BOBBYCHRISTIAN

BLASELIAS

VICTORLEWIS

Slaughter's Blas Elias is onedrummer who knows how tobalance the technical with thevisual. Learn about the makingof Slaughter's latestalbum—and check outour exclusive Blasequipment sidebar!• by Robyn Flans 22

He first made his name with StanGetz, Kenny Baron, and DavidSanborn. These days New Yorkjazz drummer/composer VictorLewis adds his unique style togroundbreakers like Bobby Watson& Horizon. Here MDtakes a close look at thistalented musician.• by Ken Micallef

In this special tribute, MD looksat the life, times, and memoriesof one of the percussion indus-try's most beloved figures—"Mr.Percussion," Bobby Christian.• by Lauren Vogel 32

28 INSIDEPAISTE

This month MD takes a tourthrough the unique Paiste cym-bal factory. Plus: an exclusivesidebar examining theextensive Paiste lines.• by Rick Van Horn 36

COVER PHOTO BY JAY BLAKESBERG

FEATURES

COLUMNS

Education

48 ROCK 'N' JAZZCLINICDouble BassIdeas: Part 1BY ROD MORGENSTEIN

56 ROCKPERSPECTIVESDeveloping OriginalRock BeatsBY NICK FORTE

62 STRICTLYTECHNIQUEContinuous Roll StudyIn 16th NotesBY JOE MORELLO

66 TEACHERS'FORUMWriting Drum FillsThat WorkBY DEAN M. GOTTSCHALK

92 THE JOBBINGDRUMMERSequencing: ADrummer's Friend?BY DAVID MOOREAND CARL HENRY

42 PRODUCTCLOSE-UPCannon Mega VDrumkitBY RICK MATTINGLY

43 Brady 5x12 She-OakSnare DrumBY RICK VAN HORN

44 LP Jingle ThingsBY RICK VAN HORN,ADRIENNE OSTRANDER,AND ADAM J.BUDOFSKY

60 FROM THE PASTA Brief History OfFibes DrumsBY BOB OWEN

108 NEW ANDNOTABLE

120 MD's 1992DRUM PRODUCTCONSUMERS POLL

4 EDITOR'SOVERVIEW

6 READERS'PLATFORM

10 DRUMLINE

14 ASK A PRO

18 IT'SQUESTIONABLE

98 CRITIQUE

114 DRUM MARKET

8 UPDATENigel Olsson, TedParsons of Prong,Lyle Lovett's DanTomlinson, andPearl Jam'sDave Abbruzzese,plus News

112 INDUSTRYHAPPENINGS

Profiles

50 PORTRAITSFrank VilardiBY CHARLES LEVIN

78 PERCUSSIONTODAYMorton SandersBY ADAM J. BUDOFSKY

Departments

Equipment

News

On Consumer Input

Ever since the early days of Modern Drummer, I'veencouraged readers to offer their input on anyaspect of the magazine. Over the years, hundredsof readers have written to tell me what they like ordislike about MD. Hundreds more have writtenwith suggestions for feature stories and column

topics, among many other ideas. Rest assured that all your lettersare read, and those with valuable ideas are thoroughly discussed atmonthly editorial meetings. The point is, this continual flow ofinput helps MD to be the best it can be in addressing the needs andwants of you, the reader.

Another important form of input is geared towards MD's advertis-ers. A good example is when we ask you to take a moment torespond to the MD Consumer Poll on page 120 of this issue. ThePoll is presented every three years or so, and it's your opportunity tolet the drum industry know haw you feel about their products, qual-ity, service—even their advertising. Similar to prior Consumer Polls,the major categories are most innovative company, best quality andcraftsmanship, most service-oriented, most interesting ad cam-paign, and the most valuable product to appear on the market overthe past three years. Winners will be announced in the Novemberissue of MD, and will be presented with handsomely designedawards for their particular categories.

Naturally, we're hopeful that the manufacturers in our industrywill learn something from our Poll, even if it's merely to gain a bettergrasp on what you're really thinking. Interestingly, past MDConsumer Polls have even become sort of a status symbol for somecompanies, with several using the award in their promotional andadvertising campaigns—a clear indication that your opinion certain-ly does count.

To my knowledge, MD is the only major music publication offer-ing its readers a chance to express their opinions in this area, sodon't miss out on the opportunity. Hopefully, we'll all once againbenefit from your valuable input.

EDITOR/PUBLISHER

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

MANAGING EDITOR

FEATURES EDITOR

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

ART DIRECTOR

ART ASSISTANT

ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR

ADVERTISING ASSISTANT

SALES AND MARKETINGDIRECTOR

CONSULTANT TO THEPUBLISHER

MODERN DRUMMER ADVISORY BOARD: Henry Adler, KennyAronoff, Louie Bellson, Bill Bruford, Roy Burns, Jim Chapin, AlanDawson, Dennis DeLucia, Les DeMerle, Len DiMuzio, CharlieDonnelly, Peter Erskine, Vic Firth, Danny Gottlieb, Sonny Igoe, JimKeltner, Larrie Londin, Peter Magadini, George Marsh, Joe Morello, RodMorgenstein, Andy Newmark, Neil Peart, Charlie Perry, Dave Samuels,John Santos, Ed Shaughnessy, Steve Smith, Ed Thigpen, Dave Weckl,

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Robyn Flans, Simon Goodwin, RickMattingly, Ken Micallef, Jeff Potter, 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 1992 byMODERN DRUMMER Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.Reproduction without the permission of the publisher is prohibited.

EDITORIAL/ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES: MODERNDRUMMER Publications, 870 Pompton Avenue, Cedar Grove, NJ07009. Tel.: (201) 239-4140.

MODERN DRUMMER welcomes manuscripts and photographic mate-rial, however, cannot assume responsibility for them. Such items mustbe accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

MUSIC DEALERS: Modern Drummer is available for resale at bulkrates. Direct correspondence to Modern Drummer, Dealer Service, PO.Box 389, Mt. Morris, IL 61054. Tel.: (800) 334-DRUM or (815) 734-6013.

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Ronald Spagnardi

Isabel Spagnardi

Rick Van Horn

William F. Miller

Adam J. Budofsky

Justin J. Cordes

Scott G. Bienstock

Lori Spagnardi

Tracy A. Kearns

Bob Berenson

Joan C. Stickel

Crystal W. Van Horn

Arnold E. Abramson

Harvey MasonYour article on Harvey Mason in theMarch '92 issue was excellent! I'm anaspiring studio drummer, and your ques-tions (and Harvey's answers) gave me alot of insight as to what being a sessiondrummer is all about. The informationcontained in the interview is exactly whatI was waiting for!

Skip ReevesDenver CO

Fred YoungI truly enjoyed your March issue becausemy two favorite drummers were featured:Hunt Sales and Fred Young. They'refavorites because of the simplicity oftheir playing.

I had the pleasure of attending aKentucky Headhunters concert recently.I also got to meet the group prior to theshow. It's refreshing to see talent thatdoesn't look down at you. It's also nice tosee a real star, like Fred, who's willing tofall to earth and do human things. (Andevery drummer I know wants a kit justlike Fred's!) Keep up the good work,Fred, and don't ever sell out. Now thatyou've proven Nashville wrong, you canbe yourselves and still put out music thateven a die-hard rocker like me will eager-ly buy!

Daniel BiesheuverBismarck ND

Farewell To RoyI recently received my March issue, andwas surprised by the absence of RoyBurns' Concepts column. I've alwaysenjoyed Concepts; what's the story?

Tommy FletilingAkron OH

Editor's note: After more than 13 years asa regular columnist for MD, Roy is leav-

ing the magazine to devote more time tohis business, Aquarian AccessoriesCorporation. In a recent letter, Roy offeredthis message to his readers and fans: "Ithas been a great ride and a thrill to beinvolved with MD since the beginning. Ifeel that I was a small part of a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Thanks for the oppor-tunity to be involved. This was not aneasy decision, but my energy and time arerequired by Aquarian."

The Concepts department will continueon a periodic basis, with articles submit-ted by a variety of authors.

Don't Forget PureCussionIn the It's Questionable section of yourMarch issue, Joseph Dobkin requestedinformation on companies offering sin-gle-headed drums. I do believe thatPureCussion drums would qualify asbeing single-headed! I also feel thatPureCussion is as major a drum companyas at least two of the four drum compa-nies mentioned. Wouldn't you agree thatMr. Dobkin and the rest of your readersdeserve a more complete answer to thequestion?

Walt JohnstonVice President/General Manager

PureCussion, Inc.Minneapolis MN

Editor's note: PureCussion offers drumscreated by mounting single drumheads onRIMS mounts, employing special hard-ware that allows the heads to be tuned.No drumshells are used.

Rebuttal To DmytriwI am writing in response to the letterwritten by Mr. Mike Dmytriw in yourMarch issue. Mr. Dmytriw speaks clearlyand truthfully about Jim Keltner—the

man is an excellent drummer, to say theleast. But saying that "putting the verytasteless article on thrash and speed-metal drummers in the same issue is justunforgivable" is a real slap in the face tous drummers in the speed/heavy metalcategory.

Believe it or not, Mr. Dmytriw, drum-mers like Lars Ulrich and ScottRockenfield are talented. They can dothings that I can only try in vain todo—even if my set is as big as theirs.(And that's taking nothing away fromdrummers like Jim Keltner; many ofthem play small kits and do things that Ican only dream of doing.) If a speed/heavy metal drummer deserves to gracethe pages of MD, then he or she shouldbe allowed to do so—no matter whatother drummers are featured in thatissue.

Your narrow-mindedness about otherstyles of drumming surprises me, Mr.Dmytriw. The drummers that I havebeen fortunate enough to converse withtend to be an open-minded and agreeablelot, no matter what style they play. I'mglad you're not the editor of MD, for Ifear that if you were, it would be a verybiased publication.

Russ AndersonIronwood MI

Thanks For The CountryCoverageGlad to see that you are featuring some ofthe top country drummers more oftennow (Fred Young, Milton Sledge, as wellas some of the Nashville studio guys). Asa country drummer, I appreciate thisimmensely! How about an interview withSteve Duncan of the Desert Rose Bandand Hot Country Nights?

Ray HeathNew London NH

When we talked to Nigel Olsson acouple months back, he had highhopes for his new band, Warpipes,which took him out of semi-retirement. "The last Elton Johntour I was on in 1986 lasted twoyears," Nigel recalls. "When I gotoff tour, I wanted to slow down.Then Elton changed the bandagain, anyway."

For the past five years, Nigel'sbeen living in Nashville, aboutwhich he says, "I fell in love withNashville because it's very muchlike England. The people are real-ly nice, it's green, and it's a greatplace. I've lived in the south for along time—I lived in Atlanta andNorth Carolina before I movedhere."According to Olsson, Warpipes

came about "when Davey John-stone had come off the road withElton—Elton retired again, whichhe does every two years," Nigellaughs. "We'd been wanting to put

something together fora long time, and Daveyhad a few songs he hadwritten. He and [key-boardist] Guy Babalonput them down inGuy's studio, and theywere turning out so wellthat he called and said,'I'm going to send you atape of a few songs. Seehow you feel aboutputting a band togetherbehind all this.' I lis-tened to the tape andcalled him back andsaid, 'Yes, let's go aheadand do it.'"

Nigel says that whenhe's free, he does somesessions for his father-in-law, producer LarryButler, who uses him ontracks that aren't "downand out country."

• Robyn Flans

Prong isn't exactly the typical crossoverband. But drummer Ted Parsons hopeslong-time followers of the New York trio'sbrand of industrial metal go for what hecalls a "more open, musical, and accessi-ble" record.

With Prove You Wrong, Prong sur-rounds the militant, start-stop rhythmsfound on its previous efforts with morevaried and interesting melodic turns. Butthe most notable changes stem fromParsons, who toned down the gated snare,which hindered 1990's Beg To Differ, andwent to a smaller kit for what he feels ishis most musical recorded performance.

Parsons credits it all to doing a lot of

homework between recording sessions,and getting to know his instrument better."I think I've made a tremendous leap inmy playing," Parsons says. "In the past, Iwas content to just play things I alreadyknew how to do. Now I'm getting moreinto what rhythm is all about, challengingmyself, and almost being obsessive aboutdrumming."

Parsons' growth as a player includesmore dynamic tom work, better use ofdouble-bass, and riding the hi-hat withhis left hand. On "Get A Grip," off thenew record, Parsons goes so far as to usehis left foot for his main bass drum. "I'mjust trying to achieve a more ambidextrous

approach," he says.Prong recorded the new album in an old

Smith & Wesson firearms factory, whereParsons used five snare drums—from apiccolo to a marching model—in starkcontrast to the somewhat droning snaresound on Beg To Differ.

"We really didn't have a good game planwith the last record. But I felt really com-fortable doing this one," says Parsons, whopreviously played with the Swans. "I'vealways been a big arm player, and I wentfor more concise fills this time. But Ithink we convey more energy on thisrecord, too."

• Matt Peiken

Ted Parsons

Nigel Olsson

Dan TomlinsonFor the past couple of years, Dan Tomlinson has been jugglinghis time between Lyle Lovett and Acoustic Alchemy. Both gigspresent different challenges for the drummer, but Dan says heparticularly enjoys working in Lovett's large-band context, whichincludes cello, three horns, and three saxes.

"In playing with the large band," Dan says, "I get to actually bemore of a drummer, whereas in Lyle's small band, it's basicallyplaying very quietly. In the large band, I get to play a lot of differ-ent styles—country, rock, and a couple of funk tunes with kind ofa gospel feel—and I have to play like a big band drummer."

The situation with Acoustic Alchemy has been interesting, too,because Tomlinson started with them as a percussionist, a rolehe had never played before. "I locked myself up in my room forabout two weeks learning percussion parts," he explains. "I reallyenjoyed doing that with them. There was a lot of freedom to addcolors, and I wasn't quite as restricted to the timekeeping posi-

Dave AbbruzzeseThis past summer, Dave Abbruzzese was about as far away fromthe vibrant Seattle rock music scene as you could get. But whenMatt Chamberlain, previously known for his work with EdieBrickell & New Bohemians, left the fledgling group Pearl Jam totake over the drum slot in the Saturday Night Live band, thedoor opened for the 23-year-old Texan.

"I had been playing with this band in Dallas called Dr.Tongue, and Matt had just done a three-week tour with PearlJam," Abbruzzese recalls. "But we've known each other for awhile, and when the Saturday Night thing came up, he recom-mended me to the guys in Pearl Jam."

Suddenly, with Pearl Jam's debut, Ten, receiving heavy criticalacclaim, Abbruzzese has a new home and life. "There's a prettygood music scene in Dallas, but it's not anything like Seattle,and I had a little culture shock when I first moved," he says. "Icome from the school of playing music for music's sake, and I

News...Ed Shaughnessy has beenworking with his big band onscattered dates. If you findyourself in L.A., Ed is nowavailable for lessons. You canreach him at (818) 769-4144.Michael Barsimanto can

be heard on albums by SteveBach, Dianna Eve, and JimmyLawrence.

Vic Mastrianni is on theroad with Ricky Van Shelton.Moyes Lucas is on the

road with Dianna Ross. RonPowell is on percussion.Tommy Wells can be

heard on records by Juice

Newton, Gerry House,Cumberland Boys, Jerry Reed,Roger Springer, MichaelTwitty, Cathedrals, Jay Patten,and Don McLean. He's alsobeen doing a lot of jingles, aswell as some live dates withJay Patten and Jimmy Hall &the Prisoners of Love.

Louie Weaver on Petra'snew LP, Unseen Power.

Steve Riley has left L.A.Guns. Bones has replacedhim.Paul Leim on new releases

by Lorrie Morgan, PaulOverstreet, Bruce Carroll,

tion. I had a large percussion table, plus congas, bongos, tim-bales, wood chimes, and six different kinds of cymbals. I wasright up front with the two guitar players, and that was a lot offun, too.

"Now I've actually replaced myself," he explains. "They didn'twant to have a percussionist last year, but they still wanted tohave the percussion parts. So now I have a large drum kit thatincludes bongos and timbales, and I'm doing both drums andpercussion."

Dan can be heard on Alchemy's last LP, Back On The Case. "Itwas a little odd doing that record because of the way it was pro-duced," Dan explains. "They had each individual player do hispart by himself. I had to come in and do the drums to just twoscratch acoustic guitar parts, which was a bit lonely. But thealbum turned out really well."

• Robyn Flans

was a little leery at first about stepping into a major-labelsituation. But Pearl Jam is just a good band making good musicwithout anybody worrying about trends—and that's exactlywhere I'm at, too."

Abbruzzese says he immediately hit it off with his new band-mates and that, with Pearl Jam on tour supporting the Red HotChili Peppers, he's already had a profound effect on the music."The drum parts have changed considerably," he says. "In someways, it's hard to play somebody else's parts [Dave Krusenplayed on the record], but my whole style is groove-oriented, soI fit right in. The song structures are still the same, but I thinkI've made the groove bigger."

Abbruzzese, though, is already looking forward to recordingnew material with the group. In the meantime, fans can hear hisplaying on a Pearl Jam single for the movie Singles.

• Matt Peiken

Pam Tillis, Lee Greenwood,Michael W. Smith, MacMacAnally, and Kurt Howell.

Tal Bergman working onnew Billy Idol release. Tal canalso be heard on new releasesby Chaka Khan, Boo YaaTribe, and Jane Child.

Frank Derrick has recent-ly completed a drum bookentitled Drum Loops For LiveDrums. The book compiles 40pages of exercises and drummachine beats geared towardcoordination and disciplinedevelopment. Frank has alsobeen touring with Cab Callo-

way.Richie Morales on Dave

Valentin's recent release, It'sMy Life.

Michael Hodges is cur-rently on tour with AdrianBelew.

Ron Wikso has left his gigwith Cher to play in theStorm. The band recentlyopened for Bryan Adams onseveral dates.John Tempesta on recent

Exodus release, Force OfHabit.

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 15O wordsor less, and be sure to include your name andaddress. We will pay $15 for every tip we publish.

Here's a tip for drummers who tend toslouch and feel lower back pain as a result.Very essential to weightlifters, a lowerback belt is used to support the lifter'sback and keep the back muscles fromstraining. The belt is perfect as a practic-ing tool because it gets you used to havinggood posture. You can find the belt atmost sporting goods or fitness stores.

Kelly BensonMcMurray PA

A variety of shakers can be made out ofeasily obtainable household objects. Forexample, cut the tops off two aluminumsoft drink cans, put in half a cup of rice,then tape the cut ends together. (You cantape together an entire six-pack for morevolume!) Tape or glue two empty 35mmfilm containers together at their bottoms.Put a teaspoon of BBs in each container,pop their lids back on, and shake away!You can use two plastic vitamin or pill bot-tles in the same manner.

Bill RudyKissemee FL

While having a flat tire fixed at a local gasstation recently, I noticed dozens of littlerubber "doughnuts" littering the floor.They were the bottom ends of the valvestems, which are ripped off while repair-ing tires. I've used these "doughnuts" onmy kit in several ways: isolating cymbalcup washers from stands, glueing them tothe bottom of my floor tom legs, even cov-ering up unsightly holes drilled intodrumshells. Another tip is to glue three orfour "doughnuts" to the sides of your

drum cases in order to avoid scratchingthem. Their uses are limited only by yourimagination—and they're free!

Eliot PietriYauco PR

Have you ever bought a new drumheadand tried to tune it up—only to find outthat your old head sounded better than thenew one? I've had this experience manytimes, and have had to put the new headaway for use only in an emergency. What awaste!

My solution is to remove a new headfrom its package and test it before I buy it.I hold it by the rim, close to my ear, andsimply tap it in the center to hear how itsounds. If it rings nicely and has a goodcharacter, chances are it'll tune up andsound that way on the drum, too. However,if it just gives a lifeless "thud," I put itback in its box and try another one. Isometimes need to try three or four headsbefore I find one that "sings," but it's wellworth it to beat the frustration (andexpense) of a "dead head."

Ron HagelganzVancouver WA

I obtained an old moving/packing blanket,folded it in half, and had it stitched intoseveral separate compartments. Into theseI insert my cymbal stands. Then I roll itup and tie it with a couple of old belts.This system holds my stands conveniently,while preventing them from scratchingeach other. When empty, it provides a car-pet large enough for a five-piece setup!

Mike KosacekAustin TX

With all the talk about "freely vibratingdrumshells," the use of rubber insulatorsbetween shell and lug casings, and the use

of RIMS and other isolation mounts, I'msurprised at the number of drummers Isee tightening their snare baskets to thepoint where the "claws" holding the drumrestrict shell vibration. Try this simpletest: Place your drum in the snare standbasket and tighten the claws tightly. Now,play the drum with one hand, slowly loos-ening the claws until they no longer beardown on the drum. Hear the difference.Some drums will sound 30%-50% louder.Even more volume and resonance can beachieved by placing foam under the rim ateach point of contact with the snare standclaws.

Mike BinetLafayette LA

Those of you who own bass drums withall-wooden hoops are faced with the prob-lem of having pedal clamps chew unsightlydents into the hoops. I've found that cut-ting an old T-shirt into small squares,doubling the fabric over once (to providetwo layers of material), and placing thisbetween the hoop and the pedal clampeliminates the chewing problem andmakes the dents from the clamp (whichseem unavoidable—at least with somepedals) hardly visible.

Daniel HughesConley GA

I have noticed wooden bass drum hoopsmarred or scratched after clamping onhoop-mount cowbell holders. To protectthem, I purchased an inexpensive sheet ofadhesive-backed felt at a local discountstore, cut it to fit the inside of the clamp,and solved the problem. It works great!

Jim MurrayJonesboro AR

Note: The tips presented in Drumline are sugges-tions based on the personal experience of individualdrummers, and are not necessarily endorsed or rec-ommended by Modern Drummer magazine.Modern Drummer cannot guarantee that any prob-lem will be solved by any Drumline suggestion, andcannot be responsible for any damage to equipmentor personal injury resulting from the utilization ofany such suggestion. Readers are encouraged to con-sider each suggestion carefully before attempting toutilize any Drumline tip.

Support For Lower Back

Home-Made Shakers

Multi-Use Rubber Washers

Packing Your Stands

Improving Snare DrumResonance

Bass Drum Hoop Protection

Evaluating Drumheads

I started drumming ona left-handed kit

because I didn't know any bet-ter. Later, I changed the kitaround because I'm right-handed. I didn't see any prob-lem until I realized I was limit-ed to what I could do depend-ing on what hand I was leadingwith. I'd start going off beat,and it would become confus-ing. You're my favorite drum-mer, and I would greatly valueyour opinion and/or any advice.Will I be able to work it out intime, or should I lead only withone hand?

Kyle RiceLandisburg PA

Kyle, I can't think of a sin-gle thing wrong with learn-

ing how to lead with either hand.By nature, nearly every drummerfavors one hand or the other to leadwith, and most of us spend ourlives trying to train the other one tolead as easily. Once again, I have torecount the great story about GeneKrupa—apparently he used toshake hands with his left hand,because it was "underdeveloped."So by all means lead with eitherhand if you can; it can't do you a bitof harm, and it will make it possi-ble for you to do some interestingride patterns and also permit someunusual fills. It might be a littlemore difficult at first, but I'm sureit will be worth it. Maybe we shouldall start on opposite-hand kits!

Steve Smith Bill GibsonI got the Buddy Rich Memorial Scholarship Concerttapes for Christmas. I'm very impressed with your flu-

ency in drumming techniques, and I commend you on your verysuccessful drum duet with Marvin "Smitty" Smith. I was won-dering, though, what exactly that splash-like combination ofcymbals to your left was. It appeared to be a splash mounted onan inverted China. Please let me know what it was and if anyspecial mounting system was employed to give the cymbals theamount of contact they had.

Kristen Joseph IsaacSumter SC

I'm glad you enjoyed the tape, Kristen. It was very excit-ing for me to take part in that event—and also a bit

nerve-wracking, because we only had one chance to "get itright."

The combination of cymbals you refer to is a 12" ZildjianEFX Piggyback (a small China cymbal) with an 8" A Zildjiansplash on top of it. The 12" is mounted the right way up, notinverted, and there is no special mounting system; the splash issimply placed on top of the EFX cymbal. I think the sound isvery interesting, and I've used this combination on manyrecordings. Thanks for listening!

I recently saw you perform with Huey Lewis in AtlanticCity. The band was extremely tight, and your drumming

was musically tasteful, with a great sound and very solid time.But I thought I sawyou wearing head-phones. If so, whatwas the reason forthat?

Bobby SabellaHartsdale NY

Yes, Bobby,you did, see

me wearing head-phones in AtlanticCity—because theslot machines weretoo loud! Seriously,on that tour theband decided tosequence certainkeyboard parts—such as horn lines—hence the use of a clicktrack on certain songs. Thanks for the complimentary words.

Neil Peart

I'm interested in purchasing a Pearl brasspiccolo snare drum. Pearl offers modelnumber B-914P, a Free Floating Seriesdrum. A drum salesman said he could sellme the new model B-9114D, with somespecification changes and improvements.Are you aware of any changes to the B-914P or of a new B-9114D model piccolosnare drum?

Tom TabernWarner Robins GA

Pearl's Ken Austin offers thisclarification: "There have been

some recent changes to the entire FreeFloating Series line—including the picco-lo. We have introduced a more compactand concise throw-off and butt that pro-trude less from the chassis. Also, the FreeFloating Series lug posts are no longerhex-shaped. They have been re-designedin a cylindrical fashion.

"These changes are both functional andcosmetic. The new lug posts offer easiertensioning of the heads, and the new buttand throw-off afford the player no inter-ference in set-up."

I recently purchased an original LeedyBlack Beauty snare drum. The rims areclearly stamped with the inscription"Leedy Indianapolis Ind." After taking thedrum completely apart and inspecting itthoroughly, I noticed the letter E stampedinto the shell, where it would be coveredby one of the lug mounts. I know this isn'tmuch to go on, but could you tell me any-thing about the history of this drum? Is itto my advantage to polish it, or should Ileave it just like it is? Do you have anysuggestions for finding parts for thisdrum—specifically the strainer? Finally,what is a drum like this worth?

