Physically, Mentally, Sensibility

You know, when I was growing and up learning to play the drums, the only thing I ever wanted,was to be the drummer in one mega-successful rock band. I had no desire to be a studio musician, jumping around between several artists, or even performing live with multiple bands. As my drumming and musical career developed over the years, I didn't have the fortune to walk into that elusive, mega-huge rock band gig. But then again, I guess, I'm fortunate to have had a long and thankfully ongoing career of playing with many different bands and artists.

So this leads me to a question that I've been asked on several occasions: "How is it different playing with HALFORD, FATES WARNING, SEBASTIAN BACH, RIOT, etc.?"

On the surface, one can say, "How different can it be? All of these bands fall into the category of being Rock/Progressive/Heavy Metal bands." Of course, there are the many different songs that I need to learn for each band. And, of course, when I'm playing with an already established artist/band, I need to learn songs which were previously recorded with another drummer. These songs could range from obscure fan favorites to huge radio hits known by even the casual radio listener. During my early years of learning (pre-recorded) songs, I always paid close attention to the beat patterns and fills and learned how to copy and re-create the parts note-for-note so that I could play them correctly. But "my process and methods that I use when learning, memorizing, and executing these drum parts" is a blog for another day.

What I want to talk about is a realization that was enlightening to me this past summer,as I had to make quick transitions between my working with various artists/bands. I always knew that (beyond the actual drumming itself) I had to adjust my playing and thinking to adapt to the different situations, but I never took the time to define and categorize how I was successfully making this happen. Recently, within a couple of months, I made my way into the studio and doing summer festivals with RIOT, more studio work with HALFORD (visit www.metalgodshop.com/ to watch the 'Winter Songs' Christmas album trailer and purchase music), to my September performance with FATES WARNING at ProgPower X in Atlanta.

With all due respect to these bands and artists, I have discovered that there are 3 elements that encompass my musical drumming approach to each of the artist/bands that I am currently working with. These elements are: Physicality, the Mental Aspect, and Sensibility.

HALFORD

Physically - This is a complete physical (hands AND feet) drumming workout for me. Rob, being the metal icon that he is, has covered the entire spectrum of metal throughout his career with Judas Priest, Fight, and Halford. And with the Halford band, the songs can range from 'Handing Out Bullets' (quick double bass and sticking patterns) to 'She' (ballad with a lighter touch). And for live performances, the Priest stuff is always challenging for me physically because I need to adapt to all the drummer's styles within the 30+ years of JP's career.

Mentally - This can change from song to song. I would say that the Halford "Crucible" songs have always been the most challenging songs to play live. Pretty cerebral stuff !

Sensibility - I need to play the up-tempo stuff with aggression, and also be able to lay back and finesse the songs which have more dynamics. This is also especially true with the Judas Priest and Fight stuff that we play live which ranges from the classic metal drumming of Scott Travis on 'Painkiller' and 'War Of Words', to the Dave Holland 'play all the hi-hat eight notes the same volume'-approach, to the style of the drummers during the 'Rocka Rolla' and 'Sad Wings Of Destiny' era where the vibe is more loose and groovy.


FATES WARNING

Physically - It's interesting - this is the only gig in which I use finger muscles in my hands rather than concentrated wrist muscles. It's a whole different drumming approach for me. I also need to mention that Mark Zonder (who played on most of the Fates stuff we cover live) is a great drummer. Since there is not a lot of quick double bass work (as opposed to other gigs), I find myself sitting a bit higher to focus when executing the many various sticking combinations and linear patterns.

Mentally - This is the hardest gig for me mentally next to my clinic material. I have to be focused 100% of the time. I cannot go on 'auto-pilot' and sit back and play. During our recent performance at ProgPower X, I came down from the kit to share an on-stage toast of Patron Tequila with the other members of FW and the founder of ProgPower. This was toward the end of our set, before playing our last couple of songs. That was a mistake! Believe it or not, with only one shot of tequila and I could definitely tell the difference. My brain was swimming, haa haa!

