Sevendust drummer Morgan Rose recently chatted with the site Saw*Kick for over 30 minutes. He dishes on the band’s tour, the departure of guitarist Sonny Mayo, the return of Clint Lowery, and a whole lot more. Download or stream the interview here.
[Update 2022: Damn it, Saw*Kick is no more. I wonder what they did with their content? It was good stuff.]
Music Radar is taking questions for Chad Smith. Just leave your query in the comments section here, though you do, alas, have to register first on Music Radar. [Update 2022: Looks like the original article has been lost to cyberspace.]
One of our favorites so far:
Do you sometimes cringe when you read Anthony’s lyrics and WTF is a rockapotamus ferchristsakes LOL
…But not with the Chili Peppers. Instead, he’ll be hitting the road with supergroup Chickenfoot…except that the name of the band featuring Smith, Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, and Joe Satriani probably won’t be fowl related at all. Satriani recently told Billboard that “Chickenfoot” was only a working title Hagar came up with. What’s definitely not in question, though, is Smith’s ability to rock the shit out of their tunes:
“The material is really slamming, and anybody who has ever been around Chad knows that he is a very huge personality, a very high-energy guy, and his drumming in person is explosive,” Satriani said. “This band really gives him carte blanche to go crazy. I think it’s the best of what you’d expect, that’s the best way to put it. No one is acting out of character.”
Cristiano Micalizzi, the Italian stallion of soul funk grooves, has snagged himself a signature drumstick from SilverFox. Cleverly called the “CM” model, the stick is crafted from select hickory dowels born in the USA. It’s 16″ long with a diameter of .585″, and the round ball tip measures .410″ in diameter. A short taper gives the stick added bulk in the neck area, which results in an extremely fast rebound and a well-balanced center of gravity. Like all SilverFox drumsticks, the CM model is strengthened with a proprietary finish that, according to the press release, “not only feels great in a drummer’s hands, but greatly extends the usable life of all SilverFox sticks.” No pricing info is available yet…but how much is it worth to you to sound exactly like Micalizzi?
In support of Sabian’s APX series of high-decibel cymbals, drummers Ray Luzier of Korn, Chris Pennie of Coheed and Cambria, and Seven Antonopoulos of Opiate for the Masses are going to hit the road for a mini-tour of the United States. The drummers will be demonstrating how the APX cymbals are designed to cut through hard rock and heavy metal music (i.e., you might be needing some ear plugs for this one). Scheduled stops include the following cities:
For more info, be sure to check out the “Show No Mercy” tour page. It includes a handful of APX-related goodies.
If you’re anything like us provincial, ignorant bastards, you didn’t know what a soul toul was either. Turns out it was neither a “tool” for extracting soul nor a “toll” for purchasing it. Nope, Toul Soul is a dude, a shredding drummer dude from Japan, and he just got a signature snare from Tama. His 14″ x 5.5″ drum features a 1.0mm steel shell that has a custom bearing edge “lined with a special compound that facilitates the drum’s warm yet extraordinarily precise and articulate response.” What the hell that special compound is we have no idea…but the shell itself, dressed in a black nickel plate, looks very fine. You can snag Toul’s drum for an MSRP of $399.99.
And all you have to do to win is sign up for the Alesis newsletter. The October issue is about to drop, and we’re told it’s almost exclusively for drummers. Don’t thump around the bush with this, because one lucky-ass subscriber will win an iMultiMix 8 USB. Read all about the prize here…or better yet just give it a quick eye-humping below.
Did you dust off your passport for the Fausto Cuevas masterclass a few days ago? If so, you might want to just stay in the U.K. because the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance is hosting another masterclass on October 23, this time with Kasabian drummer Ian Matthews. Doors open at 7 p.m.
It might not be as orgasmic as playing real drums, but making beats on a drum machine is still a shitload of fun. With Akai’s new XR20, you can even take the shitload of fun on the road. It’s billed as a “portable beat production station” loaded with 700 sounds geared toward R&B and hip-hop beats. Other key features of the XR20 include:
Meinl has given the drummingverse a major treat by posting this new vid of the superbly grooving Benny Greb. The performance was captured at this year’s Meinl drum festival, and it features a tune from Greb’s upcoming CD. Two more videos will be released over the next few days. We’ll of course embed them all here at DC for your viewing pleasure.
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy is hitting the road, and we got the lowdown on their October tour schedule.
Thursday, October 2
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Jim Snidero, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
Sonoma State University
Warren Auditorium
1801 E. Cotati Ave.
Rohnert Park, CA 94928
2:00 p.m. workshop, 7:30 p.m. concert
For ticket info: 707.664.2324
Friday, October 3
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Jim Snidero, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
The Jazz School
2087 Addison Street
Berkeley, CA 94704
8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. concert/master class
www.jazzschool.com
Saturday, October 4
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Jim Snidero, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
Special Guests: The Wally Schnalle Quintet
Live @ the Burro
6651 Brisa Street
Livermore, CA
925.550.1955
Doors 7PM * Show 8PM
www.myspace.com/burninburro
www.myspace.com/sectionentertainment
Sunday, October 5
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Jim Snidero, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society
Douglas Beach House
Miramar Beach
Half Moon Bay, CA
4:30pm
650.726.4143
www.bachddsoc.org
Monday, October 6
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Jim Snidero, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
Pioneer Place on Fifth
22 5th Ave South
St. Cloud, MN 56301
320.203.1233
www.ppfive.com
Tuesday, October 7
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Jim Snidero, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant
1010 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, MN 55403
612.332.1010
www.dakotacooks.com
Wednesday, October 8
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Jim Snidero, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
