Rhythm 235 Sampler by Future PLC

Exclusive! first look at the Roland TD-1KV e-kit november 2014 | 235

101 Drum intros Plus learn classic intros from ‘Rock And Roll’, ‘Hot For Teacher’, ‘Spirit Of Radio’, ‘You Could Be Mine’, ‘Painkiller’ and more

tony allen

afrobeat legend

hannah ford

prince

Shannon Larkin

godsmack

Cover image: Dave Caudery

Hello! What makes a good drum intro?

Myself and the Rhythm team have had heaps of fun putting this issue together. Often we get so caught up in actually making the mag that luxuries like time behind the kit or actually appreciating the music we listen to in the office are rare. But that all changed over the last couple of months as we’ve spent hours selecting, enjoying and debating our favourite tracks with brilliant drum intros. I’m talking about the sort of beats you can’t help but air-drum to, the beats even non-drummers know, the ones that make you proud to play the drums. There are undeniable classics (our intial list of 30 intros practically wrote itself), then you have obscure gems and glimmers of rarely celebrated brilliance and, of course, we all wanted to ensure our favourite drummers were represented too! It’s amazing how many huge tracks kick off with drums. The power and propulsion of a good drum intro can take a song to a whole different level, in much the same way as a recognisable guitar riff. There are some serious players behind these intros and, rather than just listing them, we wanted to help you learn to play like some of them too. Keep your eye out for the ‘Play It!’ signs throughout our 101 Drum Intros run-down (starting on page 29). Finally, it’s the end of an era in our lessons section this month as BIMM tutor Adam Bushell steps down from his Rhythm column. Adam joined us an amazing 12 years ago! As sad as we are to see Adam go, I’m equally excited to welcome BIMM Head Of Drums Pat Garvey into the fold. Look out for his first column next month. Enjoy!

playlist

Pumping on our stereo... alt-j

Chris Barnes, Editor

this is all yours The cymbal-less Thom Green returns with yet more refreshingly different indie rock. His beats are heavier, the pace is quicker and they’ve written another winner.

Chris.Barnes@futurenet.com Twitter @RhythmMagazine

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alice cooper

This month’s experts Stuart williams

Editor of Rhythm’s sister magazine Total Guitar, and a drummer himself, Stu was excited to get a hold of Roland’s new TD1-KV electronic kit. After Roland last month granted Rhythm and MusicRadar an exclusive first UK look at the kit, Stu got up-close and personal with it for a full review on page 102!

www.rhythmmagazine.co.uk

david west

A drummer for over 30 years, David is one of Rhythm’s top writers. This month’s been a busy one for David as he met Afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen (page 44), Prince & 3rd Eye Girl drummer Hannah Ford (page 52), and helped us out with our 101 Greatest Drum Intros cover feature (from page 29)!

adam bushell

Adam joined the Rhythm teamin 2002, at the genesis of what would become Rhythm’s regular Lessons section, then called ‘Beats Working’, and has represented music school BIMM in Rhythm since. His fantastic tutor columns will be sadly missed, but thanks for the 12 years Adam! Find his last column on p82.

raise the dead - live from wacken The king of Shock Rock shows no signs of slowing, surely something to do with the energetic showman Glen Sobel behind the kit. An enjoyable, hit-filled live outing.

spin doctors

pocket full of kryptonite ‘Two Princes’ was a shoe-in for our drum intros list, but hearing the track reminded us of Aaron Comess’ sheer brilliance on the album from which it came.