Sensibility - The music is progressive and involved and I always have to maintain a mature approach to this material.


SEBASTIAN BACH

Note: even though I didn't work with Sebastian this summer, I thought it would be interesting to include my thoughts:

Physically - Technically, this isn't the toughest gig for me, but I definitely play harder on Sebastian gigs than any other gig. I have been fortunate to play with Sebastian in many arenas and outdoor festivals throughout the world and the physicality of playing those huge venues really makes the Sebastian shows rock.

Mentally - The whole mental thing comes down to watching Sebastian at all times. He's all over the stage and and he can change things up at the drop of a hat. It's a true SHOW! And, with Sebastian's spontaneity, I'm always looking for ways to incorporate drumming ideas into those moments.

Sensibility - it's all about the ROCK !


RIOT

Physically - This is where I sort of made my mark as a hard rock/heavy metal/progressive drummer. My first stint with the band was for 10+ years (off-and-on) from '88 to '99. And being that I was developing my craft as a drummer, my drumming matured and evolved somewhat during those years. As I am now doing a reunion with the band, re-learning the material that I recorded 20 years ago is interesting physically because I made things tougher for myself back then, than an I do now. When creating parts for a particular section of music, I have always thought things like, "aggressive heavy low toms on the bridge", "half-time building sixteenths on the ride and hi-hat", etc.. Well, in certain sections, the sticking is a bit awkward (for no good reason) and I wonder why I choose to play things that way ? HAA !

Mentally - Nothing too extreme here. Most of the time, I'm playing parts that I created. I just need to make sure I'm focused when executing some of the more difficult sections.

Sensibility - Similar to learning Judas Priest material when playing live with Halford, I am also playing previously recorded material from the Riot catalog, which dates back to '77. That's 10 years before I joined the band. But unlike the JP material, I tend to modify and modernize the drumming of the older Riot songs. This is sort of a collective decision among the band members to update and 'metalize' the hard rock approach of the older material.
As for the my 10-year stint with the band and the reunion, the vibe is all about where I am as a drummer and my experiences. And even though we had a producer on a couple of the early recordings, I always have free reign to play whatever crazy ideas I come up with.

A final thought: It's very self-satisfying to me as a drummer (and musician) that I can successfully play with a crazy progressive metal band as well as a pop band. And as a musician, I don't think there's anything more important than possessing the ability to understand (and play) very complex music while also having the sensibilities to make the simple music feel good.

Bobby

Not Taking Your Health For Granted, by Lee Kelley. Part 2

I figured it would be a good idea to give the guy I play with in town, Craig Campbell, www.myspace.com/craigcampbellmusic,a call to let him know what had gone down with the road gig and that I will be back to work in the next few weeks after fully healing. Figured it was wise to take that much time off from this gig since it was a club gig of usually about 3 to 3½ hours of playing with about a 20 minute break in the middle. I didn’t figure I could pull off that long behind the kit with just a couple weeks of healing.

Guess what happened?? Craig had decided to make a change as well, keeping the guy who was subbing for me ! That was actually more of a shocker than the first blow, but I figured my health and how it was affecting my outward treatment of others, was what contributed to this as well.
Ok,…what do I do now?? My health has knocked me out of both my main gigs. Once again, my wife said don’t worry about it, just heal and then get back out and network. That’s what I have always done if something has knocked me back…just pull up the bootstraps and head back at it. This was a bit different of a feeling though.

While the hernia was healing and my mobility was getting better, I still couldn’t shake the problems with my stamina. I was still finding myself winded over the least little things. Having to sit down on the bed after going upstairs just really baffled me, but I figured this would go away over time of healing. I also guessed the weight I had lost from inactivity or loss of appetite would come back on in time.

