Rick Springfield: Hard Rock Velvet Sessions

How to tap into the pulse of the People?  Deliver Rock & Roll in its purest form to them.

This is what Rick Springfield did on Friday night at the Hard Rock Hotel.

As a songwriter, Springfield has always piqued my interest. He writes Pop songs in the truest sense of the word: riff-based Rock with lyrics about everyday life.  Stuff his fans relate to - understand. But it's the whole package that they really go for: he is living that Rock & Roll dream to which they aspire.

Friday's "Velvet Sessions" in the lobby of the Orlando Hard Rock Hotel was packed to bursting point.  The tickets were at a premium, but I managed to pull a few strings (having played the Velvet Sessions a couple of times, myself).

The excitement was tangible. This was a huge draw, not that they haven't had great acts here in the past, but this was as big as I've seen in a long time (especially given the current state of the economy).

Rick didn't leave his fans waiting for long.  He came on just a few minutes past the posted showtime, heralded by an opening pre-roll that built to a climax. It was LOUD! Not painful, but enough to turn everybody's attention to the stage. And he delivered: from the very opening guitar riff, to the last dying chord. he was accessible to the crowd, too. He reached out to them - laughing, cracking jokes, chatting with the people squeezed into the front few rows. He kept teasing the fans with the opening riff to "Jessie's Girl" - then, with a cheeky smile and a sideways glance, he'd launch into something else. Of course, he saved that song until last, not that he's a one-hit-wonder: there were plenty of recognisable tunes beforehand.  He's written his fair share of great songs (at least in my opinion).

His band were totally committed: delivering high energy, enthusiasm and tightness. Backup vocals were spot-on. They changed tempo and pace in slick, well-rehearsed fashion, backing up their "star" the entire time. And he was laughing & joking with them: they were an integral part of the whole spectacle.  He brought them into his world, if only for a few minutes. They were living the Rock & Roll dream.

This is the key: Entertainment.  He never once forgot that he was there to entertain those who had taken the trouble to come and see him.  He's been in this business since the 1960's, and yet his attitude is fresh, flirty and fun! His fans left the Velvet Sessions on Friday night,  feeling satisfied.

DrumLoops as downloads

I've just posted two albums of drum loops on vibedeck.com 
You can download individual loops (after reviewing them using the streaming player) or each of the collections as albums.  Let me know what you think. also let me know what you'd like to hear in the way of future drum loops

Natal Drums

I have recently been approached by Natal Drums, who have expressed an interest in me endorsing their product line.  After a very positive talk with their artist liaison, I am pleased to announce I am to become part of their roster.  I am very excited.  They have a wonderful new drum product line, and great support worldwide.  I hope to be pro-active in the development of new drums,  and also hope to be able to promote their product with clinics and master classes.

After 31 years as an official Premier endorsee (is this a record?), I realised that they were no longer able to provide the support I needed in the USA. I have watched their recent progress with mixed emotions.  I wish everyone at Premier well, and thank them for everything.

MIke Dolbear's recent review


The Drum Decade: Stories from the 1950's

Ringo Starr: more thoughts

After the dust settled on last night's first performance of the "new" Mystery Trip band, in Woodbury Tennessee, I had time to reflect on it.  While I was driving home in the freezing conditions, I mused that it took a kit with 4 toms and 2 snares to even come CLOSE to re-creating the different drums sounds Ringo had on those albums, which were, when you look at it, all recorded in a mere 7 year period.

It still amazes me just how much the Beatles changed the way we listen to (and record) music in such a short time.  The same goes for Ringo (and to a certain extent, engineer Geoff Emerick).  If the truth be known, I would probably have to have had at least 3 kits to accurately recreate the evolution of Ringo's drum sound.  From the relatively standard drum sound of the early sixties, to the experimental sounds from Rubber Soul onwards, Emerick and Starr were constantly trying new methods of miking, damping tuning etc...

We owe them everything we do now!

Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles
All You Need Is Ears: The inside personal story of the genius who created The Beatles
British Audio Engineers: Geoff Emerick, Glyn Johns, Steven Wilson, Alan Parsons, James Guthrie, Nigel Godrich, George Shilling, Nick Launay

Ringo Starr: A Life
The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia
Ringo Starr, Second Edition (Beatles)

drum machines vs real drums

My early session career spanned the era of the first drum machines: LinnDrum, Oberheim DMX etc...  In fact I was involved with Simmons Electronics on the development of their drum sequencer she SDS6.  For quite a large part of the 1980's I programmed drums almost as much as I played them.  I remember all kinds of dire predictions that "drums were dead" and "the age of the drum machine is here" and other such omens of disaster for drummer everywhere.  The funny thing is, we didn't disappear!

As with any new fad, it eventually reached an equilibrium.  In fact I would say things started to come back the other way.  In an attempt to stop everything from sounding the same (which was the case with a lot of 80's Synth-driven Pop music), people started adding real drums on top of synth sequences.

In fact there was a lot of work for those of us who were able to play in time with clicks and sequences,  and I really started to get a lot of session work, overdubbing drums onto existing tracks. Nik Kershaw's first album, Human Racing,  was almost entirely finished (using an Oberheim DMX as "drummer") before the producer (Peter Collins) and engineer (Julian Mendelsohn) decided it was feeling a bit "stodgy" and Julian persuaded Peter to draft me in to play drums on top of the existing tracks.  This somehow breathed a new lease of life into the album. At one point in the sessions, they were curious as to WHY real drums 'felt' better than the beautifully programmed drum machine.  So Julian ran a few tests, and this is what he discovered.

