Rhythm 289 (Sampler) by Future PLC

the magazine for drummers january 2019 | 289

.Exclusive!.

The Police legend looks back on every studio album

stewart copeland Plus! Learn the secrets of . Stewart's reggae-rock style .

London Drum Show

Dennis chambers "Parliament/Funkadelic were like Spinal Tap!"

jojo Mayer

Nerve, sonics and the art of improvisation

2018 POLL WINNERS

This year's greatest performances , players and gear

The sights & sounds from the UK's Number one drum event

Learn To Playâ&#x20AC;Ś

x-hAT gROOVES tHE mOZAMBIQUE rHYTHM jAZZ COMPING BASICS

Ludwig Neusonic US-made, workhorse price

welcome! The sound of The Police…

Stuart Williams, Editor

stuart.williams@futurenet.com

Welcome! This month we’re graced with not one, but three absolute legends of the kit, and each one for their own particular voice. First up, it’s Stewart Copeland. Even if Sting’s vocals aren’t your cup of tea, it’s practically impossible for us drummers to not like The Police, and the recently-released vinyl boxset is testament as to why. Stewart kindly agreed to take a look back over the band (and his drumming) legacy for this month’s cover feature, inviting Rhythm to his Sacred Grove home studio in LA. Next up, there’s Dennis Chambers, who sat down with us for this month’s Rhythm Interview. And then there’s Jojo Mayer, whose jazz-meets-electronic style never ceases to be anything short of amazing. Also this month, we have lessons and jam tracks for John Mayer ‘Waiting On The World To Change’ (featuring the unmistakable groove discipline of Steve Jordon) and Toto’s ‘Africa’. The latter of which seems to have been given a slightly ironic resurgence throughout this year – we still love it for Jeff’s feel and those fills though! Finally, I’d like to wish you all a very happy Christmas and New Year. Thanks again for supporting Rhythm this year, may your stocking be rocking and your break filled (pun intended) with drumming delights! We’ll see you next year!

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This month’s experts Pete Riley

As well as getting his groove on for Jeff Porcaro and Steve Jordon parts, Pete also came up with some lessons on Stewart Copeland’s playing style too. Somehow, Pete also managed to fit a tour in the middle of it all! He’s earned a sit down.

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David WEst

David went to the iconic Ronnie Scott’s for this month’s Dennis Chambers interview, before sitting down with Jojo Mayer in Hoxton to talk gear, sonic experimentation and Jojo’s love of improvisation.

Chuck Parker

Chuck was lucky enough to visit Stewart Copeland at his Sacred Grove studio in LA this month, chatting for over two hours. While he was there, he got to check out the snare Stewart used on all of The Police recordings!

january 2019 |

Contents

Issue 289 January 2019

54 jojo mayer The pioneering drummer gets philosophical

60 dennis chambers From breaking out of Baltimore to conquering the world stage

Regulars 06 beat

All the latest news from the drum world, hot gear, classic sounds and more

introducing

The bands and drummers you need to have on your radar this month

reviews

Dream Theater, Papa Roach, Hague & White, Millencolin, Volbeat and more

LESSONS Essential tutorials to improve your playing

Drum lessons Get creative with

Broken DouBles

Your tutor pat garvey

pat@patgarvey.net

A little phrasing with this old friend

video on Your disc

ere we’re having a look at something called broken doubles. Now, this isn’t a new concept – far from it – but it is if you haven’t come across it before! so, what we’re looking at doing is taking the exercise i’m presenting in Example 1, and once that’s nailed firmly to the click developing it into a more exciting phrase by a) changing the voicing and b) adding bass drums notes to what will become the right-hand cymbal hits. it’s important to note here that Example 1 is really where it’s at. if you haven’t practised your double-stroke roll at different subdivisions before then that will

be your first port of call. once that’s nailed, it’s a case of putting Example 1 together and getting it going around and around until it’s really flowing. then it’s onto the next step, as detailed in the notation below. the cool thing with this type of material is that once you’ve got it really nailed as a concept, there are a lot of ways of applying it musically to the drum kit, whether that’s

as part of the groove, time, a fill, a longer chop/lick idea or as the basis of a solo.

HeADs uP! broken doubles

Breaking the double strokes up between two or more different voices of the kit.