With reality setting in that I had NO work at this point, other feelings started to seep into my psyche. These were feelings that I normally do not have to deal with as I am a pretty “Up” person, although emotional, as most passionate, artistic people are. These were dark feelings, scared feelings, worried feelings. The kinds of thoughts you have when the carpet you have been walking on comfortably for 20 years of playing has been pulled out from under you.
Then the questions start to come to you:
“What am I going to do?”
“Will I be able to find some more work?”
“Is there more work to be found?”
“How am I going to contribute to my upcoming marriage?”
Those are just a few of the things that began to run through my mind with so much time suddenly on my hands. The scariest question that continued to pass through my mind on an almost daily basis was this…..
“IS IT OVER??”
Are my days of playing drums for a living over?? Let’s be honest, popular music has always been a kind of “Young Man’s Game.” At 40 years old, healing from a surgery and the gigs I had done, this is not an easy thought to keep out of one’s head. More to the point, that thought is SCARY AS HELL. While it is difficult to put into words how dark the thought got, just know that the worst did pass through a couple times.

These thoughts and questions began to send me into a bit of a depression on many days. As I said before, I couldn’t see the forest for the trees and had NO idea how I would walk out of these problems. Denay just stayed by my side in every way possible and then some, reminding me again and again to just enjoy the well needed break from everything and, most importantly, to enjoy our upcoming November wedding and Honeymoon cruise. I tried my best to take her advice and keep focused on all that lay ahead of us. The wedding quickly approached, turning my thoughts more positive as the days passed. Denay continually helped in holding my chin up and suspend my heavy heart to a better place.

We married in the middle of November, surrounded by a gracious bunch of family and friends. The following day we took off for our week long cruise in the Caribbean. All this positive activity in my life with my now wife really pulled me out of the darkness that I had experienced in the past month and a half. I felt GREAT ! Only got winded on one excursion on the honeymoon in which we had to run about 200 to 300 yards through woods. Other than that, my indigestion that had been with me since my early 30s was the only real discomfort I felt.

Denay and I came back home and I began to set my mind to “Getting Back In The Game” the only way I knew how, go back out to start networking and sitting in again. Basically, just letting people know I was looking to get back into playing. This sent me back to square one of playing for a living in Nashville. Not only had I been off the radar for 2 months, I had been off for so long that my formally callused hands were completely smooth. This was the first time for that since before high school when had no place to practice during summers in South Carolina.

Anyway from then though Christmas, I picked up a gig here and there. Got through the first part of December, had two wisdom teeth pulled right before Christmas. Denay and I went to visit my family for the holiday,…all without much of a problem. My weight was still lower that it had been in years, but was stable. The acid reflux I had dealt with for years was still there but seemed to be somewhat under control taking antacids after every meal, or when needed. I was still getting a little winded but it seemed to be improving with time. We came back from Christmas in the Carolinas on December 26th in time for me to have a split double shift in the downtown honky tonks the following day, 2pm-6pm at one club, and later that night from 10pm-2am at another club up the street. Showing her unyielding support, my wife decided to come hang out during these gigs.

I began the afternoon gig feeling positive but a little winded. As I’ve done for years, I just played though any sickly feelings I may have had until, about 2/3rd a way through the gig, I couldn’t fight it and had to excuse myself from the stage. Immediately upon getting in the bathroom, I got violently ill, throwing up black. This went on for about 30 minutes. I eventually gained composure enough to finish the gig, but knew I couldn’t do the second gig. The weakness was overwhelming. Got a sub for the late gig and Denay and I started heading to the truck. Going up the hill from the clubs, I got violently ill once again. Denay said, “That’s it, you are going to the doctor on Monday.” I didn’t argue as I knew I had hit the tipping point of something serious.

We got to Dr. Beckham’s office as soon as possible on Monday. He immediately noticed my weight loss and ran blood tests on me. They found me to be suffering from severe anemia along with a massive loss of blood. He said I was missing about 5 pints of blood, which is about half the blood in the human body, and the fact that I walked in of my own accord, and was sitting up talking to him, was unbelievable ! He admitted me to the hospital at once to get an IV in me to replace the massive amounts of diminished blood while also scheduling an Upper GI Endoscopy (EGD) to find out what was causing the blood loss. I lay in the hospital the rest of the day with the IV feeding me blood, my wife at the bedside the whole time.

