LARRIE LONDINREMEMBERED

STEPHENPERKINS

ETHNICDRUMMERS

More than just a great drummer,Larrie Londin was a major pres-ence on the studio scene. Hiscolorful, earthy personality wasperfectly reflected in the music hemade—rock solid, eminentlyreliable. In this tribute, we heartouching and insightful reminis-cences from the great artistswho knew Larrie thebest, and who felthis inimitable stylethe strongest.

by Robyn Flans

Stephen Perkins has a new band, anunusual new drum setup—but thesame old creativity and passion fordrums that pricked up the ears ofmillions of Jane's Addiction fans. Inthis exclusive story, Stephen talksabout his work with Jane'sAddiction, his current project, PornoFor Pyros, and how bon-gos, timbales, and tim-

pani figure into hisdrumming today.

by Matt Peiken

By taking sonic trips around theglobe, many drummers haverecently discovered an endlesswealth of rhythmic variation andinspiration. In this special report,we find out how several topdrummers have had successapplying the ideas of other cul-tures to the musicthey make.

by Adam Budofsky

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MD'S 15THANNUAL READERSPOLL BALLOT

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COVER PHOTO BY RICK MALKIN

FEATURES

VOLUME 17, NUMBER 3

Education

46 ROCKPERSPECTIVESVariations OnA Four-Piece KitBY JEFF KERSH

EquipmentDepartments

NewsROCK CHARTSJohn Bonham:"Black Dog"TRANSCRIBED BYTOM DeFARIA

SHOWDRUMMERS'SEMINARPreparing A SubBY KEN ROSS

LATINSYMPOSIUMUsing Latin PhrasesTo Modulate Time:Part 1BY CHUCK SILVERMAN

TAKING CAREOF BUSINESSHitting The RoadOn A BudgetBY MARK ZONDER

OFF THERECORDSteve Gorman

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94PRODUCTCLOSE-UPMeinl Raker CymbalsBY BRIAN ALPERT

ELECTRONICREVIEWElectronic PercussionSystems Visu-LiteElectronic CymbalsBY RICH WATSON

NEW ANDNOTABLE

SHOP TALKWhen CalfskinWas King: Part 2BY WOODY THOMPSON

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EDITOR'SOVERVIEW

READERS'PLATFORM

ASK A PRO

IT'SQUESTIONABLE

DRUMLINE

CRITIQUE

DRUM MARKET

DRUMKIT OFTHE MONTH

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UPDATET.S. Monk, MelissaEtheridge's Fritz Lewak,Vinny Appice, andHammer's Billy Johnsonand Richard Aguon,plus News

INDUSTRYHAPPENINGS

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Profiles

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PORTRAITSBobby SanabriaBY T. BRUCE WITTET

ENCOREChris Layton: Texas FloodBY ROBERT SANTELLI

COLUMNS

In Memory 0f LarrieLate last August, we all lost still another brotherwith the passing of Larrie Londin. A key player onthe Nashville scene for many years, Larrie was alsoan MD Advisory Board member and lent his supportto Modern Drummer whenever he could.

Unfortunately, I never knew Larrie well on a per-sonal level, though I did have the privilege of work-ing with him at MD's 1990 Drum Festival Weekend.Along with being an extraordinary talent, I found

Larrie to be exactly what everyone who knew him well had toldme—that being one of the nicest guys in our business with a great lovefor the drumming world and everyone in it.

I could go on eulogizing Larrie in this column, but I honestly feel itwould be much more revealing to reprint a letter I received afterLarrie's death from one of his devoted fans. Personally, I think the let-ter says it all about the kind of person Larrie was, in words all drum-mers can truly appreciate.Dear Ron:I just felt the need to write this letter and tell you what a special personLarrie Londin was. I can remember some years ago, just loving thesound of Larrie's drums. I had tried very hard to capture that sound onmy own drums, but had great difficulty doing so. Finally, I located anaddress for Larrie and wrote to him in what I felt was a remote possi-bility of receiving a response.

A short time later a letter from Larrie arrived, along with an auto-graphed picture of him on stage with Elvis Presley. As if that weren'tenough, Larrie had also made a cassette tape for me, where heexplained, in step-by-step detail, just why his drums sounded the waythey did, and how the bearing edges were customized for a more reso-nant tone with added low end. He mentioned feeling badly that per-haps I'd purchased the same brand of drums because he had endorsedthem, and then was unable to get the same sound. Larrie actually tookthe time to go over every one of his drums on this tape, explainingevery aspect of their construction, customizing, and tuning.

To top it all off, Larrie had just returned home from an extendedEverly Brothers tour, and the letter and tape were written and recordedon a Christmas Eve. I really wonder how many people would have goneto this extent to help a young, unknown drummer and total strangerfrom Sioux City, Iowa. Larrie's playing had a major influence on me,and the kindness he showed is a testament to the kind of person hewas. Larrie Londin was a true inspiration. I will miss him dearly.

Danny WyantSioux City, Iowa

EDITOR/PUBLISHER Ronald Spagnardi

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Isabel Spagnardi

MANAGING EDITOR Rick Van Horn

FEATURES EDITOR William F. Miller

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Adam J. Budofsky

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Justin J. Cordes

ART DIRECTOR Scott G. Bienstock

ART ASSISTANT Lori Spagnardi

ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER Tracy A. Kearns

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Bob Berenson

ADVERTISING ASSISTANT Joan C. Stickel

SALES AND MARKETING Crystal W. Van HornDIRECTOR

CONSULTANT TO THE Arnold E. AbramsonPUBLISHER

MODERN DRUMMER ADVISORY BOARD: Henry Adler, KennyAronoff, Louie Bellson, Bill Bruford, Jim Chapin, Alan Dawson, DennisDeLucia, Les DeMerle, Len DiMuzio, Charlie Donnelly, Peter Erskine,Vic Firth, Danny Gottlieb, Sonny Igoe, Jim Keltner, Peter Magadini,George Marsh, Joe Morello, Rod Morgenstein, Andy Newmark, NeilPeart, Charlie Perry, Dave Samuels, John Santos, Ed Shaughnessy, SteveSmith, Ed Thigpen, Dave Weckl.

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Robyn Flans, Simon Goodwin, RickMattingly, Ken Micallef, Matt Peiken, Teri Saccone, Robert Santelli.

MODERN DRUMMER magazine (ISSN 0194-4533) is publishedmonthly by MODERN DRUMMER Publications, Inc., 870 PomptonAvenue, Cedar Grove, NJ 07009. Second-Class Postage paid at CedarGrove, NJ 07009 and at additional mailing offices. Copyright 1993 byMODERN DRUMMER Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.Reproduction without the permission of the publisher is prohibited.

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Editor's note: For the second time in amatter of months, the drumming worldhas lost a major figure. Concern forLarrie Londin was expressed by MDreaders immediately following his initialillness last April; that concern turned intocondolences upon word of his passing inAugust. Here are some of the sentimentsoffered in tribute to Larrie.

There are some musicians who play witha feel and pulse that seems rooted in theearth. They can convey that as naturallyas they walk. Their grooves have grit.Ralph Gallant—whom most people knewas Larrie Londin—was one of thosemusicians.

Larrie was a player whose abilityencompassed all styles. He never failed toenhance whatever he played with histime, taste, and wit. He could take some-thing common and everyday and, throughhis playing, give it meaning—not an easything to do.

Writing this letter about our fallenfriend is not an easy thing to do, either. Icould fill it with anecdotes about his gen-erosity and goodwill toward his fellowdrummers, but all who knew him havethose stories to tell. I could say he wasever the student, and shared his knowl-edge with anyone who asked—but every-one knows that. I could tell how, when Imet him for the first time, he bought medinner—but that was just one small,decent thing he did among many. Healways gave his best. He loved his familyand his work, and he never gave up.

Jim Hyde(drummer for Eddie Rabbitt)

Nashville TN

Larrie Londin was a big man with a bigheart. I would like to say thanks to Larriefor being a friend who gave me so muchof his time, advice, encouragement, and

love—not to mention his humor. Fromthe first time I met Larrie in Nashville,some twelve years ago, he was alwaysopen to my "brain-picking" about theinstrument we both loved, and about themusic business in general. I think heactually liked it. He never minded "talk-ing shop."

For those who never got to knowLarrie, they missed knowing a wonderfulhuman being. I will miss him terribly.Larrie was a great source of inspiration tome...and he still is.

Ron ThompsonFt. Worth TX

About six years ago, I was working in amusic store that had booked LarrieLondin for a clinic. At the same time, Ihad just begun my professional drum-ming career. I was playing at a small clubacross the street from the motel in whichLarrie was staying. Being young, eager,and rather naive, I told my supervisor,"Bring him by the club; he's just acrossthe street!"

Well, sure enough, the night before theclinic, Larrie and my supervisor camestrolling in. Needless to say, I was terri-fied. A real drummer! Feeling very hum-ble, I shook Larrie's hand and said, "Hi,my name's Tim." And that was it. Theystayed for the next set.

Shortly after they left, I broke thespring assembly on my bass drum pedal,and had to finish the night on a sparethat felt like I was trying to push a truck.When I went to the store the next day tofind a replacement, Larrie was setting uphis drums for the clinic. As I sortedthrough boxes to no avail, Larrie askedme what I was doing. I told him that I hadtwo afternoon sets to play (and thus hadto miss his clinic) and three evening setslater, and that my main pedal was broken.

I had to play the afternoon sets on thespare. But when I returned a couple ofhours later for the evening sets, a wait-

ress handed me a pedal spring assembly,saying simply, "This is from a guy namedLarrie." At that point, it was like somehuge curtain lifted from between myselfand every other drummer on the planet.Larrie showed me that drumming is nota competition—it 's a tremendousamount of people who can learn fromeach other and, more often than not,would give you the shirt off their backs(or the spring off their pedals). It wasonly a small gesture on Larrie's part, butit gave me a greater appreciation fordrumming, and for drummers and per-cussionists everywhere. I'm especiallyglad that I learned this lesson fromLarrie Londin—whether he knew it ornot. Goodbye, Larrie—you will be greatlymissed.

Tim PrescottFt. Walton Beach FL

There was no one in the drummingworld like Larrie Londin. His undeniablephysical presence—enhanced by thoseincredible Hawaiian shirts—might evokea laugh, but his ever-present humorwould allow the two of you to laughtogether. His dedication to the art ofdrumming manifested itself in his will-ingness to share his talent at clinics,shows, and just "on the street." His ver-satility as a performer had few, if anyequals; he was just as comfortable play-ing a Motown groove, a hard-rock back-beat, or a Nashville shuffle. And he madethem all sound great!

Perhaps the greatest of Larrie'sattributes was his humanity. He was alwaysapproachable, always willing to offer soundadvice (or a good joke), and always gen-uinely interested in what you might have tosay. Besides being one of the finest drum-mers of his generation, he was just onehell of a guy. I'll miss him a lot.

Rick Van HornClifton NJ

LARRIE LONDIN

The debut album by T.S. Monk, Take One, shows tremendousmaturity and depth, which is not all that surprising when onediscovers that his father was Thelonious Monk. But why did ittake the 42-year-old drummer so long to start his jazz career?

"I'm a child of the '60s," Monk replies, "and contrary to popu-lar belief, my father didn't demand that we only listen to CharlieParker. So I grew up on Jimi Hendrix and the Temptations andCream, as well as Max Roach and Miles Davis. I played with myfather when I was young, but when my father stopped playing, Icouldn't find guys my age who could play on that level. So I drift-ed into R&B and did that for a while."

Monk began taking care of his father's estate in 1983 andbecame involved with the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz."That drew me back to this music, which is infectious," he says."In the process of being a spokesperson for the institute, I foundmyself in situations where I was a guest performer with peoplelike Clark Terry or Dizzy Gillespie. So I started brushing up onmy chops, and I decided to go back to performing, put a bandtogether, and give it a shot in jazz, which I had never done."

For the past six years, Fritz Lewak hashad the drum chair with MelissaEtheridge. "I started playing with Melissaright after the first record," says Fritz."Craig Krampf played on that one [titledsimply Melissa Etheridge]. I was called todo some shows for a couple of weeks—that was in '86—and I'm still on theroad." Fritz has also recorded Melissa'slast two studio efforts, Brave And Crazyand Never Enough.

According to Fritz, working withEtheridge has been a very challengingexperience. "You never know what she isgoing to do. Plus she is an incredibletimekeeper and an outstanding rhythmguitarist. Melissa is very sensitive to whatyou think and what you want to do, andeverybody feels that same vibe."

Pleased with the gig, Fritz says that"2001," "Must Be Crazy," "Keep ItPrecious," and "Dance Without Sleeping"are some of his favorite songs. "'DanceWithout Sleeping' was fun because we allworked on it together; Melissa sort of told

A major strength of Take One is the strong sense of grooveMonk injects into his bop-style drumming. "My R&B playingdefinitely helped formulate my concept of groove, but also I grewup with Thelonious, and he was a groove guy if there ever wasone. When I listen to the classic jazz records, the two things Ihear are the groove and memorable melodies. When I used toobserve Art Blakey with his bands, Art took great solos, but it wasthe groove of the band that made you love Art Blakey & The JazzMessengers. Those tunes were swinging so hard and the rhythmsection was in the pocket, letting the soloist do his thing andworking with him to make a better solo. I don't hear that in a lotof the records from young cats.

"So yeah, I've always wanted to be a groove drummer.Thelonious told me from the beginning that the most importantthing a drummer had to do was play the time. If you ain't playinggood time and you don't have the groove going, everything elseyou do is bullshit."

us to come up with something, and wejust jammed."

One special high point in the show isthe band drum solo. "It was Melissa'sidea," Lewak explains. "Everybody comesup and grabs the sticks and does theirthing. We all jam on different parts of thekit. Melissa cues everybody to come in,we build up around the set, and it turnsinto a drummer's marketplace. It's kind

of wild."As far as the future

goes, Fritz is lookingforward to eventuallydoing a live record."We've always tried tocapture some of the'live-ness' that Mel-issa does in a showon record, but youcan't. You capturesomething in the stu-dio and it's great. Butwhen we perform it

live it's twenty times bigger. Melissa is aperformer and could do two hours aloneand capture an audience. She goes outthere and sings her buns off and peoplego 'Wow' because she does it from theheart. Melissa can do that alone, butwe're giving her a little support."

Rick Mattingly

T.S. Monk

Fritz Lewak

Lori Spagnardi

Photo

by

Lis

sa W

ales

To Vinny Appice, re-joining Black Sabbath after eleven years awayfrom the band felt even better than the first time. "When I joinedthe band in 1980, I was just this little kid going into this monsterband. At that time, Sabbath was really huge, playing arenas every-where, and I was naive—and a little intimidated because I wasreplacing Bill Ward. It was a real learning experience. But afterthat broke up, Ronnie and I formed Dio and had a lot of successwith that band for eight years. I'm much more confident now, so itwas different going into the band this time. I felt more on theirlevel. I feel more comfortable to say what I want and play what Iwant than before. Now it feels like we're creating together."

After leaving Dio, Vinny recorded an album and toured with afledgling band called WWIII. But when management problems

became apparent to Appice, he left the band, only to re-joinSabbath shortly thereafter. "When I got back in touch withRonnie, he was back with Sabbath with Geezer Butler and TonyIommi, but Cozy Powell was on drums. About two months later,Cozy got into an accident riding a horse. I then got a call fromRonnie," he says, explaining that they immediately spent the nextfour months writing the album, Dehumanizer.

"It was recorded really raw," Vinny explains. "The nice thingabout Mack producing was that he didn't muffle or tape thedrums up. It didn't feel like an artificial environment like the stu-dio usually does. We didn't even use noise gates on the toms. SoI'm pleased with how the album came out."

Robyn Flans

Neither Billy Johnson nor Richard Aguonknew who the other player would bewhen contacted to be a twin-drummingteam for Hammer's 1992 Too Legit worldtour. For both, this created concernsabout compatibility of playing styles andego-driven complications. But when eachfound out who the other "one" was, theirfears disappeared immediately. Both had,in fact, admired each other's playing foryears, back home in the San FranciscoBay Area. And from day one of rehearsals,the two just locked. As it turns out now,working together was the highlight of thetour for each drummer.

"It's kind of neat playing off each otherand still being simplistic," says the 31-year-old Aguon, who's logged previousgigs and recording time with theWhispers, Paula Abdul, Bobby Brown,

and Confunction. He likens their drum-istic symbiosis to an "echo concept."

"With two guys, you have to be moreconservative," says Johnson, 38, whosigned on to Hammer's tour after a briefstint with Santana. "You can't go crazyand play fills all over the place. You haveto pick your spots. I've come to know hisstyle without stepping on his toes. If hestarts a fill, I know how to finish it, orwhether to finish it at all."

While many people show up and expectto hear a drum machine and a DJ,Hammer uses a live band with three key-boardists, a guitarist, a bass player, andJuan Escovedo (Sheila's brother) on per-cussion—and everyone gets a lot of solospace. Even though there's no sequenc-ing, Johnson and Aguon trigger digitaldrum samples and arrange their parts to

re-create the original drum machinetracks, which can incorporate more thanone kick or snare per tune.

Johnson, whose credits include FrankieBeverly & Maze, Patti LaBelle, DianneReeves, and Philadelphia childhoodfriend George Howard, says pacing him-self is the most demanding part of thetour, which started in Hampton, Virginialast April and took them to Mexico, theCaribbean, Europe, and Southeast Asia."You have to keep yourself together," hesays. "You can't just go out and party andthink you're going to coast the next night.The level of musicianship and energy inthe band is too high for that. Also, youcan't skate through the show with anoth-er drummer who is hot. You have to beright on it."

Charles Levin

Michael Baker is currentlyworking live with WhitneyHouston. He can also beheard on the Joe ZawinulSyndicate's Lost Tribes,Norman Brown's JustBetween Us, Gerald Veasley'srecent release, LookingAhead (playing on threetracks and singing on one), ona couple of tracks of DwightSills' latest LP, and on BobbyLyle's most recent album.Waldo LaTowsky can be

heard on Suzy Bogguss'sChristmas release. Last yearhe recorded with MichelleShocked (Arkansas Traveler),Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown,Frank Frost (piano on onetrack as wel l ) , HomesickJames, and Mary-Ann Bran-don.John Ferraro is on Larry

Carlton's recent recording.He has been working on theroad with him as well. (Earlierlast year he was touring with

George Benson.)Craig Kratnpf can be

heard on Matraca Berg'srecent album.Jim Keltner recorded with

Mark Cohn, Rickie Lee Jones,Rod Stewart, Willie Nelson, acouple of tracks for VondaShepherd, one track each forthe Beach Boys, Mick Jagger,David Crosby, and ChrisIsaak, the theme for TV's"Mad About You," music forthe film Trespass, and Tom

Petty's Christmas song withhe and Stan Lynch playingdouble drums.

Mike Terrana workingwith Yngvie Malmsteen.

Ron Thompson on a duetwith Willie Nelson called"These Eyes" on Ray WylieHubbard's Lost Train OfThought.John Molo on Bruce

Hornsby's new album. Healso recorded with LiquidJesus, has been doing some

News...

Billy Johnson andRichard Aguon

Vinny Appice

Peter ErskineYou are one of my favorite drum-mers in the jazz/fusion scene,

along with Jack DeJohnette, Dave Weckl,and Marvin "Smitty" Smith. I've heardyou on such albums as Star, ModernTimes, and Bass Desires. I'veheard you play with JohnAbercrombie, and then five min-utes later I've heard you with BobMintzer's big band. I've neverheard records with more creativedrumming. How is it possible tosound so different in differentbands? And also, how importantis it for you to work with rudi-ments on the snare drum alone?

Rico MajchrzakPlauen, Germany

Thank you for your com-pliments. The best way to

answer your question, I think, isto state that almost every type ofmusic has some element ofanother style or type of music init. In other words, the disciplineof one style of playing can helpyou with another style. For exam-ple, playing "jingles" or commer-cial music requires very disci-

Tim "Herb" AlexanderFirst, I'd like to thank you and the rest of Primus forputting out such worthwhile music in this dreadful

glam-rock age. Now to my questions: On your records you are avery precise and imaginative drummer. On some of your songs("Frizzle Fry," "Fish On," etc.) you incorporate your tom-tomsinto the groove instead of just the customary hi-hat, bass drum,and snare. Could you share any tips on how you come up withthese patterns and the drum parts of the rest of the songs? Andwhat drums are you using?

Joey ScagnoliMuncie IN

Thanks for the kind words, Joey. When coming up withdrum patterns, I don't like to do what's been done

already—although sometimes, the most perfect sound to usefor a song is the hi-hat, bass drum, and snare combination. It's

plined playing choices and strict attentionto the time. These are useful qualities todraw upon when playing "free"music—albeit you must treat each specif-ic circumstance/musical setting in its own

right. That requires listening and beingstylistically aware. Likewise, playing in abig band demands a responsibility to theensemble. And while a trio setting does,too, the roles are clearly different. It's a

matter of honoring the music—itstraditions and its possibilities. Youmust also remember to use theappropriate touch and dynamicsfor each kind of music you play.What it comes down to is, if youlike a kind of music, then it shouldbe in your head and heart, and itshouldn't be too big of a deal to getit into your hands.

Yes, it is important to be able toplay your basic rudiments andstickings (such as rolls, single- anddouble-stroke combinations, andflams) well. More and more I amdiscovering the benefit of warmingup and util izing basic rudi-ments—however, I do not con-sciously choose a particular rudi-ment for a specific fill, pattern, etc.Remember that drumming is acombination of your fingers,hands, arms—and ears! Good luck,and my thanks for listening to all ofthat different music.

all up to the drummer and the band to determine what fits. Ithink that coming up with tom rhythms has a lot to do with yourphilosophy towards drums, and I have a couple of things I liketo think about first when writing songs. First, most music has apulse. Identify that pulse, then feel that pulse. You don't have todisplay the pulse in a 2/4 fashion; that's up to you. You couldaccent the 1, 2, 3, and 4 of each measure if you want (or everyother measure, and so on) with different toms—or any sound,really. Everything in the set can keep time or a groove. What'sappropriate for you is what's most important, and you don'thave to do what everyone else does. For some inspiration, checkout music that approaches songs and rhythms in a differentmanner: world music from anywhere, or perhaps some moreaccessible music like Peter Gabriel, the Police, somereggae—anything that's different from the standard rhythmicformat. Finally, to answer your last question: Right now I'musing Pork Pie Percussion drums.

BLACK HARDWAREOn a lot of kits I see, there isblack hardware—especially from

Tama and Drum Workshop. Is this hard-ware custom-finished? If so, how muchdoes it cost and how can I obtain it?

Matt HarrisBangor ME

Generally speaking, when yousee black (or other colored)

hardware, that hardware has been col-orized on a custom basis. Occasionally,major drum companies offer coloredhardware for a limited time, generally asa promotional item. (Tama is currentlyoffering a special "Lars Ulrich SignatureSeries" drumkit with black hardware, forexample.) You'd need to check with yourdrumshop to investigate the cost of suchpromotional items.

As an alternative to buying new coloredhardware, it is possible to have yourexisting hardware colorized. A companycalled Colorlife specializes in this ser-vice, and offers a variety of colors andtextured finishes. (MD did a story onColorlife in the August 1992 issue.) Youcan contact the company at 131 EngineerDr., Hicksville, NY 11801, tel. (516) 433-1222, fax (516) 433-1221.

BUDDY RICH FAN CLUBI've always enjoyed the music ofBuddy Rich and his band. His

death was one of the drumming world'sgreatest losses. Can you tell me if thereare any groups formed to promote theappreciation of this drummer and hismusic?

Thomas HernandezPhoenix AZ

There certainly is. You can con-tact the very active Buddy Rich

Fan Club by writing P.O. Box 2014,Warminster, PA 18974.

MYSTERY YAMAHASA few months ago I bought a usedset of Yamaha drums. They're in

fine condition, but I don't know whatseries they are. I believe they were theline that evolved into the RTCseries—could they be the Turbo Tour?The model number on the bass drum isBD822T. The mounted toms are 12 x 12and 13 x 13, and I'd love to add an 8" and a10" tom to the set. The finish is anorange-redish stain. What is the name ofthis finish? Does the "red maple" MapleCustom finish or the "cherry wood"Recording Custom finish match it? CouldI possibly order a matching finish, if Ifind one, on an RTC shell? What are myoptions?

Shane FowlkesGlen Allen VA

According to Yamaha's Jay Wana-maker: "The drumset you have is

a Turbo Tour Custom in the 'redwood'finish. This series used a birch/mahogany shell with lacquered finishes.The particular finish you speak of is aredwood stain covered with clear lacquer.None of our existing colors matches thatfinish. However, we would be able to spe-cial-order that drum by using a RockTour Custom (RTC) shell and the oldTour lugs and badges.

"Thanks very much for your positivecomments about Yamaha drums. If youhave any questions, please feel free tocontact me or Dave Ksycki at Yamaha,3445 East Paris Ave. S.E., Grand Rapids,MI 49512-0899."

SOLID-WOOD SNARE DRUMSCan you tell me if Solid Percus-sion, the company that originally

made Select snare drums, has gone outof business? I wrote to them at their Wat-sonville, CA address, and my letter wasreturned.

I understand that Noble & Cooley andTama make steam-bent solid wood

snares, and that Brady makes solid-wooddrums of block construction. What othercompanies make solid-wood drums? Andhas anyone ever tried making a snaredrum completely carved out of a sectionof tree trunk, without any cuts or piecingat all?

E.W. PauletteLynchburg VA

To answer your questions inorder: Yes, Solid Percussion went

out of business a few years ago. Thecompany was originally named SelectSnare Drums, but ran into trademarkconflict and was forced to change itsname to Solid Percussion. Although thedrums were excellent, they were quiteexpensive, and the company was unableto sustain itself on its limited sales.

In addition to the companies you men-tion, steam-bent solid-shell Radio Kingsnare drums are once again availablefrom Slingerland, and stave constructiondrums in a variety of woods (includingoak and cardinal wood) are offered by theKenner Drum Company. Brady offeredcompletely solid snare drums carvedfrom a section of tree trunk at one time,but found them too expensive to manu-facture to be marketable on a practicalbasis. There is, however, a company inJapan called Canopus, who offer theZelkova snare drum, which is hollowedout from a section of a Zelkova tree. Forfurther information, contact CanopusCo., Ltd., 3-41-20 Matsubara, Setagaya-Ku, Tokyo, Japan #156.

DRUM SOFTWAREI am still using an E-mu SP12drum machine, and I recently

purchased a Macintosh Classic II com-puter. I remember reading in your maga-zine a few years ago about software madefor the Macintosh that has the ability tosave and load the SP12 sounds. I wouldlike to know if this software is compatiblewith my computer and, if it is, where I

Send quick, proven tips that have saved you time,money, or effort to Drumline, c/o ModernDrummer, 870 Pompton Avenue, Cedar Grove,NJ 07009. Items can range from equipmentmaintenance, repair, or design tips to practiceand playing ideas. Please keep tips to 150 wordsor less, and be sure to include your name andaddress. We will pay $15 for every tip we publish.

PROLONGING CYMBAL LIFEWhen the center holes in cymbals—especially hi-hats—get misshaped due towear (to the point where the holes areegg-shaped, or worse), the cymbals areusually retired. I've devised a system tosave them. Take a rubber washer like theone used on Aquarian Cymbal Springs(3/8" thick) and super-glue it to theunderside of the hole—being sure tocenter it. This, in effect, gives the cymbala new hole, thereby preventing it from"sloshing around" on the cymbal tilter orhi-hat clutch. I've been using a top hi-hatcymbal in this manner for twoyears—with one setup and breakdownper week—and the super glue hasn'tgiven out yet. Also, when I put the cym-bal on the clutch, I don't add a felt wash-er under it; the rubber washer serves thepurpose perfectly.

Jerry SiegelBaltimore MD

Setting up a drumkit is time-consumingenough without having to wrestle withtelescoping cymbal stands to find themost comfortable playing height. I triedjust about every method for marking theperfect height on my stands, from placingcolored tape on the tube section (whichis unsightly and slides off when the standis collapsed) to magic marker (whichcannot be erased if you ever decide tochange the stand height). I finally foundthe perfect solution in an art supplystore: crayon-like wax pencils calledChina Markers.

The China Markers' wax writingadheres well to the metallic finish onmost cymbal stand tubing (it also workswell on tom stands without memory

locks) and will not rub off when the standis collapsed. However, if you ever decideto change the height of the stand, a fewbrisk rubs with a dry towel will erase themark. An occasional touch-up afterrepeated setups and breakdowns is allthat is needed. China Markers are quiteinexpensive and are available in differentcolors to complement your drumkit's fin-ish and/or be as inconspicuous as possi-ble. Using different colors might alsohelp you "code" the various componentsof your kit for easy assembly.

