Last night Brian Blade played in town, and I thought I’d share a few impressions from it. I can’t promise they hold any sway outside of that concert as perceived by me from the side […]
Best values in used cymbals
By the way, during this recent bout of eBay-trawling, I noticed that the best deals on used cymbals appear to be: Dirty, filthy old Paiste 2002’s – A lot of drummers have the bad habit […]
Three Paiste cymbals
UPDATE: I think I’ve correctly ID’d one of the other cymbals. I’ve been on a vintage Paiste cymbal-buying kick recently. Here are the findings on my finds: 22″ Formula 602 Dark Ride – circa 1975-76 […]
Tune of the moment: Feet First
I didn’t intend for the “tune of the moment” to be an all Steve Swallow feature, but what the hell, I’m just playing his stuff a lot these days. Like a lot of his tunes, […]
MD column: Alternative open roll stickings
Here’s an interesting piece from that same old Modern Drummer from 1977. The writer, Mickey Earnshaw, proposes a set of alternate roll stickings, using the RLLR/LRRL paradiddle inverion or the RLLR/RLLR sticking in place of […]
Butch Miles on ensemble playing
Big band drumming tips from Butch Miles, from the Oct. 1977 issue of Modern Drummer. They apply to all types of music, of course: SUPPORT. If the band has a difficult passage, support them strongly. […]
Tune of the moment: Misterioso
Thelonious Monk’s Misterioso is a strangely beguiling little tune: It’s a slow blues, with a melody of running even 8th notes. That doesn’t sound hard. Except somewhere in the playing of it, it always goes […]
Cymbal post coming up
We don’t write much about gear around here- there’s something of an epidemic of misplaced priorities surrounding the topic. But I’ve been on a cymbal-buying kick the past couple of weeks- a heavyish vintage Paiste […]