Over the previous months, I guess my skin color had very slowly turned very white and sickly looking due to the blood loss. Because my wife and I were with each other almost all the time, we didn’t notice this extreme change. As my blood supply was being replenished, Denay began to notice the rosy color coming back into my hands and my face.

The next morning they took me down and put me under for the EGD. I awoke several hours later to Denay looking very distraught. They had found a bleeding ulcer at the bottom of my esophagus cause by years of acid reflux. That wasn’t the worst news, but, Denay said that it might be CANCEROUS!!!! Yes, she had been informed while I was out that her new husband might have esophageal cancer.

Now, I don’t know what made me feel like this, but I had a feeling of calm come over me. I looked at my wife and said, “It’s not cancerous.” I don’t know why but I just KNEW. She relaxed a little and the Doctor of Gastroenterology, Dr. Lee, was notified that I had come around.

Dr. Lee came in to give us the news. While the ulcer was massive and the cause of the internal bleeding, upon further inspection, the ulcer was NOT cancerous. She told us I would be put on prescriptions of both iron pills to help sustain my blood levels and a double dose of Nexium each day to get the acid reflux under control along with subsiding the ulcer. Denay and I breathed much more at ease knowing this was the cause of my weight loss and stamina problems and that with the correct treatment, everything will be alright. I just laid back and continued enjoying the O-positive cocktail being fed into my veins for the rest of the day until I was released.

Since then I have continued to take the medication advised by my doctors. My stamina problems went away almost at once and my weight is back up and then some, especially with my appetite completely restored. I recently had a follow-up EGD to see how the ulcer is and am happy to report that it is almost non-existant !

On the gig front, I am back in action in a great way. The new artist gig is with a new artist, Jeremy McComb. http://www.jeremymccomb.com/ . It is exciting to play with a younger, newer, more enthusiastic artist on the country music radar.

Also, Craig Campbell www.myspace.com/craigcampbellmusic called me back to play with his band. That was a nice surprise to return to the band that I had spent the better part of the past 3 years. Other work comes in on a weekly basis and things are looking more positive every single day.

Personally, my wife, Denay, and I continue to build our new life together.
Spending as much time together as possible each and everyday. I make sure to thank her on an almost daily basis for understanding what I do for a living and the crazy schedule that comes along with it. I can safely say, if it wasn’t for her love and caring support, I would absolutely not be here to write this article. She literally saved my life….without a doubt.

For years and years, music and playing was the end all, be all, of my existence. Due to the medical problems I went through, my focus has changed for the positive. While I will hopefully always be lucky enough to make my living playing music and experience the joy of creating that music, I want to give as much of myself to my family, and home life as possible, while continuing to work.

In closing, I can give a little advice to those of you who may be going through any type of trouble that may affect your health or your playing status:
First, if you think you may have health issues….pay attention to any warning signs and please get to a doctor and have them addressed. They are there to help you but you HAVE to be the one to walk in and see them.

Second, keep playing fun in your life. If you are in a gig that just makes you miserable, maybe it is time to look for a change somehow. How you change it is up to you but there is no sense in staying in an unpleasant situation. It can only drag you down along with those with who you come in contact. We ALL started playing music because it was fun….Keep it that way.

Finally, remember that those who love and support you come first. I am talking of your family and true friends. These are the people that will be with you through the good times and the tough times.