Stephan NigohosianHaworth NJ

Here's a simple practice tip that alldrummers should try at least once. Theidea is to make sure you're not favoringeither hand when you play. Before everypractice session, focus on just the snaredrum while playing a simple 8th-notepattern. Assuming you are using fairlyevenly weighted sticks and your snarehead is properly tuned, you should hearlittle or no difference between your left-and right-hand strokes. For maximumeffect, close your eyes and alternate theleft and right patterns, using differentrudiments, speeds, and intensities. Isometimes record myself doing thisexercise to evaluate objectively whether Ican hear the change from right to left.You should not be able to hear thechange. By the way, if you play doublebass, this exercise applies to the feet aswell.

Eric Van GoghSmithtown NY

When I first started playing double bass,I noticed that my legs would get tiredvery easily. It seemed that the few hoursa day I had to practice would be used upjust trying to build up my leg speed andcoordination. Then my dad gave me

some ankle weights. They were designedto strap onto the leg just above the ankleand below the calf. I used them every dayfor about two weeks while practicing.When I took the weights off and playednormally, my legs felt light as a feather. Ibelieve that the use of ankle weights willhelp to speed up the process of gettingyour legs used to playing double bass.

Cody LeeFort Worth TX

My rock band was playing at a clubrecently, and we were louder than usualfor some reason. I was using a 16x30oversize bass drum at the time. In themiddle of the third song I felt the pedalgo through the head. The front head hada sound hole cut into it, so I couldn't usethat—and of course, I didn't have a spare30" head. But I realized that I did havesome clear packing tape from a recordwarehouse where I work. We took a quickbreak and I applied the tape to both sidesof the drumhead. It took a beating, gotme through the night, and didn't comeoff at all. I've also used this tape to tem-porarily repair minor holes in the bottomsnare head when needed. It's much thin-ner than duct tape, so it has less of amuffling effect, but it's just as strong andadhesive. Clear 3M Scotch #373 is agood, strong brand.

Wally GunnCleveland OH

Note: The tips presented in Drumline are sugges-tions based on the personal experience of individu-al drummers, and are not necessarily endorsed orrecommended by Modern Drummer magazine.Modern Drummer cannot guarantee that anyproblem will be solved by any Drumline sugges-tion, and cannot be responsible for any damage toequipment or personal injury resulting from the uti-lization of any such suggestion. Readers areencouraged to consider each suggestion carefullybefore attempting to utilize any Drumline tip.

MARKING CYMBAL STANDS

IMPROVING BALANCED PLAYING

DEVELOPING STAMINAON DOUBLE BASS

EMERGENCY DRUMHEAD REPAIR

By Robyn Flans

t is impossible to fathom a world with-out Larrie Londin. Everything abouthim was big—his personality, his

heart, his body, his sentimentality.I first met Larrie at Zildjian Day in Los

Angeles back in 1983. He turned out tobe the surprise of the day. He blew us allaway with technique that had never beenrevealed on the many platinum-sellingcountry records he performed on.Soon after, I was assigned to interview

Larrie for Modern Drummer. In mypreparation, I realized Nashville hadbeen fortunate that Larrie had settledthere, for his background had been inDetroit, recording for Motown.

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to b

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"He was one of the most gifted people that I have ever known."—Dolly Parton

But since documentation of his work there was nowhere to befound, for his interview Larrie wanted to concentrate on hislater years. Some of these later recordings are classics: "AmosMoses" and "When You're Hot, You're Hot" by Jerry Reed,"Jolene" and "I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton,"Sometimes When We Touch" by Dan Hill, "Seven YearAche" and "My Baby Thinks He's A Train" by Rosanne Cash,"Family Tradition" and "Whiskey Bent And Hell Bound" byHank Williams, Jr., "Swinging" by John Anderson, "My Baby'sGot Good Timing" by Dan Seals, "On The Other Hand" byRandy Travis, and "She's Mine" and "Foolish Heart" by StevePerry. There are so many more, but unfortunately, Larrie gotlazy about documenting song titles during the last nine years.

At the time of his death, Larrie was working on a mostlyinstrumental record. Fittingly, the drumming is being com-pleted by his son Sean, and the cover is being designed byLarrie's other son, Shannon. Larrie was very proud of thisnearly all-instrumental album, which spans many styles,including big band, jazz, rock,Latin, and two Presleyremakes thatLarrie actu-ally sangon.

Larrie was also a dynamic live performer. Seeing him playdouble bass with Adrian Belew was another amazement.Then, later in his career, seeing him execute the perfect partsbehind the Everly Brothers provided more than one joyousevening for me.

I feel fortunate to have seen Larrie play on so many occa-sions, but mostly I feel privileged to have known the man. Ihave always been aware that in the entertainment industry,superficiality runs rampant—people pretend to be your friendto further themselves. Larrie Londin is one of the only peopleI have genuinely called a friend—a person I could count on,someone I laughed and cried with, and someone who sharedhis humor and tears with me. He was someone who calledjust to shoot the shit.

Most of those interviewed for this article said the samething—that the importance of Larrie's friendship far exceededthe business relationship they had with him. The consensuswas that Larrie was always there for people. Kenny Aronoffrecalls being very nervous at his first Zildjian Day in Chicago,

and how Larrie was encouraging and supportive.There are countless stories about Larrie at

clinics and how he always had time to talk to ayoung player. Bassist David Hungate

recounts a touching story: "My thirteen-year-old son, Noah, is a drummer, and

Larrie was his hero. Last year, whileplaying a concert with his schoolstage band, my son's bass drumbeater got caught in his pantleg during a drum feature. Hehandled the problem well atthe time, but afterward hethought it was the end ofthe world. I told Larrieabout that, and he cameover the next afternoon.He told me, in front ofNoah, that "the damned-est thing had happened ona session that morning"—he'd gotten his bass drumbeater caught in his pant leg.He then spent an hour and a

half giving my son a drum les-son. Larrie was one of a kind."

Larrie's story begins October15, 1943 in Norfolk, Virginia, when

Ralph Gallant was born. Raised inMiami and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, he

began playing drums at age fifteen. Incred-ibly, he was told by his high school band direc-

tor that he would never make it as a drummer. It

provided a lesson that Larrie went on to share withothers years later in his clinics. In fact,Nashville session trumpet player Eric Brooksrecalls how Larrie inspired him while stilla sophomore in high school: "He wasdoing a clinic in my hometown, and Iwas standing at the back of theroom, just captivated by him. Itbegan to thin out a little, andLarrie dismissed himself fromthe group of musicians he waswith, walked all the way acrossthe store to where I wasstanding, and walked right upto me. 'So what do you play?'I said I was a trumpet player,and he asked why a trumpetplayer would come hear himplay. I said, 'Because I want toplay recording sessions for aliving.' He said, 'Really? I cantell you how to do that. Is yourband director here?' I said yesand pointed him out. The mancouldn't hear a word we were say-ing, but Larrie waved and smiled athim. 'I'm going to tell you how to doit. Don't listen to a thing that man tellsyou, and you'll have a successful musiccareer.' I knew then that Larrie knew some-thing I didn't, and it started me thinking. I start-ed seeking out other trumpet players who were outthere doing it. I remember Larrie telling me, 'Man, gomake your own place. Don't take shit from nobody.'"

Which is exactly what Larrie did. Paying no attention to hisband director, Larrie began working in a band called theHeadliners. Gene Bunten, the bass player for the group,recalls how Ralph Gallant became Larrie Londin.

"In Florida, you could work in bars if you were under eigh-teen if you had a legal guardian. He was fifteen and I wastwenty, so I had to become his brother. In order to pick aname, we thumbed through a phone book. I stuck my fingerin and it landed on London. We couldn't have that, so wechanged that last "o" to "i," and we thought the alliteration ofLonnie and Larrie would work. We applied for social securitynumbers, and we falsified a couple of birth certificates in ournew names to get what was called a cafe card. After that, noone bothered us."

The Headliners were a reasonably successful nightclub act,and one of the cities they frequented was Detroit. It wasthere, one summer afternoon, that they performed on a localTV show, sharing the bill with the Supremes. According to

Gene,"We were

doing a livedate, and the

Supremes were lipsyncing. Diana Ross was

impressed and brought Berry Gordy out to the nightclubwhere we worked. Within two months, we were signed toMotown. We were the first white act on the label, but theydidn't know quite what to do with us. They never did let us goin the direction we thought we should be headed.

"Larrie got recognized for the talent he was when we weredoing a Motown review at the Fox Theatre in Detroit. All theacts were there—the Temptations, the Four Tops, SmokeyRobinson. One night the drummer for the back-up bandwent off and lost track of time. When the Supremes came out,opening with 'Where Did Our Love Go,' there was no drum-mer. We were standing backstage and I just said to Larrie,'Go, get up there.' The tune was dragging way down becausethere were no drums. He jumped on, brought it back up, andgained a lot of respect that night."

Larrie didn't particularly enjoy talking about his Motowndays, because the creative process was erratic. According to

"He was as great a person as he was a player. I loved him dearly."—Jerry Reed

"He played with such a terrific feel. He was great in the studio becausehe tried so hard to please." - Chet Atkins

stories Larrie had relayed in the past, the musicians would beasked to play grooves, and the songs would be created later.He was never quite sure what hits he was on and what sessionended up being what song. He was cutting historical gems—but under ridiculous conditions, for ridiculous money. MikeBaird recalls a story Larrie told him about one recording ses-sion: "Larrie and I got the chance to hang one night, and hewas talking about the song 'Baby Love.' They recorded it atHitsville, which was a very, very small room—about the sizeof a garage. And on this one, everything was being done atonce. The room was so full of peoplethat there really wasn'troom for Larrie tobe in theroom.His

drumstool and hisbutt and the backend of his kit, hi-hat andso forth, were outside the back doorof the studio in a puddle of water while it was raining, andthey were cutting the track. Everything was all wet!"

For about half of the three-and-a-half years the Headlinerswere signed to the label, Larrie worked as a session drummerfor Motown. When their record contract terminated, theHeadliners continued on for a while. One gig from this periodwas at a golf tournament in Fort Worth, Texas. Boots Ran-dolph and Chet Atkins sat in with them that night, and Atkinsprompted Larrie to consider moving to Nashville. When Lar-rie moved his family there, he worked with Boots and Atkins,as well as on whatever studio jobs Atkins—then Vice Presi-dent of Nashville Operations at RCA—could throw his way.

Atkins, a man of few words, had this to say about why he

convinced Larrie to move to Nashville: "I thought he was agreat drummer, and I loved his playing. He played with such aterrific feel. He was great in the studio because he tried sohard to please. He was a big bear of a guy, and he alwaysbrought a lot of happiness to the studio when he came in."

Larrie attributed his eventual success as a session player torecordings like Jerry Reed's "Amos Moses" and "When You'reHot, You're Hot," because they were some of the firstNashville recordings that allowed the drums to be heard in avital, vibrant way.

"I first saw Larrie when he was with Boots Randolph,"recalls Jerry Reed, "and I saw him do a twenty-

minute solo somewhere in Iowa. Nobodywas on the stage but Larrie. He sat out

there and started with a paradid-dle, with a tap here and a tap

there, and before he wasthrough, he had theplace screaming. Hewas a power fromthe Universe thathumanity waspowerless to doanything about.

"Larrie wasalways interestedin being innova-tive and creative,"

Reed continues. "Heused to be a singer,

and he listened tobands. He was a very pow-

erful personality, and that'show he was on drums. With

'When You're Hot, You're Hot,' I wasplaying a guitar lick on the Fender, and if

you listen to the drums, they're really cloning thatguitar lick. The time is the same, and Larrie just painted it.

He was one of a kind. He was to drums what Walt Disney wasto animation. And he was as great a person as he was a player. Iloved him dearly, and my life has lost something now."

Songwriter Randy Goodrum, Reed's keyboardist in 1973,says he got to know Larrie in the studio on sessions producedby Chet Atkins. "Some of the most memorable ones werethose eventful albums with Les Paul," he recalls. "I played a lotof sessions with Larrie, and he was a born psychologist. Hewas able to go into a studio and add such charisma. He was acombination of Billy Graham, Willard Scott, and Don Rickles.Les Paul is sort of a sharp wit, and he and Larrie spent thewhole time exchanging banter. They kept everybody loose andkept the music urgent and vital. It seemed more of a party than

a record. The fact that we cut ten songs was sort of inciden-tal," Goodrum laughs.

One of the artists Larrie worked with the earliest was DollyParton (beginning in 1966, she figures). She was also the onethat Larrie would get a sparkle in his eye about, repeatedly say-ing how she was the cream of the crop, his favorite of all time."I started working with Larrie when I was with the Porter Wag-oner show," Dolly recalls. "Larrie was on those first sessionsthat I did with Porter, and we became instant friends because Iloved his personality. We had a very similar sense of humor; wefound humor in the worst of things and the best of things. Wecould laugh at ourselves, and we could certainly laugh at every-one else around us, because that was one way to get throughthe day. Some of those musicians, producers, and all the folksback then could be pretty difficult, so we had a good time attheir expense.

"I remember Larrie speaking up on my behalf in the studio,due to my being a young girl and a lot of people I wasworking with being, I would say, male chau-vinists. They didn't want me speakingup in any way. Larrie sensed that,because as a friend, we wouldoften talk, and I wouldexpress my desire tospeak when I knew Iwasn't able to. A lotof times I wouldtell Larrie prettymuch what Iwas looking forat a session. Inaddition to hisknowing what itneeded to be, hewould often speakon my behalf onmany, many of thesongs that we did. Ireally think that Larriehelped me as much as any-body in that respect, because hewasn't afraid of anybody. He would saywhat he thought whether they liked it or not.And he was so good at what he did that they respected itand would listen to him.

"Larrie brought to my music what I think he brought toeverybody's music in Nashville," Parton continues. "He wasone of the most gifted people that I have ever known in my life,in addition to being one of the most spiritual and wonderfulpeople that I've known. I always said he was anointed; that'sthe best way that I know how to describe that kind of talent. Heseemed to feel it. He was a big ol' guy, as you know, and he felt

every drop of music through every cell of his body. If I wassinging about a feather, he became a feather. If I was singingabout an anvil, he became an anvil. I know that 'Jolene' and 'IWill Always Love You' were two of Larrie's very favorite songs.He often referred to those through the years. He brought a lotto those early songs."

Another one of Larrie's all-time highlights was in 1976,when he was asked to fill in for Ron Tutt with Elvis Presley fora tour. Then on Presley's last tour, when Tutt was called awayon an emergency, Larrie flew to Cincinnati to play the lasttwo performances that Presley ever gave.

"Even though it was the king of rock 'n' roll, the tour washandled in kind of a scattered way," recalls Tony Brown, thenguitarist and current executive vice president and head ofA&R for MCA/Nashville. "When Larrie flew in, there wasnobody to meet him at the airport, and he had to rent some-thing like five or six checkered cabs to put all his cases in. If

you've ever seen his drumkit,you know he had these

massive cases.He pulled

up att h e

arenain Cin-

cinnati withall these cabs and

unloaded his drums, andhe was burning. Then he had to

spend a few minutes outside trying to get in. He was steam-ing" Brown laughs. "I'm glad I got to see Elvis react to LarrieLondin, because Elvis loved drums so much. Ronnie Tutt is areal powerful drummer, but there was something about Lar-rie that was so powerful. To be able to experience two nightsof Larrie playing behind him was a trip. I think those last twonights, Elvis ended up playing to Larrie as much as he did tothe audience."

"Some guys can just play certain grooves, but Larrie played every one."—Vince Gill

hen Jane's Addiction dissolved early lastyear—prematurely, in most fans' eyes—Stephen Perkinsprobably was the only person alive who saw the biggerpicture.

Perry Farrell talked about filmmaking. The band's fol-lowers felt cheated. The greatest art-rock band since the1970s called it quits after just three records. A fourth,regardless of its content, would have been huge.

But Perkins says that that was a part of the problem.The band could do nowrong in the eyes ofits fans, though theplayers themselveshadn't felt collective-

ly right in quite some time. Simply, as a unit, Jane'sAddiction became incapable of fulfilling its own cre-ative impulses. To Perkins, it was like swimming for thesurface with an anchor on your ankle. Despite—andmaybe because of—their best intentions, there was nofourth album in them to make.

Perkins resurfaced this past year on the funk-rockoffering from the band Infectious Grooves, a spinoff ofSuicidal Tendencies. But Perkins still had a grasp of thebigger picture; it just took him a while to get it in focus.

"Perry went to one of the Infectious Grooves shows,"Perkins recalls. "I saw him out in the crowd, and helooked at me, and it was like this unspoken thing, like,'Hey, we should be up here playing together.' The Infec-tious thing was cool, but I knew where my heart reallywas, and that was with Perry, making great music."

By Matt Peiken

Photos by Aldo Mauro

W

orno For Pyros, the Farrell/Perkinsreunion venture, didn't happen overnight.Finding the right guitarist and bassist waspainstaking. Once it happened, songsflowed easily. Some are so Jane'sy that it'shard to tell the difference. (A couple actual-ly were born during Jane's Addictionrehearsals.) Others reach musical territoryJane's either wouldn't or couldn't attempt.Farrell's lyrical slant and dissonant voiceare immediately identifiable. So is Perkins'playing. When you hear his drummingwith Porno, it's easy to understand theintangible magic behind Jane's' success.

At just 25, Stephen Perkins already hashis own sound. His snare carries a signa-ture crack. He's pure bombast at one turn,passive the next, but always in touch withthe emotional side of music. And nobodysimply enjoys drumming more than hedoes. Myriad percussion instruments linehis Reseda, California home—a talkingdrum, a steel drum, congas, a tabla, andother drums of unknown name and origin.He watches TV from behind a practice kit.A Buddy Rich/Max Roach drum battlegets as much stereo time as oldKISS records do. Drummingfriends around town or on tourmake it a point to stop by andjam.

But Perkins, who seeminglyalways wears a smile, is direct-ing all his attention these daysto Porno For Pyros. Like Jane'sAddiction, his new band goesagainst the grain, even ofwhat's considered "cuttingedge" or alternative rock. Hiskit is streamlined, but carriesmore oddities thanbefore—bongos, timbales, atimpani. Behind it all, though,is the same Stephen Perkins,happy simply to be playing no-boundaries music.

Platters For PerkinsAccording to Stephen, these recordings best represent his drumming...

Artist Album TitleJane's Addiction Ritual De Lo HabitualJane's Addiction Nothing's ShockingJane's Addiction Jane's Addiction

Infectious Grooves Booty Move*Porno For Pyros Porno For Pyros

.. .and these were the most influential on his playing.Artist Album Title Drummer

Benny GoodmanBuddy Rich And Max Roach

The WhoLed Zeppelin

The BeatlesBad Brains

Grateful Dead

Peter Gabriel

Live At Carnegie HallRich Vs. Roach

Live At Leeds

The Song Remains The SameAbbey Road

Attitude

Europe 72Passion

Gene KrupaBuddy Rich and Max Roach

Keith Moon

John Bonham

Ringo StarrEarl Hudson

Billy Kreutzman and Mickey Hartvarious

* Steve plays on three songs: "Punk It Up," "Infectious Grooves," and "Back To The People."

P

MP: It's good to see you back in a bandlike this. It seemed like Jane's Addictionwas the perfect outlet for you, but it kindof died of unnatural causes.SP: There were a number of reasons whywe put an end to Jane's Addiction, andPerry is the one who first brought it up.It's kind of like having a relationship withyour girlfriend that's gone bad: You're notgetting along, you still love each other, andsomeone's got to say it's time to take abreak. With Jane's, it was like, "Well, we'vedone everything we can with each other.Let's find some other people."MP: Did you really think you'd done every-thing that could be done with Jane's? Ithink a lot of people felt you were just hit-ting a stride with the last record [Ritual DeLo Habitual], artistically and commercially.SP: Musically we weren't finished, butpersonality-wise we were. We couldn't gopast a certain point because we had personal problems.Sometimes those can be worked out, but there was this nega-

tive seed, where we couldn't make positive music anymore.With Porno, everybody is so positive and likes each other. It's

very refreshing. Another problem withJane's was that we had to keep playingthe same songs over and over becausethat's what people wanted to hear. Wenever got to write new songs.MP: But isn't that going to be just anatural part of life with any touringband?SP: Yeah, but it's like painting the samething over and over. You paint it onceand you can let people enjoy it, but thenyou should paint something else. We didour paint job on the record, and weloved playing it live. But we wanted tomove on, and we got locked into some-thing we didn't want to get lockedinto—it just felt spent. Jane's kind ofwent full circle, to where if we wentback into the studio, we would havetried to make a Jane's record—like,"What would Jane's Addictionwrite?"—as opposed to what's reallycoming out of us. With this band, wewant to make this record, put it aside,and make another record; just keepgoing like that. We've got a studio at myhouse now, so we can rehearse and writesongs any time we want to and just pushthe record button any time anythingnew comes up. We don't want to dependon any set of songs to get us throughour career. We want to create songs andmove on.MP: Are you surprised that you wound

Stephen's Kit

Drumset: Drum Work-shop in custom Perkins"flame" finishA. 26" timpaniB. 10" brass timbaleC. 5 x 13 wood snareD. 9 x 10 tomE. Latin Percussion

bongosF. 14 x 16 tomG. 13" brass timbaleH. 16 x 20 bass drum

Cymbals: Sabian1.13" light hi-hats2.16" thin crash3. Latin Percussion

Ice Bell4. Latin Percussion

wind chimes5. 20" medium ride6.18" medium Chinese

Hardware: All DW,including a Collarlockrack system

Heads: Remo coatedAmbassador on top ofsnare, clear Ambassadorson tops and bottoms oftoms and front andback of bass drum, withabsolutely no mufflingon any drums, includ-ing the bass drum

Sticks: Pro-Mark 808oak, Jazz oak, and Hot-Rods models

For those of us raised on rock 'n' roll, the

prospect of listening to Tibetan gamelan or Ger-

man polkas in the school library probably didn't

have quite the same appeal as driving down

Main Street with the windows rolled down

and "Stairway To Heaven" blasting

out of the speakers. And we

probably didn't have many

neighborhood buddies orga-

nizing African drumming

ensembles either. Besides,

banging out AC/DC and

Zeppelin covers in Billy's

garage was plenty fun.

Eventually, though, our tastes

broaden. Former Camper Van

Beethoven and current Monks of Doom drummer

Chris Pedersen puts it this way: "After a while you

get tired of hearing and playing the same thing

over and over again. So you want to play a rock

song with some other flavor, and you take that

from something you've heard—like maybe a

salsa rhythm, or Celtic music."

Manu Katche, Stewart Copeland, and Trilok

Gurtu are three drummers who have

blended strong ethnic elements

into their playing. By doing so,

they've created their own

unique place on the music

scene, and have become

very sought-after for their

individual talents and

styles. Even with their great

advances, though, they've

really only scratched the surface.

Once we start looking closely, we

realize that ethnic music from all over the globe

is a bottomless well, with an infinite number of

ideas for the rest of us drummers to explore. We

too can infuse our playing with as fresh and inter-

By Adam Budofsky

3-D illustration by Dan Yaccarino, photo by Charlie Welch

esting ideas as these drumming giants have, sim-

ply by walking through a few unopened doors.

In recent years, several bands have surfaced

who incorporate ethnic styles on a serious and

highly creative level. To cover the musical territo-

ry—much of it unchart-

ed—the drummers in

these bands have had to

be equally creative and

exploratory, and have

truly stretched the bounds

of what our instrument is

capable of. We decided to

speak to some of these

drummers, and compare

each of their methods,

requirements, and philosophies. In

addition to Chris Pederson, we picked

the brains of David Licht, drummer

with contemporary kIezmer band the

Klezmatjcs; Mitch Marine and Phil

Hernandez, former and current drum-

world beat masters Brave Combo; the

members of D'Cuckoo, a quartet who

weave African music and

other styles into their high-

ly electronic sound; and

Lee Partis, drummer with

the Oyster Band, who,

employ British and Celtic

jigs, reels, and polkas in

their unique music.

Catching The BugFor the most part, the drummers we spoke to went through

similar musical journeys to the one Chris Pedersen describedearlier, with their playing styles often growing out of their lis-

tening tastes. "I was interested in listening to things thatwere off the beaten track," Chris recalls. "I would buy recordsfrom the dollar bins—things like Gentle Giant and Focus and

stuff that I had never even heard of. And Iended up liking a lot of it and playing drums toit. It was more challenging to me."

"I was basically brought up on KISS andAerosmith—just rock 'n' roll kind of stuff,"recalls Mitch Marine. "In junior college I beganto listen to jazz, and we had an African ensem-ble there. I remember listening to David Lind-ley's El Rayo-X record when I first came toNorth Texas; State. Some guys there were get-ting me into that and ska bands like the Spe-cials, the Selector—things like that."

"Klezmer was something I wanted toexplore as my musical roots," says David Licht,whose band, the Klezmatics, updates the tradi-tional Jewish music of its members' ancestors."Kramer [Licht's bandmate in various groups]

had given me this record ofklezmer music on the Folkwayslabel, which contained musicfrom all these old 78s, and I justcouldn't get enough of it. TheYIVO Institute for JewishResearch in New York has justthousands of recordings, andeven now, they sound differentto me every time I hear them."

At a young age, Phil Hernan-dez played drums for his dad'sband at "Filipino Associationtypes of gigs," but his ethnicears were really opened, hesays, from another band he wasin: "Goodfoot was more of a

funk band, and that's when I started gettinginto juju and a little Latin stuff. I began to hearhow the bell patterns in go-go music are paral-lel to juju music and African-based rhythms."

ConnectionsIn describing his early ear-opening experi-

ence- Phil Hernandez hits on an importantpoint that many of our drummers brought up.By seeing the connections between certain eth-nic musics and the music they were alreadyfamiliar with, getting into the new styles wasless of a shock to their systems, so to speak.Mitch Marine believes that making such con-nections can erase the "hipness" stigmas thathave become inherent in certain styles. "If you

Chris Pederson

Mitch Marine

David Licht

ers, respectively, with polka/Latin

can open yourself up to something like polkas," Marine sug-gests, "and understand that polka is a groove that is to bereckoned with and to understand and appreciate and enjoy,that makes it easier to listen to other things. When I played ina wedding band in high school, we'd do 'Roll Out The Bar-rel,' and all the musicians would kind of roll their eyes. Butwhen I joined Brave Combo, I started listening to morethings and opening up more."

"It's an obvious statement to saythat all music is connected," LeePartis says, "but you start to realizethat it's connected in very subtleways—developmental ways. Musiccame from Africa, went to theCaribbean, and then to NorthAmerica, and became the blues.Blues became rock and country,and then country went back toAfrica, to the point where JimmyReed has become almost deifiedthere.

"A couple of years ago," Partisadds, "I got a bodhran [a framedrum used in Celtic music], andwhen I first started playing, I just naturally heardAfrican rhythms. In fact, Irish music is connectedto Arabic and Spanish music. Spain is probably ourbest territory as far as touring goes, as a matter offact. There's a big connection, especially in thenorth of Spain. It's all incredibly complex. I thinkthat's why 'world music' is such an obvious thing."

David Licht sees the evolution of klezmer musicas proof of how different types of musics can inter-twine. "The origins of klezmer go back to ancienttimes, and a lot of the music is based on cantorial"music, which goes back to the synagogue. Today'sinfluence is mostly from Eastern Europe—Russia,Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland. As the Jewswere kicked out of country after country, the musicwas influenced by those different cultures. Andwith the immigration of Jews toAmerica, things like Sousa marchesand, much later, jazz became partof the inf luence. Then theSephardic Jews from Spain havetheir own approach to the music."

When it is suggested to Davidthat Celtic music and klezmerseem to share certain characteris-tics, David agrees. "I'm sure theweddings would be similar affairs.Actually, Andy Statman, who is aworld-class bluegrass mandolinplayer but who also plays a lot ofklezmer, did a show with [Irishband] DeDannan at the BottomLine in New York, and people said

they heard similarities. I heard his klezmer trio, and it's someof the hippest stuff around."

The Real McCoy?Once you develop an interest in ethnic styles, just how do

you integrate it into your music? When we asked our drum-mers how they approach ethnic styles, we found that there are

as many specific modes of operation as thereare players. We'll talk specifically in a bit howsome of them approach the drumset, but it'simportant to note here that their responses didseem to fall into two main categories: trying tomainly recreate a feel or sound without worry-ing too much about playing authentic parts;and really getting down and learning how astyle is authentically played and then applyingit. Each tactic comes with its own set ofassumptions and consequences.

