Living A Ludwig Life with Jim Catalano
Jim was the director of marketing at Ludwig for 36 years and was the right hand man to Bill Ludwig II, aka "The Chief". He shares amazing stories about his time he had with the chief, and his four decade career in the drum industry with Ludwig, and also Premier and Slingerland. Jim brought The Chief out of retirement and back into the company after he had sold the company to Selmer, then he had a great rest of his career with Jim by his side. This episode is a great blueprint for how to work your way up the ladder in the drum industry while treating everyone with respect. Jim is basically a member of the Ludwig family and is full of behind the scenes stories that you wont hear from anyone else. Enjoy!
18 Elo 20201h 18min
The History of North Drums with Roger North
North drums are some of the most unique looking drums ever made. They are horn shaped fiberglass drums that were made between the late 60's through the early 90's and were created by my guest, Roger North. Early on, Roger played the first North Drums tom on stage at Woodstock 1969 with his band Quill before he ever actually went into production and created the business. A few years later, he was in full swing and creating drums for Billy Cobham, Alan White, Gerry Brown, Doug Clifford and many more. He shares with us the entire story of why he created these "Dr. Seuss-like drums" and the ups and downs of his journey as a business owner. Roger has had many great experiences and learned lots of lessons that he very openly shares with us. North Drums are still some of the most unique percussion instruments ever created and are becoming more and more valuable as the years go on. Enjoy this episode!
11 Elo 202055min
The Biography of Joe Morello with Steve Fidyk
Joe Morello was one of the most innovative and masterful drummers of the last century, but did you know he was playing Violin with the Boston Symphony at age 9? Learn about how the iconic "Take 5" Drummer made the switch to drums and became the legend we know today. Steve Fidyk is a legendary drummer and educator in his own right, and he was lucky enough to study with Joe and have a very close relationship with him as a student and a friend. Joe began his music life as a virtuosic violinist who became discouraged at 15 after not feeling that he could surpass the sound of one of his heros - so he began studying drums with Joe Sefcik and George Lawrence Stone..and then the rest his history. Steve does a wonderful job of very thoroughly taking us through Joe's entire life including the hardships of being legally blind and pursuing a musical career. Steve Fidyk is a composer, author, educator, and a phenomenal drummer. He is a wealth of information and a very nice guy who is extremely well prepared for this deep dive into Joe's life. His passion for sharing the story of his friend, Joe Morello, makes this a special episode. Here is Steve's website: http://stevefidyk.com/ Be sure to check out Steve Fidyks latest album, "Battle Lines" which is streaming everywhere, but for information on how to purchase Steve's latest recorded effort, please visit www.bluecanteenmusic.com A portion of each sale is donated to Warrior Beat, an organization that helps Veterans that suffer from PTS and Anxiety. For more information, please visit www.warriorbeat.org Here are some links to Joe related content that Steve generously sent me: 1. Joe Morello DVD that breaks down the approach we discussed in detail: https://www.lessonsquad.com/items/299630784 2. Tribute homage of mine that I did for Modern Drummer: http://staging.moderndrummer.com/2011/03/steve-fidyk-tribute-to-joe-morello/ 3. "The Great Drum Solo" that I referenced of Joe with DBQ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Kx1GVYPOos 4. Joe on the Conan O'Brien Show performing Take 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kc97rN4Af0 5. "Burning for Buddy" video performing with the Buddy Rich Band: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJHTWGs33qs 6. We discussed his brush work with Marian McPartland. Here's a video for Hudson Music where he talks about approach: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CVKbXn_UGg 7. Take 5 with DBQ 60's: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-dtpYdQwPE 8. At the Playboy Mansion with DBQ performing Take 5 (slower tempo): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tTyTc6FjjU 9. The Take 5 Cymbal documentary/Greg Caputo/Memphis Drum Shop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk_Th7vmLtY Thanks for listening!
