NAMM show 2012

Now the dust has settled on this year's NAMM show, I thought it was about time to write about my experience.

As usual, the background noise level was incredible.  One friend of mine was playing guitar through an amp and the "Noise Police" arrived with a decibel meter.  They told him he would have to turn down because his volume was 80db.  So he asked them to take a second reading, during which time he didn't play a note!  Guess what?  Still 80db! DOH!

I was on the NATAL drum stand for most of the show, which was incorporated with Marshall this year.  2012 being Jim Marshall's 50th anniversary of being in the Biz, this was quite a big deal.  In fact Natal had made a 50th Anniversary (limited edition of 50) drum kit, comprising the Marshall black Tolex covering and gold hardware.  It was a focal point on the booth.  I must say, from a personal point of view, I am loving these drums! I have a maple kit and I am continually amazed at its versatility and great sound, not to mention the hardware. The snare stand is the most versatile I have ever encountered. The hi-hat stands are responsive and adjustable, and the cymbal stands are solid & well finished.

I was put to work conducting interviews with various publications (both on line and printed). Music Radar just uploaded their NAMM report. All in all, Natal created quite a stir at the show.

One of the busiest stands in the drums & percussion section was that of my old friends Big Bang Distribution. Apart from the Ahead sticks (which I have been playing for some time, and love), the new Ahead Armor cymbal bag range (very exciting), their low-cost (and yet great sounding) Kasza cymbal line, they have a huge variety of great accessories for drummers.  But the most exciting new product was a collapsable cajon!  This full-size cajon, made in Barcelona, Spain, fits into a flat bag that is easily carryable, and yet sounds as good as any of the best cajons on the market!  Watch their web site for updates.

Brady drums were present with their usual selection of high-end, no compromise drums.  I managed to spend a few minutes chatting with Kelly Brady.

I was also able to visit with Axis Percussion's founder and innovator: Darell Johnson. He and I go back a way, and he was in his usual high spirits when I arrived at the stand.  I love his endless enthusiasm and keen mind.  He is truly one of the great engineering innovators of new drum ideas. Check out what they have to offer:  again, drum engineering without compromise or equal. I am still using a set of Axis pedals (double kick and hihat) from the early 1990's!

On Saturday afternoon I managed to meet with my old friend John Steven, who is with Behringer. He was very interested in what I thought of their latest foray into the drumming world: their electronic drum kit: the XD70 (and their entry level XD60LE).  I played the kit for a while, and found the response to be extremely "realistic."  They have separate drum & cymbal pads, each with their own unique feel. The controller is very logically laid out and sounds are easy to access.  The best part is it all packs away into an extremely compact space, making it easy to store, or (for my needs) transport to a gig.

Behringer are also about to announce a new range of high-end consoles, which include the ability to interface & record live shows direct from the console itself.  I'm very excited to see these when they become available.

I'll post more reviews as my brain gets to digest the enormous amount of data from the show.

To publicise or not to publicise...

Having been in this business for over 38 years now, I have become accustomed to a system that pretty-well relies on referrals for work.

I've had a manager: he did nothing but price me out of the market and annoy my existing clients (much of which I only found out later).  So I gave up that idea.

When I first moved to Nashville, I hired a publicist.  She did a lot of great work, introducing me to all kinds of people - none of whom ever booked me for anything!  In fact most of the time they crossed their arms and said: "I don't care who you are, it's going to take you 5 years to establish yourself in THIS town!" As a side note, I actually got the Trisha Yearwood 2000 tour by auditioning for the gig.  even then, I wasn't originally chosen (it went to a "younger person"). When things didn't work out with that person, I rushed in to fill the gap at 3 days' notice. I suppose it was some small testimony to my abilities at the time that I was able to walk into a gig like that with no rehearsal: simply 3 days of "woodshedding" the tunes, followed by a long sound check on the first show!

I have had an agent (I have one now, but mainly for photographic/acting jobs, which is another kettle of fish altogether).  My "agent" failed to get anyone interested in me in the slightest.

Looking back over nearly four decades of life as a professional musician, I can honestly say that just about 100% of my work has been through first-hand referrals.  In other words, the ultimate viral-marketing exercise.

I remember something one of my early benefactors (Muff Winwood, manager of Island Studios at the time) once said to me: "Never turn ANYTHING down!  You never know where it might lead."  And I took him at his word.  I did pub gigs, club dates, small demo sessions, cabaret backing gigs, anything I was offered.  Sure enough, within the space of 5 years my reputation had grown exponentially.  I was starting to get some high-end recording sessions, people were contacting me for tours.  In short, the word had spread.  By 1978 I was recording master sessions.  In 1979 I was offered a position in the the Tom Robinson Band: a time I will always cherish. We toured Europe, then the USA, and I gained an incredible insight into the workings of the Biz! Even though the band was tearing itself apart, I had the time of my life.

SO, by the late 70's I was experiencing life at the top end of the industry: major gigs, top sessions etc. I was on the books of several session "fixers" (as they are known in the UK - Union approved bookers who set up sessions for clients). By 1981, I had recorded sessions for Kate Bush, Judie Tzuke, the Tom Robinson Band, all of which had seen chart success.  All of these referrals were by word-of-mouth.

