Drummer's Weekly Groovecast

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Episode 126 - Perfect Imperfection Jun 03, 2019

Show notes

As we come to the end of the third season, we take some time to discuss the news of the day and the many events that have happened over the course of recent episodes. We discuss https://possiblechops.com/ref/8/ created by friends of the show, Dave Hooper, Gary Novak, and Dave Johnstone. We also humbly discuss the honor of being included by a popular online blogger in their list of top drumming podcasts. Also, the show will observe its three-year anniversary in July. Even though we’ll celebrate during our off-season please stay subscribed. From time to time we’ll give updates on the upcoming season as well as possibly publish a special ‘off-season’ episode. With that in mind, please stay in touch with the show. We appreciate the support and welcome all ideas for future episodes and interviews. As our long-time listeners will attest, we respond to all email and many times use your suggestions for future episodes. For this episode we take on the topic of being imperfect in a digitally perfect music scene. Recently a video went viral illustrating what John Bonham might sound like if he were recording today. The author of the video takes extant Bonham tracks and ‘corrects’ them through digital quantization. We discuss this video and then talk about our favorite, imperfect drummers. We talk about different drummers, their tracks, and how some are unintentionally imperfect while others are intentional. We discuss what make these imperfections perfect along with the various methods they may intentionally employ that make their playing imperfect. Please visit our website at: www.drummersweeklygroovecast.com There you can listen to our shows, interact with social media, email us, view our videos and more. If you are an Apple platform user please take a moment to review us the next time you are in iTunes. A 5-star rating would be greatly appreciated. During our publishing season new shows are posted every Monday and can be found on iTunes, Google Play Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and everywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts. Subscribe today!

Episode 125 - Season Three Listener Mail, Concepts And Explanations May 20, 2019

Show notes

As we moved through the third season, the show saw unparalleled growth. With that growth we received more email and social media messages and comments. In this episode Phil goes through some of the most common questions and comments with answers, concepts, and explanations. We cover the questions and topics: 1) You’re only as good of a drum set player as you are a snare drummer 2) Speed is one of the easiest things to accomplish and seldom needs to be practiced 3) Because you can play your high school’s halftime show doesn’t mean you can play the instrument 4) Playing with a metronome doesn’t intrinsically help you keep better time or play with better feel 5) Music school is not for everyone. But, how do you know? 6) Many students lack curiosity and the spirit of investigation. Here is a list of the music included in this show. 1) Billy Cobham – Crosswinds Album 2) Ralph Towner – Waterwheel – from the album, Batik 3) Tony Williams Lifetime – Snake Oil – from the album, Believe It 4) The Griffith Park Collection – L’s Bop – from the album, Griffith Park Collection 5) Canticum Canticorum Salomonis – Krzysztof Penderecki 6) Pat Metheny – Every Day I Thank You – from the album, 80/81 Please visit our website at: www.drummersweeklygroovecast.com There you can listen to our shows, interact with social media, email us, view our videos and more. New shows are published every Monday and can be found on iTunes, Google Play Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and everywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts. Subscribe today! If you are an Apple platform user please take a moment to review us the next time you are in iTunes. A 5-star rating would be greatly appreciated. You can find our page at ITunes by following this link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/drummers-weekly-groovecast/id1140363227?mt=2 Of course, you can search Drummer’s Weekly Groovecast inside of ITunes to find us as well.

Episode 124 - Interview - Rob Knopper - Metropolitan Opera Orchestra May 13, 2019

Show notes

Obsession is generally considered a personality flaw. However, there are times when it proves beneficial if focused on a career goal. As musicians it seems logical that having some type of obsessive personality trait would be beneficial when it comes to studying and practicing our craft. Enter this week’s guest, Rob Knopper of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, a self-professed obsessive musician (and prog rock officianado). We were due to hear from the concert side of our discipline and Rob does not disappoint. Aside from having a gig in one of the world’s top orchestras Rob is known for his expertise on snare drum. We pick his brain about: technique, practice, methods, concert snare setup, tuning, and more. Rob is also one of the foremost experts on French percussion author, Jacques Delecluse. Aside from discussing Delecluse and his method we take a solo from Douze Etudes and discuss its general aspects as well as hit the hot spots breaking down rolls, stickings, and more. Rob is also known for expertise with auditions. Part of his teaching studio focuses on helping musicians prepare for and demystify auditions. We talk about his various auditions, what he learned from them and how it led to his successful audition with the Met. Finally, we take a furious pace through the classical edition of the DWG Rorschach Test! As mentioned in the episode Rob has a website where you can contact him and shop for the various products we talked about during the show. You can visit his site by clicking here: https://www.robknopper.com/ Rob’s YouTube channel can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/robknopperstudio Please visit our website at: www.drummersweeklygroovecast.com There you can listen to our shows, interact with social media, email us, view our videos and more. New shows are published every Monday and can be found on iTunes, Google Play Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and everywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts. Subscribe today! If you are an Apple platform user please take a moment to review us the next time you are in iTunes. A 5-star rating would be greatly appreciated. You can find our page at ITunes by following this link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/drummers-weekly-groovecast/id1140363227?mt=2 Of course, you can search Drummer’s Weekly Groovecast inside of ITunes to find us as well.

