sound. He made
it as a professional drummer and eventually started
working at a drum company in Los Angeles in 2002.
It took him a while to start his own brand, Gaai Drums,
and he faced challenges without financial backers. Maybe thats why I get creative and find a way to do things
more cost effectively, he says, things other people
dont do, such as my signature spiral wrap or cutting glass
sparkle materials super thin to make pin stripes. Nakamura strives for the ultimate balanced sound, with his
drums, so the drummer can play any style of music.
Gaai drums are characterized by retro looks with surprising modern twists. Nakamura uses North American
maple shells and offers two lines of drums: g (small g) and
G (big G). Small g drums are simple classics, while big G
drums are pop, chic, and vintage-inspired.
The name Gaai, which comes from a version of Nakamuras first name, means grace and love. The brand
name Gaai Drums expresses my graceful respect and
sincere love for drum-making.
You can snag a snare from Gaai starting at $700, or a
kit starting around $2,800.
CONTACT: info@gaaidrums.com
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116
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DRUM! Night 2013

DRUM! Subscriptions
Cascio interstatemusic.com
25
DRUM! Calendar DRUMmagazine.com 14
Online Drummer onlinedrummer.com 94
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San Jose Jazz Summer Fest
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112
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DRUM!
113
VIBE
Nikki Glaspie of Dumpstaphunk
Jimmy DeGrasso with Black
Star Riders
1980
Time Capsule
By Donn Bennett
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
Michael Derosiers 1980 Ludwig Drum Set For Heart
eart was inducted into the Rock And

Roll Hall Of Fame earlier this year. Their
performance at the induction ceremony
was the first time the original bandmembers had played together since they parted
in the early 1980s. The last time this lineup was
together they were headlining stadium tours,
as well as sharing stages all over the world with
bands like The Who and The Rolling Stones. The
original Heart band was a powerful, rocking
group of top-notch musicians, which included
Michael Derosier on drums. Derosier never pursued attention in the media but is well known,
particularly among musicians, as one of the
greatest rock drummers of all time.
Derosiers biggest influences were Buddy
Rich and John Bonham. His 1980 Ludwig Classic
drum set clearly reflects these influences. Both
his idols used the same one rack tom, two floor
tom configuration. The 13" x 9" rack tom is all
Buddy. The maple finish, Ludwig Supraphonic

402 snare, and the big bass and floor toms
reflect Bonham. Derosier took the big drum idea
one step further with a deeper 26" x 16" bass
and enormous 18" x 16" and 20" x 18" floor toms.
Derosier added the copper-plated lugs, inspired
by copper hardware Heart guitarist Roger Fisher
had installed on one of his custom guitars.
Derosier had played this 1970 Ludwig 14" x 6.5"
Supraphonic snare long before the rest of the set
was built. The lugs were copper plated to match
the rest of the set. This is the snare Derosier
played on Hearts 1977 hit Barracuda. He played
these drums with Heart from 1980 until he left
the band in 1982.
Derosier has always strove for a big, wideopen sound and this set has big written all over
it with heavy 6-ply maple and poplar shells and
no muffling except a felt strip on the bass drum.
He remembers arguing with many soundmen
and studio engineers who wanted to control

his sound with smaller, muffled drums. There
was one time, Derosier recalled, when I was
recording with this set at The Power Station in
New York. I was really butting heads with the
engineer who wanted me to use a smaller, more
controlled kit. It turned out that Carmine Appice was in the next studio. Carmine came over
and told the engineer that my drums sounded
fantastic and if they wanted to make this record
sound huge then they should let me use my big,
wide-open kit. End of conversation.
Derosier plays a virtually identical configuration in his current band, Heart By Heart, which
includes original Heart bassist Steve Fossen.
Donn Bennett is a world-renowned collector and dealer of rare and vintage drums. His
collection is on display at Donn Bennett Drum
Studio in Bellevue, Washington.
DRUM! (USPS-23586) is a registered trademark of Enter Music Publishing, Inc. DRUM! is published 12 times per year for $24.95 by Enter Music Publishing, Inc. DRUM!, 95 South Market St. Suite
430, San Jose, CA 95113. Tel: 408-971-9794, Fax: 408-971-0300. Periodical Postage Paid at San Jose and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to DRUM!, PO Box
460849, Escondido, CA 92046-0849. All material published in DRUM! is copyrighted 2013 by Enter Music Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of material appearing in DRUM!
is forbidden without written permission. Distributed by Curtis Circulation. ISSN# 1097-0614. PRINTED IN THE USA.
114
DRUM!
cool
tempered
DRUMMER OF THE YEAR
MIKE
MANGINI
2013 Avedis Zildjian Company
Congratulations to all the

winners of the 2013 DRUMMIES.
Mike Mangini
Progressive Rock Drummer
Pedrito Martinez
Rising Star Percussionist

Latin Percussionist
Chris Layton
Blues Drummer
Giovanni Hidalgo
Jazz Percussionist
Aaron Spears
Funk Drummer
Gospel Drummer
Sheila E
Rock/Pop/Hip-Hop Percussionist
Marcus Gilmore
Jazz Drummer
SOUND LEGACY

Drum August 2013

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2013 DRUMMIES!

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DRUMmagazine.com August 2013

o you recall your first drum clinic? I remember mine.

August 2013 DRUMmagazine.com

Welcome, Saturn IV.

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CYMBALS MADE IN SWITZERLAND

One Hot Missive

Leave it to DRUM! to put Ian Paice

I started drumming about a year

Editors Reply: Our managing

Conceived through decades of game-changing

well be covering this topic again in

Praise The Ford

I was more than a bit miffed to

I couldn't help but notice on Billy

Medium taper for the perfect balance between speed

Light and long for great touch and sound around

Very small round bead for extremely defined