Drumalicious

I FINALLY managed to get into the NAMM show this year.. after being in LA for 3 years! I’m only getting round to blogging about it and putting pics up, though it happened January 20th. I hope to get in to the show properly next year without sneaking in with someone else’s pass .

Lots and lot of cool stuff to be seen. I only got in for the last few hours on the last day and though I was glad to get in, I was disappointed I didn’t have more time as there was just SOOOO much to see. My pics are pretty much drum focused but the show covered every western instrument you can think of and then some, including the usual guitar, bass, drums, keys, but also pianos, stringed instruments, wind instruments, marching percussion, computer software/hardware, mics, speakers.. just everything.

Back to drums .. here’s Glen Sobel playing some particularly weird looking but extremely cool see-through partially square drums! ..

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I sooooo want one of these!

Love this snippet, found on Vinnie’s site here:
http://www.vinniecolaiuta.com/articles/drummagazine03.aspx

‘ “I was just enamored with Vinnie. Back in the Frank days, his whole approach, when I heard Vinnie play, his phrasing – it satisfied something in my heart. It was easy to get certain rhythmic gratification from straight up-and-down-type players. Playing grooves, alternate grooves here and there. But Vinnie just came in and threw a wrench into the works. The guy is an alien. He was able to touch buttons with his sense of polyrhythms that no one has ever done. Frank’s band was the perfect soundboard for that. I started transcribing his playing for The Frank Zappa Book. I mean, there’s five to six different notations for the hi-hat! [laughs]

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The best way to improve your playing is simply to get out and do it in public. The practice room is essential but there simply is no substitute for putting your hard earned practice on display and getting real world feedback from other musicians and audiences.

To that end, I’m gathering a list of all the regular jam sessions I know of in and around the Los Angeles area and will update that information here.

http://drumalicious.com/la-jams/