Interview with Keira Fynn Carson of The Specific Heats!

I love the The Specific Heats! They played an awesome set at Tom Tom Magazine/Make Music NY Presents. Here is some footage of their performance from their show last week as well as an interview with their drummer Keira Flynn Carson. Their Back Through Thyme 7″ is available at Academy Records.

Enjoy!

xo,

vicki simon

Technique Tuesday: Tuning (Pt. 2)

This is a little awkward timing-wise (Welcome to my life!)… The “tuning” blog a week before the “muffling” blog. So I’m sorry if you’ve already tuned up your drum, but uh… You might have to do it again if it needs muffling.

Muffle drums that ring too much. It’s pretty simple, eh? Just keep in mind that some ringing is good. Drums are supposed to speak. When you’re practicing at home the ringing might be annoying, so you muffle the drum. When you go to play a gig in a big open space, this will change. You’ll need to project more at the gig than you would at home in your little practice nook (…you practice in a nook?). Be aware of the acoustics of your location, and know that some quick changes may need to be made.

Some things you can use (or not use) for quick & easy muffling:

RTOM Moongel pads. A pack of 4 for around $6. I love these. They come in their own little case, and , yes, they’re sticky, but you can easily wash them off if they get too dirty.

Evans Mini EMAD Tom & Snare damper pads. A pack of 6 for about $7. I’m not a big fan of these. It’s a little velcro strip that sits on the edge of your head.

And, when all else fails:

Some other (not-so-quick) things you can do:

For your bass drum, try a small pillow. Don’t over-do it. I know some people that put huge pillows or even comforters in their bass drums. You want it to sound like you’re hitting a drum not a giant pillow.

I set mine right in the middle. You’ll get a different sound depending on where the pillow is in relation to the two heads.

Also, you can use a bit of weather-stripping on the inside of your top head. Just make sure that it’s around the edge of the INSIDE of your head. It helps if your heads have a stripe to follow.

Weather-stripping works really well for me. I haven’t tried to remove any yet, so please keep in mind that this will more than likely leave gooey residue on your head.

Those are the main things that I’ve seen used for dampening/muffling. There are tons of others, though.

~Bianca.

Next Week’s Blog: I honestly have no idea yet. It’ll be a surprise for all of us, haha.

Exclusive Interview with Bunny Rabbit!

After the Tom Tom Magazine show on Sunday, I talked to Bunny Rabbit about her new project Follower and what inspired her to become a beat-maker. Check it out!

xo,

vicki simon

Great Scot! Dame Evelyn Glennie: Grouch-kiteer extroardinaire

Lay out the origins right and Dame Evelyn Glennie’s bio is the stuff of great comic books, folk lore, legend. Raised on a farm in Aberdeenshire (Hi, Krypton!) and starting with a mouth organ and clarinet she began to absorb a hoard of influences from the north-east Scotland indigenous tradition. Struck deaf at the age of 12, she took off her shoes and began to feel the music. Exerting a compensatory strength from her other four senses, she mastered the percussive tableau, a la Daredevil and the art of sightless vigilanteism, to become a pioneer in professional percussion as well as a door stomping beacon of hope for other potential musical geniuses discarded because of stuffy, old-guard technicalities.

As demonstrated in her wonderful TED lecture, Glennie acknowledges and then bypasses the rigorous stricture of academic musicality, that based on assigned notation and directed spatial movement. Unlike the Beatles, who never learned to read or write music but still mastered many of instrumental intricacies, Glennie has wholly studied the notations. But her treatment of notation is that of annotation, a bibliography offering further explanation to what initially may seem unclear but wondrous. Glennie also goes beyond that, though, having mastered the functionality of annotation she also creates annotiations of the annotations, thus a veritable sandwich of method in which the staid appearance is both deconstructed, manipulated, and eviscerated but kept for safekeeping (like a wax model!).

What’s great about her deconstruction is that instead of allowing the imposed definition to be swallowed up into a black hole of perpetual denial via the postmodern nitpicking of what’s real, the deconstruction provides the thrust of the wondrousness itself. Perhaps it’s because the tools for taking things apart aren’t words but physical objects that have immediate but also immediately changeable effects that the act doesn’t become increasingly depressing, but Glennie makes a leap of logic and suggests her wild intuitive streak is a good template for human relations.

Her acceptance into the Royal Academy of Music in London and subsequent triumph in professional musicianship involved a smart, and smart-alecky, subversive interpretation of hearing, one concerned not just with the direct relation between the person and the object but the inherent multitude of variables of how a person relates to an object. Merely hearing a drum doesn’t necessitate intimate knowledge with it, there’s an internal dynamic to the drum’s setup, one felt when playing it and playing with it. Merely seeing a drum brings the same inconsistency. Thus, a combination is required, experiential discovery of multiple truths.

As explained in the lecture, “all of my performances are based on entirely what I experience, and not by learning a piece of music, putting on someone else’s interpretation of it…because that isn’t giving me enough of something that is so raw and so basic, and something that I can fully experience the journey of.”

Her acceptance and subsequent success overturned the notion of what a music institution is supposed to do, because not anymore does it just dictate, but it had to improvise to! No longer were the partially limbless or sensorily deprived given the short-shrift based on the principle, but instead based on the ability. Meritocracy in a sense, where a new definition of able-bodied was instituted into entry requirements for music schools. And not just schools for the (insert disability here) but gen. pop. institutions as well.

Like Beethoven before her, she’s crossed arbitrary lines and made their actual non-existence a point of ridicule. She’s taken singular sensory experience and expanded something like the ability to hear beyond its one-note interpretation, where a deaf person can articulate the subtleties of a sound emanating from an object, and the intricacies of how that sound can be procured, in ways someone with functional ear can’t.
Not even the grouch could deny it!

by adam katzman

Drummer of the Week: Karen Blankfeld of the Pandoras

This week I’d like to go a little retro, twice over in fact. The Pandoras were an eighties band that had a psychedelic sixties style. Their sound changed a bit during their 1983-1991 run. I think their best sounds were their early garage punk hard edge styles.