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| january 2019

Behind the drums Eric Singer: his life before and after Kiss

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30/11/2018 16:27

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stewart copeland Talking Rhythm through every Police studio album

readers polls 2018 Best drummer and the drum gear of the year www.rhythmmagazine.co.uk

84 gear REVIEWS Our experts get hands on with the latest gear

january 2019 |

Highlights

People | Music | Gear

8Chrisnews Slade gives blessing for Rudd to return

20 introducing Meet newcomers Phoxjaw and River Becomes Ocean

“The flagship model uses real wooden shells with in-built proprietary trigger technology and double-ply ‘TrueRebound’ mesh heads, developed by Remo specifically for the G9 range” 6

| january 2019

www.musicradar.com/rhythm

24 reviews Dream Theater, Papa Roach and Volbeat

Gewa G9 headed for UK release The much-anticipated professional level e-drums are scheduled to land in April ■■Unveiled at the Frankfurt Musikmesse, this promising new addition to the electronic drum world has been developed in partnership between Gewa Music and Drum Workshop. Rhythm were recently invited to Gewa HQ in Germany to get hands-on with the brand new kit lineup, currently receiving its final tweaks ahead of its release in the new year. Originally announced as the first release of the new ‘DW-e’ brand, the product will now be launched under the Gewa name with the intention of bringing the product to a wider audience. The flagship model uses real wooden shells with in-built proprietary trigger technology and double-ply ‘True-Rebound’ mesh heads, developed by Remo specifically for the G9 range. DW supplies the hardware in the form of its new DW-e single pedal, snare stand, hi-hat stand and rack systems. Special consideration has been taken in this e-drum specific hardware to limit cross-talk and mis-triggering and reduce unwanted noise.

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R&D Engineer for both Gewa and DW, Ruben Steinhauser, tells Rhythm “the overall playing experience is what makes it. The rebound of the heads, the size of the drums, the way you’re able to set it up. The way the whole thing triggers, sounds and feels.” Three kit configurations will be available, ranging from the flagship six-piece ‘Pro LQ-6’, to the five-piece ‘C-5’ carbon fibre model and the lower priced ‘Studio 6’, which uses plastic pads. These will retail for around £5,000, £4,500 and £3,500 respectively. The module alone will cost around £2,100. Each setup includes the G9 Workstation module, full cymbal pad setup (two 14" crashes, 18" ride and 14" hi-hats), full DW-e hardware set and rack (plastic rack for Studio 6) and True-Rebound Remo heads. The Workstation uses a tablet based operating system with a 10" touchscreen. This not only allows a more familiar DAW like user interface but also gives the G9 an ability to completely re-invent itself through future software updates. Key features include inbuilt WiFi allowing a direct connection to the Gewa SoundStore, bluetooth, XLR and digital outputs, multi-channel DAW capability and even a PDF reader. The module will have 40 kit presets and can accept user sounds. It boasts high-level drum samples and a powerful effects unit. Gewa’s Director for Development Dennis Pelz explains: “A lot of e-drum modules are limited for memory and limited on the sound. This module has the same sound and resolution as a VST plug-in.”

Silicon Saxony Designed and built by Gewa in Adorf, Germany, the G9 is brimming with hi-tech features. The module’s multi-chip architecture handles its sounds, triggering and OS separately for maximum speed and functionality. High-quality drum samples have been supplied by DW and a ‘3D Sonic Image’ is created by dialling in the real-room mics. The cymbal pads are based on the profiles of Paiste 2002s and feature 360 degree triggering and choke.

january 2019 |

BEAT! PEOPLE | MUSIC | GEAR

UNTO THE LOTUS Martin Lopez gives Rhythm a glimpse into the new album ■■Former Opeth drummer Martin Lopez is back with his Soen project. Lopez, who occupied the Opeth drum stool between 1997 and 2006, playing on seven of the band’s albums, co-founded Soen in 2012 and the band is set to release its fourth album in 2019. “The world right now is undeniably a very strange and tense place,” Lopez said of the album, Lotus. “I think the songs clearly reflect that, but they also reflect that we must now be stronger than ever in challenging, and dealing with the pandemonium life throws at us all. “We are all very fortunate to have this place where we can go and explore thoughts, perspectives and emotions,” he added. “There are definitely things that we say, and places we go, in Soen that would be very hard to express without us coming together and creating music.” The record has been worked up under the watchful eyes of producers David Castillo and Inaki Marconi at Ghostward Studios and Studio 6. Soen will tour throughout Europe in March 2019.

