http://www.puresoundpercussion.com/
In addition, PureSound is now on Facebook and Twitter:
https://www.facebook.com/PureSoundPercussion
https://twitter.com/#!/puresoundsnares
Showing posts with label drums. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drums. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
New PureSound Website
The PureSound website is officially received a facelift! In keeping with the rest of the D'Addario percussion brands, PureSoundPercussion.com now features a similar design to EvansDrumheads.com and ProMark.com. Keep an eye out for new product videos, interviews and sound samples coming in the near future!
http://www.puresoundpercussion.com/
In addition, PureSound is now on Facebook and Twitter:
https://www.facebook.com/PureSoundPercussion
https://twitter.com/#!/puresoundsnares
http://www.puresoundpercussion.com/
In addition, PureSound is now on Facebook and Twitter:
https://www.facebook.com/PureSoundPercussion
https://twitter.com/#!/puresoundsnares
Monday, June 15, 2009
Evans Artist Spotlight:Tommy Igoe-Birdland Big Band
NAME: Tommy Igoe
AGE: Older than Tony Royster and younger than Yoda.
CURRENT JOB(S): Music Director and leader of the Birdland Big Band. Principal Drummer and conductor of The Lion King on Broadway.
YEARS AT CURRENT POSITION: 12
THE EARLY YEARS: (some information on where you grew up, where you studied, degree(s) earned)
Grew up in Emerson New Jersey. Studied piano and drums.
AGE: Older than Tony Royster and younger than Yoda.
CURRENT JOB(S): Music Director and leader of the Birdland Big Band. Principal Drummer and conductor of The Lion King on Broadway.
YEARS AT CURRENT POSITION: 12
THE EARLY YEARS: (some information on where you grew up, where you studied, degree(s) earned)
Grew up in Emerson New Jersey. Studied piano and drums.
ONE THING YOU ARE PRACTICING RIGHT NOW IS: One thing? There’s a lot more than one, but I guess I’ve been partial to the Linear Time Playing book lately by Gary Chaffee because it’s always a mentally stimulating challenge.
MY PLAYLIST OF “TOP (5) SONGS” WOULD INCLUDE: this is an impossible task!
Adagio for Strings
Fool in the Rain
West Side Story (all of it)
La Fiesta
Beethoven Piano Sonata
QUICK PRACTICE TIP: Relax, Breathe and videotape
WORST NON-MUSIC RELATED JOB, DESCRIBE: Meat packer at ShopRite during high school. Title says it all…
HOBBIES INCLUDE: cooking, martial arts and lusting after cars I have no business looking at. You know, like late model Lamborghinis. I can’t help myself…
Detailed Answers :WHAT EVENT, PERSON, OR MOMENT HAD THE MOST IMPACT ON YOU AS A MUSICIAN?
I had three educator/mentors who influenced me greatly during what is typically a very influential time in a young man’s life. You know, that period between 14 to 18 years old; those years can set you up for success or disaster. These three mentors, Darryl Bott, Dennis Delucia and my father, Sonny Igoe, showed me the way. By example, their obvious passion for what they did was to become the guiding light for my career. You see, they showed me the most important thing of all: That it is okay to give your all—everything you have— to music. That teaching, playing, writing, performing, all deserve everything you’ve got, every time. In fact, don’t waste your time if you aren’t going to dedicate every ounce of yourself into the art. Because, that’s what it takes to make art worthy of an audience. I thank them often as I go through my musical adventures.
MOST MEMORABLE PERFORMANCE OR TRIP:
I went behind the Iron Curtain in 1983. My first trip overseas and it was to be probably the most amazing. I went to Poland. Not the Poland we all know now, the old Poland. The beaten down and absued by the Soviet system Poland. Everything was grey. Everything. No color. But the people… Joyous! Full of life and energy! We played a concert (The Glenn Miller Band) that contained a lot of WWII era music and they were weeping openly. Men and Women. The music we played was smuggled in during the war. The people there had a connection to the music I couldn’t even begin to comprehend. An emotional connection that formed who they were. I’ll never forgot the feeling, the privilege, of playing for that audience.
WHAT WOULD YOU BE IF NOT A MUSICIAN,& WHY?
