Drumtom

Metallica “Ride the Lightning” Converse

DrumTom — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:07:11 +0000

Sport your old school Metallica pride with these Converse All Stars. These kicks feature canvas upper; Classic Metallica graphic print detail at heel and tongue, and canvas-lined with a lightly padded footbed for comfort.

Dave Grohl back Behind the Drum Kit

DrumTom — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:09:47 +0000

Dave Grohl is excited to get back behind the drum kit for his new project, Them Crooked Vultures.

Currently, Grohl is lead singer and plays electric guitar in the Foo Fighters. He was previously known as the drummer in Nirvana.

He has now hooked up with Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age and Led Zeppelin’s bass guitarist, John Paul Jones in a new supergroup, and the resulting band will unveil their debut album later this month.

“I don’t need to be the lead singer of a band,” Grohl told BBC 6 Music.

“Within the first couple of minutes of playing, I just knew this is going to be good.”

Grohl and Homme have collaborated before, most notably on the Queens of the Stone Age hit No One Knows in 2002.

However, the Foo Fighters star added that while he had “hung out” with Jones in the past, he had before never had the opportunity to jam with him properly.

Jason Bittner “What Drives The Beat” DVD

DrumTom — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 22:02:37 +0000

Shadows Fall drummer Jason Bittner is featured on a new Hudson Music DVD release entitled “What Drives The Beat.” The DVD features over 3 hours of peformance and instructional footage from the two-time grammy nominated, multiple readers poll-winning drummer.

One segment titled “Double-Bass Crash Course” will be a highlight for many drummers.

“The step-by-step method for developing foot control, power, endurance and speed is explained and demonstrated in detail while foot cameras and split-screen shots augment the instructional material. 16th, Triplet, 32nd, Combo, Shuffle, Ruff and Blast Beat patterns are covered with all the examples and exercises included in an exclusive PDF eBook that can be printed and used for lessons and practice.”

Some other segments featured include…

The Basic Beats and Fills of Metal Drumming

Applying Rudiments

Hand and Foot Technique

Developing Both Feet Evenly

Two-Handed Ride Patterns

How To “Metalfy” Jazz, Funk, Shuffles, Slow Blues and World Beats

Soloing

Jason Bittner will preseumably be featured playing on one of his Tama Starclassic drum kits on this DVD, and it’s something well worth picking up if you’re a metal drummer.

Source.

Roland SPD-S

drumtay — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 19:26:38 +0000

Can’t afford that set of roto-toms? Really want to add on that cowbell but don’t really feel like buying another stand? Fake it. Rolands SPD-S is an affordable way to get those extra little nuances into your repertoire.

The SPD-S is the sampler in Rolands SPD line. It’s basically the geeky cousin to the SPD-20 and SPD-11. It allows the user to add any sound he/she can imagine and trigger it live.

I’ve had one of these for a couple years now and I love it. Want to end that drum fill with a “meow” but can’t keep your neighbors cat on the snare stand? Now you can! The SPDS allows you to import any sound you can imagine to augment your kit with. It has a wide variety of options including onboard effects, a CompactFlash Card slot and a MIDI interface.

It isn’t perfect though. While it’s perfectly capable to record directly into the unit, I’ve noticed it lacking in sound quality. I recommend taking full advantage of the compact flash and directly import sounds from a PC or some other capable source.

All in all for under $500 it isn’t a bad deal. While it does what it’s supposed to very well, it lacks in other more subtle qualities that audiophiles would find appalling. However being that it is best utilized in a live setting rather than a studio it serves its purpose extraordinarily well.

“No, I Said LEFT At Dave Grohl Alley!”

drumtay — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 02:32:59 +0000

Millions of adoring fans, platinum records, two studios (depending on which coast you feel like being on). What do you get for the rock star who already has everything? How about your very own street? That is right, Dave Grohl, our favorite drummer / jack-of-all-trades is to have a street in Warren, Ohio named after him.

The once Market Alley will soon become ‘Dave Grohl Alley’ as Warren, Ohio celebrates its biggest rock star. Now lets just see how long city officials in Warren can keep THAT roadsign from being stolen. ROADTRIP!

Make Your Own Slipknot Mask For Halloween

DrumTom — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 21:59:34 +0000

The “how-to” site Instructables.com is running a DIY Halloween contest where people can submit their homemade Halloween costume ideas. I came across a DIY Slipknot Mask instrutable which can be helpful for anybody out there who doesn’t want to pay top dollar for the official masks.

A lot of the supplies you need for this project are things that can easily be found around the house.

Supplies:

Foil If you don’t have at least 4 feet of foil, you will have to buy more.
Leather I found an old leather jacket and cut up the leather from that.
Zipper (optional) For my mouth I used some of the zipper from the old jacket, but you can do whatever you want.
Sewing Needle Get a large one for it will have to be sharp to sew up the mask.
Thread You will need thread the same color as your leather and some red thread as well.
Elastic Bands
Scissors A large, sharp pair is recommended.
Newspaper For the paper mache part.
Flour You will need 1/3 cup of flour.
Water You will need 1/2 cup of water.
Glue I used a glue stick.

Depending on what you want your mask to look like, you may use some other items.

Check out the “How To Make A Slipknot Mask For Free Page” for a walkthrough with pictures and more details. For drummers, some minor adjustments to the mask pictured, (like white fabric instead of leather and dark markings) can turn it into a Joey Jordison mask.

