Jerry Marotta: The Secret to Finding a Solid Groove

Posted on August 27, 2014 by Scott K Fish

Drummer Jerry Marotta: From the Colony Cafe to Omega
John W. Barry, Poughkeepsie Journal 12:54 p.m. EDT August 27, 2014

Is there a secret to finding a solid groove on the drums?

– My secret is to close my eyes and listen – hear the grove in my head before I start playing; imagine what I want to play.

What words would you use to describe a drummer who hits all their marks and connects with their audience, providing a solid foundation for his band mates at the same time?

– Tasteful. Smart. Giving

Is there a drummer that inspired you to initially take up the drums?

– My older brother brought the drums into the house and started playing them. I started listening to him and tried to copy what he was doing. He was of course my first real influence. After that I just listened to soul records – Motown. Stax. Philly, etc., those drummers, those musicians had the greatest influence on my playing. Then as I grew a little older, I started listening to drummers like Russ Kunkel and Jim Keltner. They influenced me greatly. Then, when I was 18, I got an opportunity to play with a band called Orleans. Ironically, they were my favorite band at the time. I was just so fortunate. The drummer in that band, Wells Kelly, was a hero of mine; an incredible drummer and musician. He and everyone in that band, John Hall, Larry Hoppen, Lance Hoppen, all had a big effect on me; on my playing.

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Stanton Moore: I Wanna Be a New Orleans Drummer

Posted on August 26, 2014 by Scott K Fish

wwltv.com
Posted on August 25, 2014 at 10:43 PM
Updated yesterday at 10:46 PM

Guardians of the Groove: Stanton Moore spreads his love for drumming

Reeves: And…one of your drum teachers was the great Johnny Vidacovich.

Moore: “He had taught me that as a drummer, being from New Orleans was something that’s unique and that everywhere you go in the rest of the world, people would appreciate that. You would have something different and unique to offer, something special, so that rang true with me. I said, I wanna do this, I wanna be a New Orleans drummer.

“I realized that as I was growing up, I had to develop a program for myself to understand some of the things I needed to do in the New Orleans stuff, things like playing in between the cracks and playing different types of street beats, and I really had to explain it to myself.

Stanton Moore Web Site

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When the Drummer Dies, the Drum Dies Too

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Scott K Fish

Drum dies with drummer
By  Pamodhi Kuruppu
Sunday, 20 July 2014

It is exciting to see another drumming. It is a pleasure to listen and admire an expert drummer’s improvisations. It is mysterious and will always be a mystery. I learned that drum is like heartbeat, the breath, the rain and thunder. There is blood pulled in and out the capillaries of hands that touch it’s taut membrane. There is big noise at once, lowered again and runs fast touching  the tip of notes and slowly drifts putting a halt to the show.

Drums are fascinating; drummers are a spellbinding creation for me. For example, the drummer will always know the notes by heart and for the listeners, some beats are unforgettable.

I learned that one drummer‘s style cannot be followed by another. It’s always different.

Above everything when the drummer dies, the drum dies too. Because only a drummer will know his beats and the degree of pace to keep with his companions.

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Pete Best: If You Can’t Have Fun, Don’t Go Back On Stage

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Scott K Fish

Artists & Innovators
“No Complaints”: An Interview with Pete Best, the Original Drummer of the Beatles
By Zachary Stockill 25 August 2014

Between 1960 and 1962 Pete was the drummer of a well-travelled, but so far mostly unsuccessful British rock and roll act called variously Johnny and the Moondogs, The Silver Beetles, and, finally, The Beatles.

And just like that, Pete was no longer a Beatle….

Q. When I was watching you play tonight, you looked like you were having a lot of fun. I found it inspiring.

A. If you can’t have fun, then don’t go back on the stage. It’s as simple as that. Simple rule in music: people feel what you’re presenting onstage. And if you’re not enjoying yourself, it comes out in the music. No matter [if] you try to disguise it.

At the end of the day you wouldn’t be where you are without that audience, and you have to thank them for it. The only way you can thank them is [by] making sure your performance is 100%. Simple rules.

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What I Learned From Roy Burns 40-Years Ago

Posted on August 24, 2014 by Scott K Fish

SKF NOTE: When I went to Roy Burns’s early 1970’s drum clinic in Moline, Illinois, I don’t think I had ever heard him play – not even on record. I knew of Roy from Rogers drum ads in Down Beat magazine. And I owned Roy’s Drum Set Artistry album – but I don’t remember if I bought it before or after the Moline clinic. It’s likely I bought the album after studying a Down Beat transcription of Roy’s Red Phantom Rides Again drum solo on that album.

Anyway, it was a worthwhile clinic. Here, some 40-years later, are my four take away’s from the Burns clinic:

Roy told the clinic goers about a clinic he gave in another state. Roy was at the music shop early and struck up a conversation with a young drummer. Roy asked if the drummer was attending that day’s drum clinic? “No,” said the young drummer, “Roy Burns can’t play.” “Have you ever heard him play?” asked Roy. “No,” said the young drummer. “Well,” Burns replied calmly, “I’m Roy Burns. And if you don’t like my playing – fair enough. But maybe you could at least hear me play before you make that decision.”

At the Moline clinic, Roy was demonstrating drum rudiments on a snare drum. He said the two rudiments drummers practiced least were the single-stroke roll and the double-stroke roll. That made no sense, said Roy, because all of the rudiments were a combination of the single- and double-stroke rolls.

Burns was also asked by a clinic goer if he recommended practicing with heavy drumsticks. Roy said, “No. Do trumpet players practice with rags stuffed in the bell of their trumpets, so it will be easier to blow air through their horns on the gig?”

Thank you, Roy!

-end-

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