ryangruss.com

Since we’re approaching the holiday season, I figured I’d get in the “giving” frame of mind by rounding up every single loop I’ve ever posted on this site and zip them up into one file for an easy and free download. So, here you go. Everything from country to zeibekiko, 60 to 300 BPM, WAV to AIFF to REX2… it’s all inside this one zip file. Just click the icon below to download:

458 MB of Gruss

Note – These don’t include the 700+ loops that I’ve recorded for my subscribers. If you’re interested in getting in on that action, just click here to sign up.

Everyone has an album that reminds them of their childhood. A certain recording that can instantly transport you back to being a little kid. For me, that album is Willie Nelson’s 1978 classic, “Stardust”.

Every time my family made the six hour drive to my grandparents’ house in Missouri, “Stardust” found its way into the in-dash cassette player. I’m not sure if my parents had inside, CIA-type information telling them that this album would relax their kids and make them stop beating the shit out of each other, but whatever the case, it worked. Willie possesses a voice cool enough to lull Michael Vick’s backyard kennel into a deep sleep.

Listen for yourself here.

Willie Nelson

The man responsible for the ultra laid-back timekeeping on this recording (and many other great Willie Nelson albums) is drummer, Paul English. As far as their working relationship, I believe Willie described it best:

I’ve had four wives in the past 40 years, but only one drummer.

Paul must be doing something right.

Paul English and Willie

Loop #49

Today’s loop pays homage to Paul English and his signature laid-back approach. With a brush in my right hand and a stick in my left, I tried to lay down something that sounded like an outtake from the “Stardust” sessions. Now, go pick up your old, beat up acoustic guitar and write some country ballads. Just don’t forget to pay your taxes next week.

Preview Here:

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Download the Logic session here. (34MB)

Get the .wav file here.

77 BPM

One of my RSS subscribers

I’ve been getting hounded with emails from ryangruss.com subscriber, Bobby Lee, (above pic) asking me to post some “real music”. Apparently jazz/fusion isn’t his cup of tea… or errr, can of Old Milwaukee. Anyway, I traced Bobby’s IP address and discovered he lives in Varner, Arkansas. I aim to please, so here’s a beat found in many of the songs of another Arkansas native, Johnny Cash.

Loop #8

This groove is a pretty straight ahead train beat. I used brushes on my brass snare and like yesterday’s loop, I didn’t muffle the kick drum. Bobby Lee, hopefully this gets your stamp of approval.

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Download the Logic session here. (31MB)

260 BPM

Butter makes the world a better place. I love butter on english muffins. When I go to the movies, I ask for extra butter on my popcorn. I love butter so much, a few years ago I often starting using it as an adjective: “buttery”.

I think I first used the term “buttery” to describe the sound of drummer, Matt Chamberlain. Matt’s high cholesterol drumming started to make it’s way up the music charts in the late 90’s when he began to record with artists such as Tori Amos, The Wallflowers and Fiona Apple. With a combination of warm, earthy sounding drums and dark, shimmering cymbals, Matt’s playing produces a certain buttery goodness that make his grooves melt right into the track.

Matt Chamberlain - 'Butter is the magic carpet to flavour'

Today’s loop is something I would file under ‘buttery’ (looks like I need to update my categories). To achieve this sound I pulled out my super thin, super trashy hi hats, my 6 1/2 x 14″ brass snare tuned WAY down (with a few pieces of paper on the head to give it extra some “thunk”) and I placed an extra Shure SM57 on the bottom of snare to really capture the “whoosh” of the strainer.

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Download the Logic files here. (99MB)

68 BPM

After starting off my blog with two rather distorted and edgy loops I’ve decided to chill things out for today’s post. And in the world of drumming, nothing chills things out like putting down the sticks and pulling out a pair of brushes. When talking about brush playing, most people associate the technique with legendary jazz drummers such a “Philly Joe” Jones and Vernel Fournier While it’s true these men perfected the art of timekeeping with a bundle of wires throughout 1950’s and 60’s (this deserves a blog post of it’s own), I wanted to look at the use of brushes in a more contemporary light.

Russ Kunkel

I’m pretty sure the first time I ever heard Russ Kunkel’s drumming was while being shuffled back and forth to pre-school in my parent’s sweet station wagon. Russ Kunkel is a renowned session drummer who first broke onto the scene in early 70’s, recording hit albums with artists such as James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne (to name just a few). With my mother’s affinity for light-FM radio programming, Kunkel’s grooves were ingrained into my little head from an early age. The thing that made the biggest impression on me was the SOUND he got out of the drums. Fuzzy, warm, funky and round… all at the same time.

It was a few years later (after receiving my first pair of brushes) that I discovered how he achieved this unique tone. Most drummers instinctively gravitate towards a pair of sticks when recording pop/rock music. Russ Kunkel was a pioneer in the use of brushes in this particular vein. On top of having an amazing feel, he also used the sound of brushes to carve out his own distinct identity in the world of LA session drummers. Just listen to the tom fills on James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain” and you’ll hear what I’m talking about.

My early exposure to Russ Kunkel came full circle (almost) several years ago while I was recording at LA’s famed Conway Studios. I was initially excited about the session because I had the opportunity to work with Peter Asher who was producing. As well as being an accomplished artist himself, Peter is the one who produced all of those early James Taylor albums that were such a staple of my childhood. To raise the “oh shit, what is going on?” factor up another notch, Peter had hired Russ Kunkel’s son, Nate, to engineer the session.

As we were setting up to record (and as I was trying to keep my cool) I overheard Nate say to Peter.

Dad might stop by the session later today and say hi.”

And with that, the “oh shit” factor jumped off the charts. With one eye on Peter and the other on the door to the studio, I spent the next 6 hours laying down drum tracks, just waiting for Mr. Russ Kunkel himself to walk into the control room. Four songs later and before I knew it, the session was winding down and the assistants began winding up the dozens of microphone cords strewn across the studio floor. Half relieved, half disappointed, I realized my chance encounter with Russ would have to wait for another day.

I guess the irony of this long-winded story is that I never reached for the brushes on this particular day. Between having Peter and Nate on the session, and a possible ‘drop in’ by Russ Kunkel, I don’t think I (or the world) would have been able to handle the magnitude of such a thing. It’s the kind of cosmic intensity that could have sent us (along with most of Southern California) tumbling into the Pacific Ocean. For the love of mankind and the safety of millions, I stayed with the sticks.

However (for all of you equipment geeks out there), I did get to use Russ’s own Yamaha subkick which Nate brought to the studio.

Loop #3

No distortion or crazy effects on this one. Just a clean brush backbeat with a nod to Mr. Kunkel. Hopefully our paths will cross someday.

Preview Here:

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Download the Logic files here. (26MB)

80 BPM