NOVEMBER 2014 |

Contents 101

Issue 235 November 2014

tony allen AfroBeat pioneer

Regulars 06 beat

All the latest news and hot gear, plus tips, classic sounds and more

introducing

New bands and drummers you need to have on your radar this month

reviews

New stuff from Slipknot, Omar Hakim, VHF, Tony Allen, Tower Of Power and more

112

ask geoff

Your kit conundrums solved by our resident gear guru

Drum intros

CLASSIC DRUM intros

We round up 101 of the greatest intro beats in music, and show you how to play 10 of them!

hannah ford Prince & 3rdEyeGirl andy burrows Solo/ex-Razorlight

Shannon larkin Godsmack

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| november 2014

lessons

gear reviews

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Highlights

People | Music | Gear

| november 2014

9Theanton fig 12 TIPS seasoned sticksman is Black Keys’ Patrick Carney’s back with Joe Bonamassa

tips for playing in a duo

www.rhythmmagazine.co.uk

14 drum kit A new old favourite is back, the Yamaha Stage Custom

Wanna be a record breaker? Dedication’s all you need. That and 1,000 other drummers all playing the same beat… ■■Calling all drummers, you’re needed to raise cash and awareness for a great cause and smash a world record in the process. The drumBEAT UK event will take place at Manchester’s Event City on 21 November and aims to gather 1,001 drummers to together, all making a right racket at the same time. In doing so it is hoped that the world record for the Largest Full Drum Kit Ensemble, currently 798, will be beaten. Players will need to hold down a simple 4/4 beat and a one-bar fill in order for the record to be broken. Star drummers such as Don Powell, Robin Guy, Jason Cooper and Craig Blundell have all signed up to take part. On the decision to put on the event, organiser, and founder of the Music

members of the drum community. The event is to be held in memory of Kate Fenney, co-founder of the Music Shipping Company. Kate tragically lost her 17-month battle with a brain tumour earlier this year. It is also held in honour of Charlatans drummer Jon Brookes, who passed away in 2013 after suffering a brain tumour, and Eleri McBay, wife of Guitar Guitar founder Kip McBay, who also died of a brain tumour this year. Those looking to enter must register at www.drumbeatuk.com. Registration costs £20 per person. Attendees must use their own drum kit which should consist at least of one bass drum, one rack tom, one floor tom and one snare drum, as well as one bass pedal, one hi-hat, one cymbal and a stool. There will also be a package for everyone that enters featuring Aquarian drum heads and Hearos ear plugs, and the person raising the most amount of money for the

“A number of very well known drummers will be there, walking around and talking drums with any drummer who’s there”

Rhythm staffer Rich helps out at the 2012 Stick It To MS record breaking event

www.rhythmmagazine.co.uk

Shipping Company, Craig Fenney said: “Our friends at Marshall Amplification, who of course own Natal Drums, suggested the idea. We have worked with them in the past during their launch of Natal and we are still great friends with them and their staff. An event like this is not about individual brands and in fact since the launch many other drum companies, such as Aquarian in the USA, have given us assistance and we are still receiving offers from a lot of industry names and brands worldwide.” Aside from getting 1,001 drummers in one place and breaking a world record, the event is being put on in order to raise awareness and money for the Brain Tumour Charity. It is hoped that in excess of £125,000 will be generated for the cause. It is a cause that is dear to the hearts of the show’s organisers and numerous

cause will receive a special, yet-to-beannounced prize. Craig added: “We are confident but 1,001 is a big number and we still need every last one of the participants to register and be there… This is a totally unmissable opportunity to have an awesome day and to make a difference. “Of course the main thing is to raise money to fund a great charity but anyone who has taken part in the previous record attempts will tell you that the sheer buzz of playing with an army of drummers is one of the best experiences they have ever had. We also have a lot of things happening on the day and a number of very well known drummers will be there who I know will be walking around and talking drums with any drummer who’s there. Everyone loves drums!”

The magic number The current world record was set at the Stick It To MS event in July 2012, in which 798 drummers took part.

