Bob

I was thinking about Jimi Hendrix and how unorthodox his guitar playing was.  Not only did he play a right handed guitar upside down left handed but he pushed every boundary of rock and roll.  He often played under the influence of drugs and admitted it freely.  Many consider him the greatest rock guitarist ever.

There was an equally adventurous music pioneer who performed three decades earlier.  Fueled by drugs and an incredible imagination not to mention impeccable technique was the saxophonist Charlie "Yardbird" Parker.  Bebop jazz stretched traditional jazz grooves to their limits with speeds of over 200 bpm and incredibly complex harmonies and rhythms and Charlie, or Bird as most called him, was the best ever.

I'm wondering if there is a drummer who has come along and defined a generation of drumming in the last 100 years.  John Bonham comes to mind as does Max Roach and Art Blakey.  Neil Peart should be considered.  Any other suggestions?

It’s ironic that drummers use bundles. Technically a bundle consists of 10 straps each containing 100 hundred dollar bills. That’s $100,000.

Great for small venues. 
 

4 minutes ago, Christine said:

I was watching Johnny Cash at Montreal the other day and spotted that his drummer, WS Holland, was playing open-handed. In his case he's moved the hi-hat over to the left so he's still playing with his hands the 'right way' round.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmSObDRLIfs

It's a great gig and the rhythm section seem to be having at least twice as much fun as the rest of the band 😉

Also I've also update the pics for this club too.

"Fluke" Holland was a true stylist.  He invented many of the train beats used today.  Another great drummer from Tennessee.

1 minute ago, Eyal said:

It says the text below and I am a bit confused.

When I play jazz I'm almost always on the ride playing open handed as many jazz players do.  The vast majority of the time I lead with my dominant (right) hand.  I'm confused too @Eyal.  I say do what feels best for your situation.  That's probably the best guideline.

13 minutes ago, David said:

I tend to think of Leading hand and dominant hand as 2 different things and I'm trying to break the hold of my dominent hand.  I shot this earlier to try and explain what I mean, it's not great but hope it does the job lol

I really like what I saw in the video @David.  However I could barely hear your mellifluous voice.

2 minutes ago, David said:

Me at the front.... We played our last gig on NYs day 2000 and then I put down the sticks for a long time.

@David you look more like John than Ringo.  The guy in blue looks like Ringo.  Maybe you should have been a guitarist.

1 hour ago, Kirstin said:

My main take away from the likes of Carter Beauford or Simon Phillips who have videos on youtube about the subject, is that the biggest strength of the open handed style is that it can promote true ambidexterity. 

Jazz players have been playing open handed for over 100 years.  It's actually the way all drummers used to play back in the day.  If I started all over again I would choose open hand.  However I don't think playing open handed promotes ambidexterity any more than playing close (closed) handed.  Very few people have "learned" ambidexterity.

John Mayall, Paul Butterfield, Allman Brothers, Captain Beefheart, Buffalo Springfield, Van Halen, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Doors, Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Mountain, Bob Dylan, Velvet Underground, Steely Dan, Eagles...

And don't forget Parliament-Funkadelic!

22 minutes ago, David said:

I think it most take a lot for someone to open up and talk about their art, to try and vocalise the emotional intelignce behind what you do, quite brave I think.

I thoroughly enjoyed her discussion on how she approaches compositions. 
 

I was equally disappointed when she started playing. I found the music she produced was predictable and a bit contrived. 

Found this old pair of sticks still in the original packaging.  These humongous drumsticks appear to be for marching drummers.  Each stick has a series of grooves and rings that fit into these grooves.  Supposedly you adjust the rings to keep your grip at the exact same place on the stick. The package label says "Stop Creeping Hands."  I should have given a pair of these to my daughter when she started dating.

37 minutes ago, Julia said:

They reverberate in my hand. It’s bothers me a bit - it takes a while for me to stop noticing it and “get into the zone”. They’re otherwise nice sticks. Could it just be the manufacturing batch the pair happened to come from? 

It's OK to play with a little buzz.  In fact I did last night.

On 11/22/2019 at 12:32 AM, Julia said:

What causes a stick to buzz?  Post your experiences here.

I've checked for buzzing every day but haven't detected any sound coming from my sticks other than an occasional burp.

Alien freaks and Fausto Cuevas have entered my house.  No they don't stiff waiters.  They just have no tips.  They are both just wooden rods beveled on the edges with manufacturers ink.  The Promark is a skinny .485" and 16 1/2" long.  The Vater is a hefty .610" diameter and 16" long.  They are really fun to play!  Made for drums but can be adapted to cymbals.  If you want volume ( @Grant ) the Vaters may be the ultimate weapon.  Finesse players will prefer the Promark timbale sticks.

