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.

Full Story

Posted in Drum/Music News | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Drumming: An Alternative to Jail and Death

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

drummerspiece_3167758b

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.

Full Story

Posted in Drum/Music News | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

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.

Full Story 

Posted in Drum/Music News | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

1035x885-gd-1800-1395154206

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.

Full Story

Posted in Drum/Music News | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mike Mitchell: I’m Still Searching

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Scott K Fish

Interviews
Dallas’ Mike Mitchell is a Jazz Drumming Prodigy
By Jeremy Hallock – Tue., Jan. 13 2015 at 9:15 AM

Worldly and wise with chops and a first class music education at the age of 20, Dallas drummer Mike Mitchell is a globetrotting prodigy. In the last four years he has won more awards from DownBeat Magazine than he can remember, as well as being cited as an up-and-coming artist in countless other worldwide publications. He has worked with [bassist] Christian McBride, [alto saxophonist] Antonio Hart…. But this only scratches the surface of what Mitchell has already accomplished.

Mitchell has been playing drums since he was two years old, when he watched an older cousin play drums and learned quickly.

“I’m still searching,” he says. “I want to have my own independent style and voice. Most drum nerds are able to listen to an album and immediately tell you who the drummer is and that’s the goal for me.”

It is clear that he has been influenced by jazz fusion drummers like Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette, and Lenny White. But he also takes queues from rock drummers like Mitch Mitchell, Keith Moon and John Bonham.

Full Story

Posted in Drum/Music News | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment