Big Drum Thump

Drum and Drummer News and Photos

Month: October 2008

  • Treats From Yamaha

    Yamaha wasn’t going to let Halloween slip by without giving us drummers at least a couple of goodies. First up is the company’s Hex Rack System that we first reported on in April. The latest incarnation comes with improved arm clamps and the grandly named “Synthetic Open Sphere,” which makes omelets or cleans floors or something equally useful. Here it is supporting a boner-inducing cock-rock kit (…two penis references in a six-word phrase is almost a record here at BDT).

    Next, Yamaha is whipping out ten new snare drums. Models include an all-birch snare in the Stage Custom line, a 10″ Musashi snare, a new Vintage snare, and two new series—the Loud and the Sensitive. No mention of prices in the press release, but the Loud model below looks pretty spectacular with its offset lugs and nine freakin’ air vents.

  • Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy Documentary

    Steve Smith just completed a North American tour with his band Jazz Legacy. For those of us who missed them, a 10-minuteish documentary has been posted to YouTube (and, of course, embedded in high quality below).

    Most sobering revelation: even drumming royalty have to set up their own kits on jazz tours.

  • Animal Caught Speeding

    Never let a drummer, particularly a crazy-ass Muppet drummer, behind the wheel of an Audi.

    [via Gizmodo]

  • Nine Minutes With Tommy Lee

    RockPages.gr just scored a nine-minute telephone interview with Tommy Lee. It’s fairly staid stuff, but Tommy’s thoughts on New Tattoo, the Motley album that was recorded with Randy Castillo on drums, are pretty amusing:

    Man, that record sucks! [laughs] I might as well have not listened to it at all, at least all of it…I have listened to some of the songs on it and they are absolutely crap! Nikki took some demos of ours from the past, like “Hell On High Heels” that didn’t make it on the Dr. Feelgood album, and put them in there….[it was at that point that Tommy Lee’s assistant asked us politely to end the interview]

  • Lars Ulrich Vidcast

    Headbanger’s Ball turns 20 years old, and we get the present: a 14-minute vid interview with his Larsness. He chats a little bit about the Ball, how the video for “One” introduced the MTV generation to Metallica, and (of course) the pretty positive critical reception to the band’s latest album. Money quote: “I’m psyched that people give a shit.”

    [Update 2022: Balls. As in nut sack. The vid no longer exists on MTV’s site.]

  • Eric Kretz Takes a Leave of Absence From STP

    Stone Temple Pilots stickman Eric Kretz has to miss the final dates on the band’s North American tour because his father recently passed away. Perennial backup Ray Luzier will fill in.

  • Shredded Tires, Debris Suspected in Travis Barker Crash

    The National Transportation Safety Board released some of its findings today about what caused the crash that seriously injured Travis Barker. According to People, the “aircraft’s wheels had very little rubber remaining and its brakes were severely damaged.” The investigation is ongoing. We’ll keep you updated as more information is available.

  • Protection Racket’s Universal Compact Hardware Case

    All you gigging drummers with gold-plated hi-hat stands paying attention? Protection Racket has got a hardware case to sell you for $84.99. Here’s the press release:

    All musicians need to protect their instruments, stands and gear. Whether it’s a highly prized custom built drum kit or a microphone stand, up to now, the choice of hardware bags has been limited to bulky, heavy duty bags designed to carry serious weight and accommodate multiple stands.
    Protection racket has a reputation for talking and listening to musicians and has been inundated with requests to produce a lightweight, slim line, hardware case. They can now announce the launch of their new universal compact hardware case (product code 5031) where only a small number of stands need to be carried, protected and stored.

    The new case is ideal for microphone stands (notorious for having plastic clips which can break) or that gold-plated hi-hat stand which can be now be carried individually or a couple of light weight boom stands. It offers protection to that special piece of hardware you wanna keep safe and snug. At 42” long the case will accommodate the vast majority of stands and has two internal straps to ensure they won’t move around in transit.

    Built to Protection Rackets top specifications, the case has a fully adjustable shoulder strap, an abrasive resistant base and features the new 2 piece self gripping ergo handle. It is also lined with extra hardwearing Racketex for long life protection.

  • Scissor Sisters Drummer Gone

    Was he cut? Did he quit? We don’t really know yet, but Paddy Boom is apparently no longer the skin slapper (…eww) for the Scissor Sisters. The band has released this not-very-explainy statement:

    We would like our fans and friends to know that we have amicably parted ways with the original Scissor drummer Paddy Boom. He will no longer be on stage with us but he will always be our sister.

