If you know where to look…

…you can find some amazing things – for free.

For instance, if you happen to be in search of an incredibly comprehensive and scholarly guide to the art of drumming - complete with history, technique, philosophy, critique, study and just about anything you can think of… …all in PDF format - just visit Portland (free/improv) drummer Andrew Wilshusen’s web page. And make sure to say thanks for his generosity.

-Andrew will also be hosting an improv music workshop at his house starting this Monday. If you're interested, you can contact him here.

Another 4-Letter Word

A couple weeks back I went to a show at the Someday Lounge here in Portland to see the Diatic Collective. In case you don’t know, Diatic Records hosts a Sunday Jazz series where you can catch a bunch of young turks makin’ the modern jazz. In addition to the Collective, Chris Brown (son of Portland legend, Mel) led a quartet of local players.

I’m not going to go into a critique of the show, aside from saying Chris Brown was pretty much the monster player I expected – with all the understated tastiness of his father (and more bombastic-sisity) – and the Collective showed why many consider these folks to be the next generation of Portland heavies…**

I know it was a Sunday, but can anyone tell why there was NOBODY there? ...aside from a (very) few friends and family, myself and a couple from LA who just happened to wander in for dinner. The club owners mentioned that this was one of the BETTER attended Sunday shows. It shouldn’t surprise me. Rarely, if ever, are any of these jazz shows mentioned in the local weeklies. It makes me sad to think that these players - who have undoubtedly devoted themselves to the study and mastery of this art form, and if that night was anything to go by - (basically) have no audience.

Granted, I am new to the jazz scene here and my opinions might be shaped by a certain naivety. Obviously there are many who appreciate and support jazz music, so I don’t want to oversimplify my point, but in this artist-friendly city, you would think that this kind of music could really flourish.

I think “jazz” is becoming a negative four letter word. To many, it means: scholastic, esoteric, difficult, boring, old, conservative, etc. I’m not saying that the music is any of these adjectives, but that’s what a lot of folks think of when they think of “jazz.” Too bad, because anyone who takes the time to explore the genre will find that it is anything but boring and conservative (esoteric, maybe).

What happens to the soul of an art form when one can study for a PhD at the local university? And exactly what kind of jazz do they play at school? For one considering heading down that path, it’s an important question. Will we be playing Orenette Coleman or Benny Goodman? Or does it even matter? Does anything even matter? Why are we even here?

Maybe we should just make pirate music: Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggghhhhhhhh!

**Another tidbit about the aforementioned Someday Lounge show…

Toward the end of Chris Brown’s set, with the band vamping, he got up from behind his drum set and introduced the quartet. When he finished, he mumbled something about an hour being too long for his bladder and went off to use the restroom - leaving the band vamping away and exchanging puzzled looks. He must have really had to go because he was gone for awhile. Eventually, he came back and finished out the tune. End of set.

I didn’t know what to make of it. It was kind of funny, but I’m not sure if I would have felt that way if I was playing with him. Would he have done that if it was a packed house? Doubt it. Was it just a indication of what he thought about the evening? I’m guessing so…

Jazz is dead, long live the King?

Homework

Tim DuRoche has an extensive list for all those looking to explore the meaning of "jazz drums."

Many moons ago a demi-semi-hemi-student asked me if I could recommend some things for him to listen to that would help with jazz vocabulary and conception for drums. Not content to say listen to Philly Joe, Elvin, or Ray Bauduc, I jotted down the following highly subjective list of selected masters that should be digested and at-hand to help one be a good student of their instrument. At least I found them helpful.

Although the post is dated Dec 4, its still worth checking out if, like me, you're obsessed with this stuff...

Marketing Music? Never even crossed my mind...

Via Andrew Durkin,

I wasn't familiar with this guy, but a lot of people are, and it appears he has a lot to say about the state of the music industry. I've got to give it a better read, but one thing that caught my attention was this gem of wisdom:

The music business has always created celebrities. And each celebrity has profited for decades from that fame. Frank Sinatra is dead and he's still profiting. Elvis is still alive and he's certainly still profiting.

