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The Miller Machine is one of the most important percussion inventions of the last 50 years! Are you even playing a musical if you don't have one (or three, like I use in my setup for The Grinch)?
Stay tuned for the full videos from me and all of these amazing percussionists that I am honored to share the screen with. Thanks so much for having me, Billy Miller and Jeremy Yaddaw!
Since a have a ton of free time right now, I’m finally getting around to a project I’ve been thinking about for literal years — selling some of the mallets I never use! Stay tuned here for a for sale list, but in the meantime, enjoy my “process” which turned out to be a fun walk down memory lane with a curious cat.
Happy birthday to one of the GOATS, Stevie Wonder! Last week. Alison Shearer dropped a video of an arrangement of the song “As” featuring myself on percussion and 13 other amazing women (peep the vid here).
I put together this little percussion playthrough of the part I wrote for the song. It features LOTS of tambourine, shakers, mark tree, suspended cymbal, and triangle for good measure. I hope you enjoy! Sorry for the vert vid, but it was part of the assignment!
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
The video for Trumpet Wom's first single off of her upcoming album, Evolution, is now up on Youtube! Protons and Electrons was a blast to record, though the drums were actually recorded last. Very unusual and certainly had it’s challenges! I think it turned out great, though, and I’m obsessed with this video!
Stay tuned for some fun with the Miller Machine…
Do to New York state regulations, I’m not permitted to use my shared rehearsal space. I actually chose to stop going there a few days prior to the government directive because, frankly, it felt like a risk no matter how cautious I or my colleagues were.
I have NEVER practiced drum set in the apartment I’ve been living in (coming up for two years). I had some mesh heads I bought for my set up in my last apartment (Pearl Sound Off) so I threw them on my Yamaha kit. I had to pick up a head for my 20” BD (Remo Silentstroke) and grabbed another Pearl for a 12” tom.
Previously I had only used mutes for my cymbals, and let me tell ya — they’re god awful. Not only is the sound atrocious, but they feel absolutely miserable. After doing a little bit of research I ordered a 13/14/18 Zildjian L80 cymbal pack from Steve Weiss. I am blown away! The feel is great and they sound is pretty good considering. I especially love the open hats. I often play in small spaces around the city so I may try them out on a gig in the future, whenever that may be. The only thing I’m not crazy about is you hear a significant amount of stick contact. I’m not sure if nylon tips would make it better or worse but I’m going to do some troubleshooting here in the coming days.
Since I’m currently not allowed to use my studio space, I have my drums set up in my apartment for once. I have mesh heads around the kit and some Zildjian L80s just arrived. I’ve been practicing, but I haven’t felt particularly called to put out any content. Maybe sometime this week… I’m just trying to quarantine the best I can.
Trumpet Wom’ just shared this candid shot of me laying it down in the studio back in January in Philadelphia. Ah, those were much simpler times! I can’t wait to hear the final product, which will be released in the coming months. More info on the session here.
Yesterday I got to participate in a reading of Lewis Flinn’s Hood in advance of its upcoming production in Sarasota. Let me tell ya, it was particularly delightful to make some music in a room with other people in these especially uncertain times. The percussion list for this one was big, much of which was provided by Centanni Percussion (thanks Barry!). Special shouts to music director and joyous human Brad Simmons as well as co-orchestrator Justin Goldner who gave me the call.
Thanks to the generosity of Jeremiah Fox, I got to play on a Yamaha Rick Marotta Hip Gig Kit for a show this weekend. We had one at Mannes so I was familiar with it, but I had never actually seen it all packed up. I didn’t use the rack tom because the arm mount was a bit stripped and I didn’t use the (very small) snare drum that mounts to the bass drum.
All of the drums fit into the bass drum and all of the hardware fits into the throne. The sound is great if you’re playing a small space and don’t need to produce a lot of acoustic volume. Convenient, yes but heavy as hell! I would still need to put them in a car to get to a gig comfortably. Might be a nice option as a small kit that stays set up in your home, however the price is on the higher end for sure.
Ashley Baier is a NYC-based drummer and percussionist.
