Category — Drummers

The Smashing Pumpkins will be celebrating their 20th Anniversary with a tour of theaters around the country, where they will play “special set lists”. Billboard reports that “During multiple-night engagements, for which special ticket bundles will be available, the band promises to not repeat any song on the set lists. The first night of such runs is being dubbed “Black Sunshine,” while the second is called “White Crosses.”

So, yea…I don’t really get the reasons why the tours are named that, but Billy Corgan is pretty much insane now. Before the tour, the band will be playing Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit Concert for the first time since 1999.

I’m not really too interested in the tour, because it’s not a true anniversary since the original members are nowhere to be found. Although if you’re a fan of Chamberlain’s drumming, and don’t mind Iha and D’Arcy being gone, its a good chance to see his drumming skills live.

I know that Chamberlain is a long-time Yamaha drums endorser, but I have seen some photo’s of him playing a pearl drum set. Not exactly sure why, but it is interesting to note. The bands tour dates are as follows…

Nov. 1: Cleveland (Palace Theatre)
Nov. 3-4: Toronto (Massey Hall)
Nov. 6-7: New York (United Palace Theatre)
Nov. 8: Atlantic City, N.J. (Borgata)
Nov. 11-12: Washington, D.C. (DAR Constitution Hall)
Nov. 14-15: Boston (Wang Center)
Nov. 18-19: Chicago (Chicago Theatre)
Nov. 21-22: Chicago (Auditorium Theatre)
Nov. 26: St. Louis (Fox Theatre)
Nov. 30: San Diego (RIMAC Arena)
Dec. 2-3: Los Angeles (Gibson Amphitheatre)

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With a lot of buzz still going strong after the release of the groups new album “Death Magnetic” (which I actually think is pretty good)…It has been announced that the group is being considered for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Billboard reports… “Metallica, Run-D.M.C. and the Stooges lead the list of nine acts up for induction next year into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Five will be chosen in January for enshrinement during an April 4 ceremony at Cleveland’s Public Hall.”

The 2009 ceremony will be the first one open to the public since 1997 and will be held in Cleveland, Ohio the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Metallica has made a lot of missteps over the years, specifically “St. Anger” and the snare drum sound that came with it. Regardless, the band is arguably one of the most important metal bands of all time and also one of the most successful. Also, contrary to what most people say about Lars Ulrich’s drumming, he definitely knows his way around a kit and how to perfectly compliment James Hetfield’s rhythm guitar.

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This past weekend a lot happened, the All Tomorrow’s Parties New York festival took place and while Stereogum has great coverage of it, most of it doesn’t feature any drummers. More importantly, I thought I would  report on the Travis Barker, DJ AM plane crash that occured this past weekend as some new details have emerged.

It is now being reported that a blown tire was the cause of the crash, which killed four people and injured and burned drummer Travis Barker and DJ AM. According to Billboard, “Barker and DJ AM remained in critical but stable condition yesterday; one of their doctors said he expected them to fully recover. Two of the musicians’ close friends and the plane’s pilot and co-pilot were killed when it shot off the end of the runway, ripped through a fence and crossed a highway. It came to rest on an embankment a quarter-mile from the end of the runway, engulfed in flames.”

“Barker was burned on his torso and lower body and DJ AM, whose real name is Adam Goldstein, was burned on an arm and a portion of his scalp, according to a statement from the musicians’ families released by the hospital. Such injuries can take a year to fully heal, however Mullins said he didn’t think it would take that long.”

It seems like they will be back to normal in a year or so, but after having been involved in something like this I can only imagine its pretty hard to get over.  Both Barker and DJ AM are very lucky to have survived.

Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl is one of the featured musician in an upcoming holiday compilation entitled “We Wish You A Metal Xmas And A Headbanging New Year.” The album which is being released by Eagle Rock Records on October 14^th, will include metal renditions of 12 classic Christmas songs like “Grandma Got Ran Over By A Reindeer.”

This album features many unique collaborations such as Dave Grohl, Lemmy and Billy Gibbons on “Run Rudolph Run,” a song made popular by Chuck Berry in the 1950’s. You can here a sample clip of it on their myspace page. Grohl’s drumming is awesome as always. Other awesome drummers on the album include Korn touring drummer Ray Luzier, former White Zombie drummer John Tempesta and Alice Cooper.

And if that doesn’t have you excited, how about “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” performed by Black Sabbath vocalist Ronnie James Dio and Tony Iommi! You’ve never heard this song played right until you’ve heard played by the original riff-master himself.

Get all of the details about the performers on each track here.

This weekend the All Tomorrow’s Parties Fest begins and lasts until Sunday the 21st. The lineup is pretty outstanding and features, among other things, the first performance by My Bloody Valentine in the US in 16 years!

