Session Drummer | Studio Drummer | Touring and Worship Drummer for Hire | Dale Baker | Durham, Chapel Hill, Raleigh, NC

Advertising available...

I've been toying with the idea of allowing people to advertise on my site to help pay for my blog subscription.  If you think your product or service would benefit from the exposure it would receive by being posted on my site, let me know.  I'd love to help you out anyway I can.

I've also been toying with adding a tip jar, just in case anyone felt like they wanted to donate money to the blog as well.  TypePad (the company that hosts my site) offers a Tip Jar module, but I didn't like their graphic, so I created my own and had it link to my PayPal site.  I'm still not sure if I'm going to keep my version of the Tip Jar up. 

What else?  I have new photos posted of my Gretsch Snare Drum.  Take a look and contact me if you would like to purchase the drum.  It has high sentimental value and spent much time on the road with me and Sixpence, "back in the day."

Well, I'm getting sleepy...better sign off...take care y'all!

My annoying drum beat - or maybe it was the song...

Well, I got dissed again, or rather the song "Kiss Me" that features my drumming got dissed again.  And I quote:

"sitting in the dentist's chair, I felt extremely pained by the music I was forced to endure: Dave Mathews Band's "Stay" to Sixpence None the Richer's "Kiss Me". As if the sharp jabbing in the gums and the constant barbs from Cecilia, my dental hygienist, towards my inadequate flossing regimen were not enough."

To read the full article, go here.

Bush: "Please Forgive Me"

Oh, the speech that could've been.  You can read it at  Husseini.org. or here.

To be fair, I didn't hear Bush speak tonight, I was busy playing a gig at church.  But after I read this "pre-script" that Sam Husseini wrote...I thought I'd post you all a link to it.  Enjoy!  Hopefully I'll catch the highlights of Bush's speech on the internet somewhere (Google News or BBC News...)

Buddy Rich vs Jerry Lewis

My friend Martin sent me a link to a video clip of Jerry Lewis playing drums alongside Buddy Rich.

It's pretty amazing to see all the vintage drum stuff they put together for Jerry Lewis' kit.  Plus, there are some great close-up shots of Buddy doing his thing...you can see his hands pretty good and also his kick foot.  It's amazing how fast his hands and feet work together. 

I once saw Buddy back when I was in High School.  Of course, none of us High School students appreciated Buddy's playing.  We all preferred to see Maynard Ferguson with Greg Bissonette instead.  But I'm glad I got to see Buddy.  My first drum teacher said that he and Buddy were aquaintances and so when I got my chance to see Buddy after the show I immediately asked him if he knew Mel Obsen...Buddy promptly informed me, "No."  And then after I asked him about 4 or 5 more times he kicked me off of his bus.  I was pretty tenacious and convinced that if I just asked Buddy enough times he'd remember my drum teacher.

Well...I hope you enjoy this clip as much as I did!  Thanks Martin!

Alas, My puppet was not picked.

So a while back, I told you about that puppet contest being sponsored by Avenue Q.  The premise was, you build a puppet, answer some questions and send in a photo of your puppet.  Avenue Q was going to post the top 10 puppets and then have the larger web community vote on them.  Unfortunately, though I entered the contest with high hopes, my puppet wasn't chosen to be among the ten.  So, since you can't go to the Avenue Q site and see my puppet, I thought I'd post my creation for you here, click on the image to view a larger picture.

P.S.  A possible note of interest and trivia to those of you Sixpence fans that still exist...the glasses I used for this puppet are in fact the same ones (gasp!) that I wore in the Angeltread video (thanks to Jesus Freak Hideout )from all those years ago. You can also view the video over at "Sad but True" , but it requires free registration.

Oh and in case anyone wonders...I voted for Leland.

Said the Gramophone, "me likey."

Okay, so maybe they didn't use those exact words, and in fact It takes them about 3 paragraphs to get to it...but Said the Gramophone says they like The Physics of Meaning.  The first track they recommend is one that features my drumming...so I had to let you all know about it.  But of course the link they provide doesn't play the whole song, just the guitar intro.  To hear my playing on the track "Down at Columbia and Cameron", head on over to the bands MySpace account.  It's the first track listed on their site.

To quote the folks at Said the Gramophone:

...At their best - stripped to modest pretensions, pop music instead of treatise, - they're electrifying.

The Physics of Meaning "Down at Columbia and Cameron". See this is what I'm talking about. Roll-over-and-over drums, blended vocals that would make Fountains of Wayne blush, and it's a song about girls (or maybe boys - he doesn't specify). There's a breeziness here, the way the synths bump into the strings like they've been distracted by some cherry-blossoms. More exciting still is the way the band finds another vibe in the second half - a woozy regalness, the prince having a lazy spring fever spazz-out. The sort of song you want to parcel into a parcel, tape up, and send over the water to make someone smile.

