Drum Tuning History with Jeff Davenport
Jeff takes us back to the ice age where drums were made of turtle shells that were flipped over, had skin stretched over them, and then dried in the sun for tension. We then move forward through history and touch on many of the highlights in the fascinating history of drum tuning. Jeff also gives us tips and tricks on how to get the sound you want out of your drums in a quick and easy way, without overthinking. Jeff Davenport is a UK based drum tuning expert who is a regular fixture at drum shows giving seminars on how to quickly tune your drums, and be able to do it over and over again. He runs a great new youtube channel called "Drum Tuning Workshops" that you can check out here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmrotSD9zI-YS3zr7bD8xfw Find him on social media as well at @drumtuningworkshops Thanks for listening!
23 Juni 20201h 8min
Legendary Teachers: George L. Stone with Barry James (Stone's Last Living Student Who Still Teaches)
Barry James is the last living student of George Lawrence Stone (Stick Control, Accents and Rebounds) who still teaches the Stone technique. Barry is 81 years old and took lessons with Stone in 1957 in Boston College. He has had an amazing career and still teaches via Skype to people around the world. We learn what it was like to step into Stones Boston drum studio and learn from the author of one of the most beloved drum books in history, "Stick Control". Barry took his experiences and co-wrote a book with the great Joe Morello titled "Drum Lessons with George Lawrence Stone". It is a personal account on how to use Stick Control from two of his top students. This episode features tons of great information on Joe Morello - Stones Protege and legendary jazz drummer. This is the last book that Morello worked on before passing away. If you would like to take lessons with Barry James and learn from a direct student of stone, you can email him at barryjamesdrummer@gmail.com or call him directly at 321-297-3042 to set up a skype lesson. Here is a link to purchase Barry and Joe Morello's book, "Drum Lessons with George Lawrence Stone" - https://www.amazon.com/Drum-Lessons-George-Lawrence-Stone/dp/1470643391/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2KOFWU8YJUD53&dchild=1&keywords=drum+lessons+with+george+lawrence+stone&qid=1592532700&sprefix=lessons+with+george+lawrence%2Caps%2C149&sr=8-1 Thanks for listening!
16 Juni 202054min
Sympathy for the Drummer: The Charlie Watts Episode with Mike Edison
Charlie Watts is one of the most important drummers in Rock and Roll History. Mike Edison is the author of "Sympathy for the Drummer: Why Charlie Watts Matters" and he gives us a great in depth look at the importance of Charlie and the Rolling Stones on popular culture. Learn about the impact Charlie made on pop culture with The Rolling Stones and as a passionate jazz drummer. We discuss his personal life and his hobbies including his mega collection of drums, art, and all types of things. I have heard first had about this collection when I got to meet Charlie - It is unbelievable! Check out Mike's Website here: http://mikeedison.com/ Purchase the book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sympathy-Drummer-Charlie-Watts-Matters/dp/1493047736/ A really cool trailer for the audio book narrated by Mike: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK96LGCkrVY&t=3s Here is a few Spotify Playlist's that Mike Made based around Charlies Influences and his drumming with the Stones: https://mikeedison.com/playlists?fbclid=IwAR1y8NB8Ko-FhpmoWTSBv8_z2fDkCDfhQsVqnpTT8lA5-aWejw0Wt1okawY Enjoy this episode!
9 Juni 20201h
The History of Premier Drums with Mike Ellis
Did Premier secretly produce Ludwig Supraphonic shells in the 70's? Listen to find out! Founded in 1922, Premier is the most famous brand in British drum history and has a fascinating story. Mike Ellis is an expert on Premier and an avid restorer who shares the complete history with us plus tons of great stories along the way. Learn all about the comparisons between classic American brands and Premier through the brands evolution as they battled for market share, and inevitably what held Premier back from dominating the drum world. For one example, I was fascinated to learn that they produced Gun Sights during WW2 before the factory was bombed during the war. Mike Ellis is also known as "The Drum Fettler" and has a great youtube channel full of great restoration videos - check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeIdcGyqU23j1DIAiLPOFvA Enjoy this deep dive into Premier Drums!
3 Juni 20201h 22min
The History of U.S. Military Drumming with Patrick Jones
We learn the role of drummers in the Military and the purpose they served as a form of communication and a way to keep the troops unified during battle starting with the US Colonies through to the Revolutionary War. Then we take a deep dive into the Civil War and learn all about the importance of the Fife and Drum Corp on both sides in the extremely bloody war that divided the country. Patrick Jones is a Fife and Drum Corps expert and regularly performs with Camp Chase Fifes and Drums at events all over the country. He also restores rope tension snare drums to exact detail. Patrick is a 5th grade history teacher and he does a great job of explaining all of these details so that people of any knowledge level of US History can understand this and learn a lot about Military drumming. Check out Camp Chase Fifes and Drums website at: https://www.campchasefifesanddrums.org/ and find them on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/user/pjdrums96/videos?view=0&shelf_id=0&view_as=subscriber&sort=dd A big thank you to Mark Robertson for connecting Patrick and I and being a Patron of the show and a good friend!
26 Maj 20201h 4min
Rob Cook talks about the Chicago Drum Show Plus George Way History
Rob tells us the story of the postponed 2020 Chicago Drum Show and what we can expect in 2021. He also tells us about the 30 year history of the show going back to year one with some great stories along the way. We also chat about drum legend George Way and fill in some gaps in his history that has been covered in previous episodes on Way. This is an unprecedented year for many things around the world, and drum shows are no different. Rob was faced with a tough decision but I think he made the right choice to keep everyone safe. This episode also fills in info about George Way that is to supplement a previous episode with Ronn Dunnett title "Legacy of George Way" and Rob's previous episode titled "The Leedy Way". Enjoy!
17 Maj 20201h 1min
The History of Working Drummers pt 2: 1960 - Today with Dr. Matt Brennan
(You do not need to have listened to part 1 to enjoy this episode) Part 2 covers the role of working drummers starting in the 1960's with session drummers, then Rock and Roll superstar's, through the 80's monster drumsets and up to modern times. Matt is a brilliant historian and educator, and he brings us a very fun and relaxed conversation about this amazing history of how drummers survived and worked throughout history. We cover interesting bits such as why you cant copyright a drum beat, why you drummers rarely get as much writing credits as other musicians, and how things slowly changed over time. We are discussing chapter 5 of Matts book "Kick It: A Social History of the Drum Kit". You can purchase the book here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/kick-it-9780190683870?cc=us&lang=en& Be sure to use promo code "AAFLYG6" to save 30% at checkout. Matt will be speaking at the 2021 Chicago Drum Show, I will post more details on social media as it draws closer. He was supposed to speak at the 2020 show but that was cancelled due to Covid-19. Part 1 is episode 36, go back and check it out if you haven't listened yet. You will love it!
12 Maj 20201h 9min
The History of Sabian Cymbals with Andy Zildjian
Andy Zildjian is the president of Sabian Cymbals and takes us on a very fun journey through the history of the company that dates back to its founding in 1981 by his father, Robert Zildjian. This episode features tons of great information about his famous family in general and we discuss the factors that caused the split in the family and become the iconic Sabian cymbals that we know today. We learn all about how Robert Zildjian founded the company and how much of a visionary he was as a business man and used his international smarts to help Sabian come out of the gate as a major player in the cymbal company in the early 80's. Andy is continuing his fathers legacy by innovating and keeping the company on the cutting edge of cymbal technnology. Enjoy this episode!
5 Maj 20201h 2min
