Studio Drummer – Drumming Your Way To Good Health

I’ve said for years that drumming has been great for my health.  Not only can it be a great overall cardio workout over the course of a show night but if you sit properly with good balance and good posture, drumming is a fabulous continuous workout most notably for the lower back.  I play heal up with my kick foot as many do.  I’m pretty much heal down though with my hi hat foot.  But the effect of balancing on the stool is nothing but great for the lower back, at least in my experience.  It seems so many people have back issues and I feel that years of playing often long gigs or long sessions leaves me with a tired lower back.  That’s the key though!   A tired back as opposed to a sore back!   What I’ve effectively done is a 4-5 hour or a 6-8 hour balanced back workout.  Next day I’m good to go!

That brings me to a key piece of gear in the drum kit arsenal.  The drum throne!  Funny how folks will spend a ton of money on the kit and then sit on a piece of garbage where the seat of the drum stool is wobbling around or is too small, the feet are not sturdy etc etc!  This is a fundamental piece of gear!  Having an effective and strong connection to the ground in a balanced secure way is essential to playing well when you’re talking about milliseconds in execution and timing which of course great drumming entails.  And of course, like I was saying earlier the effect on the lower back especially can either be enhanced by a good throne or diminished by a bad one!  So make sure that you test and shop effectively for a sturdy and robust drum throne that suits your body, body weight and your movements.  Many people today go with light weight hardware for stands etc.  I would argue that this is the one piece of gear where you should lean in the other direction and go robust.   Think about your posture when you play and the balance of your body.  Don’t allow your balance to detract from your execution as well as overwork muscle groups… Cheers

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Studio Drummer – More Thoughts on the Golden Rule

*THIS IS ANOTHER RULE THAT YOU MUST BEAR IN MIND.  THE ARTIST MAY HAVE TERRIBLE COMMUNICATION SKILLS BUT YOU ARE STILL REQUIRED TO HAVE THEM!*

 

You’re going to run into artists that have a lot of attitude.  It’s inevitable and just a matter of time.  A couple of buddies of mine were doing a gig with Kenny G and they walked into the rehearsal and there’s Kenny standing there with his saxophone playing away doing his circular breathing thing while he’s meeting all the players!  Circular breathing technique allows you to continuously play without stopping.  So he’s standing there blasting away on his horn while shaking hands with these guys.  And apparently that was just the beginning of the attitude!  At one point he yells at the drummer, “Drummer here’s your tempo!”

So there are times when you have to steel yourself against the negative vibes.  You truly put on your game face in these moments.

 

But back to a studio setting, artists still are the boss.  The artist is always right in the end!  It’s their product and they are footing the bill. This is a rule that you have to internalize.

 

You never want to disrupt the forward motion of a session and the creative atmosphere!

 

The artist or producer may also ask you to change or adjust your part or go in a completely different direction.  You may completely disagree!   I know of one session player who actually started debating with the producer about the merits of his change.  What a terrible mistake.  His overbearing position was the end for him.

 

The other thing to remember is that session players and producers are always a tight knit group of people!   You can go to any city or music center and the people that do the bulk of the session work are a relatively small group of professionals.   It literally only takes one infraction of the sort I’ve been talking about for it to be over for you.  And on the same token good news travels quickly.  Producers are intensively aware of a musicians’ ability to interact with artists and their handling of difficult communicative situations.  A musician who can deftly handle these relational situations and retain the positive energy in the room as well as bring their A game to the table as a player are gold to producers and good news travels!

 

But remember, an experienced producer will go with someone of slightly lesser talent but who has the ALL elements necessary!   People skills are absolutely the key essential!

 

On the flip side of this issue though is this. 

 

*DON’T BE PHONY EITHER* 

 

People can spot a phony from a mile away.  Don’t be gushing and overly complimentary for example.  Yet don’t be a doormat either.  There do arise moments, and for very good reason, when you have to be assertive. 

 

Here’s a good example of that from my experience;

 

I was working on a very good session for ‘the greatest outdoor show on earth’, the Calgary Stampede when I noticed there was a playback issue that was critical.  The session up to this point had been upbeat and very positive with great results.

The issue was that the playback of the tracks that we were recording was slightly delayed against the click track.  What that did was make everything that we were playing on the floor sound slightly out of time with the pre-existing recorded tracks that we were playing to.

In a very assertive way I had to enter the control room and insist that there was a software issue.  I could hear it.  But at the time the producer and

engineer were thinking, ‘it’s 10am in the morning and you guys all have to wake up and start playing in time’!  At least that was the general vibe coming from them.  Plus we happened to be recording at The Armory Studios which is a multi-million dollar world renowned studio.

 

Since what we were recording was pretty complex and busy I had the idea to ask the engineer to do a test with me.  I asked him to feed me a click track and I’d go in and play something dead simple, he’d record it and then we could compare the playback to the click track to see where the timing fell.

Sure enough they all could then hear that there certainly was a software issue and all systems were re-booted and the session was back on track again.  Also and equally important, I was not made to look bad as a player due to something that was not my fault!

 

There are definitive times when you have to stand up for something but as in this case it was something that was essential to the overall progress  that could have completely derailed the session as well as our reputations as players.

 

*THE BEST ADVICE I HAVE IS THIS:* 

 

Be ‘real’ but enter the environment with an attitude of humility, so as to enable others on all levels.  But also come with the intention to kick ass!  

 

When I say kick ass I’m even talking about if you’re playing a subtle ballad with a set of brushes.  You want to bring your utmost artistically to the situation along with unobstructed communication at every level!  Start here in an honest soul searching sense and then bring your arsenal.

Then you’ve greatly improved your chances of success!

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Studio Drummer – The Golden Rule!

