Donavan Hepburn Interview – by Travis Marc. 

Donavan Hepburn is one of the busiest and most humble drummers I’ve ever met. He has performed with some of the biggest names in the business but still manages to keep a good healthy working attitude. His passion for music comes through clearly when speaking with him and his groove is just as contagious. Here’s what Don had to say in a recent interview that we did with him. 

Hi Donavan - thanks for taking the time to do this interview with us. I’m sure you’ve been asked some of these questions a million times before but for the sake of our readers, I’d like to start at the beginning. Let’s start by talking about how you got into drumming and what it was that initially attracted you to the instrument?

Well, my older brother Martin was really the drummer in the family, he played all throughout his teens with different groups and choirs. I think in about 1984 he bought his first drum kit, which was this beautiful white Pearl Export kit, and all I can remember is coming down the stairs from my room into the family room and seeing this drum kit all set up and thinking that it was incredible. I think that’s really where the seed was planted, but I didn’t actually try to really play until about 1988/1988. Around the same period, Martin and his wife were expecting their first child so he really around that much when it came to playing at the church we attended anymore. One day I plucked up the courage to try give it a go and truthfully they weren’t really that impressed and told me to get off, but I went back the following Sunday, made a mends and kept working on my drumming from there. 

It’s a well known fact that you did most of your drumming groundwork while playing at church. Would you say that playing within the church/gospel background helped get your playing to where it is now?

I’d say so yeah, because unbeknown to me at the time was the fact that I was actually starting to develop my ear for music. In some church environments (like the one I’m actually from) often what happens is, people will simply get up on stage and start singing a song and by the time the second verse comes around you need to be playing along. So, my ear was really trained to play different beats and rhythms from those early days at the church and I really  think it’s one of the reasons I’m able to pick up rhythms and song structures fairly easy within the music situations I find myself in now days. 

Playing at the church really helped me learn how to naturally express myself, and taught me how to comfortable back different singers and choirs so it was a great experience.  I general I think that Gospel music is a great genre, it has various elements and similarities of so many other types of music, so it’s great to learn from. The whole Gospel chop thing has definitely become a bit of a craze at the moment which is also great, but the one negative thing about this in my opinion, is that we’re seeing a lot of really great chop type players coming up who sometimes don’t seem to have the maturity to simply play what’s required for the song. Sometimes the ability to simply drive a song with a great groove is sometime that I see getting lost, obviously there are a lot of great players who have an excellent combination both groove and chops too, so that’s nice, but I think that music should be felt and played with a certain feeling rather than just learned because if might be a craze at a particular point in time. 

Who would you say were your first musical influences (drummers or non drummers)?

Honestly, and I know that this is such a cliche thing to say, but I’m just a product of music and life man. I really enjoy it all. I mean the latest record I bought was a Larry Colten record, and I buy various different records all the time. I’m a music lover, so I really do love it all, RnB, Rock, Pop, Classical, anything. I like to keep an open mind and therefore try and keep my listening options as broad as possible. I think the moment that you start thinking that you know or have heard everything and stop listening to different things because of that is where it all ends. Music is forever changing, but with that being said it also moves in cycles, that’s why some days you might hear something that you might have heard years ago, but you need to keep it broad.

Moving forward a little, you’ve since played with a list of well known artists, including UK Legends ‘Take That’ and X Factor artist Olly Murs, but what would you say was your first big break before playing with some of the above named artists?

I’d have to put it down to the first memorable pop gig I did, which was with ‘Mis-Teeq’. I remember thinking how amazing is was that I was actually playing for someone who had a top ten record at the time,  and it was an amazing experience. So yeah, that was definitely my first ‘big gig’..

You were chosen to perform as the drummer in the house band in the Queen’s Jubilee Celebrations last year, backing artists such as Elton John,Tom Jones, Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue. The event was of course seen by millions of people throughout the world. Can you tell us a bit about the Jubliee experience?

I did a workshop in Leeds a few weeks back and was asked the exact same question. The only way for me to really describe it, is to kind of put it the whole situation into a bit of a football analogy. So imagine you play for your local football  club and then one day your phone rings and it’s Roy Hudson (the England manager) telling you that he wants you to start for the national teams next game, and that ‘next game just happens to be football world cup. It was crazy, but so humbling and enjoyable. You’re playing for all these major artists but ultimately you’re also performing in the Queens back garden, and she’s sitting there, it was extremely surreal. I was so proud to be a part of the whole thing and the experience was great. We rehearsed for six weeks leading up to the event and I can honestly say that it was one of the best things I’ve ever done.

In regards to working with as many big name artists as you have, would you say that you get your work based on pure reputation?

There are two sayings and both are quite true to a point - one is ’ bad news travels faster than good’, and the another ‘that you’re only as good as your last gig’. Both are true to a part, but your reputation plays a major part in it all and I’d even go as far as saying that 90 percent of what it’s all about is who you are or what type of person you are when you’re not drumming, Are you cool to be around? What’s your time keeping like in regards to being punctual? Do you look good? Do you smell good? Are you friendly? Are you all about the hang or do you also work hard etc? Then there’s the playing side – Do you bring the right elements to the band your working with? Are you playing what’s relevant to the music etc? 

I think that I always knew that I wanted to be a successful musician, so I took every gig that I was given really seriously, I never for a second thought approached a smaller gig differently because I was waiting to give my all to the big gigs. I’ve always tried my absolute best and because of this I always kind of thought that it would simply be a matter of time before something came along. The MD who put the line up for the Queens Jubliee celebration, is the same MD for Take That and he originally saw me playing in 2005 when I was still gigging with Ms Dynite. I guess he saw something in my playing that he liked and thought that I could maybe bring something to the table in Take That. So unbeknown to me at the time, he had been checking out my playing and in 2006 he called me up and offered me the Take That gig.

Since I started working with them their music has evolved quite a bit. When I first started with playing for them, they were quite Disco and now they’ve kind of more Rock meets Adult Contemporary so everyone involved has really had to evolve as musicians. I think that you need to constantly grow as a player and evolve to keep working, but it really has a lot to do with your character too because if you play well people will talk, so you need to make sure you are a nice person. Thankfully people said a few nice things about me over the years so it’s been a real blessing. I’m really thankful. 

In many drummers eyes, you’re living the dream. Is there a dream gig out there that you’d still one day like to get?

Definitely, I would’ve loved to have done the Michael Jackson tour that he was supposed to do. I’d like to play with David Bowie or Geneses/Phil Collins, Sting, Steve Wonder, man there’s loads. The Spice Girls or Jimmy Paige. Like my listening choices I’m being quite broad with it. You never know what might happen.

More technique related now. Could you tell us if you have any kind of practice routine at them moment, furthermore what are you working on currently?

The honest answer is no, I don’t. If I do any practicing, it’s really in regards to training my ears. I don’t have a kit set up at home because when I’m home I’m a husband and a father, so I’m always listening to music in order to get my musical ear happening.  In fact a friend of mine recently asked me how I learn stuff when I’ve got tours coming up and truthfully I sit at home, play the track and write out the arrangements. I learn the songs formats by listening to them. When I am around a kit however,  I mainly tend to do rudiment based stuff. I try get into the spirit of the gigs I’m playing by making sure that I tailor everything around the gig the specific gig requirements so that everything fits and feels like it should. 

I understand that you still find the time to do some teaching around your busy schedule. What would you say is the most important piece of knowledge that you try to pass onto your students?

I basically have a pool of students that I teach. They all know what I’m up to and when I’m on the road etc, so whenever I have a bit of down time I send out an email letting them know that I’m going to have some time to teach and we make it work from there.. I’d say that my main ethos is really application to music, and trying to show my students that they should try be as relevant to the music as they can be. I usually get them to pick a pop record and then go through how I would break it down and how I would personally add flavour to it etc. In my experience with working with MD’s they really want you to play for the song, while at the same time putting your own stamp to it, you need to be able to create highs and lows and (if needed) bring some drama to it. I try teach things like playing with dynamics, and playing with a click (in front of it, or behind it) and show my students that there are options available to them when recreating tracks. I try and turn them into musicians rather than just drummers. Guys like Dennis Chambers, Teddy Campbell and Buddy Rich were musicians, sure they were great drummers but they were always able to make the drums sound like music rather than just random patterns. 

What would you say has been the most important piece of advice that you’ve ever received and who gave you this advice?

It was from a fella in Birmingham called Ray Prince and he taught me the importance of my role within a rhythm section, and showed me that bass and drums have to be united. I was 17 at the time and I hadn’t realised it before, but once I figured it out it turned out to be one the most significant pieces of advice I’d ever received. 

If you could no longer drum or do music for a living what do you think you’d do career wise?

I’d have to be in advertising, I love watching adverts and seeing the creativity behind some of them, so yeah it would have to be something to do with that. Or maybe a football coach, I’m a mad football fan!

Any last thoughts or words of encouragement?

We were recently lucky enough to get a few minutes with the amazing Paul Elliott when he performed his masterclass at the Academy of Contemporary Music last week. As we were limited on time, we decided it would be best to only ask Paul a few questions related to his clinic/masterclass. Here’s what the renowned clinician/educator had to say… 

How do you personally prepare yourself when you know that you have a clinic/master class coming up?

Okay, well I’m generally quite prepared in myself because I do quite a lot of these classes. I’ll normally send off for some notes to the establishment where I’m playing so that I can get an idea of what they might want out of me, but I don’t have a set agenda and I generally rely on a kind of question and answer type thing and see where it goes. I normally write down a number of conceptual ideas or notes, (sort of like pdf notes covering certain subjects) and what I do from there is, if the questions dry up I choose a certain topic from my notes, but generally speaking I’m happy to cover anything, take any questions, and just see where it goes. Today for example, I’m not sure where it’s going to go but you know I’ll play a bit, answer some questions, have a look at some of the notes, and just run with it.

Who are your current favourite drummers, and who should we in your opinion look out for in the future?

My current favourite drummer has to be Gavin Harrison, I really love Gavin’s playing with Porcupine Tree and all the other stuff he’s done in the past. He’s been around for a while and done a lot of great work with lots of great artists so I really admire him and his playing. Truthfully there are too many great players to mention really. I’m still a massive fan of Vinnie Colaiuta, and have been for the last twenty five years. I also like Dave Weckl and Dennis Chambers, those were the guys that really influenced me. Benny Grebb is a great young player – he looks like he’s going to have a great career and from what I’ve seen of him, he’s really tasteful.  I’m not sure about who to watch out for actually, I see lots of great players in lots of great situations and there are so many great players around. I might listen to lots of different players or lots of different bands and really love the drummer so it’s a bit of a difficult question to answer. 

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received in regards to both your playing and having a career as a musician?

I think what’s really important is that you’ve got to be a good player if you’re going to be a freelance professional musician. It’s difficult to make a living if you’re not a good player so I think that’s really simple advice, unless you join a successful band at a young age and you know that you’re going to make your living through that, you have to rely on your own professional skills. So get as good as you can, practice really hard and be the best that you can be. To be an individual freelance player you’ve got to be good, someone told me that many years ago and said look, if you don’t become a pop star, (which I didn’t) you need to be good enough to cover everything if you’re going to be a freelance session musician ‘cos it’s not for the faint hearted. Don’t think it’s just going to happen over night because it’s very tough and there are so many great players out there that there’s always a constant turnover of great players. I also think having good interpersonal skills and learning how to deal with people is very important. You need to mix with a lot of different people, in different contexts and generally be able to get on with different people. If you’re touring, recording, teaching, lecturing – (any of the different avenues that we might do during our careers), you need to be able to handle that interpersonal side of it. I’ve done a lot of teaching and I really feel that my teaching experience has helped with this. 

What would your dream gig be?

My dream gig – I think I would have to say Sting on that one. Most people I seem to talk to want to do the Sting gig! I would love to do it because he’s a Geordie like myself, ha ha. Guys like Sting and Peter Gabriel are just fantastic – great musicians that play great music. So definitely, that would be my dream gig. I’d like to do a Porcupine Tree gig actually if Gavin ever left or needed a dep. That would also be a great gig – I really like that band and I’d like to have a crack at that even though it would be a difficult one. Ah, Yellow Jacket too, that’d be a great gig if that ever became available.

Any last thoughts or words of advice for any up and coming drummers that might be reading this interview?

I would say that you’ve just got to practice hard and get your stuff together because you don’t know what’s going to happen. You’ve got to love your instrument and then practice and  just see where it takes you. All drummers do things differently you know, you get guys who get into bands and they’ll spend a lot of time in bands and the band might be successful or not, they become band drummers and that’s very different from being a freelance jazz drummer for example. So, you never know where or how it’s going to go. When you take up drums you do it because you love the instrument and you want to be a drummer, so just get your stuff together , practice hard and see where the music takes you. See where you lean towards, whether you become a band player or a session player or both or you start doing a bit of teaching or you end up  being a theatre drummer or a show drummer. There are core skills applicable to everyone in every style and I think when you’re very young and you start you never know what’s going to happen. Get a good teacher or mix  with some good people and play with good musicians and be able to find your way, 

My best advice for practice is to make sure you practice correctly, because the way you practice is extremely important. Everyone says that practice makes perfect, which hopefully, eventually it does, but practice makes permanent too, so whatever you practice will become permanent physically and that’s why you need to ensure you’re practicing correctly. It’s really scary actually, I wish I had that advice when I was younger.

Bonus Question – How important it sight reading to you?

It’s absolutely essential, and has been essential in regards to most of my career so far. Sometimes you have to read, sometimes you have to sight read. Other times there’s not as much pressure to sight read but you’ll have a chart and you’ll  have to follow that chart through. I think being able to read and understand the theory and geography, and all the notation and everything else that goes with it, like dynamic markings etc is essential because then you can practice from books and scores. I also think having these skills makes you more employable. Some fantastic drummers like Denis Chambers for example can’t read and doesn’t read but he just has this amazing ability to hear the tune and play it fantastically, so it hasn’t done him any harm. Buddy Rich wasn’t a reader either from what I understand, but in this day and age as a practicing drummer, if your studying/practicing, then I would say that you should make it a priority. Don’t be afraid to try it, you’ve got nothing to loose.

Tommy Aldridge needs no introduction. In my opinion, he is one of the great double bass drumming pioneers in Metal history and has proven himself time and time again by working with some of the biggest Rock/Metal bands of our time. Just some of these include –  Ozzy Osbourne, Motorhead, Ted Nugent, Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy and Gary Moore. Recently, Tommy was kind enough to grant me some of his time to do this interview, here’s what the drumming legend had to say…

Hi Tommy - thanks for taking the time to talk with us, let’s start by talking about what you’re currently up to?

 

As a self taught player, how important do you feel drum tuition is?

I’m a self taught player more because of necessity than anything else you know. Where I grew up in Southern Florida, there weren’t many teaching resources so I basically taught myself by playing along to records by bands like Cream, Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles. I wouldn’t really be able to say if I’ve personally had any advantage, or disadvantages by going this route simply because I don’t know any better. As a whole, I think drum tuition is great though, I just never never went down that road if that makes sense. 

Your double bass playing has to be some of the most inspiring I’ve ever seen (especially given when you were doing it), so I always find it quite a treat to watch clips of your playing. Are there currently any drummers out there that you enjoy watching?

Well double bass playing has really been taken to a complete new level now days. There’s some serious ‘rocket science’ type drumming going on out there right now. The music business is far bigger and much more populated than what it was while I was coming up, so there are a lot more drummers now etc. All in all, I think it’s a good thing but without a doubt there has to be more competition out there now. In regards to drummers I think people should check out, well, I really enjoy watching Ray Luzier, he’s a great drummer and in general a really nice person. I feel that he’s got a lot to say and that he doesn’t mind saying it. Yeah, I really dig his drumming a lot, he’s got great chops and a great groove. 

After your stint with Pat Travers in the early 80′s you decided to move to the UK – what would you say your main reasoning behind this was?

It was a really big decision, but truthfully a lot of my favourite records had come out of the UK and I had toured the country a few times. At the time there were a few situations within the Pat Travers group that I didn’t feel very comfortable with and I also had a few personal things going on at home too, so when that last Pat Travers tour that I was involved with was coming to an end I made the decision to go straight from our last show in Berlin, to the UK. I didn’t really have a plan, I was just going to give it a go and see what happened, but it worked out quite nicely as I got to work with the likes of Gary Moore and eventually hooked up with Ozzy. I met Randy Rhoads while working with Gary, and when I eventually got to work with Randy within Ozzy’s band it became one of my lives musical highlights. Living in the UK was a great experience for me, I can’t say that I was overly crazy about the weather, but I guess you’ve got to take the bad with the good. I think the reason that so many amazing musicians come out of the UK is because they all stay indoors and practice all the time due to the rainy weather ha ha.

It was only when you moved back to the US that you actually started working with Ozzy though, can you tell us how the opportunity to join Ozzy’s band came about?

Gary Moore was signed to Jet Records which happened to be owned by Sharon Osbournes father. Sharon was working at the Jet Records offices at the time when Ozzy signed with the label and the opportunity pretty much arose from there. After I finished my stint with Gary I decided to go back to the US and sort through a few things that I hadn’t quite taken care of before I originally made the move to the UK, and it was while I was back in the US that I got the call. 

Working with Ozzy was an unbelievable experience and I take my hat off to him as both a musician and a performer, but working with Randy was the real highlight for me, we just locked in better than anyone else I’ve ever worked with, so musically it was a really rewarding experience. 

In addition to the artists already mentioned you’ve also worked with Whitesnake, MotorHead, Thin Lizzy and Ted Nugent, among others, are there any artists currently out there that you could visualise yourself playing with now?

I’d say that I’ve been predominately a freelance drummer my whole career. I’ve played with tons of guys and been part of many groups/bands but I can’t honestly say that I’ve ever really been part of a band where each individual was depended on the other so much that if one member had to leave the whole band would fall apart. I’ve always respected bands like Led Zeppelin or Aerosmith for example, that have basically been a group of individuals who without each other seize to exist as a band. So, I’ve always envied guys who’ve had the opportunity to perform with one band for their entire career. 

In regards to playing with someone now I think Kid Rock would be great. The music is so aggressive but kinda has a bit of a bop type thing going with it, it’s fantastic. Don’t get me wrong I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time with all the groups I have been involved with, Thin Lizzy was a lot of fun and the stuff I got to do with Ted Nugent was great too, but I was really just playing someone else’s parts and adding my own stamp on it. That’s why I’m really excited for this trio I briefly mentioned earlier because if it takes off it’s going to give me the chance to actually be part of a project and not just a session guy.

I once saw a video clip in which you were talking to someone about endorsements and how discounted endorsements shouldn’t really qualify under the term endorsement. Now days though every drummer you see, seems to have a large list of these type of discounted endorsements to their name. Do you feel that having a product behind you as an up and coming drummer portrays the perception that you’re a better player than you actually are?

People always ask me ‘when I made it’, and truthfully I can’t say that I have ever felt like I have. The first real big sense of achievement/accomplishment that I felt when I was coming up was when I was offered my Zildjian endorsement. It felt like I was finally getting somewhere you know. Also, I wasn’t only using their products because I was now getting them for free, I had been playing them as a brand for ages, even going as far as skipping meals to replace or maintain various bits and pieces of gear that I needed when gigging because I really believed in the brand. 

I think what’s happening a lot now days is that certain products or companies are going after guys based on the bands that they’re playing in, rather than their own individual ability. I mean there are tons of guys who are getting endorsed because of the above mentioned reason, at least from what I can gather.

Don’t get me wrong, I think that all music and drumming has a place and that it shouldn’t matter what the vibe of it is if it’s moving people, I just think that individual playing ability should still be looked at. With me, (for example) I feel that I’ve gotten to a point in my career that the companies that now endorse me stay with me, not because of who I’m playing or have played with, but because they like what it is that I do. I realise that the bands that I get to play with have added to the reputation I have and played a huge part with it etc, but my relationships with the companies behind mean a lot, and are strong enough for me to believe that if I go somewhere the brand would come with me etc. 

What would you say has been the best advice you have ever received in regards to your career?

Man, I’ve been given so much great advice over the course of my career, but generally speaking I have always been to hard headed to use any of it, especially in my earlier years. I guess I’d have to say to take advantage of it, because it’s not going to last forever, whatever it is. Also, don’t try be something that you’re not. Be legitimate about your drumming and who you are. Don’t second guess yourself and just do what makes you happy. 

Any last thoughts or words of advice?

I don’t really know much about anything to comfortably give advice, but if I have to I’d tell the up and coming guys to make sure that they rehearse with a click at every opportunity they have, don’t allow yourself to be in a situation where you feel unprepared purely because you didn’t practice with a click ! 

 For more info on Tommy – please visit www.tommyaldridge.com 

Acclaimed drummer and jazz-fusion pioneer Billy Cobham visited the Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM) on Wednesday, February 20 to meet and hold a master class with ACM students.   The Panama-born drummer, currently celebrating a music career which has spanned over half a century, performed for the college.  Students then had the opportunity to talk to Billy Cobham about his career, along with gaining invaluable one-to-one advice on how to succeed in the music industry.  This visit is the latest coup for ACM, which prides itself on its world-class music industry education and was recently described by The Sunday Times as “changing the face of music tuition”.  We had a very short time to speak with Billy Cobham on the day, here’s what he had to say…

Hi Billy – are there any new drummers you think we should watch out for?

No one, but not because they don’t exist. I’m just working so hard at the moment that its difficult to keep track of the new guys. I’m working with guys like Roy Hayes (91) who are still new to me!”

After the ACM master class what have you got coming up?

I’m playing a lot of gigs at Ronnie Scott’s at the moment and I’ve got a few projects I’m working on with my band.

What are your thoughts on the ACM?

It’s been over 5 years since I was last here and boy have you expanded.

For more information on Billy please visit www.billycobham.com 

There has been an annual vintage drum fair in one form or another for over 10 years now, but the longest running and most successful is the current incarnation, known as the National Drum Fair. The show is held on the last weekend of September each year with around 50 stalls selling all manner of vintage, used and new drum related items, plus The Vintage Vault has displays of drum kits of yesteryear and there are clinic performances from A list drummers on both days.

The NDF was founded by a group of drummers for the purpose of organising and promoting a drum event at which drums, accessories, equipment, and drumming skills/techniques could be displayed, traded and promoted. It is a non-profit organization and seeks to be self-funding set up by a committee of interested parties, all unpaid volunteers and the first NDF was held in September 2002.

I normally attend both days, but this year due to a gig commitment with Derecho in Leicester, I could only make my way over on the Sunday. The show in its earlier incarnation was not dissimilar to car boot sale and whilst it retains this charming aspect, many of the exhibitors are well known manufacturers and retail outlets supporting the cause. I think ‘all encompassing drum superstore’ would be more appropriate as not only can you locate that elusive 40 year part, you can also test the wares of  drum manufacturers, cymbal smiths and numerous accessories vendors.

It’s been tough few years for everyone and the belt tightening appears to have pinched attendance this year. There were plenty of guests rummaging through the many boxes of drum goodies but I must admit, this Sunday was not quite as rammed as in previous years. There were drums for all desires and pockets, ranging from a nearly new Premier Olympic kit for just £40 to vintage American snare drums for the price of a good, second hand car! I managed to lighten my wallet during the course of day, filling up the van with several tons of hardware, cases and other ‘essential’ bits and bobs.

Entertainment was in the shape of a lunchtime concert on the Saturday only with the Fat Chops Big Band with Pete Cater, Neil Bullock, Malcolm Garrett, Sticky Wicket  and Garry Allcock guesting on drums. On the Sunday the winner of this year’s ‘Young Drummer of the Year’ Calum Blair performed followed by one of the other finalists, Charlie Vasilio. On both days there were free workshop clinics in the annex hosted by Pete Cater on Saturday and one of Jim Chapin’s prodigies, Malcolm Garrett on the Sunday.

This 10^th anniversary show did not disappoint and I cannot recommend the NDF highly enough. It’s an ideal opportunity to source virtually any sort of drum stuff at great prices. A starter kit for the young drummer in your life right through to a desirable vintage kit for the older drummer in your life who couldn’t afford it when he was young! It is advisable to save up, or cash in the life insurance as there will be something there to tempt you!

See you there next year!

Mike Ellis

We previously featured Johnny on our site and were blown away by his approach to both his drumming and his life, we even managed to do a follow up interview which we were able to get featured in the UK’s renowned Drummer Magazine. Here’s that interview…

What can one really say about Johnny Rabb that hasn’t already been said, he is in my opinion one of the most innovative/inventive drummers in the world. Johnny, currently on the road with Rock group Collective Soul was kind enough to take some time out from his gruelling schedule to do this interview for us, here’s what the drumming legend had to say…

Besides being regarded as one of the fastest drummers in the world, you’re also respected as one of the most innovative and educational drum clinicians. How exactly did you get into drumming, and what motivates you to continue trying to perfect the craft?

I started drumming at an early age and really developed at about age 10. I studied with my now longtime friend Michael Lawson in Carmichael, CA. He taught me so much about drumming styles and music in my early years. The support from my parents and my instructor helped make this drumming career a reality. I stay motivated by learning as much as possible on my instrument and about music in general. I love to play and write on piano and continue to get better at guitar. It is easy to stay motivated when you have so many amazing musicians out there. YouTube and other internet social media really allows anyone to share what they do. I am in love with music and it has taken over just simply playing the drums. Besides touring, I am currently working on new songs for my band BioDiesel and my own solo album. Music and drumming is a never ending learning process. I don’t think I can really feel like I have ever learned it all. I will always learn something new each day I am alive.

 As an clinician/educator you perform in front of thousands of other musicians/drummers each year. How exactly do you prepare your for such a task and what advice would you give, to up and coming drummers in regards to preparing for such huge events?

 I used to get nervous before shows and clinics. About 10 years ago, I realized that I have two choices. I can either be nervous and worry about my performance or I can have a great time and play the best that I can. Nathaniel Townsley is the person who helped me come to this conclusion at a festival we played together. He told me there is no reason to even let your mind get to you. We have the opportunity to play right now, so why should it be about nerves or worrying? I totally agreed and if I ever feel any nerves, I just literally relax and shift into a good space. Regarding preparation, I have gotten very accustomed to improvisation. Solos at the beginning of my clinics are almost always never planned. The reason for this is to let whatever happens flow out in my playing. Then I let the crowd know how important it is to let yourself create new ideas for a little bit each day. Don’t get me wrong, I have worked for hours and hours on technique and ideas. I just try to let myself have the first solo be open and all improv. When it comes to showcasing songs or pieces of music for Roland or acoustic clinics, I might try something new each night. If it feels right, I will continue to have the material in my clinic. If I felt like it did not work for the show, I will simply go another direction the next night. If you are playing with a band and you are the backing drummer, it is totally important to be prepared. Out with Collective Soul, I did not play a drum for about 2 weeks. I simply listened to the songs on my MP3 player and in the car for 2 weeks. This has worked for me quite well. Then when it comes time to play the parts, I literally know them almost 100%. The best advice I can give any up and coming drummers is to learn as many styles as possible, be on time, easy going and versatile. Join or start a cover band to really get an idea of styles and back to back song playing. If you are a jazz drummer, join a trio and do standards like crazy. 

 Can you tell Drummer’s readers about some of the different groups that you have performed with, both past and the present ? Also, how difficult is it to stay involved with a band, when you have such a busy clinic/touring schedule?

I have been fortunate to have toured and performed with many musicians and bands. I have always had my own bands that I have written and performed in as part of a group effort. I have played big band with Maynard Ferguson, which was a fantastic challenge and kept my chart reading sharp. I worked with Alain Caron from UZEB (master bassist) on his record 5 (Jazz Fusion). Tanya Tucker, Hank Williams III, SheDaisy, and more were country artists I backed on the road out of Nashville. USSA is a band I was a part of which included Paul Barker (Ministry), Duane Denison (The Jesus Lizard) and Gary Call (Vocals). I continue to write and perform with my partner in crime Clay Parnell in our group BioDiesel (Live Electronica). From now until present I am backing the band Collective Soul. We are just finishing a two and half month U.S. tour, which has been amazing!

I think the main thing with staying with a band if a hired player, is to be a nice person and be ready to play your best. You can be the best player and have a bad attitude or a band hang and it could possibly end quickly. It is true that touring is 99% hang out and 1% stage time. So, the bus can be a place that makes or breaks your gig. Be the best at what you do, be able to take constructive criticism, and be a good person.

In regards to keeping a band with a busy clinic schedule, I had to take a break from doing so many clinics. This is a good thing because I want people to know that I can play all styles and still do drum festivals and clinics. The best advice I have gotten from my very supportive companies and drumming friends is to “get a gig!” I could not agree more and I have tried to stay busy in all aspects of my career. There has not been one gig or clinic that just landed in my lap. All of them were from pursuing both the music side and technical drumming side. I love both aspects of my playing career. Studio playing is also extremely important for me as well as the retail/manufacturing side of the drum industry.

How did the opportunity with Collective Soul come about, and how’s the tour going so far? In addition how would you say playing with CS is different to playing with one of your other groups like BioDiesel? 

The Collective Soul US Tour has been simply amazing. I have enjoyed it so much and the gentlemen in the band and crew are all fantastic people to work with and be around. I got the gig by a recommendation from my close friend Jen Lowe (percussionist/Singer/Songwriter). She had a birthday party and it was there that I met Will Turpin (Bassist from CS). We had a great talk and from there it lead to the gig. I then went to Atlanta and jammed with Ed Roland (Lead Vocalist/Writer) and Will. Now we are wrapping up a US tour that I am grateful to be a part of. 

The difference is the style of music and my focus on drum parts. I see people at shows and they tell me they are surprised I am with CS. I understand if they see me doing the Freehand Technique or playing DNB on the kit at clinics, but I love rock music like everyone else. I grew up first playing to AC/DC and RUSH, so my background is truly in backbeat music. BioDiesel comes from my love of electronic music and I think limiting myself to just one style of music would not allow me to branch out in the music world. I am extremely happy and proud to be able to cover multiple music styles as a drummer. I was taught that this is my goal. I am constantly trying to attain the goals of versatility as a musician.

 In 2003 you received an award for the #1 drum educational book from the Modern Drummers readers poll, for – “Jungle/Drum and Bass for the Acoustic Drum Set”. I myself have this book, and have found it extremely insightful toward the style of Jungle, and Drum and Bass drumming. Can you tell us a little bit about how you became interested in the Jungle genre and what is the process like when writing such a book ?

 I was so fascinated with DNB and Jungle when Tony Windle (Keyboardist/friend) asked if I have ever heard Jungle. I immediately went out and bought anything that had that word on it. It was so fast and precise, I was immediately hooked and wanted to write a book that attempted to break it down. I always wanted to have a book published and be part of the drumming education world. I worked for about 3 years on the book, which was sometimes fun and many times frustrating. It was first published by Warner Bros. and is not on Alfred Publishing. The book was meant to be able to be used for all levels of drummers. If you look at the book, I designed it to cover all styles and tempos, even though the title pushes the Jungle/Drum ‘n’ Bass genre. I am very proud of that time period and hard work it took me to get this book finished. My friend and great drummer Gregg Lohman was a huge help with his engraving and notes he took while I was hashing it out. My thought was to be able to have my own vision of drumming with this book and I am able to use it with students regardless if they like or dislike electronic drumming.I still love House, DNB, Jungle, Acid Jazz, Dubstep and most all electronic genres. I listen to re-mixes and new EDM productions as much as possible. 

 Who were your favourite drummers growing up and who would you list as your influences (drum wise) now?

 I started playing mainly because of the sound and feel of drums. I love Neil Peart, Steve Smith, Dave Weckl, Vinnie C., Steve Jordan, Omar Hakim, Gregg Bissonette, Phil Collins, Phil Rudd, Manu Katche, Steve Gadd, Dennis Chambers, Kenwood Dennard and so many more. Eventually, I will have a sort of influence section on my website for any interested to hear examples and see the folks who inspired my drumming. www.johnnyrabb.comThere are so many people that get left off of my list, simply because we have a world full of incredibly talented drummers. Modern day influences are Marco Minneman, Jojo Mayer, Chris Coleman, Benny Greb, and again.. many more.

 You seem extremely passionate about drum education and mention on your website that one of your goals is to try and share your approach to playing the drums with other people. Drum education, is a subject that I often find myself debating about among various groups of drummers. Could you elaborate on why you feel drum education is so important?

 Drumming education is important so we can all get to be our best as musicians. If I had a choice now, I wish I would have studied even more instruments and worked on my vocals as well. I can sing ok and play piano decently. However, knowing what others do on there instruments is such a huge way to communicate in a band or become a better musician. There is a huge difference in my opinion between technical and musical drumming. It is important to learn the drumset to be able to play any gig and at anytime. It is also important to have the technical tools you need to cover any style. If I got called by Derek Roddy to cover a metal gig, I would be in a bit of trouble. However, I am always working on my feet to improve my control and speed if needed. Basically, drumming for the sake of drumming is awesome, but drumming for the sake of songs is equally if not more important. Playing a beat to a song and making it groove is my favorite thing. Knowing the chords and structure of the song helps to be a true musician. I think music education is important on top of solid drum education. Will from CS is a great drummer and he plays piano, bass, guitar and sings. I constantly work on my bass, piano, vocals, and guitar playing to keep understanding music, songs and other players. Don’t be afraid to sing or play multiple instruments. Remember, every time you pick up a guitar or play piano, you can only get better.

 You’ve won the “Worlds Fastest Drummer” title twice, and are featured in numerous interactive displays, at various Guinness World Centre attractions. You’ve also done numerous clinic tours, with drummers such as Thomas Lang and Marco Minnemann. Many drummers would have to wonder what there would be left to achieve… Where do you see yourself, and the drumming community within the next five years ?

 I have enjoyed the WFD events and love Boo McAfee (founder). WFD is all about fun and trying to push yourself like an athlete. I suggest that everyone have fun with it and see how far they can push their own technique. It is one of many positive things to get involved in. I got to do the first MEINL Generation-X tour with Marco and Thomas. At the time I did not realize how huge it was for MEINL to put on an international tour. We all had a blast and those two guys are monster drummers. I learned a ton on that tour and had so many laughs and great memories that will last forever. There is always something to achieve in life. I would like to do so many more things in music and in my life. The list is simply too long and life is too short. However, I will continue to reach goals on a daily basis. Life is a never ending ride.In five years, I see myself with my fantastic wife and family while continuing to work in my home studio, road and teaching. I have www.DRUM365.com that will relaunch in the fall. This is an online lesson site that I am extremely proud of. Right now, there are over 400 lessons that will be ready to check out upon opening. I plan on a solo record and more live shows/recordings with BioDiesel. If CS would like me to drum for them, I will keep doing that as well. I am very happy now doing work for Roland V-Drums, clinics for companies such as MEINL and REMO, playing with BioDiesel, Collective Soul and teaching. I turned 40 years old this year and it has not been at all easy to make this drum career work. With the support of my wife, family and friends, I get to do what I love every single day.

 Do you currently have any sort of practice routine and if so, could you please describe it for us? Also, do you do any sort of warm up routine before performances ?

 I unfortunately do not have a routine. However, I plan on getting my home studio together next week and will get some time to work on new ideas on the drum kit. I do feel it is important to have an area of inspiration when practicing. I have been using my Pro-Logix practice pad on the road to keep my hands up. I should warm-up before shows, but I do not. I do not think this is a good idea, it just happens to be what goes down. I will say that my new site (www.DRUM365.com) will have what I have been working on over the years and I do plan on releasing more warm-up materials ASAP.

 What has been the most important piece of advice you feel you’ve ever received in regards to being a working musician?

 I just heard this one from our monitor mix engineer Craig Underwood. Craig is killer and timing is crucial for a bunch of guys on tour. I am proud to say I was 5 min. late only once on this tour due to my iced coffee habit. When speaking to crew about timing and road stories, Craig made the statement, “If you are on time, you are late and if you are late… why are you even here?” I thought this was a great way of looking at being punctual. It is so important not to make people wait. If you have to wait on others and you are ready to go, that is a positive thing. That is THE most important thing on the road with 12 people traveling on the bus. 

 Can you briefly describe you drum set up, and why you use the products that you do ?

 I play two setups currently. I am using an HD Custom drum set for CS (by Rhett Hendricks). I had this kit made for the CS tour. 22 x 15 kick drum, 12′” rack (in floor tom position) and a 16″ floor tom with legs. The snares are by Vibe Drums in Italy. They are handcrafted steel drums that sound amazing. I am using a 14 x 5.5 main snare and a 13″ piccolo. The heads are REMO smooth white Emperors on the toms with clear Ambassadors on bottoms. Snare heads are Sound Control on both snare tops. The bass drum is a clear Powerstroke 3. The hardware is all Gibraltar from throne to cymbal stands to snare stands. I am using the quick release hi-hat clutch and the very fast Swing Nut Rocket cymbal mount. All my cymbals are MEINL Byzance series. They have been so supportive over the years. Cympad cymbal washers are on all my stands and I love the durability, look and feel.  I am also using a Roland SPD-SX Sample Pad for triggering parts such as loops, keyboards and more. I currently use Audix Mics. My friend and colleague Bill Bachman designed a very innovative hi-hat stand called the Speedy Remote Hat. I love the action and open handed playing possibilities this offers me. Lastly, a very important piece of gear are my Westone in ear monitors. These are crucial in any gig I do to have direct in-ear monitoring that are molded to my ear. It makes all the difference in the world!Gear is always tough to list out, so please visit my site below to see photos and descriptions. Thanks

 BioDiesel is a whole other setup with a 14″ bass drum, 14″ snare and 10″ single headed snare drum. For more on these setups come back to my own personal site to see pics! www.johnnyrabb.com

 Any last words ?

 Remember why you started to play the drums. I started because I love them. If ever you are down on gigs, or lack of work, keep in mind that we are so fortunate to be able to play such a fun instrument.

 For more info on Johnny please visit any of the below sites, the new BioDiesel album in currently available on their website too - 

www.DRUM365.com

www.biodieselband.com

www.johnnyrabb.com

 Please note that the pictures used in this interview do not belong to UK Drummer…

Late last year Punk Rockers, ‘Bowling For Soup’ toured the UK. We were fortunate enough to have a chat with their drummer Gary Wiseman before the show, check it out… 

Gary, let’s start at the beginning, tell us a bit about how your interest in drumming began and how old you were when you decided that drumming/music is what you wanted to do as your career?

I was 13 and my best friend and I decided we were going to start a band with one of us on guitar and one on drums – he had a guitar he could borrow so I had to play drums! I started begging my mum to get me a drumset, but she wouldn’t until I joined the school band. I relented and she bought me a drumkit for Christmas, I ended up being in bands all throughout high-school, symphonic band, marching band, jazz band, and obviously alongside this I was also in punk rock bands. My friend and I actually stayed in a band together until we were 21 then when we went off to college we weren’t really doing much (I was also only going to college because I kinda had to and didn’t know what else I wanted to do), so when my friends in Bowling for Soup asked me to play drums after their drummer quit I said yes. I dropped out of school for a semester thinking that maybe it would only be for a few months but here we are – luckily the band took off and I didn’t have to go back to school.

Are you self taught or did you have any lessons, in addition what is your opinion on drum tuition?

I’m pretty much self taught. In school bands we’d have stuff like rudiments lessons but I never had actual drum-set lessons, I just learned it by watching people and trying to figure it out. I’m a bit rusty on rudiments now, but it’s definitely a good foundation in drumming. You use them even when you’re not thinking about it -they just fit naturally into playing.

And practice, do you have any particular practice routine and do you find anytime to practice while on the road?

I’m really bad about that, other than tapping on my legs or whatever! I don’t really warm up either. We’re kind of a band that is all fun and not taking anything to serious. Instead of having a proper warm up, we just get in the mood by having a drink and joking around with each other.

Have you got any type of warm up routines that you like to do before a show?

I used to in marching band, I know the benefits of it, but I just don’t do it. It’s like eating your greens or working out – I don’t do that everyday either.

Who are your influences?

I grew up listening to punk rock bands. Everyone else was all about drummers like Tommy Lee but I was into Bill Stevenson from The Descendents and George Hurley from Fire Hose, they are two of my biggest heroes. At the time everyone was playing massive 15 piece drumkits, but these guys were playing a four-piece drumkit and it still sounded awesome. I think if you can do more with less, that’s a big idea for me.

How does the writing process within BFS work? 

Usually Jaret comes in and has an idea of a verse or a chorus, then we all just add to the idea. We’ve being doing this for years now (13 years for me) so we have a pretty good idea of what’s going to happen once the basics are there.  The song-writing process (apart from maybe lyrics) typically takes about 5 minutes- we work pretty fast. Sometimes he’ll have lyrics written but no guitar, so we’ll just start messing around to see if we come up with something cool. There’s not really any formulated process, we’re not reinventing the wheel or anything but our sound is our sound.

