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Recent music: Electrical Storm w/ Wade and Jeff

I recently played a cover of U2's "Electrical Storm at Emmaus Way with Jeff Crawford on Bass and Vocals and Wade Baynham on Vocals and Guitar.  I was playing a small kit comprised of a 16" Floor Tom (used as a bass drum), a 13" snare (with the snares turned off), and a 12" rack tom.  For a hi-hat I was using my crazy looking shaker/jingle/rattling thingy which is mounted on an old hi-hat stand.  It sort of sounds like a shaker/ tambourine accompianment track when I stomp on it with my left foot.  Anyway, I was really proud of how this particular song ended up sounding that night.  Wade sent me a copy of it and you can hear it in it's proper context by looking for the Emmaus Way podcast from March 8th.  Or you can listen to it here (out of context) here on my blog:  Electrical Storm played by wade dale jeff

The audio was recorded with a stereo condenser mic and that's all.  We usually set up in the middle of the room facing each other (sort of like a house concert type situation) and with minimal rehearsal we play through 3 or 4 songs.  Wade will then take the audio that's been recorded and minimally process and tweak the levels and then post it to the Emmaus Way website for download.  I was really happy with how my drums sounded and the blend of the instruments with the vocals.  Anyway, I thought I'd share this with you...hope you like it!

Tomahawks (at least I think that's the name)

We practiced today for about two hours or so, ran over some of the songs twice and made some notes on our charts (oh how I love charts!).  We played our show at The Cave about 8 hours after we rehearsed.  By most accounts, the show went well.  Ben came up and had some nice things to say about my drumming and I met Doug and Josh (?) who are forming a band and need a guitar player.  I also met Tad Dreis, which was fun 'cause I've seen his name around, and he's worked with other guys I've played with...so it was nice to finally meet him and connect a bit. 

I enjoyed getting to see my friend Tim and talk about music and life some.  And it should go without saying (but I'll say it anyway), I enjoyed playing with all the guys in the band.  Good stuff all around and I hope we do it again soon (schedules permitting).

Next time I should bring a camera and take a picture of this place.  The Cave is such a landmark place...I love that venue.  Divey, vibey, and small.  Perfect.

Russ Kunkel: easy way to play ghost notes

Russ is one of the great drummers of our time, and I found this video online of him doing a simple pattern, which when applied to the set, will allow you to play ghost notes without having to think about it too much. Just play the basic 16th note beat, move the left hand to the snare, and let your right hand come across and hit the two and four, and there you have it: instant groove! (or at least in theory)

I've been a fan of Russ Kunkel's drumming ever since Jackson Browne's Running On Empty Live record.  I used to listen to that thing constantly, mainly because of the song "Stay," where Jackson Browne mentions that the "roadies don't mind..."  

The idea of being "on tour" just grabbed hold of me as a youngster and I spent hours wondering what it must be like to be on the road.  There was that song they recorded on the bus, and you can hear the road noise in the background, and Russ is playing a cardboard box for a kick drum.  I just ate that stuff up! 

Oh, and those North Drums on the album cover...if you've never seen North Drums just know that they look like something you'd see at a Blue Man Group show.  Oh, but I digress.

If this video whets your appetite and you want to learn more about how to play drums...(and here comes the plug) Did I mention that in addition to being a studio and live drummer, I also teach lessons?  Check out my teaching site at www.durhamdrumlessons.com for more info and feel free to contact me with any and all of your drumming questions. If for some reason I can't help you, I can probably steer you in the right direction!

U2, Letterman, Eno and Band Dynamics

I'm looking forward to seeing U2 on Letterman this week.  Of course, I don't have TV to watch the show so, I'm hoping that I can see the footage on You Tube or on the CBS site.  We'll see if I get lucky.  Someone will surely post it.  Sure there are critics:

"If U2 truly wanted to make a dent, truly wanted to do something special, they would have played five nights a week on HULU!  There should be some kind of Web play."

But when I got to thinking about the late night options available to U2, Letterman is really the only the choice in my book.  And the fact that his show is in the old Ed Sullivan Theater (where the Beatles played!), and as a band what could be cooler and more exciting than spending 5 nights playing on that stage?  I don't think they are doing this so much as a marketing move, as they are because it just sounds like fun. (Or is their plan to mimic the Beatles:  performing impromptu on top of a British Landmark, then playing in the Sullivan theater?)

