Big Drum Thump

Drum and Drummer News and Photos

  • Charlie Benante Lets Loose in Latest Interview

    IconsofPunk scored a great, candid, and pretty longish interview with Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante. When asked to chat a bit about the band’s new singer, Dan Nelson, Benante responds:

    To be honest with you, and it sounds funny for me to say this but, I didn’t want to make a big announcement about it, because we are still in the early stages. We were almost kind of forced into making the announcement now because of the internet; it ruins every surprise. One asshole finds out about something and they post it somewhere. You know?

    And then after a little Star Wars smackdown (“…those last three movies for me were just movies to be made to sell toys”), Benante busts out with this prescient commentary about tabloid music-journos:

    For me it’s like, what have you accomplished in your life that gives you any credit to criticize anyone in music, or in anything? It just kind of fucking freaks me out sometimes. People think “Well, my voice needs to be heard about this!” Who gives a fuck about you? The people who do that should probably pay more attention to what’s going on in their city, their country and fucking start protesting. The way they used to do it in the ‘60’s, about shit, you know? This country, to me…I’m a proud American, but when I see bullshit about fucking sixteen year old girls getting pregnant and I read comments from stars like “I fully support her”, I’m like, Fuck You. Don’t fully support her. Kids look up to her because she’s on a fucking television show. And try explaining that to your sixteen year old kid. I wish that whole thing would all come to an end. All of them, I just wish it would end. It’s just gossip and it’s disgusting.

    So true, brotha drummer, so true. Down with celebrity gossip. And hack DIY journalists.

    Except for us, of course. Everybody needs to know what the fuck we think. So we command you all to watch the following drum duel between Benante and John Tempesta.

  • Justin Foley and His Chin Bush

    Killswitch Engage drummer Justin Foley has a big beard. Not ZZ Top big, but a decent, decadent size that’s the envy of at least a couple of teenage thrashers. MetalSucks got Foley to chat about all things chin bush in this interview that proves—yet again—that metal drummers are some of the nicest, most laid back dudes in the business.

  • Rikki Rockett Busted on a Rape Warrant

    Poison drummer Rikki Rockett was arrested Monday at LAX on a “strong-arm rape warrant” issued from Mississippi (oh, how we hope it didn’t involve a pig). Details are completely nonexistent at the moment, but it appears Rockett was released and is a free man as of today.

    [Update: The rape allegedly occurred on September 23, 2007, at a casino in Mississippi. No pigs were involved.]

    [Update: Rockett was released Tuesday morning after his arrest. The alleged rape occurred at the Silver Star Casino. According to the complaint filed, “The subject, Rikki Rockett, forcibly had sex with an adult in one of the hotel rooms.” Prosecutors in Mississippi are still deciding whether to extradite the drummer.]

    [Update 5/10/08: Ah, it was only a matter of time. The celeb-hunting journos at TMZ finally got a comment from Rikki Rockett about the alleged rape: “We’re doing a press conference next week—this whole thing will be over. And it’ll be the end of it.” Rockett goes on to say that he doesn’t even know his accuser. See the 49-second video here.]

  • Taylor Hawkins Jams With Rush

    Via Drummerworld comes a video so ridiculously fun I’ve had to change my shorts twice now. It starts as a tom-tastic drum solo from Taylor Hawkins, but about two minutes in, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson take the stage with Hawkins for a really, really, really good version of “YYZ.” Check it out below or click here for a higher-quality YouTube link. And bring baby wipes.

  • Tommy Lee Makes Up With the Crue

    Hey, let’s hear it for maturity. The latest lawsuit between the Crue guys has been resolved without the usual bout of fisticuffs.

    Last year, three-quarters of the band brought a $20 million case against Tommy Lee, accusing our favorite sex-filmed drummer of focusing on his own career over that of the collective Crue (remember Tommy Lee Goes to College?). Now…it looks like all is forgiven. And though settlement terms have not yet been disclosed, there don’t appear to be any hard feelings.

    The whole band is currently in the studio making a new album and, if this quote from Nikki Sixx is any indication, probably getting lots of complimentary blow jobs:

    I fucking love this new Motley Crue album….Tommy’s kickin ass, Vince sounds insane and Mars is shredding on guitars. It doesn’t feel like one song is better or worse than any other.