Are you interested in other musical ventures with your drumming?

I’m definitely happy where I am. My other band in school was more musical and less straight up rock and roll and I do kind of miss that sometimes, but I’m getting to play drums for a living so I cant really complain. Bowling for Soup keeps us completely busy, and when we go home we want to see our families. At the same time there is a creative side then still drives you, I’m thinking about starting up a local band in my hometown to have some fun.

How did the UK October tour go and what were the highlights?

Manchester is always one of the best shows of our tour. Glasgow was incredible. We always tend to get sick over here, maybe coz we tour in October or whatever, but during that hour and a half on stage the adrenaline kicks in and you just don’t feel it anymore. 

What has been the most important piece of advice you have ever received in regards to your drumming?

Have fun. You’re not going to get to do this forever. I’ve seen guys get into fights about a little mistake made onstage because they take themselves too seriously, but no one else has noticed apart from them. Just make fun of each other and enjoy it,

Any last thoughts or words of advice?

Be in a band with people that you like, because if the band gets busy and successful you are going to be in very awkward situations in small and confined places and its not going to last if you don’t like each other.

For more information on Gary or ‘Bowling For Soup’ please visit - www.bowlingforsoup.com 

Please note that the photographs used in this interview do not belong to UK Drummer, and are the property of the photographer who took them, thank you.  

Zak Glosserman is the drummer for American Punk Rock band ‘Orange’. The band were recently on tour opening up for Punk legends ‘Bowling For Soup’ We had the chance to briefly chat with Zak before the show, here’s what he had to say. 

Hey Zak, thanks for doing this interview for us. Tell us more about ‘Orange’ – how long has the band been together?

We’ve been together since 2002, I Joined the band in 2005 and I’m 22 now, so it’s been 8 years. We got signed when I was 14 and Joe was 15 or 16… We were really young and feel pretty lucky. We only got to Europe last year, Zebrahead took us out and that was really fun. It was also the first time we were in the UK and we’ve been back 2 or 3 times since.

What was it like working with Ryan Hewitt in regards to your current ‘Dead Sexy’ EP?

Ryan Hewitt is a super cool guy and great producer. We only had one day of pre-production with him, but before that day the songs were totally different. He came in and changed the arrangements and put in cool little stops with breaks and breakdowns and little repeated drum patterns etc. I’m so happy with the record.

Do you mind being directed by a producer on the drums?

I don’t, cause I tend to kind of experiment anyway before we get to the studio and don’t like to over-complicate things, I hate drummers that do that. Not to knock him, but Travis Barker over-plays so much. I love him, the guys a great drummer and he’s a huge influence on me but you know, he just needs to cut down a little bit. I recorded drums on Chad Smiths drum-kit too which was super dope… He had this big 24” Pearl kick, and the record sounds great overall, The vocals sound great and there are more effects and stuff on this album, electronic drums and so-forth. I did maybe an hour of programming with Ryan which we ended up scratching because the original sounded fine but it was a good experience.

Drumwise – Do you have any particular practice or warm up routine that you like to do before you head out on stage?

I drink a few beers! On this tour I’ve been cramping up a little bit so I’ve been doing some calf stretches for my kick drum leg, stretch my arms too.. Shake it out a bit. I should warm up more but I don’t want to overcomplicate stuff, I like to have fun. On this tour we have our own dressing room so there is room to stretch out and we get a proper sound-check so its all good. We travel all round the country to play for 30 mins a day so we put 125% into those 30 minutes, split some heads, break some sticks, crack some cymbals… I cracked a cymbal on this tour already!

Are you endorsed by anyone?

Back home I’m endorsed by Pork Pie drums – they are really cool to me. I’ve only had one kit and that’s all I’ve ever needed, they are quality. I went down to the factory, (super small almost like a garage) with about 5 dudes working there, so I know who makes my finishes and I know the owner makes all the bearing edges on every single drum that goes out so I trust them in making drums for me. Heads I have Evans heads, I like them… but don’t tell em I like to use an ambassador head on my snare! Looking to get a stick endorsement soon as I tend to break sticks a lot.

Who or what would you say inspires you or influences your drumming?

A lot! I grew up in a really musical family, my dad was a drummer as well, so he raised me on Jazz, Funk, RnB and Motown. My all time favourite drummer is Stewart Copeland from The Police and I actually wound up having a couple of drum lessons with him. I went to school with his daughter and every year he puts up a drum lesson for auction and I won them 2 years in a row. My dad was probably more excited than I was at the time – he was flipping out! The lessons were awesome, there were 2 kits in the room and we jammed for a while… He taught me his warm up routine and talked a little bit about how he got his drumming so tight, basically you have the softest hit but with the highest rebound. He went through flams too and a bunch of stuff like that. I also like, Ainsley Dunbar, and from the punk rock scene I like Travis Barker, Tre Cool is really awesome. My second favourite drummer of all time is Dave Grohl, he’s my fucking hero! I’ve never met him but I would love to sit down and talk to him and play drums for hours. He’s really simple but plays so hard and straight on the beat. He plays big drums and I play really big drums. 24” kick, 12” rack 16” floor…I love how big his sound is. The drummer from Underoath, Aaron Gillespe is also a sick drummer, another really hard hitter who has influenced me. 

You already mentioned a bit about lessons from Stewart Copeland which is crazy awesome! Are you a self taught drummer apart from that or did you have any other lessons?

My dad taught me all I know. He brought down the drums when I was 4 years old… A floor tom at first – just gave me the sticks and had me fool around on it. I actually remember hitting my little sister in the head too! Then I wanted to learn the full kit so he set the kit up in my room and it’s been there ever since. He taught me the basic beats and then I would just do what he did to learn which is just sit in my room and listen to records and play along to the songs. Occasionally he would come in and encourage me, he’s a big fan. He actually drum tech’d for me on the lst tour, I’m not good at tuning drums so he does it for me, he’s great with sounds. I’m starting to be picky with stuff like cymbals but he’s a geek, he’ll go into the store and hit cymbals for 3 hours and not buy one! He still introduces me to new drummers – and I got to see Elvin Jones before he died, we’d sometimes go see Peter Erskine and Vinnie Colaiuta, who are all great drummers.  

If you could no longer do drumming/music as a career what do you think you’d do?

If wasn’t a drummer I would be on the road tour managing or something…I love being out on the road.  I’m a chef back home so I guess I could do that too, there’s always demand for chefs. This tour has been wicked, we have a tech this time around which makes everything so easy, he sets my kit up and stuff which I would normally have to do, and he sets pretty much everything else up for the rest of the band… we love you Jim!

What has been the most important piece of drumming advice you have ever received and who gave you that advice?

Keep it simple stupid! Also – play like the drummers that you love but with your own flair, my dad told me that. 

Any last thoughts or words of advice?

Just practice, practice, practice, and play along to records. Listen to lots of records and set up your own style. I play open handed as I’m left handed and felt uncomfortable playing with crossed hands on a right-handed kit. Make sure you’re comfortable when you’re playing as that’s when you’re gonna play the best… There is no point looking cool if you cant play well!

For more information on Zak or ‘Orange please visit - www.orangeband.net

Please note that UK drummer do not own any of the images used in this interview and that they are property of the original photographer who took them, thank you.

Steve Grantley really needs no introduction. He is an absolute drumming legend and has been a part of legendary Punk band, ‘Stiff Little Fingers’ for over 15 years. He has a real ‘can do’ attitude and is one of my own personal inspirations. Check out what he had to say in a recent interview UK Drummer did with him…

Hi Steve, thanks for doing this interview with us – Let’s start by talking about tuition. Did you teach yourself or were you fortunate enough to have tuition? 

I taught myself in the beginning. I got my first kit when I was 11 and I bashed around on that for a few years. I played along to my Dads Jazz records and eventually I could keep time. Like every other drummer I drove my parents nuts playing all the time but I was lucky as they were very supportive right from the start. I think they were patient because they could hear that I was starting to ‘get it’. At the age of 13, I had a few drum lessons at school with a visiting teacher called Mr Connor, he taught snare drum stuff and a bit of reading but I didn’t really concentrate. I spent all my time playing Cozy Powell’s ‘Dance With The Devil’, and ‘Radar Love’ by Golden Earring – and not paying attention to grip, crotchets and quavers. 

I was constantly playing at home, recording myself, grooving along to all sorts of records, copying stuff and really loving it, but all the time I was having fun I was also learning. I soaked up everything I could, it was all about the drums. I didn’t want to do anything else but play, there was no doubt in my mind where I was headed. I joined a little local band when I was about 14ish and we did a few pub gigs and some hotel things, I was young, really enjoying playing drums and earning a bit of cash too. Mum and Dad offered to pay for drums lessons so that I could take my playing to the next level so when I was 16 I went to David Hodge, (Latin American band leader  and Edmundo Ross’ drummer) and had a years worth of lessons. 

At the time I didn’t think I needed them (the arrogance of youth)  but they were invaluable and set me on the right path. I had of course, developed a couple of bad habits that he immediately ironed out. I focused even more on my playing, my time keeping and I also got a basic understanding of the dots, which has helped me enormously. David’s mentoring sent my learning into overdrive and I recommend that all young players take at least a few lessons – they really do help. 

I was lucky as I started playing in The Thames Television Big Band through David, so I pretty soon started using the information I learned at my lessons in a practical, professional situation. This helped because it wasn’t just rudiments and beats, it was feel and practical application. Plus, the older musicians I was suddenly working with instilled in me a strong professional attitude – bastards! (laughs). It was all big band tunes, Tommy Dorsey and Duke Ellington classics plus a good share of traditional dance rhythms; Bosa Nova’s, Samba’s and Waltzes.  

What is your general opinion on drum tuition now days?

I think it’s better than ever – there’s lots of info out there, one to one teachers plus all the instructional DVD’s and free lessons available online. I must say I believe in the old saying ‘you can’t learn art in an institution’, you know what I’m saying? Master your rudiments, learn how to read and how to hold your sticks correctly – but don’t become a clone. Keep your individuality, you can do this by simply being aware of it.  