Kit AutryLakewood CO

We tapped vintage drum expertNed Ingberman's research abili-

ties for this one. His reply is: "The correctname for the drum you've described as a'Leedy Black Beauty' is the Leedy BlackElite. During its production history (1921to mid-1930s), the drum was first calledthe Multi-Model Classic, then the EliteProfessional, and finally the Black Elite.

"The rim-enscribed Leedy logo wasused on their snare drums only until 1930,when the company was sold to Conn andmoved from Indianapolis to Elkhart, Indi-ana. This dates your drum between 1921and 1929. To further pinpoint its age,more details or a photo would be needed.The letter 'E' stamped into the shell ismost likely a symbol used on the assemblyline to earmark a drum for fancy finishingas an Elite model. (I inspected anothermodel Leedy drum of the same period,identical to the Elite except for the finish,

and found no such marking.)"Leedy produced two Elite models. One

was the Black Elite, the other was theWhite Elite, which featured a glossy whiteenamel finish. For a time, both drumswere offered in a creative variety of plat-ing, engraving, and enamel combinations.

"Finding original replacement strainersfor vintage drums is no easy task. If yourstrainer is broken, try to have it repairedby a qualified drum or machine shop. If itis missing completely, a machine shopcould possibly fabricate a look-alikereplacement. You might also considerplacing a want ad in the classified sectionof Modern Drummer or in the Not SoModern Drummer vintage-drum newslet-ter published by John Aldridge (4989Eisenhower Dr. #B, Boulder, CO 80303).

"Owning a vintage drum with a disabledor missing strainer is a predicament thattempts some drummers to drill extraholes in the shell of their drum to accom-modate a new or substitute strainer. A farbetter approach is to utilize an adaptorplate between the snare strainer and thedrumshell. This method of installationallows a strainer and drum with un-matched bolt-hole patterns to be connect-ed together without drilling any extraholes in the drumshell. This way, thedrum is put back into action, while theintegrity and beauty of the shell are pre-served. For more information on how tofabricate and install an adaptor plate, con-tact Not So Modern Drummer.

"To clean your Black Elite, I recom-mend gentle rubbing with a mild, non-abrasive cleaner such as Windex. Avoidstrong chemical cleaners and polishingcompounds, as they could actually removethe finish!

"Concerning the drum's value: Theregal beauty of its engraved black nickelfinish shell and brass-plated ('NobbyGold') hardware, plus the exceptionaltone of its seamless 20-gauge rolled-brassshell, make this drum a highly desirablecollectible worth $1,300 to $1,800—depending on its overall integrity and con-dition."

What's Up With PearlSnare Drums?

What's The History Of TheLeedy Black Elite Snare?

drummers sets the band apart from mostothers, and creates a special image for thegroup. And finally, in some cases bandsare formed from the members of two ormore previous bands—including theirdrummers. Rather than eliminate one orthe other, both drummers are included inthe new group.

Why Do Bands UseTwo Drummers?

I have a question that has been houndingme for quite some time. Why do bandslike .38 Special and the Doobie Brothersincorporate two drummers and twodrumkits? I enjoy their music, but I couldnever figure out what two different drum-mers could do for a band.

Joseph GiacaloneGloucester MA

There are several reasons why aband might choose to use two

drummers. In some cases, the drummersplay very different parts, giving the musica more complex percussion sound thanone drummer could achieve. In othercases, the two-drummer lineup simplyadds power and intensity to the music.From a visual standpoint, having two

By Robyn Flans

RF: According to your publicity bio, you "just appearedout of nowhere from the Lone Star state."BE: As far as the Hollywood clique of musicians, Iappeared somewhat out of nowhere. I never intended tocome to LA. to become successful as a drummer. Aftergrowing up wanting to be a musician and playing inbands, I decided I would try something else. I got inter-ested in school and tried college for a while—not formusic—and then I started playing on the road with aband in Texas and in the Midwest. I met up with a gui-tar player who played in a band with Bobby Rock, whowas the drummer for the Vinnie Vincent Invasion at thetime. Bobby had gone to the same high school as me.This guitarist had sent an audition tape to [Slaughterbassist and singer/guitarist] Dana Strum and MarkSlaughter when their band, the Vinnie Vincent Invasion,was breaking up. I didn't really bother with it at firstbecause I was involved with another band. He didn't endup getting the audition for it, but at the time my bandbroke up, I decided, what the hell, I'd send in a tape. Ididn't hear anything back for a while, but they finallycalled me and said to send in a videotape because theycouldn't afford to fly me out there. But I figured that if Isent a video tape, I wouldn't really have a shot atit—without talking, meeting the guys, and getting a per-sonal rap going, like the LA. drummers could. So I bor-

rowed some money and got a one-way ticket. Ever sincethen, I really haven't been back. I think the guys in theband were really impressed that I came. I don't thinkthey took me seriously at first, being from Texas, butthey were frustrated with everyone else they had seen.RF: What was the audition like ?BE: I was playing a kit that was really uncomfortable,but I thought, "I'm not going to have a mental block,"and I just went for it as best I could. They would singout rhythms to me; it was like "stump the drummer"time. They would have me imitate what they weresinging, and they made it as hard as they could just tothrow me off. They wanted to know who they couldpush the furthest. That's how Dana works in the studio,too.RF: How so?BE: On a particular part in the song, he'll want to hear alot of different types of rhythms. A lot of times they maysound kind of off-the-wall, but he wants to hear a lot ofdifferent combinations. It may sound stupid when wetalk about it, but it may end up fitting the song reallywell. I feel it's a drummer's job—no matter what—to beable to play pretty much anything without having to sitthere for hours and waste everybody's time. When I waslearning drums, I made sure to learn a multitude ofrhythms so thoroughly that that would never happen. I

was really good at that part ofthe audition.RF: How did you learn that?BE: When I got to highschool and was in the drumsection, we would get themusic, but throw it away andmake up our own parts. Ididn't have a teacher to learnby, and actually, I feelfortunate that I decided tolearn by myself. I think Ilearned a lot more thoroughlythat way than I would havewith a teacher. I just bought alot of books and got somemusic paper and started writ-ing down different rhythms. Iwould write down every pos-sible combination I couldthink of, and I'd spend hoursevery day learning to playevery possible accent patternwith 8th notes, 16th notes,and triplets. Then I'd doevery possible sticking pat-tern. I'd do the same thingwith my hands and feet, andthen I'd do different indepen-dence exercises. I'd also dopolyrhythmic figures so that I

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could play any rhythmat any time. There aresome songs on ourrecords—especially thenew one—that havecomplex rhythms, evenpercussion parts, thatare a little out of theordinary. If you look atit from the outside, itseems really simple,but it's not.

I just always lovedrhythm, and no matterwhat, I've always beenbanging on some-thing—ever since I wasa kid. I learned the soloto "Moby Dick" in myhigh school algebraclass. I failed my finalexam because I wasplaying drums on mydesk after I finished my test. The teacher didn't gradeit; she just came up to me and said, "That was a verygood solo," and she wrote a big "F" on my paper, and Ifailed the whole course. But I lived rhythm, no matterwhere I was. You don't have to have a drumset, as longas you have your feet and your hands.RF: How was the first album recorded?BE: We all lived in this little apartment, and we workedwith a drum machine and a four-track on the livingroom floor or the dining room table. Then we went intothe Record Plant to do the demos, which was a greatplace for me to work my first time in a real studio.RF: What did it feel like that first time?BE: It's scarier before you go in somewhere. We were sobusy before we went in that we didn't have time to feelthat kind of anticipation. It was just another progressionof what we were doing. It was really natural. Dana isreally good in the studio. He knows how to bring out thebest in people.RF: How does he bring out the best in you?BE: That's hard to answer. He makes you feel very atease, he jokes with you. Everything is very lighthearted.It's not like, "Okay, you're on the grill." There was neverany pressure. We did the demos in the studio as prepa-ration for the record so that we wouldn't have that prob-lem. Being self-produced, there wasn't anyone thereintimidating us.RF: How was it cut?BE: Everybody at first doing scratch tracks together.Everything was pieced together after the fact.RF: What were some of the more challenging, hard-to-get, or fun tracks on the first album for you?BE: I can't name one favorite, because they're all so dif-ferent. "Flight Of The Angels" has always been one of

my favorites as a song, not necessarily drumming-wise.It's very laid back and influenced by John Bonham, inone of his slower feels. It's really simple, but the partswere very well thought out. Doing that record, I learneda lot about playing for the song and laying back wherethe vocal should be. I can't say there's anything on thefirst album that was technically really great, but it waspretty much playing for the songs and playing for radioand the concert arena. We had definite goals in mind ofwhat we wanted to achieve, and you can't overplay whenyou're trying to get airplay and MTV But we're glad thaton the new record we decided to take more liberties.RF: Aside from playing for the song, what was your roleon the first album?BE: I had to keep the parts interesting enough to makea difference and to make the song interesting and dif-ferent from anything else you'd hear. My drum hooksdidn't have to be hard to play—just good, well-writtenparts that a listener is going to remember. When you seesomeone listening to your song on their car stereo andthey're air-drumming along, you know you've accom-plished something. There are a lot of classic songs thathave these great drum parts that aren't the hardestthings in the world to play. Most arrogant drummerswould say, "That's just full-of-shit, AC/DC 2/4," butthey're still good parts. I think it's harder to come upwith parts like that than to just throw in a lot of notesand bullshit your way through something.RF: Any other songs on the first album that you want totalk about?BE: Like I said, there are a lot of different feels. Thereis a song that was never on the radio called "She WantsMore" that had a really good shuffle feel to it. It wassomething you wouldn't expect a rock band to play. The

Photo by Mark Weiss

Photo by Jay Blakesberg

intro to "So Mad About You" isdone in 6/8 and has a lot ofpolyrhythms, which nobodywould expect, but it reallydoesn't come across becauseyou can barely hear it. I do a lotof things with the hi-hat thatadd a different feel to it, likeon the song "Up All Night."Even though it's a verystraight-forward 2/4 groove, Iinterpreted that a different waythan maybe a lot of peoplewould have. I put in some 16thnotes combined with the 8th-note feel on the hi-hat, andthat gave it a bit more of anupbeat, dance-type feel to it. Itgives me a little bit of my ownstyle, I hope. I do that in quitea few of our songs. I expandedthe whole style of my hi-hatwork on the new record. I get alot of that from my drum corpsdays.RF: Dana and Mark gave youfree rein to do what you want-ed?BE: It's free rein for ideas, butthen everybody has their inputon what's cool and what's not.It's not like any one personsays, "Absolutely not, you can'teven try that." In fact, Danawill ask me to take more liber-ties and come up with moreideas, because the more ideasyou throw out, the morechances there are of hittingsomething good. That's a real-ly good attitude to have,because we'll come up withsome cool stuff by accidentsometimes.Also on the first album was

the song "Eye To Eye," whichis really cool as far as the parts go. It's in 6/8 in the introand changes into 4/4. I think it was probably two differ-ent songs that got fused together. A lot of times we'll dothat. There's also some really good hi-hat work in therethat combines some 8th notes with triplet 16ths, kind ofwith a shuffle feel in the bass drum. It all works in aweird way with the cowbell rhythm, which is more of astraight-forward, almost Latin type of thing.RF: What did you learn from making the first album?BE: As far as the instruments are concerned, I foundthat smaller drums tuned lower and played not as hard

work best. We went through all these snare drums tofind which had the biggest sound, and the one thatended up sounding the biggest was a piccolo that wastuned lower and hit softer! I even used a 20" kick drum.The microphone doesn't hear the volume, it just hearsthe sound. The bigger the drum, the harder you have tohit it to get the same sound out of it. With cymbals it'sthe same thing. I do play hard, especially live, but in thestudio I had to lighten up a little.

One of the biggest things I learned was to relax. Evenfaster and harder parts came a lot easier when I was

Blas'sDrums

Drumset: Ludwig Super Classic inchrome finishA. 6 1/2 x 14 Black Beauty snaredrumB. 9 x 8 tomC. 9 x 10 tomD. 11 x 12 tom

E . 12 x 13 tomF. 13 x 14 tomG. 16 x 16 tomH. 16 x 18 tomI. 24 x 22 bass drumJ. 24 x 22 bass drum

Sticks: Pro*Mark 2S Hickory model(unfinished), with wood tip

Electronics: E-Mu Pro-cussion, LPSpike triggers, and a drumKAT.

Cymbals: Sabian1. 19" China2. 17" AA medium-thin crash3. 14" AA Fusion hi-hats4. 19" AA medium-thin crash5. 19" AA medium-thin crash6. 22" AA Rock ride7. 18" AA medium-thin crash8. 20" China

Hardware: RIMS mounts, Faliconcustom rack, DW Turbo 5000 bassdrum pedals with wood beatersHeads: Remo C.S. Black Dot onsnare, Pinstripes on tops of toms withclear Ambassadors on bottoms, Pin-stripes on bass drum batters withRemo Muffl's, Ambassadors on frontof bass drum

relaxed. I remember the last night we were at Pasha, Ihad two more songs to do, and I had been up for twentyhours recording, with no breaks. We thought we had tobe finished in the morning, and it was already 6:00 inthe morning—we had been recording since 7:00 themorning before. We were working on the end of "ReachFor The Sky." It's not that hard of a part, but I was try-ing so hard to get the end down that for two hours, Icouldn't get it. When I was doing the demos and therewas no pressure, I breezed through it in one take. Thatperformance blew away anything that I tried when wewere doing the record. We decided we'd just quit andbeg for more time. We came back in, and I nailed it rightaway.Another thing I learned is that drummers have these

ideas of how things should be "drumming-wise." Some-times somebody sings out a rhythm to you and youthink, "It's stupid, I don't want to try that," but if youplay it and listen back to it with the song, it might soundreally good. Listening to drumming ideas from other

people who play different instruments isreally valuable. What a bass player thinks arhythm should be is a lot different thanwhat a drummer might think. But if youlisten to his ideas, you might realize some-thing. I'm learning that it's really valuableto listen to other people's points of view.RF: Do you record with both bass drums?BE: No, with one bass drum. I don't thinkyou'd ever want to record with two bassdrums. Things you use live oftentimesnever make it into the studio, like the sizesof drums and setups. I could never play thekit I play live in the studio.RF: What's different?BE: Live, I play for the audience. My phi-losophy is that kids are paying money tocome see a show. If they wanted to listen tosomething perfect without seeing a show,they'd put their CD in their players andlisten at home. They're coming out to seesomething—the aggression, the raw ener-gy, the feeling, the vibe—the whole pic-ture. If you go see a jazz band, of courseyou're going to listen a lot more carefully.But a rock concert is not just the music,it's the feeling, it's the other people in theaudience banging their heads, waving theirarms in the air, and the guys on stagejumping up and down. I always felt I had toput on the best show I could.

My favorite concerts I saw were withthe drummers who were very visual. Oneof the first concerts I saw was KISS, and Iremember seeing this huge drumset andthe drummer playing in a somewhat flashymanner for that time. Peter Criss was one

of my biggest early influences. Bun E. Carlos, also,because he wasn't just an average drummer. The drum-mers who have set themselves apart in one way oranother have been the ones who have been remem-bered. Keith Moon is one of my favorites because he dideverything he could to be noticed.

I create these really weird-looking monstrosities of adrumset, and I set everything up so I can be seen. I havemy toms relatively low and flat, the cymbals really high,and the drums all spread far apart so there's a goodview. I use a cage to give a very open effect, both for myperspective of the audience and theirs of me.

In the studio, everything is a lot closer, the drum sizesare smaller. I would never use a 24" kick in the studio.Cymbals in the studio are also smaller and thinner. Iwould never touch the hi-hats I use on records livebecause I'm playing ten times harder live than in thestudio.RF: You went to Florida to design your drumset, right?BE: I started using a rack when I was playing clubs because

By Ken Micallef Photos By Ebet Roberts

hen organizing the "New York Jazz Drummers Round Table" articlefor MD last year, each drummer, to a man, insisted that Victor Lewisbe on the panel. He made the round table, albeit out of a sickbed.That in itself helps to explain why so many musicians hold Victor in

high regard: He always puts the music first. Whether playing with Horizon,the hard bop/R&B quintet he co-leads with alto saxophonist Bobby Wat-son, or tending to his busy schedule of live gigs and recording work,Lewis's witty, empathetic drumming consistently says the right thing at theright time.

An easygoing manner—backed with a serious attitude towards themusic—has allowed him to breakthrough the stereotyping commonamong New York musicians. Victor Lewis works with everybody, fromDavid Sanborn's funk to the serene sounds of the late Stan Getz, fromCarlo Bley's avant-garde to the mainstream bop of Kenny Barron andJohn Stubblefield. Not to mention records with Woody Shaw, Mingus Epi-taph, Julius Hemphill, Dexter Gordon, Benny Green, Geoff Keezer, OliverLake, Clark Terry, Ralph Moore, John Hicks...well...you get the idea.

On a recent evening at the Blue Note with vibist Bobby Hutcherson, Vic-tor's drumming was a study in musicality. Seemingly in a trance, hemanipulated the music through dynamics, articulate technique, and rhyth-mic conversation. Intensity and attentiveness were matched by driving,concise patterns and Victor's trademark shimmering cymbal work.

The month leading up to our chat at a noisy Greenwich Village restau-rant, Victor's manager kept me informed of his changing whereabouts: aweek in Moscow with Mingus Epitaph, the premiere of the SmithsonianRepertory Orchestra in New York, a concert in Frankfurt with the New YorkJazz Quintet, a record with Gary Bartz, a short tour with Horizon, and final-ly the Blue Note gig with Hutcherson.

And as if all this weren't enough, the guy's recognized as a fine compos-er, having had his work recorded by many different artists. It's obvious that

Victor has something special.

KM: How does attitude figure into one'scareer?VL: It may have something to do withbeing successful. When people workwith you, being somebody who theyknow will try to do their best is impor-tant. It's definitely important not to doanything that will screw up the vibe.That doesn't help.KM: Does your being a recognized com-poser as well as a drummer cause theleaders to treat you differently?VL: It's not somethingthat affects them directly,but it may be why I'mchosen for gigs. One ofthe reasons I play the wayI do is that I'm a compos-er.KM: You play drumsmore as a musician thanas a drummer. You playparts, as opposed to beingflashy.VL: One of the reasons Ilike to play different stylesof music is that you learndifferent disciplines.When you're playing dif-ferent bags, there arethings that are moreimportant to stress in thedrum part, at the expenseof other things. I alwaysfelt that if I could gainthat kind of experience, it would help myoverall focus within jazz. I learned a lotfrom my funk record dates—David San-born, Phillis Hyman, Earl Klugh. Fromplaying that style, you end up having tolook at everything as highly sectional-ized. You think in terms of sections andsetting up those sections.KM: It seems you approach straight-ahead drumming the same way.VL: Yes, I think the same way duringimprovisation. Improvisation is reallyspontaneous composing—and sponta-neous arranging.KM: How does that relate to the term"Post Motown Bop," the way you andBobby Watson describe the music ofHorizon?VL: With Motown stuff, they would findthe death groove for a particular bassline, for that feeling—the right lick. Withjazz and improvisation, from each sec-

tion of the tune I not only try to dowhat's written in the head, but I also tryto think of what each section represents,compiling a whole set of sub-sectionswithin each section. Also, I play a lot tothe sounds of chords. Different chordshave different moods. If it's an etherealkind of section, maybe I won't play anytime at all. I'll just do swells on the cym-bals, and then come down to be ready forthe next section.KM: You've said you don't think in

Victor's Spoils

Drumset: PremierA. 7 1/2 x 14 wood-shell snareB. 8 x 12 tomC. 14 x 14 floor tomD. 14 x 18 bass drum

Cymbals: Zildjian1. 14" hi-hats2. 18" A sizzle3. 22" A ride4. 20" K ride

terms of chops but in more abstractterms.VL: I'm more into music than I'm intoplaying drums. Drums are my choseninstrument, but I compose on piano. Itook classical piano lessons for threeyears as a kid. It's a great vehicle to workon. Some say it's the mother of allinstruments.KM: When I saw you at The Blue Notewith Bobby Hutcherson, it was verytight, after only a month of gigging. Howdo you, as a player, contribute to that?VL: Bobby asked me to recommend apiano player. I told him to call Ed Simon,since Ed works with me in Horizon. Ifyou're familiar with the way someoneplays, it does help to make the groupsound tight. Bobby hired Ed, whichcaused me to be nervous. "What if Bobbydoesn't like him?" I thought.KM: So even on your level you get ner-

vous about recommending someone?VL: You want it to be right. And if it'snot right...it ain't right! [laughs] If thathappens it reflects poorly on me.KM: Does your mind go into overdrivewhen you have a limited amount of timeto rehearse a band?VL: Then, and when I get cats whothink a certain way. A unifying concept orvision can help to get you there faster. Ifyou have a concept, all the things thataren't on the paper—which are the

important things—start to comefaster. I love to use dynamics.When you have cats that thinkCompositionally and dynamically,then you can go through the hillsand valleys. You can shift gearsand go through different moods.KM: Sometimes in Manhattan,you may hear "name" players on agig, and it's just not happening,they're not together. Was the gigat The Blue Note a particularlygood gig for you?VL: It was a challenge, since Ishared the house drumset withthe drummer from Arturo San-doval's band. You couldn'tdepend on the setup from set toset.

I'll never forget the time I wasplaying in Italy and Ed Blackwellwas playing with Don Cherry. Hedidn't have his drums or cymbals.

The cymbal company was supposed tohave furnished them, but there wassome problem. So I said, "Ed Blackwellneeds some cymbals? Here man, takemine!" I took them out and spread themaround, but he only looked at them. Hesaid, "I like the way that one looks, andthat one...." I was stunned. So he tookthe cymbals, set them up, and on thedownbeat it was Ed Blackwell to the max!When your musicality and your personal-ity are that strong, they can transcendthe equipment.KM: What are the hardest situations foryou to overcome as a sideman?VL: Bad acoustics. If you can't hearthings right it's hard to go for thenuances. You end up just trying to heareach other. And out-of-tune pianos affectthe whole band's equilibrium. It makesall the tonalities blurred.KM: You mentioned in the round table

article that you think the engineers inthe '60s had the jazz drum sound down.What are some of the records that youfeel had a good sound?VL: I like the sound they got with TonyWilliams on the MilesDavis records of the'60s. Great cymbalsounds. Great pianosound too. Back thenthey were still listeningmostly with their ears,as opposed to relyingon the meters all thetime. The state of theart now—digital—is avery good, but artless,cold-blooded means ofpicking up the music.It has no mercy. Digitalclips the sound. Cym-bals may sound cleaner,but the full spectrum—the attack, warmth, anddecay of the cymbal—gets clipped off.KM: I'd like to changesubjects and talk abouthow popular traditionaljazz has become. Youplay a lot of those typesof gigs, but you're alsovery forward thinking.Care to elaborate?VL: You know what?This is the truth: Aboutthree or four years ago Istopped listening tomusic. For years I was alistening son of a gun.You study all the mas-ters, but at some pointyou want to try and getpast that. What prompt-ed it for me was seeingan interview with MilesDavis where he said,"Back when Bird andDiz were doing theirthing, there were only two or three recordsyou could cop to check their stuff out. Therest was all being created."

I used to listen to music for an hourbefore a gig. That would impress a cer-tain drummer's identity on me. Now, bynot listening, I show up at the gig withjust me. I used to find myself thinking,

"What would so and so do in this case?"Now I find my own ideas.KM: So you think this entire retro/tradmovement is unhealthy for the growth ofthe music?

VL: Dig this: There are three thingsfrom the '60s that I hope never resur-face: platform shoes, the disco beat, andbell bottoms. To the kids, platform shoesare fresh, and they're making a come-back. To me, they're played out! It's likethat with the music. I was born in1950—by the time I was 11 or 12, I was

seriously listening to the music. We werepart of the evolution of jazz in the '60sand '70s. The cats born in the '70s arejust now checking all that out. ThePrinces of the time—Tony Williams,

Herbie Hancock,Wayne Shorter—theywent into a fusionthing and the indus-try followed. Butpeople were stillbuying Kind OfBlue. When the in-dustry was ready toinvest into straight-ahead again, you hadall these young catswho were into it,since they neverlived it. In a way, it'snostalgia. Those ear-ly cats—Diz, Miles,Bird—they wererebels! These youngguys now are notrebels...they're rightwing. They're con-servative. The earlyguys were into tak-ing chances. Catsnow are wearingsuits and playing themusic very tradi-tionally. These catsare not putting theirown rebellion into it,they're playing nos-talgia. It's a memori-al, like Beatlemania.KM: The group youco-lead with BobbyWatson, Horizon,seeks to incorporatethe past but notignore the future.VL: What we're try-ing to do is to incor-porate the rhythmsof the past—the

Motown melodies and structures—andput a jazz thing under it. What we'redoing is similar to what the old cats usedto do by adapting Broadway songs tojazz.KM: You've become known as a compos-er in your own right. How does it happenthat on many of your recording dates the

by Lauren Vogelphotos by Lissa Wales

"The Dean of Percussion," "the World'sGreatest Percussionist," "a livinglegend in his own time," "Mr. Percus-sion." These are some of the ways thatpeople around the world know BobbyChristian. Anyone who was luckyenough to have seen him perform sawhis passion for music. His unexpectedpassing on December 31, 1991, at theage of 80, saddened not only Bobby'sfamily, but percussionists and musi-cians everywhere who had been touchedby his special musical talents andengaging personality.In what turned out to be his finalinterview, at PASIC '91 in Anaheim,California last November, Bobbylaughed and reminisced about his lifeand career. Since then, many othershave contributed their thoughts on thisspecial man. This story will try to cap-ture Bobby's own way of communicat-ing—both verbally and musically.

How did Bobby Christian become interested inpercussion? "One morning when I was about sixyears old," remembered Mr. Christian, "I wokeup at about 5:30 and got two pieces of peanutsand I started playing fast beats. [Bobby demon-strated an intricate pattern of accented 16th notesby drumming with his hands on his lap.] Mybrother woke up and asked me what I was doing,so I did that again. When he saw me drumminglike that, he went out that day and bought me aset of drums."This was also the same brother who was

responsible for his younger sibling's first lessonin show business. "My real name is Sylvester,"laughed Christian, "but my brother Bob decidedthat it was not a good stage name. So he calledme Bobby!" And so did everyone else.Christian began his drum studies with a teach-

er named George Petrone, who was himself a stu-dent of Roy Knapp. "George told my mother thathe couldn't teach me anything else, and asked ifit was alright to send me to his teacher. So, lo andbehold, I went to study with Roy Knapp, which Icontinued to do for about twenty years.

