Rhythm 237 Sampler by Future PLC

the magazine for drummers january 2015 | 237

Jojo Mayer Technique, control, expression and how to be a

Bass Drum Master

ac/dc exclusive

phil rudd

“I’ve no intention of changing my style” learn how to reader’s poll

teach drums

best in drums 2014

play better

rock beats

Cover image: Carmen Kam

Hello! Weapons of mass percussion...

The word ‘groundbreaking’ is overused, often describing something that is anything but. In 2007, however, Swiss wonder drummer Jojo Mayer released a DVD that defined groundbreaking. Secret Weapons For The Modern Drummer revolutionised not only the way drums are taught, but also the playing of drummers the world over (and continues to do so). Seven years later and Jojo has done it again. Secret Weapons Part 2: A Guide To Foot Technique is another immensely ambitious, meticulously focused project designed to have drummers studying and honing for years. We couldn’t let such a major event in drums pass without stepping inside the mind of the man himself and extracting some wisdom. See what Jojo has to say starting on page 30. If you like what you see this month then a Rhythm subscription could be for you. We currently have massive discounts on print and digital formats or, new this year, why not try a package that combines both? That’s a print copy for the toilet (or wherever you read us) and a digital one for when you’re on the go and still need a hit of drums. Head to page 74 for full details. Last month it gave me great pleasure to personally present the 2014 Percussion Product of the Year award to Premier Drums at the MIA Awards. The award was for the Premier Modern Classic kit – a worthy winner. Well done guys! All that’s left for me to say is to wish you a fantastic festive period, enjoy the free calendar we’re giving away with this issue (in the UK) and we look forward to helping make you an even better drummer throughout 2015!

playlist

Pumping on our stereo... phil spector

Chris Barnes, Editor

a christmas gift for you from phil spector The only proper Christmas album! Spector’s wall of sound treatment gives these Christmas favourites a boost and features the always awesome Hal Blaine on drums.

Chris.Barnes@futurenet.com Twitter @RhythmMagazine

Facebook /RhythmMagazine

the pretty reckless

This month’s experts geoff nicholls

Aside from casting his critical eye over new gear and unearthing vintage gear, Mr Nicholls this month spoke to Swiss technique master Jojo Mayer about his fantastic new DVD focussing on foot technique. Read Geoff’s interview, chock full of Jojo’s words of wisdom, from page 30.

www.rhythmmagazine.co.uk

dave atkinson

Drumeo’s Dave began teaching privately in 2006, and has since taught thousands of drummers through his lessons on FreeDrumLessons.com, and with his Drum Play-Along System and Bass Drum Secrets 2.0. Rhythm is pleased to be able to team up with Drumeo for a Rock 101 video lesson. Find it on page 50!

rob brian

Top session drummer and Siouxsie Sioux sticksman Rob has been a long-time endorser of Bosphorus cymbals. This month Rob tours the Bosphorus factory in Turkey to report on how his metals of choice are hand-made by skilled artisans in the traditional way. Turn to page page 52!

going to hell This band are more than just a pretty face – we just witnessed drummer Jamie Perkins do an awesome 10-plus minute drum solo live, and his playing on the band’s second album helps make it a rock’n’roll cracker.

pvris

white noise Poor spelling aside, this young American trio layer Paramore’s pop sound with atmospheric electronics and BIG drums.

january 2015 |

Contents 42

phil rudd AC/DC

Issue 237 January 2015

jojo mayer

Mastering foot technique with his new DVD

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 Jojo Mayer, Foo Fighters, Mick Fleetwood, Vinnie Colaiuta and more

112

ask geoff

Your kit conundrums solved by our resident gear guru

stephen perkins Janeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Addiction

bosphorus Turkish cymbal factory tour

nirvana The drummers behind the grunge legends

gear reviews

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Become a Rhythm subscriber and save 43% and pay just ÂŁ20.49 for a six month subscription. Head to page 74 for details. www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk 4

| january 2015

lessons

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Highlights

People | Music | Gear

| january 2015

10 toolkit Learn how to play a

Brazilian Baião ostinato

12 top five TIPS Ryan O’Keeffe’s advice on keeping up your stamina

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18 introducing New drummers and bands you need on your radar