There is sometimes a tendency to treat drumming as a science; well it’s not, it’s an art. There is a scientific, mathematical element to what we do of course but groove and feel in my opinion, are what counts. I like to hear heart and soul not mind and brain – technique for techniques sake is boring to me, be imaginative, do something different, mix it up. FEEL it, don’t think it, express yourself! Learn the rules and then throw the rulebook out the window and be yourself. ART not science! Here endeth the sermon! (Laughs).

Let’s talk a little bit about your gear, tell us why you choose to use the products that you do?

I use Natal drums because they’re the best. They’re a British manufacturer owned by the legendary Marshall Company so they’re steeped in rock n roll history. They’re more known for their percussion instruments but they now make drum kits and they are, in my opinion, the best drums available on the market today bar none! They’re big, loud, tough drums that even my crew can’t break. They don’t make a budget kit so they are definitely the drum kit to aspire to.

I use Paiste cymbals because to my ears they sound the best – they’re what John Bonham used so if they’re good enough for him, they’re good enough for the likes of me, simple as that really.

I use Vater 7a sticks, which are light. I used to use much bigger sticks but I came across lighter sticks and gave them a try and I found I preferred them. The response is fast and even though they’re lighter I can still power through sets and they stand up to the abuse.

The skins I use are Aquarian, the ‘Hi Energy’ snare heads they manufacture are amazing. They’re indestructible and sound amazing.

You’re most famously known as the drummer for ‘Stiff Little Fingers’ – how’d your gig with this legendary punk band come about?

I already knew Jake (Jake Burns – SLF singer/songwriter/guitar) from when I was in his band Jake Burns And The Big Wheel in 1983. When Dolphin Taylor left SLF for pastures new in late 96 Jake phoned me. We were old mates, he knew I could play so that was it, I was in. I didn’t audition, just met up, had a beer and off we went.

You’ve also worked with artists such as The Alarm, Julian Lennon, Eighth Wonder (Patsy Kensit) and Oleta Adams. 

Oleta Adams  had hits with Tears For Fears, a track called ‘Woman In Chains’ and her big solo hit, ‘Get Here’. Julian Lennon was a lot of fun, we did endless TV and promotion plus some gigging around his ‘Saltwater’ period – I liked him a lot, he was a good bloke. 

The Alarm were close to my heart. I’d known the band for years before I joined, Jake Burns And The Big Wheel had supported them back in 84, so I knew all the music. We built a great band with Mike, James, Craig and myself. We did lots of touring and recording – it was all as it should be, second nature. Mike’s pretty unpredictable on stage, I would constantly watch him as he could just stop in the middle of a song and start playing ‘Rockin In The Free World’ or jump in the crowd and be off the stage for 10 minutes – it was exciting and you had to be on it. We recorded five maybe six albums together but my personal favourite is ‘Under Attack’ (EMI Records) that’s when I felt we were truly working best as a band. 

Eighth Wonder was great fun. It was real pop stuff – back in the eighties the band had number one records in Italy and Japan plus major hits across Europe. We had a ball and I look back on those days with much affection. It was pure pop music but on stage for the live shows we had a wicked band. We all loved Prince so we were doing funk workouts as well as the pop hits and dropping in rock tunes too – we used to do Blondie’s ‘Dreaming’ as encore, I loved it! I liked Patsy she was good fun to be around.

Do you actually have any specific favourite genres to play?

First and foremost I’m a rock drummer – but I like playing funk, big fat groove stuff that’s locked in tight but at heart – I’m a rock drummer, pure and simple. I can play jazz if need be and enjoy it, I use a few jazzy inflections in my playing sometimes, not that it’s needed much in SLF but it’s in my amoury. (Laughs). It’s almost a cliché now to sight Bonham as an influence but his flair and swing really affected my approach. Through listening to him I learned pretty much everything I needed to know, I realised it’s not all about bashing! I mean I can bish, bash, bosh along quite happily but I do like a bit of light and shade, dynamics and swing, Bonham was the master at that – he had a great funk feel too – I learned so much from listening to him.   

What about practice, do you still do much practice now days, and if so what does your practice routine consist of?

I practice all the time, I strive to constantly keep on improving. I work to improve my time keeping and I push the envelope to make my time solid no matter what I’m playing. I keep making it harder and harder for myself – I work on all the rudiments, I put them over the kit so they’re more interesting plus I play lots of slow stuff as I have a tendency to push ahead and the slower tempos really show up my faults. I fault find and then repair and put right what I feel is lacking in my playing. I’m ruthless, really hard on myself, but I enjoy it,  there’s always room for improvement no matter who you are. If you stop improving and rest on your laurels you stagnate and then go backwards – not good, got to keep pushing ahead, learning new things, creating new beats, it’s a lifetimes work. 

Being disciplined is fun to me, there’s no point in messing around, I like getting down to business. Don’t get me wrong; I do have fun, if I get bored I just put on a track and groove along, Sly and Robbie, James Brown, Funkadelic. I play along to all sorts of records for fun, old Ginger Baker stuff, AC/DC, Prince, Goldfrapp, Kelis, Leftfield, Level 42, Nine Inch Nails, ABBA, P.I.L, Rob Zombie, Rolling Stones, Tom Petty, Wendy And Lisa lots of different stuff. 

I find if I work hard but keep it varied I don’t get stale. If I’m trying to nail a beat I’ll just play it over and over, the same beat, endlessly until burns it into my brain and muscles. I’ll do this for weeks, 20 minutes at a time in amongst all the other stuff I practice, in the end it just becomes part of my playing and no matter how difficult it originally was I can play it with ease. I also change the tempo and play everything I’m learning at all different speeds but especially slow – real slow, so I know the groove inside out with no cheating or fluffing.

Over your years in the music business what do you think has been the most important thing you have learnt? 

The most important thing I’ve learned is – master your instrument. Strive to constantly improve as a player plus, be reliable, flexible and reasonable with your band mates. You know? Play nice. If you’re too ‘temperamental’ or ‘difficult’ people will get tired of you no matter how good you are.

What (if any) advice would you like to pass onto young drummers who are setting off onto the road for the first time?

Living on the road can be tough. You don’t get proper sleep and you can be jet-lagged or ill so just go easy. We all take advantage of the rock n roll lifestyle from time to time and all I can say is, get rest and eat as well as you can. You can only learn about the road, on the road. Everybody deals with touring in their own way.

Who or what would you list as your influences – both in drumming and everyday life?

Drummers, well, usual suspects first. Bonham, Moon, Rich plus Ginger Baker, Cozy Powell, Stuart Copeland and Topper Headon. Then the afore mentioned Jazz drummer Ronnie Verrell, Reggae drummer Sly Dunbar, Phil Gould ex of Level 42, groove-master Bernard Purdie, Charles Charles of The Blockheads, Roger Taylor of Queen and Jazz fusion star Alphonse Mouzon, they’ll do for a start. All these players have entertained and taught me all my life.

Record producers have influenced me too; Jimmy Page of course, Zeppelin records sound incredible, he was so far ahead of his time with his drum sounds and overall approach to recording a band. Rick Rubin, his Beastie Boys stuff was great and ‘The Electric’ album he did with The Cult was a bare-bones, back to basics classic. Glyn Johns, his work with The Who was amazing, ‘Who’s Next’ – wonderful. Pete Townshend too is a monster producer, he was responsible for the production (plus engineer Ron Nevison) on ‘Quadrophenia’ my personal favourite Who album. Also Bill Price who worked with The Clash and The Sex Pistols, Chris Thomas who also worked with The Pistols and The Pretenders and Guy Stevens who produced the magnificent ‘London Calling’ album for The Clash – they all produced great sounding records.

I also love listening to Trevor Horn production, his stuff is so rich and deep – his work on Grace Jones’ ‘Slave To The Rhythm’ album is superb.     

Non drummers that have influenced me, well there’s the writer George Orwell, the actor Steven Berkof, scientist Nikola Tesla, martial artist Bruce Lee, boxer Henry Cooper, comedian Bill Hicks, Egyptian scholar, historian Zacharia Sitchin and my parents. These people have all had an impact on the way I think, what I believe and how I live my life.  

You mention The Cult, am I right in saying you were in a band with The Cults guitar player Billy Duffy?

Yeah, the band was called Coloursound – It was the very late 90’s. There was myself, Craig Adams from The Mission on bass, Mike Peters from The Alarm on vocals and guitar plus Billy on guitar. It was a great band. Like a cross between The Pistols and Zeppelin – right up my street. I did all the gigs leading up to the record deal, including the show that clinched it in New York. It was sounding massive on stage but the band didn’t use me on the record, which was very disappointing; they used Scott Garret ex-Cult drummer instead. The band split up soon after the albums release and Billy reformed The Cult which. I liked Billy’s playing a lot: I had a blast in that band. I then worked with Mike Peters in The Alarm for 11 years where I did play on the bloody records. (Laughs).

If you could do any of ‘it’ again would you change anything, and if so what?

I wouldn’t change a thing and I’m still very much doing ‘it’ now with no signs of slowing down, in fact I’m just getting going. There’s so much that I want to do: I’m just – full steam ahead. There’s lots more to come. I have production things being offered but I’m turning them down at the moment. SLF is my absolute main priority but my own band RT ZED is very close to my heart too and that is taking up my time when I’m not focused on Fingers. 

This is not something we’re aware of. Could you tell us a little about RT ZED?

It’s my own band, Industrial, modern rock n roll stuff – a side project I’ve had for the last ten years or so. I’ve not had enough time to really do RT ZED justice because I was in both SLF and The Alarm at the same time for 11, 12 years, so RT ZED was always on the backburner. We did manage to make two albums and do a handful of gigs but nowhere near the amount that I would’ve liked. Now I have parted company with The Alarm I have more time for RT ZED. In between my SLF touring commitments I have been recording a new album. I mixed through late 2011 into 2012. It’s a big project and I’m really pleased with it! The album is called ‘Relentless’ and will be out mid 2012 with gigs to follow.

You mentioned ‘parting company’ with The Alarm, what happened?

(Laughs) It was a couple of years ago now and feels like ancient history. I worked very hard to make both band schedules work and would sometimes tour back to back. It all came to a head when I needed a bit of space after an SLF tour and The Alarm needed me to go onto their tour immediately, which I couldn’t do. My father had recently died and I needed just a few days with my family. Mike got another drummer to do the tour and that was the end of that. It was bound to happen, I’m surprised we got away with it as long as we did. I have many fond memories of my time with the band and I wish the boys well. In fact some of the people who came to see the band on a regular basis are now personal friends – so all’s well.

