Category — Drummers

It was reported earlier this year that the drummer of the Strokes, Fabrizio Moretti, had joined up with his girlfriend, Binki Shapiro and singer/songwriter Rodrigo Amarante to form a band called Little Joy. Their album, will be released November 4th on Rough Trade Records, also home to such acts as Arcade Fire, Low and Jenny Lewis.

Check out this interview for interesting tidbits (like how they named their band after a bar down the street from me in Echo Park).

Little Joy will begin a tour this fall, performing with acts such Devendra Banhart and Gregory Rogove’s Megapuss, who Moretti will also be drumming for on tour.

Little Joy Tracklist:
01 The Next Time Around
02 Brand New Start
03 Play the Part
04 No One’s Better Sake
05 Unattainable
06 Shoulder to Shoulder
07 With Strangers
08 Keep Me in Mind
09 How to Hang a Warhol
10 Don’t Watch Me Dancing
11 Evaporar

Little Joy Tour Dates (w/Megapuss):
09-24 San Diego, CA - Casbah
09-25 Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
09-26-27 Big Sur, CA - Festival in the Forest
09-28 San Francisco, CA - The Independent
09-30 Seattle, WA - Neumos
10-01 Portland, OR - Doug Fir

I know it’s a little early to start thinking about Halloween costumes but lately I’ve seen a ton of stores and websites advertising Slipknot masks, its really kind of comical. If your kid or you yourself want to dress up as Joey Jordison for Halloween they now make a mask modeled after the one he wears.

It’s a little bit lame for adults, but I am sure the band is seeing a pretty penny from having people license the right to use Slipknot’s trademark masks. I’m also sure that a lot of people will want them this year, as the band’s latest release “All Hope Is Gone” debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart last week.

A week ago, Lars Ulrich commented on Metallica’s long-anticipated new album, Death Magnetic, being released early via a French record store and leaking to the internet within hours. This week, he gives a little more in an exclusive interview with the drum magazine, Rhythm, which you can read in its entirety in the October 2008 issue. However, in the meantime, (or for those of us who know we are too lazy to ever pick up a real-life magazine) Music Rader gives us a few interesting tidbits to read. Ulrich speaks about working with producer Rick Rubin and how “his whole thing was: ‘We’re not going into the studio until the songs are written. We’re not recording until you can play these songs with your fuckin’ hands tied behind your backs, upside-down, while you’re sleeping…So the studio is not a place of creativity, it’s a place of execution.”

Wow that’s a novel idea, isn’t it? Wish more bands would stick to that philosophy.

I can’t honestly say I’ve heard the new album yet, but something else I think I will appreciate on the new record is that the drums don’t have too many effects. Ulrich mentions that Rubin “likes stuff to be in your face and to sound as organic and natural as possible” and I agree. I want to be able to sit down with the record and feel like the drummer is sitting across from me…a feeling I get when I listen to my 180g copy of In Utero (thanks to Steve Albini). I just find it surprising that someone who has also worked the Dixie Chicks and Justin Timberlake doesn’t want “big fat samples on them and all that shit.” But hopefully Mr. Rubin knows what he’s doing when it comes to saving careers, even if Pitchfork doesn’t seem to think so. After all, if he can do it for Johnny Cash and Neil Diamond, why not Metallica?

Good luck, boys. I’m waiting till Friday to grab your album.

Usually I’m really on top of reporting leaks, especially for big name bands. This time however I’m a few days late, not just because I didn’t know but because I don’t really care that much. Maybe my mind will change once I get to listen to the whole album, but after hearing “Cyanide” and new single “The Day That Never Comes” I just wasn’t really that psyched to hear the rest of the album.

While I cannot legally link to the leaked album, I can direct you to Stereogum’s post about the leak which includes several youtube links compiled in one place.

From what I’ve heard so far, Lars Tama drums are sounding pretty good, as is his drumming…it is the weak and recycled songwriting that ruins the album for me, even though there are some killer riffs. Check out “Unforgiven III” to see what I mean.