november 2014 |

Beat! People | Music | Gear

Mike Portnoy returns with a new Flying Colors album and a whirlwind tour

Portnoy’s second nature The hardest working drummer in prog reconvenes his elusive supergroup, Flying Colors ■■When Flying Colors released their debut album in 2012 the whole project was, in the words of Mike Portnoy, “very much a blind date”. The quintet – Mike, Neal Morse, Dave LaRue, Steve Morse and Casey McPherson – did one short tour before everyone went back to their day-job bands. Now they’re poised to unveil the eagerly awaited follow-up, Second Nature. “When you start with a band, everybody is fighting for positions and trying to prove themselves and their abilities and gain each other’s trust. Now all of that is done,” says Mike. “At this point we’re definitely incredibly comfortable with each other and there’s a

| november 2014

real camaraderie and personal chemistry.” The drummer says the new album will take listeners on “a musical journey through every style and genre”. He adds, “Flying Colors reminds me a bit of the old ways that bands made music in the ’60s and ’70s. If you listen to The Beatles’ White Album, or Queen’s A Night At The Opera, from song to song it’s so different. The White Album goes from the hard rock of ‘Helter Skelter’ to old-time ragtime with ‘Wild Honey Pie, then a ballad with ‘I Will’, and for Queen you go from rock to ballad to waltz to jazz. Flying Colors is very much like that, you’re getting this crazy palette of all different colours and I think that’s a result of the different personalities in the band. I always joke that when we did the first album that we were like The Village People of rock. In The Village People you had the cowboy, the policeman, the motorcycle man, and it’s like that in Flying Colors. You’ve got the heavy metal guy, the prog guy, the pop guy, the jazz guy, the funk guy, and the music is this incredible

FILMING COLORS The album is available with a behind-thescenes DVD. “It’s got interviews with each of us, commentaries on every song,” says Mike. “There’s a vinyl edition, we put together some exclusive bonus tracks, like unplugged versions of some songs; the label is giving us and the fans lots to chew on.”

range of diverse styles as a result.” In October the band will undertake a whirlwind tour visiting eight countries in just 10 gigs. “The problem with this band is that the scheduling is so difficult with everybody having other things,” says Mike. “We would love to get out there and play more but we literally could only come up with two weeks when all of our schedules align. Okay, how are we going to cover the world in two weeks? We just have to hit as many major markets as we can and just hope that people will come to us.” The opportunities to get the busy band members together are so tantalisingly brief that it always leaves Mike hungry for more. “I think it’s what’s going to make Flying Colors very special,” he says. “People need to know that if we’re going to be able to squeeze in some shows, get your ass to it because it’s going to be exclusive. It’s something that should not be taken for granted so it will make what we are able to do that much more special.”

www.rhythmmagazine.co.uk

Anton Fig is back with another album for Joe Bonamassa

Anton Fig

Session ace Fig gets back in the studio with blues guitar master Bonamassa How did you become involved with this latest Joe Bonamassa album? “I heard from Kevin Shirley and he said they were recording another record and did I want to fly out to Vegas to do the record. Of course I did.”

What was your approach this time? “Joe’s records are done very quickly. In a few days we do the whole record. We just learn it in the studio and record it right away then move on to the next song. It’s immediate and the songs are very fresh, I don’t sit with them at all right up to recording.”

How much is the kit sound on this album a collaboration between yourself, Kevin and Joe? “The sound is Kevin because he is the engineer as well as producer. He gets a recognisable kind of sound. I will get the drums sounding really good where I’m sitting. I learnt a really long time ago that that was my job, then it’s the engineer’s job to get the drums sounding good from there on.”

Out now

Joe Bonamassa Different Shades Of Blue www.jbonamassa. com

And how about with your parts? “Kevin generally guides the session in terms of talking to the other musicians. I’m so used to working with him that I know he’ll tell me if I’m on the right or wrong track. He might make a couple of suggestions to go this way or that way. Generally though I’ve been hired because I might have some ideas and input into how the drums might go within the songs. They let me try whatever I want, some will be good ideas and some they will want something different. My job is to give them what they want so if it is Kevin’s idea I’ll try to take it and make it my own. I know once Kevin says he’s got it then he’s got it because it always comes out really well.”

fantastic musician, great singer, great guitarist and he has a high standard. It’s easy to play with him and for him. I’ve done some live stuff with him from time to time and you get to stretch a little more live, but even on records when he’s playing a solo you can hear him really going on the instrument. That makes it really fun to support him.”