The full lineup can be viewed at the festival’s official site. A large number of great drummers will be at the festival as there are so many amazing bands playing. Among the band’s I’d love to see are…

OM, Polvo, Shellac, MBV, Low, Tortoise, Bardo Pond, The Meat Puppets, Dinosaur Jr, Mogwai, And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead and Bob Mould.

It’s a shame ATP doesn’t get as much press as other festivals, but then again it is not really on the level of Coachella or others like it. All Tomorrow’s Parties is currently SOLD OUT, so if you really want to go and you didn’t get a ticket, either pawn your drum set off or check out eBay. Wish I was going…

Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl spoke to the BBC regarding the band taking an extended hiatus.

Grohl said ” “We’ve never really taken a long break, I think it’s time,”.

The former Nirvana drummer continued: “After doing Wembley [the band played Wembley Stadium on June 6 and 7] we shouldn’t come back there for 10 years because we’ve played to everybody.

“We’re over in the UK every year, every summer, so I think it’s time to take a break and come back over when people really miss us.”

This is sad news for Foo Fighters fans but at the same time the band’s return will probably be well publicized. It also makes sense for the band to go on hiatus at this point in time, considering Dave Grohl and his wife are raising their first child.

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Most drummers know John Blackwell, you’ve either heard or seen him as Prince’s drummer or you’ve seen his instructional videos. Not only is he an amazing player, who combines the best aspects of rock, R&B, hip-hop and funk, but he is also an expert stick-twirler and showman.

“Hudson Music announces the latest addition to its Master Series of drum instruction DVDs — John Blackwell: Master Series.”

“The three-hour DVD is divided into two main sections. In the first section, Blackwell performs with an all-star band and then explains and demonstrates the drum parts. Not only does the master drummer discuss the way the song and groove evolved along with the specific techniques that are involved in the performance, he demonstrates the patterns at normal and slow speeds to provide students with a deeper, fuller understanding of the parts and their musical context.”

If you haven’t yet checked out Blackwell’s drumming I highly recommend doing so online. If you are impressed by what you see his DVD’s are a worthwhile purchase, or at the very least, early ideas for your Christmas list.

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This morning I came across a great article over at Wired.com about the current stage show on Nine Inch Nails latest tour. It is one of the most high-tech setups that has ever toured, features multiple moving “stealth screens” as well as interactive lights and video the band members can actually control on the fly.

“With the song “Only,” for instance, the front, convex screen starts out as solid static. On Reznor’s side of the display, a laser above him detects whenever he crosses a vertical plane paralleling the screen. On the floor, a piece of tape and two tiny LED lights let him know exactly where that plane is.

As Reznor intersects that plane with his hand or body, the laser tracks his X and Y coordinates. The “brain” box then tells the particles to spread out to a predetermined dispersal pattern. Reznor says: “Then it follows me around. If I leave the plane, it fills back in. If I push through, it comes back out.”

Proving that he is the ultimate professional once again, Josh Freese doesn’t just pound out beats on his DW drums, he is turning off and on a drum grid sequencer. “We recreated a grid drum sequencer,” he says. “[Drummer Josh Freese] is actually touching and turning them on and off. But he’s not really touching the screen. He’s crossing the same laser on the back screen, which gets calibrated at sound check.”

These are just a few aspects of the band’s current stage setup, the article is fairly long and well worth the read.

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Metallica’s “Death Magnetic” album hit stores Friday and a lot of buzz is still swirling around about it. I came across something I think a lot of drummers will be interested in.

Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame, as well as Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, interviewed Metallica about their new album “Death Magnetic” and some of the songs were broadcast for the first time during the event. Luckily, it is on YouTube currently and features info about the band’s songwriting process and the general theme of the album.

Let it be known that Dave Grohl should seriously consider getting his own radio show. He is a pretty funny guy, as most people know, but he is pretty hilarious asking Metallica all kinds of questions. You can tell these guys have a mutual respect for one another and Dave Grohl even states that he has been a hardcore Metallica fan since 1984.

Next weekend marks the annual Modern Drummer Festival, which is a two-day event produced by Modern Drummer Magazine. The festival, which features many of today’s top drumming talents as well as seasoned professionals, is the “longest-running, and largest live drumming event in the world.” The event prides itself on mixing education with entertainment, offering attractions such as drum clinics and concerts. The festival lineup includes 25 year-old Thomas Pridgen of The Mars Volta, who is the youngest featured performer at the Modern Drummer Festival.

Tickets are still available for the event which takes place from 1:00-7:30 Saturday, September 20 and Sunday, September 21, 2008 at the State University of New York.

More information about the festival can be found here. More details about each of the performers can be found here.