Keep up with Mike here:
Music has been the most important thing in my life since I was 12 years old. There was a talent show at my school when I was in 6th grade, and some of the 8th graders formed a band for the show. They played “Sweet Child O’Mine” and I thought it was the coolest thing ever.
Since then I’ve played in a variety of contexts and a handful of bands. I’ve toured, recorded, written, and engineered, and I wish I could do more. I went to the L.A. Music Academy for a year and although it cost way too much money and I’ll die in debt, the experience was priceless and having a year to hone my chops did my playing a lot of good.
The main musical projects I am currently involved in are Exhausted Prayer and Dreaming Dead. We both have albums available worldwide, and I hope you’ll check us out.
I think that a drummer can make or break a band. Overplaying and poor time (which often go hand in hand) are two pitfalls that metal drummers frequently fall into. Always play to support the music, and lead the other musicians through the tunes with predictable fills and good time.
Mike Caffell Interview:
SD.com: How old were you when you started playing?
Mike: I started playing drums when I was 18, and I’m now 28. I started playing music proper (the flutophone, a plastic piece of shit clarinet thing) when I was around 10 years old. I started playing guitar seriously at the age of 12. I just fell into the drums really. A buddy of mine asked if he could keep his drumset at my house (hell yes!) and the rest is history.
SD.com: Did you play in a school band or any drum corps?
Mike: I played in the high school jazz band as the secondary drummer my senior year of high school. I didn’t read drum music or follow charts very well at that point so I just learned the songs by ear. I also got stoned before most of the classes. It was really fun, but looking back I wish I had made more of it.
SD.com: Who are your top 5 metal influences?
Mike: Hard to say, but let’s go with Dave Lombardo, Adrian Erlandson, Nick Barker, Nick Menza, and Danny Walker. The fast thrash beat that Dave and Adrian did on the classic Slayer and At the Gates albums is my bread and butter, baby. I also like the blast beats that Nick Barker does on the second Lock-Up album. Danny Walker is a buddy of mine, and I really look up to his drumming. His work in Intronaut is fantastic. I’m always impressed by how complicated his parts are and how well he remembers them, but also by his musicality and power.
SD.com: Who are some other of your favorites?
Mike: I love all types of music, and metal drummers make up a small portion of my influences. I like Max Roach, Elvin Jones, Bill Bruford, Vinnie Colaiuta, Ralph Humphrey, Matt Cameron, and David King to name a few. I also write music, so I have a long list of non-drummer influences as well.
SD.com: Let us know 5 CD’s that are in your current rotation
Mike: TV on the Radio: Dear Science, Fleet Foxes: Fleet Foxes, Guns n Roses: Chinese Democracy, Intronaut: Prehistoricisms, Kate Bush: The Dreaming
SD.com: What do you do to warm up before a show?
Mike: A lot. I need to get my hands ready to play 16th note single stroke rolls at 240 bpm the second I get on stage. I have an “e-soft” practice pad I warm up on that is pretty soft and really makes you work for the notes. I also carry around a kick drum practice pad and an additional kick pedal to warm up with. I also do deep breathing, a ton of stretches, and I jump up and down a bunch and try to keep active before the set. I also drink a little booze and smoke if I can. Sometimes I don’t have time for all of the above, but no matter what, I need to get movin before I get onstage, otherwise it ain’t gonna happen.
SD.com: Do you read music? Regardless of answering yes or no, please tell us how it might have effected your playing?
Mike: I do read music and have since I was 10 years old. I think that reading music and/or are crucial to developing good time. As a drummer, if you can cultivate an inner tempo by feeling the subdivision of the beat (8th notes, 16th notes, 8th note triplets, etc.) then you’ll have good timing. For instance you might just be keeping time on the ride by playing half-notes, but to place those notes in the right spot, you should be thinking of 8th notes in your head. Constantly feeling a smaller subdivision of the beat than the subdivision you are actually playing gives you a grid over which to keep time. I think that reading music has improved my time more than anything else.
SD.com: Can you tell us about the gear you use?
Mike: I’ve been playing a Yamaha Maple Custom Absolute Nouveau kit for about 4 years now and I absolutely love it. That’s the kit they put out with the lugs that disengage from the drum. It’s a great design and it saves time changing heads. The toms are 10, 12, and 14 inches and the kicks are 20s (yes, I have a double kick kit and its awesome). I like the 20-inch kicks because they are a little bit tighter sounding than 22s, and that’s great for playing fast metal. The bass frequencies from the kicks are tighter. I use DW 9000 kick pedals and they’ve been great for me. For my cymbals I use a variety of brands, but mostly the drier, jazzy Zildjian cymbals. However, my primary crash is a Paiste Fast Crash and it is superb. I would be interested in an all-Paiste cymbal set up that’s similar to that crash (ahem, endorsement?).
SD.com: If you could give one piece of advice to young drummers, it would be…
Mike: Learn to read music, learn to keep time, and keep everything you play live or with other musicians within your means. It is much better to play simple and keep good time than to play four million notes in one minute that are all over the place. Sorry, I think there is more than one piece of advice in there.
SD.com: Who gave the best live performance you’ve ever seen?
Mike: Drummers? I don’t know, nothing comes to mind. Maybe Phil Rudd from AC/DC back in the 90’s. Oh, I know. Jeff Hamilton. He’s a jazz drummer. Totally amazing. Definitely him. I was also blown away by Fleet Foxes when I saw them recently in Los Angeles. Also, seeing Opeth on their Ghost Reveries tour at the House of Blues in L.A. was great. Oh, and seeing Neurosis on the second stage at the second Ozzfest back in the 90’s was awesome. I thought their heads were gonna explode.
SD.com: Aside from drumming, what else do you like to do?
Mike: I like to write music. I’ve been a guitarist much longer than I’ve been a drummer, and my main focus in the musical world is writing my own music and pursuing my artistic vision. I also like to hang out and get stupid with my good friends, smoke lots of grass, read classic novels, find good vegan food, and exercise in general. I also love my day job, performing behavioral interventions for children with autism.
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