Brave Combo have been exhibiting their \command of many different ethnic styles forover a decade. One look at their song list tellsthe story: There are literally hundreds ofsongs listed under headings like Mambo,

Japanese Okinawan, Polkas,and French, not to mentionstyles like C&W, Originals, andLounge/Muzak/Swing. To beable to play such an enormousrange of styles on demand—atvenues as diverse as Jewish orPolish weddings and alterna-tive rock clubs—the Comboplayers obviously have to have agood handle on the traditionalstyles and methods of playingthem. "Playing in Combo isweird," confesses Phil Her-nandez, "because the conceptis traditional, but we're Ameri-cans playing these styles ofmusic. So part of that authen-

ticity is mixed with our own style.""Before I joined Brave Combo," Mitch

Marine recalls, "I saw that on the records theywould have the name of the song, and rightnext to it, the style that it was. That's when Irealized that I really had to study, because Ididn't want to be completely wrong—with thestyle written down right there. Later, if wewere playing for a specific audience thatunderstood the style we were going for, itmade me feel great when I saw those peopledancing the way they were accustomed todancing."

Camper Van Beethoven took a less formalapproach in applying Greek, ska, Spanish, andother ethnic styles to their songs. "We would

Phil Hernandez

D'Cuckoo

Lee Partis

MeinlRaker Cymbals

by Brian Alpert

Like a high-wattage rockradio station, Rakers comethrough loud and clear!

Meinl's Raker line are "cymbals with amission." They are to cymbals what theicebreaker is to the seafaring world: thetool you need when you have to cutthrough at any cost. The good news isthat these are good-sounding cymbalsthat will cut through the dense wall ofsound generated by so many of today'sincredibly loud bands. The "other" news(I hesitate to call it "bad") is that thereis a cost. The Rakers are a combinationof pluses and minuses.

These pluses and minuses are consis-tent from cymbal to cymbal. It is evidentin all of the Rakers I received (14" heavySound Wave hi-hats, a 16" heavy crash,and a 20" heavy ride) that clarity ofsound was the intent—the better to"cut" with. The hi-hat cymbals (whenplayed individually), the crash, and theride sounded truly matched. What thatmeans is that the Rakers are true to their"mission," and perform it well: They areall loud, bright, cutting cymbals. But italso means that they have certain limita-tions. They are single-purpose instru-ments, and lack the versatility of someother cymbal lines. In fact, they are themost one-dimensional cymbals I haveever heard. But I hasten to add that whilethis is not wonderful, it is not necessarilya curse, either.

Let's look at the cymbals individually,starting with the hi-hats. Both the top

and bottom cymbals were quite heavy,and the bottom cymbal was configuredwith slight, but noticeable ridges (the"sound waves" that give the model itsname) completely ringing its outer edge.These are intended to prevent airlock,and the design is successful: I experi-enced a negligible amount of airlock, andthe cymbals produced a loud, clear"chick" sound. The ridged bottom alsoenabled me to get a particularly clean"sizzle" effect, which I like to do a lot.Though this isn't the kind of playing onenormally associates with loudest-of-the-loud rock bands, that needn't preventone from using these cymbals in waysnot necessarily tied to their main mis-sion. And the way these hi-hats soundedwent well with the "sizzle."

I should point out that if you're thetype who likes to experiment withswitching top and bottom hi-hat cym-bals, this isn't going to be as feasiblewith a ridged bottom cymbal. It's cer-tainly possible to play the bottom cymbalon top, but doing so felt strange to me. I

also didn't notice any particular acousticadvantage, as is sometimes the case withstandard cymbals.

In the case of the hi-hats, their lack ofversatility didn't bother me. I wouldn'tuse them on a jazz gig, but, in truth, Iliked the way they sounded, and on mostmedium-loud to really loud gigs, theindividual nature of the hi-hats are fre-quently sacrificed anyway.

I was somewhat less content with the16" heavy crash. It had a nice, crystal-clear crash—but only that one sound,loud or soft, take it or leave it. Even theother musicians in my band commentedon the cymbal's one-dimensional nature.As a result, I would think twice beforefilling up my entire arsenal of crasheswith Rakers. On the other hand, if youhave the space for several differentcrashes on your kit, and you need one ortwo that will get through the guitars andP.A. at any level, the Rakers would be agood choice.

Like the crash, the 20" heavy ride hadone sound—I tried to get more than one

out of it; I really did. I even slammed itwith the butt end of my stick. But I con-tinued to get the same clear, piercingtone. Now, to give it its due, this is akillingly loud ride cymbal. It has theloudest bell I have ever heard—and agood-sounding one, at that. Andalthough I would not choose this cymbalas an all-purpose ride, if I were playingmusic in the 120-plus dB range on a reg-ular basis, I would be glad to have theRaker ride on my side. It's a question ofpriorities—of choosing an instrument tosuit one's specific needs.

Meinl's Raker heavy cymbals are anexample of good products developed fora specific need. As long as you knowwhat they are about, and are prepared tosacrifice a certain measure of artisticexpression in order to prevent the loss ofyour sanity (always a possibility whenstruggling to be heard in extremely loudsituations), the heavy Rakers offer a pos-sible solution—a helping hand to breakthrough the ice of the modern, ultra-loud environment.

In fairness, I should add that the com-plete Raker line includes a variety ofsizes and models, including effects cym-bals and some medium-weight crashesand rides. It's possible that those modelsmight offer a bit more tonal variety thanthe heavy cymbals I examined. But I tendto think that Meinl 's overall designapproach for this line would still keepthe cymbals in the "loud and clear"department. The cymbals I tested arepriced at $293 for the hi-hats, $162 forthe crash, and $255 for the ride. They'realso available as a set for $519.

Meinl cymbals are made in Germany,but the company has recently concludeda U.S. distribution deal for the Rakerline with Gibson USA. So if you can'tfind Rakers in your favorite drumshop,ask the dealer to contact Gibson USA,1818 Elm Hill Park, Nashville, TN37210, (615) 871-4500 for further infor-mation.

Electronic PercussionSystems Visu-LiteElectronic Cymbals

by Rich Watson

Some of the most exciting ideas in electronic percussion areborn when the demand for the familiar meets the allure of newpossibilities. For example, most drummers want electronics tofeel as much like "real" drums as possible, and manufacturersare constantly discovering new ways to accommodate them.But because acoustic principles don't dictate electronic triggerdesign, what electronics look like is limited only by their inven-tors' imaginations. Electronic Percussion Systems respondsdramatically to the old-new challenge with its Visu-Lite line ofacrylic cymbal triggers.

GeneralVisu-Lites come in four basic models: standard crash/ride;

bell trigger; "dampening," which can be choked much like anacoustic cymbal; and hi-hats. Basic models, all 1/4" thick, areavailable in 10", 12", 14", 16", and 18" diameters. Except for thesize of their "bells" (between those of mini-cups and flatrides), Visu-Lites are shaped exactly like brass cymbals. TheirStick Saver edges are rounded to minimize wear and tear onyour good ol' 5Bs.

A piezo trigger housed inside a spring-lock connector simi-lar to those found on home stereo speakers is pop-riveted tothe underside of each cymbal. Terminals on these connectorsclamp onto bare-wire ends of the included cables, which havestandard 1/4" plugs on the other end. A stronger or weaker sig-nal results depending on how the leads are matched to color-coded terminals. (The instructions correctly point out thatMIDI controllers vary; my experimentation actually producedresults opposite to those indicated in the documentation.) Atfirst sight, the spring-lock connectors seem a bit primitive, butthe folks at EPS chose them specifically for their low mass (soas not to hinder transmission of the shock wave over the cym-bal's entire surface) and for their durability.

An optional wedge of black gum rubber called a "dampeningpad" can be draped from the cymbal stand post over the cym-bal to provide a quieter playing surface for practice, the studio,

or performance situations where the noise of sticks on plasticmight be a nuisance.

Velcro cable locks keep the cables tidy while in storage and,more importantly, secure them to cymbal stands—helping toisolate their wire leads and the trigger housing/connectorsfrom shock (like when your guitar player trips over the cable).

FeelThe Visu-Lites' playing surface is hard, reminiscent of the

first generation of Simmons pads. But whereas the old Sim-mons' hardness was a poor simulation of acoustic drumheads,the feel of the Visu-Lites more closely approximates real metalcymbals than any rubber pad. Depending on your band's typi-cal stage volume, the drawback of this natural feel may be theclacking noise produced by playing on such a hard surface.Drummers who play in loud situations might actually considerthis an advantage, providing themselves and other band mem-bers with an audible time reference when stage monitors don'talways suffice. Not belonging to that category, I found the clat-ter to be a bit annoying and therefore preferred playing on therubber dampening pad.

The Visu-Lites' kinetic response provides another nod totactile authenticity. Unlike other pads that mock us with rigidi-ty no matter how brutally we think we're beating them, Visu-Lites move proportionally to the force of the impact—just likereal cymbals do. This is especially gratifying with the crashes.

SensitivityVisu-Lites excel in the area of sensitivity. Regardless of size,

each ride picked up my softest strokes even at a low gain set-ting—this is one hot trigger—and responded uniformly acrossthe entire playing surface. With the controller properly pro-grammed, even buzz rolls tracked flawlessly. Despite this sen-sitivity, they proved amazingly resistant to false and doubletriggering. Even piggy-backing two cymbals on one stand yield-ed no interactive triggering. Use of Aquarian Cymbal Springmounts had no effect on their response, nor did their angle orthe degree to which they were tightened between felt washers.The slight reduction of sensitivity caused by playing on thedampening pad was easily offset by raising the gain on theMIDI controller.

Visu-Lites exhibit an interesting response characteristic thatshould be considered when selecting size. Although thedynamic range of the smaller-diameter cymbals is comparableto the best triggers I've played, it gets even better with thelarger ones—and is truly amazing on the 18". In this way, justas a 14" acoustic cymbal "peaks" with less exertion than an 18",Visu-Lites behave just like real cymbals.

AppearanceVisu-Lites offer looks that will appeal to almost anyone. Fif-

teen available colors include seven classy, smooth opaques,

seven glassy, modern translucents, and four outrageousflourescent-translucents, whose edges look like neon tubing!These colors and the real-cymbal movement will return someof the flash lost in the too-often unyielding, black rubber worldof electronic percussion.

"Dampening" ModelThe "dampening" 1050 series features a double-contact

sensor strip on the cymbal's underside, an extra ground leadon the cable, and a corresponding terminal on the spring-lockconnector. Positioned 1" in from the edge around half the cym-bal's circumference, the sensor sends a signal to another inputon the MIDI controller when grabbed—making an electronicconnection between the sensor's two contacts. The actual"choke" is not a function of the Visu-Lite, but of popular MIDIinterfaces such as the drumKAT and the Alesis D-4, whichpermit a sound to be interrupted by subsequent sounds in thesame exclusive output groups. What's special about the Visu-Lite is its real-drummer method of activating the second sig-nal.

Because the sensor strip is only touched instead of struck,the choke trigger's gain must be raised nearly to maximum toactivate consistently. At lower levels the strip sometimes fails torespond to a normal grab. Unfortunately, this higher gain alsoresulted in some serious multiple triggering. This is problem-atic only when another sound is assigned to the choke trigger,such as pedal or closed hi-hat, to provide additional "bite" tothe truncated crash (as EPS president Tom Pickard suggest-ed). Raising the sensor's threshold or lowering its gain elimi-nated the doubling, but again rendered the choking action

unreliable. Despite a lot of juggling on the drumKAT, eitherchoke reliability or a clean, single trigger was compromised.Ironically, I found the simple, dependable note-off "rest" in myR-8M to sound just as realistic as the peskier combinationsanyway (and, of course, double-triggering silence is not a prob-lem).

Bell-Trigger ModelA new model from EPS that reached us too late to be includ-

ed in the photo for this review is the 1000-B Bell-Trigger ridecymbal. Available only in an 18" size, the 1000-B is identical tothe standard model except for its 6 1/2" shiny black dome, whichhouses a second trigger. The cymbal and bell are separated byfoam rubber. Like the dampening model, its cable possessesan extra lead and its connector has an extra pair of terminals.

For typical cymbal/bell sound combinations, some interac-tion is acceptable—even desirable—but I was curious to see ifthe bell and main triggers could respond discretely (a trickyfeat for two piezos even in indirect physical contact).

I assigned a ride cymbal sound to the main cymbal surfaceand a dry cowbell sound to the bell. With the two triggers atidentical settings, playing the bell also triggered the cymbalsound. But by reducing the gain and raising the threshold ofthe main cymbal trigger to levels that just barely picked up mysoftest strokes, I could play the bell with moderately highintensity with absolutely no interaction.

Hi-Hat ModelThe Visu-Lites' hi-hat system is the only trigger I know of

that works with any conventional hi-hat stand. The feel, then,

is not only authentic, it's personalized.The top cymbal features a momentary microswitch that pro-

trudes downward from the trigger housing/connector. Thecable is drawn to the connector up through a small hole a cou-ple of inches from the center of the bottom cymbal. When thecymbals make contact, the switch is engaged, sending a signalto an input in the MIDI controller and routing all notes playedon the top cymbal to the same input. This trigger would com-monly be programmed to access a closed hi-hat sound in thesynth or sampler. When the cymbals are opened, the switch isdisengaged and all notes played on the cymbal are directed toanother input, programmed to access an open hi-hat sound.With the sounds occupying the same exclusive group in theinterface, each activation of the closed sound cuts off any ring-ing of the open sound. If the hi-hat is not stomped solidlyenough to close the switch, the cymbals striking each other willtrigger the open sound, effectively creating a heel splash. Doneintentionally, this is a wonderful feature not present in simplefootswitch hi-hats—but it does demand a clean, deliberate foottechnique.

For some, what this design gains in a natural feel will be lost

in other considerations. First, it produces only two hi-hatsounds: open and closed. The only way to create a distinctpedal hi-hat sound is through finagling with the controller orsound source. By assigning both pedal and closed hi-hatsounds to a velocity-switched sound and setting the switchpoint to just above the microswitch's trigger level, a stomp willproduce a pedal hi-hat sound and harder hand strokes will pro-duce a closed hi-hat sound. Unfortunately, hand strokes whosevelocity is not above the programmed threshold will also triggerthe pedal sound. Depending on what styles of music you play,the lack of a distinct pedal hi-hat sound may not be important.

Another possible weakness of the Visu-Lite hi-hats is theiruse of an extra input in the MIDI controller. The simplest ofthree hi-hat functions on the drumKAT, for instance, permitstwo closed, one open, and one pedal sound while occupying anadditional footswitch input—but only one trigger input.

Finally, drummers who don't normally play in high stage-vol-ume situations may not care for the volume or quality of thesound produced by the two cymbals closing, which I found tobe even more obtrusive than the stick-on-plastic sound. Exper-iments with the dampening pads solved the problem and mademe wonder why EPS hadn't muted the contact edge of eitherthe top or bottom cymbal with an inch-wide ring of the sameblack rubber.

DurabilityThe inevitable association of anything transparent (as were

all the Visu-Lites I tested) with glass made me a bit uncom-fortable about beating on them. But at Tom Pickard's urging Iovercame this and banged away much harder than I normallyplay. There were no casualties. The solidity of the trigger/con-nector and quality of the finish work on the edges and whereholes are drilled suggest top-drawer workmanship. If, throughmany setups and teardowns, the cable ends break, re-strippingthem is a snap. Also, they can be replaced by any cable withbare leads on one end. All Visu-Lites come with a standard 90-day warranty.

ConclusionsVisu-Lites look and feel fantastic! The appeal of the Visu-

Lite hi-hats may depend on whether your priority is feel orfunction. Honorable mention goes to the "dampening" cymbalfor its novel approach, and highest honors go to the standardcrash/ride and bell-trigger models for their exceptional sensi-tivity and dynamic range.

Standard single-trigger crash/rides list for $116 to $175,depending on size; the bell-trigger model is $195; "dampen-ing" models range from $192 to $225; hi-hats are $199 a pair.Custom colors, shapes, and sizes are available by special order.For more information contact Electronic Percussion Systems atP.O. Box 7481, St. Cloud, MN 56302.

Vic Firth Jazz Brushes

Vic Firth's new Jazz Brush features a molded plug, whichallows for an infinitely adjustable brush spread. The plug alsokeeps the spread intact until physically moved by the player. Inaddition, the brushes feature heavy-gauge wire, a 5" spread, anoversized triangular metal pull rod, and a textured, high-impacthandle. Vic Firth, Inc., 323 Whiting Ave., Unit B, Dedham,MA (617) 326-3455.

Etymotic Research Canal PhoneEtymotic Research'sER-4 Canal Phonesare lightweight, in-the-ear phones thatthe makers claimreproduce the aver-age diffuse-fieldresponse of the earat the eardrum andprovide 20-25dB ofexternal noise exclu-sion. Etymoticbelieves that the ER-4's eardrum-response calibration

make its frequency response uniquely accurate. Its low-frequen-cy response is said to remain virtually flat down to 20Hz. CanalPhones fit into the ear canals, sealing them with soft-flange eartips or optional custom-fitted ear molds. The makers say thatthe resulting noise exclusion allows listeners to hear full dynam-ic range at lower volumes. It also allows for optimal live moni-toring by performers or sound engineers in high-noise environ-ments. Etymotic Research, 61 Martin Lane, Elk GroveVillage, IL 60007, tel: (708) 228-0006, fax: (708) 228-6836.

LP's new Easy Access Rack isspecifically designed for dis-abled drummers and percus-sionists. The rack is easilyadjustable and can mount alltypes of instruments.

LP's SoftShake is a pair oflightweight shakers that isjoined by elastic bands andfeatures a delicate shakesound. The SoftShake's twoshakers can be used individu-ally for an even softer sound.

LP's new Black Beauty Sr.cowbell has a dry, lingeringtone and is lower in pitchthan the original Black Beauty, and the company's new talkingdrums feature wood shells and a non-chafing rim that employsroller bearing surfaces to provide a squeak-free sound. LatinPercussion, Inc., 160 Belmont Ave., Garfield, NJ 07026.

Boom Theory's new15x15 Stash FloorTom is designed tohold two standardSpacemuffins racktoms internally foreasy transport andstorage. BoomTheory has alsointroduced its newWorld Stage SeriesSpacemuffins kit,which features fullacoustic-sizeddrums able to with-stand the dB levelsencountered in liveperformance. A12x22 bass drum isalso now available.Boom TheoryCorp., 16149 Redmond Way, #303, Redmond, WA 98052,tel: (206) 861-7396, fax: (206) 881-9609.

New From LP

Boom Theory Stash Floor Tom

New GibraltarRack Systems

Galaxy Custom Snare Drum

Gibraltar's new GPR-550 Deluxe Rack with cymbal boom armswas designed to replace their GPR-500 rack, and their newGPR-150 basic side extension replaces the GPR-100 extension.Both of the new systems feature Gibraltar's T-leg, previouslyavailable only on the company's higher-priced Road Seriesracks. In addition, the GPR-550 features a new vertical bar andcymbal boom arm combination, which allows more room on thehorizontal bars for other objects to be attached. Gibraltar c/oKaman Music Corp., P.O. Box 507, Bloomfield, CT 06002.

Pro-Mark's new CC-10 Deluxe Cymbal Bag is made of toughCordura-like material, holds cymbals up to 22" in diameter, andfeatures a rugged plastic inside liner that discourages cymbalsfrom cutting through the bottom. It also has two outside pock-ets, one that holds hi-hats up to 15" in diameter and the otherfor miscellaneous hardware. The bag also features heavy-dutyhandles and a padded shoulder strap. In addition, Pro-Mark'snew Little Giant drumsticks are a 15"x 1 1/2" version of theirGiant novelty drumsticks, though the company claims thesesticks are actually playable. Pro-Mark Corp., 10707Craighead, Houston, TX 77025-5899, tel: (713) 666-2525,fax: (713) 669-8000.

Drum Heaven, a Boston-area seller and restorer of vintagedrums, has introduced the Galaxy, a hand-crafted, customsnare drum. According to its makers, the drum's design payshomage to the vintage tube-lug snare drums of the '20s and'30s. All of the drum's parts are made in America by noted spe-cialists, including its 15-ply North American birch shells, whichare made by Eames Drums' Joe MacSweeney. Bearing edgesand snare beds are said to be cut to very tight tolerances, andthe shell is sized so that the drumhead can "float" on it, theo-retically adding intensity to the drum's sound.

Many finishes are available, including hand-rubbed natural,cherry sunburst, black piano lacquer, white marine pearl, andblack oyster pearl. The drum's ten tube lugs, tension rods, andhand-engraved, triple-flanged lugs are made of bare brass.Custom hoop engraving and choice of heads and strainers areavailable. Drum Heaven, P.O. Box 1831, Jamaica Plain, MA02130, (617) 522-3381.

Mechanical MusicCorp.'s Tweekdrum tuning keyis made out of acomposite materi-al with a certainamount of give toit, allowing the keyto be clipped ontoheavy drum hard-ware for easyaccess. The key'sdesign has recent-ly been patentedand has won an award from an industrial design group for its

Pro-Mark Deluxe Cymbal BagAnd Little Giant Slicks

Tweek Clip-OnTuning Key

clever design. Mechanical Music Corp., 3359 N. Ridge Ave.,Arlington Heights, IL 60004, tel: (708) 398-5444, fax: (708)398-5441.

Remo Marching Drums

Triumph marching drums

Remo'snew Bravomarchingdrums andsmall framecarriersfeaturelightweightlugs andAcousticonshells. Theseries fea-tures indi-vidual

parade, bass, and multi tenor drums. Parade drums are availablein 12x14, 10x14, and 10x13 sizes and come with a carrying strap,a multi-angle hook, a leg rest, and a pair of drumsticks, with anoptional carrier. Bass drums, which come with a carrying strapand two mallets, plus an optional carrier, come in 12" and 10""Scotch"-style depths. Multi tenor drums come in three config-urations—8", 10", 12" and 10", 12", 13" trio versions, and an 8",10", 12", 13" quad version—and include a pair of mallets. Bravodrums are available in white, chrome, cherry red, and blackQuadura.

In addition, Remo's Triumph marching drums, which aredesigned for power players requiring maximum strength andsound, now feature Elite XT extended "vee" shells. Remo, Inc.,12804 Raymer St., North Hollywood, CA 91605, (818) 983-2600.

According to its makers,the Quiet Drummerpractice set is a com-pact, affordable, andlightweight alternativeto other practice kits.The kit includes fourvery quiet gum rubberpads of distinct sound,and is made from woodand finished in blackmatte. The outfit isadjustable, assembleswithout tools, folds into

a compact travel package, and weighs less than ten pounds.Quiet Drummer, P.O. Box 49231, Greensboro, NC 27419,(919) 855-8778.

New Stixonics StickStixonics' new SX-4X wood-tip and SX-4XP nylon-tip drum-sticks measure 17" long x 9/16" in diameter. They are made fromstraight-grain hickory and are weight-matched to within onegram. Stixonics, P.O. Box 1437, Wake Forest, NC 27587, tel:(919) 556-1659, fax: (919) 556-4085.

E-mu ReintroducesSP-1200 SamplingDrum MachineAccording to the makers, E-mu has reintroduced its SP-1200Sampling Percussion System due to great demand by musicians.The SP-1200 is a 12-bit drum machine featuring up to ten sec-onds of sampling time, a dedicated hardware-based sequencer,touch-sensitive pads, programmable pitch and volume controls,SMPTE read and write capabilities, eight programmable out-puts for comprehensive mixing capabilities, and a library of dig-itally recorded drum and percussion sounds supported by E-muand third-party sound developers. E-mu Systems, Inc., 1600Green Hills Road, P.O. Box 660015, Scotts Valley, CA 95067-0015, tel: (408) 438-1921, fax: (408) 438-8612.

Moongel DrumResonance ControllerRTOM Corporation's Moongel is designed to stick to drum- 'heads without adhesives, with the purpose of controllingunwanted overtones. This reusable material can be cleaned withsoap and water, and different effects can be obtained by addingor subtracting the amount of Moongel used or by moving it todifferent areas on the head. Moongel is being distributed byH.S.S. RTOM Corp., 30 West Hamilton Ave., Englewood,NJ 07631-2346, tel: (201) 569-3603, fax: (201) 816-9720.

PureCussion Gigmeister KitLast year's introduction of a PureCussion snare drum allowedthe company to offer a complete drumset, the Gigmeister, which

Quiet Drummer Practice Set

includes a kick drum, a snare, three toms, cymbal arms, a hi-hatstand, and a kick drum pedal. PureCussion says it can cus-tomize the kit with various-sized drums, and can fit the kit withtriggers and a case. PureCussion, Inc., 3611 Wooddale Ave.South, Minneapolis, MN 55416, tel: (612) 927-2330, fax:(612) 927-2333.

Variations On A Four-Piece Kitby Jeff Kersh

The four-piece kit is the simplest of allsetups, yet it can prove to be one of themost versatile. From jazz ensembles to barbands, heavy metal outfits to weddingbands, the four-piece is quickly regainingits former popularity. And why not? It's rel-

atively portable and easy to set up, and it provides a much bet-ter view of the drummer than the stereotypical wall of drumsand cymbals does. In addition, the four-piece is more afford-able, and it's easier for less-experienced drummers to handle.

The first mistake a drummer can (and often does) makeconcerning the four-piece kit is assuming that it's just a"beginner" kit, and that "what you see is what you get" interms of sound. But just as a pianist can play linear "leadlines" or chords, so can the drummer; when played withthought and imagination, the four-piece kit can be a dramati-cally versatile instrument.

At first glance, the basic four-piece kit contains four sounds:kick, snare, rack tom, and floor tom. After a period of thought,practice, and experimentation, the resourceful drummer canoffer more than the standard "linear" possibilities: kick/snare,kick/rack tom, kick/floor tom, snare/rack tom, snare/floor tom,and rack tom/floor tom combinations. By treating each combi-nation as a separate sound, the kit's possibilities openup—where there were four sounds, there are now ten tochoose from, and that's without cymbals! With the addition ofcareful dynamics and "tricks," such as flams between drums, afour-piece kit can easily serve as a substitute for a larger one.

Here is a typical 8th-note intro figure:

It can easily be translated into terms that fit the four-piece for-mat. For instance:

The secret to making a four-piece sound like a larger kit liesin substituting differences in sound for the differences in pitch

between tom-toms. In a "full bar of 8ths" sort of fill, then, thetechnique involved remains much the same, while the soundsthemselves are quite different. For instance:

Obviously, this fill could be played in numerous combinations,depending on the drummer's preferences. Here's one:

The last two examples are simply extra examples of theeffectiveness of adding and subtracting various sound combi-nations.

The four-piece kit's simplicity is dictated only by the imagi-nation of the drummer who plays it. Artists like Andy New-mark, Stan Lynch, and Kenny Aronoff are prime examples ofdrummers who effectively use a smaller kit within a rock con-text, because they play with energy and imagination. On anyfour-piece kit, using combinations of drum sounds to expandthe kit's "range" will leave many listeners wondering where allthat sound is coming from.

Bobby SanabriaLatin Player, Preacher, and Teacher

by T. Bruce Wittet

The recent movie The Mambo Kings is the story of the ascentand descent of two Cuban musicians in the New York of the1950s. Music is everywhere—jazz, Latin, dance. In one scene,the Palladium is crowded with dancers, while on stage, TitoPuente is near the climax of a timbale solo. A revolver appearsand someone hits the floor, smack in front of the bandstand.The music dies down, the police appear, and the night is over.

To Bobby Sanabria, that scene epitomizes the problemsinherent in the film: "They could have done so much more,"says Bobby. "They could have shown Dizzy playing at Birdland,with maybe a conga drummer sitting in. They could haveshown the connection, the fusion, the interaction between themusicians! They trivialized it, man."

Triviality is just not Bobby Sanabria's modus operandi. Hetook great pains to achieve authenticity when recording thesoundtrack to the movie—striving to capture both the uniquesounds and the performances of the famous Cuban musiciansof the day depicted in the film.

Bobby Sanabria is totally selfless. It's not that he doesn'thave an ego, it's just that his attentions are directed outward;he dwells little upon his own frustrations. Where some wouldplay a fill to express themselves, Bobby would play time. Withhis group Ascension, and with Mario Bauza's Afro-Cuban JazzOrchestra, he takes the greatest pains to blend, to edit himselfso that his part is tasteful and correct. Content to sit for sixty-four bars playing little more than hi-hat and bass drum, he'swaiting for the right moment. Sometimes he's up on the ridebell, cranking out the rhythm pioneered by Latin drumsetinnovator Antonio Escollies with the Machito Orchestra fivedecades ago. Sometimes he's on the shell of the floor tom, exe-cuting the palito pattern—kicking it with snare drum shotsmeant to emulate timbale rimshots. All the while, the timefeels smooth, in the tradition of, say, a Duke Ellington bigband. But when Bobby really goes for it, odds are the same fora Buddy Rich-like barrage of doubles or a Tito Puente extrapo-lation across the toms.

