Page 75 - Sick Drummer Magazine Issue 27 - March 2014
P. 75
Berklee was great. I graduated high school and SDM: How do you prepare yourself before a show I have never gotten into triggers, as I am such a band whether or not the band played to a click. But
went to a college where all I did was play and and recording? huge fan of achieving a great organic drum sound to us drummers, it s bad-ass to say, yeah, this
practice drums and guitar! I learned a ton there and in whatever situation I am in. I love hearing back is me, this is my sense of time, this is my groove,
also retained my roots and that combined together I stretch out, warm up, and I like an hour to chill and drums that make me happy cuz of the room they and this is how I make a song feel when I play.
is why I play how I do. not be bothered and get prepared mentally. At the are in with how I hit them and how they are tuned. That represents all the years of being a drummer,
same time, when doing club gigs and all that stuff, It just makes me happy. Makes me think back to all listening, practicing, dreaming, pretending,
you don t have the space or privacy. Sometimes the great drum sounds that influenced me and how imitating, hour upon hour upon hour year after
SDM: Please give us some details about the exact there s more going on around you so the warm up I wished I could sound like that. year!! It all sits inside and when you get behind the
replica of the John Bonham drum kit you had made suffers. In those cases you hope all your years of kit, there it all is!
for all the drummers to play on the 25th anniver- practice and dedication have prepared you to be
sary celebrating John Bonham in Bonzo, The ready for the rest of your life with no excuses. Same SDM: Who are some of your main drumming influ- For example; here are drummers and bands that
Groove Remains the Same. Tell us about the Bonzo goes for recording. Think ahead, be prepared. ences today and back when you first started? Do have no click on their records and they are the
Bash in Jan 2013 at Namm with over 30 drummers, you listen to different styles of music outside of the biggest of all time, and do we really care about
including hosts Nicko McBrain and Vinny Appic!? metal realm? the click when listening? No! Stones, Who, Rush,
How did that go? Tell us about the other 3 Bonzo SDM: What kind of practice routines do you Van Halen, Aerosmtih, Journey, Foreigner, Beatles,
Bashes on the East Coast. perform when you practice by yourself? I am influenced by all drummers today. Everything Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, Police, Eagles, Pantera,
from the kings of blast beats to technical wizards Soundgarden, Kiss, Cream, Allman, Skynyrd, Doors,
The kit is an amber acrylic kit made by Natal drums. I wish I practiced! If I did I d work on speed, 4 way and groove monsters. I love Thomas Hakke and Zeppelin, etc... no click!
I wrote to them back in 2012 and asked them to independence and dbl kick technique. But when I Meshuggah, Gojira is killer with Mario Duplantier.
make the kit so I could endorse and promote Natal PLAY by myself I end up pretending I am Steve Gadd He s bad-ass! I love how new guys are pushing So yeah, to all drummers, spend time practicing to
as I signed up with them the year before. It made meets Porcaro, Bonzo, Tony Williams, Bozzio and the envelope for speed and technique! Without a click. Get familiar with locking into a bpm. It will
sense to do that. I want to give them a forum to Clyde Stubblefield hanging with Garibaldi, Elvin them, we d become complacent to an extent, help you overall. Work on your internal clock. Put
strut their stuff rather than promote a company I Jones, Steve Smith, Simon Phillips, and Cobham! but not entirely because groove is king and it s the two things together! Be able to track to a click
don t endorse. And we all know that a kit s sound And when you pretend that is happening, results timeless. But everyone from Mangini to Minneman so you can be a studio cat if needed or desired and
has a lot to do with head choice, tuning, mics and DO get produced! Playing alone, practicing... and Donati and Sucherman, Lang, Kollias and Jojo you can work and make bread and have fun and
mic placement, and how its hit. whatever it takes as long as you are moving Mayer are just nothing but super-influential! They prove that you are on this planet to play drums and
forward. all almost get me starting to practice again! haha... be killer at it! But also turn the thing off and listen
The sizes are the same as John Bonham s and we to what makes people move and the space between
use the same Remo head combination as Bonzo I am always going back and digging into the classic and all the amazing things that make a groove
did. 26x14, 14x10, 16x16 and 18x16. Also 6 1/2 SDM: Did you ever take drum lessons before icons! Recently I have been listening a lot to Max stand out.