All you have to do is mention the name BobbyChristian to anyone who has ever known him,and their eyes light up. Each musician whoknows him well has a favorite story to tellabout an impossible chart that Bobbysightread perfectly, a lesson they took withhim, a conversation they had with him at aNAMM or PAS show, how much they learnedfrom playing in his band, how big his familyis.... "As one of my friends once said, 'It mustbe great to have a family so big that you neverplay without an audience.'" These words werewritten by Bobby's eldest grandchild, JohnNasshan, Jr., and read at his funeral on Jan-uary 4, 1992. Here are but a few commentsfrom those who knew "Mr. Percussion."

John Nasshan, Jr. (professional drummer/per-cussionist in Las Vegas, Nevada)

"If I were to be asked why I play drums andpercussion, my answer would be simple: mygrandfather, Bobby Christian. I grew up sur-rounded by percussion. When the time camefor me to have real teachers, Gramps told mewho to study with: Roy Knapp, Bob Tilles, AlPayson, Kathleen Kastner, Joe Morello, HenryAdler—nothing but the best. I attribute havinggood musical instincts to being part of BobbyChristian's life. Gramps always said that thefact that we play percussion and drums meansnothing; it's whether or not we elevate thecraft and all the art that goes with it to a betterlevel. That's what really matters.

"Gramps and I shared a special kind of lovethat bonded us together, centering aroundmusic and percussion. I remember sitting rightin front of Gramps when he conducted hisSunday big band rehearsals at home, andwanting to be the drummer more than any-thing in the world. I remember going onnumerous recording sessions with him andwatching him do whatever they asked him todo on the first take! He never missed. Iremember how proud I was to finally playdrums with his big band; one of my dreamshad come true. My youth is so full of experi-ences like these that I honestly feel special tobe Bobby Christian's grandson."

William F. Ludwig, Jr. (retired president of theLudwig Drum Company)

"It was the fourth of January, 1992. At thewake, we passed out music—a recessionalwritten by Bobby himself. Under the directionof Dick Schory, twenty drummers (includingmyself and my son, William F. Ludwig, III) per-formed the retreat from the cathedral on muf-fled drums in Bobby Christian's honor.

"Following the service, two others and I per-formed Harvey Firestone's drum trio Drum-mer's Farewell at the graveside. I was proud tohave participated in this last earthly salute."

Herb Brochstein (president of Pro-Mark Cor-poration)

"I always kidded Bobby that an army band

should consist of 28 musicians and two drum-mers! But Bobby Christian was an all-aroundmusician and true percussionist.

"In 1947, I had heard Bobby's name andknew his reputation. I had much to learn, so Iwent to work for Bobby, helping him run thestudio and school of percussion. Bobby gaveme so many opportunities. He was a givingperson, not a taking person.

"Bobby's talents were overwhelming. Hewould always do the work of two and a half tothree players! He was kind of a shy person,except when it came to music. Did you knowhe was writing music on December 24th for arecord date he was planning in April? Amaz-ing."

Jim Catalano (marketing manager for Ludwig)"You don't appreciate what someone like

Bobby Christian has to teach you until youreally need it. For me, it came to fruition dur-ing some of my Pops concerts. Knowing allabout claves was more important than theintricacies of an Elliot Carter timpani solo. He'saw beyond the trees' to teach you things thatyou could use in a real musical career. No onewas more professional to deal with than BobbyChristian."

Michael Balter (Chicago drummer/percussion-ist and president of Mike Balter Mallets)

"One evening, Bobby gave me a call andasked if I would play a rehearsal the next

"When I was 14," Bobby continued, "I graduatedfrom grade school and I went into high school. But Istarted to make money so fast that I went to the schoolof hard knocks instead, if you know what I mean! Abandleader by the name of Louie Panico heard me playand invited me to join his band. So I played with himfor five years at the Canton Tea Gardens in Chicago.

"After that I joined SophieTucker's band for about twoyears. Then I decided that wasenough road work, so I wentback to Chicago and jobbedaround a little bit. But by now itwas 1932 and I had gotten mar-ried, so I needed to get a steadyjob someplace."

Bobby continued, "I got a call from Eddie Varzo, agypsy fiddle player, who asked me to join his band. Isaid, 'What do I want to join a gypsy band for?' I keptrefusing, he kept calling...kept refusing...kept calling.Finally, I took the job, and it was a very nice job.

"I was playing at the Bismarck Hotel in downtownChicago when I joined him, and Paul Whiteman wasplaying at the Palace Theatre. Every night he was play-

A scholarship fund in the name of Bobby Christian hasbeen established. Checks and charitable donations arewelcomed. For information about the scholarship(s),please contact The Bobby Christian Memorial Schol-arship Fund, P.O. Box 2098, Oak Park, IL 60303, orcall (708) 848-3250.

ing the Theatre, Paul came to the Hotel for supper. Theday after he heard me play, Paul sent me a telegram ask-ing me to join his band. Did I want to join Paul White-man? Absolutely!

"I joined Paul Whiteman's band in 1938, and he saidto me, 'Kid, all I can give you is 250 bucks a week.'Man, that was a lot of money then! Besides that, I

charged him 150 bucks forevery arrangement I wasdoing. I ended up making450 to 500 bucks a week—abig salary."Shortly after Bobby Chris-

tian joined the Paul White-man Band, they spent almostfour months playing the

Casa Mariana Theatre in Fort Worth, Texas, followed byanother five months on the road. Then they returnedfor a week at the Drake Hotel in Chicago, where Bobbywas reunited with his family after a nine-monthabsence. Vernyle, one of his young daughters, askedBobby's wife, Josephine, "Mommy, who's that man?"

continued on page 94

morning for him, since he had a doublerecording session. The rehearsal was for theChicago Emmy Show, which was to be on localTV. Bobby instructed me to mark the partsclearly so he could just walk in and play thetelecast. This was not an unusual request,because Bobby had done it numerous timesbefore.

"I was there for the 10:00 A.M. rehearsaland introduced myself to the conductor. Bobbysaid that he would show up around 2:00P.M.—plenty of time before the 8:00 P.M. tele-cast. The parts were passed out and the themefor the show appeared to be written for fivetimpani. I only had two drums, 29" and 26"Ludwig Universal models. I questioned theconductor about our being three drums short. Iwas told that we were not, because the partwas written for Bobby Christian!

"It wasn't until 5:30 P.M. when Bobby camerunning in. I explained the run-down andtalked over the show with him. Marty Ruben-stein, the conductor, said, 'Bob, we have aproblem.' Bobby said, 'What happened? Didn'tthe kid play the parts?' Marty said, 'That's justit. He did play the parts and played them per-fectly. The acts want him to play the show.'

"Bobby became outraged, and I didn't knowwhat to do. The shouting match beganbetween the conductor and Bobby. ThenBobby stormed out of the hall, stopped at thedoorway, turned around, and said with a hugesmile on his face, 'Hey Marty, I hope you know

that only a student of Bobby Christian's wouldbe able to play this show!'

"The next day I called Bobby and tried toexplain that it was not my idea to play theshow. I didn't want him to think that I was tak-ing away his gig. Bobby said to me, 'Michael,you gave me the greatest compliment a stu-dent can ever give a teacher. You have doneme proud.' So I said, 'Hey, Bobby, now will youtell me how you played the bass drum on beatfour?' His reply: 'Hell, no!'

"This funny side of Bobby Christian is notone that many people knew. Having had thegood fortune of knowing him, I am proud ofthe fact that I was able to call him a friend.Bobby, we all will miss you."

Joe Calato (founder and president of J.D.Calato Manufacturing Co., Inc.)

"When I think of Bobby Christian, I remem-ber a man of great warmth, energy, and talent.This, of course, was reflected in his playing. Iremember Bobby running from one side of thestage to the other to play percussion parts inDick Schory's Percussion Pops Orchestra. Hewas the perfect musician and showman for thejob.

"But most of all I remember Bobby as agreat family man. His family was the mostimportant thing in his life. It's a very close fam-ily, and every Sunday they would allgather—children and grandchildren—at Bobbyand Jo's home for dinner. They're really going

to miss him. We're all going to miss Bobby."

Maurie Lishon (former proprietor of Frank'sDrum Shop)

"Bobby Christian, a living legend in his owntime, has now taken his rightful place in theHall of Eternal Legends. I had a wonderfulbrotherly relationship with him for almost halfa century, and I have seen him perform per-cussion gymnastics beyond description.

"For a couple of years, Bob and I were onthe CBS staff at the same time. There aremany funny stories of happenings, but there isone that always comes up, still, after thirtyyears. It was about the time Bobby had a solofinger cymbal cue. In those days, the individualhad to go up to the front mic'. In this studio,the control booth was about eight feet abovethe stage. Bobby had plenty of time, so hegracefully approached the mic and proceededto do an 'Oscar-winning' pose—eyes riveted onthe booth. When the cue came, Bobby madeone grandiose sweep with the finger cym-bals—and missed!

"They also talk about the time he was doinga multiple date and was running from one stu-dio to another with no time. He had an imme-diate vibe cue, and as he charged in, therewas a cover on the instrument. So he playedthe part—cover and all—and no clinkers! Thatwas Bobby Christian."

By Rick Van Horn

Inside

P a i s t e

Ah, Switzerland—land of alpine lakes, majestic peaks,infallible watches, and delectable chocolate. You canadd one more item to that list: Paiste cymbals. The com-bination of high technology and hand crafting that hasmade other Swiss products famous is eminently presentin the Paiste operation.

The Paiste family is originally from Estonia. ThisBaltic state declared its independence from Russia in1918, and the resulting political chaos—along withWorld War II—caused the family to move from one placeto another in Europe over the next two decades. Opera-tions were shifted to Germany in 1945, and the companystill maintains that German factory for the manufactureof gongs and several lines of cymbals. But in 1957 thefamily relocated to the tiny Swiss village of Nottwil, apicturesque farming community about a half-hour'sdrive outside Lucerne. Along with its manufacturingfunction, the Nottwil facility is Paiste's "corporate head-quarters." I put that phrase in quotes because—although it is modern in every sense of the word—withits emphasis on craftsmanship and meticulous detail,the Paiste operation just doesn't seem very...well...corporate.

A visit to the Paiste plant in Nottwil means a visit withRobert Paiste, who is the guiding force behind the com-pany's cymbal development, and his brother Toomas,who directs sales and marketing efforts. Robert opensour discussion by describing Paiste's process for...

"At Paiste," begins Robert, "we con-sider that our business is makingsounds. The heart of a cymbal is asound. Sound is vibration, so the metalhas to be worked in such a way that itproduces a vibration that develops into asound—which requires a lot of practiceand understanding. Out of one piece ofmetal, we could make endless variationsof sounds. So our main task is to findout—from listening to music and talkingwith drummers—what sound is needed.What purpose should the cymbal have?What kind of sound should it produce tofit the total sound of the music—andgive the drummer the right feeling toplay on, so it's functional for him or her.

"Over the years, music has beenchanging. New trends are coming up, sonew sounds are needed to go with themusic. On top of this, drummers them-selves have new and different ideas abouthow they would like a cymbal to soundand function. We have to find all of thesethings out. To do that, we spend a lot oftime talking with creative drummers allover the world.

"Let's suppose that an idea comes upfor a totally different sound than has everbeen available. Drummers talk about it,and then they tell us about it. They try todescribe the sound—which is not easy.Every drummer might use differentwords for the same sounds. But drum-mers have a kind of understanding thatgoes beyond words, and somehow the

message starts to come over."Sometimes communication can be

helped through existing cymbal sounds,which may be similar to what is wanted.A drummer might say, 'It's almost likethis, but higher'...or 'more dense'...or'livelier'...or 'dryer....' So then we start toget an understanding of the sound that isdesired.

"Now, through our experience atworking with metal, we generally have apretty good idea of how a new cymbalshould be made to get this certain kindof sound. So we start with a first proto-type. From that point, we take manysteps—always correcting—until wecome to the point where we listen to thecymbal and say, 'This is the sound itshould be.' Then we go back to thedrummers and ask, 'Is this what youthought of?' Sometimes we are right,and sometimes the drummers say, 'Yes,but....' We correct it again until we reachthe point where we have a final prototypefor the sound.

"By then, we know all the differentworking steps that went into the manu-facture of this one cymbal. At that pointit's handed over to production, and theystart to make cymbals in exactly thesame manner as the prototype was made.This is the process we use to find anddevelop a sound. Sometimes it's a longprocess, but it's the one that we feelworks the best."

In order to gain a true appreciation forPaiste's developmental skills, it's impor-tant to realize that the mathematical per-mutations of the variables of cymbaldesign are staggering. If you wish to pro-duce a cymbal of an arbitrary size—andvary only six out of ten possible parame-ters (bell size, bow shape, cymbal thick-ness, hammering pattern, lathing,etc.)—there are some sixty millionpotential varieties of that cymbal thatcould be created.

"Just consider trying to develop a

This overhead view illustrateshow cymbals are hand-guidedby the operator on the ham-mering machine.

Followingmachinehammer-ing, everycymbalgets"fine-tuned" byhand.

Toomas Paiste (left) heads the compa-ny's marketing efforts; brother Robert

directs cymbal development.

Each cymbal isfrequentlychecked duringthe hammeringprocess to ensurethe proper profile.

A lathe operator carefullyshaves minute amounts ofmetal off a cymbal until the

proper thickness isachieved.

Developing A Sound

heretofore-nonexistant sound," suggestsRobert, "using just imagination and ran-dom chance. Where would you start? Youcould never do it that way. That is whydeveloping a cymbal takes a lot of know-how and tradition, as well as intuition.One has to have a goal first, and thenknow what it takes to try to get there."

The line featured a totally new cymbalalloy. Why did the company develop thisnew base material? Why not stay with thealloys that had been fine for all of theirmany lines up to that point?

According to Robert, "We did it to findnew dimensions. Each alloy has a certainsound potential, and we wanted toexpand on our potentials. The oldestknown cymbal alloy is bronze, which is80% copper and 20% tin—referred to inthe industry as B20. It started in the FarEast, and was used for gongs and cym-bals for thousands of years. We got the

feeling that since—from those times upto now—all the different companies thatmade cymbals made them out of thissame alloy, any conceivable possibility ofsound was already done; it would only bepossible to repeat.

"We came to this understanding a longtime ago," Robert continues. "So in thelate '60s we found a different alloy. It was8% tin—and is referred to as B8. Wemade our 2002 line out of it then; laterwe made the 3000 line from it as well.Eventually, after twenty years, we felt that

PAISTE LINE 76 different models for situations ranging from delicate to powerful, Paiste 1990s("Signature including 13 different rides offering sounds from dark to bright SoundSeries") to mellow. Applicable to both live and studio settings. Alloy

SOUND Also made from Sound Alloy, this line emphasizes bright shimmer, and Paiste 1990sFORMULA features a range from bright to warm. Both Sound Formula lines apply Sound

to different musical styles. Alloy

SOUND With the same process ("Reflector Technology") as in 3000 and 2000 Paiste 1990sFORMULA Reflectors, these cymbals have the sound range of the regular SoundREFLECTOR Formula, but, due to the finish, have more clarity and brilliance.

"CLASSIC" Designed to better match and blend with the amplified music SnBz8 1970s2002 of the 70s and to be more bright and cutting. Bronze

2

"CLASSIC " Reflects the music of its time, with little emphasis on amplification SnBz20 1960sFormula 602 and more on acoustic music. Sounds possess fewer overtones, Bronze

and are more controllable, dry, and full. From delicate to powerful.

3000 With similar qualities to the 2002, the 3000s have a wider fre- SnBz8 1980squency range and more power and cutting brightness. Bronze

3000 RUDE An unlathed cymbal with a unique finish designed to produce a SnBz8 1980sraw, aggressive quality. Bronze

3000 A "mirror-like" finish giving the cymbal a unique visual effect and a SnBz8 1980sREFLECTOR more shiny, shimmering quality to the 3000 sound. Bronze

ALPHA Reminiscent of the 2002 or 3000, but with current musical qualities. SnBz8 1990sBronze

2000 Almost a cross between the 3000 and 2002, but warmer than the SnBz8 1980s3000. Bronze

2000 Offered in black, red, and turquoise, Colorsounds tend to have less SnBz8 1980sColorsound sustain and are a bit dryer than standard 2000s. Bronze

2000 Sound The "mirror-like" finish gives this cymbal a shiny, shimmering quality. SnBz8 1980sReflections Designed to have a good range from highs to lows; Bronze

warmer than standard 2000s.

Top Professional

Professional

Professional

Professional

Professional

Professional

Professional

Professional

Semi-Pro toProfessional

Semi-Pro toProfessional

Semi-Pro toProfessional

Semi-Pro toProfessional

Finally, there is an entry-level cymbal line that is not the same in every country. At this point, in the U.S., these are Brass-Tones cymbals.

1 Patented original formula.2 The first use of this alloy for the manufacturing of cymbals.

The Sounds Of PaistePaiste's cymbal lines are extensive, and have undergone a number of changes in recent years. As a result, some drummers may be a bituncertain as to what each particular Paiste model is designed to do. We asked the company to give us a breakdown of the various lines cur-rently available, along with brief descriptions of the cymbals in each one. They also provided information on what each cymbal line is madeof, and the time each was created (since the musical trends of a given period have a great deal of influence on cymbal sound development).

DESCRIPTION DECADE APPLICATION

The Paiste "Signature" SeriesIn 1989 Paiste realized a major goal

with the introduction of what hasbecome known as the "Signature" series(officially known as the Paiste series).

Cannon Mega VDrumkit

Over the past few years, I've tested sev-eral drumkits that were aimed at thebudget-conscious or student-leveldrummer. But you haven't seen theresults of any of those tests in ModernDrummer. The drums were such abso-lute junk that there was no point inbringing them to your attention. Evengoing into those tests with the attitudethat one has to expect lower quality witha kit that sells for a lower price, Icouldn't bring myself to accept tommounts and cymbal stands that slippedno matter how much you tightenedthem, rims that wouldn't fit over stan-dard Remo heads without wrinklingthem, tension rods that didn't threadproperly into their casings, shell cover-ings with air pockets, pedals thatsqueaked and rattled, and so on.

So I was leery when we received a kitfrom Cannon Percussion, said to beaimed at the drummer on a budget. Butas soon as I began removing the drumsfrom their boxes, I could tell that theywere better constructed than other low-cost kits I'd seen, and the more Ichecked out their features and sound,the more impressed I became. In short,I've finally found an economically pricedkit that I can recommend.

mahogany. The toms and snare drum are6mm thick, while the bass drum is 7mm,which is said to enhance lower tones. Thebearing edges were all sharp andsmooth—a feature you don't find on typi-cal budget drums.

It's normal for inexpensive kits to havefewer lugs per drum; that's one way ofkeeping costs down. But the Cannondrums do not skimp in this regard. Thesnare and bass drums each have ten perhead, the floor tom has eight, and therack toms have six. In addition, the lugsare isolated from the shells by rubbergaskets, as are the tom mounts and spurs.Another feature not usually found onbudget kits involved the bass drum ten-sion screws: Most of them were the typi-cal T-handle design, but the two at thebottom of each head were drumkey-oper-ated.

Budget drums are often fitted withcheap heads, but again Cannon has optedfor better quality. Each drum's batter sidewas fitted with a Cannon Dead Head,which is similar to a Remo Pinstripe.These heads have an extremely dry soundthat enhances the impact. On the bassdrum, it was combined with a black fronthead with a hole in it. By simply insertinga small pillow, which I positioned againstthe batter, I was able to get a solid, meaty

thud. The toms had clear, thin-weightCannon heads on their bottoms, and theoverall sound was fairly dry, with justenough sustain and tone to sound full.The drums had no internal mufflers, anddidn't need them. They might not projectwell on a live gig in a large room withoutbeing miked, but they would be great forpractice at home or in moderate volumesettings, and might not sound bad in astudio.

I have to question the use of the DeadHead on the snare drum, however. It wasjust too dry for that particular drum,making it sound overly muted and tubby,and not allowing it to produce a good"crack." The other problem with thesnare drum was the strainer. The leverwas not especially smooth, and when theadjustment screw was tightened justenough to avoid slapback and rattle fromthe snares, it prevented the snares fromcompletely dropping away from the lowerhead when in the "off" position. Still, thedrum seemed to be well-constructed, andI was able to get an acceptable sound outof it. With a different batter head and abetter strainer, it could be a fine drum.

The kit I received had a white coveringthat was smooth and showed no defects.Drums are also available in red or black.Each drum has a round logo badge with a

The DrumsI received the five -piece Mega V outfit,

consisting of a 16x22 bass drum, 16x16floor tom, 11x12 and 12x13 rack toms,and a 6 1/2 x 14 snare. All of the shells,including the snare drum, are 10-plywood, using a combination of maple and

This new line combinesquality and affordability.

by Rick Mattingly

The Mega V kit came equipped withCannon 800 Series hardware, whichwould be considered medium-weight bytoday's standards. The snare, hi-hat, andcymbal stands feature double-bracedlegs, nylon bushings at the joints, anddrumkey-operated memory locks. Insteadof traditional wing nuts, Cannon haslevers that quickly release or secure thecollars. The levers hold the various tubesin position reasonably well, but one mustuse the memory locks. Without the locks,a couple of the stands slipped a little bitwhen I pushed down on them.

With most budget kits, the single worstfeature is the bass drum pedal, which isoften virtually useless. Not so the Cannonpedal. It has a chain linkage, doublesprings, a solid, non-slip footboard, andspurs to hold it in place. It's smooth, fast,and quiet, and the action is adjustable.The hi-hat pedal was equally smooth andsolid. I would have no problem usingeither of these pedals professionally.

The Mega V kit can also be ordered

with Cannon's 1000 Series hardware,which I also received for review. Thishardware is extremely heavy-duty, and thebass drum and hi-hat pedals both featuremore sophisticated adjustment controls.This hardware would not be out of placewith a much more expensive set ofdrums.

As for the hardware on the drumsthemselves, it is reasonably solid andsturdy. The tom holders feature an omnistyle ball-and-socket that offers great lati-tude in positioning. There is a large T-handle screw that locks it in place, butsince it is on the same side of the holderas the mounting arm, adjustment can beawkward, depending on how the drum ispositioned. But once it is adjusted, youshouldn't have to fool with it again, as thememory clamps will allow you to simplyslide the toms into position and lockthem in place with a single wing nut onthe tom-mount casing.

Actually, maybe I shouldn't have said"simply." Inside the mounts on the toms,which are identical to the mounts for thefloor tom legs, the metal collar that thetom arms (or floor tom legs) have to gothrough can swivel out of position when

The Cannon Mega V drumkit, asreviewed here, with 800 Series hardware(bass drum and hi-hat pedals, a snaredrum stand, and one straight cymbalstand) lists for $869. If you want the samekit with 1000 Series hardware, add $100.All Cannon drums and hardware have aone-year limited warranty, which will giveany manufacturing defects plenty of timeto assert themselves.

No, these are not the finest drums I'veever seen, and no, the Cannon logo mightnot carry as much prestige as some of theother names that are out there. But youcould easily spend just as much money(or maybe more) and get a whole lot less.The drums sounded good and the con-struction was solid, with several featuresthat you would only expect on a muchmore expensive set. With most low-pricedkits, I would have trouble even saying thatyou get what you pay for. But with thesedrums, you'll get more than the costwould seem to imply.

When I reviewed the Brady 7x12 jarrahblock drum back in the September '90issue of MD, I was impressed by its com-bination of projection and tonal range.Along with cutting highs, it had lows thatwere surprising—considering the 12"diameter. As a result, I stated that it was

versatile enough to be used as a primarysnare. When I received the new Brady5x12 she-oak block snare, I immediatelywondered if I was going to develop the

same opinion. The answer is no—this isnot a drum for all purposes. But taken onits own merits, what a sweet drum it is!

The 5x12 she-oak drum wouldn't work

Brady 5x12She-OakSnare Drum

by Rick Van Horn

This little package hasa lot to offer.

Hardware

stamped serial number, which can comein handy for insurance purposes.

Price

loose, and it sometimes takes a bit of jig-gling to get them lined up properly. Still,once you do that, the holders work well.

for a primary snare because it reallyfavors high frequencies. It just doesn'thave the additional lows to make it an all-purpose drum. But it has some signifi-cant differences from other high-rangedrums I've evaluated—most of whichwere piccolos.

While some piccolos are 13" in diame-ter, most are 14", which is the same as thediameter of more "standard" snaredrums. But their shells are shallow—usually 4" or less. As a result, the pitch ishigh, the snare sensitivity is extreme, theattack is enhanced, and the sound cuts.But the flip side of that is that most pic-colos have a certain "thinness" in theirtonality; there isn't much beneath thatinitial cut.

The 5x12 Brady, on the other hand,gets its high-end projection from theproperties of she-oak, an Australian hard-wood that is quite a bit harder than jarrahand many times harder than maple. The

thick, reflective, block-construction shellreally enhances the high-mid to high-endrange. The 12" diameter of the drum alsohelps to produce a high starting pitch.But the fact that the drum is wood, andthat it has a 5" shell depth, gives its sounda little more body than you might expect.It isn't that the sound is lower in pitch;it's just that it's more complete—lessthin—than that of a piccolo drum. Assuch, where you might consider using apiccolo—for funky accents or secondarysnare beats combined with a deeper pri-mary snare—this drum would give youthe same amount of cut, but a little moresupport beneath it.

Like all Brady drums, the 5x12 she-oaksnare is fitted with low-mass tubular lugsfor maximum shell resonance. (And reso-nant it is; I found that a Zero Ring wascalled for to control the overring.) Thesnare throwoff is simple and efficient.When the snares are on, sensitivity is

excellent; I used the drum for brushworkand really enjoyed the sound—althoughthe 12" head doesn't give much area towork with. When the snares are off, thehard, reflective shell gave the drum a veryclean, warm timbale sound—woody,rather than brassy. This is another fea-ture that would make it excellent as anaccent drum.