Bobby campaigns for his musical heritage fifty-two weeks ayear. He gets letters of appreciation from jazz festivals, artsfoundations, and school boards, applauding his tireless effortsin promoting Afro-Cuban music. He edits the Latin Percus-sion company's newsletter, and has published articles there

and in the pages of Modern Drummer. It's kind of a shame thathis devotion is such that Bobby-the-musician (as opposed toPR man and educator) gets short shrift; he can play. WatchingBobby, one has the feeling that there is no musical style that hecannot tackle: Latin jazz, bebop, folkloric, rock, or funk. As hewould say, "It's all in my toolbox, man."

Bobby once told a newspaper reporter that his Latin jazz bigband, Ascension, was more a workshop than a fixed band.Incorporating a variety of influences, it emerged directly fromhis roots: "I'm what they call in New York City a Nuyorican,"says Bobby. "My parents are from Puerto Rico, and I was bornand raised in New York. I listened to the music my parents lis-tened to: folkloric music from Puerto Rico—what we callJibaro, which is music of Spanish and Indian descent from themountainous regions.

"I grew up in the Melrose Projects," Bobby continues. "Myfather was a 'mambo-nick' in the 1950s. He'd go to the Palladi-um and dance to Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguez, and the greatMachito Afro-Cuban orchestra. That whole scene in the '50swas very important, because it was the beginning of integra-tion. At the Palladium, there were no color barriers. If youcould dance and if you loved the music, you could hang. Youwould see Jewish people, Puerto Ricans, Italians, Cubans, Ori-entals, blacks—all dancing to the music. I tell my students thatthe first fusion band was Machito's band, not Miles Davis andBitches Brew. They unified the heavy improvisational conceptand harmonic complexity of jazz with Afro-Cuban rhythms.That 'mambo-nick' generation influenced not only music, butfashion and art. That's what The Mambo Kings unfortunatelyfailed to bring out."

Bobby's criticism of the movie's treatment of the Hispanicexperience does not extend to the musical director, RobertKraft. Like Bobby, Kraft was deeply concerned with capturing

the authentic sound of the era. "That was a challenge," saysBobby, "because I had to play in the style of the differentdrummers of the period. Ubaldo Nieto, with the MachitoOrchestra, for example, was the greatest timbale player for bigband style. I also had to play in the style of Tito Puente, circa1951-'52. Every timbale player in those days had their own par-ticular way of phrasing when they would ride on the mambobell—or when they would play cascara, which is the side of theshell of the timbale. You could tell right away, 'Oh, that's Uba!'For example, he would play double-paila, which is playing onboth sides of the shells, with each hand. He'drock the band! Tony Escollies, the first drum-mer in the Machito Orchestra, developed thepattern that every timbale player uses today onthe mambo bell. Tony also had a thing calledtelegraphia: He'd play the clave on the mambobell with one hand, but fill in 8th notes, com-pletely, with the right hand. This stuff I hearabout ghost notes today—that was happeningforty years ago, man!"

Sanabria is surprisingly well-versed in tradi-tion, considering his relatively young age of 35.Growing up in New York, he was exposed to thesame popular music that diverted other musi-cians to become rock and fusion players. Heheard the Beatles, Tower of Power, the Mahav-ishnu Orchestra, and Cold Blood—but alwaysmitigated by Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguez, DukeEllington, Buddy Rich, and other artists fromhis father's diverse record collection.

A prevailing notion is that today's Latindrumset player is carving out new territorywith every stroke. Salsa bands, like that of Pon-cho Sanchez, reinforce the belief that thedrumset is foreign to Latin music. "That's amisconception," says Bobby adamantly. "Therewere a lot of great Latin drummers. Pato Vazwas an excellent trap player and timbale player,as is Tito Puente. Willie Rodriguez was like the Steve Gadd ofthe 1950s; he was on so many sessions it was ridiculous. Alber-to Calderon, who was with Xavier Cugat, is another greatdrummer. Jimmy 'LaVaca' Santiago was playing stuff likeChanguito [of the group Los Van Van, creator of the songorhythm] in the '50s already! From my point of view he was thefather of independence in Latin drumset drumming. WillieBobo is important because he synthesized the little ornamen-tations that jazz drummers do—drags, ruffs, press rolls, and soforth—with typical timbale playing. And Humberto Moralesused to play a double-bass kit with timbales next to his hi-hat.

"There would be no jazz drumming as we know it today,"Bobby states emphatically, "if Max Roach and Kenny Clarkehadn't checked out the Latin guys. When Max Roach andKenny Clarke started liberating the bass drum and the snaredrum in the '40s, the bass player and the piano player couldchange the patterns. The soloists could change. The concept

of bebop drumming came from those guys checking out theMachito Orchestra and watching the interaction between theconga player and the bongo player: The conga player wouldkeep a steady rhythm and the bongo player could converse.That's also part of the African tradition: The drums converse.And that's what started happening between the bass drum andthe snare drum. In jazz music we only have one drummer, sothe limbs converse."

To the question, "Can Afro-Cuban drumming be taught, ordoes one have to be born into it?" Bobby replies, "Sure, it can

be taught—probably more easily to kids thanto adults, who have years of excess baggageto get rid of. I get kids to clap the clave, andthey all clap it, man. Then I get some 25-year-old guy from Europe or from the Mid-west to do the same thing, and he's going,'Where's the downbeat, man? Where's 1?' Ifyou're a Latin musician, it's easier for you toabsorb other kinds of music. If you take asimple cascara pattern, for example, and hit2 and 4 on the snare, you get typical heavy-metal drumming. Or play a simple funkrhythm: You're in clave.

"The problem in learning Latin music,"Bobby continues, "is that everybody looks atit superficially. Mambo, for example, is notjust a rhythm; it's a whole concept of writ-ing. You have different melodic lines—withrhythms attached to them, of course—andthey all converge at a key point, which is theclave. [He sings the various lines, while clap-ping the clave.] You've got all these layers;that's what mambo is, because 'mambo' isthe Congalese word for 'chant' or 'song.'"

Perhaps the reason that it's so difficultto teach someone how to play in clave is thatit's not a learning exercise; it's a life's work."But you can learn the vocabulary," says

Bobby, "just like with any language. In Cuban music, the claveis your alphabet. Then you have to learn how to constructphrases. I teach how to play phrases on the '2' side of the clave,and then on the '3' side, which are typical, and then how tocombine both phrases.

"You know," Bobby continues, "it doesn't mean jack to methat you can play songo on the drumset, if you can't do cascaraand play the left hand on the timbales. If you don't know how todo that, how are you going to do it on the floor tom and make itsound authentic? If I call you up, and you say, "Yeah, I playLatin rhythms on the drumset"—but I need you for a record-ing session tomorrow on timbales—you should be able to do it,man. You have to be able to do it all—at least on a rudimentarylevel. Art Blakey used to use his elbow all the time to bend thepitch on the drums. You know where he got that? From Candi-do playing the conga drums. I learned that because I playedwith Candido and asked him. One of the things young musi-

"There wouldbe no jazz

drumming aswe know ittoday if MaxRoach and

Kenny Clarkehadn't checkedout the Latin

guys."

cians should do when they play with anolder musician is ask questions. You'd besurprised what you learn—little tricks ofthe trade that give conviction to yourplaying."

Sometimes, when playing with Cubanfusion groups, Bobby performs three-over-two fills—ostensibly in 4/4 time,but with a strong hint of Afro-6/8."That's from the polyrhythmic nature ofour music," he explains. "I could havethe clave going, like this [he claps sonclave, 3/2], and I could sing somethingin 6/8 that would fit perfectly over it.Now, in the rhumba clave, you really hearthis feeling of binary and tertiary timegoing against each other, because thatclave really delineates 6/8 pulse. Whenyou listen to drum solos in the Cubantradition, you hear all this bending andstretching of the time, because you'rehearing figures from binary time andfrom tertiary time. When I hear so-calledfusion drummers playing Latinmusic—they always play some quasi-Latin, songo, or Brazilian thing—orwhen one of my students tries, I laugh.But after they've been studying with mefor a few weeks, they see that it was allcross-clave, and that the music is beingperformed on a very superficial level. It'sclose—but no cigar, you know?"

Bobby's method of tuning is basedsolidly in the Afro-Cuban tradition. "Iwant my tom-toms to have tones," hesays, "so I can play melodically. That'sthe reason any drummer should usemore toms—not just for doing big fillsaround the drums. I always try to tune infourths, because those are the intervalswe use in the tuning of hand drums.With a fourth you get a nice, open, sus-pended sound that works in many musi-cal situations. I always tune the snaredrum very high, to give the aura of a tim-bale. The approach I have on the drum-set when I'm playing Cuban music islike the timbale player. My responsibilityis to keep the rhythm section and therest of the band together, of course—butalso to get the kicks and to add my'voice' to the music."

Bobby's choice of cymbals is consis-tent with his approach to the drums. Hegoes for clarity and precision, but he also

requires cymbals that evoke the classicsounds of the past. "I endorse Sabiancymbals," says Bobby, "and I use theDeJohnette ride and the El Saborcrash/ride cymbal. I use the El Sabor foreverything: for Latin, jazz, and rock. Iuse Fusion Hats, and a splash. Some-times I use a 20" HH medium ride, but Ireally love that 22" DeJohnette. A lot ofguys cheat on the fast ride rhythms, and

that's why they like those K cymbals:They have the sustain that covers every-thing up. I tell my students that I want tohear every note. Tony Williams uses K's,but he also uses a big stick, so you hear abig 'ching.' But a lot of the kids comingup—I won't mention any names—usethose K's, and I don't hear definition.

"I use Vic Firth 5A sticks with my sig-nature on them, and the Alex Acuna

timbale stick. I want to design a stick forLatin drumset playing that can give youthe feel of the timbale stick, plus havethe bead sound. That's been a pet peeveof mine. I use Pearl drums; I love thesustain their birch drums have. I use a16x20 bass drum, 10", 12", and 14" toms,and a 16" floor tom. I'm using the LPSongo Bell on the floor tom, mounted onone of their Claws. On top of that I haveone of their Jam Blocks, then a smallTapon Bell, a small Cha Cha Bell, andbelow that a timbale bell. I don't tape upthe bells; you should be able to controlthe sound with your hands. I'm currentlyexperimenting with a five-pedal setup,incorporating double-bass, hi-hat, andpedals striking a Songo Bell and a Gran-ite Block. This is something Jimmy San-tiago did in the '50s. The purpose, ofcourse, is to have one player generate thesounds of a whole percussion section.

Bobby has been teaching at DrummersCollective for several years. Most of hisstudents are interested in learning therhythms of Afro-Cuban music, and Bobbycomplies. But he also insists that theyinvestigate basic technique—just as hismentor, Keith Copeland, insisted he do atBerklee College. "Keith really worked onmy fundamentals," says Bobby. "Healready knew I had a concept, but I need-ed independence, in terms of a jazz con-text—which in turn opened me up to uti-lizing that in every other style of music."

"At Berklee," continues Bobby, "theyhad a course called 'Writing in the Styleof Duke Ellington.' I thought, why not'Writing in the Style of Rene Hernan-dez,' the greatest arranger of Cubanmusic? The music is available, but 'jazz'has been marketed as a certain form ofmusic. Although the intentions are good,a very visceral art form is being taught ina very academic way."

Bobby takes a very different approachto musical education. "For the last tenyears," he says, "I've been lecturing toschool kids and performing with Ascen-sion, through the auspices of an associa-tion called Arts Connection. My purposeas an educator is to communicate, toilluminate, and to teach something tothe audience. For example, if you hearsomething you like, seek out more of it!

If you go into the history of rock 'n' roll,you'll learn about Cuban music. Theearly arrangers of R&B were transferringthe Cuban bass line to baritone saxo-phone, and so on. The more you find outabout something, the more you realizethat we're all related. One of the thingsthat gratifies me is when I look in theaudience, and the Hispanic kid, theAfrican-American kid, the Jewish kid,

the Irish kid, and the Italian kid are alllooking at each other, thinking, 'We're allrelated.' They start to look at each otherlike equals."

Bobby's plans for the future includereleasing a CD from Ascension, moreplaying and recording with Mario Bauza,and more teaching at the Collective andaround town.

live work with Wynonna Judd, and isexpected to go on tour with Hornsby thisspring.

Recently released are two new Genesislive albums with Phil Collins on drums(and vocals) along with ChesterThompson on drums.

Roy Lawrence on Eugenius's debutAtlantic record, Oomalama.

Brant Bjork on tour with Kyuss, sup-porting their new album, Blues For TheRed Sun.

Joey Kramer on Aerosmith's new GetA Grip, due out in March.

Vicki Foxx on the debut album by theVince Neil Band, due out this month.

Rod Morgenstein has been doingsome live dates with the Dixie Dregs.

Janet Beveridge Bean (drums andvocals) working on a new album withEleventh Dream Day.

Ringo Starr (and Jim Keltner) canbe heard on B.B. King's boxed set com-pilation called King Of The Blues.

Tucker Fleming on Chris Gaffney'snew album, Mi Vida Loca.

Rick Diaz on tour with Young Turk insupport of their debut album, N.E. 2ndAvenue.

Andre Bonter now on tour withPoorboys, supporting their self-titledHollywood Records release.

Larry Hill playing with Curb record-ing artist Duncan.

Tim Hedge is touring with Billy Deanin support of his new, self-titled release.

Larry Crockett has recently been ontour with Martha Reeves, as well as play-ing some dates with George Clinton andBootsy Collins.

Between Tin Machine projects, HuntSales is fronting his band, Hunt Sales &The Big Three, with David Eagle ondrums. Hunt's tune from Tin Machine II,"Stateside," can also be heard on thesoundtrack to Dr. Giggles.

Joe Franco on tour with Widowmaker,as well as on new releases by Bad Circus,Doro Pesch, and Taylor Dayne.

Congratulations to Fred Young on hisrecent marriage.

UPDATE

can get it.Pierre LeGendre

Huntsville, Ontario, Canada

The software you're referring tois called Drumfile. Created by

Donny Blank, it was bought out by Pass-port. That company no longer supports it,but it was quite popular when first intro-duced. As a result, you may be able tofind some leftover copies in software sup-ply stores, or by advertising in the classi-fied sections of computer-enthusiastmagazines and newsletters (and also inMD's Drum Market).

PAISTE INFORMATIONI have a Paiste Sound Creationcymbal. It's 18" in diameter and

has a bell that's sort of "squared off" atthe top, rather than domed. I obtained itfrom a friend many years ago, and I can'tseem to obtain any information on its ori-gin or value. Can you help me?

Shaun CooperiderUSS David Ray (DD-971)

FPOAP

I've recently acquired a 16" crashand a 20" ride with the words

"Ludwig Standard Paiste" etched intothem. I have never heard of this series ofcymbals. They also appear to be betweensilver and brass in color. Could you giveme more information on this line ?

E.J. McMahonVineland NJ

Erik Paiste, of Paiste America,provided us with the following

answers."Shaun, your 18" cymbal is a Short

Crash Sound Creation. The shape of thebell is an inherent part of the design,intended to shorten the duration of thecrash. It was only used in the Sound Cre-ation line. This cymbal is still available byspecial order, and its current retail valueis $262. The value of your particular cym-bal would, of course, depend on its condi-tion.

"In regard to E.J.'s cymbals: Duringthe '50s and '60s, the Ludwig drum com-pany distributed Paiste cymbals in theU.S. At the time, the professional Paiste

line was the Formula 602 (which is stillavailable today). Additionally, Paiste alsomade a second, less expensive cymballine for Ludwig, called 'Ludwig Stan-dard.' They also had the Paiste name onthem. This line was made from nickelsil-ver, which is an alloy containing chieflycopper, just like all other cymbals. Itsoriginal color would have been almost likea brass color, but darker, and with an olivetint. Your cymbal was most likely made inthe '60s."

INTERNAL DRUMSHELL COATINGI have an entry-level Tama Rock-star DX kit, and I am considering

coating the insides of the shells toincrease overall sound quality and projec-tion. What material (varnish, lacquer,etc.) and method of application wouldwork best for my purposes?

Steve GloverEl Segundo CA

Bill Detamore, owner of Pork PiePercussion and an authority on

drum customizing and refinishing, cau-tions against the type of treatment youare considering. "Have you ever had afloor tom that sounded like a basketballbeing bounced on a gym floor?" asks Bill."That sound is caused by a coating onthe inside of the drum. The shells youare talking about are made of Philippinemahogany. This wood is very soft, andtends to give you a slightly muted or muf-fled sound. I'm afraid that if you put acoating on the inside of your kit, youcould end up with many unwanted over-tones. Also, with the materials that wouldbe safe for you to use (varnish or lac-quer), I don't think you would findenough difference in sound to merit thenumber of hours you'll spend on the job.My best advice is to find a drum with ahigher-quality shell.

"By the way, an easy way to solve that'basketball' sound is to run a piece offoam from a top lug to a bottom lug with-in the shell. (The foam used on RemoMuffl's is perfect.) Use the lug screws tohold the foam in place. Start with onepiece, then add one or two more if neces-sary. The idea is to break up the sound-wave that is bouncing from side to sidewithin the shell."

IT'S QUEST IONABLE

Around that same time, Larrie cut theEngland Dan & John Ford Coley hits "I'dReally Love To See You Tonight" and"Nights Are Forever," with producerKyle Lehning (now executive vice presi-dent and general manager of AsylumRecords/Nashville). He and Kyle hadactually been working together for a cou-ple of years, but these were Lehning'sfirst big hits—and Larrie became instru-mental in much of his successes to fol-low. In fact, the last record Larrie evercut was Randy Travis's "If I Didn't HaveYou," which was produced by Lehning.

Keyboardist Shane Keister recalls cut-ting "I'd Really Love To See YouTonight": "I remember that tempo was areal critical issue on that session. Larriefelt the tempo in a certain place, andKyle was hearing it in a different place.The more we played it, the more every-body realized that Larrie was right. Hewas almost always right. I rememberKyle giving him the benefit of the doubtand saying, 'Okay, let's try it here and seeif it feels right,' and it did."

Lehning laughs as he recalls anothersession: "We were working on an artist inthe late '70s. He was very, very picky. Icame home one night late af ter weworked, and I had a message on thecode-a-phone. It was Larrie singing tothe tune of 'Please Release Me,' singing,'Please release me, let me go, 'cause Ican't play this shit no mo'.' So I calledhim up, and he was going, 'Man, you'vegot to let me out of this, I'm dying. It'snot going to be any good.' I was crackingup and said, 'Okay, if you don't want toplay, you don't have to.'"

Kyle Lehning also remembers a verypoignant and revealing time with Larrie."I don't think I ever told anybody thisstory, but I guess I was becoming toodictatorial in the studio in the late '70s.Larrie used this big set of toms, and wewere working on something where Imade him get rid of all but three ofthem. I just took them down, and he gotreally mad at me. He played differentlywithout all of them. It forced him tothink about his fills. He ended up, forsome reason, thinking I didn't like theway he played, so he finally just said,'You know, you just really need to get a

LARRIE LONDIN

different drummer. I'm not doing what you want, and I justwant to play the way I play.' So for about a year, we didn't worktogether. He just wouldn't take the job if I called him. Thereare some fine players in town, but Larrie was Larrie. Therewere just certain things he did that were special.

"About a year went by," Kyle continues, "and he had gotteninvolved in producing some stuff with Bobby Thompson, Reg-gie Young, and Joe Osborn. They were a production teamcalled the Hitmen. He called me one day and said, 'Can wehave lunch?' I said sure, and we went out to lunch. He was sosweet. He said, 'You know, I want to apologize. Since I've beenproducing, my whole attitude toward this has changed. I reallydo understand now that it's nothing personal, but as the pro-ducer, you've just got to get it the way you feel is right. Youdon't have to ever hire me again, and I'll understand if you'vegotten somebody else you want to work with, but I just wantyou to know that I've learned something.' So I said, 'What areyou doing at 2:00?" I think it's pretty neat when someone canlearn and is man enough to change his mind about something.And he was passionate about both decisions."

Luckily they did reconcile, for there was a large body of workto be shared by the two of them, such as many of Dan Seals'hits and Randy Travis's "On The Other Hand." "There wasdefinitely some fairy dust floating around on that record,"Lehning says. "Another one of my favorite records that I madeon Randy was called 'Too Gone Too Long,' which is a mon-strous swing-feeling thing. Country can swing in a hokey way,

but Larrie could make a country record swing in the hippestkind of way. There were some songs for Randy that I just didn'tfeel anyone else could play. So we'd re-schedule the sessionuntil Larrie was available.

"Larrie was a very graceful leader in terms of the session.He was always the foundation, but he knew he was part of ateam. He listened to everybody, especially singers. He had areal special way in the studio of making the singers feel special,but he always had a way of reminding them that they were onlypart of the band. It was his sense of justice. He wanted every-body to know that they were there for a reason and nobody wasany more or less important than the next guy."

David Hungate continues that train of thought: "Larrie notonly stood up for himself, he stood up for others when he feltthey were being treated unfairly. A couple of years ago, Larriewas doing a session for a producer who also happened to beone of the most powerful music industry figures in Nashville.This guy was apparently having a bad day and was taking it outon a young second engineer, humiliating the kid mercilessly infront of a roomful of musicians. This behavior didn't mesh atall with Larrie's sense of fairness, and he proceeded to getright in the producer's face to let him know quite emphaticallythat he couldn't treat people that way, and by doing so in hispresence, he was running the very real risk of getting his asskicked. Here was a producer who could give him $30,000 worthof sessions a year, and Larrie was ready to say to hell with it tocome to the defense of someone he only knew casually. The

coda to that story is that the producer knew he was wrong, kepthiring Larrie, and mourned like the rest of us when we losthim."

"I remember the first time I worked with Larrie," artistVince Gill recalls. "The session was called for 10:00 in themorning and I figured it would take a couple of hours for themto get a drum sound, so I didn't show up until 11:30. But theyhad been ready to go at 10:00. Larrie had been in the nightbefore getting drum sounds, and he let me have it right off thebat. He had the best way of busting people—everybody," Gilllaughs. "It didn't matter if you were a big-league producer orjust a little guy.

"My favorite memory of Larrie, though, was the first time weever played live together," Gill continues. "It was a RosanneCash rehearsal. I remember getting ready to do the first song. Ihad done my homework; I knew every note off the record. I hadit down, boy. Larrie clicked his sticks together and countedfour. Then he started playing, and I'll never forget what it feltlike as long as I live. I was so blown away. I don't think I've everbeen that blown away by a musician. It was the first time play-ing music that I ever felt the music. Nobody was better thanhim. Nobody plays with the sensitivity that he played with. Andhe played every groove. Some guys can just play certaingrooves, but Larrie played every one."

Producer (and current president of Liberty Records/Nashville) Jimmy Bowen felt the same way. He says that, as aCalifornia transplant, he was accustomed to a certain caliber of

excellence, and Londin fit the bill. "A lot of country drummerswould show up on a session with two or three drums. Larriewould show up with everything they made. He was always look-ing to the future with sounds. I called him up and said, 'I heardthey have electric drums now. Give me some.' At the next ses-sion he was there, tuning those electric drums, cussing me allthe way," Bowen laughs. "But he was just as bad as I was aboutwanting something new. He was progressive.

"I remember the first session I ever did with him," Bowencontinues. "I'm a stickler about everything sounding right.We were taking a break, and I didn't like the way the kickdrum sounded. I went out, sat down at the drums, and withall my might I tried to get that kick drum beater up to to thebass drum. I could not believe how strong he was. There wasone night we were mixing, and Larrie had already gonehome. Somehow one or two backbeats on the snare goterased, but his kit was out there, so I thought, 'No problem.'I went out and I couldn't hit as hard as he could. I had tobring him back in."

Bowen also recalls the Hank Williams, Jr. session for "ACountry Boy Can Survive." "We all went out to get some freshair, and the engineer came out with no blood in his face. 'I'veerased the kick drum,' he said. Larrie looked at him like hewanted to kill him. Of all things to have to do—to have to putthe foundation under the house after it's built. Larrie didn'tsay a word. He just gritted his teeth, went in, and played theentire song in three minutes, perfect, one take."

Shane Keister recalls a session theydid for producer Norbert Putnam: "Itmight have been for Dan Fogelberg. Thedemo of the song we were doing had apercussionist playing conga and cowbell,but we didn't have a percussionist on thedate. Norbert asked Larrie what hewanted to do. Did he want to overdub?Larrie said, 'Let me see what I can do.'We ran the song down a few times andstarted cutting it. When we listened tothe take, it sounded like there was a per-cussionist—I'm talking about full execu-tion of fills, hi-hat things, splashes—andthen there was a cowbell and some kindof conga-sounding thing. It sounded likeevery once and a while he was putting ina cuica, too. Norbert soloed the kit inplayback, and it sounded impossible forone person to have played that."

Bassist Lee Sklar loved working withLarrie as well. "I know a lot of great play-ers who are considered world-classdrummers, but there are only a handfulof them that I feel a kind of symbioticrelationship with. Larrie was definitelyone of them. If I walked into the studioand saw his kit there, I knew I wouldhave a good time regardless, because wewere going to make it a good time.

"A lot of people may not give muchcredit to country musicians, but I havegone through everything from pop tofusion, legit orchestral work, and coun-try, and I would have to say that countryhas, by far, the most gifted players I'veever worked with. There are certainchops that are necessary, though a lot ofpeople who listen to country think it's sosimple. I have people come up to me andask, 'How can you play that stuff?' I say,'There is a challenge to simplicity. If youare given a piece of music, and instead ofeighty notes to the bar, you're only goingto have four, then you really have to thinkabout which four are going to make thatwork the best and how they're going tofeel.'" Sklar adds that Reba McEntire'slast record (For My Broken Heart)comes to mind when asked about Larrie,because it was a very emotional project.

During the early '80s, Larrie traveledwith Rodney Crowell and with RosanneCash, both times as part of the CherryBomb Band. Crowell, who had met himin the early '70s while writing songs for a

company Jerry Reed owned, calledLondin in '79 to record What Will TheNeighbors Think in Sausalito, California."Larrie was a feel monster," Crowellstates. "He played like a cool cat. He hadthat real inner clock that was so feel-ori-ented. I called him the human waterbed.Sometimes he would just get rockin' androllin' like an ocean. And I could just feelit. That's why I loved to work with Lar-rie—I could feel the rhythm. He was agreat dancer as well, kind of like JackieGleason in that way. He was a big man,but he could get his body to move sort oflike an ocean.

"On some of his early work inNashville, he was kind of recognized as adrummer with a lot of tom-toms andfills. There was a bit of a funk factor thathe brought into Nashville that peoplewere scarfing up on in the beginning.When I started working with him, I said,'Hey man, let's get rid of all these fillsand toms. Let's just play grooves.' I wasreally influenced by Big Joe Turnerrecords, and Larrie got real intrigued.

"Larrie had the uncanny ability to put

the kick drum on 1 and then really laythe snare to the very back of 2 and 4.The first thing that comes to mind is'Seven Year Ache,' which I made withRosanne Cash. It's entirely a groovetrack, and I haven't been able to traceany records prior to it that went to thatpulse groove the way that one did. Thatwas a basic tracking session where welayed it down. There are no fills whatso-ever. It's just all kick drum, snare drum,and maybe a lit t le bit of cymbals. Istripped everything down except thedrum track, and rebuilt that recordentirely to Larrie's existing track. Ididn't do anything to it—no splicing tomake his groove tighter or anything. Hedidn't even play to a click. We threw theclick out because Larrie had the abilityto play a feel and let it breathe withoutslowing down or speeding up.

"A record of mine that I loved thedrum track on was 'Stars On TheWater,'" Crowell goes on. "Again, wewere experimenting with the no-fillsconcept. It just started off with this kickdrum and snare feel that Larrie could

play. The way he would kind of rake thehi-hat, he would get this little bit ofshuffle to go along with this real straightthing. It is a very simple, beautiful drumtrack. There's also a record I did withBobby Bare called 'Droppin' Out OfSight.' It's a monstrous shuffle groove,which was really an example of how Lar-rie played the kick drum right on 1 and3, but really layed the snare back to thepoint where he would get this groovecradle. It was incredible.

"As for live, playing with him was socomfortable. It was like having thehuman waterbed on stage. Playing withhim live was like having your own privatecloud to just lie on and float. It was beau-tiful."

"Larrie really opened my eyes to whata drummer could be," Rosanne Cashsays. "He was the first drummer I evermet who listened to lyrics. He was sosensitive, with so much compassion—not only in his playing, but as a humanbeing. I've never met another musicianlike him, because of his incredible sensi-tivity and compassion and the ability to

get to the essence of what a song wasand to see the essence of what a humanbeing was. He was special."

For Steve Perry, Larrie was the answerto a great dilemma. Late in 1984 in LosAngeles, while writing for his soloalbum, Street Talk, Perry began the elu-sive search for the right drummer to playthe material. "There are some incredibleplayers in this town, but I was looking fora vibe thing, not just a guy who had goodtime or a guy who would do whatever Iwanted him to do," Perry states. "I want-ed someone who could bring their spiritand life into something and make itmore than just another track, someonewho poured their heart and soul into thesong and put an identity into it. I waswriting songs with Randy Goodrum, andwe had finished 'Foolish Heart' and wereworking on 'She's Mine,' which was atotally different pocket. He knew myproblems with finding a drummer, andhe suggested Larrie.