x 14 chrome snare. Paiste s all around, etc I Berklee? Do you still play any other instrument? Roach and Louis Bellson. Just so creative and
try to tune it well and in the spirit of Bonzo and Can you read music? musical with elegance and structure! I love it! The
all drummers have a blast playing it! The Bonzo metal realm is awesome, but that s just one part of SDM: How often does your bands practice during
Bash at Namm 2013 was the biggest one. It was I studied privately from 4th to 8th grade, then 11th all things to do with drums! the week?
co hosted by Carmine Appice, Nicko McBrain and and 12th. I play guitar too. I have played guitar a
Eddie Trunk. It s just a simple concept I came up long time and put lots of hours into it like most Barely ever! I love practicing! Basically the bigger
with that drummers, fans, and musicians can dig guitarists have, so both instruments never stop for SDM: Do you usually record to a click track in the tour, the more the rehearsal cuz there s more of
and associate with. It s made me a lot more friendly me. I can read music a bit, but not sight read, just the studio? Do you find playing to a click track a budget. For cover gigs and more local stuff, one
with some of my drum idols and contemporaries basics. I have never gotten into notation. I always challenging? rehearsal usually suffices, if that. But I do enjoy
that I didn t know that well before we started these listened to recordings and tried to cop from that. practicing with bands I play in. It all leads to the
shows. We all instantly bond via the show and the I will record with a click when I have to. I like it for bigger picture!
communal sprit is so prevalent with all of us that what it represents; a consistent bpm stamping
most everyone wants to come back every time! It s SDM: What kind of gear do you use these days? from top to bottom. It omits all discussion about
a great hang on top of a cool tribute to our hero! We if the drummer is pushing or pulling too much. A SDM: What are you kick pedals set at?
also did 3 more on the East Coast. May 30, 31 and I use Natal Drums and Hardware, Paiste Cymbals, great drummer can play to a click and make it feel
June 1st. They went great. Like I said, this show and Regal Tip Tish Stix, and Remo Heads. clickless. But, I do prefer the art of free time. My kick pedals are set pretty tight and the beaters
the spirit of it cannot be denied. Not free time like a disregard of time, but free time are pretty far back.
where the drummer s sense of time and groove is
SDM: Do you use triggers in the studio or live? what makes the track feel and move how it should.
What s your opinion about using triggers and drum It is intangible and it s special. I love that it does SDM: Do you use doubles, triplets, or a combina-
modules? NOT matter to the listener who enjoys a song or tion of both?
went to a college where all I did was play and and recording? huge fan of achieving a great organic drum sound to us drummers, it s bad-ass to say, yeah, this
practice drums and guitar! I learned a ton there and in whatever situation I am in. I love hearing back is me, this is my sense of time, this is my groove,
also retained my roots and that combined together I stretch out, warm up, and I like an hour to chill and drums that make me happy cuz of the room they and this is how I make a song feel when I play.
is why I play how I do. not be bothered and get prepared mentally. At the are in with how I hit them and how they are tuned. That represents all the years of being a drummer,
same time, when doing club gigs and all that stuff, It just makes me happy. Makes me think back to all listening, practicing, dreaming, pretending,
you don t have the space or privacy. Sometimes the great drum sounds that influenced me and how imitating, hour upon hour upon hour year after
SDM: Please give us some details about the exact there s more going on around you so the warm up I wished I could sound like that. year!! It all sits inside and when you get behind the
replica of the John Bonham drum kit you had made suffers. In those cases you hope all your years of kit, there it all is!
for all the drummers to play on the 25th anniver- practice and dedication have prepared you to be
sary celebrating John Bonham in Bonzo, The ready for the rest of your life with no excuses. Same SDM: Who are some of your main drumming influ- For example; here are drummers and bands that
Groove Remains the Same. Tell us about the Bonzo goes for recording. Think ahead, be prepared. ences today and back when you first started? Do have no click on their records and they are the
Bash in Jan 2013 at Namm with over 30 drummers, you listen to different styles of music outside of the biggest of all time, and do we really care about
including hosts Nicko McBrain and Vinny Appic!? metal realm? the click when listening? No! Stones, Who, Rush,
How did that go? Tell us about the other 3 Bonzo SDM: What kind of practice routines do you Van Halen, Aerosmtih, Journey, Foreigner, Beatles,
Bashes on the East Coast. perform when you practice by yourself? I am influenced by all drummers today. Everything Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, Police, Eagles, Pantera,
from the kings of blast beats to technical wizards Soundgarden, Kiss, Cream, Allman, Skynyrd, Doors,
The kit is an amber acrylic kit made by Natal drums. I wish I practiced! If I did I d work on speed, 4 way and groove monsters. I love Thomas Hakke and Zeppelin, etc... no click!
