Christmas Card from Charles “Keep A Knockin'” Connor

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Scott K Fish

SKF NOTE: The great drummer Earl Palmer told me he was the drummer on Little Richards’ records, and Charles Connor was Little Richard‘s touring drummer. Mr. Palmer, if memory serves, said there may have been some exceptions to that. But not many.

I had a phone conversation once or twice at Modern Drummer with someone representing Charles Connor about an interview. If that interview happened, it happened after I left MD.

I just found this Christmas card from Mr. Connor. Interesting it’s postmarked December 1985. I left Modern Drummer in October 1983. I can’t explain the dates. The card was sent to me at MD. MD forwarded the card to my home address.

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Drumming: An Alternative to Jail and Death

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Scott K Fish

Drum instructor honored at annual event
Posted: Jan 18, 2015 10:02 PM EST
By Natalia Martinez

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) – With each stroke of a drum, young musicians are beating the odds thanks to their instructor, Ed White.

Some of the musicians where once considered troubled youth, but the credit White for helping them find their rhythm.

“He’s taught me how to read, rudiments, everything that you can, anything,” Allen explained.

“We’ve got our young boys who are so angry that they’re sending each other to the grave and the jail,” White told the crowd.

White founded RCDC 22 years ago, witnessing hundreds of children succeed.

“So we can say for that, free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last,” White said.

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Movies: Drummers as Obsessives, Non-Conformists, Psychos

Posted on January 17, 2015 by Scott K Fish

Drumatic: a history of drummers in film
As Whiplash picks up five Oscar nominations, Anne Billson marvels at the range of drummers on-screen over the years
By Anne Billson 8:00AM GMT 17 Jan 2015

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Whiplash is about a jazz drummer who drums till his fingers bleed. His connection to the kit he pounds so obsessively is echoed by his abusive relationship with the conservatory conductor, who yells obscenities in his face like the drill sergeant from Full Metal Jacket.

You could substitute another instrument, but it wouldn’t be the same, because drums are primal, physical, brutal in a way that other instruments are not. They signal war, sex and violence, life and death – sometimes all at once. Drummers are a fundamental part of the team, yet detached, with their own special rules; the musician equivalent of goalkeepers.

In films, drummers are often depicted as obsessives, non-conformists, or psychos.

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Apple’s Customizable Drum Loops for GarageBand

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Scott K Fish

January 15, 2015

Apple Patent Reveals Customizable Drum Loops for GarageBand

garageband

On January 15, 2015, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that discusses how GarageBand, Logic Pro or combination of these apps can create unique and customized drumming loops for various music genres.

Apple notes in their patent filing that drum machines and sequencers have long been used to generate rhythmic accompaniments for musicians lacking access to a full band, drumming proficiency, or a convenient means of recording drumming performances. Although drum sequences using canned loops can be easy to create, they are extremely limited in their application.

Apple’s invention remedies these problems in great detail.

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Kreutzmann, Hart Join Grateful Dead 50th Anniversary Shows

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Scott K Fish

Jan 16, 2015
MUSIC
Grateful Dead Reuniting for 50th Anniversary Shows With Phish’s Trey Anastasio
By MIKE AYERS

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The Grateful Dead are going truckin’ one more time.

The remaining four members of the classic-rock band have booked a three-night run at Chicago’s Soldier Field, to take place of July 4th weekend, and with that they’re bringing Phish‘s Trey Anastasio and Bruce Hornsby to help out.

Tickets for the “Fare Thee Well” shows will be made available via Grateful Dead ticketing starting January 20, an online pre-sale starting February 12 at 10 a.m. CST and a general on-sale for the public starting February 14 at 10 a.m. CST. Ticket prices range from $59.50 to $199.50.

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