What kit were you using? “This time it was a Yamaha kit. Kevin has one of my snares which he brings to all of the sessions, usually it’s my Signature Yamaha snare on all of the records. I used some nice Zildjian cymbals on this session as well.”

What is the key to Joe’s success? There must be a great chemistry between you and Joe. “There is an element of trust. Joe is a

“Joe is an incredibly hard worker. I don’t go on the road with him but they do a lot of dates all the time, they’re always working.”

This month at rhythmmagazine.co.uk Highlights from the online home of the UK’s best-selling drum magazine

Buddy Rich

When it comes to drum heroes, big band maestro Buddy Rich is a hero to just about every drummer out there. Here in this video feature we pick out some of our favourite Buddy Rich drum battles.

Drum Heroes

Did you miss our recent Drum Heroes week? Worry not, as we’ve rounded up every last interview and feature in one place for you. Head here for plenty of Peart, Copeland, Paice, Ward and more, plus how to sound like Bonham and the secret weapons of the modern drum hero!

Pearl

The guys over at Pearl have come up with some distinctive new finishes for their VBA kits, including this – the NY Splatter.

NDF

We headed to the Midlands for the 2014 National Drum Fair, and boy did we see a whole lotta drums! We bring you some of the many highlights.

Plus production tips from brendan o’brien and bob rock, mike portnoy’s essential rock movies and much more www.rhythmmagazine.co.uk

novemBER 2014 |

Beat! People | Music | Gear

Drummer’s tool Kit

Three-Beat Triplet Lick

Linear figures using inverted double-strokes

I Your tutor Pete riley

p.riley@mac.com

n this month’s Drummer’s Toolkit lesson we’re going to take a look at how a slick-sounding triplet lick can be created from a basic six-stroke sticking. You can also find this figure utilised in this issue’s Drum Solo lesson, which you can find on page 92. Example 1 shows the basic six-stroke figure. This can be played with or without the final two notes. Next, in Example 2,

we’re orchestrating the figure between the bass drum and snare drum. Be sure to keep the two left-hand notes quiet. Finally we add two more bass drum notes to create a continuous flow of eighth-note triplets. The final challenge here is to play the figure through 4/4 so that it moves across the beat. Check out the Drum Solo to see an example of this in action.

Pete's Drummers' Toolkit

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Aaron Spears is coming to the UK with Zildjian

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avin Harrison and Aaron Spears are hitting the road for the Zildjian Days tour in November. The jaunt will head all over Europe, with a London date on 23 November. The nine-date tour kicks off in Holland on 16 November, ending in Istanbul on 2 December. Bob Wiczling, Zildjian International Marketing Manager, said: “Zildjian Days have always been very special events. This time we wanted to offer the audience a new experience, something fresh and exciting in terms of drummer shows. Not to give too much away, but they should expect not only

some incredible performances from the very top names in drummers, but they will also have an opportunity to experience a visual ‘Access All Areas’ pass to look behind the scenes at all that is Zildjian.” Harrison has been ridiculously busy of late, juggling his commitments with Porcupine Tree while joining up with a new-look King Crimson. Spears, meanwhile, is an in-demand clinician and long-time sticksman for US r’n’b superstar Usher. More artists are set to be added to the bill in the coming weeks. For more information and ticketing details head over to www.zildjian.com.

www.rhythmmagazine.co.uk

‘It’s Not UNUsUal’ Tom Jones

Chris Slade remembers a massive ’60s hit How did you first start working with Tom Jones?

“When I was about 17 I had a Saturday job in a shop in Cardiff. Tommy Scott, as Tom was then known, and the Senators were a well-known Welsh act. A lady who worked with me in the shop told me they had sacked their drummer the night before. That day Mike Roberts the guitarist walked into the shop to buy some shoes. I went up to him shaking and said, ‘I hear you’re looking for a drummer. I’m a drummer and I live by Tom.’ We got together and they asked if I could play ‘Walk Don’t Run’ by The Ventures, I started playing it and they said, ‘Let’s go down the pub and rehearse then.’”

Where was the track recorded?