Episode 123 - The Business Of Backline With Kenny Cresswell Of Avatar Events May 06, 2019

Show notes

These things take time. Sometimes they take six to eight months. However, if business is good who can complain? We originally reached out to Avatar Events owner, Kenny Cresswell, last fall to do a show about backline gear. However, Kenny was just a tad busy providing gear for some of music’s biggest acts. Jon and I realized that we had used the term ‘backline’ on numerous occasions throughout the history of the podcast. However, we never took enough time to fully explain what it was, why he and I needed it, and why we sometimes complained about it. Well luck would have it that not only does Atlanta have one of the premier backline rental companies in the US, but the owner is a mutual friend. During our visit to the Avatar Events warehouse we got the grand tour which comprised of 40 drum kits, 120 snare drums, 1000+ cymbals, a wall of hardware, timpani, vibes, marimbas, and more accessory percussion than any 10 retail stores combined. When we began the show, we asked Kenny everything you would want to know about not only what to expect when renting backline but what to include on your rider. We then cover aspects of the business such as: company endorsements, broken gear, selling gear, shipping equipment to remote locations, pricing, third party rentals, loaner stock,s and everything else you’d ever want to know about renting drums. If you would like to check out Avatar’s inventory and/or rent gear for your next event you can find them here: http://www.avatareventsgroup.com Avatar Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/avatareventsgroup/ Avatar Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avatar_events_group/ Please visit our website at: www.drummersweeklygroovecast.com There you can listen to our shows, interact with social media, email us, view our videos and more. If you are an Apple platform user please take a moment to review us the next time you are in iTunes. A 5-star rating would be greatly appreciated. New shows are published every Monday and can be found on iTunes, Google Play Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and everywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts. Subscribe today

Episode 122 - Interview - George Marsh Apr 29, 2019

Show notes

Whether right or wrong we like being different and truly enjoy bringing you guests that challenge, enlighten, and entertain our listeners. This week certainly checks all those boxes. Our guest, George Marsh, is probably best known to our listeners as either the drummer from the David Grisman Quintet or as the author of “Inner Drumming” (one of our genres greatest methods). During my first chat with George he was excited to talk music and was very eager to share some of his favorite recordings of which he was a part. Throughout this episode as George describes the various musicians he’s worked with I thought it would be a nice change to mix in some of those artists’ mp3s as the interview progresses. It’s the first time we done that on the show. We hope you enjoy it and that it adds some context to the conversation. We caught up with George at his home in Santa Rosa, California. The long-time bay area resident is originally from the US Midwest where he grew up just outside of Saint Louis. His interest in music led him to gigs in Chicago and eventually to study with legendary educator, Tom Siwe at the University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign. As the 1960s progressed it became clear to George that the weather, music, and culture of San Francisco had a magnetic appeal. Marsh relocated in 1968 and has remained in the bay area since that time. Partaking of the bay area’s fertile music scene George has played and recorded with artists as varied as the Jerry Hahn Brotherhood, Denny Zeitlin, John Abercrombie, Listen, and David Grisman. We discuss his teaching studios at Sonoma State University and the University of California at Santa Cruz. He details his nearly 40-year tenure at both schools and what he teaches there respectively. We finish having George describe the origin of “Inner Drumming”, the use of graphic notation, the nature of deliberate practice, and the myriad benefits of the method. Of course, we finish the show by taking George through the DWG Rorschach Test! Dr. Zeitlin would be delighted! Visit George at his web site: http://georgemarsh.com/ There you can view his media, purchase his book, and contact him for lessons. Here is the list of songs included in this episode: 1) “Time’s Caught Up with You” – The Jerry Hahn Brotherhood 2) “Aural Hallucination” – Listen 3) “This Ain’t Me” – Mose Allison 4) “Camel Walk” – Marsh, Abercrombie duo 5) “Geysers” – Zeitlin, Marsh 6) “Losing You” – Noam Limish 7) “After Hours” – Marsh, Wilsey, and Mathieu Please visit our website at: www.drummersweeklygroovecast.com There you can listen to our shows, interact with social media, email us, view our videos and more. If you are an Apple platform user please take a moment to review us the next time you are in iTunes. A 5-star rating would be greatly appreciated. New shows are published every Monday and can be found on iTunes, Google Play Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and everywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts. Subscribe today