I wrote to them back in 2012 and asked them to independence and dbl kick technique. But when I Meshuggah, Gojira is killer with Mario Duplantier.
make the kit so I could endorse and promote Natal PLAY by myself I end up pretending I am Steve Gadd He s bad-ass! I love how new guys are pushing So yeah, to all drummers, spend time practicing to
as I signed up with them the year before. It made meets Porcaro, Bonzo, Tony Williams, Bozzio and the envelope for speed and technique! Without a click. Get familiar with locking into a bpm. It will
sense to do that. I want to give them a forum to Clyde Stubblefield hanging with Garibaldi, Elvin them, we d become complacent to an extent, help you overall. Work on your internal clock. Put
strut their stuff rather than promote a company I Jones, Steve Smith, Simon Phillips, and Cobham! but not entirely because groove is king and it s the two things together! Be able to track to a click
don t endorse. And we all know that a kit s sound And when you pretend that is happening, results timeless. But everyone from Mangini to Minneman so you can be a studio cat if needed or desired and
has a lot to do with head choice, tuning, mics and DO get produced! Playing alone, practicing... and Donati and Sucherman, Lang, Kollias and Jojo you can work and make bread and have fun and
mic placement, and how its hit. whatever it takes as long as you are moving Mayer are just nothing but super-influential! They prove that you are on this planet to play drums and
forward. all almost get me starting to practice again! haha... be killer at it! But also turn the thing off and listen
The sizes are the same as John Bonham s and we to what makes people move and the space between
use the same Remo head combination as Bonzo I am always going back and digging into the classic and all the amazing things that make a groove
did. 26x14, 14x10, 16x16 and 18x16. Also 6 1/2 SDM: Did you ever take drum lessons before icons! Recently I have been listening a lot to Max stand out.
x 14 chrome snare. Paiste s all around, etc I Berklee? Do you still play any other instrument? Roach and Louis Bellson. Just so creative and
try to tune it well and in the spirit of Bonzo and Can you read music? musical with elegance and structure! I love it! The
all drummers have a blast playing it! The Bonzo metal realm is awesome, but that s just one part of SDM: How often does your bands practice during
Bash at Namm 2013 was the biggest one. It was I studied privately from 4th to 8th grade, then 11th all things to do with drums! the week?
co hosted by Carmine Appice, Nicko McBrain and and 12th. I play guitar too. I have played guitar a
Eddie Trunk. It s just a simple concept I came up long time and put lots of hours into it like most Barely ever! I love practicing! Basically the bigger
with that drummers, fans, and musicians can dig guitarists have, so both instruments never stop for SDM: Do you usually record to a click track in the tour, the more the rehearsal cuz there s more of
and associate with. It s made me a lot more friendly me. I can read music a bit, but not sight read, just the studio? Do you find playing to a click track a budget. For cover gigs and more local stuff, one
with some of my drum idols and contemporaries basics. I have never gotten into notation. I always challenging? rehearsal usually suffices, if that. But I do enjoy
that I didn t know that well before we started these listened to recordings and tried to cop from that. practicing with bands I play in. It all leads to the
shows. We all instantly bond via the show and the I will record with a click when I have to. I like it for bigger picture!
communal sprit is so prevalent with all of us that what it represents; a consistent bpm stamping
most everyone wants to come back every time! It s SDM: What kind of gear do you use these days? from top to bottom. It omits all discussion about
a great hang on top of a cool tribute to our hero! We if the drummer is pushing or pulling too much. A SDM: What are you kick pedals set at?
also did 3 more on the East Coast. May 30, 31 and I use Natal Drums and Hardware, Paiste Cymbals, great drummer can play to a click and make it feel
June 1st. They went great. Like I said, this show and Regal Tip Tish Stix, and Remo Heads. clickless. But, I do prefer the art of free time. My kick pedals are set pretty tight and the beaters
the spirit of it cannot be denied. Not free time like a disregard of time, but free time are pretty far back.
where the drummer s sense of time and groove is
SDM: Do you use triggers in the studio or live? what makes the track feel and move how it should.
What s your opinion about using triggers and drum It is intangible and it s special. I love that it does SDM: Do you use doubles, triplets, or a combina-
modules? NOT matter to the listener who enjoys a song or tion of both?