Brady workmanship and finishing areexcellent, and the drum is quite attractivein its natural finish. Its size is a plus forconvenient placement on your kit, too. Ifyou appreciate more than one snare voicein a drumset, you should check out theBrady 5x12 she-oak block snare drum.It's hand-made and imported from Aus-tralia, so it isn't cheap; it lists for $837.Brady has just switched its U.S. distribu-tor to Drum Partner USA, 2554 LincolnBlvd., Suite 1072, Marina Del Rey, CA90295, (213) 452-4472. You can contactthem for information on sales locations.

Well, what would you calla review of three differenttambourine-like items whenone looks absolutely nothinglike a tambourine, and theother two only come close?

The Cyclops gets its name from itssquashed-circle shape (which looks likean eye...get it?), and comes in eitherhand-held or mountable versions. It'smade of a durable synthetic material andhas a nicely rounded edge that makes itmore comfortable to play by hand andless damaging to drumsticks whenplayed on a kit. (The material is muchharder than wood; so don't worry aboutdamaging the Cyclops.) The mountedversion is equipped with an excellent

clamp that tightens acollar around themounting rod, ratherthan pressing a boltagainst it. It provedvery secure underall playing circum-stances. The sound ofthe jingles was crispand clear, and pro-jected well over myband's amps. I reallyenjoyed using it as analternative ride-pat-tern sound source.

For input on thehand-held Cyclops, Iconsulted with Adri-enne Ostrander, avery talented and busyshow and classicalpercussionist in the New York area. Sheinformed me that the shape of theCyclops made it nicely balanced andquite comfortable to play. The fact thatthe grip was on the outside of the cir-cumference gave added leverage, aidingin the performance of certain tricky tam-bourine parts in some classical material.

Adrienne also felt that the grip was"ergonomically designed, giving the play-er a more comfortable feel of the instru-ment." As far as the sound went, shementioned that the plastic body andhigh-pitched jingles on the Cyclops cre-ated a sound that might be a bit toobright for some of the classical reper-

LP JingleThings

The Cyclops

Here's a new twist on the tambourinetheme: long, straight shafts holding sixpairs of jingles at one end and fitted withsponge-rubber grips at the other. JingleSticks are intended to be handled as adrumstick would be, either singly ortogether, and either alone (in the air oragainst one's leg) or striking some otherinstrument (drum, cymbal, block, etc.)at the same time. They're made of thesame synthetic material as the Cyclopsis.

For the hand percussionist, Adrienneoffers this evaluation: "The use of theJingle Sticks allows one to execute fastpassages and rolls more easily becauseboth hands are involved in playing,instead of using one hand just to holdthe instrument—as with a conventionaltambourine. Rolls can also be played byshaking in either a horizontal or verticalfashion."The Jingle Sticks might not be the

optimum instrument for classical play-ers, since, as Adrienne puts it, "Althoughthe convenience of having a Jingle Stickin each hand is desirable in order tofacilitate complex rhythmic patterns, theupstroke needed to begin such playingproduces an unwanted sound thatresults in inaccuracy. And as with theCyclops, the bright sound might be bet-ter suited to pop applications than to theclassical repertoire." On the other hand,Adrienne felt that Jingle Sticks might beexcellent as an educational tool, since"the hard plastic construction allowsthem to be passed among children dur-ing young people's concerts without con-cern."

My own testing determined that theJingle Sticks offer a unique new soundfor drumset applications (especially

LP's Jingle Ring is designed solely formounting on hi-hat pull rods. Since itisn't intended to be struck by a stick orhand, it is a smaller, lighter, and moredelicate instrument than the Cyclops andother instruments of its ilk. Also of noteis that the Jingle Ring features only onerow of jingles (the Cyclops has two), andit mounts onto hi-hat pull rods from acentral axle, rather than from a clampjutt ing off its per imeter (like theCyclops).

The prototype Jingle Ring LP sent uswas a bit too delicate; the pins holdingthe jingles bent or snapped off easily.Happily, LP says they're aware of theproblem, and the final version will havestronger, chrome-finished pins. Evenwith the new design, though, you mightwant to think about storing the JingleRing away from heavy hardware, or in thebox it comes in, since its design makes itinherently susceptible to getting snaggedand perhaps bent on other pieces.

The Jingle Ring basically does whatit's supposed to, which is to allow a

drummer to "play" a tambourine withhis or her foot within drumset patterns,freeing up both hands. Performance-wise, the Ring's single row of jinglesseems to produce less unwanted "jin-gling" than double-row items do. I foundthat I could "chick" my hi-hat pedal atlow dynamics without making the JingleRing sound, which was not the case withother mountable tambourines I've tried.The Ring's sound, though, still cutthrough the din of my band quite nicelywhen I wanted it to. Also, its light weightmakes it appealing, since heavier itemssignificantly change hi-hat action whenmounted on pull rods. The list price ofthe Jingle Ring had not yet been estab-lished at press time, but should be in theneighborhood of $20. Contact your localLP dealer for further information.

• Adam J. Budofsky

Jingle Sticks

toire, but would work well for hand per-cussionists performing in pop concerts,some Broadway shows, and other stageapplications.

Both versions of the Cyclops are avail-able in black, red, or white. Each ispriced at $36.95.

• Rick Van Horn and Adrienne Ostrander

Jingle Ring

soloing). They're obviously a bit heavierand more cumbersome than a pair ofsticks, but a bit of practice made themsurprisingly easy to manage around thekit. I experimented with using both (aswith sticks), and with using one at atime—switching hands for effect. I wasable to get several interesting ride-pat-tern sounds going when using a JingleStick in my right hand, and a nifty in-between-the-backbeats pattern whenusing one in my left hand.

LP stresses that their method ofsecuring the pins into the Jingle Sticks(as well as the Cyclops) ensures that theywon't come out, thus preventing the lossof any of the jingles. They also stress thedurability of the plastic "stick" portion. Imust admit, the playing I did didn't leavea mark on 'em (and I walloped drums,drum rims, and cymbals), so I wouldtend to have faith in their longevity.Available only in black, Jingle Sticks listfor $27.95 per pair.

• Rick Van Horn and Adrienne Ostrander

Attention double-bass players, and single-bass players thinking about converting:There are many applications for using twobass drums in beats and fills, songs andsolos, and jazz/ rock/fus ion and hardrock/metal.The most common use of double bass is

probably as a constant barrage of 8th or 16th notes played foot-to-foot, with some kind of backbeat-oriented hand pattern ontop. A straight-ahead 16th-note beat would look and sound asfollows:

The following exercises take a slightly different approach togetting the hands acquainted with their foot counterparts, andcan be used effectively to enhance beats and solos. Let's beginwith the feet playing alternating single strokes (starting on theright foot), with the hands doing the same:

Assuming you are right-handed and lead with your rightfoot, all of the 8th notes will be played with the right hand andthe right foot; all "e"s and "a"s will be played with the lefthand and the left foot. Get in touch with which hand and footplay simultaneously, and make sure they play the bass drumand cymbal or bass drum and snare at precisely the same time.A flam sound is not the desired effect.

Play the following accented 16th-note pattern, with theaccented cymbal note on the bell of the cymbal.

Now play only the accented rhythm:

Do the same with the following examples.

Next time we'll explore constant 16th-note beats in tripletand 6/8 patterns.

by Rod Morgenstein

Double Bass Ideas:Part 1

Frank VilardiSongwriters' Choice

by Charles Levin

sk Frank Vilardi what drummers he listens to, and he'll startlisting bands and songwriters instead: Crowded House,XTC, Donald Fagen, Steely Dan, Richard Thompson, JohnHiatt, Peter Gabriel, Sting. It's not a conscious reaction, and

he does love talking drums. But great songwriting appeals tohim more than pyrotechnical drumming displays.

"A band—that's what I really like," says Frank. "I like ManuKatche, but it's more that I like the people he plays with. Manujust happens to play with Peter Gabriel, but I would like PeterGabriel anyway. Manu plays with Sting too, but I would likeSting anyway. It's just an added attraction that they're usingdrummers who really enhance their music. I've already gonethrough my 'listening to the drummers for drummer's sake'period. Now I'm listening to the drummers to see what they doto make a good record."

Frank combines his passion for great songs with chops,taste, dynamics, and creativity to generate his own musicalvoice. His style is characterized by a deep groove, succinct,well-defined phrases, and the ability to stretch beyond a back-beat when called for.

New York bassist Mike Visceglia (Vilardi's rhythm-sectionpartner in Suzanne Vega's band) describes Frank's playing as areflection of his personality. "He's one of the most genuine,earthy, real people I know. He's a very spontaneous person andplayer. He'll go for different things each night. Frank's groove isdeep, but he's not afraid to embellish it—especially in NewYork, where the groove is sacrosanct. With some players, some ofthe notes feel jumbled or rough. With Frank, everything fits fat."

Having climbed the ranks of the original music scene in NewYork for 15 years, Frank has lent his abilities to the likes of theRoches, Grace Pool, Curtis Stigers, Willie Nile, Joy Askew,Phoebe Snow, Judy Collins, Jane Barnett, and Buskin & Bat-teau. In 1989, he successfully auditioned for the drum chair inVega's band. Although some may regard this as merely a pres-tigous road gig, Frank is more than an invisible sideman. In thepast, Vega has recorded with the same ensemble she tourswith. So in doing the Days Of Open Hand album, Frankbecame part of a real band experience. On the record, his play-ing runs the gamut from no-nonsense driving backbeats tounconventional, almost surrealistic ideas.

rank Vilardi broke into the New York music scene in the late'70s when he started gigging regularly in local bands—andrecording lots of demos for songwriters and singers. "Thiswas when people were still using rhythm sections to do

demos, and you could actually make a living at it," says Frank."We were doing demos and rehearsals by day and gigs atnight."

More calls from city-based artists and groups in the demoscene—and the desire to do more recording work—promptedFrank to move to Manhattan in 1980. He soon began playingregularly at JP's, a Manhattan showcase for original groups.Drumming behind local New York songwriters like Joy Askew,Joe Salvo, and Jane Barnett eventually caught the ears of pro-ducers Elliot Scheiner (who used him on a Phoebe Snowalbum) and Phil Ramone (who called him for the Body Rockmovie soundtrack), as well as those of songwriter DesmondChild.

Doors to the world of jingles opened for Vilardi with theonset of drum machines, Simmons pads, and MIDI. One of thefirst drummers in New York to embrace the new technology,Frank immediately picked up work renting out his Simmons kitto other players. But soon he was getting calls to play as well asprogram machines. Phil Ramone tapped him again to triggersamples on Billy Joel's "Keeping The Faith" single.

Soon Frank was working in twelve bands at one time. Thecreative demands were rigorous; he would have to learn andcome up with parts for many new original songs each week.Steve Gadd became a big influence on Frank. "With Gadd, youwere always aware of the drums, but they never detracted fromwhat was going on in the music," he says. "It was the first timethat you were hearing fine songwriting, like Steely Dan or PaulSimon, combined with creative drumming—as opposed to theRingo/Charlie Watts thing, which is laying it down, very simpleand straight-ahead. It was an approach that I was able tounderstand very well, because it came from the same rudimen-tal background that I came form."

A

In 1986, after years of countless demos, original bands, andjingles, Frank joined up with the band Grace Pool. According toFrank, "Grace Pool combined a lot of technology with livedrums. On stage everything was live, but the bass, percussion,and some keyboards were in a box."

For Frank, playing live with a sequenced bass line was a chal-lenge. "You have to try to make the time feel move a little bit,"Frank says. "With a bass player, you can move together in frontof or behind the beat to create a natural ten-sion and release. With the sequencer in per-fect time like that, you have to do it yourselfwithout getting outrageously busy."

Between the band's 1986 Reprise debutGrace Pool, and their 1990 release, Where WeLive, the audition for Suzanne Vega fell inFrank's lap. In auditioning for Suzanne, Franksays, social skills were every bit as importantas playing skills. In fact, personnel problemshad led to the opening of the drum chair inthe first place.

"A group relies on chemistry," says bassplayer Visceglia, who has been with Vega forseven years. "Suzanne relies on getting areaction about people on a visceral level aswell as a cerebral level, especially when youspend as much time on the road as we do.The endearing thing about Frank is that he'svery educated as a musician but maintains astreet sense about him. That immediatelycuts through the ice and establishes an infor-mal relationship."

The audition itself was not a typical cattle-call. The band had been told to learn three orfour of Suzanne's previous tunes, and thenjammed for an hour. Frank's own personalattitude toward auditions paid off here. "Youhave to learn a bunch of new tunes, and youdon't know what people are going to expect,"he says. "The best thing to do when you're auditioning is toplay it the way you would play it. Don't learn every lick. Don'tpay that much attention to the exact tempo, counting it off likeyou're copying the record. Sometimes they don't like what theprevious guy played on the record. Be yourself, and then you'lldo your best."

"The audition went really well," recalls Vega. "But it wasn'tuntil the first day of rehearsal that I knew we had gotten some-one real good. Frank had a real instinct for what I was lookingfor; he wasn't just a studio musician with stock parts. He canplay anything and never stops working on the approaches. Wewere on the road for eight or nine months, and Frank was try-ing new things six months into the tour."

The relaxed and informal feeling of the audition is typical ofVega's ensemble approach. "With Suzanne, it's more like a

"Play it theway you

would play it.Sometimesthey don'tlike what

the previousguy played

on therecord."

band," says Frank. "She comes up with the basic songs, butshe doesn't tell anybody what to play, so there's a lot of free-dom. She sets up the mood more than anything else.

"We would sit in the rehearsal room and turn on the cassettedeck," Frank continues, "and we'd jam on the verse of a tunefor two hours and just record the whole thing. If we were hav-ing problems with it, we'd just play and I'd play every idea thatcame into my head. Sometimes, something that went by in five

seconds would end up being the basis of asong.""I write on the acoustic guitar, without the

drums in mind," says Vega. "So the drummeris in the hot spot. I don't want him to play toohard and heavy, because he'll trample the sub-tleties. But he can't be too weak, because thestrength of the music will be lost."

"When the vocal is happening, you have to beout of the way but still interesting," Frankadds. "The drumming is a lot more challeng-ing than people think. She likes the band torock, and she doesn't mind if we hit hard. Butyou really have to create a balance as to how faryou can go and still keep it within the realm ofthe song."

Frank's approach differs on some of hisother gigs. He and bassist Visceglia accompanysaxophonist/singer/songwriter Curtis Stigerswhile on break from Suzanne. Here the job isto recreate John Robinson's and Jeff Porcaro'sdrum parts from Stigers' album. For this situa-tion, Frank says he must adapt some of theparts. "Those guys are great players and theyhave great grooves, but a lot of it is prettystraight-ahead in terms of what's there.They've already come up with the parts andtheir own fills. I can't cop every one of theirfills. It's not necessary, anyway, and every nowand then I can come up with my own thing."

Besides being creative in a live setting, Frank enjoys the chal-lenge of the studio. For most of the recording sessions hedoes, Frank brings about six snare drums. His main choicesare a 5 1/2" Pearl MLX, a Noble & Cooley wood 3 1/2" piccolo,

and a brass Ludwig 5 1/2" 1920s model. He augments thesewith an old 5" Slingerland, a 5 1/2" Gretsch for brush work, anda 6 1/2" Pearl brass Free-Floating. His stage kit is a Pearl MLX.Frank uses a 16x22 kick and either 6 1/2 x 10 and 8x12 or 8x12and 11x14 rack toms. His floor tom is a 16x16. On all thedrums he uses Evans heads: the Genera EQ3 bass drum sys-tem, Genera tom heads, and Genera HD snare heads. Frank'sSabian cymbal setup is (left to right): 13" Fusion Hats, a 10"AA splash, a 17" or 18" AA crash, an 8" AA splash, a 16" AAcrash, a 22" HH ride, 14" Fusion Hats on an x-hat, and an 18"HH China.

B

Frank uses a cable hi-hat on his immediate left instead of aconventional hi-hat stand. By mounting it on a Pearl drumrack, he says there's greater flexibility in the angle of the hat. "Idon't have to keep my left elbow way up in the air when I'mplaying with matched grip," he says. "Also, it allows my righthand to lighten up in the mix—allowing more tip on the cym-bals—and causes less bleed of the hi-hat into the snare drummic'."

For electronics, Frank's rack houses an Akai S1000 HD sam-pler, an Eltekon (removable 45-megabyte hard-drive cartridge),a Roland SRV-2000 reverb, TOA D4 and D4E mixers, and apatch bay. He triggers the sounds from a drumKAT and twoDauz pads. For programming, he uses his Akai MPC-60. OnCurds Stigers' gigs it plays sequenced percussion tracks aswell as sampled rhythm guitar parts.At 41, Frank Vilardi shows no signs of slowing down. In addi-tion to practicing and studying, he's also formed his ownproduction company with New York bassist Seth Glassman.Frank is also considering trying his hand at songwriting. To

Frank there's no end in sight to who he'd like to play with. "I'dlove to work with one of the Beatles—to come full circle to myfavorite music," he says with a laugh. "I would also love to workwith Robbie Robertson and Sting. And I would love to haveChester Thompson's gig with Genesis and Phil Collins. I feelthat at this point I can handle almost any gig that's thrown myway—and that's a good feeling to have."

Developing Original Rock Beats

As a drumset instructor, perhaps two ofthe most often asked questions I get fromstudents of rock drumming are: "How do Icome up with original drum parts thatwould work well with a band?" and "Howand where do the pros come up with thosefantastic beats and licks?" The following

suggestions and musical examples will lead you through thesteps that many top rock drummers follow when figuring outunique, workable parts.

Let's begin with a few basic concepts. First, if you want arock beat to work well (musically), it is never a bad idea toinclude one or more of the rhythmic elements inherent in thetune. Second, in creating original beats, try (whenever possi-ble) to limit the constant succession of quarter, 8th, and 16thnotes on the ride or hi-hat cymbals. So many tunes have reliedheavily on this type of cymbal work that varying it up can resultin a fresh feel. Third, to help form new concepts, try to incor-porate a tom or two in the construction of a beat. Very oftenthose secondary snare-drum notes (ghost notes) can be movedto a small tom with surprising results. Finally, consider theaxiom "form follows function." If you're looking for a beat thatgrooves with a flowing momentum, avoid anything that createsphysical tension or unnatural movements.

Now let's put the concepts outlined above one at a time, inthe order they appear.

Next is an example of where toms could be utilized.

This is where practicing the musical examples in this articlecomes in. Practice each example in the order they appear.Don't go to the next unless you can play the last one with thekind of freedom that indicates a certain mental and physicalfinesse.

Playing With A Flowing Physical Movement

The next example shows some ghost notes on the snare, butdon't forget that the backbeat hits are solid rimshots.

Ghost Notes And Toms

With the guidelines mentioned, hopefully you'll be able tocome up with your own interesting parts.

Inherent Musical ElementsLet's say that our tune has a real punchy electric bass line,

like this:

Let's add quarter notes on the hi-hat (played with the foot),bass drum, and a solid rimshot on the snare.

This is where things start to get happening. I've decided onpatterns using the bell of the ride cymbal and also an open hi-hat hit. Play the hi-hat hit with the left hand. (If you are playingquarters with the hi-hat foot, the open stick/hit sound shouldautomatically dampen correctly on the third beat of the bar.)

Interesting Cymbal Work

by Nick Forte

A Brief HistoryOf Fibes Drums

The history of modern drum-makingwould not be complete without anaccount of a little-known company—inbusiness from 1965 to 1977—known asFibes. Although never an industry giantlike Ludwig or Slingerland, Fibes was awell-respected and innovative company.

Fibes owes its history to an inventivedrummer named Bob Grauso, who firstbecame interested in the art of makingdrums in 1960. It all started when Bob'sfather, also a drummer, built a drumsetfor himself and a snare drum for Bob.This example inspired Bob to experi-ment on methods of improving thesound quality of existing drums. He dis-covered that filing the bearing edges ofvarious snare drum shells resulted inincreased resonance. In addition, heexperimented with coating the woodinteriors of the drums with differenttypes and amounts of finishes. At thatpoint, Bob was mainly concerned withinvestigating new ideas in order to gainmore knowledge on the subject—andalso to satisfy personal musical require-ments. His work, which lasted from 1960to 1963, was intended as a privateendeavor only. But as friends began totake notice of what Bob had achieved,many insisted that he customize theirsnare drums.

Following the excellent resultsobtained by applying polyester resin tothe interiors of wood drum shells, con-structing an entire snare drum shell outof fiberglass seemed to be the next logi-cal step. In 1963, a latex mold was creat-ed to construct Bob's first fiberglassdrum. After much effort and research,this first snare drum was built entirely ofsolid resin. In other words, no reinforce-ment or cloth was used in the shell con-

struction whatsoev-er. However, thisdesign presentedsome serious prob-lems. The shellwas extremely brit-tle, and had to becut down from theintended size of5x14 to 4x14 be-cause of curingproblems encoun-tered with the resinprocess.

Following thisfirst attempt, abouta dozen snaredrum shells wereformed in the latexmold—all of whichturned out well andto the intended Bob Grauso, founder of the Fibes Drum Co.

size of 5x14. These drums, like the first,were made entirely of solid resin, andwere outfitted with various brands ofhardware. In 1963 and 1964, another pro-cess (which involved inserting a fiber-glass screen into a mold and then apply-ing resin into the mold) was explored,then abandoned. At that point in time,Bob's drum-making operation was stillin the research and developmentphase—with Bob's friends being theonly recipients of his drums. However,history was to change shortly. Between1964 and 1965, Bob discovered a totallynew process for constructing fiberglassdrumshells, which was to become the"Fibes method."

The new method was based on thefact that a structural approach to build-ing fiberglass drums did not produce aresonant drum tone. Bob discovered thatthe amount of resin content (versus thestrand or cloth reinforcement) had adirect effect on the tone of a drum. Basi-cally, two processes were employed forthe construction of the drumshells. Thefirst, known as Filament Winding, wasused exclusively for snare drum con-struction. This method involved soakingfiberglass fibrils in resin and applying

them to the exterior of a spinning mold,which somewhat resembled a lathe. Afterapplying the fibrils to the mold, an outerring was clamped over the outside of thefibrils to compress and shape the fiber-glass material. The shell was allowed tocure before removal of the clamp.

For the construction of bass drumsand tom-toms, a different process wasused. This method was known as TheSpinning Centrifugal Mold Method. Byapplying fiberglass matt and resin to theinterior of spinning aluminum molds, ashell was formed. The aluminum moldswere of the same diameters as thedesired drumshell diameters.

Bob Grauso began commercial pro-duction in 1965—in 25 square feet ofrented floor space in a Long Island, NewYork building. Rapid expansion led to theutilization of over half of this originalbuilding. During this same year, thename of Fibes was chosen. The nameactually began as a pun, when a familyfriend introduced it to Bob. This friendreasoned that the name possessed a'"60s touch" that would appeal to the hipmood of the era. The official companyname became The Fibes Drum Corpo-ration. During the company's early peri-

by Bob Owen

od, drums were available in three coveredfinishes: chrome, antique brass, andantique copper. Outfitted with an inven-tive style of hardware, Fibes drumsoffered drummers a true alternative.

In 1970, The Fibes Drum Corporationwas acquired by the C. F. Martin Compa-ny and moved into its own facility onLong Island. Bob Grauso became vicepresident of the Fibes Division. Drumswere now available with more exotic colorfinishes in addition to the original threecolors. In 1972, clear Plexiglas drum-shells were offered in addition to thefiberglass shells; black and frosted Plexi-glas shells were added to the line in 1973.

In 1975, the company moved to Easton,Pennsylvania. This move was to signifythe beginning of the end for Fibes drums.Because of financial problems, the C. F.Martin Company decided to liquidate theFibes Drum Division, leaving only askeleton crew to maintain operationsuntil a final solution could be worked out.Bob Grauso left this same year.

Twelve years seems like a short lifespanfor a drum company as unusual andsuccessful as Fibes. Fibes drums wereplayed by many top drummers, including

Billy Cobham, Bobby Colomby (of Blood,Sweat & Tears), and Buddy Rich.(Although Buddy endorsed other drums,he often insisted on using a Fibes snaredrum.) Many of the great drum sounds ofthe '60s and '70s owe a good deal to BobGrauso and the Fibes Drum Company.

Although Fibes was liquidated in 1977,this story does have a happy ending. In1978, Jim Corder purchased all of thedies, molds, and tooling equipment forFibes drums. The Martin Companyretained the Fibes name. In creating theCorder Drum Company, Jim and his fam-ily established a first-rate operation—butwith some changes from the originalFibes concept. Corder no longer usesfiberglass and Plexiglas to manufacturedrumshells, but instead uses maple wood.And although much of the original Fibeshardware design is still employed, Jimincorporated changes and added some ofhis own inventions to the design. Locatedin Huntsville, Alabama, the Corder DrumCompany continues on in the unique tra-dition of Fibes.

The author wishes to thank Bob Grauso andJames Corder for their time and assistance.

Continuous Roll StudyIn 16th Notes

The following exercise incorporates all rolls, from three-stroke to seventeen-stroke. Starting with the double-stroke roll in 16thnotes (8th-note hand motion), play each roll until it sounds good and even, with clean accents and relaxed muscles. In betweeneach roll, return to the 16th notes at the beginning of the exercise. Relax, then proceed to the next roll without stopping.