Episode 121 - The Business Of Home Recording With Sean O'Rourke Apr 22, 2019

Show notes

As we reach the midway point of season three, we dig into the mail bag for our topic this week. A while back we received listener email requesting a show that focused on the business of home recording. Immediately Jon and I knew this would be the perfect show to include a third mic guest. There’s no one better to fill that spot than our mutual friend, recording ace, and Nashville denizen, Sean O’Rourke. Sean has performed with some of the music industry’s biggest names. A partial list includes: Sugarland, Aquarium Rescue Unit, Mother’s Finest, Derek Trucks, Jerry Ragavoy, Oteil Burbridge, and Arrested Development. In this episode we call upon Sean’s 20+ years of traditional studio and in-home recording experience to answer some questions. We cover what gear it takes to make a basic home studio functional along with upgrades that may make a big difference. Sean talks about the importance of signal path, the different room treatments he’s experimented with and what works best for recording drums. We then discuss dealing with clients, what materials they should provide, charts, cues, and session set up. We then talk about finishing the session, getting the tracks approved, different audio formats, delivering the tracks, and getting paid. Finally we discuss the proliferation of online studio musicians and what you can do to help separate yourself from the pack. Check out Sean and his studio by visiting his site at: http://seanorourke.com/ Sean also has a YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/seanorourke Here is Sean's Soundcloud account: https://soundcloud.com/seanorourke Please visit our website at: www.drummersweeklygroovecast.com There you can listen to our shows, interact with our social media, email us, view our videos and more. If you are an Apple platform user please take a moment to review us the next time you are in iTunes. A 5-star rating would be greatly appreciated. New shows are published every Monday and can be found on iTunes, Google Play Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and everywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts. Subscribe today!

Episode 120 - Interview - Carter McLean Apr 15, 2019

Show notes

I always enjoy the interviews we do at Drummer’s Weekly Groovecast. Part of the reason is that I only ask guests that I have a genuine interest in. It certainly doesn’t hurt if they have something to say. If they have a good time saying it, it’s just a bonus. This week I dumbed into a grand slam. I know, I know. You’re saying to yourself that you’ve heard this guy on other podcasts and social media. Not like this you haven’t. If you’re in the drumming business and unaware of Carter McLean, get out from under your rock and listen up. If you removed his current, long-term gigs (Broadway’s ‘The Lion King’ and Charlie Hunter) and his resume was reduced to his social media and educational posts, that’d be enough. If that doesn’t convince you, what if I told you that Vinnie Colaiuta was a fan? Well, he is. In this episode we cover some areas of Carter’s playing and teaching that have not been touched on. We discuss, in minutia, what it’s like getting into the Broadway orchestra pits. We talk about everything pertinent to drummers: following various conductors, subbing out shows, learning the book, covering mistakes, taking direction, monitoring, drum cages, and much more. Carter then gives us his daily routine from his commute into the city until he walks out of the theatre. We also spent a good amount of time discussing his teaching practice, his web site, and the upcoming release of his new method book, “Concepts and Creativity”. Carter discusses his educational background and how his experiences led him to create his own methods. He has documented many of his main ideas on his web site: www.fourhandsdrumming.com There you can discover his thoughts on topics such as: groove, feel, time, tuning, soloing, and more. Carter then gives us a preview of his upcoming book and walks us through a few of the concepts and exercises found within. We finish up by discussing his current, personal practice routine and then, of course, a comfortable jog through the Drummer’s Weekly Groovecast Rorschach Test! You can find out more about Carter by visiting his educational site: https://fourhandsdrumming.com I encourage you to also check out his Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/cartermac Please visit our website at: www.drummersweeklygroovecast.com There you can listen to our shows, interact with social media, email us, view our videos and more. If you are an Apple platform user please take a moment to review us the next time you are in iTunes. A 5-star rating would be greatly appreciated. New shows are published every Monday and can be found on iTunes, Google Play Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and everywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts. Subscribe today!