The music business has done a poor job of leveraging that celebrity and catching the value it creates. Many businesses now have the power to create their own micro-celebrities. These individuals capture attention and generate trust, two critical elements in growing profits.

So to all of you who are not rock stars yet, you need to try harder. Here's the link.

Technique! – Who Would Have Thought?

I guess I tend to do things backwards. I’ve been putting in a ton of work on basic rudimental technique and I can’t believe how much it has effected my playing. It makes me wonder what I’ve been doing for so long.

I guess its just one of the pitfalls that comes with the “just figuring it out” approach that I’ve used to play music for all these years. Take the guitar for example. Now, I can play chords and strum away all night long, but I’ve never bothered to learn scales and the like, so I will forever be the very limited rhythm guitar guy. Luckily, I’m not a guitar player…

As a drummer, a healthy foundation in the basic drum rudiments is really going to separate the men from the boys. Now, drum line and jazz cats are rolling their eyes and thinking “no shit, Sherlock” but when you come from a rock background, it is not always so clear. I mean, listening to the Velvet Underground or the Ramones did not make me think about paradiddles or double drags. Great rock drummers like Ringo or Charlie Watts were all about feel and groove and putting that certain time stamp on great tunes.

So after years of focus on feel and vibe we wake up to find that there is something missing. They’re called CHOPS. And unless your name is Maureen Tucker, eventually you’re going to need them.

Why I Play Music, Part 1

Why I Drum, part 1

Jumping in...

Instead of trying to craft a coherent thread or topic for this blog, I'm going to wing it for a while with tidbits that may or may not have anything to do with drums, drumming, music or life. Sounds good to me!

I had an interesting chat with my friend Frank who is an amazing musician currently living in Oakland, CA. Check him out.

We swapped stories about some of the less-than-enjoyable gigs we've experienced in the past. I guess one of his recent gigs ended up being incredibly annoying due to last minute over-booking. Frank ended up waiting around all night to play to a sparse crowd with zero financial return. This led me to think about other types of annoying gig behavior that leads some performers to unnecessary suffering.

Tops on my list of personal pet peeves is what Mike Watt refers to as "bogarting the stage." Simply put, this is when bands take way too long setting up or tearing down after a set. This makes the other bands have to wait, which makes the crowd wait, so on and so forth... Being a drummer, my (least) favorite is when the drummer disassembles their entire kit - folding every stand, putting the drums in their road cases, etc - while still on stage! This is lame behavior. Totally rude. And you can ask Mike Watt yourself.

More on the constructive side: Ever watch a musician perform and see them openly wince when a mistake is made? I have a good friend who sometimes does this and it drives me crazy. First of all, he is the only one who could tell it was a mistake (besides me, I guess) and instead of playing it off, a ill-timed reaction broadcasts the mistake to the entire audience. I recently read a quote from Sonny Rollins, "It's not what you play, its what you play next." Most audience members are not musicians, they won't know the difference.

The last one I want to touch on (and I promise to try and not be so negative on my next post) involves shows with three or more bands on the same bill. Now, any booking agent worth his or her salt should already have the night’s line up set. The sound person should also know this info. But anyone who plays the B and C list clubs around town knows that this is often not the case. What happens next is what I call “the last minute shuffle.”

Let’s say it’s a Tuesday night at Club XYZ. That’s bad enough as it is, but no one wants to “deadline” and no one wants to start before ten. Sure enough, one of the bands will have an emergency and explain to anyone that will listen that they need to play 1^st or 2^nd. Being the nice guy and not wanting to cause a scene, you say ok. Now you’re playing at 1am. Did any of the bands stick around to see you?

I guess all I’m getting at is a the need to help each other out a little. Take your lumps when you need to and don’t be insensitive to your peers (even if they suck!). After all, as a musician, most of us have fragile enough egos as it is…