Of course a lot of people wouldn’t recognize that you’re a drummer unless you’re either carrying around a snare drum and floor tom. To make it easy you could just carry a pair of drumsticks with you.

Buddy Rich Memorial Concert Featuring Neil Peart, Chad Smith & More

DrumTom — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 22:21:05 +0000

If you haven’t checked out Drum Channel do yourself a favor and visit their site. It has comprehensive interviews, performance footage and updates about everything drumming related.

On October 18th at 7:30PM EST/4:30PM PST, Drum Channel will be streaming the Buddy Rich Memorial Concert from the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. The concert will feature Neil Peart, Chad Smith, John Blackwell, Terry Bozzio, Tommy Igoe, Efrain Toro, Nick Rich plus special guests.

All of these amazing drummers will be paying tribute to Buddy Rich. However, they will also be performing tracks from their respective bands, with Neil Peart playing Rush’s “YYZ” and Chad Smith performing the Red Hot Chili Peppers hit “Dani California”.

It’s hard to believe that some of these drummers learned so much and got so far from learning on marching drums in their youth, particularly John Blackwell. These guys have years of high-profile touring under their belts too though. This is a drumming event you shouldn’t miss and its free!

Ringo Starr To Fans: Stop Writing Me!

DrumTom — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 01:18:33 +0000

Famed Beatles drummer and Ludwig Drum endorser Ringo Starr has publicly addressed his fans with a message: stop writing me!

In a video clip posted on Starr’s official website he says…

“This is a serious message to everybody watching, I want to tell you that after the 20th of October please do not send any fanmail to any address you have. If that is the date on the envelope, it’s gonna be tossed. I’m warning you with peace and love, I have too much to do. So no more fanmail. Thank you. No more objects to be signed. Nothing.”

The NME hypothesized that an abnormally large amount of fanmail being sent to Ringo Starr could be the result of a 1991 Simpsons episode he was featured in. The episode in question is titled “Brush With Greatness” and in it Starr claims that he will answer every piece of fanmail he receives.

Source.

All Tomorrow’s Parties Festival New York

No New Weezer Album After Tour

DrumTom — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 19:13:43 +0000

Apparently Weezer drummer Pat Wilson misspoke, or something else is a afoot. Pat Wilson told Billboard on the first day of Weezer’s current US tour that the band would be heading back to the studio with Jacknife Lee in November to record a follow up to the band’s “Red Album.”

Guitarist Brian Bell has just recently told Spinner.com that this isn’t exactly happening…

“Someone jumped the gun,” Bell notes, without directly implicating his bandmate. Bell suggests that the band’s current aim is to “focus on promoting The Red Album, and when we have the songs and the time feels right, we’ll record.” According to the guitarist, Weezer’s attitude toward non-Cuomo contributions of late has been a friendly one, and as such, productivity’s at an all time high. Even still, says Bell, “it would be kind of silly to put a timeline on a record that we felt wasn’t ready.”

When I first heard the news from Billboard about another Weezer album coming out so soon, I was skeptical. Last time the band had a successful record (The “Green Album”) and immediately followed it up (”Maladroit”), that record didn’t do so well.

It is exciting that all of the band members will be collaborating this time around. It seems some of the bands best early material was the result of collaborations. Drummer Pat Wilson was never really known for being a busy or even complicated player, but his early work with the band on his Yamaha drum kit was exactly what the songs needed. He is now a Ludwig drums endorser and can be seen playing Ludwig drums exclusively.

Weezer is currently in the midst of finishing up their current US arena tour with Angels & Airwaves as the opener.

10-14 Inglewood, CA - Great Western Forum
10-17 San Diego, CA - Cox Arena
10-18 Phoenix, AZ - Arizona State Fair
10-20 Austin, TX - Frank Erwin Center
10-21 Grand Prairie, TX - Nokia Theater
10-23 Houston, TX - Reliant Arena
10-25 Duluth, GA - Gwinnett Arena

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Led Zeppelin To Recurit New Singer For Reunion Tour?

DrumTom — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 22:38:02 +0000

A while back rumors of a Led Zeppelin reunion were squashed by Robert Plant, via a statement on his website indicating that he would not be participating.

However, a new rumor has surfaced recently, courtesy of former Twisted Sister front man Dee Snyder (of all people). Supposedly, the other original members of Led Zeppelin and Jason Bonham are considering reuniting with the singer of Creed off-shoot Alter Bridge as a sort-of bargaining chip.

Snyder told MuchMoreMusic: “They’re saying [to Robert], ‘We’re all rehearsed, we’re ready to go, here’s a gazillion dollars on the table. If you don’t do it, we’re going out with this kid. And he can sing the shit out of Zeppelin.’ And they’re gonna, like, hope that Robert, at the last minute, will go, ‘OK’, and step in…”

It is quite mysterious how Dee Snyder could know this kind of information, but it is interesting nonetheless.

Jason Bonham, (John Bonham’s son), has gotten many accolades for his drumming at Led Zeppelin’s 02 Arena Reunion show. Dave Grohl even stated in the press that Jason Bonham’s performance was “amazing.” His current kit is somewhat simlar to his father’s in that he plays larger size Ludwig drums.

My own drum kit is meant to be in the style of John Bonham and Dave Grohl, but its a combination of Pacific drums and Tama drums. I’d love to get a set of Ludwig’s similar to Bonham’s setup, as I’ve played them and they sound great.

Source.