"We flew Larrie out and set up inAmigo studio to run through the songs,"Steve continues. "Randy Goodrum start-ed the intro music on the Fender Rhodesto 'She's Mine.' It had this beautiful lit-tle arpeggio that he did so beautifully,and at the right time, the music is sup-posed to come in. God, it's unbeliev-able—I can remember it like it was yes-terday. Larrie just hit the China cymbaland the snare drum—pow, pow—andthen the downbeat came in from a legacyof a knowledge of R&B and a sense ofstrength that was older than hischronological age."

Randy Goodrum laughs, "I promiseyou, it was about halfway through thethird bar when Steve looked at me andsaid, 'He's the one.'"

"I must tell you, for a picky son of abitch like me, it was like finding anisland in the middle of an ocean," saysPerry, who actually gave Larrie a piece ofthe album. "Maybe because Larrie was asinger, too, he would pay attention towhat the singer was trying to say, andthat's not something you're going to getfrom drum lessons. It's not somethingyou get from sitting with metronomes,although that is also important—and it'snot something you're going to get frombeing a great programmer—although

that is important also. Chops belong inthe butcher shop. They're important forfurthering your potential to be innova-tive, but the bottom line is feel. It's justsomething you have intuitively that youhave to try to cultivate."

After Perry's solo LP, Journey began tocut their final album, Raised On Radio.Perry, who was in the driver's seat asproducer, hired Larrie to play drums. "Ifyou're a drummer, pick up that recordand listen to 'Be Good To Yourself andcompare that aggressive left hand with'I'll Be Alright Without You.' It's two dif-ferent drummers. To find that in onehuman being is unbelievable."

Larrie spent the last eight years tour-ing with the Everly Brothers. They hadfirst met Larrie in the early '70s, whenChet Atkins had called him to play on analbum he was producing on the Everlyscalled Pass The Chicken And Listen."There were a lot of rhythm changes onthat album, and Larrie was superb atthat," says Don Everly.

"We did that album in about threedays, but there was drumming like younever heard," recalls Phil Everly. "Then I

split, and when we had our reunion, wedecided we'd like to have Larrie, becausehe was the best. He was our rock, and westarted with him.

"One of the great things that hap-pened in my life was having all thoseyears with Larrie on the road," continuesPhil. "He was a great friend. The timesI'd be on stage and just a little bit tired,I'd turn around with my back to theaudience, and there would be Larrie. Icould mug with him, and he'd make mesmile, he'd make me laugh, and myenergy would come up. And he'd bedoing something so spectacular on thedrums that it was ridiculous."

"He was extremely sympathetic toother players, even though he was a pow-erhouse on his own." says guitaristAlbert Lee, who toured with Londin withRosanne Cash, as well as with the EverlyBrothers. "He was very much a listenerand very cognizant of helping playersalong. He knew what I required from adrummer, which is a good poundingbackbeat. It makes my life a lot easier toplay with something really solid. He wasthe epitome of that—not just in country,

but in all kinds of music. I feel fortunate,because a lot of people in Nashville justsaw him at a three-hour session, whereaswe actually lived together on and off foreight years. He was a great friend."

"I miss him on stage, but I so dearlymiss the time I spent with him as a per-son, the hours talking on the bus," saysDon Everly. "You get to know somebodyquite well when you have that time goingdown the highway. You talk about life,and his advice was good. He wouldalways tell you what he thought. And ifhe didn't like you, he'd tell you that, too,"Don laughs. "But he'd tell you he lovedyou if he did."

"He had one of the biggest hearts I'veever seen," agrees Phil. "So many times,if there was something wrong in life,you'd go to Larrie. What you would getfrom him was down-home, salt-of-the-earth advice that would help. That's ararity."

"He was very sentimental," Don says."Things would touch Larrie and tearswould come to his eyes. He was a bigbaby, but he was also one of the toughestpeople I knew. He knew karate and had

arms and legs like a gorilla, and playedlouder and harder than anybody."

"Larrie was also very funny. He usedto love to tell the story about the nightwe were all partying in the bar in a hotel,where they had an upright piano," Philrecalls. "The party was kind of losing itszest, so one of the boys was playing thepiano and Larrie said he was going topush it into the pool. I thought he wasjust joking, but I had to pay off a fewsecurity people that night. How Larriepushed it in is beyond me, becauseyou're talking one man! He was always agood time.

"When things get tough, we still saywhat Larrie would always say: 'Get onwith it.' And when Larrie went, that'swhat we all did," says Phil, sadly. "We allwent out and held a wake for him, and ifwe could have found a piano, we wouldhave dumped it in the pool."

On April 24, 1992, while conducting aclinic at North Texas State, Larrie suf-fered a fibrilation of the heart. He wasrushed to the hospital, but somewherealong the line, he lost oxygen, sufferedmajor brain damage, and went into astate of vegetation. Through his family'slove and devotion, Larrie did begin torespond, and reports have it that hebegan to recognize his friends and fami-ly. In fact, he was cognizant enough tohave told his wife Debbie that he wantedto reaffirm his wedding vows after thirtyyears of marriage. But on August 24,1992, after his most successful day ofrehabilitation therapy, his body just shutdown. Debbie believes he willed himselfto die—that he had come back farenough to realize he would never playagain. And Larrie could not live withoutthe music.

When CalfskinWas King: Part 2

by Woody Thompson

In our first installment, we discussed the history of calfskindrumheads, and took a look at how these unique heads weremanufactured. We also introduced many of the key figures incalfskin-head manufacturing, and learned about the companiesthat grew into important names within the percussion instru-ment industry: American Rawhide Manufacturing Corp.(Amrawco), White Eagle Rawhide (Werco), Oremus Rawhide,United Rawhide, and National Rawhide.

But times, taste, and technology all change. And these threeforces combined to turn the drumhead industry on its ear by thelate 1950s, with the advent of the polyester film drumhead. Itwas then that a drummer/inventor from Santa Fe, New Mexiconamed Chick Evans first started sending Mylar drumheads outto music stores, and an enterprising young drummer/drumshopowner in Los Angeles named Remo Belli first took note of theenormous potential of this product.

In spite of its many musical attributes, the calfskin head wasfunctionally flawed. Calfskin is a hydroscopic material. That is,it tends to absorb moisture from the air when the air is wet, andreturn it to the air when the air becomes dry. Thus a calfskinhead could become loose, soggy, and often unplayable in wetweather, and could tighten up, sometimes to the point of rip-ping, in dry weather. Drummers had come to expect this behav-ior in calfskin and looked on it as almost routine. But there is nodoubt that it was a serious problem for some players—particu-larly marching band drummers and others who were frequentlycalled upon to play out-of-doors.

Other factors encouraged the demise of calfskin drumheads.Popular music was changing during the late 1950s; the swing-based music of the '30s and '40s was being challenged by theharder sounds of rock 'n' roll and R&B. Gradually, the essentiallyacoustic sound of the swing era was giving way to a more electricsound—and the sound of Mylar on a drum, thought to be overlyharsh by many calfskin players, was being welcomed by the moreaggressive rock 'n' rollers. Drummers were starting to play hard-er to compete with amplified instruments—and calfskin, thoughable to hold up quite well under a moderate beating, couldn'ttake the pounding that rock drummers were starting to give it.

Furthermore, musical instruments were starting to become amajor consumer item, feeding the demand of the baby boomerswho were starting to play their first instruments—and the drum

Before going into the plastic drumhead business,Remo Belli (left, shown with his partner Roy Harte) proudly

marketed Amrawco calfskin heads in Belli and Harte's retaildrumshop. This photo was taken in the mid-1950s.

makers were streamlining to meet the demand. Although the"Beatle-boom" was still several years away, the stage was beingset for a hugely expanded drum market. With Mylar, a companylike Ludwig could take a vital part of its manufacturing opera-tion in-house again without having to deal with several differentindependent head companies or worrying about their ability tofind enough suitable heads to meet the demand. Mylar was alsomuch cheaper than calfskin and, once production was put inplace, it was available in limitless quantities. And, of course, inone huge turnaround, the Mylar head solved all the weather-related problems that players had faced with the temperamentalcalfskin heads.

Not that this was the first time a replacement for calfskin hadcome on the scene. The calfskin head-makers had survivedmany attempts to unseat calfskin as the pre-eminent materialfor drumheads. Yet all these attempts had been unsuccessful. Sowhen Mylar heads first started showing up, they were not par-ticularly worried. Sis LaCombe, daughter of Howard Emory ofAmrawco, remembers her father's reaction to the new syntheticheads: "My dad had a way of saying the word 'plastic' that madeit sound like a swear word. Over the years he had seen many dif-ferent synthetic drumheads, and of course they all failed. Sowhen Mylar first came on he said, 'Well, here's another one.' Iwish he could have been a Monday morning quarterback."Howard had even joked with Bill Ludwig, Jr. about selling hisbusiness when Mylar first appeared—a seemingly absurd

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notion, given the fact that at the time he was selling around$30,000 worth of heads a month to the Ludwig company alone.

But through the pioneering efforts of Chick Evans and BobBeals of Evans Products, Remo Belli and Sam Muchnick ofRemo, Inc., and the Ludwigs, by the early 1960s the polyester-film drumhead had become a viable product that drummerseverywhere were starting to embrace. It was a particular god-send for marching drummers. John Emory recalls, "The firstones that went to Mylar—pretty fast—were the schools and themarching bands, and that's where a lot of sales volume is. Youdon't really have that much volume in professional musicians;it's not enough to carry you. You need the bread and butter ofthe schools. So we kind of lost out."

As Mylar started to take hold of the market, different compa-nies responded in different ways. Some of the original companyfounders were starting to get on in years, and simply retiredfrom the business. John Oremus, who had started out workingfor the Ludwig tannery and then had founded his own businessin 1930, closed his company. John Surak, whose NationalRawhide Co. had been involved in making drumheads and noother rawhide products, went directly into the leather business.His company is still in business today as Surak leather, produc-ing high-quality products.

In some cases, the task of dealing with the Mylar revolutionwas left to the children and grandchildren of the original compa-ny founders. At Werco, George Durkovic's son-in-law, JohnJanac, had taken over the operation—later joined by his twosons. At Amrawco, the Emory brothers, Howard and Munson,

were being assisted by Munson'sson, John, and later by Howard'sdaughter, Sis, and her husband,Dick Craft.

Amrawco and Werco were largerbusinesses and made otherrawhide products besides drum-heads. John Janac had joinedWerco before World War II and hadset about diversifying the compa-ny. "Plastic heads came in quitegradually," says Judith Janac. "Myhusband saw it coming, so hestarted developing new products.And then we went into the import-ing business, bringing guitars infrom Japan and things like that. Sothat kind of took the place of theskin heads. But Mylar did cut intothe business; it was a big change."

Today, Judith's son Dick Janac,grandson of George Durkovic, car-ries on the activities of Werco aspart of his larger business,

McCormick Enterprises. He is still in the drumhead business tothe extent that his company imports skin heads from SoutheastAsia.

The success of Mylar was perhaps hardest on Amrawco, thelargest of the head manufacturers and the most active in tryingto maintain a market for calfskin heads. Although the companyhad traditionally made other rawhide products (artificial limbs,gears and belting for industrial machinery, and even buggywhips), by the late 1950s fully 80% of their business was indrumheads. As more and more players switched to Mylar, theeffects were felt at Amrawco. "We could see it going down slow-ly," says John Emory. "Every six months we would notice a drop.Where we used to make three hundred heads a day, by the early'60s we were down to half that. And heads were a big money-maker, so that really hurt."

Amrawco followed the other companies by increasing theirproduction of other rawhide and leather products. They alsoattempted to treat calfskin in a way that would eliminate some ofthe problems inherent in the material. "We tried to waterproofthem, using different silicone treatments," remembers JohnEmory. "We tried coating them and impregnating them but wereally weren't successful." According to Sis LaCombe, the addi-tion of waterproofing agents ruined the legendary tone of calf-skin.

Amrawco even mounted an ad campaign extolling the virtuesof natural skin heads. These ads were placed in trade and musicmagazines, and emphasized the long tradition of calfskin headsand their beautiful, warm tones.

In 1958, Amrawco tested the strength of calfskin and plastic drumheads.A special box was created, in which drums fitted with each of the heads were whackedby a motor-driven drumstick at a rate of six beats per second, or 21,600 beats per hour.Interestingly, after nineteen days of testing (and ten million simulated beats), it was the

plastic head that broke. Howard Emory, of Amrawco, is pointing to the broken spot(illuminated by a light under the drum) in the photo at right. Amrawco also underwrote

extensive acoustical tests between the two head types.

Amrawco also flirted with the idea of going into the Mylarhead business. "As Mylar started coming in, my father and hisbrother looked at getting into the plastic business—but decidednot to," says John Emory. "And of course that was a fatal mis-take. We had all the market entry and the name recognition. Atone point we had a guy working on a plastic drumhead thatwould have been under our name—but it was just looking likean awful lot of money to spend. So, although we did make aneffort, it wasn't a big effort. At the same time, we watched calfsales go down—while the overhead went up. Pretty soon weweren't making the money we had been, and it got awfullytight."

Howard Emory passed away in 1959, and Munson's health wasdeteriorating, so John Emory and Howard's son-in-law, DickCraft, kept the business going in the early '60s. Shortly after hisown father died in 1966, John left the business, and Craft andhis wife Sis took it over. Sis had inherited her father's great lovefor music and fondness for musicians. She well remembersGene Krupa and Buddy Rich at the family breakfast table whenshe was a child. She and her husband were interested in keepingAmrawco in the drumhead business. The company's large facili-ty on Goose Island in Chicago was sold, and some of the toolingwas moved to a smaller building in Lyons, Illinois.

At this point, other factors were beginning to make the manu-facture of calfskin heads an ever-more-difficult task. Good qual-ity raw skins were beginning to be in short supply. Sis feels thatthe use of chemicals and steroids in beef-raising negativelyaffected the quality of calfhide. Also, calves for the veal marketwere starting to be shipped out of Chicago with the hide on,leaving fewer skins for the head-makers to choose from. Whatskins were available were often ruined by sloppy flaying. With adramatically decreased demand for unmarred skins, the slaugh-terhouses were paying less attention to the careful removal ofcalfskin.

By the late '60s, the market for calfskin drumheads haddecreased to almost nothing. What demand there was was most-ly for timpani heads. Sis and her husband were trying to fill thedemand for these heads, but, as she says, "You can't just sell thecream; you've got to sell the milk too." They got into a distribu-torship for Rogers Drums and kept at head-making to the extentthat they would receive partially processed heads from UnitedRawhide and put them through their own buffing and sortingprocess—something Amrawco had always done "to perfection."The Crafts were assisted by the skilled hands of calfskin expertRay Schwartz, an employee who had been with Amrawco formany years. Following the death of Dick Craft in 1969, Sis kept

the company going for a short while. But she soon found thatthe demands of raising three children prohibited her from han-dling the company, and American Rawhide was sold at auction in1969.

This left one company, United Rawhide, still in business.United had been founded in 19S1 by Steve Palansky, an immi-grant from Brezova, Czechoslovakia, with a $300 loan. A stronglyspiritual man with distinctly old-world sensibilities, Palanskyworked very hard to make his product a success in a very com-petitive market. He was able to establish accounts with each ofthe major drum companies and distributors as a result of hisconscientiousness as a businessman and the high quality of hisproduct. Palansky suffered the same reversal of fortune in theearly '60s that the other companies experienced, and diversifiedhis product line in order to keep in business. But he had found-ed the company as a head-making enterprise, and he was deter-mined to keep making calfskin heads—however limited themarket might be. Today, his company continues to offer a com-plete line of handcrafted heads for both drums and percussioninstruments. Although there are other domestic makers of skinheads for various ethnic drums, Palansky is apparently the lastU.S. maker of calfskin heads for orchestral drums, drumsets,and timpani.

In Part 3 of this series, we'll take a look at some of the drum-mers still using calfskin heads today—and their reasons fordoing so. We'll also examine the future of these unique heads.

up playing with Perry again?SP: Not really, because every time Perryand I played, I always felt somethingreally strong with him. It's a love formusic that we both share. We both lovedplaying live, which was the best partabout being on tour—that hour on stage.But we both liked making records, too.We had that in common. Dave [Navarro,guitarist] and Eric [A., bassist] lovedmusic, but they didn't want to do it asmuch as I did. We all had a good time onstage, but everything that led to gettingto that point each day was a mess. Theydidn't love the whole ordeal. They lovedthat one hour on stage, but they didn'tlike the other twenty-three hours.MP: Dave said in a Rolling Stone articlethat drugs had a lot to do with it.SP: Yeah, that's true—not so much thatanybody's doing drugs was a problemitself, but it changed the people involvedand made them negative. It got to thepoint where they were more concernedwith where they were going to get theirnext score than with the gig that night.

Then on stage, I kind of felt like I wasthe glue holding it all together; every-body was looking at me for direction.And I didn't mind that, but the circum-stances of it weren't good. The audiencecouldn't tell there was a problem, but thefour of us could.MP: But Jane's Addiction wasn't alwayslike that. When did these problems start?SP: After writing all our songs and mak-ing our records, we got stuck on a majortour. It seemed like eight to ten monthssolid, where we were always with theband, always on a bus—showering withthe band, eating with the band, andsleeping with the band. It became unnat-ural. Now with Porno, I can't wait untilthe guys get into town so we can justhang out or go swimming or whatever.I'll call to see if they've checked intotheir hotel yet. It's like a new girlfriend:"Let's go to the zoo, let's go anywhere!"With Jane's, we already did everything.We went to Australia, we went here, wewent there. Going back into the studiowith Jane's just didn't feel right.MP: What's the difference betweenPorno at this point and Jane's at the

STEPHEN PERKINS

same point in its career?SP: Perry and I know so much more about making music andmaking records, keeping the band together and doing thethings you need to do to make it all work. We're just moremature as people and we've brought that to the other guys inPorno. The other three guys in the band see us and think weknow what we're doing, whether we really do or not. [laughs]We were all just so young when Jane's started, and, as for themusic, it was "three...four...crash!" Everything would be ablow-up, all you could put into it. Porno likes to stretch thingsout, pull back a little and then climax—maybe. Jane's was get-ting to that point with the third record; the music was verydynamic and soft in a lot of places. So Perry and I have kind ofbrought that over into Porno.MP: What did you do with your time between bands?SP: Perry and I were talking in Australia, when we knew Jane'swas dissolving. We had some good ideas and we just took ourtime with them. I joined the Infectious thing when I got out ofJane's, mainly because I felt I just had to keep playing. I washome and I didn't know what else I was going to do at the time.But Mike Muir called me up and said he had a tour with OzzyOsbourne lined up for a month and asked if I'd do it—40-minute shows, done by 9:00 P.M. I'd met Mike from someshows Suicidal Tendencies had done with us, so it sounded likea quick thrill where I could keep my chops up. And I met a lotof cool metal players, like the guys from Metallica and Queen-sryche. I did percussion on the whole Infectious record andplayed three songs on drums, but it was just a thing to do forfun while Perry was relaxing. Perry was putting the finishing

touches on his movie, Gift, and we knew we'd get back togetherfor something serious later on. When we finally did, we bothhad a lot of ideas, plus there were so many songs that were inthe air from the Jane's days that we never really worked out. Wefooled around with them at rehearsals, but the interest of allfour members wasn't there to just dig in and make these partsamazing, like the other Jane's songs. Perry and I decided we'dpull those songs aside and just wait for our next project.MP: How did you find the other players for Porno?SP: That was a pretty tough one. The guitar player, a guynamed Peter DeSteffano, turned out to be a surfer buddy ofPerry. They'd been surfing together for years, and Perry nevereven knew he played guitar! Meanwhile, we'd been auditioningguitar player after guitar player, and we met a lot of good play-ers. But one day Peter picked up an acoustic and was justshredding, so Perry was like, "I think we found our guitar play-er, who just happens to be my best surfer buddy!" And then weput an ad out in the LA. Weekly for a bass player and got hun-dreds of calls on it. One night, we did an audition of about thir-ty guys, and the last one was a guy named Martyn Lenoble, whowe ended up asking into the band. He's a really clever playerfrom Amsterdam. European players have a little differentapproach than American rock 'n' rollers, so I found myself real-ly listening to what he was doing and trying to play along withit. The thing about his parts is that they're not overwhelmingor something that will take over the song. Perry, Peter, and I aremore thrashers, whereas Mark is very controlled, and I had tolearn how to take my thrash into his channel.MP: Do you and Mark try to lock in with each other or play

more off each other?SP: There's some of both, depending onthe part of a song. There are some partswhere there are sparse, easy guitarstrums with busy drums, like this song.[Stephen plays a taped cut of the song"Porno For Pyros."] I'm using my bon-gos a lot as part of the basic rhythm.MP: You did the same type of thing withJane's, but now it seems like you're morein the pocket with it.SP: Well, I did do that with Jane's, butnow I think I'm a lot better at it. WithJane's, I'd do that, but then I'd lose myfocus on where I was. Like on "MountainSong," where it's all toms—it was greatif I just did that over and over. But if Ithought of some weird fill, I'd lose therhythm and it screwed things up.MP: I think most drummers would belike that, though.SP: Yeah, but with Jane's, I would bewilling to screw things up. [laughs] I wasyoung and didn't care. With Porno, I'mjust concentrating more. I've got onecrash cymbal, a couple of drums, andthat's all I need. I just want to play thepart and not fade off into something else.MP: What made you get more disci-

plined?SP: I just felt I was gradually moving tothat point as a player anyway. I was lis-tening to some of the old tapes and I wasthinking, "Wow, the drums are great, butthey're going off too much." It wasn't ina bad way, but now that I'm getting older,I'm finding more pleasure in keeping tothe beat. It can still get very complicatedand intricate, but I just want to do it overand over and lock it in right. Like I saidbefore, with Jane's, it was, "Three...Four...everybody explode!" We justwanted to put it in everybody's faces.With Porno, we already know we can dothat, so we're just holding it back a littleand only letting it go once in a while, likea rubber band. And I love playing likethat. I feel more in control; I guess theword would be "sexier." I know what I'mdoing, I'm here to do it, and I'm notgoing to screw around with it. I lovedJane's and the busyness of the music,but it's time to go in a different direc-tion.MP: How do you think that will translateto people familiar with your previouswork?SP: Musicians will listen and get it, but I

don't really play for anybody else except the other four guys.Like when I see Perry singing, I tell myself I have to be thebaddest drummer—because that guy's the baddest singer, andI gotta make him happy. But I think people will have to listen toit a few times before they really understand it and see it forwhat it really is. And that's the kind of music I like, where youhave to listen to it before you really get into it. Like when I firstheard Pink Floyd or Zeppelin, it was kind of weird at first and Ididn't know if I liked it, but then I started to understand it.With Bon Jovi, anybody can get it on the first listen. I'd say ourstuff is a little more intellectual and that you have to thinkabout it. It's complicated in a subtle way.MP: From what I've heard from Porno so far, the songs actuallyseem a little more structured than Jane's songs were, whichlends more accessibility to them.SP: "Structured" is a good word. Perry and I have gotten to thepoint where we're slicing off all the fat. Let's get trim andmake the song. We thought, "This is just bass, drums, guitar,and vocals. Should we produce it?" But why? If it's a goodsong, let people hear it as it is. With Jane's, the songs weregreat, but we were new in the studio and tried to tinker withlittle toys to spice things up. But Porno is bare bones, just thefive musicians and that's it.MP: Is it easy to create songs with the new group?SP: The songs are coming very easily. It does take work,though, to make some of the complicated parts sound the waywe heard them in our heads. But it's such a positive attitudethat it just went by really quickly, and now that we're donerecording this record, we're going to put it away and start writ-

ing for a new record, even before the firstone's out. We want to write more songsbecause they're in us. We don't want tojust tour on these tunes. We love writingsongs and recording them. I don't likethe idea that a band like Metallica makesone record every five years. I mean, I loveMetallica; I bow down to them. But Igotta create more than ten songs everythree years. Jane's only did thirty songsin six years. And all the Jane's tunes werewritten at the same time, which madethings even worse.MP: But then you run into the danger ofall your songs sounding the same. Over acouple of years, your style is bound tochange.SP: That's true, but each song with ussounds so different. That's the way itwas with Jane's. You couldn't tell theywere written at the same time, but theywere. "Three Days," which is a ten-minute tune, might have been written onthe same day as "Had A Dad," a three-minute song on a different album. Butwe definitely want all the songs to sounddifferent.MP: I'm sure it helps to have a kit likeyours. Where did you get the idea tomake bongos and timbales importantparts of your set?SP: I grew up playing to AC/DC, and Ilove it, but nobody ever taught me how toplay Latin music, which is what real per-cussion is. Now I'm discovering youdon't need the kick and snare to makemeter. You can imply the meter and playother drums. For cymbals, all I have is acrash, a ride, a China, and a couple of icebells. I had a zillion cymbals with Jane's,but now I'm forced to hit them onlywhen I need to. Cymbals interrupt andblend into guitar frequencies, so I toldmyself that instead of doing a hi-hatbeat, do it on the toms or timbales, makeit more drummy or percussive and lesslike a trapkit. I was teaching my sister'sfriend how to play drums, and instead ofthe normal kick-snare things, I taughther a Latin beat first. And now she'sonto this new vibe and it's awesome! Iwas taught the conventional way first,and I don't mind playing it like that. Butthat's what everybody else is doing; it'salready been done. So I'm having toteach myself new things. I'm lookingnow into having this guy make me a cus-tomized African drum to take the place

of my bass drum.MP: Who has given you guidance in thisdirection?SP: Just other band members and Perry,mainly. Perry's a great drummer. Techni-cally, he can't shred, but he can get backthere and think of some crazy beat thatyou or I would never think of. A lot ofpeople don't realize that Stevie Wonderplayed drums on a lot of his old records,and he came up with some groovy beats.The guy's a keyboard player, he wasn'ttaught kick/snare, he was just taughtmusic. A couple of our songs don't havevery much melody with the guitar orbass, so it's up to me to use toms, bon-gos, and timbales to make up a melodyline. Instead of just rolling down thetoms for a fill, I try to use them as part ofa song. And I just bought a timpani that Iset up to my left, and I'm tuning it to thesong. That takes a little more work, butit's a fun drum. I'm just trying toapproach it all like a new instrument,and it challenges me to come up withsomething new. And the guys in the bandpull that out of me.

I've been getting into Airto. He doesn'thave a drumkit, he has a percussion kitand plays music by himself. That'ssomething I'm trying to do and some-thing I think real drummers can pull off.I love Metallica and bands like that. I likeplaying to their records; I get off on that.But when I'm making my own parts, Iwant to go beyond that and make it myown thing, my own character. I want peo-ple to know that it sounds like StephenPerkins.MP: Does that individuality drive you tobe publicly recognized for your work?SP: Not to be known as Stephen Perkins,but known as a drum sound. Not thetone of it, but the feel of it. Like the song"Infectious Grooves," I wanted to dosomething funky to it. The demo theysent me was all right, but pretty straight.But I said, "Why do you have to have thesnare on 2 and 4? Put it somewhere elseand just make people think it's on 2 and4. Screw with it a little. That, to me, ismy character. I don't want to be knownfor just a sound; I want people to listento me and think, "Wow, that's a musicaldrummer." If you take the bass, guitar,and vocals away and leave just the drumpart, I still want it to be musical and havemelody.

MP: It sounds like one thing hasn't changed, in that you andPerry get bored easily with what you've created.SP: It's just that we want to keep creating. And I see Porno asevolving constantly. We're thinking of things all the time, likeputting a marimba on my kit. Then I'd really be able to play amelody. Kick, snare with one hand, and melody with the otherhand. It might be hard, impossible maybe [laughs], but whyhave a floor tom and not have something that plays actualmelodies?