Although the band went through several different members, it was founded by front woman Paula Peirce, who was insistent on using authentic 60′s instruments and clothes to establish their retro image. My favorite roster included Julie Patchouli, who played bass and also manages the bands website and MySpace, Melanie Vammen played keyboards, and on the skins was Karen Blankfeld.

The Pandoras released a lot of music during their time recording various LP’s and EP’s with such labels as Voxx, Rhino, and Elektra. Karen eventually moved on to front a group of her own called the Rebel Pebbles who released their debut album Girls Talk in 1991. I think she was one of the most underrated drummers of her time. The Female Drummer Newsletter thinks so too ranking her #44 on their list of the 100 greatest female drummers of all time.

By the Pandoras obtaining this level of moderate success, I feel makes their mystique all the more special. It’s made of the type of stuff that cults follow. It seems to me that Courtney Love may have modeled herself partly on Paula Pierce. Coming from a time where the Bangles and Go Go’s where topping charts with the pop music model at the time, Paula’s vocals were poignant and edgy and eventually became legendary. Tragically, Paula passed away of an aneurysm at the tender age of 31.

Alex Carulo

Technique Tuesday: Tuning (Pt. 1)

First thing’s first: You’re the boss. There’s no magical Super-Secret-Drum-Code saying what you have to tune your drums to. Some people tune low, others tune high. It’s completely up to you. Personally, I tune to the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes in the key of C (C, E, G).

Before you start tuning, it’s a good idea to take the drumhead off completely and wipe down the rim and shell with a dry cloth.

Once that’s done, put the head and rim back on. Screw the tension rods back on by hand until they’re secure enough. Now get out a drum key. They generally look like this:

Mine’s a little different:

I love, love, LOVE this tool. It works like a ratchet, and it makes tuning much easier. It’s nifty if you’re picky about tuning. /rave

Pick a place to start and tighten that tension rod. From there, do the rod directly across from it. Next, tighten the rod that’s to the right of your original rod. And continue the cycle. By going across and clockwise you’ll avoid pulled heads.

Pulled heads are nasty buggers. That’s where the actual “head” part of the drumhead rips apart from the metal hoop that it’s attached to. This makes tuning useless because the head can’t tighten anymore.

You should be hitting the area that you’re tuning and listening for the change in pitch. It’s extremely helpful to remember how far you turn your drum key (1 full rotation, ½ rotation, etc…) and to use that on each rod before you do the more fine-tuning (Pun totally intended). If you keep a consistent rotation, you’ll make tuning so much easier on yourself.

The fine-tuning is done mostly by ear. You’ll have to hit around the circumference of the drumhead and listen for inconsistencies. Be sure to not only hit around the head, but also across it (like the way it was tuned).

Also, don’t forget the bottom head! Even when the top head is in tune, if the bottom is out of tune the whole drum will sound bad. I’ve heard some people say to tune it higher than the top. This has always produced a rather nasty sound, in my opinion. You actually should tune lower than the top head.

I remember when I first started drumming and someone would say how far out of tune a drum was. “It sounded just fine to me…” I would think. Your ears will become accustomed to tiny tune-y details the more you sit and really listen to the pitch of your drums.

Next Week: Tuning (Pt.2) – Muffling/Dampening.

Whoo!

Exclusive Interview with Veronica Ortuno of Finally Punk!!

Veronica Ortuno is one of my favorite drummers right now. In addition to drumming, she also plays saxophone, bass, and guitar, and is the art director for new awesome label M’Lady Records. As I am a nerd about drums I really wanted to know her perspective and approach to the instrument. She has a style reminiscent of Ikue Mori of DNA, Palmolive of the Raincoats, and Katherina Bornefeld of the Ex. Her drum playing is rhythmic, impulsive, classic and new. In a clouded mist of  dudes beating away at the drums like punching bags, seeing her play was a breath of fresh air. Veronica is going to be on tour for the next few months with her bands Finally Punk and Mutating Meltdown, go see them you will be stoked!

“Its the closest sound reminiscent to a heartbeat – can be dark, powerful, and extremely emotional.” – Veronica Ortuno

Full name: Veronica Ortuno
Age: 23
Hometown: Austin / Houston, Texas / Santa Ana, California
Where do you live now: Portland, Oregon
Bands you are drumming in currently: Mutating Meltdown and Finally Punk
Bands you were drumming for in the past: Cold Girls
What you do for a living: Student, Freelance Artist, Nanny, M’lady’s Records

Photo by Sherry Cardino

Tom Tom Magazine: When did you start playing the drums?
Veronica Ortuno: October of 2005.

Tom Tom Magazine: Reason that you started playing the drums?
Veronica Ortuno: I always admired female drummers. I felt like drummers were the underdogs of bands in general – often underrated, so I was drawn to that aspect of it.

Tom Tom Magazine: How long did it take til you felt like a “real” and legit drummer?
Veronica Ortuno: Last year – Summer 2008.  It’s obvious I’m not a trained drummer; I just play as best I know how.

Tom Tom Magazine: What is your favorite set-up for your kit? Why?
Veronica Ortuno: When I first started playing I would set-up the minimum amount of drums out of intimidation, I’m sure. Now I play with a rack tom and gradually use the cymbals more. I take a liking to deep sounding drums. Its the closest sound reminiscent to a heartbeat – can be dark, powerful, and extremely emotional.

Tom Tom Magazine: What would your dream kit consist of?
Veronica Ortuno: I don’t have a preference momentarily, but one time I played Chad’s clear crystalite kit when Mutating Meltdown first played out; the sound was near perfect to what I dream of.

