Stephen

I would crash with whichever hand you are more comfortable with. Well, you're brinigng up some of the nuances. Really it's all about renegotiating the roles of the limbs. If you are open handed, a lot of times you have to crash with that left hand. Or put a crash on the left and right side. Or a ride on the left or right side. It's all about just looking at the physical layout of the kit and adjusting your playing to compensate for that.

@Eyalopen handed on a traditional setup is totally fine. Carter Beauford plays that way. A lot of creative options come up whenyou do that. Opens up the right hans to the toms.

Ride by the hihat is a GREAT shortcut. I've often thought of switching mine up...when I was playing more jazz and world music, I had a ride on that side and one on the other (one dry, one brighter).

Oh, I like this...

Oh, I've used just about every setup you can think of (I'm a pastor's kid btw) This is a great setup. There are also setups that can convert a floor tom in to a kick drum and that works nicely as well. Sometimes I get in to the realm of "I'm not a drum set player anymore, just a percussionist looking for colors" in certain situations. If it comes down to cajon work, I prefer a djembe. It feels better, I can put a strap on it, better low end, and better high end. You can also use sticks/brushes/etc on a djembe

Yea, my kids have been listening to him for a while now. Great guy from what I hear and has a definitive style. I love what they do

Buzz how? In your hand? Buzz on the pad when you hit it? The stick reverbating in your hand (buzzing)?

So being able to play something and being able to READ that same thing are two different skills. I would much prefer you be able to hear it and replicate it. Reading is just a tool for us to use to keep expanding our learning. I will learn things by ear many times and then check it/adjust it/correct it by looking at a transcription. I like that you're able to hear and play something though! That means you have sensitive ears that can hear what is happening in the music.

These HAD to feel awful. Would love to try a pair

Where y'at?!?! You all are speakin' my LANGUAGE now!!! The drummers from there have that lagniappe...a little something extra. Herlin is an incredible player...he sounds FANTASTIC on Harry Connick Jr's second christmas album. I believe most of that is Herlin. A more sophisticated New Orleans sound to my ear. Here are some of the drummers from that area that you need to know: Shannon Powell - He taught me how to set up a big band with his simplistic and powerful style on Harry Connick Jrs first Christmas album James Black - A jazz cat that became popular in the R&B/funk scene that was coming around in NOLA about the same time as Motown. I believe he played on a bunch of Fats tracks as well as one of my favorites, Hook & Sling by Eddie Bo. Man...forget about it...that song is so funky. Johnny Vidakovich - You will hear cats like Brain Blade talking about Johnny. He is ALL vibe. Just incredible feel. And he's a character to boot Raymond Weber - Currently playing with Dumpstaphunk. Some great funk drumming on She and Star Turtle by Connick. I crashed a band in front of him when I was 19...still trying to recover my dignity lol Russell Batiste - Same vein as Raymond...incredible feel. Stanton Moore - Probably the one that is holding the torch around the world for NOLA drumming. Galactic is his group Brain Blade - Nuff said Zigaboo - Long time drummer for The Meters and a legend worldwide Brass bands are also important to listen to for their drumming. My favorite recently is The Hot 8 Brass Band...younger vibe and more aggressive sound. More traditional sound would be Olympia Brass Band and Treme Brass Band. A bridge between those two would be the dirty dozen brass band or Rebirth (I believe Russell Batiste was with them for a while...may be wrong there) Ok...I'm gonna stop now lol. But seriously, there's some CATS down south that NOBODY really knows about. Geoff Clapp, a recent guest artist we had, was a heavy cat in the NOLA area for a long time. If you're ever in the area, The Maple Leaf is a killer local venue and the Snug Harbor area will be where you go to hear jazz and big band on a nightly basis. Laissez les bon temps rouler!!!

Couldn't agree more. You all are creating an incredible resource over there.

I'm not sure what black magic they use...but it's crazy lol I honestly don't know how it takes the instruments out

The Moises app lets you remove drums I believe

Oh...yea, you've gotta tune them out lol. Think of their clapping as being LED by you...not you being led by their clapping. It's a tough one to tackle though.

The only time I've had it be an issue is when I was in New Orleans...I left several pairs in a hot car with something heavy on top of them. It warped the wood and I didn't realize it until I got on the gig (they feel SUPER weird when you hit the cymbals and fly off at irregular angles). If they were just sitting there, they should be fine. Remember...wood is a living thing. So forests survive in crazy climates all of the time. But, they can be warped.