4 Elo 20201h 27min
A Look at The Cymbal Book with Hugo Pinksterboer
Learn the origins of this iconic book that is the most thorough and extensive resource for all things cymbals! Hugo tells us how he gathered all the information for the book and we learn tons of valuable tips and tricks along the way. While writing the book, Hugo was taken all over the world by the major drum companies who wanted to teach him the origins of the companies that we all know and love. That gave him a great understanding of the cymbal making process, the history of the companies, and countless other bits of information that he used to write The Cymbal Book. This has been on my to-do list for a very long time because of how important the Cymbal Book was for me to start the podcast. This is a fun one, you will definitely learn something new from Hugo. Enjoy!
28 Heinä 20201h 1min
For the Love of Slingerland with John Sparrow
John Sparrow is the drummer for the Violent Femmes and a die hard Slingerland enthusiast! This is a fun episode where we talk about Slingerland high points in the history of this great American brand, and also some low points through the decades as the company evolved and tried to keep up with the constantly changing world of music. John is an endorser of A&F Drums but has been a Slingerland fan since he was a kid starting by playing his dads Radio King's. We talk about the great Gene Krupa, Rolling Bombers, the feud with Ludwig, and highlights from the 30's to today. I find it very interesting that John really likes the 1990's era Slingerlands. I have never heard much about this time period before talking with him and he has great things to say about them! Check out the Violent Femmes here: https://vfemmes.com/ Enjoy this episode!
21 Heinä 20201h 8min
The History of GMS Drums with Tony Gallino and Rob Mazzella
Rob and Tony are the founders of the iconic American drum brand, GMS Drum Co. They were one of four custom-shop companies that started in the 1980's, well before the boom of boutique brands in the mid 2000's. It is a great story of an underdog brand exploding in popularity and how they kept up with demand! They are USA made drums that are known as some of the highest quality drums you can buy thanks to the extreme attention to detail. We learn about the origins of the brand and how they exploded in popularity in the 90's and became a regular sight on MTV with bands like Stone Temple Pilots using GMS. Tony shares his techniques for building and some very unique processes on creating snare drums, and Rob tells us some amazing stories such as James Brown picking GMS drums out of a line up of bass drums and commissioning them to build two drum sets for his 40th anniversary show at the Apollo. These guys are great and a lot of fun to listen to..enjoy this episode and check them out online at www.gmsdrums.com and on social media @gmsdrums
14 Heinä 202050min
The Great British Drum Brands Episode with Geoff Nicholls
We learn about Ajax, Carlton, Hayman, Beverley, and Premier drums - just to name a few! We discuss pre and post war drums made in England, and the many similarities and differences between British drums and the classic American brands. Geoff is a renowned author and expert on the history of the drum set, with a special knowledge about British drums. We go through the full history of all these different brands that were at the top of the drum world for many years, and then disappeared as the American and Japanese brands took over the market. We learn about the horrible fate of some of these companies as the Nazi forces bombed England and they were forced to rebuild and start over. And also about the special relationship between England and the United States and how Jazz was one the most important exports of the USA that changed the world of music in the UK. Episode Edit - Geoff wanted me to mention: At 44’06”ish He said the Autocrat drums were made by John Dallas and Son (Jedson) where he meant John Grey. Geoff is the author of "The Drum Book", "The Drum Handbook", "John Bonham :Thunder of Drums" and more. Here is a link to Drum Book - Shop around a find the second edition second hand for under $10. https://www.amazon.com/Drum-Book-History-Rock-Kit/dp/B00FAKDYNU Enjoy this episode!
7 Heinä 20201h 3min
The History of Rudiments with Mark Beecher
Rudimental drumming first appeared in in the Swiss Army in the 1300's to set the tempo and communicate commands during battle, and then spread around Europe where it evolved and was eventually documented in 1588 as the first form of drum notation. It then continued across Europe, and eventually made it to America and evolved into the 26 Rudiments that we have today. This is just scratching the surface of what we learn from Mark Beecher in this episode! Mark Beecher is the president of the National Association of Rudimental Drumming, He is a long time performer of Fife and Drum Corps in Philadelphia and also an author and educator at Drexel University. Check out Marks website here: www.markbeecher.com and his youtube page here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOFIyWf8zhB8BeLCbubqOOQ Learn more about NARD here - http://nard.us.com/Home.html Enjoy this episode!
30 Kesä 20201h 13min