TTM: What do you do to get better at the drums / Best way to get chops?
VO: I never practice, truly. I don’t even own a standard kit! Its coming together rather…slowly (secret’s out).

TTM: What is your favorite drum warm up / what do you do to warm up before playing?
VO: This is terrible, but I can’t recall a time that I’ve warmed up. I have to say that I rely on my instinct a lot of the time.

TTM: What do you think the role of the drummer is? (In a band)
VO: I feel the drummer is the backbone of the group.

“The drumming can become very fluid or a total cluster-fuck.” – Veronica Ortuno

Photo by Erynn Patrick

TTM: Do you play any other instruments? If so … how does that effect your drumming?
VO: I play around with Bass, Saxophone, and Guitar, but I’m no virtuoso by any means. When I drum, I listen to the other instruments or sometimes don’t listen to them at all. The drumming can become very fluid or a total cluster-fuck.

TTM: What do you consider to be the most challenging thing about the drums?
VO: Its entirely a complex object. Its a constant challenge and I feel I still have a lot to learn. Someday I’d like to master playing drums in traditional grip.

TTM: What’s your favorite part about playing drums?
VO: How therapeutic it is.

TTM: Most notable show you ever played?
VO: Finally Punk Oakland show in 2006. We played an eviction party where Erin and I took mushrooms prior to our set. The entire show was a frenzy, but I remember honing a more competent drumming style that night!

TTM: Have you experienced   any setbacks as a female  drummer?
VO: At first yes, being female,  playing atypical ‘punk’ music. As a collective experience, we didn’t have a lot of support and at times the criticism could be daunting, but in retrospect it is mostly conditioned stereotypical bullshit. It’s hard to say if it’s more or less surprising to see female drummers presently. There have been female drummers way before my time, like Honey Lantree and Moe Tucker, if not earlier — Viola Smith, a jazz musician, was drumming in the 20′s. Point is – Women have been a part of music forever, and we should have every right to it. I receive more compliments now and I can appreciate that. I’m assured and feel I work wholeheartedly at what I’m doing.

TTM: Who are your favorite drummers?
VO: Palmolive, Stephen Morris, Toby Tolman, Ikue Mori, Lislot Ha, Penny Rimbaud, KK Barrett, Ron Reyes, Adris Hoyos, Tobi Vail, Christine Hahn, Drumbo, Teresa Nervosa, Jaki Liebezeit. I’m probably forgetting a lot.

TTM: If you could change one thing about the drums what would it be?
VO: I’d make them go on a diet. Specifically for loading / unloading purposes. Jesus christ.

TTM: Do you do anything else drum related besides playing in a band? (i.e. teach drums one on one, rock camp, drum circles, etc …)
VO: I do not.

TTM: Best piece of advice you got as a drummer?
VO: I don’t think I ever got any advice.

TTM: What would you recommend to a new drummer starting off / advice for new drummers?
VO: Adhere to the proverb: “If there’s a will, there’s a way.” Its a powerful statement.

TTM: What are some of your other hobbies / interests?
VO: I enjoy Scrabble and Pinball; I like to read, watch movies, and listen to music with another person in my room; I like having penpals and meeting them in person; I’m interested in a stimulus, emotion, natural tendencies, vigor; I’m constructing writings that will never see the light of day; I like to look at a person in the eyes; And sleeping.

TTM: Who are some of your favorite lady drummers right now?
VO: Lily Maring of Grass Widow really left an impression on me; Heather Hall and Edie Sharp of White Boss; Lisa Schonberg of Explode Into Colors.

TTM: Who are some of your favorite bands right now?
VO: (no particular order) Brilliant Colors, Grass Widow, White Boss, Total Abuse, and Gun Outfit.

Interview by Adee Roberson of New Bloods

Finally! Interview with Sarah Datblygu of WETDOG!!

When I first found WETDOG online I was immediately intrigued by their music. I was especially taken with their song “8 Days.” WETDOG is an all female three piece band signed to Angular Recording Corporation (Crystal Stilts, The Long Blondes). The band hails from London and have played with such bands as the Vivian Girls and Blank Dogs. Read on & enjoy …

Full name: Sarah Datblygu

Age: 31

Hometown: Essex

Where do you live now: London

Bands you are drumming in currently: WETDOG

“People would say ‘Oh you can’t be that bad’, then they’d see me play and say ‘actually yeah, you are shit’.”

Tom Tom Magazine: When did you start playing the drums?
Sarah Datblygu: About three or four years ago I think.

Tom Tom Magazine: Reason that you started playing the drums?
Sarah Datblygu: I used to play guitar in another band but I am possibly the worst guitarist in the world. People would say ‘Oh you can’t be that bad’, then they’d see me play and say ‘actually yeah, you are shit’. I had always actually harbored secret desires to play drums, and then my friends’ band (WETDOG) needed a drummer so it all worked out fortuitously.

Tom Tom Magazine: What would your dream kit consist of?
Sarah Datblygu: Marching snare from some scouts props cupboard or something, some African bits and probably some bells and shit.

TTM: What do you do to get better at the drums / Best way to get chops?
SD: What the fK are chops?!! I don’t really do much to get better at drumming. When I’m carrying heavy shopping bags, I try and console myself that it will make me a stronger and better drummer, but I’m not sure this counts. I used to try and play drums on my sofa at home to practice but this doesn’t really work that well.

getting her chops

“Don’t wear a tight skirt for a gig.” – Sarah Datblygu

TTM: What do you think the role of the drummer is? (In a band)
SD: To drive the tour bus. Ho ho! No- to keep time, not that I do this very often!

TTM: Do you play any other instruments? If so … how does that effect your drumming?
SD: I play a bit of keyboard – I don’t think this has much effect on my drumming. I do some backing vocals too and this can have a detrimental effect on one’s drumming I find.

TTM: What do you consider to be the most challenging thing about the drums?
SD: Carrying the kit around.