May you all have more good times than bad times. Good luck and Good Groovin’ !
Thanks,
Lee Kelley
Nashville, TN
www.myspace.com/leekelleyondrums

Not taking your health for granted--Part 1 By Lee Kelley

When anyone sets out to be a musician, there is one thing that doesn’t really come to the forefront of the thought process…Personal health. Because being a musician is a somewhat taxing physical career and we just barrel through days, weeks and years of gigs, we tend to follow the mentality of “the show must go on.” Think about how many gigs you have played with a cold, flu, a muscle pulled or torn, or even worse. Sometimes your health is as such that the show cannot go on but may have to go on without you. So,what happens when you have spent years playing only to have a health issue come up that is unavoidable and has to be dealt with, even at the cost of having to step away from playing for a bit? This is what happened to me during the back half of 2008.
It all started innocently enough with a day on the lake in early August. In the latter half of the afternoon, we were hanging out with friends from my fiancée, Denay’s,job. We decided to go cliff jumping on one of the islands. Well, I decided to take a jump from the highest point of about 42 feet. Probably not one of the smartest decisions, you know? I jumped,and instead of landing straight in the water(Perpendicular), I landed at a slight angle. This felt like my lower back was slammed against a concrete floor, knocking the wind out of me in the process.
Once I came back to the water’s surface, I knew something was wrong. My back was in very intense pain and my mobility was limited due to that discomfort. I slowly got back to the boat with a little help,and someone pulling me part of the way with their jet ski. Denay and friends helped get me back on the boat and seated, but I knew this was really bad. I got our jet ski back from the friend riding, slowly got it back to the launch, got it on the trailer, towed it back to our house and unhooked the trailer….all while in extreme pain.
I made my way into the house and upstairs to lie down and wait for Denay to get home from where they were parked at the local marina. Every little movement shot pain through my back,and down my legs. I got as comfortable as possible (no easy feat) with 3 pillows to support my lower back. My fiancée got home and had some back and body medicine for me so I took the pills and sat back hoping for my back to have a bit of relief.
That relief did not come in 1, 2, 3 or 4 hours, even with extra medicine. The pain got worse and my body became stiffer, to the point of screaming at almost any movement. With a road trip for two shows with Mark Chesnutt, my main artist gig at the time, coming up the following weekend, I made the choice to call the band leader, Slim Yamaguichi, and try to set up a substitute for those shows dependant on what my doctor’s prognosis was the following day.
I made an appointment with my physician, Dr. Michael Beckham, the next morning to see him that afternoon. He decided it was a severe sprain, put me on some prescription medication and suggested that I sub out the upcoming gigs to let my back get better. With what would have amounted to roughly 42 hours on a bus (just under 2700 miles), setting up, playing a couple of 2 hour shows and tearing down Dr. Beckham strongly advised against my trying to make it. I went home, got in touch with Slim, subbed the gigs out, took some medication and prepared to just rest and let my back heal.
A couple days into this I noticed a strange development. One of my inguinal hernias that I had as an infant looked like it had ruptured. Upon another trip to Dr. Beckham, he pointed me toward Dr. John Boskind to have it examined. Sure enough,
my suspicions were correct. Luckily it wasn’t serious enough to need to be repaired right then. I went back home to rest for another week or so before having to be back on the road. I just had to make sure to not strain myself or lift anything heavy.