Rubin’s return Workaholic sticksman Ilan back with new Angels And Airwaves record ■■When he came off the road with Nine Inch Nails earlier this year after a solid 18 months’ touring, few would have begrudged Ilan Rubin a little time to kick back and put his feet up. But, it seems that time off just doesn’t exist for the San Diego sticksman. Instead, he jumped back into the Tom Delonge-led Angels And Airwaves, co-writing and playing guitar and drums on the band’s new album, The Dream Walker. Of his bustling schedule, Ilan told Rhythm: “It wasn’t a challenge. That’s the way I like to work. I like to keep busy and keep moving forward. It worked well and was a very fluid transition for me.” It seems that the project saw Delonge hand over plenty of creative control to the multi-instrumental Rubin, but that doesn’t mean that he ripped out a full-on drum record, quite the opposite in fact. “I don’t like parts that are too busy,” Rubin admits. “The most important part is

live room and experiment with parts. When I was writing with Tom or tracking it I have an idea in my head of what I will try. If that works, great. Tom and my brother Aaron, who mixed, produced and engineered the album, would be listening in the control room and I’d go in and we’d listen to what we had done and I might say I wanted to change this and that and then I’d go back and refine it.” Given that one of the other projects currently eating up Ilan’s time is his involvement with flourishing LA firm Q Drum Co, it’s little surprise to learn his gear choices for the album. “I’ve been using a Q Drum Co copper drumset and a mahogany drumset that I used at the end that I had used on the road with Nine Inch Nails. I also used a variety of snare drums, a lot of Q Drum Co that I really enjoy as well as some Ludwig Supraphonics and some old drums that I’ve acquired over the years. Q is going really well. I’m happy with the rapid growth that the company is experiencing. It’s great to see the word spreading.” That’s not even close to being all that Ilan is up to, he also has his eye on a new solo album, the follow-up to 2011’s Speak

NIN “[Touring with Nine Inch Nails] was a great year and a half. I loved it. It’s always a pleasure with Nine Inch Nails. It was a different degree of comfort this time because I was coming back to it as opposed to it being a new world to me. Those shows were great.”

“I don’t like parts that are too busy. The most important part is the song and I don’t want to do anything to detract from that”

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the song, I don’t want to do anything to detract from that. Tom would want busier stuff, I would want simpler stuff. We would listen and agree with what we had done and why. You can hear some more playing on songs like ‘The Disease’, but generally that’s not what I started at, I would build up to it if it is required. “Once the main structure of the song was written I’d record those bits and go into the

Through The White Noise. “I have another New Regime release that will be coming out soon. It is completed. Even without that album out I’m already writing more New Regime music. I’m always writing. Because I play everything in New Regime, by the time something is ready to come out I’m so sick of it that I need to move on to the next thing. I’m always stockpiling songs.”

january 2015 |

Beat! People | Music | Gear

Chad plays more toms than usual on his new musical project

Inside The Process Chad Smith leaves his comfort zone to create avant-tribal funk

■■It seems The Process – the extraordinary album featuring Red Hot Chili Peppers’ drummer Chad Smith, jazz pianist Jon Batiste and bassist/ producer Bill Laswell – came about quite by chance. Chad was living in New York and his friend Jay Bulger, director of Beware Of Mr Baker, invited him to a gig. “Jay called me: ‘Hey Chad, you should go see my friend Jon Batiste. He’s the future of modern jazz, he’s incredible. He’s playing at a church in Harlem.’ I’m like, ‘That sounds great, man, I’m going,’” says Chad. “I saw Jon play, he’s an incredible musician. I got up and jammed with him and we just connected.”

| january 2015

Shortly afterwards Chad suggested they book a studio to have a jam. Jay was looking for a soundtrack for a movie he was developing and brought Bill Laswell, who has worked with everyone from Herbie Hancock to The Ramones, on board. They all assembled in Laswell’s New Jersey studio. “We just jammed,” says Chad, “and Jay gave us some direction. What about an electric Miles kind of feel? What about a Meters thing? What about an African thing? We had no music written or worked out. Literally we had no real musical conversation other than, ‘Oh, we’ll make some music and jam and see what happens.’ Great, I love it! Jay was like, ‘For my film,’ which by the way never materialised, ‘I need this apocalyptic Indian meets post-nuclear Detroit thing,’ which of course in my mind would mean something different than it does in Bill’s than it does in Jon’s, so it was really fun to see how these artists interpreted that sort of direction.” Many of the songs grew out of Chad’s drum patterns as Laswell encouraged him to