“Regent Sound, where the Stones were recording at the time. It was in Denmark Street in London. It was near the Giaconda coffee shop, where musicians looking for a

band would go. You’d go to see what was in and someone would say, ‘Oh, I think Jimi Hendrix is looking for a rhythm section.’”

Drummer: Chris slade Album: along Came Jones YeAr: 1965

It was a momentous track for Tom…

“Tom went to the manager who had written

“I think it was Micky from The Squires playing guitar and I sat on the kit and played. It swung like the clappers” the song, Gordon Mills, and Tom said that if he couldn’t have that song then he’d no longer be his manager. Gordon said, ‘We’ve promised it to Sandy Shaw!’ Tom was going to go back to Wales and pack it in without that song, but Sandy turned it down.”

Did you know when you were recording that it would be a hit?

“We didn’t just know it would be a hit, we

knew it would be a Number One with absolute conviction. And it was.”

Did it come together quickly?

“I don’t think we even put bass on it, there just wasn’t time. Les Reed was the co-writer and he’s written all sorts of songs, like ‘Delilah,’ he played piano, I think it was Micky from The Squires playing guitar and I sat on the kit and played. It swung like the clappers. I’ve still got it on wax, not even vinyl!”

What kit did you use?

“It would have been the house kit. There were no toms, it would have just been hi-hat, bass drum, snare. That was it.”

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Beat! People | Music | Gear

Oakland funksters Tower Of Power, with drummer David Garibaldi, are coming to the UK

Full Power

Tower of Power set for UK show ■■Tower Of Power head back to the UK before the end of the year buoyed by the discovery of their ‘lost’ live album. The band perform at the Indigo in London on 1 November, and drummer David Garibaldi is certain that a good time is in store for all. “We have a great new singer,” he reveals, “his name is Ray Green and he plays trombone as well. You’re going to hear guitar music and have a great time. It’s loud, fun, there’s great soloing, great ensemble playing, it’ll be a good time – typical Tower.” Garibaldi admits that the band are in fine spirits after the release of their Hipper Than Hip live album: “It was a recording we didn’t know existed. That performance was from 1974, it was a live radio broadcast. It was recorded in a studio with a live audience. Some people had recorded some tracks off the radio and made a bootleg. Warner Bros contacted us and said they had this live performance and they had a multi-track recording of it. They remastered it, remixed it and it’s an awesome performance. A real nice discovery. We were all really excited about what we were doing and everything was starting to come together right then, it caught us at a great moment.”

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Control and emphasise dynamics, advises Patrick Carney of playing in a duo

my top 5 tips on…

Playing in a duo By Patrick Carney (The Black Keys) have to like 1 You each other

“I think you always have to get along with people you’re in a band with. [Once] we ■ were doing a seven-week tour of the US and every day we had a nine-hour drive in this cramped little van – it was f**king miserable. If you can’t at least respect someone during that time, then you shouldn’t be in a band with them.”

Fill the space 2 “Dan [Auerbach, Black Keys guitarist] and I don’t play as a two-piece that often anymore, but when we do it’s drastically different to playing as a four-piece. It’s cool, it’s different and I don’t prefer either one, but I always end up using a lot of kick drum and cymbals when we play as a two-piece, just to fill-up that space.”

is a more 3 Time liquid concept

“The beauty of playing with a two-piece is that time becomes much more flexible. You can speed up and slow down and really play

off of each other, but the number one thing is to just really control and emphasise dynamics. You can get really quiet and really loud and you can have like a ‘liquid time’ between two people.”

recording, 4 When keep it minimal

“The way that I record always boils down to one thing: super-minimal miking techniques – kick and snare spot mics and then a room mic and one overhead, or even no room ■ mic. I use the Glyn Johns technique on mics a lot. The less options you give yourselves later, by committing to just a couple of ■ mics, the better.”

for a musical 5 Look connection

“In my experience, it clicks instantly, or it doesn’t click at all. And that goes out to the people that we play with here and there, too. With Dan and I, we both understood what we wanted to hear without having to talk about it. It boils down to taste – you can’t be playing music that you don’t like.”