Jacksonville, Florida based melodic hardcore band Evergreen Terrace are preparing for a summer of touring. They are currently out playing dates with As I Lay Dying and they will be joining the Vans Warped tour when it starts up in June. Even with the hectic schedule I was able to track down drummer Kyle Mims to ask him some questions about his drumming style, his rig, and how he prepares for a life on the road.
Interview by: Bruce Moore
BM: How do you maintain that level of energy and exuberance? You sound like you’re ready to go full bore every time you sit at the drums.
Kyle: It’s funny because I’m usually not completely ready to go full bore every time! Due to the nature of the kind of music I’m playing I kind of just have to go for it. Most tours I get plenty of time to do some warming up, but sometimes when my band is scheduled for an earlier slot in the night you don’t really get enough time to get ready for the show. Stretching and using my practice pads really helps not only getting my muscles and joints ready to play, but it mainly helps getting my feet and hands in sync with each other. I think a big part of helping me build endurance for our set is to try to practice at the same intensity as I play live. I think it’s important to be prepared for how hard you're going to be hitting in a live situation especially when your adrenaline is flowing and you have a huge crowd in front of you. It’s kind of like if all you do is jog at a slow pace for miles and one day when you're running you start sprinting you just gas out. I think that’s why its important to practice like you're gonna play and get lots of warm up in so your muscles, hands and feet have plenty of time to adapt.
BM: You guys are getting ready to go out on the Vans Warped tour for the summer. How do you prepare for the physical demands of a tour like this? All of that passion that you play with must be tough on you physically.
{mosimage}Kyle: It's probably going to be really difficult playing full on in such crazy heat this summer, but before we leave for the tour I’m gonna try to make sure I have a sweet tan! I mainly just plan on keeping myself hydrated when I play and not burn myself out before our set by relaxing and warming up a good bit. I think its gonna be pretty important to make sure I’m not too exhausted everyday before our set so I can go out there and play like I really want to play.
BM: Did you have formal education on drums?
Kyle: No, I've never really had a mentor or a drum teacher. I was in my school band from sixth to eighth grade, but I had to quit band before my freshman year of high school because I decided to play on the basketball team instead! Pretty much a decision I constantly regret now when I see all of these sixteen year old drummers just shredding rudiments while I’m sitting there just trying to work on my basic paradiddle! I was lucky to grow up in a really musical family though and had an uncle who played drums really well who from time to time I got to watch play. My father and my other uncle always fronted rock bands while I was growing up too and they always had these older drummers that just killed it. It was a huge impression on my drumming as a kid seeing these forty year old seasoned drummers playing so solid every single night. I think I’m getting to the point now though that I really want to find someone to help take me to the next step as a drummer. I think now I would really absorb and be able to make the most out of having drum lessons. I really don’t think you're ever too old to start learning. I just turned twenty-six and have been playing drums for eighteen years now and I’m just now feeling like I’m coming into my own and figuring things out. Its been a LONG process so for all the young drummers out there, keep it up and try to go out and watch older and/or more experienced drummer any chance you get!
BM: What are some of the qualities of a good metal drummer—or any drummer, for that matter?
Kyle: Solid metal drummers almost always take their instrument really seriously. A lot of them seem to really have a want to learn all of the technical aspect of drums. You do definitely run into some metal drummers who can only play metal, but for the most part usually seem to be well rounded drummers. I really don’t consider myself a metal drummer; although I do love watching a drummer who has really solid, fast double bass and can rip blast beats, but for the most part playing really fast drums really has never been my style. I really struggle with the speed of my left hand and doing things like blast beats. Being a metal drummer is something I've never really aspired to be, but I do love practicing some of those techniques because they are all really hard to pull off and I believe no matter what style of drums you're practicing, you're always opening up a small side of your brain that has never really been tapped into before and will overall make you a better drummer.
BM: Overall, which drummers have you been the most inspired by?
Kyle: I would definitely say I was always very inspired by my father and uncles drummers. A guy name Kurt Custer drummed both for my father and uncle. He played for a few years in Lynard Skynard as well and this dude could rip. I had never seen someone beat the shit out of the drums like this guy. He always played a four piece kit and just tore it up. That had a really big impression on me growing up. Throughout high school I was way into punk rock drummer like Strung Out drummer Jordan Burns and Jord from Propagandhi. The first time I heard both of those drummers I decided I wanted to play in punk rock bands for the rest of my life! I think a huge part of my drumming today comes from both of those drummers as well as some great rock drummers like Kenny Arnoff and Matt Abts of Gov't Mule. I spend most of my time on tour with Punk, hardcore and metal bands so when I go home I really love to go out and see a lot of blues, rock and funk drummers if I get a chance. There’s nothing like a solid blues drummer. Those guys have such a great feel of rhythm that’s very inspiring to listen to.
