Doubt

Am I good enough? Do I have the ability to keep up? Why do I try? What’s the point of pushing myself?

Those are the questions going through my head today as I sit at my kit. And I’m feeling defeated because of them.

Today was very boring because of the weather and the holidays coming to a close, so I sat at my kit to practice and find my limitations. I found them. Right away. I thought it would be cool to just play and enjoy myself at first because this usually gets my blood pumping and my hands warmed up. I found out that I was not enjoying myself.

Why?

Probably because of the blahs of the holidays and lack of inspiration. Probably because everyone has a bad day and I was just “off”.

Whatever the reason, it messed me up and I couldn’t “get my groove”, so to speak. I tried watching some youtube videos of drummers, but they just made me feel even more incapable.

Now, I know my abilities and have been playing for over twenty years. I also know my accomplishments and I’m proud of them. But am I good enough? So as I read the statuses of my friends and see they are looking back, I’m looking forward.

Where can I take my drumming? Should I set goals? What are they? How can I get better?

I know it’s ridiculous. I know I am good enough. I know I can play and I can get better. I know God gave me the ability. But do I know it in my heart or just in my head?

5 Stroke Roll in 3/4

5 Stroke Roll in 3/4, posted with vodpod

Kurt Cobain: Rock’s Harbinger of Death?

Recently, my friends and I sat down around a fire and discussed how rock music has changed over the decades. We talked about how we are distancing ourselves from current rock music because it is lacking some of the things we have come to love about the genre. We also discussed who we think is responsible for the lack of enthusiastic, pound your fist, shake your head, driving kind of music currently played on today’s radio stations.

It’s not like there isn’t any good music out there today. Of course there is, but not much of it is “radio friendly”. They are either “never heard of” or just never “played”. And as I change the stations in my car, I am reminded that things are different now.

Several people come to my mind when I think of who has changed the landscape of rock music, but no one stands out like Kurt Cobain. You know, the guy that killed hair-metal and all other pretentious glam acts of the early 90′s. Or how about “the guy that was just keeping it real?”

Let me make something very clear. I respect the guy. I respect the fact that he was able to not sing in key and make everyone love him for his craft. I respect the fact that his songs were the most depressing songs of the era, yet he was able to overturn the genre from freewheelin’, funlovin’, sex-riddled hair-glam to honest, and pure artistry. I also respect the fact that he exposed those glam acts for the posers they were and halted many of their careers. (At least until the Summer Concert Series began)

All joking aside, I do believe the grunge era was important and I still like a couple of Nirvana tunes.

As I look at the last two decades of rock music, I think the grunge era really thinned the herd as far as who really stood out as torch bearers for good ol’ rock’n'roll. If you look at the ’50′s, ’60′s, ’70′s and ’80′s, I bet you can pick out several bands that stood out among the rest. Now, look at the ’90′s and ’00′s. How many bands stand out as great or really good? I can think of a couple, but it’s harder than thinking of the ’70′s, Isn’t it?

Oh the ’70′s!!! I truly believe it was the greatest era of music! Period! Dot! Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, and the list goes on and on. Music was so alive in that era. Okay, so, let’s get back to my point…

My point of this whole thing is I don’t believe Kurt Cobain is the harbinger of death for rock’n'roll, but I do believe he changed it.

Did I like the change? No! Was it necessary? Yes!

Like I said before, the glam acts had to end at some point. But did the guitar solo? No. I don’t mean the Kirk Hammett hammer-ons, spinning out of control and not serving the song at all type of solos. I mean the ones like David Gilmore of Pink Floyd, or Alex Lifeson of Rush, or Mark Knoppfler of Dire Straights could pull off. Why have we been missing this great tool of music since the early ’90′s?

I do see a glimmer of hope in some new stars like Jack White of The White Stripes and the Raconteurs. I also see some more up and coming bands that have given me something to look forward to and something to savor when they come out with new albums. But I sure hope we are seeing the second bookend to the non-soloing, let’s sing off key just cause we can, retro-rip-off music. (Not that Kurt’s music was like any of that)

Feel free to tell me what you think. I think after 20 years, we should move on. I also think Rock is layin’ down some bluegrass roots…let’s check it out!

Drum Daze 2011 Part 2

In my last post I showed you some pics of Drum Daze 2011 in Columbus, Ohio. I am proud of myself for taking such clear pictures of the artists on stage and I want to finish this post by showing you the remainder of them.

First up is Todd Sucherman. My cousin and I decided to go to the balcony section of the theatre so we could get the best view and not have too many people sitting next to us. Afterall, this isn’t a concert, it’s a clinic. So we wanted the freedom to move and go in and out of the theatre. Because of this decision, we were able to get a pic with Greg Bissonette.
  Todd played some tracks he recorded with Styx and basically just showed the crowd his drum parts. Even though he was agreat player, I was a little disappointed because I was hoping he would give us some cool tricks or new information. One thing I’m finding out is that most clinics are not about giving new information, but just about performing. Although that is a great lesson in and of itself, it doesn’t quench a drummer’s thirst for knowledge.

