Where:

Musician’s Choice Studios, 3727 Robertson Blvd, Culver City, CA (map)

When:

Wednesday, October 21st, 7:30pm-9:30pm

RSVP:

Meetup.com, Facebook, or Upcoming.org

Brent Barnett, Gibraltar’s drum rack builder to the stars will be on the scene at this event. Brent has helped design drum racks for Clown (drummer for Slipknot) Jonathan Moffett (drummer for Michael Jackson), Joey Bumpus (drummer for Lady Gaga), Marc Schulman (drummer for Pink), and Tris Imboden (drummer for Chicago). Come and meet Brent to get the expert opinion on your drum setup.

Gibraltar Hardware Product manager, Ken Fredenberg will be on-hand to discuss everything you ever wanted to know about drum hardware.

Talk shop with Jim Stanek, Product Manager for Dixon Drums, who will be demonstrating Dixon’s Outlaw kit, and award winning Rosewood snare drums.

We’ll provide the food and drinks, some kits to work with and some pro talent to get things started.

But wait, there’s more! We’ve got great giveaways!

• Dixon Rosewood Snare Drums
• Dixon Demon Series 6-pc drum set
• Gibraltar Stealth VMS System
• Gibraltar Pedals and Ultra Adjust Hi Hat Stand
• Gibraltar Hybrid Mounting Pod with Boom Stand

Don’t miss out on your chance to win these sweet prizes, talk with the pros and meet your fellow drummers!

Parking:
There is street parking on Robertson and a municipal lot behind Del Taco.

RSVP for the LA Drummer Meetup:
Meetup.com, Facebook, or Upcoming.org

Bedrock also feature Dixon Drum kits available for use in their rehearsal or recording studios, pictured here (click for larger photos).

We were given a preview of their beautiful pfd brochure touting all of their offerings. It looks like a truly unique environment for musicians, putting other dingy spaces downtown to shame. This is during a time when the music industry is undergoing massive change. While most musicians can simply record at home, Bedrock allows them to be immersed in a special place that can help evoke a great performance. Each studio and rehearsal space is uniquely decorated by artists, and are outfitted with mood lighting. I can’t wait to visit!

Update 10/8/09: it looks like they have launched their website, at bedrockla.com

Here’s my take on the subject: There are drummers like Phil Collins, who used to set his drums up in a “left-handed” fashion, completely opposite of a “right-handed” set up. Then there are drummers like Simon Phillips, Carter Beauford, and Mike Bordin, who play with an “open-handed style”. We also have a lot of drummers that are left-handed, meaning they write with their left hand, but play on a “right-handed” set up.

Can we just say that a drummer is a “lefty” if he leads with his or her left hand, and that’s the end of the discussion? The same can be true for a “right-handed” player My personal take on this subject is that, a drummer is a drummer, no matter how he or she sets up their drum set. Left or right, who’s to say what’s right or wrong.

My top Three drummers who play on a left – handed set up are:

• Ian Paice
• Phil Collins
• Rod Morgenstein

My top Three drummers who play open – handed are:

• Simon Phillips
• Carter Beauford
• Mike Bordin

So I invite you to give us your opinion here in the comments, and tell us who your favorite “left-handed” drummers are. The first 20 to leave a comment will get a Dixon Drums T-shirt. Be sure to leave your e-mail address so we can contact you about your mailing address.

Hey y’all, I’m the Grand Prize winner of the Modern Drummer Dixon Drums/Sabian Cymbals June ’09 giveaway! Wow, am I BLOWN AWAY!

I’ve played drums/percussion for almost 50 years….school bands and orchestras, cover bands, jazz bands, Riverside, CA Symphony Orchestra while still in high school, (*** years ago), the Air Force Bands of the West and Midwest…studied music education in college….full time professional musician at times, and part time at other times. These days I’m retired from my ‘day job’, am the principal percussionist with our local community/professional symphony orchestra, (for the last 22 years), play in various rock, blues, jazz combos, big bands, and teach private drum lessons.

When I first learned that I’d won this awesome prize package, I wasn’t exactly sure what I’d end up with. Dixon drums have just recently entered the drum market, and like probably many of you, I was unfamiliar with them. But once they arrived?….my expectations were definitely exceeded! This Outlaw Series set, in the Rock Configuration, is certainly a pro quality set of drums! The ‘build’ is top notch….solid, true 100% maple shells….clean and flawless bearing edges….quality low-mass lugs….quality/solid Dixon stands and pedals….the 24” bass drum is a CANON!….the ten lug snare is sensitive AND powerful, (very nice!)….and a beautiful, lustrous lacquer finish! Yeah! I also didn’t have any first hand knowledge about the Sabian XS20 cymbals. They ALSO exceeded my expectations…with their great quality sound!