  • New Jason Bittner DVD

    Aw yeah, Hudson Music is about to unleash a new Jason Bittner DVD, What Drives the Beat. It’ll clock in at three hours and feature Bittner demonstrating enough concepts to fill a six-hour DVD:

    • 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

    Check the vid below for a sneak peek.

  • Vid Interviews with John Dolmayan

    Music Towers sat down with drummer John Dolmayan to chat about the stuff that’s really important: Warcraft, comic books, and not having to pay state income tax.

    Our only gripe? It appears that John is (sigh) a PC, not a Mac.

    [Update 2022: Agh, it appears that Music Towers is now defunct and the videos have disappeared. Lesson learned: we need to steal these awesome videos and host them ourselves.]

  • Brain Dishes on Chinese Democracy

    Holy fuckin’ damn. Chinese Democracy, the long-awaited Guns ‘N Roses Axl Rose album, apparently has an actual release date of November 23…November 23 of this year. Brain broke out of the underground, sensory-deprivation cell that all Axl employees are held in to give a few tantalizing bits of info about the disc, namely that over $300,000 was spent to redo Josh Freese’s drum tracks note for note. He also had his kit set up for over five years at Village Recorders studio in Los Angeles. Click the link for a vid interview with Brain.

    [Update 2022: Alas, the linked video is no longer active.]

  • Buddy Rich Concert Pre-Show

    We’ve been playing around with the various camera views available for the Buddy Rich Memorial Concert that will be streamed today at the Drum Channel. The drum cam view and video interface are pictured below. Image quality is very good so far, but we haven’t been able to get an audio sample yet. Sticks crossed for auditory fabulousness.

    [Update 2022: the vid screenshot has alas been lost to time.]

    The show stars at 4:30 p.m. (PST). The concert schedule is as follows:

    • Tommy Igoe performing “Preach & Teach” and “Little Train”
    • John Blackwell performing “No Jive,” “Nuttville,” and “Mind of J”
    • Guitar Center Contest Winner Donnie Marple performing a solo
    • Terry Bozzio performing “Machine,” “Tank!,” and “Some Skunk Funk”
    • Tommy Igoe performing “The Chicken,” “Willowcress,” and “La Fiesta”
    • Nick Rich performing “Buelah Witch” and “Mercy Mercy Mercy.” Also The Beat Goes On with Cathy Rich.
    • Chad Smith performing “Dani California,” “Hocus Pocus,” and “Birdland”
    • Neil Peart performing “Love For Sale,” “Time Will Tell,” “One O’Clock Jump,” and “YYZ”

    Update: Click Channel 5, called “Backstage,” for pre-show chatter with Bozzio et al. Audio seems quite good—a little out of sync every now and then with the video, but quite watchable. This will likely be affected by your connection speed, of course, and how many folks are logged on.

    Update: Terry Bozzio is performing songs from Cowboy Bebop!

  • Buddy Rich Concert on the Drum Channel

    Don’t forget to tune in for the Drum Channel‘s live stream of the Buddy Rich Memorial Concert tomorrow. It starts at 7:30 p.m. EST (4:30 p.m. PST), and with Neil Peart, Chad Smith, Terry Bozzio, and lots of other greats performing, it’s not a show you’ll want to miss. We don’t want to hear any excuses: the live stream is freakin’ free!

  • Ludwig’s Corey Miller Signature Drum Kit

    Corey Miller is a star tattoo artist who has lent his inking eye to help create Ludwig’s latest limited-edition kit. The set features a 22″ x 22″ bass drum, 14″ x 7″ snare, 12″ x 8″ rack, 16″ x 14″ floor tom, and of course Miller’s tattoo art on a White Marine Pearloid wrap. No word yet on the price or exactly how limited a “limited-edition” set it is, but we’re betting the drums are not the most wallet friendly on the market today. If you’re tough enough to play these things, though, you’re probably tough enough to steal them. Let us know how the thievery goes.

    By the way, the cool pic of Corey below was taken by Robert Downs, music photographer extraordinaire. We recently sat down for a lengthy chat with Robert about his time behind the camera and what it’s like photographing some of the world’s greatest drummers. Keep your eyes peeled for the interview.