After a couple of weeks of working both in town, on the road and my back feeling a little better, my hernia was beginning to irritate me a little more; nothing too painful, just uncomfortable. I decided then it was time to get with Dr. Boskind about getting it put back in place. Scheduling the surgery for a month or so later, I went back to playing and continued to avoid any overly strenuous activity. I also went over this situation with Chesnutt’s band leader to arrange for a substitute in order for me to spend 2 weeks, of the recommended 4, healing from the surgery.
The last run I would make with them started on September 18th, 2008 and went for the next 14 days. In those 14 days, we would travel a total of 6,500 miles and play 6 gigs….2 in Texas, 3 in California and 1 in Washington State. During this run, my discomfort continued and I can safely say between the ridiculous amount of travel with minimal gigs, my growing frustration of working for an organization with no progressive thinking,and with no control over that, along with the pain, discomfort, medication (prescribed, over the counter and extracurricular), it didn’t make me the most pleasant person to be around, to say the least. I was looking forward to getting on with the surgery and healing process and subbed out the next two road gigs over two weeks. I also decided to take a full month off from any in town work that was a regular thing,or that came up.
The operation day came and went without much of a hitch. I then kicked back to let it heal as the pain and discomfort was quite something to deal with. Just going through the days as lightly as possible and taking the medications required by the doctor. I would only take the prescribed medications as directed and no more, trying to wean myself off of them slowly as I realized during this process how easy it would be to become addicted to the pain killers given to me. I did however notice myself getting a bit winded from simple things like walking upstairs in our house. I just figured that was due to the surgery I just went through and expected it to clear up as I healed; more on that later.
The following weekend, my second weekend off the road, Denay decided to do some painting in the kitchen and I was feeling somewhat well enough to try and do some light work. Not only in weight, but we literally had a couple of new lights to replace the old ones outside our front and back entrances. It was a pretty nice day. A warm day in October, but not too hot, I decided to give it a shot since it didn’t seem too strenuous to hang a light or two.
It began all well and good. Got about 2/3rds through the project and got extremely winded and dizzy. I sat down on the patio for a minute thinking it was just momentary, but a cold sweat broke out and Denay insisted I go inside and lie down, as I probably should not have been doing it to begin with. A couple hours later I felt better and finished that one, but figured I better call Chesnutt’s band leader to discuss my stamina concerns.
I called Slim on October 12th to discuss my issues and concerns with him, how I would be coming back on the 18th, but would still need a good bit of help getting my kit up and down. Upon this call, Slim informed me that Chesnutt and his management had decided to make a change,with me being let go. In other words, I am fired while healing from hernia surgery. As I stated before, I was not the easiest person to travel,or play with at this point, so I can’t say I blame them really.
This was, however, quite a shock as anyone can imagine. Luckily for me, my family was amazingly supportive. They have all understood the precarious and bohemian lifestyle of a musician, especially my fiancée. While I couldn’t really see the forest for the trees, so to speak, she immediately believed, without a shadow of a doubt, this change was something that should be taken for great advantage. She was right.
Denay said not to worry and take the actual 4 weeks to heal. After that time, get back to playing my local gigs, slowly get back in the loop for more road work, but most importantly, just look forward to the joy of our upcoming wedding the following month. Sounded great to me.