Home On The Grange

This year Chad spent five hours recording drums at Headley Grange for sample specialists Spitfire Audio, where Led Zeppelin cut their finest albums. “I was the first guy in 40 years to set up drums in the exact same place where Bonham did ‘When The Levee Breaks’. It was amazing.”

experiment. “You can hear in the music, the arrangements change with the changing of my drum patterns. Bill had a hand in that, when he did some editing to turn them into song structures, but it’s very tribal-ly. I call it avant-tribal funk. Bill thought it would be way more interesting, it would be more risky and brave and we would really learn something if we all got out of our comfort zone. I do the rock-funk thing, that’s what I’m known for; Jon is this New Orleans pianist. He did play piano on the record but when we jammed, he jammed on electrical instruments, Wurlitzers, B3s, Rhodes. I didn’t do my normal Chili Pepper funk, kick/snare/hi-hat syncopated thing. I did more tom stuff, almost more Ginger Baker-ish. There was a conscious effort to not go to your go-to. It was challenging and it made you play differently, which is always a cool thing. To be able to do that on a record was just great so I’m really happy to make an acquaintance with Mr Laswell and I’ve since done some other stuff for him. It was really different for me but musically really rewarding.”

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Out now

Korn’s original drummer David Silveria is back with a new band, Infinika

and to get my wrists in shape to be able to play the way that I used to and to get my ankles as fast as they used to be.”

Has your playing changed since Korn?

Infinika’s new album Echoes And Traces is out now

“The drumming on this album isn’t as challenging as the Korn stuff. I play to the music, I don’t play to throw in licks everywhere. This music doesn’t call for all the tricky, crazy drum fills that Korn led me to believe I needed to put into the music. This stuff is easier to play. It wasn’t me purposely changing my style, this music just didn’t require the fast drum fills.”

What kit did you use this time? “I used the same [Tama] kit I always used –

David Silveria

Korn founder returns with new band, Infinika, stripped-back beats and the same old kit You’ve been away for six years, why is now the time to come back? “I took a break for a while and then decided I wanted to continue putting music out. It was nice to have some time off. I was playing music with a friend and we were thinking about singers and my friend suggested Riz. I’ve known Riz for about 15 years. We got together and just started writing songs. He had a few songs we re-recorded with me putting my twist on them. It’s been two years

[since then]. We took about a year to finish it and it’s been kicking around for about a year making sure we get the right publicists and looking at how we want to put it out.”

Did it take a while to get your drumming chops back? “I stepped away from it for a few years. I just picked up the sticks and started playing again at my house and got right back into it. It took about a month to get my chops back

10" and 12" toms, 15" and 16" floor toms, 20" kick and a free floating brass piccolo snare.”

Will you be touring the album? “Riz has made a movie and our music is all over the movie and we’re going to tie all of that together. I’m not sure when it will happen but it will happen all at once. We’ll be touring the world.”

It was recently the 20th anniversary of Korn’s debut album. How do you look back on that time? “I look back on the first record as one of the greatest times of my life. We had success after a solid year of touring, playing in front of 100 people a night and then the crowds got bigger and bigger, then we played arenas with Ozzy Osbourne. That was one of the most fun times in my entire life, I loved it. That was a groundbreaking record.”

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

new Meinl products

The German cymbal and percussion giant has unveiled a slew of new products ahead of Christmas – including the Classic Cajon Brush and the 4" practice Kneepad.

YouTube

Want to make it as a musical YouTube sensation? We talk to Steve ‘The Drummer At The Wrong Gig’ Moore, drum cover specialist Ben Powell and more about what it takes to get noticed online.

the drummers of punk

Punk rock may get a bad rap for musicianship, but the genre has given us some superb drummers. We round up our 15 favourite punk sticksmen.

Prince’s drummers

The little Purple One has had some incredible drummers in his time. We take a look at a few of those great players, from Bobby Z to Hannah F.