Something with law enforcement. I think there is something inherently honorable about trying to keep people safe and “getting the bad guys”. I know that’s a naïve way to look at law enforcement in our complex world but I can’t help it: I still have a 5-year olds outlook on the matter. Get the bad guy and we win! One can dream…
Additional Media:
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Dave Mattacks Discusses Snare Drum Sounds
Ask ten drummers what they’re looking for in a snare drum sound & you’ll likely get ten different answers. The usual descriptions often come up "Fat /Big" etc., but when one digs beneath the surface, especially if one has been doing this for a while,those replies can get very detailed. I think that with few exceptions,"Tone" is relatively high on everyone’s agenda & while we (hopefully) all agree that there’s no substitute for a great touch, having a basic handle on not only the ability to tune a drum well but to understand the effect different heads have is important. It’s worth spending a few minutes reading up on the different characteristics.For me & the snare drum sound I’m after, it’s usually a 300 Opaque on the bottom & a G1 Coated or Power Center Reverse Dot on top. I’m learning that the drum is the thing that makes the different sound ; occasionally I’ll "Amplify" a snare’s tendencies with an appropriate head - for example an EC2 coated or an ST Dry on an (already)dry-sounding snare, but typically I’ll put on the heads listed above. What’s important here is consistency from head-to-head ; if you have two supposedly identical 14” batter heads that simply aren’t ( like some manufacturers) your reference point gets blurred.
It’s also really important to get decent snare wires. I use Puresound and they have a staggering array from which to chose (dry / wet – wide / narrow) so you can take that snare drum further in the direction it’s already headed. And if you haven’t "Got This" already, be very careful how you actually set the wires up. Too close to one side or the other &/or with only the slightest twist [ on the horizontal plane ] & you’re not making the most of your investment !
Finally, to re-iterate, how you strike it is probably more important than anything - & that doesn’t mean “ how hard you can hit it “ either. Good luck !
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
My re-introduction to Evans
My first set of drums was a Mickey Mouse “kit” that my parents bought me when I was about 7 years old. I think they were tired of me hammering on our pots and pans while they listened to their Led Zeppelin and Chicago records. I can still remember the picture of Mickey on the front bass drum head, playing a guitar and dressed up like someone from the Monkees during their heyday in the early 70’s. Man, that makes me feel old…..
Obviously, time passed, the Mickey Mouse drums found their way to the garbage after wearing out, and I joined the school band. I hammered around the percussion section while there, and got my first real kit soon after that. I now clearly remember that at that point I didn’t even realize drum heads could be changed…replaced. That they wore out after awhile.
Fast forward to 1985. While in high school, I was still heavily involved with drumming, from rock bands to musicals, and from community orchestras to drum corps to symphonic wind ensembles. I was also becoming more aware of various drum equipment available, as most drum geeks eventually do. I was using drum heads from another major drum head manufacturer at that time because that was all I knew. That brand of drum heads also seemed to be the only brand that the local music stores stocked.
When I discovered that my favorite drum hero was using Evans, I thought I would give them a try. He was using Evans Hydraulics in red, because his kit was red, so I tried them in blue, since my kit was blue! Why not? I had to special order them from my favorite local music dealer since they didn’t have them in stock, but I eventually got them.
The sound I got was what I expected out of Hydraulics; The deep “thud” that easily characterizes their signature sound due to the light coating of linseed oil between the two plies. I loved them because my drum hero used them. As far as I was concerned, I was now officially COOL because I was using some drum gear that this immortal drum god was using. Surely, I was well on my way to being a superstar too, right?
You see?? Product endorsements DO work!
I discovered, however, that the Hydraulics lost that “sound” fairly quickly. If I remember correctly, I tried blue Hydraulics one more time when a friend of mine got me a new set for my birthday. After some time however, I eventually went back to the drum heads I previously knew and was comfortable with, and kept it that way for awhile.
Although my mother wanted me to be a dentist (or something like that), I eventually went off to college in 1987 as a music business major at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. I remember my parents didn’t really understand what I was going to do with a music degree. In fact, years later, my father admitted to me that, at the time I had made my little announcement that I wanted to major in music in college, he felt he was going to be supporting me for the rest of his life…..however, they supported me in my decision, and off I went.