TTM: What’s your favorite part about playing drums?
SD: I don’t know.. all of it!

TTM: Who are your favorite drummers?
SD: Keith Moon, Mo Tucker, Sophie from the Rebel, Amy from Monday Club, Sian from Plug, Hannah from the Gossip, Dave from Blur, Palmolive.

TTM: Who has influenced your style of drumming the most?
SD: Animal (muppets)

TTM: If you could change one thing about the drums what would it be?
SD: They’d be made from a new and as-yet undiscovered lightweight material which is sturdy as an ox to play, yet light as a feather to carry. Also they would pack themselves away and set themselves up too.

TTM: Where do you shop for your drum gear?
SD: This is where I should have pre-arranged a plug for some drum shop, in exchange for a discount. Damn. Hmm… I get stuff on eBay actually sometimes. Or I buy cracked cymbals from muso-geek friends of mine who won’t use them unless they’re perfect – this is a good tip for the cash-strapped drummer actually!

TTM: Best piece of advice you got as a drummer?
SD: Don’t wear a tight skirt for a gig.

TTM: What would you recommend to a new drummer starting off / advice for new drummers?
SD: Buy cheap stuff off eBay. Get someone to carry all your drums for you.

TTM: What are some of your other hobbies / interests?
SD: Wandering around Waitrose, being fascinating, making toast, swearing, and meditation.

TTM: Who are some of your favorite lady drummers right now?
SD: Oh shit, I said them all above! Yeah- Sophie from the Rebel, Amy from Monday Club, Sian from Plug, Ali from Vivian Girls, Frankie from Crystal Stilts, and Trashkit!

TTM: Who are some of your favorite bands right now?
SD: The Pheromoans, Trashkit, Plug, Ariel Pink, Country Teasers, Private Trousers, Blank Dogs, Vivian Girls, The Devil, Teenage Panzerkorps, Blessure Grave, Bigstick.

xo,

Vicki Simon

The Awesomely Undulating Slog of Valerie Scroggins

From my understanding, ESG is a band that gets to you before you get to them. Early in high school, when buzz finally got from New York to my Miami abode via my mom’s NYMag subscription of those found noise pranksters with a mean hankering for a groove, Liars, beats had only begun to mean something. Those 9 tracks on their first album might seem tame now, but my lack of a concern for dancing (aside from my first inebriation in 7th grade at a family function thanks to drinks left unattended) was becoming something to be concerned about in itself. Liars’ stilted high-BPM groove didn’t really help that much but their song Tumbling Walls Buried Me in the Debris w/ ESG was one of many doors. The use of UFO was by then old hat, historically plundered more than almost any other song, but it was my initiation. Being the time of cult experimentalism and whatnot, it’s that song’s ethereal and otherworldly rumblings that lit up my room at night, playing close-lidded REM games in the dark. 

UFO itself came from the age of a dimly lit, smoke-clouded, alleyway-shrouded, and ever enveloping concrete undergrowth, when the streets of New York could easily make their way into a subplot for a supernatural thriller as a psyche-disorienting character of their own. At any nightclub, under the pulse of the strobe light, amid the goading, jagged aesthetic reconfigurations of punkish prowlers any pseudo-scientific lore might seem to be manifesting itself. UFO is almost its curator. UFO’s curators are something else entirely.

Scene – 70′s in the South Bronx: Four sisters left to their own devices by a caring mother attempting to cultivate a trouble-free developmental environment, must learn to play instruments without the aid of lessons. Meager income, economic hardship could only bring home the tools, the craft was a venture to be gained the hard way. Crash course after self-devised crash course through rock and soul music television programs and the girls began to hone their sound. Deborah on the bass, Marie on the congas, Renee on the guitar and Valerie on the drums, they eventually became ESG, a name corresponding the minerals of their birthstones – Emerald for Valerie’s, Sapphire for Renee’s, and since Deborah and Marie had no birthstones hip to the ensuing acronym, a G went to wishful thinking for a record prospect called GOLD. Signed by Liquid Liquid’s label manager, the rest is history. 

The same way UFO’s eerie manipulations of aural scratch come to be the first and last thing you notice, the same can be said for Valerie’s drumming. By the end of high school I still didn’t know how to dance (though I’ve since found it’s not really something you learn, but make up as you go along, with the best coordinated in the room deciding whether its up to snuff) but I did have an interest in shaking it. One of the surest ways was turning the switch on ESG, whose ship ran so tight that with the amount of time not wasted you didn’t even notice it leaving the harbor, two seconds in the cruise is already in high gear. Whether that cruise has run into the Bermuda Triangle is something you’re never entirely sure of.

A perfect embodiment of that feeling is this youtube sync done with some television drama’s dream sequence and ESG’S Christelle. The arrangements are sparse, but forceful. Their simplicity is disingenuously innocuous lull that could place you in a lucid transfixion if it wasn’t for the rhythmic pattering underneath which commands you to MOVE! 

UFO itself distills the distals of your body til the essence of your groove is ripe for discovery. Valerie shows up unannounced 25 seconds in. Deborah’s bass is in the midst of an introduction when Valerie sideswipes in the most complementary fashion, and soon you’re being dragged through this odd aura of swinging overhead lights, rusty from their years confined to dark tunnels for the hideouts of military secrets. But all throughout, that groove says its cool. 

When it wasn’t the atmospherics doing the tricks, it was the vocals, of which everyone took a part except Valerie, ready and steady on the beat. While the previously mentioned songs play with an instinctual urge, this song shouts it out from hiding. Dance is basically it’s title expanded into an experiential manifesto, a how-to by way of being done. This is what I want to do, this is how I get it going and this is how it’s done. It is now an unstoppable force whose longevity can only be pointed out by the sun’s inconvenient arrival the next morning.