I want to get to the point where I can make music completelywith my kit. I've looked into electronics and I bought a coupleof Roland pads. I use them once in a while, but I never want touse them for a drum sound. Why put a snare in a pad whenyou've already got a snare? I find that pads are good for practic-ing and good for the studio if you want to come up with a weirdsound or noise. But I want to hear real drums, and it hurts meto hear samples.MP: Aside from the percussion instruments, is there anythingelse that's unconventional about your setup?SP: Well, I guess you could say the position of my snare is dif-ferent. I tilt it forward now because for five or six years, I usedto get bruises on my leg from it being in the wrong position forme. I ended up moving it around until I found the place thatwas most comfortable, and that turned out to be tilting it for-ward. And I crank the snare tension on it really tight. By itself,it sounds obnoxious, but with the whole kit and the rest of themusic, it fits right in there.MP: Are you very particular about the exact notes or sounds

coming from your drums?SP: I'm very much into tuning mydrums correctly and getting a goodsound straight from that and going withit. Engineers usually hate me because Idon't put anything in my kick drum, justthe two heads. It's loud, but if you tunethe heads right, it only rings as much asa floor tom would. When I bought myfirst drumset, all it came with was thetwo heads and a felt strip, so I learned totune it like that. An engineer might wantme to at least put a pillow in there, butthen you have these nice, resonant tomsand a "thud" for a kick. Then thebiggest drum is the softest instrument.It doesn't make any sense. I'll tell anengineer, "Why don't you just put amicrophone in front of the head, let metune it, and if it sounds good on stage,but not in the speakers, tell me what youneed me to do—whether it's too ringy,too dead—and I'll tune it." That, to me,is the way you should make music. Butyou get to the point where engineers say,"We could use an electronic kit and it'llsound just as good, Steve. We could plugit in—no tuning." But that hurts me. I

feel like the drum is there for a drumreason. If you know how to tune a floortom or kick drum, tune it. People aretaping and muffling because they can'tget the overtones out of drums. Butyou're the drummer, you should knowwhat you want to hear, so learn how totune your drums. I'll spend an hour,sweating, frustrated over it, only to findout one of the heads is busted! But I'lljust get a new head and work it out. AndI never like the feel of hitting a drumwith something in it, like there's some-thing in the way. That's why with Porno,we got our keyboard player/sound effectsguy [Matt Hyde], who's also an engineer,to do the engineering for the record.He's on our side, and he knows thesongs, so when you hear the kick drum,it's big. But it's a 16x20, so it's not muchbigger than a floor tom, and by tuning itright, you don't get any ring.MP: Is it hard to be musical as a drum-mer, in the way you're speaking of, andnot get in the way of what the other play-ers are doing?SP: There's a fine line, when you have toask if it's working. Ask the bass player if

it's working with a cool tom-tom thingyou might be doing. It takes a lot of workand good communication, but we've gotit down, or at least we're getting better atit. For instance, we did ten songs in thestudio and we were kind of bored, so wewrote another one right on the spot,called "Venice." So it was like, "Wow,we're really starting to figure each otherout." It's fun because we are learningabout each other every day and we'recoming up with new ideas all the time.We haven't played live very much at thispoint, and it seems like all the cool partswe've worked on in rehearsal just go outthe window when we play a show. Butthat's cool, too, because we're makingthings up on the spot and pulling themoff. When there's 3,000 fans screaming,it makes you do weird things sometimes.But then when you listen back to thetapes, you realize how cool it sounds andthat you have a new part to play.MP: Do you record yourself and listenback often?SP: I'm the tape master! Especially withthe drums, I like to go back and listen. Idon't want to settle, even with the partsI've put on record. I listen to the Jane'sstuff and I think there are some parts Icould have played better, and it feelsgood to get better. I started getting intorecording our shows in the early Jane'sdays. Perry would always do somethingdifferent or say something weird in amonologue every night, and it was like,"Wow, this is never going to be saidagain." And the guitar solos and drumsolos were different every night, so I'dtake the tape and pop it in after the showand pick up on those things. But I alsouse the tape as a reference point. I'll goback to shows from a few months or ayear ago and see how I've changed. I havea room full of Jane's, Porno, and Infec-tious tapes. To me, the music I make ismy whole life, and it's worth saving.MP: Listening back to your tapes, howdo you think your playing has changed?SP: I've just become more aware of otherplayers in the band. When the singer'ssinging, support him, don't show off.Sometimes I'd forget he was singing andI'd think of something bad-ass to play.But people want to hear what someone'ssinging and they don't want to hear adrummer going off at the same time.

When it's my turn to take off, I'll do it.And reading the lyrics helps me do thatbetter. If there's a sad verse, I'll play it alittle differently than I did the last verse.That's important to me. Lyrics may notmean much to a lot of people, butPerry's lyrics truly mean a lot to me, andI have to support him. That's whatmakes this band; it's more like anensemble.

This band challenges me to be a bet-ter player technically. With the bongos,toms, and snare going back and forth, ittakes a lot more concentration to keepthese intricate parts going. Some of theparts call for something jazzy, so I putpressure on myself to make them jazzyevery time, because I know I can do it.So I press myself to loosen up, so I canpull off things—like a seven-strokeroll—when I need to.

This new band has forced me tobecome more interested in the consis-tency of what I'm playing. There's aPorno song called "Cursed Female,"where I did something I don't think I'veever done before, where I just play solidgroove the whole time. The song neededa big drum beat that you didn't have tokeep thinking about. It needed to beconstant, hypnotizing—a beat to me thatjust feels like sex.MP: Do you practice your parts a lot onyour own?SP: Not the parts so much, but I defi-nitely play every day. I've got a little kitset up in my house, and I really get off onplaying; I have to play. I'd rather be sit-ting behind my set than doing anythingelse at home. Sitting outside in the sun,reading a book, or watching a good movieis all right, but creating music is just somuch more exciting to me. SometimesI'm not motivated or inspired to come upwith anything special, so I just work onmy chops or on something syncopated,and then I start to loosen up and getinspired again. I feel blessed that I madeenough money with Jane's to soundproofa room so I can play twenty-four hours aday if I want to. It's strange, because thefirst few weeks after doing that, I'd playfor hours upon hours a day. As the weekswent by I didn't play as much, but I feelso comfortable behind my kit that I stillgo in there and sit on my throne just toeat dinner; I'd put my dinner right on

my snare. So even when nothing's com-ing out of me that day or I'm justsuckin', I still like to be back there andthinking about drumming. Even before agig, I'm thinking about it and trying tofocus; and that, to me, is practicing. Ifyou lose that discipline, once you getbehind a kit, you're just playing on imageand you're not facing yourself. And if Idon't pull something off one night that Iknow I should, damn if I'm not going topull it off tomorrow. I don't do it just tomake myself happy, but to make the songbetter. But still, it's something inside methat wants to do it right. And I get thesame feeling playing drums in my bed-room as I did when Jane's sold out Madi-son Square Garden, which was amazing.I mean, I had 20,000 kids hearing mykick drum. But the feeling is still thesame when I'm the only one hearing it.MP: But how important is it for you toplay in front of that many people? Jane'sreached a level of popularity that Pornomight never hit.SP: It's fun to have 20,000 fans out there,don't get me wrong. But it's more impor-tant to make good music. We could havemade another Jane's record and playedin front of 50,000 people at our next gig,but inside it wouldn't have felt right. Itwould be, "Dudes, we just fooled 50,000people tonight."MP: Your new band is kind of in an envi-able position of being able to make itsown rules. You can make records when-ever you want and do isolated showswhenever you want, without thedrudgery of six or twelve months straighton the road.SP: You've hit the spot right there; that'sexactly what the plan is, to stay away

from the conventional tour. Everybodygoes to The Ritz to see a band, and wesay, "Screw that, we're going to do some-thing else." We just want to find a coolspace in a city, like a park, rent it for theday, and throw a party. Just a good out-door vibe. We don't want it to be thesame old thing, a show at The Roxy, fivebucks for parking.... We want to make ita day, like the Lollapalooza atmosphere,except with just us and maybe some sideact—and not even a rock 'n' roll band,but maybe a mariachi band.MP: And what about you personally?Where do you see yourself in the future?SP: Just playing drums and makingmusic; that's where I'm happiest. I'mnot sure where I'm headed or who it willbe with. You know, the music with Jane'sAddiction was such a great part of mylife, and I'll listen to those records andlove them forever, but now I'm doingsomething new. There's a new saying wehave in the band—instead of "So far, sogood," it's "So far, so great." Jane's wasgreat, and this is greater. You can ques-tion how long it will last, and Perry and Iasked ourselves how many records wecould make with Porno—two, five, ten?But we said, "Hey, we're ready to makesome more music, so why even questionit? Let's just go back to my house andwrite more songs." Maybe it'll be our lastbatch, maybe it won't. But if you keepthinking, "Oh, man, we have to go makemore records," that's when your thinkingis off. I sacrifice a lot of things for music,like deep relationships. But the way Ilook at it is that somebody has to sacri-fice to play drums ten hours a day, so itmight as well be me.

Chris Layton:Texas Flood

by Robert Santelli

Stevie Ray Vaughan and his band, Dou-ble Trouble, played a major role in theresurrection of the blues in the 1980s.While rock 'n' roll was still in the midstof its post-punk hangover and rap wasnot yet the powerful musical force itwould become by decade's end, Vaughan,bass player Tommy Shannon, and drum-mer Chris Layton cut a blues path thatRobert Cray, Albert Collins, and theentire contemporary blues roster of Alli-gator Records would ultimatelyfollow—thus returning blues to the posi-tion of prominence in pop it had lastenjoyed in the late '60s.

The album that started it all for Vaugh-an and Double Trouble—TexasFlood—was certainly one of the mostimportant blues albums of the '80s. Lis-ten to any of its tracks, and you'll hear aband that was innocently loose—almostto a point of being downright cocky. Theywere also amazingly tight. That Layton

supplied the foundation from whichVaughan was able to launch his now leg-endary guitar solos is plainly evident onsongs such as "Pride And Joy," "I'mCryin'," "Lovestruck Baby," and"Lenny."

It's also easy to see why, soon after thetracks that would comprise Texas Floodwere cut, Vaughan and Double Troublewere offered a recording contract frompop's great talent scout, John Hammond.Hammond signed the band to the Epiclabel and kept the recorded contents ofthe album practically intact.

RS: I recall reading that Texas Flood wasrecorded in a matter of days.CL: That's true, it was. We did it overthe Thanksgiving holiday in 1982. Jack-son Browne had offered us the use of hisstudio out in California for free. Thefirst day we cut only a couple of songs,but the next day we cut about eighttracks. The album was recorded live.Two days and we were done.RS: Were the songs that you recordedpart of your live repertoire at the time?CL: Yeah. They say your first record isalways the easiest one to make. The rea-son why that's true is because if you'vebeen a working band, like we were, youjust go into the studio and crank out thesongs. That's what happened with us.The second record we did [Couldn'tStand The Weather] was far more diffi-cult to finish, by comparison.RS: Who was the engineer for the ses-sions?CL: It was Richard Mullen. He was realhelpful. I didn't have any real knowledgeof how to mike the drums or anything, sohe kind of set things up for me. I mean,about the only time I had spent in arecording studio prior to that sessionwas to do a couple of demos back inTexas.RS: How long had Double Trouble beentogether prior to recording Texas Flood?CL: I joined Stevie on September 1,1978. Tommy Shannon joined the bandin 1981.RS: Did the band have any recording

experience before cutting Texas Flood?CL: Not as a band. As I said, I had a lit-tle experience, but not much. But Steviehad cut various demos and whatnot.Tommy Shannon had recorded withJohnny Winter in the late '60s, and withother artists afterwards. But we'd donenothing as a unit. You have to under-stand that we didn't go into the studiothinking we were making an album. Wedidn't have a record deal at the time. Wefigured we'd just lay down some tracksand see how it sounded. I didn't think,"Well, today we're gonna make our firstalbum." We tuned up the guitars anddrums as best we could and just startedplaying. In a way, it was like your classic'50s style of recording: Get into the stu-dio and let it fly.RS: How much control did you have overwhat you played? Did Stevie leave thedrum parts of the songs entirely up toyou?CL: Stevie really wasn't the kind of per-son who would tell you what to play.Sometimes he would suggest a feelingthat he thought might work. His wholeway of communicating was like, "Hey,maybe when we get into the solo youcould drop a bomb on us, you know—layinto the kick drum for one beat." That'sabout as graphic as he'd get.RS: Today, when you listen to your per-formance on Texas Flood, are you happywith what you hear?CL: Well, to be honest, I wish I couldhave been a better drummer at the time.RS: Why do you say that?CL: Oh, I don't know. I listen to TexasFlood and the other albums we did, andsuddenly it comes to me that we'll neverbe able to do anything else again. I justwish I'd been better when the opportu-nity was there. I don't know if this is anormal emotional reaction or not, givenwhat happened to us. I mean, I can askmyself, is this my emotions coming out,or is this an honest critique of my play-ing? I don't know the answer to that.Texas Flood was a good representation ofwho we were back then. But I think thatevery record has something to offer that

other records don't. I don't think, in thiscase, I could come up with a "best albumwe ever did" kind of judgement. As forStevie, I think he got some of his bestguitar tones on Soul To Soul. But I don'tthink that record is anywhere near whatwe accomplished on, say, In Step. I thinkthe band was reallyhappening on thatrecord, which onlymade the tragedy ofStevie's death evenharder to take. Imean everybody hadgotten all cleaned upand sober. When wemade In Step, it waslike making our firstrecord all overagain—except thistime we had a lotmore experience under our belts. Steviewas pretty frightenedabout making thatrecord. He had realquestions aboutwhether or not some-body could be trulycreative being totallystraight and sober.He was worriedabout whether or notwe'd have that cer-tain edginess. I thinkhe thought aftersome musiciansbecame sober, they stopped playing—really playing, if you know what I mean.He was definitely fearful that it mighthappen to him. I don't think it did.RS: Is your background pure blues?CL: I never really played blues before Ibegan playing with Stevie. In my lateteens, I was listening to drummers likeBilly Cobham and groups like Return ToForever. Earlier than that I was listeningto a lot of Santana and Stevie Wonder. Ofcourse, I heard what I figured was blueson my mother's Ray Charles records.Also, my dad had a bunch of 78s—thingsby Lionel Hampton and Count Basie and

Fats Waller. That's why, when I firstheard B.B. King and Muddy Waters, Ijust kind of fell right in with that wholeblues feeling.RS: Let's talk for a moment about spe-cific songs off Texas Flood. Do you havea favorite track or one that you're most

proud of?CL: I think two ofthem come to mind:"I'm Cryin'" and"Love Struck Baby." Ilike what I played onthose two tracks thebest. "I'm Cryin'" is agood example of howI play a shuffle. As faras I'm concerned, ashuffle is primarily afeel thing. Good"feel" drummers canusually play goodshuffles.RS: What you playedon "I'm Cryin'" isquite similar to whatyou played on anotherof the album's tracks,"Pride And Joy."CL: They're prettysimilar, but they eachhave a different feelto them. I alwaysthought "I'm Cryin'"was a better exampleof how I play a shufflethan "Pride And Joy."

"Pride And Joy" got more attentionbecause it was a more uplifting kind ofsong.RS: Any decent blues drummer has tohave a shuffle beat down pat. How didyou develop your shuffle?CL: Other than getting the right feelingdown, a shuffle is a hard thing to makeinteresting unless you can find a way togive it your own signature. A shuffle isn'treally as limiting as you might think;there are really many ways you can breakit up and play it. One of the albums thatreally influenced me—as far as shufflesgo—was an Albert Collins record called

The Cool Sound Of Albert Collins. I don'teven know who the drummer was on thatalbum—but he was good, I can tell youthat.RS: What about the song "Testify"?What's the first thing that pops into yourmind when you hear that song?CL: That song was probably our biggestrevelation on Texas Flood. When werecorded it, we made a mistake in it. Sowe stopped and went back and punchedthe whole band in on it instead of just re-doing the track. That was Stevie's idea.RS: And what about the song "Lenny"?CL: I remember looking at the song as ifit was some kind of jazz piece. We didn'tlabor over the song. That song was morea platform for Stevie's guitar playingthan anything else.RS: How much of what you played onTexas Flood was a direct reaction to whatStevie played on guitar?CL: Almost all of it. That's how he likedit. You know, Stevie never liked to do any-thing the same way twice. We tried tomake everything as spontaneous as wecould get it. The sponaneity of a songwas really our yardstick to determine ifwe had a song down or not. And I stilllike to live like that. Today, of course,that's hard to do, given the way recordsare made. Spontaneity doesn't always geta fair chance when you're talking aboutmaking records these days. If it does, it'sin increments or pieces at a time.RS: Are there drum parts or beats onTexas Flood that reappear on subsequentalbums you did with Stevie and DoubleTrouble? How consistent was your stylegoing from Texas Flood to Couldn'tStand The Weather and beyond?CL: I like to think that as we made eachrecord, I developed a different approachand style. But, honestly, I think every-thing I played on Texas Flood and theother albums ultimately had a thread ofsameness going through it. We weren'tbig groundbreakers. What we tried to dowas take the blues—which was a tradi-tional kind of music—and present it in anew and interesting way.

"Stevie neverliked to do

anything thesame way

twice. We triedto make

everything asspontaneousas we could

get it."

John Bonham:"Black Dog"

Transcribed by Tom DeFaria

Call and response is what Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog" is allabout. The vocalist makes the call, in free time, and the bandresponds with a thunderous blues lick. How the band beginseach response in perfect time with each other is the mystery of"Black Dog." It sounds as if Bonham clicks his sticks twice toset the tempo. These clicks fall on beats 3 and the "&" of 3 inmeasures 2, 5, 8, and so on throughout the transcription. Thestick clicks, for the most part, are difficult to hear in therecording. This gives the listener the impression the band cankick in, in perfect time, without a count-off. However, if youlisten very carefully you can hear an occasional stick click.These stick clicks are notated in the transcription with an "x"on the snare drum line.

Due to the irregularities of measures 30 and 66, it wouldseem the stick clicks and/or body english were used to createthe tempo and present the downbeat of the following mea-

sures. Our use of 10/8 and 9/8 time sig-natures is simply an attempt to notatewhat was played.

The main groove of the song, whichemphasizes the upbeats instead of thedownbeats, looks awkward on paper butis actually the perfect rhythmic accom-paniment to the line the bass and guitar are playing. Also ofnote is Bonham's development of the two-bar rhythmic patternstarting at measure 67 and continuing to the end of the song.No fills here! Just subtle variations of the bass drum pattern,which provides a building intensity, interest, tension, and sup-port underneath a blazing guitar solo.

Tremendous imagination and swing make John Bonham'splaying on "Black Dog" and the rest of Led Zeppelin IV a mas-terpiece.

Preparing A Subby Ken Ross

No matter how conscientious you are as a professional musi-cian, there are times when you need to "sub out." This meanspaying a substitute to play in your absence. Rules and policieson subbing vary dramatically, depending on the job and location.For example, on Broadway you may sub out 50% of the time—asopposed to a road show, where you are discouraged from sub-bing out at all.

Well-qualified subs are hard to come by.This article focuses on suggestions for find-ing and preparing a qualified substitute.

Before you contact a sub, it is importantthat you first assess your needs. Considerthe dates you will need covered and thesalary you will pay, and be prepared to dis-cuss any theater policies a sub should bemade aware of. (For example, our theaterpolicy dictates that a sub must observe aperformance before he or she is hired toplay.) You will also want to know your sub'savailability for future dates, since you willboth be investing a lot of time in prepara-tion. Once you offer a sub the dates, you arebound to a commitment. If your sub accepts,he or she is also bound. There are no writtencontracts; this is an honor system that workswell.

Salary is based on the musicians unionscale for the type of service you are perform-ing and where you are performing it. OnBroadway, for example, the sub is paid NewYork City Broadway scale—which is specific,and covers such things as overtime and dou-bles (such as timpani and mallet keyboard).The sub is put on a payroll and paid directlyfrom the theater by the house contractor. The sub also becomeseligible for certain benefits, including the pension and welfarefund through the musicians union.

If the gig is non-union, that presents a different situation. Itis then necessary to negotiate a salary you both agree to. Thereare no standard contracts for non-union gigs, so you are on thehonor system.

Another important detail is preparing your book. It must becomprehensive, yet as simple and straightforward as possible. Itshould be consistent and should use standard notation. Any

unusual notation should be clearly marked. Neatness certainlycounts. You don't want the sub struggling to decipher your nota-tion rather than concentrating on the music. If there are anychanges made in the book, I document this in the back of thebook along with the date. This makes it easy to alert my sub tothe new changes at a glance. Another idea I adopted is sketchinga diagram of my setup. This helps my sub simulate the setup inpractice.

The next consideration is how to find a qualified substitute.Getting recommendations for subs is easy; every musician has afew friends to suggest. But this is not always the most reliablemethod, and it can hurt your reputation. To increase the odds offinding the right musician for the job, I suggest starting with arecommendation from your musical director, who will probablyrecommend someone he or she has worked with in the past andfeels comfortable with. Another reliable source can be a musi-

cian who has subbed for you in the past. Heor she would be very familiar with the jobrequirements, and thus would be in a goodposition to recommend qualified subs. Lastly,I suggest calling a reputable contractor.Contractors stake their reputations on rec-ommendations.

As a general rule, your sub should use yourequipment: everything from cymbals tosticks. After all, it is his or her job to come asclose to duplicating your sound and perfor-mance as possible. It is your responsibility,though, to make sure your equipment is ingood working order. I always leave sparedrumheads, tools, tuning keys, and musicstand light bulbs for my sub, in case a break-age occurs.

The drum setup is best left unchanged,since re-positioning can affect the sound andthe sightline to the musical director. In cer-tain cases some re-positioning is unavoidable,though. I play left handed, while all my subsare right handed—so I have figured out waysto minimize the problems of re-positioningmy setup. For example, I try to duplicate mysetup on both sides of my kit. I use identicalcymbal setups on the right and left sides. I

also use a double tom mount: one arm for my setup and theother for my sub's use. I also mount my ride cymbal off thismount and simply swing the boom arm around for my sub.Another idea is to place masking tape on the floor where thestands and pedals rest. I then label each piece of tape appropri-ately. This allows me to re-position my setup accurately andconsistently. The larger instruments (timpani, mallet key-boards) are left alone because of the obvious inconvenience ofmoving them, and it doesn't seem to be a problem to play theseinstruments on either side.

"I've had avisiting sub

produce a tunahero with chips

and startmunchingaway duringthe show."

Although it may not be mandatory, it is always wise to inviteyour prospective sub to observe your performance of the show.During this visit, provide the sub with a comfortable seat and agood view of both the conductor and yourself. You can beaccommodating by providing a pencil, pad, and electrical outletfor tape recording. Space is a precious commodity in most pits,so be considerate of your fellow musicians' territory.

Alert your sub to any unusual noises or actions that mightoccur during a performance. For example, during the showAnnie Get Your Gun, very loud gun shots were used. In Me AndMy Girl, a tiger rug is tossed on the drummer in the pit. Duringthe show it is alright to let the sub know where there is animportant visual cue from the conductor or on stage, but keepthe conversation to a minimum so as not to incur the evil eyefrom the conductor. This visit can also be your last chance toscreen your applicant. Technical skills are only a part of the job.As silly as it may sound, you might mention the policy on con-duct in the pit. I've had a visiting sub produce a tuna hero withchips and start munching away during the show. The warninglights should also blink if you hear one of the following: "So, doyou do this full-time?", "I'll try to be there by 7:30," "Can Ibring my girlfriend?", or "How long have you guys been togeth-er?"

As diligent as you may be in recruiting and preparing for asub, perfection is not always guaranteed. We were doing the

show Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, and the band was onstage in cowboy garb. After a funny scene, we heard bellowinglaughter. To our amazement, it was coming from the new subbass player. It seems he really enjoyed the show—so much, infact, that our conductor thought he should have bought a ticket.There was another incident at our theater when we offered abuffet-style lunch for patrons. My sub decided to help himselfto a desert from the buffet table, then headed back to the greenroom to gobble up his treat. Standing by was our ever-watchfulstage manager, who demanded that the sub surrender thedesert. He refused, and a struggle followed. As it happened, thesub enjoyed his desert—but he never worked at our theateragain.

A follow-up call to your sub soon after his or her performanceis a good idea. Assuming everything went well and the musicaldirector was satisfied, take this opportunity to thank your suband confirm any future dates. If things did not go well, you'refaced with an awkward situation. If your musical director doesnot want your sub back, it's your responsibility to relay thismessage. Be honest (but tactful), and make your criticism con-structive. Try to end your conversation on a positive note andthank him again for his or her hard work.

Subbing requires the utmost musicianship. These musiciansshould be acknowledged for their extraordinary talents.

tinker around and come up with somemelody and think, 'Gee, that sounds sortof Greek,'" recalls Chris Pedersen. "Sowe'd sort of fake a little Greek thing. Weall had limited experiences listening toGreek music, but we had a vague ideawhat the music to Zorba The Greek orsome classic tune sounded like. I don'treally have an interest in sitting downand figuring out what makes somethingsound like that. I kind of prefer it as amore subconscious process. Because youhave no idea what you should be doing,you come up with something a little bitdifferent but still with a Greek flavor. Tome, that's more interesting anyway thansomeone who has a Ph.D. in musicologyand knows exactly how to ape a Greektune. It's kind of a paradox, but it'salmost more original to fake it."

D'Cuckoo's style is influenced byJapanese-style taiko drumming, Shona-style marimba music from Zimbabwe,Caribbean, West African, and some Mid-dle Eastern music, and a multitude ofWestern pop styles. But they say that theband retains their own distinct stylebecause of the way they integrate differ-ent rhythms with their vocals. "We doperform a few traditional marimba songsfrom Zimbabwe," they explain, "and wealways credit their origins when doingso. Although we play traditional parts, wewill and do take liberties with therhythms according to the song and theinspiration at the time."

ETHNIC DRUMMERS

Before You HitBefore you actually sit down to inte-

grate ethnic styles into your drumming,it might be helpful to do a little home-work. "Try to see, study, and listen to asmuch music as possible to develop yourown style of playing," say the D'Cuckoos."Whenever possible, try to study with themasters of the cultures that you areinterested in learning more about." Withthe current popularity in "world" music,the D'Cuckoos suggest that a good firststep might be to check out the recordlabels specializing in ethnic musics, likeReal World, Shanachie, Rykodisc, FlyingFish, Mango, Triloca, and Claremont/Mountain.

Mitch Marine found it helpful to see

how percussion sections in Latin bandswere playing in order to figure out howhe would play the parts on the drumset."Before that," he says, "all the percus-sion instruments on records soundedjumbled up to me. I could hear the parts,but I wasn't always sure who was doingthem. Then I saw some bands in person,and I began to understand the roles ofeach instrument—how in a cascara pat-

tern, for instance, the timbale wouldswitch over from hitting the side of thetimbales to the cowbell or the bell of thecymbal."

Marine suggests that it's also impor-tant to see what dancers do to authenticrhythms "to figure out exactly what ismaking it happen—what rhythms areunderneath. Look at the relationshipbetween the rhythms and the audience,"

he suggests, "how they feed off eachother and what the musicians do to makethe people dance the way they do. WhenI listened to polka records, I could maybepick off the ride cymbal going "dingdinga-ding dinga-di-di-di-di-ding," andI would try to cop it, but I wouldn'tunderstand that there was necessarily areason for it. When I watched thedancers, though, I understood why thatwas happening."

In most areas, live klezmer music isn'tnearly as accessible as Latin music, andmany of the early klezmer drummers areno longer playing or have passed away. SoKlezmatic David Licht has had to rely alot on listening to old recordings to learnwhat has been done. "Having access tothe YIVO tapes was so important," Davidsays. "Most of it was just getting themusic into my head. You have to work alittle harder, because it's not crystal clearstereo—though an engineer, Jim Nevins,is remastering some of the old stuff for aCD that 's coming out on the Yazoolabel."

David says he's been been fortunateenough to be able to check out some livedrummers over the years, including hisearly teacher, Sammy Anflick. A sourcehe recently delved into, though, is onethat most of us could check out from ourlocal video shop. "I saw The BennyGoodman Story on TV recently," Davidexplains, "and there's a scene whereBenny and Gene Krupa are playing withtrumpeter Ziggy Elman, who played witha lot of the main klezmer musicians of

If you want to learn a new type ofmusic, you obviously should learn how toread music, right? Well, according to ourdrummers, not necessarily. "You don'thave to read music to be a D'Cuckoo," isthis band's take on the question, "but attimes it definitely helps to understandnotation, especially when learning notat-ed parts, and it helps to know music the-ory when we compose. But it can also bea hindrance. Most cultures—exceptWestern—live and breath their music,which is a way of life. Music is passed onthrough the people—not notation—as away of learning and inspiring. There areso many subtle nuances in music fromnon-Western cultures that notation sim-ply cannot embrace. The only way tolearn those nuances is to listen and feel,and that can take a lifetime."

David Licht echoes similar senti-ments: "I prefer music that is justlearned through the airways, not oncharts. I read a little bit, though Iwouldn't feel comfortable subbing forsomebody in a Broadway pit. I do knowthat a chart is a road map, though, andit's important, so I have some knowl-edge."

"I'm not an intellectual musician,"Lee Partis says of himself. "I can't readmusic, though I can certainly hear thedifference between styles. I wouldn'tdeter a student from wanting to read,though I definitely wouldn't tell him todo it. I'd tell him to go out there andplay!"