The Algoma Club
107 Algoma Blvd.
Oshkosh, WI
For info call The Water City Grill
920.232.3004
www.watercitygrill.net
Thursday, October 9
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Jim Snidero, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
Martyr’s
3855 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL 60613
773.404.9869
www.martyrslive.com
Saturday, October 11
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Andy Fusco, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
The Jazz Kitchen
5377 N. College Ave
Indianapolis, IN 46220
317.253.4900
www.thejazzkitchen.com
Sunday, October 12
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Andy Fusco, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
Gilly’s
132 S. Jefferson St.
Dayton, OH 45402
937.228.8414
http://hometown.aol.com/gillyjazz/myhomepage/business.html
Monday and Tuesday, October 13 and 14
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Andy Fusco, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
Nighttown
12387 Cedar Road (top of Cedar Hill)
Cleveland Heights, OH 44106
216.759.0550
www.nighttowncleveland.com
Wednesday, October 15
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Andy Fusco, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
Lebanon Catholic School
1400 Chestnut St.
Lebanon, PA 17042
717.273.3731
Thursday, October 16
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Andy Fusco, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
Sheraton Reading Hotel
Gerald Veasleys Jazz Base
1741 Paper Mill Road
Wyomissing, PA 19610
610.655.6374
www.geraldveasleysjazzbase.com
Friday, October 17
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Andy Fusco, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
Cecil’s Jazz Club & Restaurant
364 Valley Road
West Orange, NJ 07052
973.736.4800
www.cecilsjazzclub.com
Saturday, October 18
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Andy Fusco, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
Cecil’s Jazz Club & Restaurant
364 Valley Road
West Orange, NJ 07052
973.736.4800
www.cecilsjazzclub.com
Sunday, October 19
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Andy Fusco, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
Cheney Hall
177 Hartford Road
Manchester, CT 06040
box office: 860.647.9824
www.cheneyhall.org
Concert sponsored by
Dynamic Percussion
575 Main St.
Manchester, CT 06040
860.647.8887
dynadrum@aol.com
Monday, October 20
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Andy Fusco, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
The Devereux
37 Devereux St.
Utica, NY 13501
315.735.8628
7:00pm all ages show
For info and tickets contact: Kelly Yacco: 315.272.3865 kellyyacco@gmail.com
Tuesday, October 21
Steve Smith Master Class
Utica Radison
200 Genesee St # 1
Utica, NY 13502
7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, October 22
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Andy Fusco, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
Scullers Jazz Club
400 Soldiers Field Road
Boston, MA 02134
617.562.4111
www.scullersjazz.com
The new concert DVD from Neil Peart and the fellows won’t be released until November 25, but a sneak peak of the song “Far Cry” was shown on VH1 last night. Try not to slobber on your monitor.
A whole lot of fans think so (nearly 13,000 so far have petitioned to have Death Magnetic remastered…and you know how goddamn lazy people are about activism), but Lars predictably disagreed yesterday on Blender‘s blog:
Listen, there’s nothing up with the audio quality. It’s 2008, and that’s how we make records. [Producer] Rick Rubin’s whole thing is to try and get it to sound lively, to get it to sound loud, to get it to sound exciting, to get it to jump out of the speakers. Of course, I’ve heard that there are a few people complaining. But I’ve been listening to it the last couple of days in my car, and it sounds fuckin’ smokin’.
Somebody told me about people complaining that the Guitar Hero version of Death Magnetic sounds better. Listen, what are you going to do? A lot of people say [the CD] sounds great, and a few people say it doesn’t, and that’s OK.
You gotta remember, when we put out …And Justice for All, people were going, ‘What happened to these guys, this record? There’s no bass on it. It sounds like it was recorded in a fuckin’ garage on an eight-track.’ And now …And Justice for All is sort of the seminal Metallica record that supposedly influenced a whole generation of death-metal bands.
The difference between back then and now is the Internet. The Internet gives everybody a voice, and the Internet has a tendency to give the complainers a louder voice. Listen, I can’t keep up with this shit. Part of being in Metallica is that there’s always somebody who’s got a problem with something that you’re doing: ‘James Hetfield had something for breakfast that I don’t like.’ That’s part of the ride.
I will say that the overwhelming response to this new record has exceeded even our expectations as far as how positive it is. So I’m not gonna sit here and get caught up in whether [the sound] ‘clips’ or it doesn’t ‘clip.’ I don’t know what kind of stereos these people listen on. Me and James [Hetfield] made a deal that we would hang back a little and not get in the way of whatever Rick’s vision was. That’s not to put it on him – it’s our record, I’ll take the hit, but we wanted to roll with Rick’s vision of how Metallica would sound.
Looking out for all of us drummers-on-the-go (not to mention all of us drummers-living-in-small-apartment-buildings), HQ Percussion has unveiled the RealFeel Bass Drum Practice Pad. It’s designed to work with both single and double pedals, and it can fold flat to fit in any travel bag or even a backpack. The foam rubber beater pad was selected for its resistance to wear, soft and unobtrusive sound, and its realistic rebound that will allow drummers to practice foot technique without compromising the feel they’d obtain from a real drum. Hell yeah! It retails for $79.99.
Primarily known for its line of budget acoustic drums, Performance Percussion has entered the sub-$1,000 electronic market with the new PP900E. The kit features five drum pads, a kick pedal, and three cymbal pads (including a hi-hat pad and control pedal). The drum module comes with 215 high-quality voices and 20 preset kit sounds. The entire package retails for about 800 bucks, but we did find one U.K. store selling it for $662.13. At that price point, you’re going to be sacrificing a whole lot of sound quality and feel…but it beats the hell out of playing on telephone books.