PROG HEAVEN! Drum heavyweights join forces ■■We may still be holding our breath at the chance to see Neil Peart back behind the kit with Rush bandmate Alex Lifeson, but it appears that the latter is currently working with another drum hero. The prog icon is, in fact, working with Marco Minnemann. In a refreshingly to-the-point social media post, the drummer confirmed the news, saying : “Working on a new collaborative release together with Rush’s Alex Lifeson. Watch this space for more details to follow soon.” Last year, Lifeson (along with Joe Satriani) appeared on Minnemann’s Borrego solo album. Minnemann has been a particularly busy boy of late, having also released a record in 2018 with The Sea Within. Lifeson, meanwhile, may have a window for a new project as he earlier this year confirmed that Rush was ‘basically done’. Rush bassist Geddy Lee then confirmed the band’s retirement in October when speaking to Rolling Stone.

| JANUARY 2019

SLADE GIVES BLESSING FOR RUDD RETURN

Drummer has his say on AC/DC’s future ■■Chris Slade has given his thoughts on rumours that Phil Rudd is back with AC/DC. Slade, who has had two spells behind the kit for the rock legends, most recently stepping onto the Rock Or Bust world tour due to the latter’s absence, told eonmusic that he wishes the band luck in whichever guise it moves forward. He said: “There are all sorts of rumours: Axl’s going to be doing a track, Brian’s going to be doing a track, there are so many variables here. And I’ve learned with AC/DC also, not to believe the rumours, because even fans fake things. “But Angus is now over 60, I think, so he’s still got a few years to go, judging by me and Brian. That’s all he does – he relaxes by painting, and he smokes fags, and that’s about it, so the rest of the time, he’s just playing guitar.”

Slade, who played on ’DC’s return-to-form 1990 Razors Edge album, also commented on who might join Rudd in the band’s engine room, should they, as rumoured, be currently working up a new album. Pressed on whether Slade thinks bassist Cliff Williams would be tempted out of retirement, Slade admitted that he was unsure. “Would Cliff come out of retirement? It depends on whether he’s bored or not, because all he will want to do these days is go fishing with his son, who is a professional fisherman. “So, I don’t know. It’s possible, of course, but there again, it’s all rumours. But Angus is very familyorientated, a la Stevie, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a nephew or a cousin or something who plays bass... that’s just a thought.” In recent months, photos appeared to show Rudd and AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson outside a Vancouver recording studio in which the band have previously recorded.

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THREATIN MAN LIFTS LID ON BIZARRE TOUR ‘Fake tour’ drummer speaks! ■■Okay, strap yourself in because this is not your average Rhythm story. Rather, it is a tale of deception, fake news and session musicians. Las Vegas-based drummer Dane Davis found himself at the centre of the most bizarre tour of the year when he agreed to head out on a batch of shows with metal band Threatin. It seemed like an incredible opportunity – to tour Europe with a band who had apparently told the venues in which they had been booked that they had a sizable following and had pre-sold hundreds of tickets for each gig. In actual fact, it turned out that this may have been stretching the truth a tad and the band performed to a handful of people each night. Davis, who revealed that he was to be paid $300 for the tour, told Classic Rock magazine about the first date of the tour at London Underworld. “It only really got weird when we played and there was no one there. Three people, max. I thought to myself,

‘This is very odd. This is supposed to be a sold-out show. What’s going on?’ The whole time as the show went on, [frontman] Jered kept saying, ‘This is sort of strange. I’m used to more people being here.’” In the days that followed news broke online about the ‘fake tour’ and Davis quit in a state of confusion. “It was shocking,” he said. “I just thought, ‘What do you mean this is a scam?’ I had no idea. I read the first article – you know, the whole tour is fake, the fans were faked, the comments were fake.” All of which goes to show that when it comes to taking on a session gig, it’s always worth putting in plenty of research before you find yourself playing to empty bars for a handful of change. Don’t worry too much about Dane though, he revealed that he has a solo album on the way. “After I get the album out, I’m going to be looking for a band and changing the name. And I’m going on tour.”