Probably neither the Dixon Outlaw Rock configuration drums, nor the Sabian XS20’s would fit into a jazz genre. But if you want to ROCK on a professional level, at a VERY affordable price, you should really make a point of checking these drums and cymbals out!

Now, the thanks…and thanks….and THANKS! First I want to thank Modern Drummer Magazine for offering this giveaway, and OF COURSE, for drawing my name! I also want to thank the staff of Modern Drummer, (specifically, Kevin Kearns), for handling the whole process in such a wonderful, helpful way. Secondly…but CERTAINLY NOT least….many, many thanks to Jim Stanek of Dixon Drums and Sabian Cymbals for ALL of his great, professional, TIMELY effort to see to it that these awesome prizes arrived at my door quickly and safely. That effort, and his follow-up speak volumes about his professionalism and personal character. Thanks Jim!

All the best, and ROCK ON!
Hal D.
Southern Oregon

We were curious to find out who held down the rhythmical fort with Les Paul during his time with us over the years, and found some great drummers and percussionists.

Very little literature is readily available for all the studio drummers and personnel lineups in Les Paul’s early days, but we found the name of one of his first percussionists who was part of The Les Paul Trio in 1938 who also played bass, Ernie “Diarrhea” Newton.

In 1976, Les Paul teamed up with Guitarist Chet Atkins for the Grammy Award winning Chester and Lester album of which Larrie Londin played drums on the session.
In 2006, Les Paul at 90 years old released a two Grammy Award winning album called Les Paul & Friends: A Tribute To A Legend which included many great guest appearances from vocals to guitar to bass to harmonica to drums and percussion which included Vinnie Colaiuta, Shawn Pelton, Gordon Knudson, Abe Laboriel, Jr., Adam “LDB” Polatov, Kenny Aronoff, and Daniel Moreno. No wonder it won not only one, but two Grammys with that line up!
If you know of any great drummers that Les Paul played with or if you yourself got to play drums with him, feel free to leave a comment below to share your stories or info.

May Les Paul and his legacy live on forever in our hearts and souls!

Photo by flickr user Thomas Faivre-Duboz, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 2.0. deed.

In the objective blind judging the drums were played behind the judge’s backs for two to three minutes each, using the same series of rudiments, patterns and beats on each drum as the judges voted from 1 to 10 on five criteria; sensitivity, tone quality, dynamic range, rim sounds, and blend of the drum with the drum kit. The judge had no idea of the manufacturer or model of the drum and could not see it. They were told the sequence number of the drum, what the shell construction was, and the size. Otherwise the only thing they had to go on was their ears. A perfect score of 50 from each judge would equal a total score of 200.

From his MySpace blog:

July 16, 2009 Lou Mars at the Whiskey A-Go-Go with ‘One High Five,’ Los Angeles, California

Lou Mars to perform with “One High Five” at the famous Whiskey A Go-Go located on the Sunset Strip. Doors open at 7:30 PM, however the act is slated for the 11:00 PM performance on Thursday, July 16th. The Whiskey is the premiere rock club to play in Los Angeles, therefore this will be a show you will not want to miss!

LouMarsDrums.com

I think most of us feel that it needs to be as tight as possible so there is no equipment failure. I have seen touring pros and their techs using vice grips and pliers to tighten various wing nuts and bolts, to the point of denting the down tubes on the stands. The problem then becomes, tear down. At the end of the gig the last thing you want to do is fight to loosen your stand, so that you can pack it up.

To alleviate this problem in our stands, we have utilize alignment tube inserts, as well as hinged height adjustments at all the height adjustment points. This is a fixed nylon piece that is inserted into the metal down tubes so that there is no metal to metal contact inside the stand, and also allows for smooth height adjustments.

So stop using vise grips and pliers, and your hardware will last much longer. This damages your hardware and it is unnecessary. Better yet, make sure your stands have a way to prevent overtightening and the damage that results from this.

• 5 piece drum kit
• Playstation 3 (or 2)
• RockBand 2 (or original RB)
• Rock Band Microphone and two guitar controllers
• 5 acoustic drum triggers, appropriate cables (cable connector types depends on the triggers and interface, just make sure they are compatible with each other)
• drum trigger interface
• Midi to USB Rock Band Adaptor
• RemO’s Tone Control Rings
• Hart Dynamics Magnum mesh heads (optional)
• Blue, Red, Green, Yellow spray paint
• polycrylic spray coating
• 3M mounting tape
• orange construction paper
• Elmer’s glue
• Pintech cymbal triggers (optional)

(see more photos here)

1. Get the gear and the game

Get the Playstation 3 or 2, and the Rock Band or Rock Band 2 pack that comes with the drums, guitar and microphone, and game disc. Even through you will not use the drums, this pack is less expensive than buying the game, two guitar controllers, and the microphone separately. And if you want to return you drum kit to a normal later, you can use the included Rock Band drum kit to play the game. We used the Guitar Hero World Tour controller for our second guitar.