Plus Premier takes top drum prize at the MIA Awards, Thomann launches kids’ percussion range and much more… www.rhythmmagazine.co.uk

january 2015 |

Beat! People | Music | Gear

Drummer’s tool Kit

Baiao Independence

Building independence with a classic foot pattern

O Your tutor Pete Riley

p.riley@mac.com

and finally in Example 3 we use an inverted ne of the classic foot ostinatos paradiddle. features the Brazilian baião This final sticking really sits well over ■ (bi-own) rhythm on the bass the foot pattern and, as can be seen in the drum. Here we're looking at video (print and iOs only) can be applied ■ getting started with this pattern and ■ to kit to create a groove between ride or building up a little independence with ■ cowbell and snare. For the next challenge, the hands. turn to this issue’s drum solo (page 92) First, Example 1 shows the basic foot which features this foot ostinato throughout ■ pattern and begins by playing single-■ with some challenging hand patterns over stroke eighth-notes over the top. Next, in Rhythm - 2 3 7 Drummers' Toolkit top. Example 2, the hands play a paradiddle ■ Pete'sthe

Rhythm - 2 3 7

Pete's Drummers' Toolkit Example 1 features the basic pattern with single-strokes on the snare. Rhythm 2 3 7 Ex 1 Pete's Drummers' Toolkit

œœ œ œ œœ œœ œ œ œœ ¿ ¿ œœ œ œ œœ œœ œ œ œ œ R L R L R L R œ œ œ¿ œ œ œ œ¿ œL œR œL œR œL ¿ ¿ L R L R > > paradiddle. 02 Next the hands play a single Ex 2 œL œR œœL ÷ C >Rœœ >œRœ œL œ¿R œœL ¿ Ex 2 œ œ œ ÷ C >œœ >œœL Rœ œL œœL œ R L R R ¿ œ œ œ œ œ œ¿ œ ÷ C œœ Ex 3 œ œ œ ¿ ¿ R L R R L R L > > (> ) (>L ) Ex 3 œL which œR synchronises œR well œL with theœR bass drum œL pattern. œL >Rœœ paradiddle 03 Finally Example 3 featuresEx÷ an3Cinverted ¿ (>œ ) >œ ¿ (>œ ) œ œ (>œœ ) >œœ œ œ (>œœ ) ÷ C >œœ R L L R L R R ¿ œ œ œœ œœ œ œ¿ œœL ÷ C œœ ¿L ¿R R L R L R L ÷C Ex 1 ÷C ÷C Ex 2 Ex 1

Bowld in a box

Jason Bowld records new Toontrack EZX

Get some killer metal kit sounds courtesy of Jason Bowld

| january 2015

■■Looking for some killer metal kit sounds to add to your arsenal? Toontrack’s new EZX might be just what you’re after. Toontrack’s new Made Of Metal pack features beats and parts played across ■ four kits by Rhythm tutor and Pop Will Eat Itself, This Is Menace and Axewound drummer Jason Bowld. On his involvement with the EZX pack, Jason tells us: “The whole process for this project has been very in-depth – from multi sampling loads of different drums and cymbals to creating grooves. But initially the multi sampling took place in an incredible studio in Belgium called Galaxy Studios – it ■ is quite simply the best studio in the world, ■ a compliment echoed by everyone else on the project.”

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

Moving onto putting the beats – which were played on kits from DW, Tama, Mapex and Truth – together, Jason adds that variety was at the forefront of his thinking. “I tried to cover as many high-energy styles as I could as I didn’t just want to ■ play metal beats, so with tempos ranging from 80bpm to 240bpm there’s a real mixture of stuff, such as drum’n’bass, funk, breakbeat, odd time, rock, punk, metalcore and thrash styles in there.” He adds: “Quite simply, this pack is for any musician who loves a high quality drum sound and needs amazing beats to write with in their music – it’s Bowld in a Box!” For more information on Toontrack’s Made Of Metal EZX check out www. Toontrack.com

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‘ThundersTruck’ AC/DC

Chris Slade remembers a 1990s hit for the Aussie rockers What do you remember about the writing of ‘Thunderstruck’?

“They sent me demo tapes, Angus and Malcolm always do that. Malcolm plays bass and Angus plays on rhythm on the demos. They lived on different sides of the world so back then sending demos to each other was difficult, but they did it. But that was why an album took five or 10 years to make. I got the gig and a few months later we were in the studio in Dublin, the studio that is now owned by U2, Windmill Lane Recording Studios. But it didn’t work there for one reason or another. So we ended up going to Canada and Bruce Fairbairn took over and he worked his magic. I thought he was fantastic. Mike Fraser was the engineer. Bruce put together ‘Thunderstruck’. Angus and Malcolm had demo-ed it already but Bruce did the things a great producer needs to do, like being in the studio when the band is, which doesn’t always happen…”

What preparation did you do before going into the studio to record?