You can split the exercise up into measured sections or into continuous sections. This exercise builds great endurance andcontrol when done as a whole. It also gives you the rolls in a time frame, so you will be more likely to use them naturally in animprovised situation. Be sure to try each exercise all four ways, including doubles and singles, and leading with both the left andright hands. Also, try using the previous drumset suggestions when doing this exercise. My student/friend Keith Necessary canplay this exercise at 250 beats per minute to the quarter note. If he can do it, so can you.

by Joe MorelloTranscribed by Keith Necessary

Three-Stroke

Alternate Sticking

Four-Stroke

Alternate Sticking

Five-Stroke

Alternate Sticking

Six-Stroke

Seven-Stroke

Eight-Stroke

Nine-Stroke

Ten-Stroke

Eleven-Stroke

Twelve-Stroke

Thirteen-Stroke

Fourteen-Stroke

Fifteen-Stroke

Sixteen-Stroke

Seventeen-Stroke

Writing Drum Fills That Work

At the point when my students have gainedsufficient single-surface rhythmical skillsand basic drumset coordination, I inten-tionally give them an open-ended assign-ment. This involves having them reworkfive or six groove-oriented, single-measure

timekeeping patterns into four-measure phrases. (A goodsource for this type of material can be found in method bookslike Charles Dowd's A Funky Primer.) To outline these phras-es, I instruct them to insert a rhythm at the point where thefourth repetition would actually have occurred. I give them nofurther instructions, other than telling them that they are freeto use whatever sounds or rhythms they like in constructingtheir fills.

At our next session, I have the student demonstrate the fillsthey have written for each of the timekeeping patterns. Moreoften than not, these initial attempts come off sounding a littlehaphazard and rudimentary. After playing through a few of thegrooves myself and inserting fills of my own, the question usu-ally arises: "Why do your fills seem to work, and how do youcome up with them?" To help the student answer these ques-tions, I backtrack to the original timekeeping rhythm that pre-ceded the fill. I explain that a certain feel is set up by the time-keeping groove, and although a fill is a transitional device thatusually breaks away from the groove, the rhythms and soundchoices that make up the fill should somehow reflect the feelof that groove.

Let's see how this concept works. Begin by choosing agroove-oriented drumset pattern.

Play through it a number of times and try to internalize thefeel that's set up by the pattern. Now let's analyze the impor-tant characteristics of the rhythm. The common quarter-notehi-hat rhythm coupled with the placing of the snare drumnotes on counts 2 and 4 gives the sense of that familiar "four-on-the-floor" feel. Although a few of the bass drum notes areplaced in syncopated positions within the measure, they allcome off (or lean towards) the two strong, unsyncopated bassdrum notes (the dotted 8th and the quarter) on 1 and 3. Thisalso lends to the overall feel of that heavy rock "four-on-the-floor" feel.

To sum it up, the strong pivotal points of this rhythm are thesnare drum backbeats on 2 and 4 and the solid bass drumnotes on 1 and 3, which are flavored by the weaker placementsof the remaining bass drum notes. Fills associated with thisrhythm should reflect these characteristics.

First, try a fill that correctly fills up the measure rhythmical-ly and might sound great standing alone, but when played fol-lowing our timekeeping pattern, somehow doesn't quite fit.

Now try one that builds on the rhythm and sound patterns ofthe timekeeping groove. Notice that the fill is a variation of thegroove itself.

This fill simulates the strong points of the timekeeping pat-tern quite nicely, using the lower tom and the bass drum on ornear counts 1 and 3, while placing the higher-pitched tomwhere the snare drum backbeats had been. It also retainsmany features of the rhythmic structure of the groove whilefilling in some of the "holes" with additional 16th notes.

Now let's try one that's a bit more complicated.

Again, play through it a few times to internalize the feel set upby the rhythm.

Now let's figure out those strong points that give this grooveits character. The ride pattern has been placed on the upbeatsand is emphasized by the bass drum notes that fall on the "&"of counts 2 and 3. The first snare drum note has been shiftedfrom its usual position on beat 2 to the immediately preceding16th note on the "ah" of count 1, contributing to the groove'supbeat, syncopated feel. The bass drum's overall rhythm alsoadds to the funk-like feel of the pattern.

Now let's look at a couple of different fills that incorporatevarious elements of this pattern. The first fill closely matchesthe sound and rhythm patterns of the groove, with the basis ofits content easily determined. The second fill, however, revealsa more abstract association with the original groove.

by Dean M. Gottschalk

Hopefully, as you play through the timekeeping pattern, fol-lowed by either of the fills, you will begin to hear how therhythms flow smoothly into each other, a result of the familiarcontent of the groove pattern and the fill. They all seem to"work" together because the fills are derived directly from theelements of the timekeeping pattern.

Although this is just one method for writing effective drumfills, it is an approach that gives students a foundation fromwhich to build their skills and provides a great launching padfor further ideas.

I hated setting up every night and nothaving the cymbals in exactly the sameplace. I play in a very visual way, andthings have to be where I need them tobe without my having to look for them.So I found this guy in Florida, Tom Fali-con, who has a shop that makes motorcy-cle crank shafts. He's famous for that,but he's also really talented at makingcustom drum racks. He's not just awelder, he's an artist.

So I went down with my drum tech,Glen Boster, and we all designed my racktogether. If you look at the cage by itself,it almost looks like a piece of art. Tominspired me personally as well. He has agreat attitude about life and never saysanything bad about anybody.RF: Let's talk about the second album.What was different for you about thisalbum?BE: For this one we decided to use thesame process as the first record. Wecame off the road, took about two weeksoff, and went right back into the writingmode. It was done in the living room ofMark's house in pretty much the sameway, with a drum machine and a four-track, a small guitar, and a bass. Every-one asked why we were doing demos, butwe did three sessions of demos beforewe did the record because we wanted tokeep that same vibe, making sure nobodywas getting tensed up in the studio. Wewanted to get used to the studio afterbeing on the road, to be able to live withthe songs and not come back afterrecording the record and say, "I wish Ihad done this...."

We went to the same studio, whichsurprised people. We recorded in theback room at the Red Zone. We actuallydid the drums at Pasha, which is wherewe did the drums for the first record.Dana grew up there. When he was start-ing out as an engineer, he was sweepingfloors at Pasha and working for [owner]Spencer Proffer, so he knew the studioreally well and liked the sound of it. Andof course, when you have a good thing,you don't want to change it.

We were really proud of the drumsound we got on the first record, too.The studio had been closed down,though, and there had been leaks in theceiling over the control board and in thedrum room. But we called Spencer Prof-fer and asked if we could go back in. The

drumset was covered up with a plastictarp, and if you listen really closely to"Shake This Place," right before the gui-tars come in you can hear some droplets.RF: You do background vocals, too.BE: Yes, on the albums. I want to do itlive, too, but because of the way I play,it's hard to find a headset that stays onmy head. I move around too much. But Ithink we're going to try again this year. Ienjoy singing. In the studio it's a verydifferent ball game, and you realize howhard the singer's job really is whenyou're in there singing backgroundvocals.

I'm definitely going to have to get intoshape for this tour, though. I've beenrelaxing too much. What I do is so physi-cal, and it's going to be a lot longer setthis year. If I'm even going to think aboutsinging, I'm going to have to build up mywind.RF: Do you warm up before a show?BE: Most times. The times when I can'tbecause we're doing some interview orsomething, I have to go on cold, and Ireally feel it. But I have a practice pad,and I go through a lot of rudiments andanything I can do that uses both handsevenly. I do a lot of things with my lefthand first. I'm ambidextrous; anythingthat I do with my right hand and myright foot, I try with my left hand and leftfoot. Warming up for me is to get myblood pumping and my muscles warmedup.RF: Let's go back to the second album.What are some of your favorite cuts, andhow did you come up with your parts onthem?BE: There's a song called "Times TheyChange," which is a very adventuroussong. I'm hoping that we release that asa single. It has a lot of different parts,feels, tempos, and instruments. It goesfrom a very mellow, almost '70s-sound-ing melody, to almost an Iron Maidenheavy metal section, and then into a kindof Rush-like technical part. It's a longsong, and I'm very proud of the drumson that one. There's some percussion,too—some bongos—and I'm using con-cert toms now that I borrowed fromDana's old drummer, Steve Ward, whohe played with in a band called Bad Axe.He has these old Slingerland concerttoms that are just like Neil Peart's. I wasalways so impressed with his concerttom sound. I brought them down to thestudio, and they sounded great. We put

them in as many places as we could.RF: Other songs?BE: "The Wild Life," which is the titletrack of the record, is a very straightfor-ward, anthemic song like "Up All Night"was. It's that same feel, but a bit heavierand more mature musically. There is alot of intricate hi-hat work in there,though, which I think is what sets myrhythms apart from the average.RF: Is that something you developedconsciously through the years?BE: During my years in high school, wedidn't really have a good percussion pro-

gram, so I was pretty much on my own. Imade myself learn these solos andentered contests on my own. I got to theClass I and won three gold medals,which is the highest rating you can get. Iwas first chair in the Houston All CityOrchestra. I really enjoyed playing thatkind of music and learning more aboutmy instrument. I played in a jazz band aswell from Royce University, which I hadbeen turned onto by Bobby Rock.

It's funny; sometimes if you play rock,you don't get as much respect from thedrumming community as you would

playing different kinds of music, becauseso much seems to be based on imageand all that. I'm part of a band now, I'mnot just a drummer who is gigging andworking. There's a difference playing fora band. We're sold as an entertainmentgroup, not just a musical group. So it'shard—coming from as intense a musicalbackground as I have—not feeling thateverybody in the drum community islooking down on me. But I grew up read-ing Modern Drummer, listening to jazzrecords, playing in the drum corps, andreading music.RF: But don't you think all of that com-bined helps make you a good rock drum-mer?BE: Yes, it does. Like I said, some of thethings I do on the new record that set meapart come from that background. On"She Wants More" on the first record, Iwould never have been able to come upwith that part if I hadn't played in jazzbands, because that's a jazz shuffle feel.I wouldn't have come up with a lot of thehi-hat parts I do if I hadn't been in corpsor in a funk band. My background hashelped me a lot and definitely gives me alittle extra spice.

I talked to Rod Morgenstein about thiswhen we were on tour with Winger. Hewas one of my biggest influences; I'dalways sneak in to see his shows when Iwas underage, and then I'd sneak back-stage. I thought, "Someday I'm going tobe up there with him." On the first datewe did together, I said, "I don't know ifyou remember me, but I was that littlepunk kid who was always bugging you."We talked for a while, and I was sayingthat I started out being known as a guywho spins his sticks and plays 2 and 4,but I know I come from this musicalbackground, and I feel weird about it. Hetold me he came from this really heavymusical background and was lookeddown upon for changing to the rockworld. He said he himself had lookeddown on rock players before he startedplaying it, but then he realized there wasa lot more to it than people think. It'shard to play for the song and keep thatsolid groove. The best drummers, to me,are able to play all different styles well. Inever look down on any kind of music,no matter what the rock community maythink of it.RF: Back to the second album. Whatabout "Street Of Broken Hearts?"

BE: That's something you wouldn'texpect to see written out in the pages ofModern Drummer, because it's a verybasic song, but it's all playing for thesong. Believe it or not, it's one of myfavorite songs on the record because ofthe strong melodies, which remind me ofthe Beatles. Drumming-wise, it's simple,but I enjoy playing it.

"Real Love" is a very radio-orientedsong. It's a great song, but as far as thedrum parts, again, they were for thesong. There's a staccato feel to the hi-hat. A lot of times I choose the hi-hatparts I play according to what the bassline is. If the bass is playing more of anopen-ride feel to it, I'll play looser 8thnotes with accents on the downbeat,whereas if it's more of a staccato feel,where every note is accented and cutshort, I'll play all 8th notes accented.That's what I did for that one.

The parts to the music determine thekick and snare mainly, and your toms arefor musical accents. But the hi-hat, theride cymbal, and the cymbals are whatmake the feel. I take my parts from whatthe other instruments are playing. I gofrom the hi-hat playing very staccato,

dance-oriented on the verses, to the cho-ruses, where I'll play a flat ride. Itaccents what the guitars are doing andgives a very open, airy feeling to it. Onthat song I couldn't find a ride cymbalwith a bell on it that sounded like that, soI used a flat ride. But I wanted the bellsound, too, so on the songs that have a

ride cymbal, I played the flat ride andoverdubbed a bell from a 22" rock ride.RF: Dana mentioned to me that youused a variety of drum equipment on thetracks.BE: Cymbal-wise, the flat ride was oneof our favorites. It sounds amazing onthe record. With the hi-hats, sometimes

we'll speed up the tape to get a lower,meaner sound for some of the heavier-feeling songs. For some of the songs thatare a lot tighter and upbeat, we'll slowthe tape down and play along with it sothe hi-hats come out crisper on therecord. We always use the same hats.

A lot of times, you can't judge thingsby what you hear in the room; you haveto listen to the tape. The Chinas I usedsounded awful in person, but on tapethey sounded great. I used this old 16"China-type. We tried a lot of differentsnare drums, which we sampled. Weended up using a Ludwig hammeredbrass Black Beauty, a piccolo, and someelectronic sounds that we stole fromsomewhere.RF: What about "Days Gone By"?BE: That is one of my favorites off thenew record. Great feel. It's Beatle-esqueand it also reminds me of progressivebands like Queen, where there's a lot ofdifferent parts. That's one thing weweren't afraid of: putting different partsin the same song. There are tempochanges and lots of dynamics in thatsong. That was also recorded for the firstrecord, but didn't make it stylistically.Originally it didn't have drums, just bon-gos, claves, a tambourine, and shakers.There are sections that still have thatstuff, but we also put drums on this ver-sion.

"Reach For The Sky" has some greathi-hat work in it. The kick drum andsnare drum are holding down the meat-

and-potatoes groove, and the hi-hat isfollowing what the guitar is doing. Andthe vocal is doing something entirely dif-ferent. Lyrically, it's one of my favoritesbecause it really reflects my attitude that,no matter what, you shouldn't be afraidto try new things and reach for yourdreams. Don't be limited by your mindor what other people try to drill into yourhead. Do whatever it is you want. Youjust have to have the motivation to do it.RF: So when did you set your mind todrums ?BE: I guess I was in seventh grade whenI started playing seriously. I had beenplaying guitar in a band, but when I gotinto junior high, they had free drumlessons if you joined the marching band.About the same time, I saw KISS in con-cert, and that's when I knew what I reallywanted to do. Back in those days, drum-mers were really spotlighted with thesehuge kits and solos. I saw Black Sabbath,Blue Oyster Cult, and Alice Cooper, andI thought the drums were the mostamazingly powerful thing.

I didn't come from a wealthy family, soI had to mow lawns all summer to get myfirst drumset, and I got ripped off on it.It was $250 for this complete pile oftrash. I made it into a good kit with someold concert toms my high school bandhad thrown out. I covered them with sil-ver contact paper to make this chromedrumset out of them. I got some old tubastands from the back equipment roomand put some bass drums on them, and Imade gong bass drums. I made this hugeset.

That's where I got my idea for chromedrums. I love chrome drums. I remem-ber being embarrassed to go to thesecontests where all the other drummerswere coming in from other places withall these brand new Premier or Ludwigdrums. I had this purple sparkle snaredrum from 1950 that I covered with wallpaper so it would look silver, and I hid itin the corner and covered it with a towelso nobody would see it. I made up for itin my playing, though, which is why,when I meet drummers who are startingout, I tell them they don't have to have areal set. I always tell them it doesn't mat-ter what they're playing on, because asfar as drums are concerned, it's rhythmthat matters, not what you're playing on.When you get a real set, you'll be able touse more dynamics and things, but

learning your rhythms first is what ismost important.RF: Were you really pre-med?BE: Yes. I went to college and I wantedto be a doctor. I got a scholarship andwent to the University of Texas. My par-ents were really proud of me; I was thefirst in my family to graduate highschool. But I finally decided that if Ididn't try to do music for a living, I'dalways wonder about it, so I decided togive it a shot.RF: What did your parents think?BE: They were behind me because theyfigured if I wasn't happy doing what Iwas doing and always wondered aboutsomething else, whether or not I wassuccessful financially, I would always beunsuccessful mentally and personally.They're very much into being happy withyourself. My dad is a minister and achaplain in a hospital. He's run drugrehabilitation programs for the under-privileged from the time I can remem-ber, and their philosophy has alwaysbeen not to live for the money, but to livefor your beliefs.RF: What does he think of the music,being a minister?BE: He loves it because there's no nega-tive message in our music. I've nevertouched drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes inmy life, and I owe that in part to my dad,because I was exposed to it at such ayoung age. I remember seeing the peoplein my neighborhood sniffing glue andpaint, and I just said, "That's not the lifeI want." From an early age I knew if Iwanted to be successful, I couldn't dothat. In high school people were going, "Ican't believe you don't want to try it."And I was saying, "No way, I've got mydrums; that's what I want to do." They'dbe partying and I'd go home and prac-tice.RF: That's very refreshing about yourband; you're not concerned with thatkind of tough image.BE: It's not that we don't have a goodtime, because we have a great time.There are so many other ways in life tohave a good time, though. Music is ourprimary thing. To us, the great time isjamming together and playing on stageand in the studio. There are other thingsthat I've gotten into to keep myself up inthe down time. I go skydiving, snow-boarding, mountain hiking, car racing.There are a lot of other ways to get high.

Read a book. I feel that's one of the rea-sons we're successful, because we hadour minds clear enough to set goals andfollow through with a plan to reach thosegoals.RF: Does a hit album set you up for life?BE: No. I've been very smart with mymoney, though. I can honestly say that ifyou're looking to play music to becomean MTV star and rich, you're going intothe wrong business. It's more the excep-tion than the rule for someone tobecome rich. We sold a lot of albums, butwe have a lot of promotion costs andvideo costs, and that gets taken out ofour money. And after all the percentagesare taken by the lawyers, accountants,and managers, by the time the moneygets to us there isn't much left. Plus, youpay for the cost of the record, which canbe really high if you're not careful. I'mnot trying to tell anyone not to get intothe business, but don't do it for themoney. You have to be as happy starvingin a one bedroom apartment or living onsomeone's living room floor as you wouldbe as a billionaire. If you're going to playmusic, get into it because you love play-ing music.

Morton SandersTaking The Craft One Step Further

by Adam J. Budofsky

The drum isn't what it used to be. Research and developmentin the areas of physics, acoustics, stress, plastics, wood density,lacquers, paints, and electronics have hurled the drum into thespace age, truly making it an instrument of infinite sound pos-sibilities.

Like the song says, though, what goes around comes around.Largely due to the growingpopularity of "world" musics,lately we've seen a rediscoveryof hand percussion instru-ments. For every drummertriggering sampled soundsfrom an Octapad, it seemsanother one is integrating con-gas into his or her setup oroverdubbing cuica parts onrecords.

Though comparatively largecompanies like LP andRhythm Tech have gladly pro-vided mass-marketed tools forthis trend—often in the formof synthetic versions of theoriginal, hand-made instru-ments—many individuals havetaken it upon themselves to build their own drums. One partic-ular person who has developed a unique interpretation of thiscraft is Morton Sanders.

Morton—or "Morty," as he likes to be known—has beenbuilding intricately designed, personalized shekeres, handdrums, and other ritual objects used in the Afro-Cuban reli-gion known as Santeria for over thirty years. His creations aresome of the most advanced and finely decorated instrumentsyou'll run across. A percussionist with a world-renowned sym-phony orchestra, members of Earth, Wind & Fire, and even aNative American medicine man own his instruments. YetSanders has never advertised nor sold through music stores,and insists that he doesn't strive to solicit more business. "I'mup to my eyeballs in private commissions," he says, "and I'vegot a three- to four-month delivery. I do one drum or shekereat a time. I have nobody else working with me, and I don't run astore. I don't stock these things, I only make them on order."

Morty, Jimmy Cruz, and Morty's son Mark jam with some ofSanders' shekeres in New York's Central Park.

Since Sanders clearly doesn't plan to turn his craft into alucrative "business," one gets the sense (and becomes con-vinced upon conversation with the man) that the exquisiteinstruments that fill several shelves and corners of his NewYork City apartment are indeed the results of a labor of love.More than just a craftsman, Morty is a student, player, and afi-

cionado of Afro-Cuban andother Afro-Latin cultures.

The focus of his interest,though, is on the rituals,music, and instruments.Though he has made berim-baus, shakers, and even spe-cialty sticks, Sanders' prima-ry pieces today are shekeres,which are made from cal-abashes or gourds, and large,ornate hand and bata drumsmade from tree trunk logs.These drums start as solidpieces of pine tree, whichSanders cuts and handshapes into finished instru-ments. He fits skin heads onwith a unique, hardware-less

system when they're wet, so that when they dry, they are sur-prisingly tight. "A dyed-in-the-wool percussionist will say thatthere's nothing like the Cuban panza de mula—from thebelly," says Morty, "because the belly of the mule has an eventhickness. But they're very hard to come by in recent years, so Iuse goat or antelope rawhide." Sanders uses long spaghetti-likeremnants of the wet skins and wraps them around the overlap-ping heads to secure them to the drumshell. He also affixesconcealed aluminum base rings to the bottoms of the drum'smouth because "solid wood shells are not stable in steam-heat-ed or air-conditioned environments," he explains. "Wood isorganic and highly subject to temperature change. So this con-trols potential cracking."

Sanders then finishes the curved exterior of the drum withacrylic paints. "I follow a technique used by the artisans of theYoruba tribe in Nigeria, a process called polychrome—manycolors. But I also have my own technique of aging or distress-

ing it so it doesn't look like it was made yesterday."Surprisingly, Morty crafts these instruments without the aid

of power tools. (A drum like the one pictured here would takehim an entire summer of long weekends to complete.) Accord-ing to Sanders, "There is no power tool that can do this jobright. If you do anything with a power tool, you obtain a highdegree of symmetry, which is undesirable to my aestheticsense. I'm trying, as a Western man—civilized, supposedly—tostyle my work after traditional West African craftsmen. Thefact that it might be slightly asymmetrical gives it a vague lookof authenticity. I'll start a design over here on this side of aninstrument, and it's not exactly the same when it gets to theother side—and so what? But since I wastrained in a rather rigid discipline—archi-tectural design—I have to fight so that itdoesn't match too evenly when it comesaround the other side."

Sanders' instruments may not be per-fectly symmetrical in shape, but he feelsthat they sound as good as, or better thanany other instruments of this type. "I'vetaken something that was made in Africaand tried to improve on it—acousticallyand hopefully aesthetically," he states. "Ihave a pretty good innate sense ofdesign—coupled with my personal experi-ence as a collector of authentic Africansculpture." In fact, many of Sanders' com-missions come from non-musicians simplyattracted to his instruments' appeal as artobjects.

Besides the great amount of time,research, and detail Morty puts into hiswork, several specific design characteris-tics set his instruments apart. His shek-eres, which are what he primarily makestoday, are made from hard-shelled gourdsgrown in the south, in California, and inAfrica. These instruments take him 35 to40 hours each to complete. Sanders cleansout the inside of the gourd, and then lightlycoats the smoothed inside with a sealer tominimize the porosity of the gourd wall."That enhances an optimum tone, which isprized by knowledgeable shekere players,"he explains. Though some of the shekeres are quite large, thefinished instruments are surprisingly light. "That's veryimportant. I've played ritual ceremonies that started at 9:00 atnight, and we wouldn't walk out until 8:00 the next morning,lightheaded with exhaustion."

Sanders also attaches a pre-fabricated neck onto the gourd,which improves strength and allows an area for him to embossdesigns specific to the owner's requests. Many of Sanders'customers are involved in Santeria—an African religion that

This Sanders hand drum, whichis 28" tall, was based on the

Afro-Cuban Arara style.

was brought by slaves to the Americas and that is still practicedwidely today in the Caribbean and in major urban centers. Sohe often portrays a stylized version of a player's personal deity,or "orisha," in his work. According to Sanders, "Each orishahas his or her own symbols, animals, colors, favorite foods, andthe like." For instance, on one instrument for a client whoseorisha is Yemaya—the guardian deity of the sea—Morty inciseda mermaid character. These designs are embossed on a strip ofpliable sheet brass, which is attached to the neck with an epoxycompound. "This gives me another opportunity to customizethe shekere for you," Morty says. "It makes it something spe-cial, something you can't get from a catalog or music store."

Sanders also attaches a small flatleather ring to the bottom center of theshekere for better finger control, andweaves a network of beads around theinstrument, which gives it its "slap"sound. The beads' colors can, if desired,correspond to the owner's particularorisha. And like most artists, Sanders"signs" each piece he completes, but notwith the usual handwritten signature. "InSpanish it's called a 'firma,'" Morty says."My trademark is an eye, which is meantto ward off evil—because I deal with a lotof clients who are involved in Afro-Cubanor Afro-Brazilian belief systems."

On one or two occasions, Sanders hasgotten flack from individuals about hisdrums, since some—specifically the bata,for the orisha Chango—were originallyused only in religious ceremonies."They've by now escaped the confines ofpure ritual music, though," Mortyexplains. "Someone questioned me aboutthis once, and I simply told him that mydrums are not what is known as 'funda-mento,' meaning drums that have beenblessed, that have gone through a sacra-mental ceremony. Bata drums are nowbeing played in secular bands. Women andhomosexuals were traditionally bannedfrom playing bata drums, and even nowthis taboo has not been lifted entirely, par-ticularly in orthodox settings."

Morty says that he used to be more involved in Santeria thanhe is today, yet he still keeps certain things, like the symbol forthe orisha Elegua—the guardian of the crossroads—by his door."This assures me that when I go out, I'll come back in onepiece," Morty says. "When I come back in it casts off any kind ofbad energy that I may have picked up on the outside. It wasmade for me by my 'godfather,' or 'padrino,' who was a wellknown Cuban 'italero,' or divinator, in the Bronx some years ago.

Sanders became deeply interested in the Afro-Cuban world

after his first of many trips to pre-Batista Cuba, in the late '40s,unexpectedly turned into a cultural and musical epiphany. Onthe plane with his wife and young son, he met a Cubano whooffered to show him around Havana—but beyond the hotels andcasinos that tourists normally saw. Sanders experienced work-ing-class hangouts, dance halls, and homes, and was privilegedto attend a toque or bembe, a ritual ceremony of Santeria, in thetown of Regla, where the sacred bata drums were played. With-out his mind-opening experience, Sanders says, "I probablywould have gone back home thinking that Cuba was just Ameri-cans gambling in tuxedos and the country's black people work-ing as waiters and chambermaids. But I discovered the black'tinge,' which is an important part of African-rooted history."