  • Matt Sorum Pisses Off Scott Weiland…

    But it really wasn’t that big of a deal, or at least it shouldn’t have been. Here’s the scoop, via Digg and Rolling Stone and MTV and probably a myriad of other sources suppressed or forgotten.

    Velvet Revolver played a gig in Glasgow last Thursday night. During the show, Scott Weiland says that the band’s current tour would be “the last tour by Velvet Revolver.” Sorum then posted this on his blog the next day (errant spelling, caps, and punctuation faithfully reproduced):

    So last night was interesting. Had a little band turmoil on stage as you probably all could tell. Being in a band is a lot like being in a relationship. Sometimes you just don’t get along. I guess there has been more turmoil lately I guess with the cancellations and all….It has been frustrating I am not going to lie. My career and life in Rock n Roll has come with its ups and downs. Unfortunatly some people in this business don’t realize how great of a life they have. Touring the world, meeting great people and fans all over the world. And just playing music for a living. I feel truly blessed. But sometimes the road can be draining for some, being away from home and family does grind on you sometimes. With all the traveling and different beds. Personally I Love this Shit and sometimes can’t believe I am so lucky to still be doing what I do for a living….Everybody could see who was unhappy lastnight but all I can say is Let’s keep the Rock alive people!!!! In this life u just pick up and keep moving. And don’t ever let anybody stand in your way. The TRUTH Rock On!!!!!!

    Now, this is not exactly a deep-seated, side-swiping, psychoanalytic dig at Weiland, whose overreaction seems to indicate it was all that and more. He says to the mighty Blabbermouth:

    Well, first of all, the state of my family affairs is really none of [Sorum’s] business, since he is too immature to have a real relationship, let alone children. So don’t attempt to stand in a man’s shoes when you haven’t walked his path. Secondly, ‘keeping rock ‘n’ roll alive?’ I’ve made many attempts to remain cordial with the members of VR, but mainly, the likes of you. Funny though — this is your FIRST band, as opposed to being a hired gun. I’ve been making records (now on my ninth), which have sold over 35 million copies worldwide and have maintained a level of professionalism regardless of how many drugs I’ve ingested into my system. I have only cancelled one tour during the entire course of my 16-year run and that was the ‘make-up’ Australia tour. Now, shall I open that can of worms, Matthew? Release the Kraken? Serve… Volley! You cancelled the Aussie tour in the fall because you went to rehab, but I won’t say why… we’ll just let Blabbermouth find out for themselves.

    Dudes, just knock it the fuck off. Velvet Revolver is a good band playing a particularly hard-to-fill brand of niche-y hard rock. Don’t make us start trolling the Internets for old Chinese Democracy tracks.

    [Update from Rolling Stone: Alas, it appears Weiland’s run with VR is done. The band booted him out yesterday (4/1/08), and Weiland responded by essentially telling his former bandmates to pack sand up their ass. At least STP will be touring this summer.]

  • Kevin Pereira Plays Drums With Coheed and Cambria

    And it’s all thanks to Rock Band.

    For those of you not familiar with the “cable television darling,” Pereira is the cohost of Attack of the Show and apparently a rabid Coheed fan (who isn’t really?). He wrote a piece about how playing Rock Band can actually make the gamer a real drummer and got the chance to put his skills to the test by playing with C&C. Check out his tale here, along with a video segment of his performance [Update 2022: doesn’t appear that Pereira’s blog is up any longer]. Chris Pennie comes on camera about two minutes in. Love his face when Pereira pretty much pulls off the triplets.

  • William F. Ludwig II Has Died

    The guy that put the Ludwig drum company on the map died yesterday at the age of 91. From the press release:

    Bill Ludwig lived a long and productive life and was a mentor to so many percussionists and the music industry. He was a true leader that developed so many percussion products and marketing concepts to promote music and percussion education and further along the advancement of percussion instruments and performance throughout the world.