Because of the nature of their music,perhaps it's more understandable thatthe Brave Combo drummers have a dif-ferent opinion on the matter. "I think it'sgreat to learn to read," says Phil Hernan-dez, "especially for a lot of the Latinstuff, where there's a lot of percussiongoing on. You can see and hear at thesame time how the bells and conga parts

Let's look more closely at how each ofour drummers integrates ethnic musicstyles into their drumming.

Before joining the Oyster Band, LeePartis spent some time playing withAfrican bands, and found that applyinghis African-influenced drumming styleto the jigs and reels of the Oyster Bandworked surprisingly well. "I found thatthat sort of rhythm underneath jigs andreels sounds great," Lee explains, "and itfit in precisely with the Oysters. Theywould play me traditional kinds of tunes,and I'd think, 'This music is just so

funky.'"Now, polkas are different, because

there are a lot of approaches. They'requite difficult to play and put a lot offeeling into. Rolling snare parts are veryeffective. The way I play the polka beaton 'NewYork Girls' is almost like a shuf-fle...not quite New Orleans-ish...butRichie Hayward would understandwhat's going on. It's a rolling snarerhythm that contains threes, but it alsocontains that off beat going against thebass drum.

"I really base my drumming aroundthe bass drum," Partis explains. "I favorplaying it very straight, and playing themore complicated rhythms on the topkit, mainly on the hi-hat and snare, usingthe toms when I want the rhythm to getheavy. Essentially the bass drum pins itall down. Some people's approach toAfrican music and rocking up traditionalmusic is to think in terms of changingthe bass drum, but I always look to keepit dead on all fours or eights. And I findthat people I play with want me to playlike that. They'll say, 'Yeah, that's great, Ididn't notice you,' and to me that's

Reading

the time. They're doing 'And The AngelsSing,' but there's this refrain where itgoes into klezmer for maybe sixteenbars, and Krupa plays like one measureof [the klezmer tune] 'Shtiller Bulgar,'all on cymbal and maybe bass drum. Theaccents are just amazing—and it's actu-ally Gene Krupa playing, not Sal Mineoor someone."

Behind The Kit

and clave relate to each other.""I know some people have a problem

with reading," says Mitch Marine, "but Inever understand why someone wouldnot want to learn something—especiallyif you're going to do independence stuff.If you've got ideas in your head, the onlyway you can get them to your hands andfeet is by having some independence.And some of the books on independenceare fairly easy, without a lot of readinginvolved."

great."Mitch Marine has noticed that differ-

ent styles of polkas suggest differentrhythms. As he mentioned earlier, whathe played was often directly suggested bythe dancers: "For instance, in Eastern-style polka," Mitch explains, "I foundthat the dancers were subdividing thebeat into 16th-note kinds of things. It'salso pretty quick—and they dance prettydarn fast.

"Now, the Tex-Mex style is slower," hecontinues, "and they don't move their feetoff the ground; they slide, like a country& western thing. So there isn't that sub-division underneath. It has a real definitedownbeat/upbeat kind of thing. Then theGerman style is somewhere in betweenthose two. When you get closer to eachpolka style, you find out there can also beregional differences. A friend of mine inSan Antonio showed me how in that par-ticular style, the kick drum hardly doesanything except lay a bomb every now andthen."

"I was surprised at all the subtletiesand the feel of polkas when I first startedplaying in Brave Combo," adds Phil Her-nandez. "A lot of the Polish and Europeanwaltzes have a lot of rolling snare kind ofthings. And on an oberek, which is moreof a rocking waltz, you're really laying intothe snare, but then switching thesnare/bass thing from 'bap bap boom, bapbap boom' to 'boom boom bap, boomboom bap.'"

Polkas aren't all Brave Combo special-ize in. Latin styles are also featured veryprominently. Both Phil Hernandez andMitch Marine have particular ways to dealwith these grooves on the drumset, too."One thing I learned in Combo, playingall these different styles," says Phil, "is tolook at the drumset not as a drumset,because on a lot of the salsa stuff, thereisn't even a drumset playing. So I think interms of, 'My toms are my congas now,my snare rim is a slap sound, and there'smy bell.' So I would match the kick drumwith the bass line in certain sections, dothe cascara pattern on the cymbal bell,and do the clave with my snare hand. Oncha-chas, if our percussionist, Joe, isplaying the conga part, I would play theguiro part on my hi-hat. If I was playing aconga part with a rimshot and toms, he'dthen play the guiro part."

One trap Phil says should be avoided isfeeling like each limb should be playingsomething on any given tune. "I've beentrying to break that habit," he says, "justto conserve energy—especially on a longgig—and to concentrate more on keepinggood time, on the clave, and on keepingeverything together."

Phil suggests that it's easier to play anystyle if you can focus in on the main char-acteristics of that style. "For instance, thecha-cha is keeping the quarter notes onthe cowbell," he explains, "and the salsais about using the right sound source atthe right time—on the chorus or on theverse, playing either the bell or on theside of the floor tom—and keeping theclave straight. A lot of the Latin stuff isabout playing the right clave on particularstyles."

Phil adds that by thinking in terms ofputting on different playing "hats," hecan more easily come up with appropriateparts to play on given styles. "That way,"he explains, "when they call out a cumbiaor maybe a salsa, I already have an ideawhat I could play, and I can just adaptthose fills and breaks to whatever thesong is. I try to keep it pretty separated,just to make it easier on myself, instead ofhaving to go through a bunch of differentideas in my head."

Sometimes bringing ethnic rhythms tothe drumset calls for starting fromscratch, though, as Mitch Marine foundwhen Brave Combo decided to take onthe Armenian folk tune, "Chem-oo-Chem." "'Chem-oo-Chem is a 6/8 over3/4 thing," Mitch explains, "so I accentedthe 6/8 first with the kick drum going123456, 123456. The hi-hat with a tam-bourine attached would be going 123,123, and I would make the snare drum doall this crazy stuff on top. Then in themiddle of the song, to switch things up, Iwould really accent the 6/8 part with thetambourine as well as the bass drum, tothe point where the 3/4 thing was thereally heavy accent. I'd kind of flip thosethings around, because that's what thatrhythm does anyway. Then everybody elsein the band would be doing the samething."

The members of D'Cuckoo have differ-ent playing priorities than our otherdrummers, both because of the style oftheir music and because much of it is

played on keyboard-based instruments. Ina group interview, D'Cuckoo's TinaBlaine, Sarita Escobar, Debbie Lane, andCandice Pacheco talked about the playingmethods their music requires. "First andforemost, we are ensemble players," theplayers agree. "Listening to each other iscrucial for our parts to lock in. The fast,polyrhythmic, 16th-note intensive playingstyle of percussion-based music necessi-tates that we really play with each other tomake the ensemble happen. Although weall take solos at various times, the effectof our group is that the whole unit isgreater than any of the individual parts.The bottom line is that time is everyone'sresponsibility.

"Odd meters within a pulse are defi-nitely more challenging for Western peo-ple," they continue, "and we were raisedwith 4/4 time as well. But we've trainedourselves to layer other rhythms on top ofthe four; our favorite feel is 6/8 over 4/4.Trading off straight 16th notes taiko-styleand keeping it smooth, and playing inside8th-note patterns are also challenges forus. And singing syncopated melodieswhile playing opposing marimba partsburns new neural paths."

In figuring out his parts, David Lichtsays, "It's just taking it one song at atime. Basically the original drum used inKlezmer was called a puk," he explains,"which is a combination of a big bassdrum and cymbal. It's just one low fre-quency and one high frequency, and inmusic for dancing, that's all you need.The snare drum came later, with the mil-itary and jazz drumming influences onthe music."

Like in any style of music, Davidexplains that there are basic rhythms inklezmer—and basic ways to play them."One basic rhythm is the freilach, whichis also known as a bulgar. 'Freilach'means 'happy,' which is what the rhythmfeels like. It's counted with a bass orpiano playing in 4/4, but the drums areplaying almost a 3 3 2 feel , with theaccent on 1. The feel comes from thetension between the bass playing straightfours against the drums. Charlie Byrdfrom the Klezmer Conservatory Bandcalls it the 'oy-vey,' like a Jewish clave. It'snot counted straight, and there are lots ofrolls. I've put a drag in there, and thereare different ways to accent it.

"There are other rhythms, too," Davidexplains. "The sirba is a very quick, Rus-sian two-beat. Turkishers are like five-beat phrases. The hora—not the Israelihora, but the Yiddish hora—is very hardto count. It 's a slower rhythm that'salmost like a five feel. In most songs, itwill lead into a freilach. The Klezmaticsplay a song called 'Heisertartar,' whichstarts out like a freilach, goes into a hora,and ends up in a turkisher. So it's almostlike a showcase for the different rhythmsand styles.

"There are a lot of different ways toapproach the drumset in klezmer," Davidcontinues. "Irving Graetz was the drum-mer with Dave Taras, who's an incredibleKlezmer clarinetist. When I saw Irvingplay, I found that his approach and stick-ing to bulgars were the opposite of theway I was playing, which is basically onehand playing 16th notes and the otherplaying the accents. I'm not sure how itdeveloped that way, but it's just the mostcomfortable way for me.

"The music can be complex," Lichtsays, "but I try to make it simple. So I tryto think sometimes in a marching style,

alternating what the bass drum and hi-hat are doing and kind of copying thatpuk thing from earlier on. On a chusidl,which is a bouncy, pre-wedding 4/4 song,the bass drum and hi-hat will be together.But when I play a Russian sher, which issimilar to a chusidl, I'll turn the hi-hataround so that it's alternating with thebass drum. In a way I relate it to reggae,with the hi-hat giving the heavy 2 and 4."

Rock 'N' Roll!Since most of the drummers we spoke

to have a background in rock 'n' roll, itmakes sense that each would eventuallycome to a point where they thought ofhow their rock leanings mixed with theirnewfound ethnic interests. Chris Peder-sen says that his ethnic forays actually re-ignite his love of rock: "Rock 'n' roll isalways part of our history," says Pedersen."Though you do get kind of sick of it andwant to experiment with something else.After doing that, when you go back to playa rock song, it suddenly sounds fresh andis a lot of fun to play."

"At one time I wanted to deny it," saysMitch Marine, "but my roots are in rock.

And in Brave Combo, if you look at theinstrumentation—drumset, electric gui-tar, electric bass, saxophone—you seethat that kind of lends itself to a rock feel.When I'm playing a polka or whatever, ifsomeone wants me to rock out, no prob-lem. I know what to do, which is not somuch hit harder, but there's a powerthing, an attitude thing. You can eventhrow in an occasional backbeat. Takecha-chas, for instance: If it's a section ofa tune where it's time to rock out, then Iwould just head for the ride cymbal andplay 2 and 4 on the snare. But my left footmight still be playing a clave pattern on awood block, so there would still be thecha-cha thing."

"In a way, I think the psychedelic rock Iplay with Bongwater and bands like thatcomes into the Klezmatics more than theother way around," David Licht explains."I was keeping the klezmer music in kindof a special place. There's always anexchange going on, though. Playingpsychedelic, when I take a solo with theKlezmatics, I don't hold back. In a way,volume also has a lot to do with it; inEurope, for instance, the Klezmatics

Thus far we've mostly talked aboutintegrating ethnic rhythms into ourdrumming. But what about the actualsounds of ethnic instruments? Thoughit's tempting to go out and buy all sorts ofethnic musical "toys," many of us don'thave the space or money to accommodatesuch luxuries. Because of such limita-tions, Chris Pedersen has found ways tocreatively suggest ethnic instrumentswith his drumset. "In Monks, we havecertain sections that remind me of Celticthings, and I ' l l kind of fake a Celticaccent there—or what I perceive it to be.That's what's great about music thatdoesn't have drumset in it in the firstplace. You hear something, and therhythm is really cool and the soundsthey're using are pretty neat, so you go,'I 'll try to fake this, ' and you makeattempts with what you have.

"I'll tune my high tom really weird,maybe mis-tune one of the lugs—give itan uncomfortable ring that engineerswould hate—and I'll use that as sort of afake timbale. I found that I can hit mysnare drum and that tom at the sametime as a certain kind of accent, maybedoing a particular kind of fill. It gives thesnare a little more body, more bite. I usedto want one of those huge, flappy-sound-ing gong drums because I heard thatsound in Indonesian music. So to apethat, I got an 18" floor tom and tuned itway down.

"I also hit the bell of my cymbals a lot,"Chris continues. "I don't really use a ride.You can also hit the drum differently. Youcan push the stick into the head reallyhard and make it decay really fast. Andyou can get an idea like that by hearingsomething played on a completely differ-ent instrument. That way you've come upwith something new—maybe somethingthat someone else hasn't done in rockmusic."

Mitch Marine describes how he imitat-ed the dumbek part in "Chem-oo-Chem," the Armenian song he talkedabout earlier: "I listened to the dumbekpattern and tried to make that sound withmy snare drum, using a cross-stick withmy left hand and then hitting my rightstick real close to the edge of the drum,which would approximate most of thehigh end of the dumbek. Then I wouldbring the stick in a little bit if I wanted alittle more punch. On the original therewas also this tambourine part, so I putone on my hi-hat and played it with myfoot."

"That's the beauty of approximatingsounds on the kit," Pedersen says."That's how these styles emerge in thefirst place. I guess that's how reggaestarted. They tried to tune into AMstations overseas on some shortwaveband, and they couldn't get a lot of fre-quencies, so a lot of it had this real woofybass, and that was their aesthetic becausethat's what they heard. And that's kind ofcool."

Sound is also a big concern forD'Cuckoo, since most of their music ismade on various electronic instrumentsthat they have designed themselves,including their "turtle drum" multi-pads.Acoustic drumset and other percussion

That Sound

would play a lot of rock clubs. And, sinceI'm playing with both electric and acous-tic instruments and behind singers in theKlezmatics, that has helped me keep mysense of dynamics in other bands."

sounds are employed in various ways,though. "Timbre is everything—next torhythm," say the D'Cuckoos. "Because ofsample technology, we are able to havetraditional trap drum sounds, ethnic per-cussion—or any sound in the universe—simply by hitting one of our pads. If it's ahip-hop rhythm that we're playing, we'lluse a booming kick and a fat backbeat.

"With acoustic drums, you're limited tothe timbral qualities of the instrument—asnare drum will never sound like a flute.But there are times when there is nothinglike the sound of an acoustic instrument.For example, you can't duplicate the play-ing style required for a conga on an elec-tronic trigger pad. So we've compensatedby adding acoustic drums to our stagesetup."

ing to put a band together based on allkinds of ideas. Players like David Lichtand Lee Partis have taken full advantageof living in major metropolitan areas. NewYork, for instance, is home to clubs likeThe Knitting Factory and Wetlands,where the Klezmatics and many otherleft-of-center bands can find sympatheticears. And London, where Partis lives, is amelting pot of many different cultures,which Lee found very helpful during hisdays playing in African bands.

The members of Brave Combo, on theother hand, are from around Denton,Texas, which isn't a big city by any stan-dards, but is the home of North TexasState University, one of the most respect-ed music schools in the country. NorthTexas is a strong magnet for good playerswith all sorts of musical interests. But asfar as a full-time career in ethnic-basedmusic, Mitch Marine warns againstassuming that the environment surround-ing a well-known music school can sus-tain such plans. For that, you may need tomove to a big city. "A university situationis very different from a professional situa-tion," Marine explains. "We are talkingabout younger players in the area who

haven't done a whole lot of other thingsbesides studying. The reason I want tomove to New York, for instance, isbecause I want to be with more of the realstuff."

Mitch also suggests that areas otherthan big cities don't have the support sys-tem necessary for hungry minds. "Radiodown here makes it real tough to knowanything else is going on," he explains."Luckily, there are two radio stations inDallas that play a lot of different things,but even if you hear it on the radio, it'shard to find in the stores— even in Dal-las. If I'm in Chicago, though, I knowwhere I can get polka stuff: There's a lit-tle record shop that hardly anybody wouldknow about in a liquor store. I've alsofound a Middle Eastern grocery store andrestaurant, and they've got some reallycool tapes and stuff. And there's a greatLatin shop in the subway under TimesSquare in New York."

There's a flip side to the coin, though.According to Phil Hernandez, "The thingI found about Brave Combo is that thewhole attitude of not fitting in is whatmakes it work. I used to live in Houstonfor a while, and there's tons of reggaebands there, and they all kind of fit in thesame genre. So I think that doing sort of awow-African-based rhythmic thing hashelped us a lot. Lately there has been abig movement in world music, and a lot ofthe clubs are opening their ears. It's agood sign seeing an appreciation for amusic that a lot of people are not familiarwith."

Perhaps these last thoughts by ourBrave Combo drummers, taken together,best illustrate the situation that "ethnic"drummers find themselves in—and mustwork their way through: Though takingthe road less traveled often makes thegoing more hazardous, when we finallyreach our destination, our rewards arethat much more satisfying. Diggingthrough record bins in thrift shops andchecking out the local polka drummer inthe Polish Day parade might not be ascool as transcribing John Bonham perfor-mances or going to a Billy Cobham clinic.But in the end, they might have just asprofound an effect on our journey towardsbeing the "different drummer" to whichtruly unique bands play.

HomeHopefully this article has set you think-

ing about finding ways to mix ethnicmusic into your drumming. But now thatwe've got you thinking—and hopefullyplaying—what can you do with theseideas? Well, a lot depends on where youlive. If you're from a big city, there mightbe musicians right down the street will-

Metric modulation is the use of commonnote subdivisions found within a certainmeter to create a new time feel within theoriginal rhythm. This technique is foundwithin the playing of many drummers, bothcontemporary and of earlier periods. Listen

to Elvin Jones, Art Blakey, and Tony Williams; you're sure tohear and feel it. Vinnie Colaiuta comes to mind as a contempo-rary drummer who uses time modulation to perfection.

There are many methods one can use to achieve metricmodulation. I've chosen to use common, or in some cases not-so-common, Afro-Caribbean phrases to inspire the ideas. Asalways, remember that you should use these ideas as a "jump-ing-off point." Understand where they come from and howthey get to where they go. Then it's up to you to be the creatorof new, individualistic ideas. These ideas are to be used inmusical ways, not indiscriminately. Always be musical.

I have been interested in using Latin phrases to modulatetime ever since I heard the example we will be investigatingtoday. It's a rhythmic break called a "cierre," which I found onan album by the Cuban group Los Papines. When I first heardthis rhythmic break, I couldn't quite figure it out. The effectseemed to make time stand still. It worked to perfection!Songo was the main groove being played. Actually it was morelike a Latin/funk groove. One way you may want to practicethis, after you figure out the reading part of it, is to set up amedium-tempo groove (let's say m.m.=80). I'll first presentthe idea to you in cut time, because this is the way it was origi-nally played. I've included some reading help for you: Present-ed is the way I count triplets. This method allows for an easeof reading if figures are written based on a triplet pulse.

The break was played by the rhythm section, and then theoriginal time continued. When you play it, you will feel how thetime shifts, in essence creating a new time feel. This is one ofthe effects of metric modulation.

What I've chosen to do with the break is create a groove idea.

First, here's the idea presented as 8th-note triplets. This isdone because I want to set up the groove in common time.

Now I'll orchestrate the cierre between bass and snare.Added to this will be 8th notes played on the hi-hat. These 8thnotes are the notes that make up 8th-note triplets. What hashappened is that I've created a new time feel within the exist-ing time frame. Set up the metronome so you can really feelhow this will sound. Of course this is just the first of manyways this idea can be orchestrated. You can find a "half-time"feel within the new time, as well as using the new modulatedmeter to set up a new feel. Once you understand the clave ofthe situation—the foundation of the idea—it's up to your cre-ative imagination to find your own original application.

One other way I use this cierre is as a fill/solo idea. Ofcourse, you may choose to use the idea just as it is. I like toorchestrate these Afro-Caribbean-based rhythms, and I'vefound some very interesting applications. The following ideahas the original cierre played in the snare drum, counter to8th-note triplets between the bass drum and low tom. In play-ing this, I open the closed flams created between the tom andsnare for a maximum, "rolling"-type effect.

Keep in mind that this is just one way of applying the idea. Iwill sometimes shorten this particular application and make itfit in other time slots. My main reason for developing this idea

Using Latin PhrasesTo Modulate Time: Part 1

by Chuck Silverman

was to work on the bass drum/floor tom idea of playing contin-uous 8th or 16th notes (in triplet from). From its developmentI've found many other patterns within the original. Here's theidea:

Interpreting this cierre is totally up to you. It can be used invarious formats/sticking ideas, fill/solo ideas, and, as presentedin examples 1-3, metric modulation ideas. There are manyother examples found throughout Afro-Caribbean music. Inthe next Latin Symposium, we'll use a common rhythm foundin 6/8 patterns as a template for developing more metric modu-lation ideas. In the meantime, investigate the music and enjoyit!

Hitting The RoadOn A Budget

by Mark Zonder

After the actual recording of an album—and the subsequentvideo—the next important step in the promotion of a recording isa tour. Even though a recording can have great distribution froma record company (and we all know what MTVcan do for promotion), people still need to beintroduced to your band live. There's also acomplete experience people get at a liveshow—whether in an arena or at a localpub—that's different from what they get fromwatching a video or listening to a recording.Many bands are perceived differently afterbeing seen live. Obviously, it's up to every bandto turn touring into a positive, profitable ven-ture.

Since touring is very expensive, most bandsdon't enjoy the luxury that platinum-sellingrock bands generally enjoy, though all touringcan be physically and mentally ex-hausting—and financially risky. But touring canalso be the single most satisfying experience inone's musical life. This might seem a bitstretched, but until you've done it, don't knockit. Let's take a look at a few things to keep inmind to make it even more satisfying.

GearAssuming your tour is on a tight budget, spe-

cial consideration should be taken when itcomes to the drum gear you take. The bestadvice I can give is to be prepared for anything.Obviously on a budget tour you can't carry twodrumsets, so your one set should come with spare parts. Alwayshave a spare bass drum pedal and hi-hat stand on hand. Keepthem within reach during a show so that if you have a breakdown,they can be changed between songs. Having a carpet with yourstands and pedals marked out is also a must. This saves time andensures that your kit is set up the same—day in and day out.

You should also carry an adequate supply of heads. You may not

You've just finished the best set of your life. The sellout crowdis going nuts, and there's nothing left to do but toss your sticks

out to some exuberant fan—right?Wrong! Though this may look great onthe video, it's going to get very expen-sive—especially if stick wrap is involved.If the stick is broken, fine, but at five tosix dollars a pair, five to six shows aweek, this could become a financialcatastrophe.

However, there is one good solution.Many stick companies offer "second"sticks, which, due to some manufactur-ing defect, are considerably cheaper andcan usually be bought by the gross.These sticks are perfect for tossing. Iusually autograph them and write theyear of the tour or the recording thatwe're supporting.

It's very easy to get carried away andend up throwing out two dozen sticks anight. Try to control yourself. Tossingonly a couple of sticks a night actuallymakes it more special for the people whoget one. It always looks funny after ashow if half the fans are running aroundwith sticks in their hands. Also, be sureto keep a couple of these sticks on thebus. You never know when a fan will askfor one. Old, autographed drumheads

are also great items for fans—much more impressive than guitarpicks!

"Become veryfamiliar with

your equipment.When thingsbreak—andthey will—

you'll need toknow how tofix them."

Rack 'Em UpWith the popularity of electronics nowadays, you should have

no fear of taking electronic gear on the road. However, a few pre-cautions should be taken. First, all electronic gear should be in ;

Stick Tossing

realize it, but you'll be playing harder than usual due to theexcitement of a live show, and you're apt to go through headsmuch faster. If the budget makes it impossible to change headsevery night, you might think about using heavier heads to ensurea longer life. Take special consideration of the snare drum batterhead, since this is the head most likely to break. You might feel asthough you're giving up a bit in tone, but the durability factor faroutweighs it in priority. A second snare is also a must, and sparesof all kinds of parts are needed. Along with a more than adequatesupply of drumsticks, don't forget your duct tape. It works to holdthings together, muffle drums that ring too much, hold up yoursong list, fix that ripped laundry bag, and solve a host of otherdifficulties too numerous to mention.

shock-mounted rack. This is a rack with a two-inch foam lineraround it, which absorbs shock when loaded and unloaded fromthe equipment truck. Remember, even though a piece of gear isscrewed in from the front and appears to be safe, constant bang-ing will bend the front plate.You also need to support all gear from the bottom. If all the

pieces lay on top of one another with no spaces, you'll be safe.But be careful. Make sure you have spare cords, a soldering iron,and a long AC cord to make sure you get power. Never rely on thevenue to have stuff like this. Become very familiar with yourequipment—how it's put together, how it works, what hooks towhat. When things break—and they will—you'll need to knowlow to fix them. Electronics can be very exciting during a liveshow, but very embarrassing when things go wrong.

with your fellow band members. You're all going to have to makesome changes and sacrifices in your daily routine. This is essen-tial if everybody is to get along under less than perfect conditions,day after day, for possibly months at a time.

Your road crew should also be treated with the utmost respect.These are the guys who make your show shine. Remember, you'renot any better than these people just because you're on stage andthey're not. You're just doing different jobs. Good roadies andtechs can really make a big difference on the road, so this pointcannot be stressed enough. One of my favorite parts of touring isjust sitting down, playing, and then walking off stage at theshow's end, knowing that all my gear will be set back up the nextnight in the next town. What a luxury!

Try to learn as much as possible from the soundman and othertechnical people on your tour. The more you know about whatmakes your show look and sound good or bad, the more you'llbenefit during the rest of your musical career. And even thoughthings can get rough and stressed out on tour, you should learn toenjoy every minute you spend on the road. I guarantee you'll missit dearly ten minutes after you're home.

Shaping UpIt's very important to stay in good physical shape when you're

out on the road. Playing hard every night takes its toll, especiallyif you're not prepared for it. So try to maintain good eating andsleeping habits. Vitamins are a good idea, as is a healthful diet.Even though dining conditions may be less than perfect on tour,it's still possible to eat right. And there's plenty of time to sleep,even though it might not be during the hours you're used to. Ittakes the body roughly three weeks of a changed sleeping habit toadjust. You might even want to begin your new routine before the:our starts.

It's also extremely important to emphasize the fact that drugsof any kind will only hurt you. Excessive drinking will also take itstoll. Drugs and alcohol have no place on the road. Enough said.You should also plan on having stage clothes that can be rinsed

but nightly and worn day to day. You won't have time to do a fullwash every day, and wearing the same clothes after a sweaty per-formance isn't a very good idea!

Hand lotion is another must. You'll most likely be going intodifferent climates, and when your hands get dry, they have a ten-dency to split and crack. It's a good idea to put some lotion on atbedtime. Hydrogen peroxide is also a good disinfectant to bringwith you to clean cuts and prevent infections. It's very hard toplay well with swollen or infected hands.

Since you'll only actually be playing for one or two hours anight, you should find other physical activities to keep you inshape on the road. It's easy to find a local gym as you move fromcity to city. And if this isn't your cup of tea, you can walk or jogjust about anywhere. It never gets boring jogging in a differenttown every day. There are always lots of new things to see. Somesort of daily exercise, whether it be in a gym or outdoors, will giveyou energy that will last for the rest of the day.

Getting AlongAfter all is said and done, the most important thing on the road

is to get along with the people you're working with. And thatmeans all of the people. Obviously it's important to get along

The Black Crowes'

Steve GormanThe Southern Harmony& Musical Companion

"Remedy"On the hit single Steve plays a medium-tempo rock groovewith a lot of good interplay between the kick and snare drum.This particular beat is from the chorus sections of the tune.

"Bad Luck Blue Eyes Goodbye"Here Steve lays down a "snaky" kind of groove on this slow-tempo tune—it's slightlyswung and right in the pocket.

"Black Moon Creeping"With a tempo and feel right out of '70s rock (Free and the Faces in particular), thistrack features a straightforward and driving verse section. Steve gives the tune justthe right attitude here.

And in the chorus of the tune, Steve matches the syncopated riffing of the guitarswith a nice 16th-note hand-to-hand pattern.

"My Morning Song"Here's the verse pattern to "Morning." With a strong backbeat feel, Steve lays intoboth the snare and the 8th-note accents on the hi-hat. It rocks!

MACEO PARKERLife On Planet GrooveVerve 314 517 197-2MACEO PARKER: al sx, vclFRED WESLEY: tbn, vclPEE WEE ELLIS: tn sxRODNEY JONES: gtrLARRY GOLDINGS: orgKENWOOD DENNARD: drVINCENT HENRY: bsShake Everything You've Got; Pass

The Peas; I Got You; Got To Get You;

Addictive Love; Children's World;

Georgia On My Mind; Soul Power '92

This may be the funkiestdisc of the year! Former JamesBrown sax-man Maceo Parkerhas really gone back to hisroots on this, his third Verveoffering. His first two albums(Roots Revisited and Mo' Roots)were critically acclaimed, bop-oriented releases. But onPlanet Groove, Maceo getsback to the sound and style thatmade him (and JB) famous.