On one end of the sampling debate is the unfortunate advent of intellectual copyrights in which faceless corporate mechanisms grip the commodified and already packaged but variegated and boundless forms of human expression, and with an eye on the bank dictate how and where a particular sound or idea should be used and propagated, regardless if said institution devised said sound or idea in the first place. One of the most egregious examples being the Jimmy Page court wrangling of Schooly D for a sampling of Kashmir, forever altering one of the key sequences in Bad Lieutenant. On the other is ESG, who, like the blues artists Jimmy Page ripped off with the aid of success and fame’s insulation, weren’t properly secured during the boom of rap’s earlier ventures into sample happy experimentation. Look at the list of songs ESG appeared in - http://www.the-breaks.com/search.php?term=esg&type=0 – and still Valerie ended up working as a bus driver. In the early 90′s they addressed their penniless popularity via an album called “Samples Don’t Pay Our Bills.” 

Valerie ended up the cause of controversy when in 2006 she was indicted for a false insurace claim garnering 13,000 in worker’s comp for a shoulder injury that prevented her from driving while two months later playing reunion shows. Valerie maintained that the candid cam video used on her  in the trial shows that her arm was limp and her lawyer maintained that three doctors says she wasn’t fit to drive a bus. It’s kind of silly, since playing the drums doesn’t really put the audience in danger the way driving a bus does passengers, which while not the main point is better than driving a bus when the diagnosis suggests the conditions aren’t affable. Nothing on that mix-up lasted longer than the print date of its conclusion, unlike Valerie’s musical contributions. ESG’s name remains in multiple spectrums of dance music. Larry Levan and Frankie Knuckles dropping a needle on their records ensured their influence in the ever-developing variations on house and club music. Their manager booking shows for them at punk clubs ensured the nasal assault of faux-nihilistic teenagers would be alleviated by a productively danceable backbone, so when the alternation between screeds and apathy was ultimately shown aimless, the hips could take over, and the stale march would be conga fixed. 

No coda is needed beyond their own musical output, thus, without further ado: 

by adam katzman

Tom Tom Magazine and Make Music NY Presents @ Public Assembly!

On Sunday June 21st @ 7pm Tom Tom Magazine will be showcasing 7 bands with female drummers and DJ’s. Come see and support these awesome bands and end your night with a dance party! Get to know the Tom Tom Magazine staffers and celebrate with us.

x

xo,

Tom Tom Magazine

Drummer of the Week: Caitlin Kalafus of Kicking Daisies

Last week we featured a ninety-one year old drummer full of life and soul that has had an amazing career of drumming. This week, we would like to introduce you to a 4-piece band with a combined age of only fifty-five years.

Kicking Daisies, features fourteen year old frontman Duran Visek, twelve year old Ben Spremulli on lead guitar, thirteen year old Carly Kalafus on bass, and sitting at the skins is sixteen year old Caitlin Kalafus who, in 2007, won a world record for fastest female drummer in the feet division with 799 bass kicks in 60 seconds and still holds it.

Check out this video of Caitlin jamming out in the basement.

Kicking Daisies are rehersing and recording right now and their debut album is expected to be out this summer. In the meantime, check out their MySpace for some of their tracks.

Their sound is raw, and pure, and extremely talented. I for one am anxiously awaiting the album especially since most of their songs are penned by themselves. There is no doubt this is a good formula for success.

Alex Carulo

Technique Tuesday: Dropping Sticks and Nerves

The horrible truth: When you’re nervous and focused on not dropping a stick, it’s more likely to happen. Your playing and performance suffer with nerves, too. When these things suffer, you notice, did other people notice?, and you get even more nervous. It’s a vicious cycle.

Some things you can do to avoid dropping sticks:

• Use grip tape. Pretty cheap, easy to obtain. I’ve used Pro-Mark’s Stick Rapp. It’s cushy, not slippery. (Check out last week’s blog for wrapping tips.)
• Wear drumming gloves. They’re tight-fitting and made of various grippy materials, usually leather.
• Avoid sticks with slippery finish or paint on them if you know you’re going to sweat. I absolutely love Adrian Young, but his new sticks get very slippery.

Most importantly, you just need to relax. This should be every drummer’s personal mantra. Drumming is something that’s supposed to be loose and open, not tight and tense.
Everyone experiences the pre-performance jitters. Find something you can do to relax yourself before or during the performance. I have a ridiculously long stretch session before I perform. Sure, I probably don’t need to stretch for as long as I do, but it makes me feel more confident and definitely calms me down. I know people that run basic exercises before shows, or people that listen to hardcore metal to (somehow?) relax. Find something that works for you.

Next week’s (big 2-part) topic: Tuning

If you’re on Twitter, don’t forget to follow me (@girlbeatsdrums) and Tom Tom (@tomtommag).

~Bianca.

Northside Festival Preview

The first-ever Northside Festival happens this weekend, starting yesterday until Sunday the 14th, totaling four rainy ☹ days of booze and schmooze celebrating the ‘vibrant music and art scenes that thrive here in Williamsburg and Greenpoint.’ Its sponsored by the L Magazine, Heineken and apparently hundreds of pairs of Kangaroo shoes.

The all women run all ages show collective Strength in Numbers had strong opinions about all this sponsorship I found out Thursday night when I tried to go see Magik Markers and Marnie Stern at the new venue Shea Stadium and was denied badge entry: “20% of each Northside Fest Show is reserved for badgeholders…But none of the money from badges (20% of the door) would go to the bands playing tonight, or towards supporting the space.” Though I didn’t end up paying the modest amount for the show, mostly due to Marnie Stern’s cancellation and my choice to support my stomach with some tacos, I salute their decision to be vocal.

Political dispensations aside, we at Tom Tom Magazine thought we’d give you the heads up on a few bands featuring, what else, some excellent drumming from some excellent ladies.