Sanders wasn't completely naive to Latin culture before hisearly trips, though. "My first introductions were here in NewYork," he recalls. "My wife and I used to hang out at a famousballroom on Broadway called the Palladium. The young TitoPuente played there, Arsenio Rodriguez, Tito Rodriguez—anddancers from the inner city used to come to mambo. I was anAnglo New York mambo dancer, and my wife was an accom-plished ballet dancer—a New York girl who looked like a Latinaand danced like one.

"After my first visit to Cuba," Morty recalls, "I came backwith a $35 conga drum. An Afro-American flute-playing friend

of mine who also drummed said, 'Let's go up to Central Park.They jam up there.' So we went, and they were ready to kickmy butt out of there. But I was entranced with the scene and Ikept coming back. I used to bring my first hand-made drum upthere, and they'd fight to play it. It took a year or two for me toget accepted as a player. I didn't have to do any fighting, butthere was a lot of bluffing. They didn't mean to cut you or any-thing, but it's quite the standard macho challenging scene. Yousplit or stay. I stayed."

As Sanders suggests, being a non-Latin intrigued enough tobecome immersed in that culture can be—and has been,though rarely—a source of friction. "You can understand theattitude," says Morty. "A minority people are always resentful ofthose who wander into their scene that look like they might liveon Park Avenue. I happen to have the type of face where Ilooked like a college professor, but I knew the New York streetscene like the back of my hand, from my experiences in most ofthe Caribbean and Latin American barrios."

When a non-Latino does want to get involved in whatSanders describes as a "very closely knit society," he betterhave something to offer—if he wants to hang with good play-ers. Sanders tells about the Central Park drumming scenewhere rumberos hang out and play every Sunday during thewarm seasons. "Some people who are born to the sound ofclave don't feel that outsiders—Anglos, shall we say—can haveany ability at all in this bag," Morty says. "And the truth of thematter is, when you want to learn clave at the age of 20 or 30,it's not as easy as if you grew up hearing it. Even if you're aLatino, the business of learning to play Latin percussion hasgot to take you a minimum of ten years, I don't care how talent-ed you are—unless your orisha touched you while you were stillin diapers. But the Central Park scene was very important,because a lot of the guys who came out of there as teenagersnow play with some of the big bands, like Puente and Palmieri,or they're doing lucrative studio work."

Sanders passed his interest in Afro-Latin music and cultureon to his son Mark, who today is a professional percussionistplaying with musicians like Dianne Reeves, Gato Barbieri, andAhmad Jamal. "He picked up on it at a very early age," saysMorty. "When he was 13, I used to take him wherever I went inNew York City—up to Spanish Harlem, all the darkest base-ments and bars where people were playing rumba. He fell inlove with it. No one hearing him today playing Latin jazz, Afro-Cuban, or Brazilian music believes he's an American."

Though Sanders is now 70 years old, he says building instru-ments still takes up most of his time, though "I sort of goof offin the summertime, because I've got fun things to do," headmits. And though he still sits in occasionally with variousgroups, Morty insists, "I never wanted to be a professionalplayer. I reached that through my son in a way. I still hang out.My stress now is on craftsmanship—and the satisfaction I getfrom watching young percussionists burn up the joint playingmy axes."

leaders will record your compositions?Do you have to sell them on your tunes?VL: What's funny is, I'm almost theopposite of that. I'm my own worst hus-tler. Sometimes it's drummer's paranoia.But it's nice that cats are using my stuff,because they have given my writing a lotof respect.KM: Sanborn has recorded three of yourtunes. Have you been writing long?VL: Since high school. In college, I'dtranscribe the melody and bass lines of,say, a Miles tune, then write my ownthing from that framework. I do 90% ofmy writing at the piano. Occasionally I'llhear something when I'm on a flight. I'llhum the melody into a tape recorderuntil I can get to the piano. For example,"Big Girls," a song of mine, was the firsttune I heard away from the piano.

A lot of times, people feel that even if adrummer is credited with composing atune, someone else must have arrangedit or something. To quote the old joke:"Who do drummers hang out with?Musicians." I am one of the many drum-mers who don't need a "musician" to

write his tune out. "The Legend OfCheops," from Woody Shaw's RosewoodLP, was a piece I wrote for a largeensemble. I scored and arranged for twoflutes, three saxophones, a harp, twotrombones, two trumpets, and a rhythmsection. Woody Shaw was always sup-portive and forthcoming concerning mywriting. No matter what request I wouldmake, Woody always trusted my judge-ment.KM: Your writing style is understated,yet forceful and very connected, andsupportive.VL: Stan Getz recorded a tune of minecalled "I Wanted To Say." He was a mas-ter of interpretive melody. He took mytune and embellished a couple of spots.It was so strong that the next time I gaveit to someone I left in Stan's changes.But sometimes I'll have to say to some-one, "Well, that's not really the way Ihear it."KM: How does being a composer alteryour approach to other people's music?VL: Often, people bring a tune to a date.They'll give you a part. It may be theright balance of information you need to

have, or sometimes not. Usually they'rekind of sketchy. Or they'll give you thewrong kind of sketches. I'll ask for thelead sheet from the horn players to getthe proper information. Then I don'thave to trust the writers solely to knowwhat they think they want me to play.When the music starts, my ears make thefinal evaluation of what's happening.Then you decide on the variables youwant to be hitting. You don't want themusic to be running by, and you're justplaying time.KM: You've recorded both funk andstraight-ahead. What do you see as thefundamental difference between the twotypes of drumming?VL: In funk, you supposedly get yourrocks off on a groove that's repetitive andrelentless. In jazz, it's, "Okay, let's see ifI'm ready for all the moves." You've gotto be ready to pass the ball, to shoot theball...it's interplay. A jazz drummer hasto come in and out of the groove andback. In jazz, the ride cymbal is thefocus. In funk, it's the bass and snaredrum.KM: With Sanborn, you were a high-

profile, well-paid funk drummer. If youhad stayed that course, you'd be makinga lot more money now.VL: One thing about me is, the music ismore important. Money does matter—especially now. But I've gotten to a pointwhere, if I can make a living playing jazz,that's what I'll do.KM: Your personality seems more suitedto it.VL: In terms of talking about music, Ihave good days and bad days. I'm actuallya very eccentric artist. If I'm possessed,the first thing that goes out are my verbalskills.KM: Why is it, when practicing for longperiods of time, that tends to happen?We lose our ability to communicate ver-bally.VL: If you lock yourself up in a room forten days, you'll have a little troubleadjusting to society. The worst time forme to talk is right before or after a gig.After a gig, I'm still possessed. I play tobecome possessed. Basically, at thatpoint I'm not a technical player. I playfrom feeling.KM: In the round table, we talked about

the nights when there seems to be per-fect chemistry. You mentioned that youbelieve that "the spirits come down."VL: Right. It's the same as the cycle ofthe tides, the full moon. Every day, everymoment is changing. You can spendyears trying to predict it. Everything thathas happened in the day, or wherever theband's head is at, all contribute towhether you'll be able to transcend thesituation. Sometimes, if a band has beenon the road for three weeks, they'll feellike they can do anything. But they'll gointo a club and get their asses kicked.You can't predict it.KM: What about practicing before gigs?Miles said he never practiced so that hecould keep a fresh approach.VL: When I practice, I practice to learn.A cat may be playing at the drums forfour hours, but that may be playing whathe already knows. That's just a hell of awarm-up job, as opposed to real growth.I used to go through a lot of head trips.Back when I first started playing jazz atthe University of Nebraska, I'd refrainfrom sex the day of the gig.KM: Did that make any difference?

VL: Personally, I don't think so. Every-thing clicks in and out at different times.Somedays, one beer will do me in. Otherdays, I can have six beers. I used to makesure I got eight hours of sleep, did all mystretches, did my transcendental medita-tion. Then I'd think, "Now I'm preparedfor the gig."

New York is a different scene. Thestress can get to you. I became a "non-purist purist." With my schedule, I haveto keep my body from getting used to anyparticular pattern. I keep my body bro-ken from routines. Maybe that's why wedie young? When I play all the time,which is usually, I don't practice. To me,practicing can be upheaving. If you tellyourself you have to be practicing to playwell and on a particular day you don'thave time to practice, it might screw upyour mind for the gig that night.KM: Some drummers are maniacalabout practicing. Perhaps they shouldrelax and be more concerned about themusic.VL: Yes. I'm 41 years old now, I'm busyin the workforce. I don't really have timeto accomplish things technically that

would take five years to get to. I havefound that you have to make the gig hap-pen with what you have. That's also partof finding your own style. I used to showup at a gig bummed, like, "I haven'tpracticed, the gig will suck, why am Ihere?" I had to get a detached attitudeabout technique and the music.KM: You're very involved with the rest ofthe band when you play—a lot of eyecontact. With Horizon, you're the leader.Is it harder to be a leader or a sideman?VL: It's harder to be a leader, whichentails doing a lot of things that havenothing to do with the music. "Are wegoing to get paid?" Now I have to comeout of my drumming trance and dealmore directly with the people.KM: Why, when seemingly equally quali-fied, do some drummers in New Yorkwork a lot, while others don't.VL: A guy might think, "Why didn't theycall me for that gig? I play better thanthat guy. In fact, I'm gonna call the lead-er up and ask him why." So he calls himand the leader will say something oranother. One thing he knows after that,the leader will never, ever call him for a

gig, because he harassed him! There'salways a reason why you're not called fora gig. There's a saying: "That cat's sohip, he's too hip to play with anybody." Ifwhat you bring to the music is valuable,you'll be called for the gig.KM: Why do many drummers approachthe music drumistically as opposed tobeing more musical?VL: Their ego still lies with the drumsas opposed to the music. They have toshow something to other drummers.When you're able to direct your egotowards the right focus, you'll do theright musical thing at the right time.KM: Even when you take a break, you'revery succinct and to the point. You hit itand you get out.VL: You don't want to be too hip towhere you screw the band up. Art Blakeyused to say, "Two hips make an ass."You're better off addressing the womanin the fifth row who's never heard of youthan trying to impress some imagineddrummer in the room!KM: You said before that you're intomeditation.VL: Yes. I have what you'd call a delicate

nervous system. I play best when mymind is settled, since I don't have"objective chops."KM: What's that?VL: My technique is affected by thespirits. Basically, I'm a low energy per-son. When my mind gets fatigued, mybody goes next. I need things to freshenup my mind, then my body will follow.Transcendental meditation has beenimportant for that. If I have a long recorddate and a gig that night, if I don't havetime for a good nap, I'll meditate for anhour. It cleans the slate of my nervoussystem. From the time when I wake up inthe morning, I think about being in theright space when it's time for me to play.KM: I'd like to get some backgroundinformation on you—and how you devel-oped your own voice. Were your parentsmusicians?VL: My mother played piano and myfather played tenor sax and a myriad ofinstruments. I started out on bass. A realbass was too big for me, so they boughtme a 3/4 size cello. I didn't dig that, sofrom the ages of seven to eleven I stud-ied classical piano. I was attracted to the

drums after seeing the annual Fourth ofJuly parade in Omaha. The followingChristmas I got a drumset. It took me allday to figure out how to set it up! I stud-ied with Luigi Watts, who is one of thepillars of the Omaha jazz community. Hetold me about Art Blakey, Elvin Jones,Max Roach, Sam Woodyard, Baby Dodds.An important thing he laid on me wasabout attitude and humility. Appearanceand where you come from doesn't mat-ter. You can find a great drummer on anycorner of any street, in any town inAmerica.

At that time, I wasn't practicing mylessons—I just wanted to sit down andget off. What rekindled practicing for mewas checking out different cats playinglive. All the big bands would comethrough Omaha: Basie, Ellington, WoodyHerman, Buddy Rich. Those cats wouldblow me away. I knew if I wanted to getthere, I had to practice.

A friend of mine told me about thisyoung guy playing with Miles Davis, TonyWilliams. He said he was bad! I said, "Ishe better than Buddy Rich? How bad canhe be?" Miles and Tony really turned me

on to the sound of small ensembles.Three years later I got to see Miles inOmaha with Jack DeJohnette. He blewmy mind, too. I had tears in my eyes,goosebumps from the music. It was areligious experience for me. It changedmy whole life. I started transcribingtunes, working on small ensembles. In1968 I went to the University of Nebras-ka and studied music. They didn't have ajazz department, so I studied classicalpercussion. The head of the departmentwould consult me when they booked jazzgroups to play on campus. I'd pick themup at the airport. I met AlphonseMouzon with McCoy Tyner, and HerbieHancock's quintet with Buster Williamsand Billy Hart. Billy really helped me alot when I came to New York. He let mesub on gigs and do rehearsals.After Omaha, I moved to Minneapolis

for a year. I had sort of a show biz gig atnight, and in the daytime I'd rehearsewith a band. We didn't have any gigs thewhole year, but we rehearsed every day.That was a very formative period for me.After that I moved to New York withabout $200 in my pocket.

KM: During your heavy drum learningperiod, who were you into?VL: Tony, Roy Haynes, Elvin, Jack."Four" & More with Tony and Miles wasone of my bibles. Tony's ride cymbalplaying was incredible on that. Thenthere was DeJohnette on Charles Lloyd'sLive At Montreaux, Elvin Jones onColtrane's A Love Supreme. Also, EricGravatt floored me.KM: A lot of drummers mention him asa heavy influence.VL: I took a lot from his drumming. Hewas also into Tai Chi, which influencedhis movements on the drums. I considerhim to be one of the unsung, innovativeheroes.KM: So you hit New York...VL: I got a gig with Buster Williams andWoody Shaw at a club called Boomers.I'd been here about two months. Busterhad heard me in Nebraska. The firstnight was a catastrophe; I couldn't playshit. I knew I hadn't played myself. Thenext night I went for it. That started along association with Woody. In the early'70s, SoHo was cheap space for musi-cians to play and rehearse. The loft

scene became very popular. Throughthat I met Joe Farrell and Hiram Bullock,which began my funk playing period.KM: You got some pretty lucky breaksrather soon.VL: Yes, I did. Shortly after that I joinedDavid Sanborn's permanent band, andwe recorded two records [Promise MeThe Moon and Sanborn]. I also workedwith Hubert Laws, Carla Bley, OliverLake, Julius Hemphill...I kept prettybusy.KM: How were you able to cover somany bases?VL: I realized they were unique. Theywere their own entities. They come witha subculture with a certain attitude inthe music. I learned early on that youcan't show up on a funk gig with an 18"bass drum, and you can't make a realbebop gig with a 22" bass drum. I wantedto play the music right.KM: How did you blend into the veryrigid cliques that exist in the New Yorkjazz community?VL: A lot of cats didn't know I was intoother things. I didn't bring any baggagein—no head trips. Whatever the music

was, I was into it. Sometimes I did findmyself trying to keep the funk out of myswing and the swing out my funk, andboth out of my avant-garde! All of thishelped me to define what each style wasall about.KM: After Sanborn, you wanted to play

jazz exclusively?VL: Yes. Straight-ahead jazz drummingisn't just about playing good time.There's an intangible element thatmakes cats say, "How can I get that?"Trying to find that magical thing reallydefies technique. Some guys like Grady

Tate can play very simply, no fancy stuff,and swing you to death!KM: Woody Shaw was your major gigafter Sanborn?VL: Yes, then Stan Getz. I found my ownunique things then. Like playing theedge of the cymbals or the shells of thedrums. I worked with Stan through six orseven versions of his band, from fusionto straight-ahead.KM: Now you only play jazz, swing—straight-ahead type music. Why?VL: For different reasons. First, I'm tooold for the kind of stress that comesfrom playing funk. Second, jazz repre-sents longevity in my career. And finally, Iwant to be the loudest cat in the band. Iwant more control over dynamics. I don'twant to play as hard as I can and not beable to hear myself.KM: Upcoming gigs?VL: I go on tour with Don Grolnick,with a band that includes Michael Breck-er, Eddie Gomez, and Joe Henderson.After that I have a couple of record dateslined up. Horizon will be going to theKansas City Jazz Festival, the Mt. HoodJazz Festival, and a three-week workshopin Idaho with Gunther Schuller. I havemore gigs with Mingus Epitaph lined up,too.KM: Do you wear a tuxedo on thesegigs?VL: Who wants to sweat up good materi-al? [laughs]

Sequencing:A Drummer's Friend?

David Moore performs in a club as a single, through the use of a sequencer.

As a live drummer and vocalist, I've been able to sustain a livingat my craft for twenty years through a combination of diligentnetworking, the ability to please a club owner, and plain hardwork. Still, every time I would see an act working with a drummachine, I'd flinch. I knew it was only a matter of time until amicroprocessor picked my pocket. Then one day, during amoment of career contemplation, a light bulb blinked on in myhead. Instead of being the replaced, I would be the replacer! Iwould become, aided by the latest technology, a live solo drum-mer.

Why not sequence a solid bank of material, use my voice anddrums, and take total control of my gigs? Self-reliance at last!With this setup, drummers like me could charge less money andkeep more for ourselves, and open up a world of opportunities.And we wouldn't necessarily have to go it alone. The principleapplies whether you want to be a solo drummer/vocalist, or ifyou intend to work with one or more musicians.

Perhaps you don't have any ambition of becoming a workingdrummer. Maybe all you desire is the enjoyment of playing witha full band during your home practice sessions. Again, livedrums with the rest of the "band" sequenced fits the bill. You'llimprove your timing and your ability to adhere to a professional

arrangement.So how do you acquire these sequenced dreams-come-true?

Well, you can buy them, or you can record them yourself.Anyone with access to a personal computer with an expansionport (IBM or compatible, Macintosh, Commodore 64), a MIDIinterface, and appropriate music software (Cakewalk, Cadenza)can make it all happen by buying complete sequenced songs instandard MIDI file format from a variety of sources, at pricesranging from $10 to $20 per song. These sources can also sup-

ply sequences formatted for many of the ded-icated sequencers of companies like Roland,Yamaha, Korg, and Brother. You can findthese sources advertised in the classifiedsection of magazines like Keyboard orElectronic Musician. I've used Tan-tracs,Trycho Tunes, and Passport, although thereare many more to choose from.

These sequences offer handy advantages:They duplicate the original artist's arrange-ment; sound great; allow you to see exactlyhow parts have been orchestrated on yourcomputer screen; and are good examples toemulate. These sequences, of course, con-tain only digital information, on separatetracks. The information must be channeledinto a MIDI sound source. Some of thesesound sources are multi-timbral, providingseveral sounds simultaneously. A visit to yourlocal music store will give you hands- andears-on access to the types of equipmentavailable.

As far as recording your own sequences, some keyboard abili-ty is required to input the musical parts of each instrument ontoeach track. If you own a MIDI drum machine, you have both asound source and a means of adding percussive extras to yourtracks. Handclaps, congas, and other rhythmic sweeteners willmake you feel like you're jamming with Alex Acuna! (Rememberto program a count-off click at the beginning of your sequence.)

Perhaps some of you are multi-instrumentalists. Leave thedrums in your sequence, remove your instrument, and playalong live. I play guitar, which adds variety and gives me a rarechance to wail on my axe and show off my drum programmingability.

A word of caution: Make a cassette back-up of your sequencestaken directly from your MIDI sound source, and bring it and atape deck to your gigs. This way you won't sweat out machinemalfunctions.

On a personal level, I've been very gratified by the receptionmy solo drum act has received. My bookings have blossomed,my income has increased considerably, and audience reactionhas been terrific. And I've been surprised by the number of peo-ple who have expressed their delight at hearing real drumsagain.

by David Moore and Carl Henry

"That was enough of that," Bobbyrecalled. "I went to work that night andsaid, 'Pops, I'm giving you notice.' WhenI told him why, Paul Whiteman startedlaughing and said, 'Well, at least finishthis date with me and then play theCoconut Grove in California'. So I fin-ished the dates with him, but before Ileft, he told me that any time I wanted ajob, I'd have one." Twenty years passedbefore they would meet again, but PaulWhiteman would indeed live up to hisword.

In the meantime, Christian was doinga lot of jingle work around Chicago—twoto three jobs a day, sometimes fifteen inone week—and played in radio and tele-vision bands at both NBC and CBS. Heplayed on Budweiser jingles for twentyyears, Schlitz for ten years—and the listgoes on and on. "I was playing percus-sion then—timpani, xylophone, vibes,and so forth. They usually hired an extradrummer to play all the set parts."

Due to his hectic jingle schedule,sometimes Bobby needed a sub to cover

a job. Maurie Lishon, former proprietorof the famous Frank's Drum Shop inChicago and himself a professional per-cussionist, recalls, "The first time I wascalled to sub for Bobby at NBC in Chica-go, there was one chart with a fairly sim-ple bell part. But Bobby made a career of'padding the part' by playing hundreds ofnotes to keep busy! I just played the orig-inal melody line. Remember, this was myfirst shot subbing at NBC. The conduc-tor stopped the orchestra and said,'Lishon, that's not what Bobby playsthere.' My reply, knowing Bobby's playingapproach, was that if he wanted whatBobby played, he'd better call Bobby!

"When Bobby heard about it, he said,'Mush'—he always called me Mush—'Ibet Joe left you alone after that!' He wasright, and I did numerous subbings atNBC, which ultimately led to much radioand TV work and a nineteen-year stinton the CBS Chicago staff."

During the late 1930s, Bobby Chris-tian also played with the Chicago Sym-phony Orchestra. He recalled how oneday conductor Fritz Reiner summonedhim to his office. "I kept my appoint-

ment with him and he told me, 'Mr.Christian, you are going to be my snaredrummer.' I replied, 'Dr. Reiner, I amnot going to be your snare drummer!' Inthose days they were only paying $90 - 95per week for a percussion player. I toldhim I could make more money in oneday than I could working a whole weekwith the Symphony. He got mad andchased me out, but I would still playextra man for him occasionally.

"One time I had a little tambourineroll to make in a Debussy piece.'Brrrrrp': That was it. Reiner was con-ducting and we got to my part and noth-ing came out! I went to Frank's DrumShop and got a very light sandpaper toglue all around the head. So at the per-formance the next day, I went 'brrrrrp,'and it was there. Fritz Reiner, who usedto be a percussionist—a bad one—beforehe became a great conductor, said, 'Itsounded good. That's it!' [A big grinspread across Bobby's face as he remem-bered. ]

"I decided I wanted to see if I couldget a New York [Musicians Union] card,so I quit my jobs in Chicago and went to

New York. It took me about a year tomake it. Then I went to see my old bossfrom Chicago, Dr. Roy Shields, who hadpromised me a job in New York after Igot my card. Unfortunately, what he wasgoing to give me fell through, but he toldme to go see Paul Whiteman, who wasrehearsing over at ABC. So I went to seePaul.

"I was standing at the door there whilehe was conducting. He turned around,looked at me, stopped the band and said,'By God! Bobby Christian!' He came upto me, hugged me, and said, 'You starttomorrow!' He kept his word!

"This was back in 1955," Bobby con-tinued. "I had two radio shows in NewYork: Tales Of Tomorrow and TheMeredith Wilson Show. I wrote themusic for both of them for two years.But I didn't like New York—it was a realjungle, even though the people werenice. So I came back to Chicago and justtook it easy for a year. Then I decided todo some calls and I got all my workback." Around this time, Bobby alsotoured the Far East with the ToscaniniSymphony of the Air.

"Beginning around 1960, I started todo a lot of writing for Dick Schory andhis Pops. We used about eight percus-sionists and a fifteen-piece orchestra anddid most of our concerts for Ludwig. Inthose days, Dick Schory was one of thebig guys at Ludwig, promoting their new'total percussion' emphasis. We werefairly innovative at that time. We didarrangements of classical, jazz, bossanova—it was really great. We used to doour own compositions and arrange-ments, where one of the guys would haveto go from xylophone to timpani in eightbars and have to run like mad. Boy, didthat look great! We could have used twoor three sets of chimes around the stage,but no, we just had that one set!"

Michael Balter, a drummer/percus-sionist in Chicago and president of MikeBalter Mallets, recalls the first time hesaw the Dick Schory Percussion Popsperform at the first Ludwig Symposiumin the mid-1960s. "I was fourteen yearsold and studying drums with Roy Knapp,who recommended that I attend theweek-long happening at NorthwesternUniversity. The highlight of the weekwas the Friday night concert featuring

the Percussion Pops with their drummerJoe Morello, and percussionists TomDavis, Gary Burton, and Bobby Chris-tian. How's that for a percussion/drumsection?!

"The final number had a large 'boom'from the concert bass drum on thefourth beat of every eighth measure.Each of the three percussionists had toliterally run to pick up the beater andplay a fff on the bass drum from theopposite end of the stage.

"The tune was coming to a climax,and Bobby Christian was doing most ofthe running on stage. The last percus-sionist to play the bass drum did notleave the beater on top of the drum, buttook it to his next instrument instead.Now, Bobby went to the bass drum forthe final note. He looked around for thebeater and spotted it on the oppositeside of the stage. He ran as fast as possi-ble to get the beater. He had only fivebeats until the final solo bass drumboom. Bobby, without hesitation, woundup like a baseball pitcher and threw thebeater across the stage!"

Bobby laughed as he remembered theoutcome. "What do you think? It wasright on the button! Ask Maurie Lishon,he'll tell you about it. We used to writethese things on purpose!"

Maurie Lishon concurs. "I have seenBobby perform percussion gymnasticsbeyond description. At times I even sug-gested that he try some of his lightning-like instrumental segues on rollerskates!"

Mike Balter continues, "It was, indeed,a miracle that the beater landed right onbeat 4. It brought the entire audience toits feet. After the concert I questionedBobby, 'How did you know when to throwthe beater?' He replied, in a typicalChristianism, 'Well kid, if you want toknow, you'll have to take lessons fromme!' So, in turn, I did.

"Of course, my first question was,'How did you do that?' Bobby replied,'First we start with the quarter note...'and we proceeded to learn the basics.For almost twenty-five years I joked withhim about hitting the bass drum right onbeat 4. He always said the same thing—even the last time I saw him. 'You're notready to know the answer yet!' andsmiled that big smile of his."

It was during his years of performingwith Dick Schory that people began tocall Bobby "Mr. Percussion." He mod-estly elaborated, "I did all the writing,and they used to come to the concertsand watch me perform. There weresome tough things we used to dothen—really hard—but it was great!"