Part 2 next month....
www.markchesnutt.com

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.

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:

http://www.tothestage.com/MediaDetail.PAGE?ActiveID=1142&MediaType=2&MediaId=875

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 !

Phil Rudd-Less Is More (Cliched, but true ! )

"Less Is More" You've heard that so many times, that it's become a cliche, right ? Well, I have to say that it can't be more true, in my opinion, especially when it comes to "Commercial Drumming"(that is, songs that will make it to rotation on commercial radio.) Legends like Ringo Starr, & Charlie Watts have come to personify this philosophy to most players.However, on the heavier (yet still quite commercially viable) side, the one name that personifies this for me is Phil Rudd (Full name :Phillip Hugh Norman Witschke Rudzevecuis-You try to pronounce it correctly, I can't !) of AC/DC.

I discovered AC/DC in 1979,at the age of 13, & my intense enjoyment & love of this band continues to this day. At that age, I was so "Wide Eyed& Eared" to everything that I was exposed to in that magical year. Having been playing drums for about 3 years at that point, I soaked up everything I heard & saw. While I was fascinated by the complexity, & difficulty of Neal Peart for instance(who wasn't, right ?), I was equally captivated by the "Deceptive Simplicity" of Phil Rudd.

Having been aware of the name AC/DC through advertisements in the music press of the day(Circus/Creem/Hit Parader/Rock Scene magazines,etc), & all important "Word Of Mouth" I had yet to actually hear them. I knew they were just one of many, many "Cool Bands" that it was imperative for me to discover. A guy that I was in my first band with bought(he was 2 years older than I, & had a paper route!) their then new "Highway To Hell" album. He called me one day, & was frantic on the phone saying "Steve, you've GOT TO come over as soon as you can, you MUST hear this band !! " Our next rehearsal was later that week, so as soon as I was dropped off at his house, we raced upstairs to his room, & slapped H.T.H. on his turntable.(yes, glorious vinyl, folks !) Within literally 30 seconds of hearing the title track, I was absolutely transfixed ! While I knew the pattern that Phil was playing was within my grasp, there was something about the feel & the sound that left me slack jawed ! Needless to say, we immediately attempted to add H.T.H. to our very sparse & limited repertoire of songs. Easier said than done ! After attempting about 1/4 of the song, the other two guys(2 guitars, no bass!) stopped the song & said "That doesn't sound like the album, Steve" I was frustrated by that comment, as I knew they were right ! All I could come up w/ as a retort, was "Well, I'll never be as good as that guy !! " 30 years later, that's still quite true !! HAA !

You must take into consideration that this was WAY before the internet, & all that was available was pictures in the aforementoned magazines,etc. So information on things like gear, were very hard to come by. I say that because this was also the time period that I began my almost life-long obsession w/Sonor drums & hardware. The first pic. I saw of Phil's kit was of the beautiful Oak finish "Phonic" kit that he used on the H.T.H. tour. The sizes were 22", 12"13",14"16" F.T. & 18" F.T. I have since found an almost identical kit in the same finish, but w/the sizes 24"(always my preferred B.D. size, by the way) 13",14",16"18" w/ a matching 8" snare ! If I had a 12" tom, it would be almost exact ! (Yes, I have been scouring EBAY to no avail !) One of the things I found peculiar, was the way Phil muffled his rack toms. He had Gaffer tape on each resonant head in a sort of crescent moon shape. While I personally loathe any kind of dampening on toms, I have to say that his drums sounded quite unique to me. I still feel that way when I frequently spin (there's another vinyl reference, folks !) AC/DC's older albums. A great track for Phil's then "Signature" tom sound is "Walk All OVer You" from Highway To Hell. The fills in the intro are just so....PERFECT ! The sound is of course a combination of gear/room/player, & the incredible production talents of Robert John "Mutt" Lange, who would later go on to much success w/Def Leppard, among many,many others. The kit he's using here is what was used on the "Powerage" tour the previous year, & are the same sizes, in the Mahogany finish. The muffling is curiously absent, assuming that it was deemed unnecessary for the video, since no audio was being recorded.

I got to see AC/DC for the first time in 12/81 at N.Y.'s "Madison Square Garden", whilst touring for the "For Those About To Rock...We Salute You" album from the same year. (How I missed the "Back In Black" tour the previous year, I don't know ! And, tickets were a mere $8.00, w/ Ronnie Montrose' "Gamma" opening !!)Naturally, I was glued to Phil the whole show ! The first thing I noticed was "What happened to all his toms? " Phil had removed his 12" & 14" toms, & moved the 13" tom up to the position previously held by the 12". The 16" & 18" F.T.'s were left intact. That configuration stands to this day.

Just how much Phils unique "Feel" was missed is evident on the recordings & tours he was not a part of. Phil left the band just after the recording of the "Flick Of The Switch" album from 1983. I'm still not exactly sure why that transpired. His replacement, Simon Wright(another Evans endorsee, & great guy !) was absolutely the right choice for the band at that time. While there are minor sylistic differences between Phil & Simon, the overall sound of the band was left pretty much intact. The major change in the sound of the band came upon Simon's departuare in 1989.

His replacement was Chris Slade, best known at the time as a member of "The Firm" the partnership between Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) & Paul Rodgers (Bad Co.) in 1985&'86. While I always thought of Chris as a great player, what he brought to AC/DC didn't fit, in my opinion. The commercial success of "The Razors Edge" (1990) & the subsequent document of that tour, "Live" (1992) are undeniable, but the change was too great, to my ears. That is a matter of some debate amongst AC/DC devotees, so I'll leave my opinion at that.