1. Talk Normal at Death by Audio Saturday 06.13, 10:30pm

Talk Normal at Dead Herring

Talk Normal are intense, cerebral, intelligent and mind-numbing, all in the best way. The last time I saw them was at one of my most beloved places of all time Dead Herring and they put on a stellar, visceral show with Dan Friel, and Starring. This time they’re playing at another good venue to support, Death By Audio. They’re also playing with DBA’s own Sisters, who I think are small geniuses at writing addictive pop-punk jingles of the snotty-voiced variety that somehow manage to gracefully skirt the ‘noise’ genre.

But that’s nothing compared to when Andrya Ambryo and Sarah Register play ‘River’s Edge’; your head just might explode. Get that song from the rad cassette comp Coldest Beer in Town on Party Store Music and other Talk Normal songs at http://www.myspace.com/talknormaltalknormal

Sarah Register

Andrya Ambryo

2. New York Night Train presents The Coathangers at GlassLands Gallery Sunday 06.14, 11pm

Coathangin’ during the set of ‘Stop Stomp Stompin’

When I saw the all-girl Atlanta Georgia foursome in Austin they had a fun, infectious energy. They’re also playing a Todd P show Saturday with Miko Mako and x-members of Battleship as a Germs cover band at Market Hotel. The video for the single ‘Stop Stomp Stompin’ from Scramble has drummer Rusty Coathanger goofing out with the rest of the band:

3. Honorable Mention: Knight School at Public Assembly Saturday 06.13, 10:30pm

On the jangly tip there’s the young Knight School who I haven’t seen live yet and want to check out. Kevin, Chris and Ms. ‘El Gold’ on drums have songs that move any pop dance floor, though Public Assembly’s an awkward space. They’re playing shows other places too: http://www.myspace.com/knightschoolmusic

Knight School doing some homework

Other Noteworthy: These Are Powers, Golden Triangle, Screaming Females, Pgymy Shrews, Katie Eastburn. The entire festival schedule can be found here.

Wish Tom Tom Senior Editor Vicki Simon a happy birthday if you spot her and see you next week for another gazillion words.

Cathy
06.12.09

Drummer of The Week: Jerrie Thill

Jerrie Thill has been beating the drums for seventy years… That is not a typo. Born in 1917 in Dubuque, Iowa she began her illustrious music career in the Chicago area when speakeasies where all the rage and notorious gangster names were in the newspaper headlines. You can read more about her interesting career at her website www.jerriethill.com

Last February another amazing woman, lyricist, and creative great, Allee Willis, wrote a song called “Hey Jerrie” honoring her, and produced a little video gem that took YouTube by storm. Click Play below, kick your chair aside, and do a skuttle shuffle across your floor because although Jerrie needs an oxygen tank to help her breathe, she is full of life and soul.

The video is lively, colorful and just plain fun. With party-goer sound tracks al la Ramsey Lewis’s The In Crowd it also features Carol Chaikin on the saxophone, a young Milo Sussman on guitar, and his younger brother Owen adding addition drum tracks.

I am inspired by Jerrie and Allee, and this only proves that you are never to old to do ANYTHING. All you have to do is dig deep inside you and let it out!

Check out Allee’s website at www.alleewillis.com and also link to her blog from there.

Alex Carulo

Technique Tuesday: Taping Sticks

You can easily improve grippage and/or protect your sticks by taping them. There actually is a technique to doing this.

There are special grip tapes that you can buy if you need extra grippage, but if you want to conserve sticks you should definitely use electrical tape. It’s relatively cheap, comes in all kinds of crazy colors, and is pretty easy to come by.

Beware: Sweaty palms and electrical tape do not mix. Have extra sticks as close as possible while performing, or perhaps add some grip tape.

When you tape, start at the tip. Wrap the tape around parallel to the tip once, then begin working your way down.

As you go, try to wrap as evenly as possible. Consistency comes with time. It definitely helps to keep the tape that you’re working with taut. You don’t want bubbles.

At the bottom, do one last wrap parallel to the butt of the stick, and you’re done.

You don’t have to tape the whole stick either. You could only tape the top half to protect it from chipping or splitting. I’ve also seen people tape the bottom and top, leaving the middle open.

Keep in mind, you can always peel the tape off and replace it, but you don’t want to peel the tape off and use the bare stick again. It’ll be sticky and gross. Make sure that you really want to tape the sticks before you do it, because you won’t want to drum with gooey sticks, trust me.

Next week’s topic: Losing sticks?

Vibes

I found a pretty amazing video of a woman named Stephanie Muto playing a piece called Eroica by Tan Dun on the vibraphone.  At first glance I thought it was a piece of performance art video/experimental composition because of the austere staging and certain lengthy pauses in the music. If taken at face value it seems quite avant-garde. 

But then I did a little more digging and realized that LOTS of musicians posted their parts to Eroica because of the You Tube Symphony Orchestra tryouts. Apparently, earlier this spring there was this huge contest, partially sponsored by Google, where people submitted their performances and if chosen were invited to Carnegie Hall.

The funny thing is that even though YouTube turned the Internet Symphony into a relatively traditional performance piece (artists collaborate across great distances quite often and it seems like the YouTube symphony is just that, but with video, too) Tan Dun is supposedly interested in pretty experimental practices. He’s used non-traditional and organic instruments in his compositions. His piece Water Passion After St. Matthew employs amplified bowls of water in lieu of traditional percussion, and his Paper Concerto relies solely on the manipulation of paper to create music.  So perhaps the beauty and absurdity in Stephanie Muto’s solo performance of Eroica wasn’t lost on him, even though it seems to have been an unintentional byproduct of a big internet art project.