The energy and excitment onthis live recording is inescap-able, and the band is oh-so-tight, with JB veterans Ellis andWesley forming a horn sectionwith Parker that just percolates.

And at the heart of the matteris Kenwood Dennard, absolute-ly smoking on every track. Hisdrumming here respectfullypays homage to the origina-tors—Stubblefield and Starks—with solid groove playing, andjumps into the '90s with someup-to-date technique andintensity. (Check out his burn-ing duet with Maceo on theopening track, or his intro on"Soul Power '92.") The drum-mer gives us some on this one.

• William F. Miller

TRIO DA PAZBrasil From The InsideConcord Picante CCD-4524

ROMERO LUBAMBO: gtr

NILSON MATTA: bsDUDUKA DA FONSECA: dr

JOANNE BRACKEEN: pnoHERBIE MANN: flCLAUDIO RODITI: trp, flghnMAUCHA ADNET:vclPedra Bonita; Keep The Spirits

Singing; Aquarela Do Brasil; VeraCruz; This Is For Luisa; Jeca's Baiao;

Forgive Me; Trio Da Paz; Cor De

Pecado; Manhattan Style; Vera Cruz

(Reprise); Festa De Sao Jodo

Billed as "chock full of feel-good Brasilian music," Trio DaPaz' debut disc is deeper thanthat. True, it does "feel good,"the concept is lyrical through-out, and the sensuous openingcut has that familiar radio-friendly Rio sun 'n' sea sambasound. But the trio's multi-tiered rhythmic interplay andharmonic explorations are chal-lenging as well. The crispacoustic sound (with occasionalelectronic touches) centersaround Romero Lubambo'sadventurous and exciting guitarwork. Star soloists lend varietyto the disc, but the music findsits most original and intensemoments in the trio setting.

Grooving through samba,jazz, bossa, and baiao feels,drummer Duduka Da Fonsecaturns out a tremendous perfor-mance. Listen to the power hecommands from deft cymbalwork and the beautiful sambalocomotion he achieves withbrushes. Duduka truly knows"Brasil from the inside." Bornin Rio, he has earned a reputa-tion as an authoritativeBrazilian/jazz figure in NewYork, both as an educator (atDrummers Collective) and as aperformer who has worked withAirto, Jobim, Nana Vasconcelos,Eliane Elias, and others. Thisvibrant new trio mates Rio withNew York in a perfect forum forDuduka's blend of drive,dynamics, and touch.

• Jeff Potter

DEFUNCTCrisisEnemy 135-2

KENNY MARTIN: drJOSEPH BOWIE: tbn, cong, Id vcl

KEVIN BENTS: kybd, vclBILL BICKFORD: gtr, vclKIM CLARKE: bs, vclNITARA BOWIE: vclBYRON BOWIE: tn sax, vclJOHN MULKERIN: tpt, vclYou Don't Know; Steppin' Off; Everyday

They Come; Hit Me; Refuse To Love;

Crisis; Next; Gotta Write A Book; Edge

Of Tomorrow; Groove Fak-ed

CHUCKLEHEADBig Wet KissEnuffa-MybuttlOOOE-ROCK: dr, vcl

RINGO JONES: bs, vclEe-TlDE: gtr, vcl

GECKO: kybd, fr hn, vcl

Huck: bori, tn sax, perc, vclLEN-E-LEN THE PIRATE KING: tn sax, vclSCOOTER: tpt, vclToo Much; Humdinger; Funk Is OrThe Loose; Funky Bus; You Don't

Have To Give It Up; Stalagmite; Soak

Up The Fff; E-Rockin It; Brady; Ab

Traffic Jam; Fret To The Finger; The

Dog; Mix It Up

Defunkt has long been orthe edge of funk, jazz, and rock

RECORDINGS

playing an aggressive, in-your-face menu with social messagesflourishing among JosephBowie's trombone-led hornsection riffs. These guys canstill play—the sound may occa-sionally remind listeners oftrombonist James Pankow'sChicago horn section, butthey're more potent and dan-gerous than that.

Kenny Martin is a dynamic,resourceful, slamming drum-mer. He turns the beat allinside out on the awesomemedium-tempo "EverydayThey Come," and loosens upfor some dirty pounding on thetitle track and a bit of slinkyprowling on "Groove Fak-ed."This rhythm section really digsin, and Martin smokes oneverything. They are genuinelyfunky, but rock almost as seri-ously as Mother's Finest. Thearranging isn't quite as quirkyas, say, the Lounge Lizards, butit's nearly as irreverent.

Chucklehead began at Wes-leyan College in 1990, and for adebut album, Big Wet Kiss isnothing to sneeze at. They maynot have the musicianship ofDefunkt, but their groovesstand up real well. These guysare clever topical lyricists anddecent rappers, but what reallygets them over is the power ofthe horns and E-Rock's rhythmmates. E-Rock himself bringsit in hyperdrive for "Funk Is OnThe Loose," and adds tastylicks to the sophisticatedgroove of "Stalagmite."

Here's hoping we'll be hear-ing more rapping with big hornbands soon—it's a mighty pow-erful sound. [Enemy Records,11-36 31st Ave., Long IslandCity, NY 11106, Enuffa-MybuttRecords, 89 Massachusetts Ave.,Suite 307, Boston, MA 02115]

Robin Tolleson

SHARKBAITBlowtorch Face-LiftPrimitech9101-2

Players: M.C. WHITEYHO,CHICKEN OF THE SEA, 3:16,MR. SEA TEA, CHARLIE BEERVertical Assault; Oh My Brothers!;And Crush; God Devil Head; SongFor Trees; SHO (Peace I); Queer BoyBehind An Iron Gate; Praise God;

Arabia Deserta; Peace II; Lost AtSea; I Am So Close; Metal; GodDevil Head (conclusion); War Crush

In the waters of Sharkbait, allthat matters is crushing, morecrushing, and the sheer physi-cal pleasure derived fromcrushing. The band employsand destroys everything fromhousehold appliances, sheetmetal, auto hood hinges, drumbrakes, shock absorber springsfrom heavy equipment trucks,and electric jackhammers in itspercussive ensemble. And yes,there's even a set of acousticdrums.

On paper, it seems like theresults would be little morethan a headache. But these SanFrancisco-based bashers actu-ally produce a strangely intoxi-cating groove. An Afro-inspiredromp lines "Song For Trees,"for instance, while the catchystomp beat of "And Crush" issingle-worthy material.

But Sharkbait is most athome on the stage, where itinvites fans to "crush" on vari-ous appliances and metal pipesalong with the band. Duringthe Lollapalooza tour this past

summer, lucky fans won ses-sions in the group's "CrushCage," a cyclone-fenced arenafor mutilating objects to theSharkbait backbeat! [PrimetechReleases, 3501 California St.,Suite 204, San Francisco, CA94107]

• Matt Peiken

ERROL PARKERA Night In TunisiaSahara 1015PHILLIP HARPER, MICHAEL THOMAS: trpDOUG HARRIS: sxDONALD HARRISON: alsxBILL SAXTON: tn sxTYRONE JEFFERSON: tbnPATIENCE HIGGINS: bar sxCARY DE NIGRIS: gtrREGGIE WASHINGTON: bsERROL PARKER: drA Night In Tunisia; Daydream AtNoon; The Rai; Lonesome Sister; Ol'Man River; A Ballad For Doug; SoulConcerto; Lemon Meringue

Naming himself after his twofavorite musicians, ErrolGarner and Charlie Parker,bandleader/drummer ErrolParker has been breakingground for years with his tentetrecordings, but without muchsuccess or notoriety. But theband can be heard in clubsaround New York, and you canfind his records if you knowwhere to look.

To make an old standard like"Night In Tunisia" or "Ol' ManRiver" sound invigorating is noeasy task, but Parker and histentet (as always, made up ofManhattan's finest jazzers) notonly resurrects them, theymake them their own. Brashand forthright in person, Parkerbrings these same qualities tocompositions that sound al-most South African in theirsnaky melodies, a bit '50s NewYork in their Mingus-ish atmo-sphere.

Drum-wise, Parker is com-

pletely linear, often keeping8th-note "&s" consistent onthe hi-hat while bouncing off ofthe toms and cymbal bells forcolorful commentary. A congadrum replaces the usual snaredrum. Occasionally, he'll cutloose with a jazz cymbal beat,but you'd be hard-pressed tofind a typical jazz approachhere. What you will find is clos-er to the big-tent enthusiasmof a circus drummer, with theintellect of Max Roach and thefire of Gene Krupa.

Past thirtysomething, Parkernonetheless brings a youthfulenergy to the music that mustbe born out of struggling to gethis unique, adult big bandmusic heard in a youth-orient-ed society. Forever young bydefault and perseverance.[Sahara Records, 1143 FirstAve., New York, NY 10021]

• Ken Micallef

BOOKADVANCED CONCEPTSby Kirn PlainfieldManhattan Music541 Ave. Of The AmericasNew York, NY 10011Price: $26.95 (Book and Cassette)

Respected concert and studiomusician and DrummersCollective instructor KimPlainfield bucks the currenttrend of highly specialized,wafer-thin drum studies withan excellent new book/cassettepackage, Advanced Concepts.Covering points as basic as sin-gle- and double-stroke rolldevelopment to one as ad-vanced as polyrhythms, its near-ly one hundred pages bulge withusable, broad-ranging ideas.

The first of three sectionstargets technique developmentand hand-foot coordination.These exercises' clear connec-tion with material in later chap-ters compensates for their

tediousness. The Contempor-ary Styles chapter gives briefnods to swing and shuffles, butfocuses on various forms offunk and Brazilian and Afro-Cuban set drumming; the pat-terns presented are very hipand musical. Plainfield's note-dense approach to fi l ls andsolos in the final section reliesheavily on cycled note group-ings. Several extended solosillustrate how they can be var-ied and applied around the kit.

Much attention is paid tomaking Advanced Concepts asaccessible as possible. Theauthor demonstrates most pat-terns at both slow and perfor-mance tempos, and throughoutthe text he offers many helpfulhints on how to break downcomplex figures into moremanageable components. Two-bar count-offs make locking in

with the tape a snap. The tape'smix is fine, and Plainfield 'sdelivery is direct and refresh-ingly non-patronizing.

Even amidst the reliablyworthy Drummers Collectivedrum study series, AdvancedConcepts shines for its com-prehensive relevance to virtual-ly all popular music drummers.If you plan to buy only onedrum book this year, don't misschecking out this one.

• Richard Watson

VIDEODENNIS CHAMBERSSerious Moves andIn The PocketDCI Music Video

Music Ventures

15800 N.W. 84th Ave.Miami FL 33014

Time: 65 minutes each

Price: $39.95 each

It would seem that DennisChambers' videotaping sessionwas quite fruitful: so much sothat DCI needed to release iton two tapes. And luckily for usthey did. Serious Moves and InThe Pocket combined give anincredibly in-depth look intoDennis's playing.

With In The Pocket, Dennisexplores the time-playingaspects of his drumming. Hetakes us back to his earliestinfluences, including JamesBrown, Booker T. & The MGs,the Meters, and HerbieHancock. He comments onand gives playing examples ofthe great drummers fromthose bands, including ClydeStubblefield, Melvin Parker, AlJackson, Zigaboo Modeliste,and Harvey Mason. It's great tohear Dennis's own take onsuch groove classics as "ColdSweat" and "Chameleon."

Throughout the tape Dennisis accompanied by his long-time rhythm-section mateGary Grainger, and Dennisoffers many tips on workingwith bassists and withinrhythm sections. Also includedare performances of Denniswith Gary, John Scofield, andJim Beard. (It's a nice opportu-nity for those who never got tosee Dennis in action with thegroup that really put him onthe drum-star map.) On thistape he performs "So You Say,""Blue Matter" (with Dennis'ssignature triplets on the kick),"Pick Hits," and "Loud Jazz."

Later in the tape moreadvanced timekeeping con-cepts are covered, includingambidextrous patterns usingthe hands to cover more soundsources on the kit: the type ofthing Dennis was doing backin his P-Funk days. Andwhether it be simple oradvanced, Dennis's grooveconcept is based on "the pock-

et," a topic he clearly defineson this tape.

With Serious Moves, we get aclose-up view of Dennis's per-sonal bag of tricks. His patent-ed "sweeps," his own uniqueversion of cross-sticking, andhis cymbal cross-overs are allrevealed. Also, we get an openand honest discussion of howDennis developed his hands tosuch a high degree.

Dennis also discusses theimportance of relaxation at thekit, along with some otherhelpful tips including practic-ing in front of a mirror, work-ing with drum machines, somedouble-pedal concepts, andDennis's approach to soloing.Regarding solos, Dennis per-forms a long one covering a lotof his tricks and concepts—very inspirat ional . Also,Scofield and band appear onthis tape as well, performingtunes that feature Dennis quitea bit, including "Trim," "TheNag," "Wabash," "Make Me,"and "Time Marches On."

As usual, DCI has done anexcellent job. The productionquality is first-rate: cameraangles are right where youwant them to be, screen-on-screen effects give you both afull shot of Dennis as well aswhat his right foot is doing inthose flashier sections. And thesound is good. Honorablemention should also go tointerviewer/creative consultantDan Thress: He appears onthe tape with Dennis, helpingto coax and clarify many points.So the bottom line is, if youwant to focus on Dennis's timeplaying, pick up In The Pocket;if you want sheer chops,Serious Moves is for you.However, chances are you'llwant both.

William F. Miller

Marion "Chick" EvansMarion "Chick" Evans died August 25, 1992 in Santa Fe, NewMexico at the age of 89. One of the founding partners of theEvans Products Company, Chick Evans is credited with being thefirst person to put a plastic drumhead into commercial produc-tion.

A working drummer in the 1940s and '50s, Evans was dissatis-fied with the inconsistencies of calf heads, and sought an alter-native. After experimenting with a variety of synthetic materials,he hit upon a method for stapling heads made of DuPont Mylaronto wooden hoops. He introduced his heads to the percussionmarket in the late '50s. Though crude by modern standards,these original Evans heads ultimately led to the complete revolu-tionizing of the drumhead industry. Chick Evans figured promi-nently in MD's feature, "The Development Of The MylarDrumhead," in the August 1989 issue.

Sam MuchnickSam Muchnick, another pivotal figure in drumhead develop-

ment, died in August at the age of 84. A chemist who specializedin adhesive technology, Muchnick was approached by Remo Belliin the late 1950s for advice on how Mylar drumheads—and par-t icularly their method of mounting—could be improved.Muchnick created a mounting system that involved punchingholes around the edge of a round Mylar blank and inserting thisedge into an aluminum channel shaped into a hoop. The channelwas filled with a liquid adhesive that would flow through the

holes in the Mylar and, when dry, effectively lock the membraneinto the aluminum hoop. Muchnick also developed a process bywhich heat was applied to the blank to form a hat-shaped headthat would fit over a drumshell and effectively eliminate anychance of creasing and tucking in the head. These methods—orvariations of them—are still used for the mounting of most plas-tic drumheads today. Muchnick's contributions in this area areincluded in the August 1989 feature mentioned above.

Later in his life, Muchnick invented and developed the Kevlarhigh-strength drumhead, under the Duraline brand name. Healso developed synthetic sticks combining Kevlar and fiberglass.The sticks were not successful, and the Duraline company wentout of business after a few years. But the Kevlar head hasbecome popular in the marching percussion field, and is nowoffered by several different companies.

Alvin StollerVeteran jazz, big band, and show drummer Alvin Stoller died

in October of 1992 at the age of 67. A confirmed drummer fromhis Brooklyn boyhood, Stoller won the Gene Krupa DrumContest at the 1939 New York World's Fair at the age of 14,which led to gigs with Benny Goodman, Les Brown, VaughnMonroe, Charlie Spivak, and Tommy Dorsey. In 1948, Stollerrelocated to Los Angeles, where he became active in radio andrecording work, working with artists such as Mel Torme, FrankSinatra, Bing Crosby, and Harry James. Ultimately, he becameone of LA's top movie and TV drummer/percussionists, with acareer spanning over forty years. Stoller was featured in theJanuary 1990 issue of Modern Drummer.

More than two hundred young drummersfrom around the world submitted demotapes to the Thelonius Monk JazzInstitute in Washington D.C. last fall, inhopes of walking off with first prize in theInstitute's sixth annual instrumentalcompetition (the first ever for drum-mers). By October, the field had beennarrowed to fifteen semi-finalists, whoperformed before a panel of six distin-guished judges and a houseful of jazzfans on October 24 at Lincoln Center'sAlice Tully Hall in New York City. And onOctober 25, a winner was chosen amongsix finalists in prestigious Avery FisherHall.

Institute chairman The-lonius Monk, Jr. noted thatit was particularly gratify-ing to see the competitionmoved to New York Cityand to Lincoln Center,located only a block awayfrom where his father hadgrown up and maintainedan apartment his entirelife. And as New York Citymayor David Dinkinsnoted in his openingremarks on finals night,"From this group willemerge the leading jazzdrummers of the 21st cen-tury." Modern Drummerwas pleased to be a con-tributing sponsor to thecompetition.

The drummers wereHarold Summey

Thelonius MonkJazz DrumsCompetition

In Memoriam

evaluated on a multitude of criteria,including time, technique, stick control,swing factor, solo ability, taste, dynamics,tone production, interaction with theband, interaction with the audience, lead-ership, and stage presence. Sitting injudgement were Alan Dawson, JackDeJohnette, Roy Haynes, Ed Shau-ghnessy, Jeff Watts, and Dave Weckl.

The semi-finalists were required tobecome familiar with eleven classic jazztunes by the likes of Miles Davis, WayneShorter, Jackie McLean, Thad Jones, and,of course, Thelonius Monk—from whichfour would be picked at random for themto perform. The next night, the six final-ists were required to play two from thatpool, along with a mandatory reading ofCharlie Parker's slow blues, "Now's TheTime." Each drummer performed alongwith an all-star jazz band that includedRonnie Matthews on piano, DavidWilliams on bass, Brian Lynch on trum-pet, and Willie Williams on saxophone.

Third place was shared by 31-year-oldTony Jefferson, of Sarasota, Florida, and22-year-old Alvester Garnett, ofRichmond, Virginia. They were eachawarded a $3,000 scholarship sponsoredby the United Black Fund of America.Jefferson showed lots of technique and akeen sense of dynamics on Shorter's"Mahgong" and Jones' "Two Bass Hit."Garnett had Billy Higgins-like charismabehind the kit and swung in a slick,understated fashion. What he may havelacked in flash, he made up in feeling.

Second place was awarded to JorgeRossy, a 27-year-old native of Barcelona,Spain. The seasoning that Rossy pickedup on gigs with saxophonist PaquitoD'Rivera, Dave Valentin, and Donald Byrdshowed on his polished set. His Latinchops came to the fore on "Two BassHit," and his solo on "Mahgong" just mayhave put him in contention for first place.

But the first place award was snatchedaway from Rossy by 28-year-old HaroldSummey, from Washington, D.C.Through sheer force of personality, slickcross-sticking work, and flashy soloing,Summey became the clear crowd favorite."It's a clinic!" shouted one unbiasedobserver seated behind me throughout

Harold's performance of Wayne Shorter's"Sommo," Jackie McLean's "Dr. Jeckyll,"and Bird's "Now's The Time." Andthough he was only granted eight bars ofsolo space, his chops and personalitycommanded more. Even the band backedoff to watch Summey do his stuff. Asguest host Bill Cosby announced the win-ner, he preceded the name with, "It's nosurprise...." Indeed. On this night,Harold Summey owned Avery FisherHall.

Jorge Rossy won a $5,000 scholarshipprovided by Sony Music Entertainment.Summey won a $10,000 scholarshipdonated by the Coca-Cola Company—along with the respect of a whole house-ful of drummers.

• Bill Milkowski

University Concert Band and Morris withthe Wayne State Jazz Band.

Yamaha has also made available abrochure giving the parameters for itsfourth annual Young Performing ArtistProgram. For more information, writeYamaha's Young Performing ArtistProgram, Yamaha Corp. of America, PO.Box 899, Grand Rapids, MI 49512-0899.

The Fourth Annual Florida DrumExpo recently raised $2,000 for thepreservation of Tampa's historic CubanClub. The six-hour event featureddemonstrations and performances byKenny Aronoff, Tito Puente, BiasElias, Chuck Morris, Enzo Tedesco,Dom Famularo, Danny Gottlieb, LuisConte, and Giovano Hidalgo, all ofwhom joined together on stage for agrand finale.

Pearl recently co-sponsored clinics byGregg Bissonette and DennisChambers. Pearl and Zildjian cymbalspresented Bissonette in several clinicsacross the country, and Coyle Music ofColumbus, Ohio joined Pearl in bringingChambers to the shop for a clinic for overtwo hundred eager drummers.

The sixth annual West L.A. MusicExpo was held recently at the LosAngeles Airport Hilton. The two-dayevent attracted over four thousand musi-cians, composers, and educators to checkout music equipment and technologyfrom over one hundred exhibitors.Product demonstrations and in-depthseminars were conducted, and guestswere encouraged to try out the equip-ment on display. Some of the top drum-mers in attendance were Tommy Lee,Alan White, Michael Cartellone, JimKeltner, Peter Criss, and JonathanMoffet. Among the drummers demon-strating new products were Eric Singerat the Pearl booth, Toss Panos, JoeyHeredia, Mark Shulman, and JohnHernandez at the Sabian/Drum Work-shop exhibit, and Nick Menza at theTama/Ibanez display. Among the newproducts on display were Roland's TDE-7 electronic drumset and the Alesis com-pany's D4 drum module.

PAS HeadquartersAnd Museum OpensOver two hundred people were in atten-dance this past August for the grand open-ing of the Percussive Arts Society's newInternational Headquarters/ Museum.The facility, which is located on two acresin Lawton, Oklahoma's Elmer-ThomasPark, is a 5,000-square-foot space. Of thatspace, 2,000 square feet are dedicated tothe museum area, which features exhibitsof drums and percussion from around theworld. For more information about thePAS and its new facility, contact SteveBeck at the Percussive Arts Society, P.O.Box 25, Lawton, Oklahoma 73502, tel:(405) 353-1455, fax: (405) 353-1456.

Clinics And ShowsYamaha's Band And Orchestral Divisionand the Avedis Zildjian company joinedforces to sponsor a PerformanceShowcase at Wayne State University inDetroit, Michigan. The event featuredtop drummers Chuck Morris and SteveHoughton, as well as marching authorityTom Float, who employed the drum linefrom Sterling Heights High School todemonstrate his ideas. The event endedwith an evening concert featuringHoughton with the Wayne State

This month's eye-catching kit belongs to RussellOckmond, of Laplace, Louisiana. Note that even thecowbell (upper right, above the ride cymbal) issplashed with color.

If you think that your kit is unique in its look,arrangement, finish, or construction, MD invites youto send us a photo. Our criteria for selecting photosthat appear in this department will be kits that arevisually interesting and/or musically unusual.

Photo Requirements1. Photos must be in color andof high quality. (35mm slidesare preferred; color prints willbe considered. Polaroids can-not be accepted.)2. You may send more than oneview of the kit, but only onephoto will be published.3. Photos should be of drumsonly; no people should be inthe shot.4. Drums should be pho-tographed against a neutralbackground. Avoid "busy"backgrounds such as in your

basement, garage, or bedroom.5. Be sure that those attributesof your kit that make it specialare clearly visible in the photo.

Send your photo(s) to:Drumkit Of The Month,

Modern Drummer870 Pompton Ave.

Cedar Grove, NJ 07009-1288

Please note that photos cannotbe returned, so don't send anyoriginals you can't bear to partwith.

ADVERTISERACUPAD

Aquarian AccessoriesAtlanta Drums & PercussionAtlanta Pro PercussionBison Drum Co.Brook Mays Music CompanyCalato/Regal TipCappellaDarwin DrumsDCI Music VideoDF EnterprisesddrumDiscount DistributorsDrum WorkshopDrum WorldDrummers CollectiveDrums On SaleEastonEuro-StuffEvans ProductsFork's Drum ClosetGMS DrumsGibraltar/Kaman Music Corp.HQ Percussion ProductsHands OnHot Sticks

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ADVERTISERIstanbul/GretschLatin Percussion, Inc.Ludwig IndustriesManny's Mail Box MusicMapex PercussionMD Drum FestivalMD Great Jazz DrummersMD LibraryMD SubscriptionsModern DrummerWareMeinlMidWest PercussionMusicians InstituteMusic TechNational Foam, Inc.Noble & CooleyPaistePearl CorporationPower Wrist Builders/the TALOOSE groupPrecision Drum Co.PremierPrime DesignPro*MarkPureCussion, Inc.

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ADVERTISER PAGE NUMBERRoyce Percussion

RTOM Corp.SabianSam Ash Music StoresShureSimmonsSlap Happy ProductionsSlobeat Music ProductsStick HandlerSuncoast Music DistributingSuper Gloss/Sam Barnard

TamaTotal Products, Inc.Tough TravelerUDU DrumsUnique PercussionUniversal PercussionVater Percussion

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ADVERTISERS INDEX

MARVIN "SMITTY" SMITH PLUS:HIGHWAY 101'sCACTUS MOSER

INSIDE GON BOPS

MATT SORUMOFF THE RECORD

SEAN KINNEY

OF ALICE IN CHAINS

EXCLUSIVE:

MODERN DRUMMER'S15th ANNUAL READERS POLL

The purpose of MD's annual poll is to recognize drummersand percussionists in all fields of music whose musicalefforts—recordings, live performances, or educationalactivities—have been especially notable during the past

year. It is in no way meant to suggest that one musician is"better" than another. Rather, it is to call attention to thoseperformers who, through their outstanding musicianship,have been inspirational to us all.

INSTRUCTIONS1. You must use the official MD ballot—no photocopies.2. Please print or type your selection in the correspondingbox. See the category descriptions below for clarification.3. Make only one selection in each category. (It is not nec-essary to vote in every category. Leave blank any categoryfor which you do not have a firm opinion.)

4. Affix appropriate postage and mail the entire ballot toModern Drummer's offices at the address shown on thereverse of the ballot card.5. Ballots must be postmarked no later than March 1,1993. Results will be announced in the July '93 issue ofMD.

CATEGORY DESCRIPTIONSHall Of Fame

Vote for the artist, living or dead, who you feel has made ahistoric contribution to the art of drumming. Current mem-bers of the Hall of Fame are not eligible for this category.Those members are: Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, John Bon-ham, Keith Moon, Neil Peart, Steve Gadd, Louie Bellson,Tony Williams, Billy Cobham, Joe Morello, Carl Palmer,Bill Bruford, Art Blakey, and Max Roach.

Ail-Around DrummerThis category is not intended to indicate the "overall best"drummer. Rather, it is to recognize drummers noted for per-forming in a variety of musical styles and applications,instead of one specific band.

Studio DrummerThis category is for drummers known as multi-session play-ers who record with many artists, or who are involved inprojects such as jingles, TV, and film scores. (Do notinclude recording artists who spend time in the studio, butonly as a member of one group.)

Mainstream Jazz DrummerThis category is restricted to drummers in small-group,acoustic jazz.

Electric Jazz DrummerThis category is reserved for drummers who perform infusion or jazz-rock.

Up & Coming DrummerThis category is reserved for the most promising artistbrought to the public's attention within the past 12 months.

Recorded PerformanceVote for your favorite recording by a drummer as a leaderor as a member of a group. Limit your selection to record-ings released within the past 12 months. Please include theartist's name, the complete title of the song, and the albumfrom which it came.

MD's HONOR ROLLArtists who have been selected by the MD readership aswinners in any one category of the Readers Poll for a totalof five years are placed on MD's Honor Roll. This is ourway of recognizing the unique talent and lasting popularityof those special artists. Artists placed on the Honor Roll inany given category are subsequently ineligible in that cate-

Alex Acuna: Latin/Brazilian PercussionistAirto: Latin American and Latin/Brazilian PercussionistGary Burton: Mallet PercussionistAnthony J. Cirone: Classical PercussionistPhil Collins: Pop/Mainstream Rock DrummerVic Firth: Classical PercussionistSteve Gadd: Ail-Around Drummer and Studio DrummerDavid Garibaldi: R&B and Funk Drummer

gory, although they remain eligible in other categories.(The exception to this is the "Recorded Performance" cate-gory, which will remain open to all artists.) Artists who haveachieved Honor Roll status (and are now ineligible in thecategory shown) are listed below.

Larrie Londin: Country DrummerRod Morgenstein: Rock and Progressive Rock DrummerNeil Peart: Rock Drummer and Multi-PercussionistBuddy Rich: Big Band DrummerEd Shaughnessy: Big Band DrummerSteve Smith: Ail-Around DrummerDave Weckl: Electric Jazz DrummerTony Williams: Jazz and Mainstream Jazz Drummer