All was right again in 1994, when Phil returned to the fold. 3 more albums, & world tours followed w/"Ballbreaker" (1995), "Stiff Upper Lip" (2000) & the excellent "Black Ice" (2008). I began "Chasing" Phil's long time tech, Dick Jones in 2002, & I didn't let up until things finally fell into place in 2008, & Phil tried Evans Drumheads, & became an endorsee ! Phil & Dick settled on the EQ2 batter for the B.D., clear EC2, & EC Resonant for the toms, EC Reverse Dot, & Hazy 300, & PureSound "Blasters"for the snare. Speaking of the EC Rev. Dot, that was the head that sealed the deal w/Phil. He said : "This head feels no pain". Apparently, longevity of the snare batter during a show has been an ever-present issue in the past. Not anymore !The Gaffer tape on the toms is long gone, but Phil's sound is still his sound, & Evans is there w/him all the way !

A new pair of shoes part 1

I remember as a kid getting a new pair of shoes. It didn't really matter what brand they were, they just seemed to make me faster. I always think about asking my Dad to time me, to see how long it would take me to run around the house. He was usually there when I got back, and he would tell me that I had topped my old record and it had to be the shoes. It's the same with fresh heads. How many of us feel that our drums are not performing properly after weeks and months of playing without changing the very target of our abuse? Drum heads are plastic and are not meant to last forever. Like sneakers, tires, underwear, toothbrushes, and the comedy of Robin Williams, old drum heads need to be thrown out and replaced. I have the great honor of hosting 20-30 drum tuning nights a year in some of the finest drum shops in the US. It's amazing to me that while the talk about batter heads is fairly well received and nods of approval are quite common, but when the subject of changing resonant heads comes up and i recommend changing resonant tom heads every third time you change the batter, I become Frankenstein's Monster and the villagers are looking for torches and wooden rakes. The fact is, all of your tone is coming from the bottom head. Typically to get a fuller and warmer sound, the bottom head will be tuned higher, to bounce the vibration from the top head back up like a trampoline. The top head being looser will vibrate slower and allow to sound to die out without losing tone. Think of Matt Chamberlain on Edie Brickel's "Mama Help Me". The general feeling is that bottom heads don't get hit, so they don't need to be changed. The bottom head being tighter is vibrating at a higher rate than the batter causing the molecular structure of the plastic to break down, thus leading to a decrease in tone. Think of it as the soles of your shoes going smooth.
New heads mean a new or updated sound and allow for greater tuning range than worn heads. I have found that I have more confidence when I present myself better than normal, this falls into my rule of a shower every Thursday, whether I need it or not.
I have been building drums and tuning professionally for over a decade and dealt with a lot of inconsistencies with heads. I can honestly say that Evans has been a huge step in being able to find a sound and duplicate it consistently. My new pair of shoes is the G Plus. The G Plus is a 12 mil head but still a single ply. I get a very warm tone that holds up for me, better than a regular 10 mil head. Since I am such a huge fan of warm, organic tom sounds, I have started using the coated G Plus on the bottom head as well. I use thin shells. Thinner shells vibrate more than thick shells and have a longer voice. Adding 12 mil heads top and bottom darkens the tone and when combined with a thin shell, lengthens the note. I have looked for a head combination for years and have gotten close with coated G1's, but The G Plus allows me to do this every time. Please take the time to check out the site and find your sound at http://evansdrumheads.com/EvansHome.Page?ActiveID=1194.
I am still that kid with the new shoes. I run around the house every time to try something new to see if I am faster. I feel better and play better with fresh heads. When you make the investment in your gear, you invest in your sound and your skill. This is a new day and there are so many ways to improve your sound with Evans drum heads. Who knows, maybe my dad will time you.
-JRT