-Sara

Tom Tom Show Review: Grass Widow at Bruar Falls 5.30.09. See them at Don Pedros 6.05.09, Hillstock Fest 6.06.09

http://www.wizardmountain.org/grasswidow/

San Francisco band Grass Widow played a benefit show (organized in part by your own Jefe de Tom Tom Ms. Mindy) at Cakeshop’s West Egg borough brother Bruar Falls last weekend for the Willie May Rock Camp for Girls with Querent, Taigaa! and Pterodactyl. Unfortunately I missed Querent, who is Natalja Kent, formerly of The Good Good’s current project but I did catch Taigaa!, whose keyboardist Jee Young Sim becomes more fun to watch every time. And though Brooklyn’s new favorite sons Pterodactyl put on a good show as usual in their reincarnation as a three piece after bassist Zach Lehrhoff’s departure the scene stealer was definitely Grass Widow. Hell yeah Grass Widow!

photo by Brian Krueger

The all women trio features ex-members Hannah Lew and Raven Mahon on bass and guitar from old school SF four piece Shitstorm and drummer Lillian Maring and they gave us an impressive and long set at Bruar Falls. Grass Widow had just embarked on a two-week east coast jaunt and they already sounded tight. The first thing we noticed is how nonchalant they were with their instruments: relaxed but precise, energetic without being too loud. These girls were good. Live their sound was a hypnotic, lulling combination of surfy-sweet singing with interesting, angular rhythm and edgy guitar work thrown in that perhaps reference obscure Portland girl punks Neo Boys, who are purportedly Hannah’s ‘favorite band ever.’ The songs had a lot of turn-on-a-dime melody and tempo changes with drummer Lillian always seemingly effortlessly pulling the band through the twists of Hannah’s intricate and to me, very Slint-y bass structures without losing a beat so to speak. The anchor to Lillian’s drums was the vocals, and the vox duties which were shared all around really completed the overall sensibility. The revival of comparisons to Raincoats/Tiger Trap-esque vocal stylings in reference to the current crop of lady bands are matched only by the revival of twee itself and by now a bit well-worn but let that simply be a testament to the disarming and enduring power of a stripped-down yet saccharine harmony section. Bless you Gina, Ana, Rose and Heather. For me the set stunner was the closer “Rattled Call” which live had Raven’s guitar turned up louder than on the album and was strangely reminiscent of Jefferson Airplane, Sabbath and an almost proggy drum style all topped with those haunting vocal harmonic transitions. It works awesomely, especially as the whole group evokes a sort of 70’s Grace Slick vibe if not in the vox department then at least in Lillian’s kick-ass wavy shag!

Lillian in Seattle

The eponymous album is an addictive listen and just as good as the live show, retaining their cross of spritely pop chops and multilayered post-punk instrumentation. Ps – Raven plays a cool trumpet. By now Grass Widow are almost halfway through their east coast tour with Querent so can you imagine how tight they probably sound? We all bought tee shirts after the show (which also had very nice screens I might add) and I suggest you do the same. But let me say that before you buy any shirts, get thee to a Grass Widow show and throw down some love for their excellent debut 12” out on new Bay Area label Make a Mess. I promise you won’t regret it.

Grass Widow play Friday 6.05 at Don Pedros (90 Manhattan Avenue Brooklyn) and two shows Saturday 6.06: at noon at the Hillstock Music Festival and again at 9pm at Papabubble (380 Broome St NY).

Cathy and MM
6.05.09

Drummer of the Week: Stella Mozgawa

Stella has been drumming since she was 13 and is quite the accomplished and decorated musician. In 2006, she found a home with front man Neal Carlson, guitarist Nick Maybury and bassist Grant Fitzpatrick and formed MINK.

Their sound is raw in that it has no theatrics, no showy pyro-madness, no electric voice box trickery; Just good, smart lyrics, catchy guitar riffs, and infectious drum and cymbal beats that make them serious players. Having penned over 60 songs already and collaborating with names like Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Kiss, and Perry Ferrell, to name a few, prove their seriousness.

In contrast, Stella’s persona is cheeky, humorous, and likeable. Check out this video which captures a bit of her wit and a bunch of her talent.

Stella.

Here is Mink’s video for their first single Talk To Me

Get their most recent album on iTunes.

Stella is currently residing in LA working on other Stellar projects, be sure to keep an eye out.

www.minkmusic.com

Thanks to Frank Q. for the suggestion.

Alex Carulo

Technique Tuesday: Stick Grips (Pt. 2)

Traditional grip is not as common as matched grip and is generally used by jazz/swing drummers or in drumlines. I definitely think it’s worth learning.

First, make a relaxed “C” shape with your right hand. Your four fingers should be together.

Now, “live long and prosper”. Keeping your other fingers together (and still in the “C”), make a gap between your ring and middle fingers.

The stick should sit in between your thumb and index finger and rest on the nail groove of your ring finger. I should probably say here that, yeah, this grip will tear up your nail groove if you use it a lot. Sometimes I use band-aids or some kind of tape to protect it.

While using this grip, your thumb should be attached to your index finger’s top knuckle. The rest of your fingers should stay attached, like you’re trying to keep water inside your hand. Your right hand will be in matched grip.

When you drum with this grip, the wrist movement will be very similar to turning a doorknob. The wrist is not the driving force of the traditional stroke, though. Your thumb is what actually pushes the stroke through here.

This is a tricky grip that takes a lot of getting used to. Don’t get frustrated too easily, and remember that everyone has trouble with it in the beginning.

West Coast Women: An Exclusive Interview with Drummer Lauren Hess of Agent Ribbons (Sacramento, CA)

In a yellow Victorian house hidden under Sacramento’s canopy of trees, best friends Natalie Gordon (guitar, vocals) and Lauren Hess (drums, percussion) have made more than one catchy number for their band, Agent Ribbons.

Combining Baroque pop, ‘60s love ballads and riot grrrl ideals, Agent Ribbons presents empowering pieces that are both dreamy and deliciously sinful. While Natalie coos and screeches through their toe-tapping pop songs, drummer Lauren Hess adds the perfect amount of drool-worthy rhythm and clanky beats – always with a huge smile on her face.