I was impressed with Alex Acuna as he came out and showed his ability to play multiple rhythms at one time. Alex spoke about his culture’s way of thinking and speaking rhythmically and demonstrated this by playing three rhythms simultaneously. He had a cowbell on a foot pedal and played it with his left foot. He was playing a cajun with his left hand and held shakers in the other.

I love to hear Latin rhythms because they are layered together with many things going on at one time. It really is a feat to pull some of them off. Alex did this as though it was natural. He also got the crowd involved in clapping along with him and made his performance fun and energized. An attitude not afforded by some of the players.

Here are some more pics from the rest of the day. I hope you enjoy them and let me know what you think of them.

Drum Daze 2011

I had the chance to attend Drum Daze 2011 held at the Capital Theatre in the Riffe Center in downtown Columbus, Ohio on April 17th, 2011. The event is put together by Columbus Percussion and featured world-renowned artists such as Alex Acuna, Gregg Bissonette, Todd Sucherman, Karl Perazzo and Raul Rekow, and Jim Riley. 

Drum Daze was also sponsored by many companies including Mapex, Pearl, Roland, Sabian, and Zildjian cymbals and featured some new gear from each company. If there was one complaint for the day, it would be that I would like to have seen more drum sponsors put their products on display. The major companies that displayed their products were Mapex, Roland, Yamaha, Sabian, and Zildjian. Even though Pearl was representing Todd Sucherman, you couldn’t find one Pearl drumset on display.

The event is a half day of drumming with each artist performing  up to one hour. Each artist gets to choose how they will fill their time, whether they talk or just play the whole time.

The first artist up was Jim Riley, the Bandleader of Rascal Flatts.

Jim played along with some tracks that he brought and broke them down so we could count them out. Jim’s overall performance was very solid.

Next, my personal favorite and drummer I’d most want to be like, was Gregg Bissonette. He is currently playing with Ringo Starr and studio drummer for various projects including Phineas and Ferb. Greg had a great attitude and was very nice when we asked him to get his picture taken.

Greg was very funny while being informative. He spoke mainly about how his diversity has kept him employed. He played several beats from other famous drummers and had the audience identify the song by the beat, explaining how those beats wouldn’t exist if other music hadn’t influenced them.

Then Karl Perazzo and Raul Rekow, the percussion section of Santana, came on stage. They were very interesting to listen to and were fun to watch. Their teamwork really made the music come alive!

I will show more pictures of the rest of the day in my next post.

Be sure to check back in for more pictures of Drum Daze 2011 where I will feature Todd Sucherman and Alex Acuna, as well as more pics from throughout the day.

Fun with Kitbuilder 2.0 (a.k.a. My Dream Kit

This kit was a lot of fun to build. Even though I may never be able to afford it, I think it’s a gorgeous kit. The finish is a specialty lacquer called Ebony stain. The lugs are brushed chrome that matches the rest of the hardware. Besides two add ins (17″ Crash and 8″ splash, the cymbals are all my regular sizes (13″ K/Z Hi-Hats, 16″ Crash, 18″ Crash, 18″ China, 21″ Ride, and 10″ splash). The kit itself is comprised of the following sizes: 8×7 Tom, 10×9 Tom, 12×10 Tom, 14×14 Floor tom, 16×16 Floor tom, 14×6 Snare

20×16 Kick

Drum Daze!!! Check This Out!

Applying the Five Stroke Roll to the Kit

Recently, I ‘ve been practicing the five stroke-roll as a rudiment, but also trying to incorporate it into a rhythm. I’ve covered this roll in my blog before, but I want to review it again because I have had some new ideas.

The five stroke -roll look like this:

RLLRL RLLRL and LRRLR LRRLR

Or you could also play it straight as RLRLR LRLRL

The five stroke roll as a rhythm, fits into a 3/4 time signature very easily. If you look at the first figure, where you lead with the right hand, you can apply it to the drum kit. The right hand plays the hi-hat on the first and fourth stroke of the roll. The left hand is on the snare and plays the second, third, and fifth stroke. Note: The left hand plays the second and third strokes as a double stroke. This allows you to speed up and play the rhythm at a higher tempo.

Hi-hat:  X    X     X    X     X    X     X    X

Snare:      dd    d     dd    d    dd    d    dd    d

Kick:      p     p      p     p     p     p      p     p

The rhythm seems very awkward at first, but as I played it, I was able to get comfortable and add fills.

Remember the rhythm is played in 3/4, so it automatically fits into a 6/8 time signature. I took the above rhythm and played it for two measures and then added a rhythm in a traditional blues/waltz feel. Both rhythms mashed together made for rhythmic change, but the timing pretty much stays the same. To the average listener it will seem like you are changing rhythms, but the pulse will stay the same.

The count will look like this: 1  2  3 | 1  2  3 | 1  2  3  4  5  6 | 1  2  3  4  5  6  :|

I will try to add a video of me performing this, so it makes a little more sense. I hope you can take some ideas from this and make up some rhythms of your own. Have fun experimenting.