By 1983 I was one of the busiest session drummers in the UK.  I could work non-stop, if I chose.  Clients were "fitting me in" based on availability.  I was probably in the studio an average of 80 hours a week.

When I met Elton in early 1985 it was mainly because he had heard my work on Nik Kershaw's multi-million-selling "Human racing" album. Nik appeared as a guest on his "Ice on Fire" album, and during the session Elton asked Nik about me.  Nik gave me a glowing reference, and the rest was history.  I ended up recording 3 tracks for Elton in April of 1985. During those sessions, he asked if I would consider being in his band for a "little charity event I'm playing at Wembley."  That turned out to be Live Aid!  Later that year we went into rehearsals, and toured the world with that lineup for the next 18 months!

Basically speaking, all these referrals were almost exclusively by word-of-mouth. Of course, they were also "performance-based" - I couldn't get the work if I didn't have some ability to achieve what my client had in mind.

--------------------------------------

Scrolling on..... to now(-ish).

The one thing I've never really been good at through all this is SELF-publicity.  Because the vast majority of what I did was based on third-party referrals, MY part was to simply do my job to the best of my ability.  The rest just slotted into place. My resumé simply spoke for itself.

But that is not enough in the modern-day chaos of Internet publicity, social media and viral-marketing.  So this old dog is learning a few tricks.  For me to tap the truly enormous market out there, I have to be pro-active about it.  This goes against the grain for we Brits!

I have a web site, two actually.  My "fan" site is www.manicdrums.com.  My work-related site is www.manicdrumsproductions.com. I also have FaceBook pages, both personal and a "Band" page, but I haven't really done much with either.  I'm also on Google+, MySpace (who goes there anymore?), LinkedIn, Plaxo (whatever that's worth) and Manta.  You'd think I would be flooded with referrals, but apparently it is not enough to simply HAVE these sites.  You have to work them - intelligently.  Which is why I am now learning all about how to drive people TO these places, and how to coordinate them to do the job for which they were intended.

This is one of the steepest learning curves I have encountered in almost 4 decades!
Back to work!!!

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)

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

Practice makes perfect?

OK, so many people ask me about practicing.
I have to admit I have never practiced as much as I think I should (especially when I was on the road: I always figured that sound check followed by a gig was enough practice).  But in the studio, I always take the time to warm up a little before.  This mostly involves stretches (using my sticks: more details at a later date), and some basic rudiments on a pad.

For me, though, the single most useful method of practice has been to play along with some favourite songs.  These days, I set iTunes to random play and hit the button.  Then I try to keep up (this can be somewhat arbitrary: in the case of Gino Vanelli's "Brother to Brother" album, for instance!).

I'm always really interested in new grooves,  feels, rhythm techniques.  For some reason I've never really been into blindingly fast drum fills and mind-blowing technical doo-dads!  But I've always been known as a "groove" player anyway.  That's where I'm happiest: in the middle of the groove, holding it down for the band.  So practicing to my iTunes really appeals to me.  Sometimes I create a play list of some new tunes I want to master.  But most of the time, I simply put it on random and try to stay in the pocket.  After all,  if you really can't keep up (or the muse is not there) you can simply hit the "forward" button and scroll on to the next song!


Mel Bay Complete Funk Drumming Book
The New Method for Afro-Cuban Drumming Book with Audio CD (Percussion)
Getting Started on Drums Featuring Tommy Igoe DVD - Setting Up / Start Playing
John Riley: The Master Drummer - How to Practice, Play and Think Like a Pro (DVD)

Ringo Starr

I have just joined a Beatle Band!  Yes,  "Mystery Trip"  are a group of Nashville based session musicians who share a love of all things Beatles,  and they recently asked if I would be interested in joining.

Needless to say, they didn't beed to ask twice.  Having been brought up on the Beatles (my parents were big fans of popular music, and introduced us to a wonderfully varied diet of all things musical: and yes, I am very lucky).

In the process of learning the tunes,  I had to really get in deep and analyze Ringo's playing style, which turned out to be something of a revelation!  I always loved his solid approach, his sense of timing, and even his technique (yes, Ringo had technique).  But until now I had never really appreciated the sheer musicality of what he did.  It's as if every note he played was designed to compliment the song he was playing.

Now this might have been carefully thought out, or it might have simply been a "gut reaction" - the reason is irrelevant.  The result is what matters.

No aspiring drummer should even try to embark of a career in the music industry without first dissecting some of Ringo's key drum tracks.  To that end,  here are some of my personal favourites (this is not so say they are definitive, just a personal choice, OK?)

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Penny Lane
In My Life
With A Little Help from My Friends
Magical Mystery Tour
Strawberry Fields
I Want You (She's So Heavy)
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
A Day In The Life

Have At It!

Ringo Starr: A Life
The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia

The Beatles [USB]
The Beatles Mono Box Set
Photograph: The Very Best of 
And His All Starr Band
Ringo