  • Bobby Sanabria Has a Lot to Say

    Seriously. Sanabria gets downright chatty and thoughtful about the history and future of jazz in this interview with (who else?) Jazz.com. Choice excerpt:

    …[J]azz was still a viable force to a certain extent and even had a small kind of resurgence in the late sixties, early seventies with the fusion movement, which to me, was an incredibly creative time period. You had certain groups opening up for rock bands, like John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra opening up for Aerosmith. People like Larry Coryell, the Eleventh House, etc. Of course, Miles Davis became the darling of the rock set. Everybody from Crosby Stills and Nash to the Grateful Dead were into Miles Davis after the Bitches Brew album. But slowly but surely the mainstream ties that jazz used to have to mainstream audiences disappeared….This all relates to politics. When Ronald Reagan deregulated the FCC, all of a sudden all of these radio stations were up for sale and Viacom and Clear Channel bought up all them. They made them into pop, rock and MOR stations, over a thousand radio stations. Most of them were jazz and black oriented music stations. That really killed jazz.

    Or maybe just put its head in the noose. Luckily, though, the hangman has been too busy listening to Sanabria and these other dudes to tighten the rope:

  • Tommy Aldridge (Surprise!)

    This should be good news: double-kicking statesman Tommy Aldridge is giving a surprise clinic tomorrow night. The bad news? It’s in London. As in London, England. For the five of you from that part of the world who regularly visit BDT (yes, you five…Google Analytics tells us you are out there), haul ass to The Institute now and get us some good pics. And for the rest of us poor bastards:

  • Torry Castellano Interview

    The very slick site MusicRadar has posted a two-part interview with the way spunky Torry Castellano, drummer for The Donnas. She chats about the origins of the band, how she overcame a severe case of tendinitis, and why she likes to rock the cowbell.

    Got to love a girl who loves cowbell.

  • ABBA Drummer, Freakily Dead

    ABBA drummer Ola Brunkert was found dead today in Spain. Apparent cause of demise: falling—neck first—on glass from a broken window pane. Authorities believe Brunkert tried to get help after he was gored in the throat but collapsed in his garden and eventually bled to death. An autopsy will be performed, but at this time no foul play is suspected. Just a freaky, thoroughly fucked up, I-wouldn’t-believe-that-if-they-put-it-in-a-movie accident.

    Brunkert played on all of ABBA’s albums and also frequently toured with the Swedish sucre sensation. His is even the surprisingly meaty 2 and 4 behind the band’s first hit, “People Need Love”. Check it out below. And no smirking. At least until tomorrow, when we can safely start making fun of ABBA again.

    [Update: The London Telegraph is reporting that Brunkert sustained fatal injuries by accidentally walking through a glass door.]

  • Tama Metro-Jam Drums

    Small is the new black at Tama. First Hyper-Drive toms, and now the Metro-Jam kit. It’s anchored by a diminutive 12″ x 14″ bass drum with a specially designed lifter, but the birch/bubinga shell (along with four magical ½” holes drilled into the drum) apparently give it some serious punch and volume. A 6.5″ x 10″ tom and a 10″ x 13″ tom complete the kit; a snare must be purchased separately. No word yet on the Metro-Jam’s price, but we’re guessing…um…not so small.

  • Real Kick Pedal Mod for Rock Band

    Finally, finally, finally, it has been done—a bona fide kick mod for Rock Band. It’s called the Omega pedal, and it’ll be manufactured by Steradian Technologies, a company heretofore known for “professional grade” laser tag gear. $74.95 gets you what looks to be a tricked out Pearl P-120P (which in its original incarnation can be had from Amazon for 50 bucks). The website says the e-stomper is scheduled for a March release, so assuming Pearl’s lawyers don’t get involved, we got only two weeks to go.

    [Update: The site is also peddling the Twin Rocker ($24.95), an attachment that allows for Rock Band double kicking. Full review after we’ve had time to change our shorts.]

    [Update 2022: We never got around to reviewing this thing, but Ars Technica did way back in 2008.]

  • Black Death Drummer Dead

    Phil Bullard, drummer for the metal band Black Death, died on February 6 from colon cancer. Many sites are crediting Black Death (formed in 1977) with being the first all-black metal group. We confess to not having ever heard them and thus felt compelled (shamed?) to search out some sample tunes. Here is the best page for a free, non-illegal MP3; scroll about three-quarters down. [Update 2022: we’ve removed the slow-loading link and replaced it with the full album available as a YouTube vid embedded below. Thanks, Google Overlords!] And if that’s the sort of tune that gets your sticks all hard, you’ll be raging to know that Auburn Records is releasing a deluxe version of Black Death’s eponymous 1984 album.