And I've got to add...the guitar solo on this song is awesome, especially how it breaks up at the end...also...I like what Alex has done with their website...

Would Jesus own a machine gun?

Thanks to Alex for sending me the link to this insightful(?) article entitled:  "God and the M60 Machine Gun"  I'll let you decide what I think of it.  Please leave your comments below!  (I must confess I haven't read the article yet...I think I just like the title...). 

Strangely enough, they leave out a visit to the pub he frequented...

This strikes me as, well...flat out wrong...product placements in church?  That's essentially what it seems like to me.  Word has it on the web (and on this sermon website) that pastors are being encouraged to pepper their sermons with Narnia references to "help celebrate the Dec. 9 opening of C.S. Lewis's The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe"  And not only that, but they're encouraged to send their "Narnia related sermons" in to be eligible to win a free trip ("journey of a lifetime!") to London, England (which apparently is now being referred to as "the land of C.S. Lewis") and $1000 in cash.

Hmm...I wonder if they ran a similar promotion last year for Mel Gibson's Film?

By the way (thanks Aaron for the tip!), here is a picture of the pub that Lewis frequented every Tuesday morning.  According to a plaque that hangs inside the pub, Lewis and friends met here every week from 1939-1962. 

Surely, of all the places mentioned in the contest, a visit to this honorable place should be included! (And really, what visit to England wouldn't be complete with out a proper visit to a pub for the requisite pint?)

20 minutes a day equals $2000 a year!

So I had this email sent to me below...I couldn't believe this!  But having experienced and been on the receiving end of promotion (I mean really, how do you think a song ever gets to #1?)...I thought I'd pass this along so we could all have a laugh.  (I deleted the guy's email address and his name just so he wouldn't get more random email from folks he doesn't know).

"We have a great opportunity that I want to immediately address with you.

We have been approached by a few major labels to suddenly handle their video request campaigns for some top priority artists.   Video requests mean making calls to request videos for major video shows like TRL (Total Request Live on MTV) and "106 & Park" (on BET).

This is a TERRIFIC opportunity --- but it means that we suddenly have to EXPAND the size of our request teams in a very short period of time!   So we are on a mission to immediately find new and reliable people on our national staff to help us with these campaigns --- and I'm hoping you can be one of those who can jump on board and help!

The video request work is pretty easy and regular.  It takes up 20 minutes/day of your time on weekdays and about 10 minutes/day on weekends.  Total of 2 hours work a week.  You get paid $30.00/week.  All it involves is calling up a toll-free number (like 1-800-dialMTV) at your convenience during the day (you just plug in numbers on your phone, no talking to a person) and also going on-line (at your convenience, any time of day/night) and making some on-line requests.  For the phones, you can use a land line or cell phone, doesn't matter

SO --- please, as soon as you can, e-mail back with a response --- whether you are interested in helping us with our new video request campaigns.  One, you can put another $2000 in your pocket each year without taking up much time at all!   Two, you will be helping Market Development Company in our goal to break new artists for our most important clients! 

If you are interested, just e-mail back to xxxxxxxxxxxxx a YES, you are interested or a NO, you are not interested at this time.  If you do respond with a YES, we will immediately get back to you and give you more details so you have good understanding of what the job entails.

A "YES" doesn't commit you to anything other than interest.

Thanks.  I look forward to hearing from you ASAP!

Best regards,
xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx"

Spike Jonze trashes Gap

Thanks Brandon for sending me this...all I can think is that it must have been fun to have participated in this commercial.

Click here to see the award winning (!) Gap commercial directed by Spike Jonze

Back to posting...for a bit...

Sorry to be so long in not posting...I realize that is a major sin in the blogosphere...excuses?  Well, I do have a new person living in my house and we've had to adjust all of our schedules to accomodate.  And with everything else I've got going on, rehearsals/ gigs, school, drum lessons, and family time...my internet usage has suffered a bit.  However, I read this Op-Ed piece in the NYTimes and wanted to pass on the link to you:

Buy, Play, Trade, Repeat

By DAMIAN KULASH Jr.

Published: December 6, 2005

"Sony BMG and the other major labels need to face reality: copy-protection software is bad for everyone, consumers, musicians and labels alike."

Click here to read the story...hopefully the NYTimes won't make you log onto their site or come up with a username...but even if they do (and they will - I just checked) it'll be worth the read.

Hopefully I won't be so long in posting again...but since this is the holiday season and I'm behind on Christmas shopping and card sending...don't hold your breath.

Cheers!