Not that easy a life. Here’s a note I received from a British drummer currently working on a ship in the Mediterranean: “I’m presently doing a stint as a cruise drummer in the Med and […]
Category: performance practices
Quotable Bob Moses
A few stand-alone quotes from Drum Wisdom by Bob Moses: [T]ake one idea and expand it., instead of playing a lot of ideas. The greatest musicians are those who can take one idea and make […]
1984 Modern Drummer interview: Andy Newmark
Here are some excerpts from another great Modern Drummer interview from my youth, this time with session drummer Andy Newmark, drummer on Sly Stone’s Fresh, John Lennon’s Double Fantasy, David Bowie’s Young Americans, and much […]
Getting started soloing over a form
This is more a roughly-progressive series of guidelines than a step-by-step how-to; this is a much larger subject than can be fully addressed in one little blog post. Players spend years or decades developing a […]
Things to do with a beat
Writing by making lists of things- it’s just where I’m at right now. This is a quick run down of one of the main jobs/avenues for creativity on the drums- the manner in which you […]
Playing quieter
Miles is going to have to ask you to CTFO. In the past I was regarded as a loud player— I forgot how much, until recently a club owner asked if we would please keep the […]
Airto: 1983 Modern Drummer interview
Here’s part of another great Modern Drummer interview, from 1983, with Airto, the famous Brazilian drummer and percussionist. As always, I’ve excerpted the parts that are most important to me, and the headings are mine. […]
Cherished notions bite the dust
I need a bushier goatee for this gig. I’ve been experiencing all kinds of growth with my playing in recent years, which I attribute partly to me forgetting things I for years thought were really […]
Some of them just can’t count.
There’s a great extended piece over at Four on the Floor on the subject of form in soloing, and how to hip the other musicians to the fact you are adhering to it: Of course […]
How fast can you take your time?
The Discipline of DE, from William S. Burroughs’ Exterminator!, reprinted in it’s entirety via Melancholia, which appears to be a Dutch literary blog. For me this is right up there with Zen in the Art […]