No trip to Home Depot would be complete without purchasing a big, orange bucket. And no drummer would ever begin using said bucket for its intended purpose until turning it over and playing “Wipe Out” for 10 minutes straight. Instead of filling it full of joint compound and skim coating my dining room walls, I took the bucket into my studio and mic’d it up for some loops.
With a Shure Beta 52A underneath to capture the low end, a Rode NT5 overhead to capture the attack, and one very frustrated wife, I spent the next hour recording a variety of bucket grooves, ranging from samba to hip hop.
Bucket Mic'ing 101
Preview Here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
I’m not done with the cowbell grooves. Like I mentioned before, I think it’s time to bring one of my favorite percussive accessories back into the limelight. Rather than go the straight quarter note, “Don’t Fear the Reaper” route, I’ve went ahead and approached it from a polyrhythmic angle. In this case, a 3 against 4 phrasing over the course of a four bar groove (not to be confused with a hemiola).
To make such an academic rhythm accessible to the masses, I overdubbed some sixteenth note shaker to help keep things flowing on the dance floor. What good is a dance beat if it doesn’t make you want to grind up against a drunken stranger?
Preview Here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
All day long, I’ve been reading news articles and blogs about the untimely death of legendary movie director and writer, John Hughes. Rather than write my own post about how much his movies influenced my early life (along with my entire generation), I decided to honor him musically.
The Donger need loops
Loop #87
I can’t think of a more fitting tribute to the man responsible for movies such as Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club than some full on 80′s loops. In order to achieve this classic, Reagan-era drum sound, I decided to go for a heavily gated-reverb effect on both the kick and snare. I also drank an entire case of New Coke during the recording session. Throw in some Simple Minds, Mel Gaynor type patterns and you’ve got yourself a soundtrack to a party that could only end like this:
Preview Here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
One of my favorite albums of the past five years is Nine Inch Nails’ 2005 release, “With Teeth”. It’s a record chocked-full of hypnotic drum loops and haunting, yet hook-heavy melodies. It’s the perfect soundtrack for working out, getting in a fight at the mall or even playing D&D.
Loop #80
This loop takes some of the flammed-out, in your face, floor tom action that is present on several tracks on With Teeth and mixes it with the thick and dry kick and snare sound that is prevalent on many other Trent Reznor’s productions.
Now go lock yourself in your bedroom, paint your fingernails black and lay down some industrial-goth-pop stylings on top of this groove.
Preview Here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
I know I’ve madesomesnarkycomments about splash cymbals in the past. This is why I feel I must explain myself before posting today’s loop. You see, there are other ways to utilize splash cymbals besides highlighting DX-7 solos in bad fusion jams and recording prog-rock concept albums.
Charles Haynes
This is a trick I picked up a few years ago while hanging out at Wally’s on “funk night”. One of the house drummers, Charles “The Dog” Haynes, would often pull out a splash cymbal in the middle of a song and place it directly on the snare drum, completely changing the sound of the backbeat. By hitting the splash with the shoulder of the stick and really laying into it, Charles was able to produce a piercing, almost bit-crushed sounding snare. If only splash cymbals always sounded this manly.
Loop #74
Today’s loop takes The Charles Haynes Splash Method™ and combines it with a jingle stick in the right hand and a floor tom hit (covered with a t-shirt and soaked in sub-bass) on the “and” of 1.
Preview Here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Ever since I posted the ?uestlove video earlier today, I haven’t been able to get that beat out of my head. Rather than blasting some Huey Lewis to thoroughly cleanse my pallet, I decided to head down to the studio and record my own take on a breakbeat influenced groove (aka the exact same thing Quest played… just a few BPM faster).
Ahmir '?uestlove' Thompson
Loop #66
To get that old-skool sound, I took the minimal approach to recording and only used two overhead mics on the kit. I also overdubbed a tambourine playing sixteenth notes and blew out my hair into the biggest, whitest afro you’ve ever seen. I didn’t use any t-shirts on the kick drum but I did throw a few sheets of notebook paper on the snare to add some extra “thunk”.
Preview Here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
When recording in the studio, drummers (and especially engineers) have a tendency to muffle and cover the drums with all sorts of things. Gaffer’s tape, towels, wallets, t-shirts. Sometimes this is done to achieve a certain effect (for example, the “Ringo” sound), while other times it’s just an attempt to control the natural overtones of the drums. For a good example of a heavily muffled drum sound, just listen to any album recorded by The Eagles.
Don 'The Muffler' Henley
There’s also the opposite approach to recording drums. No muffling. Little or no gating. Just crank up the overhead mics and capture the real sound of the kit. Sometimes it’s refreshing to hear the wide range of frequencies bouncing around drums as you play a groove. It can bring life to a track and provide a certain essence that heavily produced or programmed drums tend to lack.
Loop #60
For today’s loop, my drums are totally naked. No t-shirts or duct tape, however, I was wearing pants. You can even hear the sympathetic resonance coming off of the cymbals and toms. It’s a straight forward, pop/rock feel with another hat tip to Chris Frantz (floor tom on the “&” of four).
Preview Here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
I still remember my first Modern Drummer magazine. It was the August, 1989 issue and Chris Frantz of The Talking Heads graced the cover. I was twelve years old and had finally convinced my parents to buy me a drumset (an old red sparkle, 4 piece “Apollo” kit). While we were at the music store purchasing some cymbals to go with the drums (Zildjian Bronze Scimitars), I grabbed a few pairs of sticks and my first copy of “MD”.
My first kit
For the next month, when I wasn’t in my bedroom playing along to INXS’“Kick” album, I was reading my first issue of Modern Drummer. I was mesmerized by everything inside. The product reviews of the new Pearl Exports. The Yamaha Recording Custom ads featuring Dave Weckl and his perfectly coifed mullet. This was drummer-porn to the fullest. I was hooked.
It was my first chance to get inside the minds of the drummers I heard on the radio and watched on MTV. I found the interview with Chris Frantz to be particularly interesting. I learned about the history of The Talking Heads and what it was like to play at CBGB’s in NYC (a club I would end up frequently playing 13 years later). Their art school approach to music making made me think about drumming in a different light. It was the first time I heard someone talk about the importance of “music” over “chops”. It was my first step in the right direction.
Chris Frantz - The Talking Heads
Loop #58
Today’s loop was inspired by Chris’ drumming with The Talking Heads, particularly their hit “Once in a Lifetime”. Instead of incorporating the tom on the “&” of 4, I play it directly on the 1. This groove is actually an outtake from one of the loop packs I’ll be publishing. More details to come soon…
Preview Here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Some things to remember next time you play drums in an ‘indie rock’ band:
- The more your snare drum sounds like a cardboard box, the better.
- Never, and I mean never, mention those Dave Weckl albums you owned in high school.
- You’re going to look like a total douche in those skinny jeans no matter what you do. Just deal with it. Or you can always go the Tommy Lee route.
Fabrizio Moretti - The Strokes
Loop #55
For today’s loop I played a pretty typical “indie rock” beat. A semi-limp left hand, no fancy business on the ride cymbal and just enough groove to make the girls dance. To take some of the extra sheen off, I re-amped the drum bus and turned on the bit crusher.
And for some exciting news: Starting tonight, I’ll be including REX files of every loop. Tell all of your DJ friends to start dropping in some “Gruss” at the clubs.
Preview Here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