Episode 119 - Artist Feature - Sonny Payne Apr 08, 2019

Show notes

We are back with season three’s artist feature. This time around we highlight Sonny Payne (Count Basie, Harry James, Frank Sinatra, Erskine Hawkins). Payne is simultaneously one of the most influential yet underrated big band drummers in jazz history. When asked to list the most influential big band drummers a typical response might be: Buddy Rich, Papa Jo Jones, Gene Krupa, Louie Bellson, Mel Lewis, Ed Shaughnessy, Chick Webb, etc. However, when many musicians, including some of the aforementioned drumming greats, are asked to name influential drummers Payne is at the top of the list. Combining innate musicality with bombastic setups and unparalleled showmanship Payne became the blueprint for which all future Basie drummers were compared. Harold Jones, who replaced Payne after his departure in 1965, unapologetically said that he took everything he could from Sonny during his time with the Basie band. Butch Miles, a fifteen-year Basie veteran, echoed that all drummers were told to emulate Payne’s playing as the definitive versions of the Basie catalogue. Phil and Jon discuss Payne’s playing style, his sound, his gear, and then listen to excerpts from their favorite recordings. Phil’s Picks: Shiny Stockings from Ella and Basie! Cute – from Basie Plays Hefti Whirlybird – from The Dynamic Basie Orchestra One O’Clock Jump – from Breakfast Dance and BBQ Jon’s Picks: Jumpin at the Woodside – Live at the Sands (Before Frank) I’ve Got You Under My Skin – Sinatra at the Sands All of Me - Sinatra at the Sands One O’Clock Jump - Sinatra at the Sands Join us every Monday for the best interviews and topical discussion in the drumming podcast idiom! We’re available on ITunes, Google Play Podcasts, Stitcher, and everywhere you listen to your favorite music and podcasts. Subscribe today! If you listen via Itunes please stop by the Drummer’s Weekly Groovecast home page inside of ITunes and leave us a 5-star review. We’d greatly appreciate it and it helps other people looking for our content find us a bit more easily. Lastly please visit our website at www.drummersweeklygroovecast.com You can listen to all of our shows, interact with our social media accounts, view our videos, and contact us through our email form. Share us with your friends!

Episode 118 - Interview - Jimmy Haslip Apr 01, 2019

Show notes

We spread our wings this episode and interview our first bassist, Jimmy Haslip. Now before you call me out regarding our bassists’s perspective show, with two of our favorite bass players, keep in mind that was a four mic show and not really an interview. Most of you will know Jimmy from his long-term relationship with the seminal fusion group the Yellowjackets. During his 32-year tenure with the band Jimmy and fellow band mates released some of the most influential music in that genre’s history. All the while Jimmy continued to work with other musicians on various live and studio projects which ultimately led him to develop an affinity and mastery for production. In 2012 Jimmy decided to take a break from touring to concentrate on producing music of his own and for other like-minded musicians. Little did he know that break would turn into a permanent full-time gig. In this episode we caught up with Jimmy during his recent stop in Atlanta with the Oz Noy trio. I met him in the lobby of his hotel where we set up shop and talked about his recent gigs and production projects. We then devote the majority of show discussing the drummers that Jimmy has worked with. It is one of the most impressive and comprehensive lists of drummers and percussionists I’ve ever seen. We naturally discuss his work with great jazz and fusion players such as: Will Kennedy, Vinnie Colaiuta, Gergo Borlai, Tom Brechtlein, and Joel Rosenblatt. But we also cover a list of players that you wouldn’t normally associate with Jimmy. And…of course, we finish up with a run through the gauntlet that is the DWG Rorschach test. Visit Jimmy at his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/jimmy.haslip Visit Jimmy at Blue Canoe Records: https://www.bluecanoerecords.com/arctrio_jh_sc_gb.html Please visit our website at: www.drummersweeklygroovecast.com There you can listen to our shows, interact with social media, email us, view our videos and more. If you are an Apple platform user please take a moment to review us the next time you are in iTunes. A 5-star rating would be greatly appreciated. New shows are published every Monday and can be found on iTunes, Google Play Podcasts, Stitcher and everywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts. Subscribe today!

Episode 117 - Season Three Premiere - Positive Motivation Mar 25, 2019

Show notes

After a long winter’s nap Phil and Jon make their return to the Groovecast studios. In what is becoming a recurrent tradition they reveal the season three theme and discuss the clips therein. We then spend some time catching up from the past few months discussing new gigs and opportunities. We also pay our respects to the great Hal Blaine. We then talk about social media etiquette and how to contact us to be better connected. Our topic to start season three is positive forms of motivation and its long-lasting benefits. We each explain how this type of motivation is the polar opposite of ‘stage bullying’ and negative commentary. Sometimes you receive the motivation from a teacher. Sometimes it can be a fellow musician. It can also be discovered in forms of self-realization. Each host then describes how different real-world scenarios of positive motivation enhanced the situation they were in. They also recount how these styles of motivation stayed with them and how they are used currently. We finish out the premiere episode by making a visit to the Drummer’s Weekly Groovecast Garage. In this segment Jon talks about the relevance of vintage, chrome plated, brass drum hoops. He discusses where you’d typically find them, ways to identify them, the potential benefits of using them and the resale value compared to steel hoops. Please visit our website at: www.drummersweeklygroovecast.com There you can listen to our shows, interact with social media, email us, view our videos and more. If you are an Apple platform user please take a moment to review us the next time you are in iTunes. A 5-star rating would be greatly appreciated. New shows are published every Monday and can be found on iTunes, Google Play Podcasts, Stitcher and everywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts. Subscribe today!

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