SKF NOTE: I especially like Mr. Conquest’s “dump drums.” Harry Partch must be smiling.
Percussion magician’s creations for sale
MIKE MATHER
Last updated 14:27, January 2 2015
Raglan carpenter and musician Dennis Conquest can make the most melodious of musical instruments out of the most unlikely of materials.
“I am a musician, not a performer. But I am a social musician. We are inviting people to come and play on these instruments each day the exhibition is on. From 10am to 2pm there will be an open jam session, for anyone who wants to come along.
“I am just a prolific maker of things. If you have a look in my workshop I have got projects all over the place.
“I have always felt its to gift to have this creativity. It’s a blessing to be able to do this when everyone else is at work and thinking all the usual terrible thoughts. I’m very lucky.”
SKF NOTE: Throughout my years drumming, writing about drums, or selling drums, I’ve heard stories of legendary local drummers. Living in Davenport, Iowa in the early 1970s, local music fans raved most often about Gaetan Caviola. At Modern Drummer, I took several calls from a young drummer, Chris, raving about a local drummer named Dave Weckl. Weckl, of course, became an internationally acclaimed musician.
But most local legendary drummers in my experience, remained local legendary drummers. I once suggested to founder/publisher Ron Spagnardi that Modern Drummer start featuring profiles of local legends, but my idea was nixed.
I’m reading this morning, for the first time, about Kansas City drummer, Tommy Ruskin. I am delighted to know about him, and very sorry my introduction to him is through his obituary. Perhaps there are readers who can share their personal stories of Mr. Ruskin. RIP.
Kansas City jazz community mourns the death of drummer Tommy Ruskin
BY JUDY L. THOMASTHE KANSAS CITY STAR – 01/01/2015
Drummer Tommy Ruskin, a longtime staple of the Kansas City jazz scene known for his sense of humor and jam sessions throughout the region, died Thursday after a yearlong illness. He was 72.
His death is a blow to the jazz community, said friend and internationally known jazz guitarist Pat Metheny, who grew up in the Kansas City area.
“Besides being the best Kansas City drummer of the past 50 years, Tommy was also one of the greatest musicians I have ever known,” Metheny said….
“In every way, Tommy was the complete package; perfect time, the most beautiful touch imaginable, an elegant technique on the instrument and a true improvisational storyteller in his solos.”
Metheny said he started playing with Ruskin when he was 14 or 15 years old.
“And I trace the essential knowledge that I acquired from Tommy in the areas of groove and form as the foundations of everything that I have built on over the years,” he said.
“This is a major blow to all of us who loved him, and the KC jazz community has lost a major force.”
SKF NOTE: In January 1988 I did a phone interview with 21-year old Jason Bonham. Parts of this interview were published as a profile in a magazine whose name I’ve forgotten. Jason was in England. I was living in Maryland.
Jason’s band, “Bonham,” recorded their debut album, The Disregard of Timekeeping, in 1988, released it in 1989. I heard the album, liked it and Jason’s drumming very much, but can’t remember if I heard the album at the time of this interview. It seems to me I must have. Perhaps I had an advance copy of the album.
I rediscovered the typed transcript to this interview today, read it again, and there are several Jason stories I think should be on the public record – as they were meant to be. This is one of them.
Jason Bonham: The last time I remember my father showing me anything was when I was 12- or 13-years old; where there was a great drum fill on…”Turn It On Again” by Genesis. There was a time change in there, and I couldn’t get this time change.
[My father] came and he said, “Very easy. What you just do is, you clip the hi-hat, and it changes. And this is what the snare drum sounds like.”
Okay.
We were both at these two kits playing to it. And he use to love playing to that song. It was one of his favorites to play to. And he respected Phil Collins’ drumming very much.
But it was one of those songs where it really got me going, because I couldn’t figure out the little hitch in the timing. That little hi-hat part. He said, “Come on. Play it together, then.” We were there for hours and hours and hours, and we had great fun.
SKF NOTE: I found Dillon Harrison YouTube drum videos starting when he was 8-years old. This is the only one I’ve seen with Dillion on electric drums, and on a 4-piece kit. He’s making good progress. Still playing lots of notes, but fewer than when he was younger. He plays with confidence, and his time is good.
http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk
Drummer on a roll as he gets to major final
A talented young musician has reached the finals of a prestigious drumming competition.
Dillon Harrison, 12, will go head to head with nine other competitors in the Young Drummer of the Year finals in February.
He beat more than 300 other entrants to win a place in the first shortlist of 40, which was then whittled down to the final ten.
The North Halifax Grammar School pupil began drumming when he was just six years old and now attends the Halifax Drum School, Crossley Street.
The competition…is a chance to give the country’s young drumming talent a national and international platform to kickstart their musical career.
Birdman cinematographer, Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki: “We had the drum-driven score going, because the drums were like the heartbeat of the character — it helped the actors get in the mood and the camera to get the rhythm.”
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In Conversation With Jazz Drummer and Composer Antonio Sánchez
Adriana Teresa Letorney, Co-founder & Creative Director of FotoVisura, Inc
Posted: 12/30/2014
AT: The Oscars disqualified your film score for Birdman. Why?
Sánchez: Their explanation is that the licensed or incidental classical music “dilutes” my original score enough that it deemed disqualification.
AT: What is your perspective on the disqualification?
Sánchez: Basically, …the Academy is saying…the classical music takes so much away from my score that it is ineligible. [T]he score has been getting a lot of praise for something…I performed…by myself on drums — an instrument…many might not consider worthy of producing emotion the way a symphonic orchestra would. I have been playing drums for over 38 years and composing for over 20. [M]y main goal is always to communicate with the audience, and say something meaningful with my instrument.
Nobody walks out of that movie raving about the classical music. Instead, everybody talks about my score because it is very unique, new and powerful and it has never been done like that for a film.
My main issue with the disqualification is…it takes away from the artistic risk, innovation and originality…we put into the film score. [I]t sets a bad precedent for other composers that will want to take risks and do something innovative.
Scott K Fish 
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