I Love Your Presence

The Worship Team at Vineyard of Marysville has recently added the song, “I Love Your Presence”, by Anthony Skinner, to the set on Sunday. It is one of my favorite worship songs because it’s beautifully written both lyrically and musically.

The time signature is 6/8, so it has a heavy waltz feel and the verses are understated so the vocal can sit on top and set the mood of a passionate love song. The Chorus then drops in with the backbeat elevating the intensity.

I usually like a song to change rhythmic structure from section to section so the listener will stay interested and locked into the emotion of the song.

Now that I’ve described the song, I want to write out my interpretation of the song for drums. My feet play a very important role in this song because, in this case, they are the time keepers. My right foot is playing on count 1 and my left foot is on the hi-hat playing counts 2 and 3. My right hand is playing the ride in straight time 1,2,3,4,5,6. My left hand is accenting on the snare like a jazz pattern on the verse and changes to playing the backbeat on count 4. If counting to six is difficult, try switching to a 3/4 count (1,2,3,1,2,3). The kick would then play on count 1, then the left hand would play the snare on count 1.

I usually try to get a 3/4/ feel across on the verses because of the way the guitar is structured. This lends to accentuating the snare around the lyrics and being more percussive rather than try to hold a specific rhythm.

I also want to point out that if you overstate a swing feel it pushes the song and diminishes the passionate mood. One thing to keep in mind about worshipping while playing is to use your skills to help the worship experience. What I mean, is that you have to learn how to balance your technique with the emotion of the moment. If you are worshipping while you play, sometime you have to pull back and other times you have to push forward. Listen to your leader and teammates. This song, in particular, needs to relax from the start, so don’t let the waltz or swing feel fool you into playing busy or heavy. Keep it light and moving, but don’t push it.

Just rest in the moment with Him and enjoy His presence.

Serve The Song

A few weeks ago my friend sent me a recording of his guitar on mp3 format. We were frequently sending tracks back and forth so we could flesh out song ideas. So this time I put the mp3 on my iPod and experimented on my Roland V-Drums, while listening to the guitar. I was really happy with my results because I took the time to compose a drum track that served the song instead of my ego.

Three of my friends and I play music every other week or just whenever our schedules work it out. After about a ten year hiatus, we are back to doing our favorite thing which is writing original material and just jamming in the moment.

This song was created by Rich, one of our guitarists. He brought the song to us and let us do our thing to it. He did give me some direction because he had played guitar to a drum track he liked, so I tried my best to give him what he wanted. After all, it is his song.

I did try my best, but was never satisfied with my performance. Something was missing and I couldn’t put my finger on it. I just got by at each jam and couldn’t wait until we moved on to something I felt more comfortable playing. So I was very happy when he sent me a recording I could accompany while at home and get as creative as I wanted.

I started by trying to build dynamics. I played several things that did or didn’t fit until I started messing around with a pulse. I kept the pulsating rhythm with my feet, alternating between my right foot on the kick drum and my left foot on the hi-hat pedal. This became the foundation of my drum part.

Then, while I played the pulse, I experimented with 5-stroke rolls, slowly building the crescendo on the snare until I rolled down the toms into a 4/4 beat on the ride and snare.  This happened as an inspiration. I was totally not expecting the 5-strokes to work.

They worked because the song is in 3/4 time. If you take a 3/4 count and subdivide the time and play 1/8 notes you get six beats per measure( 1+2+3+). The five stroke is played  up to the 5th beat of the measure, which is on the 3 count and then the 6th beat is silent(1+2+3 ). This was a fun discovery I had made about a month earlier and I was finally able to utilize it in a song.

The beat looks like this:

1 + 2 + 3 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 1 + 2 + 3 +
d d d d d   d d d d d   d d d d d   d d d d d
p   x   p   x   p   x   p   x   p   x   p   x

As you can see the five stroke changes on the pulse, but not on the count. The 5-stroke roll remains in tact, while the pulsating rhythm moves from the beginning and end of the roll to the middle of the roll. This happens naturally as you roll over the pulse. Also, notice the “+” after count 3 is silent.

The next part I just improvised. Rich told me he wanted a rolling tom part to sound quick paced and chaotic. I just used some of my jazz training and remembered Gene Krupa playing over Benny Goodman’s big band. I played a tom part that repeated itself and ebbed a flowed along with the guitar in intensity until the beginning part repeated itself. I would then crescendo again into the 4/4 part and play through to the tom part again.

Finally, I recorded myself on my digital camera playing the part to the guitar track Rich had sent me. I didn’t have a way to record the track on my desktop, so I just thought a quick video would give Rich an idea of my composition. It worked and he liked it. Mission accomplished! I served the song using basic ideas given to me from tools used as I taught drums and from what I learned playing in a style of music. I also used the framework Rich gave me from the guitar and his overall vision.

Advice to you: Listen to your band mates and make decisions on what works. You can make the drum part as complex as you want, but if it doesn’t serve anything, but your ego, it won’t serve anything at all. If you want to be an in-demand drummer, learn to listen to the song and learn to listen to others.