BM: What gear are you using?
Kyle: Drum wise I’m playing a Pearl Masters Birch kit. 22" kick, 12" and 16" toms and 14" Maple free floating snare. I just recently made the switch to Evans drums heads for the first time in my life and I’m absolutely blown away with how much I love these heads on my kit. The HG Dry head I think has been a perfect fit for my free floating snare. I’m also using all Pearl Hardware. Sabian Cymbals with a 21" Stage Ride, 19" and 20" Stage crash, 18" Paragon crash, 14" stage hats and a 20" China. As far as kick pedals I've always been a fan of the DW 5000's. That pedal is the perfect fit for me. I like a good bit of speed, but that pedal doesn’t feel to light under my feet. I still feel like I have a hunk of meat under my foot! Last but not least, I use ProMark 5B wood tip natural sticks.
BM: Besides drums what other instruments do you play?
Kyle: Besides drums I love playing guitar. My Dad has taught me over the years and its something I love doing in my spare time at home. I think its really helped with communicating with my band while writing our songs because its a lot easier to pick up the guitar when I’m trying to explain an idea rather than mouth out the part while my band just looks at me like an idiot because all that is coming out of my mouth is just a bunch of incoherent humming gibberish. (every drummer should know what I’m talking about)
BM: What is the toughest lesson you ever learned in the studio and on the stage?
Kyle: I think the toughest studio lesson ever learned is that I really need to be prepared with learning how to nail my parts down with the click track. When we came in just last year to record the pre production to the Wolfbiker album I had never really played to a click in the studio and it was the most god awful and frustrating experience of my like. After that day I went straight to guitar center and bought a Tama Rhythm watch. I plugged that thing in and practiced to a click for about four hours and day for about 2 weeks straight to try and get the click figured out before I went in to record the actual tracks for the record. I think practicing to a click has also made me realize how many actual notes that I would typical skip while playing fast songs especially with my double bass. Stage wise I think the biggest lesson learned over the years was to make sure my equipment was up to par when I take the stage. I know it’s really hard as a young drummer to have all the gear you want because that shit is so expensive, but I think it’s really important to slowly chip away at the right gear you want and to keep it clean and in working order. Also playing wise a big thing I realized about playing live is that I used to tend to speed tempos up WAY too much live I guess just out of adrenaline and getting caught up in the moment. Now I always try to hum a little bit of the chorus or parts of the song or hear it in my head before I start playing to try and get a grasp of the original tempo of the song.
BM: What are the main elements of your drum sound and what are the most important tools you use to get that sound?
Kyle: I think the biggest part of my sound that I’m trying to develop live is my snare. The snare is the heart of the drum kit and usually is what cuts through the most when competing against two full stacks and two bass cabs every night. I think finding the right snare head for you and your snare is pretty important because you want a head that is going to get the right tone, fatness and crack with the kind of shell you're using. It’s taken a long time and many of drum heads to find the right one for me. Also I have been concentrating a lot on trying to keep my snare hits very hard and consistent. It’s a really big pet peeve of mine to hear a drummer that is off and on with the consistency of his snare hits. I know from time to time through out the set you're gonna hit a little bit more of the rim than you are the head and botch a couple hits here and there, but the more consistent you can keep that snare pounding the better in my opinion.
BM: Do you think about distinguishing the drum performances and sounds from release to release?
Kyle: Ohhhh yes. This is something I have been putting a lot of thought into lately. For the next record I really want to have a lot more of a cracky, higher snare tone. I really like the snare sound on Wolfbiker, but I think I let the engineer influence my decision on the sound rather than getting the sound I truly heard in my head that would fit the music. I think the higher, more of a crack sound is great with heavy music because it really cuts through everything and just gives it a weird sort of power to the music. I really would like to use a few different snares and toms on the next record to make sure I get the right drum for the mood of the song. In the past I've always just used the same kit for every song no matter what the mood of the song, but I really am looking forward to experimenting more with that on the next record. As far as performance wise I’m always looking forward to recording again because I know I feel a lot more comfortable with playing to a click track this time around unlike for Wolfbiker I really felt like a compromised some of my playing just to keep up with the click. I want to go into the studio completely prepared so I can nail down the tracks just like I’m playing by myself in our practice space.
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