THE GOLDEN RULE


Here is the golden rule of being a successful studio musician.  You can choose to heed it or you can choose to ignore it.  I’ll tell you this though, if you choose to ignore this rule it won’t really matter how great you are.

 

*YOU MUST BE A PERSON THAT GETS ALONG WELL WITH OTHERS AND BRINGS POSITIVE ENERGY TO A SESSION AND THE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN A SESSION. YOU MUST BE AN ENABLER!*

 

I kid you not that all else is secondary.  You can have all the chops and talent in the world but if you’re disruptive, egotistical, arrogant, reactionary and if you generally diminish the flow and the energy in the room then you should start looking for another career!

 

The best session musicians are a hybrid of talent, tools and great people skills.  A studio setting is most often a tense environment to start with.  You have players who are on edge usually working with new material and unknown elements.  The same is often the case for the artist, producer and engineer.  There’s often a lot of money at stake and time is always of the essence.  The best session players are aware of the dynamic in the room at all times and are consistently working together with the artist, players and production staff to bring the most positive energy to the creative process.  Not only the above but this is also key. 

 

*THE BEST STUDIO MUSICIANS DIFFUSE NEGATIVE ENERGY* 

 

If something negative occurs or is introduced they will dissipate it through their communication skills.  This results in a ‘righting of the ship’ so to speak.

 

This is not some airy fairy psycho babble.  This key element is often overlooked by very great players who suddenly find that they’re no longer being called for sessions.  It happens all the time that musicians who may have great ability have completely overlooked the importance of human relations within the profession.  I know of great players directly in my circle where this has been the outcome for them and the situation was entirely created by them.

 

One situation that often arises and tests a player’s patience, humility and communication skills is one where the client doesn’t like what you’re doing and says so in front of  the players and staff, in a sense putting you on the hot seat.  Their intention may not be to do that at all!  It can be very testing as to how to respond in a way that is disarms the situation yet still retains the confidence in the eventual outcome and continues the forward motion and good vibes of a session.

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Studio Drummer – Optimize!

I remember reading some time ago an interview with a top world studio drummer who I prefer to remain nameless.  Reason being for that is not to get distracted by him but instead to focus on several pertinent comments that he offered.

He talked about how to optimize, moreover specifically about being analytical.  The process of self examination, not in a paranoid sense of always over scrutinizing one self or one’s performances but to be proactively engaged and positive about being self analytical.  That struck me as being very beneficial as an overall outlook on one’s playing and approach to playing.

He talked about learning to understand where each person’s own challenges lie such as learning to examine very carefully subdivision.   If you intend to lay a snare back in a way that is antithetical to pure subdividing then you have to understand how the relationship to the rest of the kit and the subdivisions that lie in those beats and those limbs are affected.

If something just doesn’t quite feel right, or better put, doesn’t feel the way that you intend it to feel then learn to be able to clearly and effectively break down where the problem lies without it affecting you emotionally or on an energy level.  Or more important still, a confidence level.

Being analytical in the most positive sense of the word will greatly increase your ability to not only correct aspects of your own playing but also increase your perception and ability to correct issues involving other players as they interact with you in a live or studio setting.

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Studio Drummer – Small Collaborations

Sometimes small collaborations can be the most fruitful.  You don’t need a lot of chefs is what I’m saying.  Or at least for some projects less chefs in the kitchen is better!  Decisions can be made much more quickly.  I did a great project with a superb guitarist named Scotty Hall where this was exemplified.  Just the 2 of us.. so to speak:)There was no ‘committee’ whereby decisions had to be deliberated on.  It was a grand total of 2 people making the musical and production decisions.  As long as both parties are fully putting the music first and the songs first then this can leave a lot of room for personal creativity.

I posted this album as an example of what I’m talking about entitled REZ.  Much respect and remembrance to my great friend and great musician Scotty Hall who died in 2006

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Studio Drummer – Another interesting Jeff Porcaro Observation

Like I mentioned in the previous post, our shows with Toto some years ago, were very interesting and very informative from a drummer’s perspective.

After our set I stood directly behind the staging and I could see through the scrim at the back of the stage.  I was standing on the floor of the theatre and the staging was higher so I was basically looking at the back of Jeff’s kit, at his foot level.

He was heel up on his bass drum but his hi hat foot was heel down and totally still.  In other words it was not involved in keeping time.  It was controlling the tension on the hat cymbals.  He would of course deftly adjust the tension in the lope of his groove, creating his signature magic of great groove playing.  When he would go to the ride then of course he’d be doing foot hat patterns along with the ride but I really took notice of the fact that when he was playing the hat with sticks he was very still with the hh foot.

This made perfect sense since his recordings always have a beautiful hi hat texture, a very consistent texture.  Not too tight in general, not too loose.  He knew how to get the best sonic texture and musicality out of the hi hats.  It was an instrument unto itself.  Drummers too often don’t think in those terms.

Another top individual in the music industry, this time a producer, being Mutt Lange (Def Leopard, Shania Twain) has been known to tell drummers (which shall remain nameless)  that they don’t play individual instruments/components very well.   This is exactly what he’s talking about.  A component and a very important part of the studio drumming is hi hat and hi hat texture and feel.  It’s an ‘inner, internal component’ of playing great studio drums.  Separate yet inclusive in the making of a great sounding and consistent groove.

Next time you are recorded solo the hi hat and listen to it.  Does it consist of static and inconsistent transients that just slosh around?  Are you choking the tone of the hats or stomping on the foot pedal when it should be a set tension?   Or is it compelling,.. such as if you were just playing the hat by itself and trying to make it convincing, such as in an intro?

Some would say the Devil is in the details, well perhaps God is in the details…

 

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