drums tagged posts

I am about to start rebuilding the music for my experimental project called “Multiple Man” and this is the first draft of the drum configuration I will use to record and sample the drum parts. I am currently running an overhead mic and SPDS into a mixer and through a KORG Kaoss Mini. There are quite a few effects in the KAOSS pad but the one I use the most is the looper. In addition to creating loops, I will be using the setup live. I have 2 separate laptops recording the drums and electronics

My earliest memories of having toys was that I gravitated toward two things
One was a toy Penguin called Sammy Sound that had different sound effects on it like a clicking wing, a squeaking nose and a tom tom tummy
There was a record that went along with it and you were supposed to play the appropriate body part
I played that thing over and over until I had it memorized
Sammy broke and ended up in the trash
My other toy was a set of bongos which I called “Babalus” because I saw Ricky Ricardo sing “Babalu” on TV
Those soon ended in the trash after I broke the heads
https://youtu.be/Baip6gZR4PU

My next memory was visiting my relatives in Georgia and being at someone’s house who had a country band rehearsing there
I can remember heading straight for the drums and they let me hit them with a stick

In every new busking situaion, there is one factor you always have to consider
“Will the cops/business owners around this spot have a problem with this?”
I had eliminated this issue by scouting the location and actually asking the police if they allow busking
So, the rest of my anxieties (which turn into excuses not to make an effort) were about semantics
In this one case, the spot was Pegasus Plaza at Main & Akard in Downtown Dallas
My immediate thoughts were that it will be hard to park near that spot and it will be expensive
So, I secured all of the gear to a 2 wheel dolly and used my cymbal bag with backpack straps, drove to the Inwood DART rial station
There was no problem getting on the train and I made it to Akard station in no time
The station was only a street over so the trek was...

Street performance has become more and more of a priority
Up until last weekend, I had just played my drums on the street but last weekend, I got to bring a full elelctronic configuration
I got permission from July Alley to use their electricity
I was expecting to set up over at Kettle Art (run by the eternally cool Frank Campagna) which had a different set of parameters to consider so I didn’t plan on getting electricity to MY SPOT
I had to locate some tape at the last minute to tape down the electrical cord
Saturday I brought some rubber slip mats

This was the first time I have ever gotten to put my electronic ideas to the test and I think I did fairly well
The setup consisted of the SPDS looping pad, a Kaoss pad and the BR864 multi-track as well as the Brock Spock electric Harp guitar (...

Last night’s street drumming was as lucative as the last, plus I had my own show to watch across the street
The evening started off at 7:30 pm when I showed up at “MY” spot and found a parking space about 50 yards away
SCORE!
The meter even had 40 minutes on it
Unfortunately some kid with an acoustic guitar was in “MY” spot and he was not very good
Worst version of “Last Dance with Mary Jane” I ever heard
I sat in the van and glared at him for about 15 minutes when he got up and walked away
That’s when I pounced on “MY” spot
I managed to get up and running around 8pm

Last week’s street kit was designed to be as muffled and quiet as possible because of my anxieties over police hassles
Last week’s positive cop experience gave me lisence to bring a much better sounding drumkit with a full sna...

My negative experiences with busking in Minneapolis were pressing heavily on me as I lugged my gear to Deep Ellum to claim the spot I had scoped out
I was worried about the noise of the drumkit
I was worried about getting a ticket

I found a parking spot very close to my spot
It was around the corner but not so far that I would have to spend more than 15/20 seconds with my eyes off my equipment
The parking lot across the street wanted ten dollars
I asked one of the businesses next to the spot if they would allow me to plug in an extension cord for future electonic drum explorations but they were afraid of getting a ticket from the city (which is fair)
I REALLY need to figure a way to get portable power on the street

I set up and started playing at about 8pm and it didn’t take long until Tur...