Served Up Live
/Last night I joined Brass Queens for a performance of Served Up held at Culture Lab LIC. It was the first time I’ve performed on an actual stage since March! It felt wonderful to play with a group of women for a group of women.
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Moonrise Gala
/Last night, I joined Brass Queens for a performance at the Green-Wood Cemetery here in Brooklyn. Turns out that "Brooklyn's first public park by default” is the perfect place for a socially-distant event! It was actually my first time at this historic cemetery, which features the highest point in Brooklyn and contains the remains of luminaries including Leonard Bernstein and Elliott Carter. We were stationed at the crest of the Artemisia path and I had quite the view from the throne!
Drum Nostalgia
/I brought a bunch of keepsake items back to New York with me from my last trip to my hometown in Maryland. Going through them has been a trip! In addition to goofy pictures, report cards, and childhood artwork, there were a few musical-related items that I thought would be cool to share here.
My First Real Drum Set
Though my first drum set was a kids Noble & Cooley kit out of a Penny’s catalogue, my first real drum set was this 90s era Pearl Export kit my that my parents surprised me with. This thing has been a workhorse, and in fact, I still occasionally use the bass drum, floor tom, and some of the hardware to this day. Unfortunately, I still can’t get the sound of these B8 Pro cymbals out of my head. I can tell the above shot is from my Mr. Bungle’s Shotgun days by the black heads.
Here’s the same kit with a slightly different setup This was taken during my first run of a musical: The Music Man with Apple Alley Players in West Virginia.
Here’s she is with yet another set up. I don’t recall this particular tom setup, and I’m sure it didn’t last for very long. This picture is from a gig with Simple 4 on the last day of high school. I wish there was a better shot of our homemade tie dye banner that’s hanging on the truck. Yes, our high school was adjacent to a cemetery.
The Gretsch Kit
Christmas day 2006. My parents once again hook it up with a new kit! This time, a Gretsch Catalina Bop kit. The small size of this kit was especially beneficial when I moved to NYC and had to schlep gear around. It got a lot of use, but I sold it last year to a young lady drummer in order to make room for my Yamaha kit.
Recital Programs
And finally, I came across my recital programs from the University of Maryland. I remain very proud of both of these programs and had a blast putting them together. And wow, I used to play A LOT of mallets.
On Practicing
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The author before a gig in Eugene, OR, 2011.
When COVID hit, in addition to my worries about my family, my health, and the world, I was also super bummed about the upcoming work (and money) I was going to miss — subbing on an off-broadway musical, a new recording session, a production of The Addams Family, a few cabaret shows, etc… But quickly I realized, “my god! I can practice for the sake of practicing for the first time… ever?”
Then my rehearsal space shut down by order of the state and suddenly I was forced to practice in my apartment with pads and low volume cymbals. I developed a healthy routine the first few weeks but slowly it began to deteriorate with thoughts of “will I ever be able to hit actual drums again?”
Thankfully, my rehearsal building re-opened and I moved into a new studio within it. Again, the first few weeks were amazing — I’m hitting drums again! I feel so productive! Music completes me! Then a new reality set in — What’s the point of practicing when there’s no work? What’s the point of making music when there aren’t other people to make music with?
I’m writing this blog to let you know that if you are feeling this way, dear reader, you are not alone. I’m also writing it to keep myself accountable. I've been playing drums for almost THIRTY YEARS but the motivation and drive to improve comes and goes.
It’s been almost 5 months of NYC being in some sort of lockdown and the two main things I’ve realized in terms of music making is that 1) I love playing with and for other people and 2) my relationship with practicing ebbs and flows. It always has and it always will.
Here’s what a typical practice session is looking like for me, the solo drummer. I’m trying my best to use all the different parts of my brain and body with the help of these books and methods:
1. Warm up - Stick Control
If I recall correctly, I didn’t really get into this book until grad school, but it has become a part of my everyday warm up routine. Lately I have been focusing on getting my strokes even, whether it be singles, doubles, triples, or the occasional fours when switching from one line to the next. Playing through the first page at the beginning of my practice session offers exceptional insight on how my body is feeling on that particular day. Maybe I took a few days off and am feeling rusty. Maybe I pick up the sticks and everything is just working. No matter what, this is a great way to get the blood flowing and the muscles moving.
2. Snare drum exercises
For me, it all comes back to snare drum. It’s the first instrument I started playing and my favorite of the lot. I spent a lot of my time studying orchestral playing, but I have a deep affinity for rudimental styles and believe it’s better for my chops than anything else. Lately, I have been playing 10 of Wilcoxon’s rudimental solos each day.