This comes from the 1973 Slingerland Drum Co. catalog.  The company thought these would be the biggest step forward in drumsticks since the invention of the lathe.  Two layers of oak laminated over a core of bamboo.  They were touted as being long lasting which makes sense as they were hard as rocks.  I haven't seen any lately.

3 minutes ago, Julia said:

@chantale j’ai débuté ce nouveau club avec les défis qu’on a posté et pour le tien je t’ai présenté avec le compliment « extraordinaire » mais pour celui de @Bob je n’ai dit que « SDS member » (ce n’était pas exprès) et il est devenu jaloux le pauvre, il m’a taquiné 😄 donc je prends ma revanche

Dans la vengeance et dans l'amour, la femme est plus barbare que l'homme.

31 minutes ago, Juan said:

Yep, a more proper honorific treatment would be Lord Of Snares Bob. 🤘😁 And of course "DBD Legend"

The reason I asked is that @chantale and I are actually the same person.  We just dress differently.  She could be extraordinaire and I'll settle for ordinaire.  @Julia is a sweetheart and I was busting her chops in jest.  

8 hours ago, Julia said:

SDS member @Bob

Shed Head Extraordinaire @chantale.

I believe there is some bias here. I wonder why. 

This cat is from New Orleans and has such a unique style I couldn't find a category in the Listening Post to put him in.  Maybe we make a New Orleans category?  I am going to go deep on Herlin.

30 minutes ago, Julia said:

Bucket o’ sticks, bucket o’ sticks

Mmmmm... fresh from the oven!

Is there anything as important as practicing as a means to become a better drummer?  Yes there is and we all need to do it.  Listening to music is a fundamental component of understanding music.

David Price, a member from England has created the Listening Post in the SDS Community Forum. He has put a lot of work into this tool that provides us with material and references for many of the great drummers.  And the list is growing.  Do yourself a favor and check out the Listening Post and get exposed to drummers and genres you wouldn't normally listen to. And a tip of the hat for Mr. Dave!

This could be the most lame drum tip ever posted.  In the Pick-my-sticks challenge I became aware that keeping my drumstick stash in an old trash can wasn't working... I was having a hard time finding a matching pair.  But a beauty aid marketed to teenagers saved the day.  These small clear elastic bands are perfect for keeping pairs together and are barely visible.  I got 2,000 of them on Amazon for 4.99.  Now my chaotic trash can is the Noah's Ark of drumstick holders.

I'd like to add one more Coltrane album that should be of interest to any drummer - Coltrane Plays the Blues.  Elvin Jones at his very best doing magic with 12 bar blues.

3 hours ago, David said:

And a flux capacitor 

I run my metronome through a flux capacitor.

"Every drummer should have a pair if these in their stick bag.  These are the modern essentials for any drummer of the future."

That was in the ad for these battery powered LED glowing drum sticks.  So I ordered a couple pairs from Amazon so as not to be left behind.  They arrived yesterday and I tried them out.  As you can see they are approximately the size of a Vic Firth 5a with large tips that light up when struck on a surface and stay lit for a few seconds or until the next hit.  It was in the middle of the day but the lights were clearly visible.  I thought it was a cool gimmick.

Last night I turned the lights out in the studio and gave them another try.  The faster I played the more the tip light became a solid trail.  This trail was well defined on my right stick but fuzzy on my left stick.  I adjusted my left stroke until it too left a well defined trail.  Then I concentrated on making the light trails the same length on both sticks.  Again some minor adjustments lengthening my left hand stroke to match my right hand.

These sticks have real potential as training tools as the instantaneous feedback from the light trails helps visualize the stroke as one movement rather than a series of movements.  And they are approved for ages 3 and up!

p!

This Pick-My-Sticks challenge has been fun.  It has made me play sticks I probably would not have paid any attention to.  This challenge has also made me wonder what attribute a drumstick has that makes the most difference.  Material, length, weight, tip shape and size, taper, diameter and coating if applicable.

For me the weight of the stick is the most recognizable characteristic.  When I pick  up a new pair of drumsticks the first thing I will notice is how light or heavy they feel.  The diameter of the sick is a close second and I still haven't figured out which diameter I prefer.  Length is third and I have found I prefer 16.5 to 17 inch sticks.  Tip configuration comes next and it seems smaller tips are better for jazz and low volume scenarios while medium to large tips are ideal for rock.  The type of wood and how the wood surface is treated is not that important to me as I rough sand the part of the stick where my grip falls.

Right now I'm using Vic Firth Jack DeJohnette signature sticks.  They are basically 5a's but longer and have a slightly tacky white surface.  Along with my trusty AJ6's these are my go to sticks