Big Drum Thump

Drum and Drummer News and Photos

Month: November 2008

  • Evelyn Glennie Endorses Hammerax…

    And she was also inducted into the PAS hall of fame a few weeks ago, but we’re actually more jazzed about the endorsement. We first posted about Hammerax’s cymbals months ago, when the Whipcrash was unveiled, and were duly impressed with the company’s innovation and creativity. Dame Glennie apparently was too. She says:

    Life begins with sound and ends with sound. The sense of curiosity that percussionists have seems to be forever magnified and there’s no question that Hammerax has made it a commitment to stretch our imagination and curiosity beyond words. The range of products is fantastic with so many possibilities for their use in countless different musical contexts. I have no limits as to how I use these products—they are simply a great addition to my already expansive range of instruments.

  • Big Drum Thump Blips

    Though we haven’t quite recovered from Muxtape’s unfortunate demise, it was getting to be time to pull our shit together and stop rocking to sleep in the bathtub. We looked at quite a few services that would allow us to stream full songs without getting sued (or at least without getting aggressively sued) and went with the seriously awesome BLIP.fm, a kind of Twitter/Muxtape hybrid. Check out our station here, and if you create one of your own, be sure to friend us up.

  • Mitch Mitchell Is Dead

    Sad, sad day, fellow thumpers. Mitch Mitchell, the legendary skinsman behind Jimi Hendrix, is no more. He was found dead in a Portland hotel room earlier today. At this time, it appears the 61-year-old drummer died of natural causes, though an autopsy is planned. We’ll keep you updated as details become available.

    Update [11/13/08]: The accolades for Mitch Mitchell are deservedly hitting the Web today. DRUM! has kindly posted a feature the magazine did on Mitchell in 1998. Modern Drummer also posted an excerpt about him from the “Drum Gods” series. Ratt drummer Bobby Blotzer remembers Mitchell here.

    Update [11/14/08]: Matt Sorum also pays tribute to Mitchell.

    Mitch Mitchell obituaries:

  • New Vater Signature Sticks

    Be still my thumping heart, some more signature sticks to try out.

    First up is the Brian Frasier-Moore model. It’s just under a 5A in the grip but with some extra length for those way-the-hell-out-of-reach crashes. The width of the new Derek Roddy model is between a 5A and 5B, and it features a quick taper to a small acorn tip. The Mike Wengren model is the biggest of the bunch. It’s between a 5B and a 2B with a quick taper to an oval nylon tip, and it comes in a sexy black satin finish. All of them will set you back $14.99 MSRP.

  • Ginger Baker Will Take Off His Pants…

    But not in a full-on porn kind of way. Turns out that Lindiwe Noko, the chick accused of stealing $55,000 from him, is claiming that she and the Cream drummer were an item and that the cash was a gift. Baker says he’ll bare all in court to prove the two were never intimate:

    I’ve a scar that only a woman who had a thing with me would know. It’s there and she doesn’t know it’s there….I’m quite prepared to strip. It may well come down to it.

    Sounds like case closed, then. Unless Noko managed to chat up one of his previous paramours. We’ll keep eyes peeled for pantless pics. Or not.

  • Drummer Talk Blogs PASIC 2008

    Ain’t this a wretched bitch? Here I am about to catch a flight to testicle-freezing Seattle, and the Drummer Talk dudes are hanging at PASIC in Austin. Thankfully, Dave is live blogging as many clinics as he can squeeze into a day and uploading bunches of pics for everyone’s viewing pleasure. Click the PASIC tag on DT to follow along. And click again to read Dave’s post on the Erik Smith clinic.

  • Jimmy Carl Black Is Dead

    Jimmy Carl Black, the original drummer in Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention, died on Saturday at the age of 70. Cancer was the culprit. Along with stick wielding, Black also handled some vocals in Mothers. He continued to perform (and sometimes had to resort to “real” jobs) throughout his fairly long life. Here he is on stage in 2007. [Update 2022: Ugh, this vid is gone, and there isn’t much of anything of him playing drums left on YouTube.]

  • Don’t Piss Off Buddy Rich

    We’ve all heard the stories about Buddy’s legendary temper…but damn. Seriously damn. Listen as he rips his band a new and very large asshole.

    [via Drummerworld]

  • Buddy Rich Memorial Concert Photos

    Even if you watched the Buddy Rich Memorial Concert on the Drum Channel, you still need to check out these cool pics from Michael Lowe, owner of the equally cool website Neil Peart Drumsticks. Our favorite is the shot below of Neil and his cymbal-spankin’ face.

  • Drum Maker Dead From Anthrax

    The critically ill drum maker whom we posted about two days ago has died from inhaling anthrax spores. In this follow-up report, the BBC explores the potential dangers of handling animal skins that will be turned into drumheads. From the piece:

    Drum makers are at risk, however low, during the preparation of the skin, which involves stretching it over the frame and scraping hair from the hide to give it a smooth finish. The danger lies in inhaling agitated spores or an open wound becoming infected.

  • Vinnie Paul Signs With ddrum

    Holy damn. Metal legend Vinnie Paul is now a ddrum endorser and will be unveiling a whole line of signature products at winter NAMM 2009. Vinnie says in the press release:

    I’m proud to announce that I am making the move to Ddrum. This opportunity is giving me the chance to expand beyond playing music and bring my own line of kick ass, affordable drums to skin bashers around the world. Simply put, these drums look and sound amazing. Hell yeah!

  • Drum Maker Critically Ill From Anthrax

    A drum maker from London is in the hospital after he inhaled anthrax spores while handling animal skins. That’s a fairly uncommon occupational hazard for drum builders, so if you’re in the business, don’t freak out (…at least don’t freak out completely). From the article:

    It is important to stress that it is the making of animal skin drums that is the risk for coming into contact with anthrax rather than playing or handling drums.

    The patient concerned makes drums using animal skins for a living. It is through making these drums that exposure to and inhalation of anthrax spores on an imported animal hide occurred. This is an extremely rare case and this type of anthrax cannot be passed from person to person.

  • SilverFox 3S Persimmon

    Need a big ol’ marching stick in persimmon wood? As far as we knew, persimmon was a one-time wood of choice for golf clubs and old people’s furniture, but Silverfox has seen fit to unveil a version of its 3S stick made of the stuff. If you actually wield a pair, don’t be surprised if your BPMs slow down.