Fortunately, it didn’t work out that way. I was able to earn a living in the music products business and was eventually hired in 1998 as a district manager for the Yamaha Corporation of America, calling on dealer accounts throughout New England and upstate New York. See, mom? See, dad? I TOLD you I could make a living in the music business!
It was at about this time that I learned another large and respected company within the music products industry, D’Addario, had begun to branch out beyond manufacturing strings, of which the company was best known for. I was interested to discover that the company had purchased Evans, moved it from Dodge City to New York, and was now under full control of manufacturing the heads, along with employing a massive research and development effort to make them better than ever, in terms of consistency and high quality construction processes. As a drummer, this interested me greatly.
In the years prior that had passed (late 80’s to mid 90’s), I had become more aware of the sound I was trying to achieve behind my kit, as all drummers who gain a certain level of experience do. I had tried a number of different types of heads from a few different manufacturers while gigging quite steadily throughout this time period, which gave me ample opportunity to “audition” any heads I wanted to try out. I admit that Evans was, at that time, not on my radar. My previous experience with them while I was in high school made me feel there was perhaps no reason to go back. They weren’t all that heavily promoted within the dealer community at that time either, making the heads difficult to try and discuss with dealers’ sales staff members. Evans was, at least for me at that time, “out of sight, out of mind.”
In early 2001, I was calling on a dealer near Cape Cod. The store owner had just installed a new Evans display full of heads. I needed some new heads at that time, and I felt by looking at the display and the great things I had begun to hear about Evans that I would perhaps get reacquainted to them…a “re-introduction” to these heads, as it were, from the original time I had tried them back in the mid 80’s. Fortunately, this dealer had a percussion specialist who was able to answer all of my questions. After concluding my business with the dealer, I spoke with this staff member at length about what I was looking for in a drum sound. We carefully went through each drum head offering they had on their display, and after quite a bit of discussion, I decided to go with clear G2s for my tom batter heads, clear resonant heads for my tom bottoms (very important!), coated EMADs for my bass drums, and a simple coated G1 for my snare drum. Armed with my new set of heads, I got home and put them on my Yamaha Beech Custom kit that I had had for a couple of years.
I never looked back after that.
The sound and feel I experienced was tremendous. The consistency of each head was, in my opinion, as good as one could expect. I was getting plenty of cut and warmth out of the tom heads (8” to 16”), ample “crack” from the snare, and a sound from the EMAD bass drum heads that has, literally, changed the way that we now think as drummers of achieving our ultimate bass drum sounds. All heads I had tried before offered something, but also left me wanting something. These specific models of Evans heads on my kit left me wanting nothing. I had found what I was looking for.
Fast forward to 2006. After a number of years of working in the industry, I was now given the opportunity to work with D’Addario…that same respected company that was manufacturing those exceptional drum heads that I had been reintroduced to about five years earlier. I took that opportunity and, again, haven’t looked back since. Sometimes, I simply cannot believe how fortunate I have been working in this business. D’Addario simply continues the journey for me.
D’Addario has done amazing things in the world of drum head manufacturing. Without question, the bar has been raised, and, from being on “the inside,” I can tell you the future looks even brighter. I encourage all drummers out there reading this to continue to keep your eye on the future of Evans. We have many more exciting things planned…stay tuned…!
Obviously, time passed, the Mickey Mouse drums found their way to the garbage after wearing out, and I joined the school band. I hammered around the percussion section while there, and got my first real kit soon after that. I now clearly remember that at that point I didn’t even realize drum heads could be changed…replaced. That they wore out after awhile.
Fast forward to 1985. While in high school, I was still heavily involved with drumming, from rock bands to musicals, and from community orchestras to drum corps to symphonic wind ensembles. I was also becoming more aware of various drum equipment available, as most drum geeks eventually do. I was using drum heads from another major drum head manufacturer at that time because that was all I knew. That brand of drum heads also seemed to be the only brand that the local music stores stocked.
When I discovered that my favorite drum hero was using Evans, I thought I would give them a try. He was using Evans Hydraulics in red, because his kit was red, so I tried them in blue, since my kit was blue! Why not? I had to special order them from my favorite local music dealer since they didn’t have them in stock, but I eventually got them.