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SPENCER SITS OUT Surgery sidelines 5FDP man ■■Jeremy Spencer has sat out Five Finger Death Punch’s latest batch of US tour dates. A second back surgery for an undisclosed condition is the reason behind Spencer missing the band’s autumn shows with Breaking Benjamin. His replacement is something of a mystery. Billed only as ‘The Engine’, the stand-in sticksman is described as a ‘drum prodigy’. No further information has been provided by the band. The news is the latest in a line of turbulence for the US arena fillers. Last year, Five Finger Death Punch’s frontman Ivan Moody took some time out and checked into rehab. However, the disruption has seemingly not had an impact on their meteoric popularity. Spencer, Moody and co released their seventh studio album in May. And Justice For None, hit the Top 10 all over the world, including in the UK and US. When we spoke to Spencer earlier this year, he admitted that the band’s recent past had presented some hurdles for them to work through. He said: “It’s been quite a learning experience dealing with lawsuits and internal obstacles, but we’ve gotten through it and now we’re stronger than ever.”

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Beat! People | Music | Gear

Tico Torres Bon Jovi

It’s Tico time! Bon Jovi man readies UK return You’re currently rehearsing for the latest leg of Bon Jovi’s This House Is Not For Sale tour. After all of these years playing with the band, can you give us some insight into what a Bon Jovi rehearsal looks like? “It’s all about getting the gears greased up a little bit. You know, we have a lot of songs. Every 10 days or so before we’re doing something we’ll get together for a couple of days. We have maybe 100 songs to pick from and we all like changing it up so we’ll go over all of them. We have the obvious songs, but there’s also some others that we like to play around with and elongate a little bit just for fun. The songs change yearly. Our hardcore fans will throw up signs with songs they want… of course, they think the show is just for them [laughs]. But we take note and we will add some songs that people want. But if people are seeing us for the first time they need to hear the hits.”

| january 2019

You’re coming off a little downtime – what do you do in those months off the road? “Sometimes we’ll get together to write in those times and keep the juices flowing. We want to keep it fresh. When we’re doing something I’ll get into the groove in my practice room, but playing live really is something that you can’t practise.”

Might there be new Bon Jovi material next year? Has that been discussed? “At this point, no, it hasn’t been discussed, but knowing how things have happened in the past, some things could filter in. Like last year once we were nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, we wrote a couple of songs and re-released the record and it went back to Number 1 in the States. With this band, you never know what we’ll do. The Hall Of Fame was a big thing – it’s like if you’re an actor and you get an Oscar.”

What kit can we expect you to be playing on the UK shows next year? “I’ve got a new DW kit that I’ve had for the last 30 shows or so. It’s well broken in and it sounds great. On my previous kit I couldn’t quite get the sound I wanted out of my 13" tom, so that has been worked on. I’ve tried cherry and all kinds of wood and maple has always smacked me in the face with the tone. It has that warm tone. It gives me the resonance that I need for our sound.”

What’s left for Bon Jovi to achieve? “We’re playing some new places on this tour, but you’re right, we’ve done a lot. We have our 100th show in Japan coming up! We’re still excited to go out and play. We’re always excited to play Europe. We always say about European fans, ‘They don’t just know the choruses, they also know the verses!’ That’s true!”

You’ve just shifted tickets for huge stadium shows in the UK – why has your popularity sustained so much over the years? “Maybe it’s because we’re still making new music so we have multiple generations of fans. Maybe we have three generations at our shows. Also, we put on the best show that we can and we play for as long as we can until we fall down.”

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Beat! People | Music | Gear

London Drum Show 2018 Legends! Gear! Mind-blowing performances! That’ll be the London Drum Show 2018… ■■The London Drum Show 2018 was in fullswing again on the 10 and 11 November as thousands of drummers turned up to London Olympia for the UK’s biggest and best weekend dedicated to drumming in order to check out the best new (and old!) gear, amazing artist performances, workshops and seminars... The Main Stage included breathtaking performances from the likes of Ash Soan, JR Robinson, Eddy Thrower, Adam Marko, Gábor Dornyei, Senri Kawaguchi, Michael Shack and Oli Wiseman. Meanwhile, the Masterclass Stage saw Mike Joyce, Jonathon Rodney, Pick Withers, Pete Cater and more talk and play through their approaches.

Inside the busy gear hall, punters got to try out the latest and greatest kits from Tama, Gretsch, DW, Mapex, British Drum Company and Ludwig as well as a raft of accessories from the likes of Evans, Aquarian, Code, Ahead and many more. Cymbals were out in force too, with Zildjian, Paiste, Dream, Istanbul Agop, The three amigos! From left: Geoff Nicholls, Chris Barnes and Tom Bradley

Special Providence’s Adam Marko

9000

The Marshall/Natal house band, Who’s Playing?

| january 2019