I play each etude as follows:
1) As written
2) Adding quarter notes on the bass drum
3) Bass drum playing the same accents as the snare drum
4) Bass drum playing an ostinato pattern
3. Speed
Whether you use it in a practical setting or not, most drummers have some desire to develop speed around the kit. Now that my hands are warm and my feet are starting to move, it’s time to pick up the pace with some technical exercises. Every 3 years or so I go through a drum and bass phase, which I mostly attribute to my love of STS9.
Johnny Rabb’s book is a detailed look into the style and I’ve been trying to go through a section each day. The key here is to stay relaxed at these brisk tempos. For me, it helps to think of 2 and 4 backbeats as actually being on the “ands.” This makes it easier to switch back and forth into halftime feels as well.
4. Feel
Now that I’m feeling nice and agile, it’s time to focus on what usually serves me best on a gig: feel. Billy Martin (of Medeski Martin & Wood fame) has one of the most organic grooves I’ve ever heard and his book on claves is certainly the most in depth I’ve ever seen. I’ve worked out of this book on and off for the last 15 years, but it hasn’t been until now that I’ve focused on competently playing every page: Can I play each system at any tempo, dynamic, or orchestration? Can I play it straight, swung, and in between? Can I use these patterns in the context of metric modulation? It took me a long time to feel comfortable reading his non-standard system of notation but it has been worth the effort: I’m hearing and playing music in a new light.
5. Just Play
At this point, I’ve gone crosseyed from reading music. I’m warmed up but my brain is mush and I just want to PLAY. I will save my thoughts on Spotify’s unjust treatment of musicians for another blog, but the ability to have access to nearly all recorded music at your fingertips at command has been a godsend for learning music. I no longer have to download music to my phone or computer, rip CDs, or spend hours finding recordings at the library. It’s all just there in one place.
Sometimes I will go to my liked songs playlists and play along with favorite tracks but lately I’ve been exploring my release radar section to blindly play through new music on the spot. Sometimes I’ll try to play verbatim what’s happening with the drums. Other times I’ll add my own voice. Most importantly, I’ll try to apply some of the concepts I’ve been working on that day to a real musical context. This is my favorite way to wind down a practice session and experience the joy that is making music. For me, that’s what it’s all about.
If you’ve come this far, I hope you’ve found this post useful. It can be hard as hell to get to the practice room or take your instrument out of the case but once you finally start playing, I sure hope you remember why it is you do what you do. Happy music-making!
What Else Can We Do?
/Gosh, it sure feels good to see all of my Hundred Days family in one place. What a joy to sing this song with you all. Here’s a bit about this video from The Bengsons themselves:
Video: Stars and Stripes Forever
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Here’s a nice version of Stars and Stripes Forever that I was asked to participate in as a Mannes alum. It was great to see a lot of faces pop up that I haven’t seen in awhile! I recorded snare drum, bass drum, and crash cymbals played on hi-hats while my colleague Christine Chen played snare, cymbals, and glock. Enjoy!
New Recording: Solomon Hoffman - Esa Einai
/Solomon Hoffman is a brilliant musician, composer, arranger, artistic director, {insert literally any music-related activity here) who I have had the pleasure of working with for several years now.
In April, Solomon sent me a guide track of just vocals, piano, and guitar so I could record some percussion. To hear his vision fully realized yesterday for the first time -- now with SIXTY outstanding musicians -- was an incredible experience. My mind was blown. I am proud be one of the musicians on this track and proud to be his friend.
Percussion-wise, I played some cajon, concert bass drum, cymbal, and shaker for this one. I tracked each instrument separately and recorded them all from my apartment. If you like what you hear and are in need of some percussion tracks for your recording project, please be in touch.
Playthrough: The Shadow (Trumpet Wom')
/Congrats to Trumpet Wom’ on the release of her new LP, Evolution! I was lucky to provide drums on this one (as well as her last, Just Listen) and wanted to share a drum video of her latest single, The Shadow. Enjoy!
Drumming at Pride
/Happy Pride, ya’ll! While things around here have been unusual to say the least, it was nice to get out and do a little bit of celebrating, protesting, and drumming at yesterday’s “Reclaim Pride” event here in NYC. I played with a solid crew of drummers with Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir. It was a hot one and my hands were pure goo after playing street beats for three hours straight. Worth it!
Mallets for Sale!
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I am parting with some mallets that I no longer have a need for. Everything is in good/excellent condition. Many good options for beginner mallet players! Check out the full lot on the Facebook Marketplace or this spreadsheet. Drop me a line if you are interested!