The sound I got was what I expected out of Hydraulics; The deep “thud” that easily characterizes their signature sound due to the light coating of linseed oil between the two plies. I loved them because my drum hero used them. As far as I was concerned, I was now officially COOL because I was using some drum gear that this immortal drum god was using. Surely, I was well on my way to being a superstar too, right?
You see?? Product endorsements DO work!
I discovered, however, that the Hydraulics lost that “sound” fairly quickly. If I remember correctly, I tried blue Hydraulics one more time when a friend of mine got me a new set for my birthday. After some time however, I eventually went back to the drum heads I previously knew and was comfortable with, and kept it that way for awhile.
Although my mother wanted me to be a dentist (or something like that), I eventually went off to college in 1987 as a music business major at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. I remember my parents didn’t really understand what I was going to do with a music degree. In fact, years later, my father admitted to me that, at the time I had made my little announcement that I wanted to major in music in college, he felt he was going to be supporting me for the rest of his life…..however, they supported me in my decision, and off I went.
Fortunately, it didn’t work out that way. I was able to earn a living in the music products business and was eventually hired in 1998 as a district manager for the Yamaha Corporation of America, calling on dealer accounts throughout New England and upstate New York. See, mom? See, dad? I TOLD you I could make a living in the music business!
It was at about this time that I learned another large and respected company within the music products industry, D’Addario, had begun to branch out beyond manufacturing strings, of which the company was best known for. I was interested to discover that the company had purchased Evans, moved it from Dodge City to New York, and was now under full control of manufacturing the heads, along with employing a massive research and development effort to make them better than ever, in terms of consistency and high quality construction processes. As a drummer, this interested me greatly.
In the years prior that had passed (late 80’s to mid 90’s), I had become more aware of the sound I was trying to achieve behind my kit, as all drummers who gain a certain level of experience do. I had tried a number of different types of heads from a few different manufacturers while gigging quite steadily throughout this time period, which gave me ample opportunity to “audition” any heads I wanted to try out. I admit that Evans was, at that time, not on my radar. My previous experience with them while I was in high school made me feel there was perhaps no reason to go back. They weren’t all that heavily promoted within the dealer community at that time either, making the heads difficult to try and discuss with dealers’ sales staff members. Evans was, at least for me at that time, “out of sight, out of mind.”
In early 2001, I was calling on a dealer near Cape Cod. The store owner had just installed a new Evans display full of heads. I needed some new heads at that time, and I felt by looking at the display and the great things I had begun to hear about Evans that I would perhaps get reacquainted to them…a “re-introduction” to these heads, as it were, from the original time I had tried them back in the mid 80’s. Fortunately, this dealer had a percussion specialist who was able to answer all of my questions. After concluding my business with the dealer, I spoke with this staff member at length about what I was looking for in a drum sound. We carefully went through each drum head offering they had on their display, and after quite a bit of discussion, I decided to go with clear G2s for my tom batter heads, clear resonant heads for my tom bottoms (very important!), coated EMADs for my bass drums, and a simple coated G1 for my snare drum. Armed with my new set of heads, I got home and put them on my Yamaha Beech Custom kit that I had had for a couple of years.
I never looked back after that.
The sound and feel I experienced was tremendous. The consistency of each head was, in my opinion, as good as one could expect. I was getting plenty of cut and warmth out of the tom heads (8” to 16”), ample “crack” from the snare, and a sound from the EMAD bass drum heads that has, literally, changed the way that we now think as drummers of achieving our ultimate bass drum sounds. All heads I had tried before offered something, but also left me wanting something. These specific models of Evans heads on my kit left me wanting nothing. I had found what I was looking for.
Fast forward to 2006. After a number of years of working in the industry, I was now given the opportunity to work with D’Addario…that same respected company that was manufacturing those exceptional drum heads that I had been reintroduced to about five years earlier. I took that opportunity and, again, haven’t looked back since. Sometimes, I simply cannot believe how fortunate I have been working in this business. D’Addario simply continues the journey for me.
D’Addario has done amazing things in the world of drum head manufacturing. Without question, the bar has been raised, and, from being on “the inside,” I can tell you the future looks even brighter. I encourage all drummers out there reading this to continue to keep your eye on the future of Evans. We have many more exciting things planned…stay tuned…!
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