Just found a cool article about 13 of Keith Moon’s “essential moments.” As a drummer for The Who, and one of the biggest names in classic rock, Keith Moon didn’t hold anything back. This article recollects some of his most noteworthy moments, everything from the recording of The Who’s famous record Live In Leeds to setting off firecrackers in his drum kit. Moon was known for his eccentricity due to things like driving a Rolls-Royce painted with lilac colored paint. At first thought that seems pretty idiotic, but The Who singer, Roger Daltrey, has mentioned that Moon liked to “take upper-class icons and make them working class.” How awesome is that? A huge rockstar trying to be normal instead of the other way around.

But fans of The Who and rock music in general know that there was more to Moon than just show. Though it is safe to say he was an attention whore, he backed up his antics with killer, innovative drumming. (what’s up with the goldfish?)

Props to someone who was crazy enough that Mike Meyers would portray him in a movie, and could beat the shit out of a drum set like no other.

Nick McBrain, the drummer of Iron Maiden, joined the stage with The Mystic Orchestra’s “Flashback-The Classic Rock Experience” in Florida on Sunday, August 31st. According to the official website, the band consists of 25 world-class musicians who perform a 3-hour show consisting of 30 of the best classic rock songs ever recorded. “Flashback” is a tour that “enhances the original songs by adding richer sounds, intelligent lighting, video animations and special effects.” Artists covered during the performances include Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. Video of McBrain’s appearance for Deep Purple’s song “Smoke On the Water” can be seen here.

According to one fan, “It was like going to the ultimate reunion tour of all time…I encourage any rock fan to definitely check this tour out.” Tickets range from $20-$170 bucks a pop. Remaining tour dates for “Flashback-The Classic Rock Experience” can be found here. Get ready to break out the bong…

When I asked you to name your top 5 drummers, I’m pretty sure Rowan Atkinson was probably not on your list. However, the British actor most famously known for his character Mr. Bean, is actually a pretty amazing drummer. Well, considering his drum set is invisible.

Ok so maybe he still doesn’t make your top 5 list. But hey, at least I kept you entertained for 5 minutes.

This past Friday I received an e-mail from Jon Cohan of All Things Loud telling me to check out his blog. Jon Cohan is a professional drum tech who has worked with The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dropkick Murphy’s, The Vines, Breaking Benjamin and many others. He has also written books, as well as pieces for magazines like DRUM!

Needless to say, his blog is great. He covers topics ranging from studio and tuning techniques to stories from the road. He even shows off some of the setups of the drummers he works with.

He has linked to my site and I thought I would do something in return and post about his blog here. It is something you should check out if you have any interest in drums at all.

Jon Cohan’s All Things Loud Blog.

*(Image courtesy of All Things Loud Blog)

Bumbershoot went down this past weekend in Seattle, WA and pitchforkmedia.com has some great photos and coverage up. They have some great shots of Stone Temple Pilots, T.I, Final Fantasy, Beck, Sons & Daughters and many more.

Also, I had planned on attending one of The Melvins shows at The Troubadour this past weekend, except the shows were canceled. No explanation has been given aside from the statement that the shows were canceled “due to illness.” I plan on going to one of the rescheduled dates and getting some video footage of Dale Crover and The Melvins awesome 2-in-1 kit up here.

Steve Foley, Replacements drummer during 1990-1991 died last week at the age of 49. He was found dead in his home in Minneapolis on August 25th by co-workers from a car dealership where he worked. According to his sister, Colleen Foley, his death was caused by an accidental prescription overdose, as reported in the Minneaplois Star Tribune. Colleen mentioned he was struggling with anxiety and depression recently though he had been sober for the last 15 years. However, his close friend LeeAnn Weimar, a Minneapolis concert promoter defended Steve’s name by claiming: “This is not your typical rock-guy-on-drugs story. He was really struggling, but we know he definitely wasn’t trying to check out.”

Steve Foley had joined the band to replace Chris Mars for Replacement’s farewell tour before their breakup in ‘91. He once told Replacements biographer Jim Walsh that the experience “will always be a treasure in my mind.” “Some days I walk down the street and go, ‘God, I was in that fucking band?’ Unbelievable. It is,” he said.

I don’t know about you, but I still have a few Replacements songs in my playlist and they, along with Steve, will be remembered by many. Notable musicians who have been influenced by Replacement include Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day and They Might Be Giants.

In other horrible news, Cream drummer Ginger Baker has been defrauded for half a million dollars by bank clerk.