2. Get the Special Adaptor

Buy a USB Rock Band adaptor. We bought ours from Rock Band Forum user sethmeisterg. (This will not work with the XBox 360 because of Microsoft’s interface licensing restrictions, this is why it must be a Playstation 2 or 3).

3. Take Measurements

Measure and write down the diameter of your toms and snare (or you might already know). If you are going to use cymbal triggers also, measure them as well. We bought the Pintech TC Cymbal Package which includes a 14, 18, and 10 inch cymbal triggers. It does not matter which size you pick.

4. Get the rings

Get the appropriate quantity and size of RemO’s Tone Control Rings at a drum accessory store. They come in packs, but sometimes dealers will sell the rings individually.

5. Optional: Get the mesh heads

Buy the appropriate size and quantity of mesh heads. This is optional. Using mesh heads will be quieter than the regular acoustic heads. This will let you hear the music track of the game more easily. You will only need one mesh head per drum. You can keep the original bottom heads. Remove the top rims, then the top head, mount the mesh heads, and re-mount the rim. We used Hart Dynamics Kontrol Screen Magnum.

6. Paint the Rings

Lay out the tone rings on your kit and note which color you will need to paint each one. Then, take them outside and paint each one the appropriate colors. From left to right it should be: red, yellow, blue green. You may need to apply several coats until you cannot see the white through the paint.

7. Coat the Rings

After the paint dries, apply the polycrylic spray.

8. Mount the Rings

After the polycrylic coat dries, attach each ring to the head with the 3M Mounting Tape. If you are using the cymbal triggers, glue the rings to the them. We cut the bottom part of the rim to accommodate the foam pad on the trigger.

9. Apply the Orange Construction Paper

Apply the orange construction paper to the kick drum in some way do designate its color. We glued to strips to the bottom inside rim of the kick drum.

10. Mount and Connect the Triggers

Mount the triggers to the drums and connect them to the trigger interface. We used the Alesis DM5. You can also use the Alesis Trigger I/O, Roland TD-3 or Roland TMC-6. Connect the trigger interface to the USB adaptor, and the USB adaptor to the Playstation 3.

11. Configure the Interface

Set up your drum trigger interface to trigger the correct midi note numbers as described by the USB adaptor interface. You can start the game to test the triggers. You may want to put the game in the “no fail” mode so you will not need to keep restarting the song. Adjust the crosstalk and gain setting in the drum trigger interface.

12. You’re done! Start playing!

Invite some friends over to sing and play the guitar and bass parts, and rock out!

Joe Mazza, Dixon rockstar, has 25 years of drum and percussion experience under his belt. Joe is passionate and dedicated to his music. His successful music career was built from talent, genuine relationships and professionalism. Here are some of Joe’s tips for aspiring drummers and musicians:

1. Be professional:

Being a professional doesn’t start and stop with each gig. Being a pro means handling yourself in situations on and off stage. Keep a good schedule. Don’t double book yourself. Keep up a good appearance. Keep good lines of communication open with club owners, promoters, band members and other musicians in your area. You can be the greatest player in the area but if people don’t like you or you have a bad reputation, you won’t get the job.

2. Bring pro gear:

You’ve already got enough going on before your gig.

There’s nothing worse than your gear breaking before or even during your gig. When this happens, it makes your whole band look bad. If your gear is built well and in tip-top shape, it’s one less thing for you to worry about. Try Dixon Drums and Gibraltar Hardware.

3. Be on-time to your gig:

If the drummer is late, the band is late. Which means sound check is late or could be missed all together. If that happens, NOBODY is happy. Other band members can’t hear themselves in the monitors and any issues with sound reinforcement can’t be worked out. Nothing worse then howling feedback when a band starts (which scares people off). A personal note: I prefer to be early to the gig so I have SPACE to set-up. There is nothing worse than having to step over guitars and amps to get your drums set-up. They never leave you enough room either. So get there early, claim your space and get a good sound check. It may leave you time to actually RELAX before the gig starts.

4. Be courteous to everyone:

The last thing you want to do is aggravate, annoy or offend a staff member of a club or restaurant. They are there to work as well. I can guarantee you’ll need something from one these folks at some point throughout the gig: a glass of water, something to eat, directions, help from an irate patron, you name it. They may be reluctant to help you if you came in the door with a bad attitude barking orders at them. Don’t forget about the sound guy. Cross the sound guy and he will make your gig miserable! Remember, all of these people have an effect on you getting another gig.

All of these little things really add up and help you build your reputation as a musician and/or band. Whenever your name is mentioned, you want people to say, ”Yeah I worked him/her, they were easy to work with.” Remember that building a good reputation takes time but ruining your reputation takes less than seconds and takes much longer to build again.