What does the future hold for SLF.

2012 is the bands 35^th Anniversary so we are embarking on our ‘Assume Nothing, Question Everything’ tour in March to commemorate that plus more touring in The States and Europe. There’s a retrospective album being released on Demon Records also. Later in the year we will be recording a new album, we’ll probably record in America as I’m the only one of the band who lives on this side of the pond, so that’ll be interesting. There’s also talk of a big open-air festival summer party in Belfast with SLF as headliners, which should be great. It’s not finalized yet but that’s the plan. Also, Vive Le Rock magazine are organizing a Tribute album to SLF including artists such as The Dropkick Murphy’s, Therapy, Spear Of Destiny and Buckcherry so it’s all looking good.

What do you feel is the most important piece of drumming advice you could offer other drummers out there?

Practice – and don’t cheat, fluff or bluff anything. Work hard, it aint Guitar Hero or some dumb video game, you’re trying to master an art and it don’t come quick or easy. So dig deep, get ya head down and have fun mastering something worthwhile.

Any last thoughts or words of advice?

Advice? Well, have fun. Enjoy yourself, if you find that your drumming ain’t fun, do something else. It should never feel like a chore. I would also advise getting yourself a teacher also play with as many musicians as you can. Listen to all kinds of music without bias and work out who you are and what you would like to achieve. Just listen to your heart – then, once you’ve decided what you want to do get your head down and work hard till ya get it. Good luck to all your readers.

For more information on Steve Grantley of the Stiff Little Fingers please visit - www.slf.com

Please note that UK Drummer do not own the rights to any of the above used images, thank you. 

]]> http://ukdrummer.com/2012/06/steve-grantley-interview/feed/ 0 http://ukdrummer.com/2012/06/buddy-rich-memorial-concert-review/ http://ukdrummer.com/2012/06/buddy-rich-memorial-concert-review/#comments Fri, 08 Jun 2012 08:37:42 +0000 admin http://ukdrummer.com/?p=1269 Buddy Rich Memorial Concert Review (2nd April – London)  - by UK Drummer. 

This past Monday was the 25th anniversary of one of the worlds greatest drummers, Mr Buddy Rich. To celebrate the legacy left behind by the late musician, daughter ‘Cathy Rich’ and British drummer ‘Elliot Shaw’ among others decided to host the Buddy Rich Memorial event. The event which took place at the Palladium in London featured an incredible list of performers including special appearances by Rock royalty like Deep Purple’s Ian Paice and Cream’s Ginger Baker. Hosted by comedian/drummer John Thompson the event kicked off with a stellar performance by official ‘Buddy Rich Big Band drummer, Gregg Potter, who wowed the audience with both his drumming and personality. Elliot Shaw then took to the stage playing an array of Buddy tunes, he was even  joined on stage by Mr Tony Christie – the duo performed the song ‘Come Back To Me’ together. Up next was British prog/rock drumming legend Gavin Harrison who wowed the crowd with his technical mastery and proficiency, followed by none other than Ian Paice, who after playing a few tunes with the Buddy Rich band was joined on stage by none over than Irron Maiden vocalist/frontman Bruce Dickinson to blast out the Deep Purple hit ‘Smoke on the Water. 

Ok, so we know that we usually only do featured interviews on super busy touring drummers in this section of the website, but decided to change it up a little bit this week by doing a small interview with our mate David Phillips.

David, for those of you who might not know is the author/photographer of popular drum book ‘A Drummers Perspective‘, a book which features a collection of amazing photographs of some of the best drummers in the world. He is also the artist relations managed for DW Drums Europe and extremely involved in the world of drumming. Here’s his interview…

Hi David, your book, ‘A Drummers Perspective’ shows that you have a great passion for both drumming and photography. What made you think about combining the two and how did the end product come about?

I’ve played the drums since I was a small boy and have been lucky enough to work in the drum industry for thirteen years now. I started working at Pearl Drums and have now been DW European artist relation’s manager for almost six years. I have also been interested in photography for a long time, and as part of my artist relation’s job I have been taking photos for DW at concerts. Over the years I have built up a huge library of photos and wanted to share these with the world through publishing my book, particularly as I have been given rare stage access to many famous drummers and my photos in many cases are unique. I think it really helps being a drummer myself when taking photos as I am looking for shots and angles of what to take and can often predict what a drummer is going to do and then be ready to take the shot when they do it!!

There are some truly amazing shots in the book, just how much freedom were you given in regards to where you were allowed to shoot the particular drummers featured in the book?

Because of my DW artist relation’s job, I am usually at a concert working with the drummer and his tech, so I have been given a huge amount of freedom to take photos. I would say though it is still important to be low-key about taking shots as sometimes the rest of the band don’t want to be photographed during sound checks or before a show. One of the things I still get a kick out of, is being allowed on stage at huge festivals with the drummer. In fact the books title ‘A Drummer’s Perspective’ really says it all as I have tried to show what it’s like to be behind the drums and you can only do that if you have the freedom to get on-stage. I still believe that we all want to know what it’s like to sit in front of 70,000 people and in my book I have included photos to show just that! 

Judging by some of the live shots, you must obviously be a fan of attending live shows, but were there any drummers that you were hoping to feature in the book that you didn’t get the opportunity too?

Yes, I would have loved to have photographed and included Stewart Copeland, Vinnie Colaiuta, Abe Laborial Jnr. I did have photos of Lars Ulrich and Phil Rudd I wanted to put in the book, but I couldn’t track them down in time to ask their permission to use them.

What advice (if any) could you perhaps offer drummers on being photographed while performing? (You know, in order to avoid those embarrassing untag moments on social networks like Facebook).

Most obvious advice would be to relax and forget about the camera. I particularly like taking live action shots rather than something staged, so for me I would say play the kit and let the photographer do their job. I would also say if possible take photos at sound check and see if the lighting guys can put some extra lights on the kit as so often at concerts the drummer isn’t in the spot light and it’s very dark for taking photos. 

Lastly, has the book reached all your expectations and if so what’s next for your photography/drumming  career?

I’m very happy to say the reaction to my book has been universally good!! I have sold it all over the world and the feedback has been so encouraging. I am still taking lot of photos and almost have enough material for a second book, so keep a watch on my book website www.music-images.co.uk for any news of this. 

Earlier this year I decided that it would be a great idea to to do interviews with the editors of UK based drumming magazines ‘Rhythm’ and ‘Drummer’. Many drummer throughout the world read one or both of these great magazines every month without ever taking a moment to think about the time and effort the individuals behind each magazine put in for our own personal enjoyment. I therefore thought that it might be nice to try and get some insight into how drumming and writing about all things drums, became such a huge part of bothChris Barnes (editor of Rhythm magazine) and Jules Tabberer-Stewart’s (editor of Drummer’ magazine) lives. So without further a due let’s see what the respective editors had to say…

Hi guys – Can we start with you guys briefly introducing yourselves to our readers. Who you are and what it is you do at your respective magazines?

C – My name is Chris Barnes. I’m the editor of Rhythm Magazine, the UK’s best-selling drum magazine. My job is to oversee the entire running of Rhythm and to be an ambassador for the magazine. It is my responsibility to ensure that each issue meets its deadline, is of consistently high quality and meets readers’ expectations. I manage a fantastic in-house team of three drummers – Art Editor Dave Tupper, Staff Writer Rich Chamberlain and Production Editor Chris Burke – and work with a raft of freelance drum writers and photographers around the world.

More specifically, my job covers a number of areas: I commission all feature content (interviews, practical features) and gear reviews; maintain regular contact with manufacturers, distributors and artists; conduct interviews and write news stories; field interview requests from drummers and PRS; check out new drum talent; co-ordinate the photography of all new drum product (in our brand new state-of-the-art photo and video studio); liaise with Rhythm’s CD Editor Pete Riley to formulate our video tuition content; meet with other departments within Future Publishing (Rhythm’s owners), including Marketing, Advertising and Licensing; alongside Rich I contribute to Rhythm’s daily web and social media output (www.rhythmmagazine.co.uk/Facebook/Twitter); attend interview/feature photoshoots; oversee the development of other Rhythm-branded products including digital editions (Rhythm is now available for Android devices, http://bit.ly/scDvOZ, and iOs devices http://bit.ly/stt1iL), tablet apps (we just launched a Kits Out! app for iPad http://bit.ly/pfySGk) and special editions; and spend a lot of time out on the road at drum events and meeting with the industry. We’ve also recently begun producing a lot more video content for our website which myself and Rich film and edit personally. 

As you can imagine, day-to-day life is busy, eventful and a lot of fun!

J – I’m Jules, editor of Drummer Magazine. I’m a drummer myself, having played for 18 years plus now. My job atDrummer is to direct and oversee the editorial content within magazine. Each magazine has it’s own unique stance, it’s own ‘voice’. Effectively, the editor is that voice. I commission features and decide what goes into the magazine, which artists we interview, who goes on the cover and more. I then read and edit every word and every piece of editorial that goes into the magazine. I write some features myself too. I also work closely with our design team and with photographers and our art director to get the look and imagery looking right. I also have the responsibility for ensuring the magazine comes in on budget, and is completed to deadline.

How did you become the editor at the magazine you work for?

C – I started working for Rhythm as Staff writer in June 2004, having been a reader of the magazine for a number of years prior to that. I cut my teeth under the editorship of the fantastic Louise King. I was subsequently promoted to Features Editor, then Deputy Editor, before filling the Editor role in late 2009, just in time to ring in the magazine’s 25^th year.

(Chris Barnes – editor of Rhythm Magazine)

J –  I think the opportunity came about for me because of a variety of experience and skill that the publishers valued. Firstly I am a passionate drummer myself. Like many of our readers, I have worked incredibly hard with my bands to be commercially successful in music, having toured, recorded and worked my socks off as a drummer. I’ve been part of a community of drummers in the South West for many years and I’m proud to be a performing musician. I’ve worked in music/drum retail, which has given me a good understanding of the trade, the needs of the industry and what drummers want and what they are looking for. I’ve written for various fanzines, magazines and publications over the years, so that’s where my writing skills have been forged. I also spent many years working within kids in local communities, which gave me good communications skills. Add to that my qualifications and my transferable working skills (such as communication skills, time management, presentation skills, public speaking skills, people management for example) and the publisher decided that I have what it takes to be the editor. I’m incredibly proud of my achievements and becoming editor of Drummer, for me, is the pinnacle, the crowning achievement.