During the last twenty years, BobbyChristian had been doing one of thethings he enjoyed the most—giving clin-ics for aspiring musicians throughoutthe country and even overseas. Besidesteaching them to make a correct drumroll, how to tune timpani, and the rightapproach to playing bells and chimes,Bobby loved to show them some of his"tricks," among other things.

"Sometimes I would walk into the stu-dio and the producer would ask mewhere my tenor drum was," relatedChristian. 'Oh, you want a tenor drumsound?' I'd ask. 'Yes. Where is it?' he'dpersist. 'I've got it, don't worry,' I wouldsay. Then I'd take a snare drum and putit directly on a small timpani, which Ihad tuned to a low pitch, maybe a D.Then I would play on the timpani head.

The sound that produces is ten times asbroad and loud as they want it.

"If they wanted a drum that soundslike a Revolutionary War field drum, Iwould take a snare drum and put it on astand. Then I would take one of thosesuction cups that come with toy guns,and put it in the center of the drum. Itbrings the pitch down a fifth. Try itsometime!" Bobby exclaimed.

"Another way to make a large snaredrum sound if you don't have a snaredrum with you is to take a triangle andput it right in the middle of a timpani.Then you play about three or four inchesfrom the edge of the timpani with sticks,and you get a big field drum sound. Itsounds like ten drummers! People alwayssay, 'Why didn't I think of that?'

"I'll tell you another triangle story. Itake a triangle and set the bottom of it onthe timp head. Then I move the pedal upand down while I strike the triangle—itsounds like a cuica! I have a million ofthese things!"

Bobby Christian proceeded to explainhow he got a rattlesnake sound by string-ing up a lot of beads, laying them on thetimpani, and rolling on the head withdrumsticks while moving the pedal up

and down. Or how he got a werewolfsound by holding a big bell about an inchover the timpani, striking it hard, andhaving the engineer bring up the soundwhile he moved the pedal. Or how helaid a cowbell on the timpani head andstruck it while moving the pedal.

What about a gong? "There's a lot youcan do with a gong. You can play it in thecenter and just get a bell-like sound. Youcan play it off the center and get a differ-ent tone. Play it on the edge and you getyet another sound. You don't have to buythree or four gongs—you only need one.

"Have you noticed that when gongplayers hit a gong forte, it goes [Bobbyclapped his hands] 'bah,' and then itresponds? But I've got a trick: use twogong beaters. Put one against the gong,and hit the mallet that's on the gongwith the other one and pull it away realfast. Then it's right on the button andyou get the full sound.

"Did you ever notice that most gongstands are made in the wrong shape,usually bent or round? It should bemoon-shaped. For example, if the band'splaying and you have a roll and every-body's going to stop, you've got to beable to get around it. Use your knees andyour hands and you'll get a real seccostop without any extraneous sound.

"I have a friend in London," he added."Nigel Shipway is his name, and he'shad the Cats show for about ten years.He's using all my tricks and getting thework there!"

If Bobby Christian could give a clinicto all the young percussionists out there,what points would he have emphasized?"The first thing I want to get across—besides learning the first thirteen rudi-ments—is that they learn to read welland hold the sticks properly. Fingerdrumming is all right, but it's not natu-ral. So I tell them to play authentically,with either the matched or traditionalgrip-

"Secondly, I would ask them to workon their drum rolls, because if they don'tdo that, they're out of business. The nextthing I would ask of them is, if they'regoing to play timpani, they must knowtheir chords first. Learn intervals andsing them. You have to know solfege inorder to tune to minor thirds, majorthirds, and so forth. That's my approachto this type of drumming with kids."

And he knew the "kids." In fact, even

up until the time of his death, Bobby wasstill giving lessons to nine students,ranging in age from 18 to 35. Frombeginners to intermediate, they stillcame to study with the Master himself.

One of his former students is JimCatalano, currently the marketing man-ager for Ludwig. Jim remembers study-ing with Bobby from 1975 to '77 while hewas attending Notre Dame. "I waspreparing for my master's recital.Instead of working on the technicalitiesof the Carter timpani solo or the Cres-ton, Bobby would work on the tonalitiesand the recording techniques ofclaves—practical things that would bereally important in music, rather thanjust the recital pieces."

Another person who was greatly influ-enced by Bobby Christian was his owngrandson, John Nasshan, Jr. "I will neverforget when I was in the first grade andGramps and I walked through the snowto my school so he could hear me playsnare drum in the band concert," recallsJohn. "I don't know how we sounded, buthaving my grandfather in the audiencemade me feel like we were the New YorkPhilharmonic."

Bobby Christian's long and distin-guished career was recognized in 1989when the Percussive Arts Society induct-ed him into their Hall of Fame. "I wasthrilled," he enthused. "It was great tobe able to speak at the banquet in frontof so many of my peers. PAS is a greatidea, and they've got the right peoplerunning it now, a bunch of young fellowslike Vic Firth and John Beck." Duringthat same year, PAS also inducted hislong-time friend Maurie Lishon into theHall of Fame.

Bobby Christian liked classical musicand good jazz. Who were some of hisfavorite drummers? "Lou Bellson plays anice, neat rock, and Ed Shaughnessyplays the whole thing," Bobby said. "Ofcourse, the daddy of them all was BuddyRich! This guy was great. It used to killme when some drummers would nudgeme and say, 'Bob, he's rushing.' And I'dsay, 'What's the difference? He's justrushing about a half inch. That's a lift.'

"Good timpani players are Vic Firthand Solly Goodman. And there's a drum-mer from New York—Buster Bailey. Thisguy is something else. He's the only onewho can play a real snare drum roll. Infact, Buster and myself were the only

ones who had what we call a real 'Ameri-can Roll.'

"I'll tell you a story about the roll: Iwent to do a jingle date and it opened upwith a snare drum solo for two bars. Ithought, 'Boy am I going to show thisconductor what I can do! I'm really goingto make a great roll.' So I started to play,and he interrupted me to ask me what Iwas doing. Then he started again, and Iplayed the worst roll I could think of.And he said, 'That's it!' I'd practiced allthose years to make a good roll and, all ofa sudden, my big chance comes and theconductor says, 'Give me the other roll.'Isn't that funny?"

When asked what his favorite percus-sion instrument was, Bobby hedged thequestion by telling a story about GeorgeGaber (percussion instructor emeritusat Indiana University). "I told him oncethat if I just concentrated on one instru-ment, like timps, I'd cut him to pieces."Bobby held an imaginary cigar in onehand, and in a voice imitating that of Mr.Gaber, said, "We-e-e-ell, I don't knowabout that." Following a hearty chuckle,Bobby continued, "If you concentrate onone instrument, you're going to play itwell. But don't forget that we have to playxylophones, bells, chimes, timps—allthat just to make money.

"But I guess my favorite is vibes—jazzvibes," Bobby finally confessed. Bobbywas a Ludwig/Musser clinician andendorser for many years during the1960s and 1970s, and re-joined them asan active clinician again just a few yearsago.

"I've been working on some new vibemallets for almost ten years," Bobbyconfided. "If you have four sticks andthey're medium/medium soft, and youhit the vibes, the sound goes 'bah-ong.'It's almost an afterthought. But whenyou play with these mallets, the sound isright there. Without divulging too many'trade secrets,' they're not wrapped. Themallets are made of rubber. Nigel Ship-way is having them made in England."

Mallets that are currently available(through Malcolm Publishers) are theBobby Christian Super Segue TimpaniMallets. Bobby elaborated, "You can usethem if you have a multiple drum piece.It's like a piano mallet—it's got a rubberpiece on top so you can make one-hand-ed rolls, and a felt hammer on the otherside. You can go from a quick snare

drum roll to a suspended cymbal roll tothe xylophone or vibes." Christian'sdemonstration of the mallet's capabili-ties was truly incredible.

"What I like to do is invent sounds,"Bobby said. "I call that the 'natural' wayof doing things. Instead of going toHawaii and buying a Hawaiian drum, orgoing to China and buying a Chinesetom-tom, I invent sounds. There are cer-tain things you've got to buy—like a belltree or a gong. But then I stopped buyingthings. I just started creating the soundsout of the instruments I already owned."

Bobby Christian was very excitedabout an upcoming project he was work-

ing on. "I'm going to cut an album inJanuary in Vegas," he explained. "I'mgoing to use the Vegas musicians, andIt's going to feature yours truly through-out the recording on vibes. And I'm evengoing to play a drum solo!"

Bobby's unexpected death will leave anempty record slot on our shelves, but notin the souls of all those musicians that hetouched. "Half the names I'm going torecall are names of musicians that thekids have forgotten about or don't evenknow," he lamented once. But BobbyChristian is one percussionist who will beremembered for a long time to come.

RECORDINGS

Ritual Beating SystemAxiom 314-510 856-2CARLINHOS BROWN: gtr, vcl, percOLODUM: drWAYNE SHORTER: sxHERBIE HANCOCK: pnoBERNIE WORRELL: orgHENRY THREADGILL: flLARRY WRIGHT,DAVID CHAPMAN: bucketsTONY WALLS: drRetrato Calado; Capitao Do Asfalto;The Seven Powers; Uma Viagem DelBaldes De Larry Wright; Olodum;

Guia Pro Congal; Gwagwa 0 De;

Follow Me; Nina In The Womb OfThe Forest

This is yet another f ineAxiom release featuring thecross-pollination of musiciansfrom diverse backgrounds andcultures. Where else wouldyou find Hancock and Shortercollaborating with Braziliandrum troupe Olodum, exPaliament-Funkadelic organistWorrell, and street drummersWright, Chapman, and Walls?

The heart of Ritual Beating

System is rhythm. (Surprise!)Olodum sets up a pulse onmost of the tracks, allowingthe soloists to weave themelody through the music.Worrell's romantic organ workis particularly outstanding.

"Uma De Viagem..." fea-tures the three street drum-mers on what sounds like bigoverturned pickle buckets.One plays a single-stroke rollostinato, while the secondplays a neo-hip hop grooveand the third bashes odd per-cussion. Some licks are traded,with the piece finally ending ina street-style, single-line drumcadence. The drummers reallycoalesce on "Follow Me,"another funky piece of metal-meets-plastic boogie—in-spired, soulful grooving.

Brazilian singing, jazz solo-ing, group drumming (bothrural and urban), sci-fi moviesounds, and cool B-3 organ allcontribute to the aural trancethat is Ritual Beating System.

• Ken Micallef

Manhattan BluesSweet Basil 7301-2

LEW SOLOFF: trp

GEORGE YOUNG: sxDAVID MATTHEWS: pnoEDDIE GOMEZ: bsSTEVE GADD: drJOHN SCOFIELD: gtrBlues March; St. Louis Blues; Man-

hattan Blues; Sweet Basil Blues;

Blues In The Night; Basin Street

Blues; Bag's Groove

Manhattan BluesMANHATTAN JAZZ QUINTET REUNION

This selection of sevenrather recognizable blues cel-ebrates the reunion of theshort-lived Manhattan JazzQuintet, lead by pianist DavidMatthews, and with the addi-tion here of guitarist JohnScofield on three tracks. FromBenny Golson's classic "BluesMarch," which includesGadd's tasteful marching fla-vor at beginning and end, toMilt Jackson's (from the otherMJQ) famous "Bag's Groove,"what we have here is someaggressive, straight-ahead jazzconvincingly performed by fiveguys well versed in bop.

Though every tune here isblues-oriented, this MJQ man-ages to draw you in with a vari-ety of grooves that feel sogood—from the painfully slow"Basin Street Blues," toMatthews' "Manhattan Blues,"where the horns burn abovethe fire set by the Gadd/Gomezcollaboration. As a matter offact, this entire recording is

For Crying Out Loud

Virgin 4-91716

KENNY MUGWUMP: vclMICHAEL CROSS: gtrTIM CROSS: bsVlN E.: dr

Faith Farm; Loudhouse; Super Soul

Killer; TV. Babies; Neon Angels;

Torpedo Factory; Punching Clown;

Shy Animals; My Dad's Bigger Than

Your Dad; King Among The Ruins;Smoke On The Water

With the dissolution ofJane's Addiction, it was only amatter of time before anotherband picked up the gauntlet.Loudhouse shares the samedissonant, guitar-driven spiritas J.A., Mugwump's echoingvocal style more than bows toPerry Farrell, and drummerVin E. obviously comes fromthe same school as StephenPerkins.

But bands could do a lotworse than sound like Jane'sAddiction, and writing Loud-house off as a clone would bean injustice. There's someserious rockin' here, and VinE. lends a percussive propul-sion most drummers in thisgenre either fail to match ordon't even attempt.

BAHIA BLACK

MANHATTAN JAZZ QUINTET

LOUDHOUSE

admirably anchored by arestrained Gadd, who nonethe-less demonstrates his totalcommand of the bop idiom,similar to some of his earlierwork with Chick Corea.

There's some heavy-dutymusicianship displayed here,by a group quite capable ofpulling it off in the tradition ofBlakey's early Messengers.This is one reunion certainlyworthy of celebration. (SweetBasil Records, c/o PPI Enter-tainment Group, Newark, NJ07105)

• Mark Hurley

A steady meter only en-hances the energy, and Vin E.uses a snappy snare and tribaltom work to lift the band intoHendrix-like passages. Thedrumming is at its best whenallowed to let loose under afunk foundation. Open here tomore scrutiny because there'sno rhythm guitar track to backthe solo—just bass anddrums—Loudhouse comesoff deliciously raw.

Washed-out cymbal tonesenhance the atmosphere inthe close of "Torpedo Fac-tory," while an energeticrhythm section beefs up"Punching Clown." Though"T.V. Babies" is too toneddown musically for the bandto handle effectively, it's justone flaw on a surprisinglyeffective record.

• Matt Peiken

Open Up (Watcha Gonna Do ForThe Rest Of Your Life)

Columbia CK 47383GREGORY DAVIS, EFREM TOWNS: trpROGER LEWIS, KEVIN HARRIS: sxCHARLES JOSEPH: tbnKIRK JOSEPH: sousLIONEL BATISTE, JENELL MARSHAL: sndr, bs dr, perc

RAYMOND WEBER: drKENNETH WILLIAMS: congasUse Your Brain; Open Up (Watcha

Gonna Do For The Rest Of Your

Life); The Lost Souls (Of Southern

Louisiana)—Cortege/Do I Have ToGo/Mourning March/Memoirs/TheInquest/Shout; Deore Sceadu (Dark

Shadow); Dominique; Charlie Dozen;Song For Lady M; Remember When;Darker Shadows; Eyomzi

Man, are these guys fun.The ambassadors of N'awlinseclecticism are at it again.Like the city that bred them,their sound can be simultane-ously sacred and profane, andsometimes downright funny.

This time the Dozen (actu-ally a core unit of eight) fea-ture their own compositionsmore than ever before. Thediverse, often surprising writ-ing offers the best forum todate for the band's spicygumbo of jazz, street march,R&B, hymns, funk, and islandrhythms. Part of the disc fea-tures superb kit work byRaymond Weber on tunes like"Use Your Brain," a funkynumber that sounds like Towerof Power marching through amuggy swamp. The majority ofthe cuts, though, are driven bythe Dozen's usual batterie ofBatiste and Marshall tradingduties between snare and bassdrum. Although the duo createan early traditional texture,their drumming is no less"contemporary" than Weber'skit work. This is street drum-ming enriched by a world ofmodern influences.

Night DreamersTimeless SJP 317PETER MAGADINI: drMIKE ALLEN: sxANDRE WHITE: pnoGEORGE MITCHELL: bsJOHN RUDEL perc.A Friendly Imposition; Exchanging

Love; Sunny Side; Giant Steps;

Carolyn; Shutterbug; In A Sentimen-

tal Mood; Stablemates.Being famous for something

is not always a blessing. In PeteMagadini's case, because he isso well known for his books onpolyrhythms, some have cometo assume that polyrhythms areall he does. But as this albumdemonstrates, they are only oneof the spices in his percussivestew.

Magadini's meat 'n' potatoesconsists of solid timekeeping inthe bop tradition. Not onlydoes he not clutter up everymeasure with multiple rhy-thms, but he often plays veryspaciously, maintaining astrong sense of swing with lit-tle more than quarter notes onthe ride cymbal. When he doesthrow in contrasting rhythmshere and there, they tend toproduce a momentary tension,which Magadini then resolveswith basic 4/4.

The album also demon-strates Magadini's full spec-trum of colors and moods. Heuses brushes for delicate shad-ings on ballads as well as to

Everybody's BusinessNova 1940-2BRANDON FIELDS: sx, flWALT FOWLER: trp, keys, flglDAVID GOLDBLATT: keysKEVIN CHOKAN: gtrJOHN PENA: bsLouis CONTE: percTOM BRECHTLEIN, SONNY EMORY,GARY NOVAK: drB Sting; Painted Clouds; Earth Laws;All Fa' Nuthin'; Phone Sax; Slop

Dippin'; Everybody's Business; BlueStar; Guilt By Association; Larry's

World

As on his three previousreleases, The Traveler, OtherSide Of The Story, and OtherPlaces, on Everybody's Busi-ness Brandon Fields againgathers the cream of the LAsession elite and lets themkick some proverbial butt outof his slick yet challengingmusic. Good compositionsand arrangements aimed foryour ears, not just the localWAVE format station, makethis a release that might givefusion a good name again.

THE DIRTY DOZENBRASS BAND

PETE MAGADINI QUINTET

From the reggae rhythms of"Dominique" to the quirkygangster swing of "DarkShadows," the Dozen's fatsound and loping rhythmicfeel lend personality to everystyle they tackle. Loopy, irre-sistible, and thoroughly hip.

• Jeff Potter

BRANDON FIELDS

propel a fast tempo, as he doeson "Giant Steps." His Latinspices are also effective, andhis solos are well constructedand downright memorable.(Timeless Records, 157 Bleeck-er Street, New York, NY 10012,[212] 529-3655)

• Richard Egart

While nothing here is quiteas remarkable as "You Got It"from Other Places, these west-coast honchos do deliver. Theever-boyish Tom Brechtleindoes his best Jimmy Connorsimpersonation on two tracks,working his tubs with puresweat and soul, almost seem-ing to go over the edge comesolo time, but inevitably land-ing smack dab in the groovewhen all's said and done. AndSonny Emory brings his kinet-ic, sharp pocket to a couple oftracks, sounding especiallygood on "B Sting."

The newcomer to this ses-sion is Chicagoan Gary Novak.Gary plays on some diversematerial here, balancing musi-cality with tight, V8-chargedchops. From the sensitivebrush work on "Earth Laws"to the firecracker funk andgut-bucket time feel of "SlopDippin'," Novak puts hismoney where his sticks are.

Fusion, tempered with atouch of fatback, make Every-body's Business an interestingrelease from the L.A. jazzhierarchy. (Nova Records,1730 Olympic Blvd., SantaMonica, CA 90404, [213] 392-7445)

• Ken Micallef

national Band Clinic inNovember, 1989, here Bobbydisplays his technique on avariety of instruments. This iswhy they called him "Mr.Percussion."

Bobby himself explained,"These are not just gimmicks.They are practical things." Hisrepertoire at this particularperformance included: how tomimic the sound of a tenordrum or cuica if you don't haveone with you; how to achieve atrue fortepiano with two trian-gles; how to play claves andmaracas at the same time; howto get two different sounds outof one guiro—the list goes on.Christian also covered hisunique techniques on gong,castanets, cymbals, tam-bourine, vibraslap, chimes,cowbell, and slapsticks.

Mr. Christian's sense ofhumor is evident in all hisdemonstrations, as is hisincredible technique. Althoughthis video isn't exactly a slickstudio production, there arestill many lessons to belearned here.

For those readers who neversaw Bobby Christian work hismagic in person, this would bean invaluable glimpse into hisvast experience and talent.And for those who knewBobby, Tricks Of The Tradewould also be a great videomemory of one of our truepercussion greats.

• Lauren Vogel

phone (as well as marimba)are so spread out, aspiringmallet players must spendquite a bit of time developingspeed and accuracy. Towardsthat end, Emil Richards hasput together this video con-sisting primarily of technicalexercises.

This video is subtitled "forthe Drummer and Percus-sionist." Richards explains atthe beginning that there aregood reasons for these playersto learn mallet instruments—not only to supplement theirincomes, but also to learnmore about such things assong forms. Throughout thepresentation, Richards oftendraws parallels between mallettechnique and drumstick ortimpani technique. All of theexercises involve two malletsonly.

Obviously, one will not com-pletely learn to play malletsfrom watching this video. Itwon't teach you to read, andwhile Richards demonstratesmany of the exercises in sever-al keys, there is no materialincluded to teach scales per se.But used in conjunction with amethod book, or with Rich-ards' own book, Mallet Ex-ercises For The Drummer AndPercussionist, the exercisespresented here will help onegain the physical dexterityrequired for mallet playing.Two segments in whichRichards performs with a band(with Joe Porcaro on drums)offer inspiration to do so.

• Rick Mattingly

Studio 4 ProductionsDistributed by Alfred Publishing Co.

16380 Roscoe Blvd.Van Nuys CA 91410Price: $14.00 (score and cassette)

Designed to showcase a per-former who is adept atboth drumset and marimba,Oceanus would serve equallywell as a performance piece oras an educational aid. Thepackage includes the drum-set/marimba part and a cas-sette with a recorded accom-paniment. One side of the tapehas a complete performance ofthe piece (by Steve Houghton)on one stereo channel, withthe accompaniment on theother. Flip the cassette over,and you have the same accom-paniment, but this timethere's a click track on theother channel.

The percussion part com-bines specific figures thatmust be played with impro-vised sections. The chart iswritten in the style of a per-cussion part used on a filmscore, and the fact that youhave prerecorded music tosync to, as well as a click track,makes this a very realisticpractice tool for players aspir-ing to do studio work.

But it's an excellent piece inits own right, and would workwell as recital material for apercussion major. Completeinstructions for making surethat the audience hears onlythe accompaniment while theperformer also hears the clickare provided. This is a veryworthwhile addition to percus-sion literature, and here's hop-ing there is more to come.

• Rick MattinglyBOOKS

OCEANUSFor Drumset and Prepared Tape

by Wendell J. Yuponce and SteveHoughton

EMIL RICHARDSThe Essence of Playing MalletsInterworld Music

67 Main Street

Brattleboro VT 05301

Time: 60 minutes

Price: $39.95Because the notes on a vibra-

VIDEOBOBBY CHRISTIANTricks Of The TradeWIBC Publishingc/o Malcolm Publishers

P.O. Box 2098Oak Park, IL 60303Time: Approx. 45 minutes

Price: $35.00This videotape shows Bobby

Christian doing what he didbest: sharing his "tricks of thetrade." Recorded live during aclinic at the Western Inter-

the potential of that alloy had also beenachieved.

"B20 bronze has been around for cen-turies. People simply found that it gave agood sound for cymbals and gongs, sothey used it. The same is true of the B8alloy; it was already available on the mar-ket before anyone decided to use it forcymbals. But we got really curious: Whatshould an alloy be to give the optimumpotential specifically for cymbal sounds?So in 1980, we started to search for analloy with a big, rich sound potential. Ittook seven years to develop that alloy."

Why would it take so long?"We started only with ideas of what the

alloy should be like," Robert explains."Then it had to be produced. The differ-ent ingredients had to be melted,poured, and rolled before we could makethe first cymbals and listen to them todetermine their sound potential. Fromthere it was a matter of determining ifthey could be better. For the first twoyears, each change got a step better andmore interesting. But in the third year, itsomehow seemed that not only had wereached the peak of possibilities, but

that things were going backwards. Thatwas a rather difficult time, because wefelt that while the 'peak' that we hadachieved was good, we hadn't reachedour goal yet.

"There were a lot of discussions withthe metallurgists. We were developingthe production technology for the alloy aswe were developing the alloy itself. Ourmetal is made by a Swiss melting androlling company with very efficient labo-ratories and a team of metallurgists usedto getting results. This team had to staymotivated to follow this whole processthrough, and we tried to do our part bymaintaining good communication withthem. But this was also difficult, becausewe were talking about sound and vibra-tion, while they were talking about thechemistry of metal. To develop a mutualunderstanding, we always brought themthe prototype cymbals to listen to. In thatway, they got an understanding of howthe alloy produced sounds in response totheir changes.

"And then suddenly a new possibilitywas found, and the potential of the alloydeveloped rapidly—farther than we everdared to hope. The first cymbals madeout of this metal were very interesting.

But from that point, it took more time toget to full production, because the metalworks now had to start producing thenew alloy in quantity. So the developmentof the Paiste line took years and years.But from the beginning on, we believedthat it was worthwhile to do it."

Despite their own belief in the newalloy, the company was faced with mak-ing the drumming public understandthat this wasn't "just another new line"from Paiste—a company already famousfor having many cymbal lines. As Robertexplains, the company took a very prag-matic look at this problem.

"No matter what we think of a newcymbal, in the end the drummers do thedeciding. Each sound speaks for itself,so the only thing we can do is presentthe sound on the market. Whether ittook eight years of development or eightyyears—if the sound is lousy, drummerswon't be interested. So in the same waythat we took a risk to develop the Paisteline, we also took a risk to put it out onthe market and find out what the reac-tion would be. The reaction has beenmarvelous. So we feel great satisfactionnow."

Paiste has since been able to capitalize

on the development of the Paiste alloy byintroducing the Sound Formula series.This line is made in the company's Ger-man factory, using production tech-niques that help to keep the costs down,yet offer professional quality. The line isalso slightly more limited than the Paisteline in terms of models.

In 1991 the company introduced twonew lines: the semi-pro Alpha (made ofB8 alloy) and the entry-level BrassTones (made of brass). At the same time,Paiste phased out some other lines suchas the 200 and 400 series. But, in defer-ence to "the market," these changes arebeing made slowly. Paiste is keenly awareof market response, because they experi-enced it in a dramatic way a few yearsago.

"We were really expecting that the2002 would sneak out of the market,"Robert explains, "because of the successof the Paiste line and the 3000 series thatwe had introduced just before it. Butwhen we tried to phase 2002s out, therewas such a loud outcry from drummersthat we had to reinstate the series. Thisis proof again that in our business, the

Marketing Paiste cymbals is the spe-cialty of Toomas Paiste. While Robert iscontent to stay in Nottwil, supervisingmanufacturing operations, Toomas trav-els the world, representing the companyto the international market. "The differ-ence between Toomas and myself isamazing," comments Robert, with asmile. "He is born for marketing; I'mborn for production. It gives an optimumcombination of talents."