While the drum machine kept perfect time, and was totally locked with the sequenced synths, there were also a number of guitar parts, as well as real bass on a lot of the tracks.  These were played by humans (mostly Nik, actually), and had a natural tendency to push ahead of the sequenced instruments in places (like going into choruses, for instance).  When Julian analyzed my drums, he discovered I was subconsciously going with the minute timing differences:  I would play behind the beat in the verse, then push slightly into the chorus, falling back in the next verse.  Now we are talking milliseconds here,  but it made all the difference.  In fact the real drums became the interface between the (unmovable) sequences and the ever-shifting human beings on each track.

Even today, with all the amazing advances that have occurred in drum machines and sequencers, I maintain there's still nothing quite as dynamic or inventive as a REAL drummer.  And I STILL get lots of work "replacing" sequenced drums.  Until artificial intelligence is perfected, I reckon I still have a gig!
So all you aspiring programmers out there,  Have at IT!  But keep my web site  address on hand, in case you need me to add some inspiration!

Essential
Wouldn't It Be Good
Human Racing

Drum Programming Basics (Ultimate Beginner Tech Start Series)
Complete Guide to Synthesizers, Sequencers, and Drum Machines

Alesis SR16 Drum Machine
iDrum 1.7
Toontrack EZdrummer Multi Layer Drum Sampler

It's all about the groove

Seriously, though.  If you can't keep TIME through that amazing fill,  what use will it be (other than to simply show off)?

Remember,  the band are relying on we drummers to keep it in the pocket.  That's what Ringo was all about.  With such a solid player behind them, the rest of the Beatles were able to concentrate on their own contribution.

Beginning Drums - Essential Grooves, Beats, & Fills DVD.
Drum Lesson: Coordination and Groove Learn how to play intermediate to advanced drums instructional drum lessons video
Tommy Igoe Groove Essentials
Drum Lessons: Extreme Drum Set Techniques. Essential drum grooves, fills, dynamics and more

Ian Paice

When I was starting to get serious about drumming, one of the first major influences was Deep Purple drummer, Ian Paice.  He had an amazing combination of technique (Jazz trained), attitude and originality unlike any other drummer around at the time.

I spent days sitting with my old Koss headphones on, analyzing Deep Purple tracks on my old Dansette record player. I had "hot wired" my headphones directly into the speaker output of the amplifier, so I could listen without annoying my parents (or siblings).  Of course,  when I practiced the drums it was another thing altogether.  I shudder to think of the noise I was making practicing in my bedroom (which was over the living room), headphones on, oblivious to anything else that was going on!  In the end I was limited to a "window" of time, normally just after I came home from school, and before dinner.

But back to Ian Paice.  Most of the early Heavy Rock drummers were all about volume and attitude.  But Paice had a certain finesse along with that attitude.  I remember going to see Deep Purple at the Rainbow Theatre in the early 70's (one of the many times).  Their opening act was Nazareth. They were unbelievably loud (even for a young aspiring rock drummer)!  I remember thinking to my self: "If they are that loud, what are Deep Purple going to be like?"  Well no-one was more surprised than me when Purple started up with no more than a whisper.  True,  they built to a crescendo during their set,  but what they displayed was a real sense of dynamics & subtlety which totally floored me.  It was then that I realised there could be no light without shade, no day without night.  Led Zeppelin were masters of this, too.  In fact all the great forefathers of today's Heavy Metal genre understood you had to have "quiet bits" to help make the "loud bits" seem louder.  Sadly, this has become lost to may of the modern day Metal performers.  Now it seems to simply be all about how LOUD they can play.

But back to Ian Paice.  His drum solos were legendary.  Interestingly enough, for those brought up in the Big-Band era, quite a lot of his solo would be recognizable, because Ian was a huge Buddy Rich fan, and certainly let this particular influence show in his soloing.  But for me, the one thing that never ceased to amaze me was his incredible (single) bass drum technique.  He managed to achieve, using a single bass drum pedal, what many drummers failed to achieve with TWO!  I sat for hours trying to recreate some of his ridiculous kick pedal patterns. It wasn't until much later that I discovered he DID actually use double kick drums on some recordings!  That being said, he was STILL the fastest single-kick player around.

What amazed me about seeing Ian play live was the relative ease and smoothness with which he played such amazingly incendiary fills.  Of course, his jazz training helped him tremendously.  This was also the case with John Bonham, although he took it down a different path altogether (more of that in another posting).

I remember reading an interview in Modern Drummer where Paice cited the single-stroke roll as being his favourite rudiment (plenty of evidence of this in his solo work).  Needless to say that got me practicing single-stroke rolls like a maniac.  But at least it got me practicing!

I'll leave you with a story: early in 2001, I played the House of Blues in LA with John Jorgenson's electric band (a spinoff from the Hellecasters) opening for the Dixie Dregs (featuring Steve Morse).
It was one of those NAMM show affiliated dates.  One of my old buddies is Dregs drummer, Rod Morgenstein (we were both long-term Premier endorsees).  We played our 45 minute set and came off stage, and Rod appeared in our dressing room to say "hi" and chew the fat.  According to him, Deep Purple (with Steve Morse, of course) were in LA to record an album, and Ian Paice had come down to see the Dregs play.  During John's opening number (a tricky little thing with some interesting bass drum work), Ian walked to the front of the stage to get a closer look at exactly what I was doing on the kick drum!  Talk about tables turning.  Here was the man I idolized for his bas drum technique, watching my right foot like a hawk!

Deep Purple Live in Concert 72/73
Deep Purple - Machine Head

Deep Purple: The Illustrated Biography
Ian Paice