C -Music has always been around me and I’ve always played musical instruments, inspired by my talented older sister. I started off with the violin at a very young age, although my parents quickly put a stop to that… I’ve played guitar and bass for many years and gigged and recorded with a variety of bands, some more serious than others.

I was always drawn to the drummer in bands. In my heavy metal teens I would forgo the mosh pit to secure a decent spot to watch the drummer do his thing and the groove of a tight rhythm section has always done something to me. I first played drums in my late teens when the drummer in my then band taught me my first 4/4. From there I seized any opportunity to get behind the kit and taught myself the basics. I bought my first kit (a Tama Rockstar) and progressed steadily, mainly through jamming along to music, playing with other musicians and studying the lessons in Rhythm. 

I’ve played drums in various amateur bands and, since working at Future Publishing, I’ve been surrounded by talented musicians (mainly from the guitar mags – Total Guitar, Guitarist, Guitar Techniques) and have been a part of a handful of rock, punk and covers bands who’ve gigged around the south west. 

For the time being my playing is confined to the V-kit at home. Ironically my job restricts the amount I am actually able to play with other people, but my days are certainly jam-packed with drums.

J – My first experience of drumming came at age 14 – I was a late starter in some respects. I was heavily into my music even back then, bands like Nirvana, Rage Against The Machine and Pearl Jam were who I was listening to, and I wanted to be in music. I’d always wanted to learn drums. I remember listening to Queen records when I was a kid and wanting to be Roger Taylor. So, finally at 14 I had the opportunity to learn drums through my school and I went for it. I also had video that I watched religiously – it was Music Makers; The Drums with Geoff Nicholls (who now writes for Rhythm magazine!). I used to practice to that video every day. I joined a few bands and got tighter and improved my technique. I was also inspired by other drummers of local bands that my own band would share the stage with. In particular, Muse were a little known local band around where I lived in Devon and I used to take a lot of inspiration from both Dom Howard and Chris Wolstenholme (who used to be a killer drummer as well). That was around 1996/97. From there I joined other various bands and we pushed hard to get signed and make a career in music. Right now, I’m still in two bands; Sancho Panzer and Klay. I’m also in a covers band with some friends. Honestly, being an editor takes a lot of my time, so it’s not possible to dedicate the same amount of time to my music career as I once did. But I’m still in bands, I still play drums and get out there and gig when I can. I also play at home every day on my Roland kit, to keep my chops, timing and groove in order.

In regards to our previous question, what drummers influence you in regards to your own playing?

C – It’s often down to what I’m listening to at the time – I’m currently really inspired by Ash Soan’s Grooves album (find it on iTunes), Ben Johnston from Biffy Clyro is refreshingly different for a younger player and John Stanier from Battles’ playing is relentlessly hypnotic.

There are drummers I always come back to, of course. In terms of groove playing I’ve always been a huge fan of Stanton Moore, JP Gaster from Clutch and Bonzo. For their individuality and instantly recognisable style you can’t beat Stewart Copeland or Dave Grohl. Then there’s Phil Rudd. The list goes on… I have great respect for so many players and day-to-day I get exposed to so many influences and inspirations.

J – For me, it was always about the rock bands. Dave Grohl, without shadow of a doubt, is my hero (no pun intended). It was amazing getting to meet him finally this year. Another big influence on my playing was John Stanier, who now plays in Battles. I used to be into a band named Helmet, and he was their drummer for years. I used to spend hours and hours getting down some of John Stanier’s grooves and fills. Abe Cunningham from Deftones was another influence too. Obviously I have huge respect for the heroes of our instrument, the ground breakers, such as Buddy Rich, John Bonham, Keith Moon, Ringo Starr, Steve Gadd, although I would say they’ve influenced me to play drums and be a drummer, more than directly influenced my playing style. I have huge admiration for what those drummers have done and how they can play.

C – I’ve certainly been fortunate enough to interview or meet plenty of my childhood heroes – Dave Grohl and Neil Peart are highlights – and I’ve crossed plenty of names off my list, but some of my most fascinating experiences whilst working for Rhythm have been through opportunities to travel the world. Over the years I’ve visited Japan (Tama factory tour), Niagara Falls (Regal Tip), California (NAMM show), Meductic, Cananda (Sabian), and many more – and I recently enjoyed a weekend in Germany with Nicko McBrain and Premier on the Rhythm sponsored Evening With Nicko tour. Never a dull moment!

For me the greatest pleasure comes from meeting the huge spectrum of people this industry has to offer – whether it’s Rhythm readers, rock stars, cymbal smiths or vintage drum collectors. The drum industry is a fantastic place to work and I feel blessed to be able to do this for a living.

J – Wow, that’s a tough call. The thing about being an editor of a drumming magazine is you get to meet so many players that you personally look up to and admire. But you remain professional at all times! I don’t know that I can pick a favorite, but memorable one’s have been Chad Smith, Nicko McBrain, Simon Phillips (because my Dictaphone broke down half way through and we had to do the interview all over again!!!) Roger Taylor and Donovan Hepburn. Although I didn’t interview him, I was a bag of nerves when I met Dave Grohl. They say you should never meet your heroes, but Dave was a true gentleman.

Chris - do you read ‘Drummer’ Magazine?

C – Yes, of course. At the end of the day I’m a drum fan and I like to read drum magazines as well as make them. 

What about you Jules, do you read ‘Rhythm’?

J – Yes, absolutely. I really respect and enjoy what Chris and the Rhythm team produce every month.

What advice could you offer drummers on going about getting featured in either of your magazines?

C – Build up a relationship us, our contact details are in the magazine. Drop us a line to introduce yourself, keep us up-to-date with what you’re up to, come say hello at drum events. Be persistent, but don’t overstep the mark. Getting to know people in the industry and maintaining those relationships is key. Be professional at all times. A good reputation goes far in this industry and we’ll soon hear about you. If you’re talented and have something worth sharing, there’s every chance there will be some space for you in Rhythm.

Knowing about the magazine helps before you make initial contact too. The number of times I’ve received an impersonal blanket email from a drummer who has little idea about Rhythm and is just vying for ‘any’ coverage.

Of course, there’s no guarantee of a feature for anyone, however big a name they are, but don’t be put off if we turn you down. Rhythm is a carefully crafted and balanced magazine and we can’t accommodate everything all the time. If we know you’re out there, you have something decent to say and the time is right, then you’ll get your shot.

J – As a drumming magazine for the community, we love to feature the drummer’s that are doing some truly exciting or really inspiring work. It’s not all about the big guns! We have a responsibility to support up and coming drummers as well, and I love to feature the drummers that everyone is noticing because of their talent. Obviously, whatever we do in the magazine has to appeal to a wider audience, we want to sell copies of our mag after all. I get emails and letters every day from artists and bands. Personally, I would love to feature many of them, but I have a responsibility to create a magazine that appeals to all drummers and supports the drumming trade. I would say, when you’re at a point in your career where you’re in a band or working with an artist that is getting lots of interest or making waves in the music scene, that’s the right time to look at getting some exposure in a national publication. Often, if you’re doing something great, don’t worry, we’ll find you! We work closely with drum and cymbal companies (plus stick, drum head companies etc) on the artists that we feature, but also with Press and PR agents and band managers, who contact us as well on behalf of their drummers. 

Drumming wise – what would you say is the most important piece of advice you ever received and who gave you that advice?

C – Rhythm dedicated an issue to the art of session drumming earlier this year. During the making of that issue I spoke to plenty of pro drummers – like Kenny Aronoff, Donavan Hepburn, Neal Wilkinson, Karl Brazil – whose playing can be heard on stages and on the radio all over the world.
These guys have immense drumming prowess and can play rings around most of us, but they have reached this level because they’re professional at all times, are easy to work with and deliver the goods to get the job done without an ego getting in the way. As musicians, whether we’re recording, playing a gig or writing a new tune the ultimate goal is to make the best music we can. If we put ourselves before the music the result will be sub-par. It sounds obvious but, when playing with other musicians, it’s important to remind yourself to approach your playing from a musical perspective and keep the inner animal under control. Unless you’re required to play a solo, of course! 

More Drummers Get Their Kicks as Yamaha adds DTX700 series to Unbeatable ‘Try Before You Buy’ LOAN scheme

Yamaha extends Try Before You Buy scheme to mid range DTX700 series drums.

Yamaha Music UK have extended their brilliant ‘Try Before You Buy’ loan scheme to introduce and allow more drummers to experience the awesome power and performance of their flagship DTX series electronic drums.  Originally encompassing the top of the range DTX900 series, the scheme has been extended to include the DTX700 mid range series.

The innovative scheme is completely free of charge and without obligation.  Its aim is to allow customers the opportunity to use a DTX900 or DTX700 series set for up to 7 days so that they can evaluate the instrument and suitability for their use and ambitions in their own environment, set up by trained staff from Yamaha’s dealer network.

Demand will no doubt be very high and the loan stock is inevitably limited; to take advantage of the program please visit your local Yamaha dealer below for more details.

Yamaha’s Gavin Thomas comments:

“Yamaha is the first and only manufacturer of drums to offer its customers the opportunity to ‘Try Before You Buy’ and we are extremely delighted to be able to expand the scheme to include the new DTX700 and DTX750 kits alongside the DTX900 series.”

The Yamaha DTX900K and DTX950K have proved highly popular with serious amateur players and top professional drummers alike, thanks to a combination of great sounds and authentic acoustic ‘playability’.   The DTX700K and DTX750K are perfect for semi-pro drummers and recording enthusiasts.  

Each of the four kits feature Yamaha’s unique ‘Textured Cellular Silicone’ pad technology, which offers unprecedented dynamic control, comfort and feel for players along with unprecedented low volume. Alongside the new pad technology, the DTX900 and DTX700 modules combine advanced sound technology and a wide variety of superb samples from many of Yamaha’s acoustic drum models, providing a wide palette of sound and creative options for players. Coming complete with Cubase AI5 software, the DTX900 & DTX700 series can be linked directly to the computer to discover the world of Music Production, recording and editing in great detail.”

Don’t take our word for it; to see any of the 4 kits in action please visit dtxdrums.yamaha.com or even better visit your local Yamaha dealer and ‘Try Before You Buy’.