Toomas's talents are critical to thecompany's success. It's his responsibilityto present Paiste products to the drumconsumer in the most effective mannerpossible. It isn't an easy job. In the cym-bal business—as with almost any type ofcontemporary musical instrument pro-duction—manufacturers have to offersomething new and enticing every cou-ple of years to keep consumer interest.But unless they discontinue somethingat the same time—and let their cus-

tomers know that it's been discontin-ued—eventually they wind up trying tomarket a vast, potentially confusingproduct line. A drummer might notknow where to start.

At the retail level, the dealer has theproblem of what to stock so that drum-mers have choices to listen to. He has tochoose and buy it first—and he may noteven be a drummer.

"Dealers have the biggest problem,"says Toomas. "So this is an area wherewe've tried to help. For over 20 years,we've operated our Sound Centers,staffed with people who are expertsabout cymbals. We offer retailers infor-mation and advice. We also encouragethem to have our competitors' cymbalsavailable for testing too, because onlythis gives a drummer a real opportunityto make an educated decision. He has tohear all the different sound possibilitiesto find out what's good for him personal-

ly."Paiste's recent advertising has under-

scored this "please try them all"approach—eliciting both positive andnegative reactions from the market.

Marketing

drummers always decide. If it were oth-erwise, it would have been very easy toforget the 2002. But it wasn't.

Some feel it is an aggressive, confronta-tional approach. Toomas disagrees."We're just taking a simple, direct, andhonest approach, requesting that drum-mers make their decisions based onwhat they hear—not on what they reador what they are told. We don't say, 'Lis-ten to these three brands, and you willfind that ours is the best.' We say, 'Lis-ten to these three brands. We hope youwill find that ours is the best. But exer-cise your own opinion and make yourown choice.'"

Paiste also recognizes that drummerschoose cymbals for subtle reasons, asRobert describes. "Besides the sound,there are also definite vibrations that adrummer can feel as well as hear. Forsome drummers, this feeling—how theyare getting the sound and vibration—iseven more important than how the cym-bal sounds out in the audience. Eachmodel of cymbal from every differentmanufacturer has its own special charac-ter of sound and vibration. For somepeople, one kind of feeling or characteris more comfortable than somethingelse. This accounts a great deal for

brand loyalty—which is very strong withdrummers when it comes to cymbals."

User loyally can work against a manu-facturer, though, when trying to convincedrummers to try a new type of cymbalthey have not played before. "In order fora drummer to consider changing to anew cymbal," says Robert, "he must firstbe really interested and excited. It's awhole new experience—a whole newprocess of finding out what the cymbalcan do and how it feels. He may evenneed to adjust his technique in certainways. So it must be really promising forhim to do all of this. But again, soundand feeling can motivate this."

Other sources of motivation—such asfashion trends—can also influencedrummers' tastes in cymbals—and man-ufacturers' responses. Such is the casewith Paiste's Color Sound cymbals,which were introduced in 1985, when anemphasis on cosmetics was sweeping thepercussion industry. As Robert puts it,"I'm sure that no cymbal maker wouldever get the idea to make a cymbal andthen put color on it. But there was anundeniable trend on the market. Bands

got more and more visual. First it wasclothes and hair color, and thendrums...and eventually people were ask-ing for colored cymbals. When that trendfaded, the demand for those cymbalsalso faded. Yet there was a certain soundquality in those cymbals that appealed tosome drummers—regardless of the cym-bals' color. Today there are people whoactually favor the Color Sounds—espe-cially the ride and the hi-hats—becausethey have a certain dryness. We stillmanufacture them in limited quanti-ties."

Cymbal ProductionPaiste's cymbal-making facility looks

more like a laboratory than a factory ormanufacturing operation. The bright,airy work areas feature colorful walls,spotless linoleum floors, and large win-dows offering views of the scenic countryjust outside. Where else in the worldmight one look up from lathing a cymbal,glance out the window—and see cowsgrazing in a pasture across the street?And while each hammering station isbuilt into a little sound-proofed alcove,

each alcove has windows with a beautifulview across a lake—so there is still afeeling of spaciousness. This was a veryconscious decision by Paiste, as Robertexplains. "Everything is designed to cre-ate the right feeling—a pleasure inworking—because the work itselfrequires a lot of concentration. It's notjust pushing buttons."

Speaking of concentration, a lot of thatgoes into the creation of Paiste cymbalsbefore any actual manufacturing is done."We determine what each cymbal isgoing to be before the start of produc-tion," says Robert. "And every cymbalthat's manufactured is compared alongthe way with original prototypes, forwhich every detail is recorded and speci-fied. That way, we're always sure that thesame process is followed again andagain. Nothing is accidental."

This constant comparison to proto-types allows Paiste workmen to produceany given model of cymbal in a consis-tent manner. This consistency amongmodels has been the hallmark of thePaiste brand. But Robert is quick topoint out that, while a drummer wouldfind consistency within a given series,each cymbal still will have its own char-acter.

"The term 'consistency' shouldn't bemisinterpreted. We think it's importantthat the sound character is consistentwithin a given model of cymbals. Forexample, if we have three different crashtypes in the same size, all cymbals madefor each type are consistent in that theydon't start to sound like one of the other

types. But within each individual model,there is still a difference. It's not exactlythe same total sound, because our cym-bals are the result of hand work—andthat can't be totally the same. There willbe infinite subtle varieties."

Cymbals begin life as disks of bronzealloy—cast, poured, rolled, and cut toPaiste's exacting specifications by aSwiss rolling mill. A mechanical press isused to press the bell, or cup, of thecymbal-to-be into each disk. "Each cym-bal type has its own size of cup," saysRobert. "The cup's diameter—in pro-portion to the diameter of thecymbal—influences the sound."

After the cup is pressed in, the diskgoes to the only totally automaticmachine in Paiste's entire manufactur-ing operation. It is used to trim eachcymbal disk into absolute roundness andsmooth its edge before it goes to behammered. From that point on, eachcymbal undergoes a series of meticulousoperations performed by skilled crafts-men.

Hammering is the most critical aspectof Paiste's cymbal-making process, asRobert describes. "Aside from the bell,the entire shape of the cymbal is ham-mered out. Each operator must know theproper hammering combination for eachmodel and line he's working on. And hemust be able to achieve that combinationwith his own skill. There are no tem-plates here—no guides to go by. Theinformation is written down on the datacards for the cymbals, but must be real-ized physically by the skill of the work-

man."Why is the hammering operation so

critical to the creation of a Paiste cym-bal? "I will answer that question rathercarefully," says Robert, "because everymanufacturer has his own system. Butwhat is obvious is that through the ham-mering, the metal is compressed. Themolecular structure of the cymbal at thehammer point gets denser than atunhammered points. This influences thevibrations within the cymbal that give thesound a certain character, color, ortouch.

"Besides the hammering," addsRobert, "whether a cymbal sounds highor low is also determined by the shape ofthe bow, and by the cymbal's overallthickness to begin with. These threeparameters are interchangeable, giving awide variety of factors to use for deter-mining a cymbal's sound."

Not every cymbal is hammered thesame way, nor at the same time in itsproduction sequence, nor even as manytimes. "With special sound types," saysRobert, "there's a first hammering andthen a first lathing. Then the cymbalcomes back for re-hammering, and thenit goes up again for the finish lathing. Itdepends on the kind of sound and what-ever process is needed. Sometimes it'svery complicated."

Initial hammering takes place on ahydraulic machine. The operator sits ina sort of bucket seat, controlling thehammer beat with his right foot on apedal. "He's also telling the machinehow hard to strike," says Robert. "As hepresses the pedal down, the hammerbeat gets stronger. He can change fromvery soft hammering to very hard ham-mering. In addition, he holds and rotateseach cymbal in his hands. In that way, hecontrols the hammer pattern—makingthe hammer strikes distant from eachother, or very close together. Each ham-mer operator has a master prototype tocompare the cymbal he is hammering to.The shape and tension all around has tobe the same so that you don't get differ-ent sounds from different places on thecymbal.

"When we were hammering all of ourcymbals by hand only," Robert continues,"the hammering was much more diffi-

cult in the afternoon than in the morn-ing—simply because the hammerersbecame fatigued. Our system now pro-vides the same effect as hand-hammer-ing—but with much better control. And,as a matter of fact, after this process,each cymbal is hammered by hand. Thishelps to fine-tune the cymbal for even-ness of pitch and tonality—and alsomakes sure that the edges are completelyflat all the way around. That is importantfor the lathing operations to come."

The removal of metal from the cym-bals is yet another hand-controlled pro-cess. The cymbals are mounted on arotating disk—in order to add speed tothe operation. But the operators hold thelathing blades in their hands. There is ahorizontal track on which they can restthe blade, but they employ no mechani-cal guides, templates, or pressure moni-tors of any kind. How much metal theyremove, and where they remove it, isentirely dependent on their skill with theblade. Each operator shaves a bit ofmetal off, then checks the cymbal with amicrometer. This operation is repeateduntil the correct thickness is achieved onall areas of the cymbal.

"Some people think that the bow, orprofile, of the cymbal, is made by thelathing," comments Robert. "But as I'veexplained, the shape is hammered out.It's a very important difference. Lathingjust takes metal off to certain thicknessspecifications for each cymbal type."

Even though the demands of manufac-turing require a certain output level,Paiste's workers don't rush. They takecare, working steadily and with concen-tration. "They have to concentrate," saysRobert, "because the tolerance in thick-ness we require from the lathing is plusor minus one hundredth of a millimeter.And the tolerance in the shape from thehammering is plus or minus one tenth ofa millimeter. So they really have to watchwhat they're doing." Wouldn't it be easi-er to use high-efficiency machines toachieve these tolerances? Robert doesn'tthink so. "We are concerned with crafts-manship, which requires the work of liv-ing craftsmen. We only use machines tohelp as long as the human factor is notdisturbed. It's always a fine line."

Both economically and ecologically

prudent, Paiste collects the metal that isshaved off the cymbals and sells it backto the metal mill. Although it is not usedagain for cymbal manufacture, it can beused for other purposes.

Following the final lathing, each cym-bal gets a protective wax coating, and theappropriate Paiste logo is stamped on.But the cymbal must undergo one moreoperation before it's ready to ship, whichis..."the sound test," says Robert, with asmile. "We test every cymbal, withoutexception. We always do it in the morn-ing, when our testers' ears are rested.Each cymbal is put on a stand and com-pared in sound to the prototypes. Wecheck by ear, and by stick feeling."

According to Robert, three to five per-cent of the cymbals produced don't makethe grade. But, as he puts it, "This hap-pens because it's hand work. Somebodyhas a bad day, or had a long night before.Or there can be a flaw in the metal itselfthat only shows up after we've started tocut the metal off. Or sometimes we justhear it." Cymbals that pass the final testgo to the warehouse, to be shipped to

customers all over the world.

It seems ironic that a product with areputation among drummers for high-tech manufacture and cutting-edgeinnovation is actually created betweenpastured hillsides and a pristine lake in asleepy Swiss village. Robert Paiste addsto this irony personally, because he livesin a house on the factory grounds—"Like a farmer on his land," as he putsit. "We could never have our productionin a typical industrial area. We have astrong belief that our natural surround-ings help this kind of work.

"All together, we are a very crazy com-pany," comments Robert. "We are pro-ducing sounds, and the development ofsounds is not a cut-and-dried science.Our production is still very primitive, bymodern industrial terms. We could makemore cymbals with less people if we usedmore 'modern' systems—but we don'twant to. Perhaps that's old-generationthinking in this day and age, but that'swhere tradition has its roots."

LP Gajate BracketLP's new Gajate bracket allows small,mountable instruments like cowbells tobe played with a bass drum pedal. LatinPercussion, Inc., 160 Belmont Ave.,Garfield, NJ 07026.

Aquarian's new Power-Sleeve hickorydrumsticks mold nylonex—a nylon-basedmaterial—onto the sticks at the tip andrimshot area for added wear. Aquarianclaims this new method won't adverselyaffect sound, and that the new sticks arepriced competitively with other manufac-turers' top-line products. AquarianAccessories, 1140 N. Tustin Ave.,Anaheim, CA 92807, (800) 473-0231.

The Rock N' Roller is a portable combi-nation hand truck/dolly that is designedto carry large amounts of equipment.According to the makers, the Rock N'Roller carries up to 500 pounds of gear,fits into small car trunks, and easilyclimbs stairs. It features 10" pneumatictires, a non-skid surface, and caster

Aquarian Power-Sleeve Sticks

Innovative DrumConcepts RiserInnovative Drum Concepts' new drumriser was specially created for drummerswith racks or cages. The rack measures4' x 4'x l' and features heavy-duty corners,handles, latches, casters, and aluminumedging. Models are available that alsoinclude a mic' cable patch board and

Rock N' Roller

Vic Firth has introduced its new 12-page,full-color catalog, featuring all of thecompany's products. For a free catalog,contact Vic Firth, Inc., 323 WhitingAve., Unit B, Dedham, MA 02026, tel:(617) 326-3455, fax: (617) 326-1273.

New Firth Catalog

snake, making setup even faster. Unitsfold in half for transport, and I.D.C.offers personal service for individualneeds. Innovative Drum Concepts,2175 Pantages Circle, RanchoCordova, CA 95670, (916) 631-0715.

Evans' new Genera G-2 clear, double-plytom heads were designed primarily forgeneral to heavy-duty playing situations.Evans claims the heads tune easily, arevery consistent from head to head, andfeature a deep, focused sound. EvansProducts, Inc., P.O. Box 58, 201 W.

Nomad Cases, Inc. has acquired theassets of the PowerTip maple drumstickcompany and has moved the factory toNiagara Falls, Ontario. Nomad says it

Apache Drums are made individually inEngland of .064"-thick, brightly polishedannealed stainless steel. Apache says thisparticular type of steel was chosenbecause of its durability and strength,without excess weight. The makers claimthe drums are unique in appearance andsound, and that they project high volume.

Apache drumshells have 180° folds ateach end to add rigidity and work asaccurate bearing edges. All hardware isheavy-duty. Chrome-plated die-casthoops and lugs, adjustable bass drum

Evans Genera G-2Tom Heads

The new, 36-page Mapex catalog featuresdescriptions of all the company's drum-sets in English, German, French, Italian,and Spanish. Mapex Percussion, P.O.Box 748, Effingham, IL 62401.

Mapex "World Beat"Catalog

brakes, extends to 54" in length, andweighs 33 lbs. Rock N' Roller, 3906Sandshell Dr., Fort Worth, TX 76137,tel: (817) 847-5400, fax: (817) 847-6319.

Nomad Cases OffersPowertip Sticks

Jeanius Electronics' Russian Dragonvisual tempo indicator is now available ata lower cost, due to Jeanius's merger withTexas-based electronics firm AudioEngineering. The merger is said tostreamline production of the unit. Toorder the product, call (800) 880-8776;for technical information, call (512) 525-0719. Jeanius Electronics, 2815Swandale, San Antonio, TX 78230.

Russian DragonLowers Price

Trail, Dodge City, KS 67801, tel: (316)225-1308, fax: (316) 227-2314.

Apache StainlessSteel Drums

plans to consolidate distribution of thesticks and expand its export position inNorth America, Europe, and the Far East.For more information, contact Nomad'spresident, Bill Filek, at Nomad Cases,Inc., 108 Duncan St., Welland,Ontario, Canada L3B 2E2, tel: (416)734-4414, fax: (416) 734-3313.

spurs and floor toms legs, and customracks are available. Apache states that anysize drum can be custom-ordered andwill be manufactured in less than twoweeks. Colored steel drums will be avail-able in mid-'92. Apache Drums, P.O.Box 25, Mortimer, Berkshire, EnglandRG7 3XL, tel: (0734) 834852, fax:(0734) 342068.

Robinson Percussion's Septimbre snaredrum incorporates a triple strainer system,making it possible to individually or incombination use gut, cable, and wiresnares on a single drum. Robinson claimsthat, in addition to its being versatile, theSeptimbre snare is also powerful yet sensi-tive. Robinson Percussion, 517 SECountry Lane, Lee's Summit, MO64063, (816) 524-9105.

describe as a long 5A with a small, cap-sule-shaped tip like their 737 model's.The stick is 16 1/8" long, and its diameteris 9/16". Pro-Mark says the 717 is good fora variety of uses, from rock to jazz. Pro-Mark Corp., 10707 Craighead Dr.,Houston, TX 77025-5899, tel: (713)666-2525, fax: (713) 669-8000.

Robinson SeptimbreSnare Drum New Pro-Mark

Stick ModelsPro-Mark has introduced its new SD-20N Super Bounce maple, nylon-tipdrumstick. The stick measures 16" longby 5/8" in diameter and resembles thecompany's 2B in diameter, but tapersdown to a 7A tip size. Pro-Mark claimsthe stick is lively yet lightweight and easi-ly controllable.

Also new from the company is their717 wood-tip hickory stick, which they

Yamaha Sounds of Summer MusicCamp Program '92 (Marching Percussionand Wind Camp, with Drumset Clinic.Contact Yamaha's Band & OrchestralDivision at 3445 East Paris Ave., S.E., P.O.Box 899, Grand Rapids, MI 49512-0899.)

United States Percussion Camp, July5-11, Eastern Illinois University,Charleston, IL (Marching and LatinPercussion, plus Drumset Camp. ContactJoseph Martin, Director, Eastern MusicCamp, Eastern Illinois University,Charleston, IL 61920.)Thelonious Monk Jazz Drum

Competition, October 24 and 25,Washington, D.C. (International drum-ming competition open to young drum-mers. Scholarship prizes of $10,000 forfirst place, $5,000 for second, $3,000 forthird. Contact Shelby Fischer at [202] 895-1610.)

Music West, May 1-4, Vancouver Tradeand Convention Center, B.C., Canada.

The Percussive Arts Society's new inter-national headquarters in Lawton,Oklahoma will house administrativeoffices and a museum. The museum willdisplay instruments that have been donat-ed to the society over the years, as well asrecent donations by Emil Richards andMurray Spivak. Additional donations arealso being sought. For more information,contact PAS at P.O. Box 25, Lawton, OK73502, (405) 353-1455.

An all-star Latin jazz concert was heldin New York on February 2 in tribute toAntonio "El Cojito" Escollies (pioneer-ing drummer/timbalero in the '20s, '30s,

and '40s) and Frankie Malabe (mastercongero, author, and educator). Proceedswere dedicated to help Malabe with medi-cal expenses related to a life-threateningillness. Individuals wishing to help maycontact Frank Marino in care of the LongIsland Drum Center, 80 Main St., Nyack,NY, (914) 358-5303.

The Drummers Alliance has opened adrum school in Sheffield, England offeringindividual and group tuition and work-shops. For more info, contact ToniCannelli at (0742) 684678, or writeDrummers Alliance at 6, Toyne Street,Crookes, Sheffield, England SIO IHJ.

The American Music Conference hasmoved its office to 444 N. Michigan Ave.,Chicago, IL 60611. New phone: (312) 644-8600, fax: (312) 644-6454.

DCI Music Video and its publishingarm, Manhattan Music, Inc., along withREH Publications, Inc., have mergedwith CPP/Belwin, Inc. to form a newdivision called the CPP Media Group.

Musicians Institute has awarded its

Coming Events

Indy Quickies

(Consumer Show, Conference, and MusicFestival. Featuring Westex instrument andgear exhibit, Music West Conference [sem-inars and workshops for musicians, man-agers, publishers, etc.], and Music WestFestival [showcasing unsigned talent].Contact Bruce Charlap at [604] 684-9338.)

Frederico Percussion endorsers nowinclude Airto, Jim Brock, Ron Bushy,Doctor Gibbs, Gordon Gottlieb, JameyHaddad, Mickey Hart, John "Vatos"Hernandez, Giovani Hidalgo, JoeMorello, Adam Nussbaum, DaveSamuels, Mongo Santamaria, RickySebastian, and Michael Shapiro.

Paul Geary of Extreme, Mark Scott ofTrixter, Mel Gaynor, Matt Sorum, andBobby Rock using LP equipment.

Miami Sound Machine's Robert

Rodriguez using Remo drums, Sabiancymbals, Beato bags, Gibraltar racks,Rhythm Tech tambourines, LP percus-sion, Vater sticks, and Ensoniq electronics.

Cliff Almond and Frank Briggs havejoined Noble & Cooley's endorser list.

Richie Mattalian using Cappellasticks.Jorg Michael of Axel Rudi Pell and

Michael Witzel with Rupert Hine usingMeinl cymbals.

Matt Sorum using DW pedals.Jeff Porcaro and Trilok Gurtu using

Brady snare drums.Russ Miller using Yamaha drums and

electronics.1991's PAS drumset competition win-

ner, Ronnie Manaog, playing DW drums.Liam Jason of Rhino Bucket, gospel

drummer and PIT instructor FredDinkins, and Dirty Looks' James Harrisplaying Slingerland drums.

Tommy Igoe using Premier drums.Peter Erskine and Tony Williams

To mark its 30th anniversary in the alu-minum drumstick and brush business,VeriSonic is sponsoring a "Save TheTrees" recycling program throughout1992. The promotion involves customersreturning two pairs of their used VeriSonicsticks. In return, VeriSonic will underwritethe cost of having a tree planted in thecustomer's name by the National ForestService. Send sticks to 3383-F IndustrialBlvd, Bethel Park, PA 15102. Include yourname and address, and you'll receive acertificate from the National ForestService in recognition of your donation.

Endorser News

first Outstanding Lifetime In Music awardto the members of Rush—Alex Lifeson,Geddy Lee, and Neil Peart.

Recent Yamaha happenings includelive performances at the Tokyo Music Fairby Tony Verderosa, Peter Erskine,Ndugu Chancier, and Akira Jimbo, anda double bill at PIT with Verderosa andTommy Aldridge.

VeriSonicRecycling Program

using Shure mic's.Steve Millington using DW and Vic

Firth products.

TONY WILLIAMS

PLUS:FATES WARNING'SMARK ZONDER

MALE VOCALISTSON DRUMMERS

A DIFFERENT VIEWWITH STANLEY CLARKE

'92 READERSPOLL RESULTS

ADVERTISERS INDEX

ADVERTISERA 440 MusicABK RocksAquarian AccessoriesAtlanta Pro PercussionBerklee College of MusicBison Drum Co.Bostac Co.Calato/Regal TipCappella DrumsticksCorder Drum Co.DCI Music VideoddrumDeven Chase DrumsticksDiscount DistributorsDopple, Inc.

Drum DoctorsDrum Workshop

Drummers CollectiveDrums on SaleDrumst6Evans ProductsFalicon DesignFirchie Drum Co.Fork's Drum ClosetForm Leaders Co., Inc.Gene Piccalo EnterprisesGlenn Weber Drum StudioGorilla Snot

10410190

112681045470767651559745

10577

40/4110710484

1,86965

1059588

10477

ADVERTISER PAGE NUMBER ADVERTISER

HQ Percussion ProductsHot SticksHumes & BergIstanbul/GretschJemm Co.KC DrumworksKAT, Inc.L.T. Lug LockLT SoundLatin Percussion, Inc.Ludwig IndustriesMackie Designs, Inc.Mapex PercussionMD Back IssuesMD Library

MD SubscriptionsMechanical Music Corp./Stick HandlerMeinlMusic DispatchMusic WestMusicians InstitutePaisteParzialePearl Corporation

Play It StraightPrecision Drum Co.Premier

Pro*MarkPureCussion, Inc.RemoRhythm TechRimSHOT DrumsticksRoc-N-SocRoyce PercussionSabianSam Ash Music StoresShureSimmonsSkins & Tins Drum ShopSlap Happy ProductionsSonorStik WorksStixonics DrumstixSuncoast Music DistributingSuper Gloss/Sam BarnardTamaThoroughbred MusicUDU DrumsUnique PercussionUniversal PercussionVater PercussionVic Firth, Inc.Waddell's Cymbal WarehouseYamaha

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MD's 1992Drum ProductConsumers PollIn our January 1986 and January, 1989 issues, MD featured Drum Product Con-sumer Polls. These polls gave you the opportunity to express your opinionsregarding drum-related products on the market and the manufacturers ofthose products. After three years of product development - along with theentry into the market of dozens of new and innovative manufacturers it'stime once again to state your preferences regarding drum and percussionequipment and companies you deal with.

Please take a moment to read the following instructions before recordingyour opinions. Then submit the attached ballot and be sure to include yourname and address where indicated. All ballots must be postmarked no laterthan June 15, 1992. Poll results will be published in our November 1992 issue.

In the past three years, what company has con-sistently provided products demonstrating the bestnew ideas? What company produced products thatwere really both new and useful—as opposed togimmicks or fads? Please include the companynames and examples of their specific products thatled you to vote for them.

What product, introduced since January of 1989,has made your playing life easier, offered you moremusical creativity, or in some other way improvedyour situation more than any other? We're askingfor the specific product, but please be sure toinclude the manufacturer's name and your reasonsfor choosing the product.

1. Most Innovative Company

2. Best Quality And CraftsmanshipWhich companies do you think produce the most

reliable and trouble-free products or equipment?Which companies demonstrate the greatest atten-tion to quality control? Again, please cite specificreasons for your selections.

3. Most Consumer/Service OrientedWhich companies give the best warranty service,

repairs, and replacements? Which have the quick-est deliveries or turnaround time for servicing?Which offer the most information before the sale,in terms of easy-to-use catalogs, informative flyers,

or other consumer-oriented literature? Please giveus examples from your own experience.

4. Most Interesting Ad/Marketing CampaignManufacturers devote a great deal of time and

effort (and no small amount of money) to theiradvertising. We'd like to know which company pre-sented the ad that you found the most intriguing,exciting, original, etc. Whose ad particularly caughtyour attention? Whose ad gave you the incentive toactually go out and examine a product more close-ly? Please describe the particular ad, and give yourreasons for choosing it.

5. Most Valuable Product