Recently back from Barcelona’s Primavera Sound Festival and currently on a national tour with Camera Obscura, Agent Ribbons has come a long way since jamming in their Sacramento dollhouse.

Sweet and inspiring, Lauren, 27, took some time out to chat with Tom Tom Mag about accentual drumming, “the Meg White effect” and her first drum set (“Shitty Shitty Bang Bang”) via e-mail:

Tell me a little bit about your drumming history. Didn’t you start out playing guitar in a different band? Why did you decide to pick up the drums?
Yes, I started out playing guitar when I was 12 and played guitar and bass in a few bands before Agent Ribbons. I bought a drum set from my high school band-mate Jennifer around 2000 and only played it occasionally because of space constraints. It was nicknamed “Shitty Shitty Bang Bang” and I still have a few of the pieces in my parents’ garage. I had them set up in my living room when Natalie came over and noticed the set. She asked me if I played them and I told her I most certainly did, even though I barely played at that time. But, in typical Lauren fashion, I just jumped right in without over-thinking the scenario and began playing that week!

What do you love best about the drums?
To me, drums are heavy and calculated, which are two very appealing sensibilities. I love the deep resonance drums provide as a musical instrument. The tiny bit of OCD I have is math and pattern-related, so drums fit right in with that!

You have the cutest drum set, by the way. Explain your “kit aesthetic.” (What kind of kit do you use, etc.)
Thank you! The kit is a vintage Ludwig, I don’t know much more technical info than that! The snare is a borrowed metal one because I somehow lost my other nice piccolo snare in San Francisco. The pattern on the drums reminds me of the Tiger Eye stone, all brown and gold swirl. On the kick drum, Natalie and I glued a piece of light blue lace on the front, which is now ripping and looks pretty haggard!

What do you find most challenging about the drums?
For me, it’s the fact that I am not as comfortable with drums as I am with guitar. I don’t allow myself enough time to practice either, so I always feel under-prepared. The first two years I played in Agent Ribbons, I was scared to death every show! Looking at pictures from the first year, I always have this deeply concentrating intense face because I felt that if I messed up, I didn’t have enough experience to recover from a rhythmic mistake. I still feel that way to some extent, especially now that I am singing at the set, but it’s getting better….

I love how you often add little tinkers here and there on the drums during songs. Instead of always having a straightforward constant rhythm, you add little touches and changes that really decorate Natalie’s vocals. What sound are you usually going for when creating the rhythm section?
When writing a drum part, I hear every drum very melodically. I think one of my strengths is not knowing how to “correctly” play drums. It allows me to think outside of straight-up drumbeats. Also, with our songs, there are very dramatic high and low moments that benefit from accenting rather than plowing through with a steady beat.

Going from a two-piece to a three-piece with new cellist/violinist Naomi Cherie, have you noticed any changes in your drumming and percussion? Has it opened any new doors for you?
Not really, at least not yet. I think all around we are more elaborate and I do feel more comfortable having another person to play off of on stage.

Do you ever experience any sexism on-stage from audience members? If so, how do you deal with it? (These days I’m sure we don’t experience it as much as the pioneers before us. Now, we have to deal with what I call the “Meg White effect,” where people instantly want to compare female drummers to Meg White even if you have a completely different style/sound. I always want to tell them “Oh you mean because we both have vaginas and happen to play drums?”)
Haha, oh yes the Meg White thing happens all the time. I also kind of look like her, so I get the physical comparison as well. It’s pretty sad that most people can’t even name three female drummers. They have no idea about the amazingness of Janet Weiss from Sleater-Kinney, Dee Plakas from L7, or Hannah Billie from The Gossip, just to name a few. I mean, I guess most female drummers aren’t in mainstream bands so people who are unaware of independent music make lazy comparisons. I pretty much only listen to female-centric music, so I know and love ‘em all I don’t experience sexism as much as when I was in high school (probably was an age thing as well) but I do get the “good for a girl” thing occasionally.

You’ve toured a lot as a band – do you see differences between how Europeans react to female drummers/musicians than how American audiences react? Or, any differences in various parts of the U.S. even?
I feel that it is pretty even. We are lucky because we tend to play with likeminded creative and supportive bands and the audience tends to be that way as well. The few times we’ve played outside our element, it has been dudes hitting on us more than wanting to chat about records.

I see you’ll be recording in July. How would you describe the new material you’ve been planning?
Our new material is a bit darker and more elaborate than the last album, more dramatic. I sing harmonies on most of the new songs, which is a challenge, especially live. I’ve added some parts with bells and tambourine. I’m also going to be playing other instruments on the album like autoharp, xylophone, possibly guitar or whatever else to thicken up some parts. It’s going to be a departure from the minimalism of the first album.

Who/what are your drumming inspirations?
I absolutely love Christina Files’ drumming with Mary Timony. I think it perfectly accents the songs in an interesting way. Also, Shannon from Bride of No No is an amazing experimental free-jazz type drummer. I’m also inspired by ’60s garage-rock drumming and Krautrock-style beats.

After this tour, what’s next for Agent Ribbons?
Well, we are home for a couple of weeks and then we go record in LA the first two weeks in July. Then, we play a handful of shows before going on a west coast tour with our friends Sister Crayon.

What advice do you have for a girl starting out on the drums, or a new female drummer who wants to start a band?
Do it!!!! Just do it, don’t worry about “sucking” or not being able to play everything right away, or playing like a boy. Listen to the above-mentioned drummers and you will be inspired. Watch Born in Flames and Radical Harmonies for further inspiration. Watch Satisfaction from the ’80s for a hilarious depiction of a girl drummer (and Julia Roberts as a “bassist”). Drums + women = power.

More on Lauren Hess and Agent Ribbons:
http://www.myspace.com/agentribbons

Melanie B. Glover