I'm sure there is a marketing angle to it, but not to the extent of what this guy says on his blog.  I mean, really, U2 can do whatever they want...and I bet this option sounded like fun to them and surely doesn't take as much work to make happen as doing something on HULU.  I look at this video and think that U2 could have picked a much bigger (meaning:  more room for the band, and camera crew) building to play off of in London, but instead chose to go with the BBC option (it looks more like a balcony than a rooftop to me).  I'm sure this was more fun than work for them, though it certainly took some work (the helicopter shots are beautiful) and serious planning to pull it off. 

So as I was trolling around the web last night finding out more info about U2 on Letterman, I found this cool little snippet of an article on the U2.com site:

'U2's chemistry relies on their empathy and respect for each other, but also on something intrinsic to Irish society - the attempt to keep everyone included. They just don't let things fall apart. So if somebody starts to feel they're not part of the process they are quickly brought back in. U2 have that tribal attitude: if you get ill it's not just your problem, it's the problem of the entire tribe. They do it not simply out of generosity but because that's how you get a good working community.'

And isn't community what it's all about?  I'd love to hear of that happening more in the music business.  When I was in Nashville, it always seemed that most band related decisions were made by lawyers and accountants who were always looking at the bottom line, with nary a thought about building a sustainable community which would continue to grow and prosper with time.

The rest of the article is a great read as well:

The Telegraph:  "So what happens, I wonder, when rivals to The Biggest Band in the World decide they want some of the Eno magic? Was it seen by U2 as a defection when he worked with Coldplay?

Eno:  "I realised it could have been, but there was no friction on either side. First of all they know each other. Bono said he thought it was a good idea. (note:  Here is the part I like, emphasis added by me) But I felt sensitive that in one computer I had all the work I was doing on Coldplay and all the work I was doing on U2 and I had to mentally keep them apart."

What Paul Harvey could teach us drummers:

I just found out that Paul Harvey is dead.  90 years young!  I remember hearing his radio shows and reading his columns (I think...I swear I used to read some of his stuff in the newspapers or Readers Digest growing up) when I was a child.  One of his signature delivery "tricks" was his use of silence:

"One of the things that radio broadcasters are taught from Day 1 ... is that dead air is a big no-no and it's only after years and years in the field that you realize that silence is your most powerful tool, [and] he did it better than anyone," said Edwards, who remembers listening in the back seat of his parents' station wagon. (excerpt from Chicago Tribune story)

I think many of us drummers are taught the same as broadcasters...silence is bad.  Better to fill up the silence with a barrage of notes, than to just sit there and do nothing.  Or maybe it's not that pronounced:  most young drummers tend to play 16th note fills more often than 8th note fills.  I think more times than not, an 8th note fill will do a better job at supporting the music you are playing than something quicker and more complex.

I think we drummers can learn from the way that Paul Harvey used silence to make his next word take on more depth of meaning and possibly surprise. The first drummer that comes to mind when I think of silence in the midst of a fill is Jeff Porcaro.  His fills (and I'm thinking specifically of a dotted quarter note spaced out over two measures or even dotted 8ths spaced out over a one bar fill) were famous for being spaced out over several beats so that when the band came back in, there seemed to be more emphasis and maybe even excitement on the downbeat.

But as I alluded to before, I think silence doesn't have to show up just in our fills.  It can show up in just playing more simple, less complex beats.  Holding back our "chops," so as to give the music we play greater depth and meaning.  Silence and space in our drumming and music can give our playing more depth, leaving the listener wanting more.

If you get a chance, check out one of Paul Harvey's signature radio broadcasts (if you haven't already) and listen to how he delivers his lines.  He doesn't rush the phrase and doesn't fill up the airwaves with extraneous information.  He tells a good story and then - wait for it - "the rest of the story."  His writers (writer?) were good, but his delivery took those words to the next level in how he performed them.

It might seem strange to think that a talk radio pioneer would have anything to teach us drummers, but I think if we approach and listen to Mr. Harvey's delivery and (pause....) his use of silence, we might find some concepts and ideas that we can apply to our own field of work.

RIP Mr. Harvery.  Thanks for telling great stories and being an inspiration to me.