“I did my homework and we all knew our parts. It was a case of playing it over and over and over and over. We played it for days. We were all playing at the same time, it was a real old fashioned way, which is the way I like to work. Brian was in there singing, Angus was in the control room playing that

drummer: Chris slade Album: the razors edge YeAr: 1990

“It was a case of playing it over and over and over. We played it for days. We were all playing at the same time” intro riff to ‘Thunderstruck’ and Bruce one time said, ‘To save you playing that all the time Angus, I’ll loop it.’ Angus said, ‘Hmmm… okay.’ They looped the riff together and Angus said, ‘Nah, it’s not quite right… f*** it I’ll play it myself.’ And he did, he played it for days. Playing it all day long for two days.”

What kit did you use on the track?

“I used a Pearl kit. I play DW now but back then I was using a Pearl.”

There was the video with you playing the two huge gong drums. Where did the idea for that come from?

“It came straight out of my brain. We had the ‘dum, dum’ at the start which was just dubbed toms. I was wondering how I could recreate it and make it visual for the video. I told Dick the drum tech that I wanted two bass drums up at shoulder height, he said, ‘You what?!’ I came in the next day and there they were. He’d built frames and all sorts of things to make it work.”

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Beat! People | Music | Gear

Doors unveil Feast

John Densmore talks about new Doors DVD ■■The Doors’ Feast Of Friends documentary has finally been given a release, 46 years after it was filmed. Feast Of Friends is centred around the band’s 1968 summer tour. Self-produced by the band, at the time the film was described by Jim Morrison as a ‘fictional documentary’, but drummer John Densmore admits he isn’t sure what the iconic frontman was referring to. He told MusicRadar: “I don’t know what Jim meant by that, actually [laughs]. Ray and Jim went to film school, and we had some friends who were filmmakers. We just thought, ‘We should document what we’re doing here. It’ll be fun and maybe be good for the future.’ That was really the thought going into it: ‘Let’s fool around making films with our friends.’” The drummer went on to say that he believes had Morrison not died in 1971, the band would now be in the movies. He said: “People always ask me, ‘If Jim Morrison were alive today, what would you be doing now?’ And I think we’d be doing films. Jim and Ray were both way into film, so I think we would have moved in that direction, incorporating film with music, maybe even doing soundtracks to big Hollywood movies. I know we would have gone that way had Jim lived.” The Doors’ Feast Of Friends is out now.

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| january 2015

Ryan: “We get off stage and we’re eating barbeques, crème brulee, whatever we want”

my top 5 tips on…

Stamina

By Ryan O’Keeffe (Airbourne) Stick with it 1 “I’ve been playing with running ■ hats since I was a kid, that is a big thing. Chris Slade [ex-AC/DC] is another guy that really runs his hats. He obviously gets fit by playing drums, so check him out. The more shows you play and the more you do, the easier it gets. A tour can be pretty rough ■ and pretty hard but you’ll get fitter as the tour goes on.”

Chug a beer 2 “The big kicker is that if you are ■ down, you’ve only had two hours sleep or something and you need to find energy, nothing beats cans of beer. Just smash ■ a couple of cans, you can always draw ■ more energy if you have a few cans of ■ beer in you.”

Eat plenty 3 “The gigs keep me fit. That’s the good thing about our show. We’re not required to do any other exercise. We get off stage and we’re eating barbeques or whatever we

want, crème brulee, whatever we want. Try to eat well and I take vitamins – I take a few vitamin Bs –and you can draw energy from the food for the show. But come show-days it is an intense show.”

Loosen up 4 “I just stretch the wrists a bit before a show. But that’s about it. I like to keep it pretty easy before we get up there because once we’re up there on stage it gets pretty intense, quite quickly. It’s just limbering up.”

Grab some water 5 “You can feel it, but it’s just one of those things. It’s amazing how much the human body can keep going if you just make it. A song is never going to go on for 15 minutes, so you just have to keep going and by the end I might tip a cold bottle of water over myself to cool down and have a drink of Gatorade or beer. It’s amazing when you get a bottle of water that’s cold, it gives you this chill and you’re back in action all of a sudden and ready for the next song.”