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Posts Tagged ‘drums’
David Letterman Loves Drums
Posted in Blog, tagged David Letterman, drums, youtube on 06/12/13| Leave a Comment »
Get Up Off Your Asses, Portland!
Posted in Blog, Reviews, tagged band, concert, drums, guitar, heavy metal, Ion Storm, metal, Minotaur, Music, Portland, Red Room, review, rock, skom on 10/10/12| Leave a Comment »
Last night I got to see Ion Storm‘s inaugural show! They were amazing from the first song to the last. For those unaware I interviewed them here. Go get acquainted with them and then come right back. It’s OK. I’ll wait.
Everything I’ve heard from them so far has impressed me, but those were only recordings. One really must see them live to get the full impact. First, amazing guitar tone and a pretty tight outfit. I know these guys practice up to 12 hours at a go and it shows. Their current bass player is a recent addition and it showed a bit, but overall he brought the low end. Drummer Tim was solid, fast, and interesting. I thought there was a moment when he was losing the beat, but it was just a part of a tempo change that was written into the song. Grady and Chris had some great harmonized riffage going on that seemed to focus around 4ths and it sounded great. My main complaint was the vocal levels. This show was at the Red Room and their vocals always seem low, but Grady represented growl well.
Oh, did I mention they have a Minotaur? His name is Drew. Look at him.
Do you have a Minotaur? No, you do not. I played bullfighter with Drew for a bit. It was good times.
This band has a lot to offer and brought the heat, which leads me to the title of this post. Look up there ↑ and read it again. At most there were three people up off their butts rocking out, including me and Drew. I wish that this was the exception rather than the rule. I know people want to blame smart phones etc, but it’s not that. In my estimation it’s our self reflective, self conscious society. To put it another way: we are afraid of having fun and looking like fools(Well, not me clearly. I played bullfighter with a Minotaur). It needs to stop now. Do it for yourself. Get up!! Dance! Bang your head!! Visibly enjoy yourself!!!
But also do it for that band up there on the stage or the one on the floor where the pool tables had to be moved to make room. They don’t spend 12 hours at a go writing and rehearsing so you can sit there drinking your PBR and golf clapping after every song. And I can guarantee you they didn’t do it for the money, because bands rarely get paid much if anything just starting out. This is a two way street. They are there for you and you need to be there for them.
Some pics from the show:
Eric Johnson
Posted in Blog, Reviews, tagged Aladdin Theater, bass, Chris Maresh, concert, drums, Eric Johnson, guitar, live, Music, Portland OR, Wayne Salzman II on 08/17/12| Leave a Comment »
So I was very lucky to see Eric Johnson last night thanks to my good friend, Ted (he’s also my step-father-in-law. What? that’s a thing.) I’ve only seen him live in concert once before. Eric Johnson, not Ted. I’ve seen Ted live lots before, though not in concert… I was 16 ( again referring to Eric Johnson not Ted), it was in San Diego at Symphony Hall, and an as yet unknown, at least to me, Sarah Mclaughlin opened for him. This time around it was at the Aladdin Theater in Portland, Or. First let me say it is a great venue. Everyone I talked to said a version of “not a bad seat in the whole place” and they are right.
It was a great show. Eric was backed by Chris Maresh on bass and Wayne Salzmann II on drums. Maresh and Salzman are amazing! Really interesting thing, they seemed to be their own opening band. They played a 45 min set and then took a break and then came back for a full set. I almost wish I had written down their set, but honestly I was too engaged in just enjoying the show and letting it wash over me.
Eric Johnson was one of my early guitar heroes. He has it all. Amazing tone, great technique, dedication to writing songs that fit his perspective of what is great, and he also has one of the two right hands in guitardom that I would want, the other being James Hetfield’s. Seriously, EJ can pick like nobody’s business and finger pick, and do a combination of both.
Check out the Fenders and Marshall and EJ’s pedals!
The Show
The opening 45 minute set was tight and rocking great energy with some crowd favorites. After the break EJ was solo on the stage with an acoustic and played a few songs that blew me away. His technique is insane. For those of you who do not play let me tell you it is easier to shred on an electric than an acoustic and EJ played flawlessly on his acoustic and did shred, but in a tasteful way. Yes, yes he did.
Maresh and Salzman came back out and the band got to rocking again. Then, about halfway through the second set they played “Nothing Can Keep Me From You” and this was the first wrong note for me. Now, let me be clear-I. Love. That. Song. But, it came after an incredible version of a Coltrane song that highlighted everyone’s talents. Side note: Salzman owned those drums and Maresh made me consider giving up the bass.
Chris Maresh’s pedal board
Back to my point. It may have been that “Nothing Can Keep Me From You” came after such an amazing performance, but EJ also seemed to be a little off his game at this point. His phrasing was a little stuttery. THAT may have been due to the fact that they just got back from Europe and had been awake since 6 a.m. But I think there is more to it than that. When they played some other songs off of “Ah Via Musicom” I noticed the same thing, but when they played newer songs or covers EJ seemed to be more on. To clarify, not bagging on him, it was still better than 95% of guitarists out there when EJ was off. So no “Eff you dude” and no “Yeah he sucks.”
There was one encore and it was great! They closed with “Wind Cries Mary.” And then it was over and I didn’t want it to be over. But I scrambled up front to get some pictures, which was difficult because there was still a grip of people at the front milling about.
Drums and bass rig
Final Thoughts
Eric Johnson is stil the man at 57. The newer material is stronger than one might expect and my observations on the “Ah Via Musicom” aside he is still vital. I look forward to seeing him the next time he comes around. Also, I still need this jacket ↓
Father’s Pocketwatch
Posted in Interviews, tagged album, banjo, CD, drums, Father's Pocketwatch, folk, interview, kids music, Music, old-timey, Oregon, Pandorpion, Portland, skom, washtub on 08/13/12| Leave a Comment »
This week we have Portland, OR “old-timey, banjo and washtub bass, kids music” songsters Father’s Pocketwatch. A trio of talented musicians. They are Tyson, Ryan, and Brian. They apparently had a little extra time on their hands and went and did some vidyas. I am pleased as punch. They were very creative and entertaining in their responses.
Please visit their webiste, www.fatherspocketwatch.com, and enjoy the interview done in 3 parts below. Oh, also, there’s a Pandorpion! That’s right..PANDORPION!!!!
Part the first
Part the second
Part the third
Did you see it? The Pandorpion? Thank you so much Tyson, Ryan, and Brian. The videos are great. And remember kids visit their website and buy their “Premium Sampler” to help fund their next album. www.fatherspocketwatch.com
For our drumming friends
Posted in Blog, tagged articles, drummers, drummers to be, drums, equipment reviews, info, lessons, Mark Brownlee, total drums, total-drums.com, videos on 04/26/09| Leave a Comment »
Mark Brownlee of Total-Drums.Com commented on a previous post and I followed him back to his site. Let me tell you it is chock-a-block full of everything you could want to know about drums. Take a look.
Total-Drums.comSo, you want to know about us huh? Thanks for taking the time! Total-Drums.com aims to give drummers (and drummers to be) a useful online resource including equipment reviews, lessons, articles, info, videos and…well you get the idea!
It’s our goal to give you the best drumming web site on the net by offering as much useful, fun, and interesting drumming info as possible.
