Great Dane, 2/25/10

Opened for The Drain. Show started a little after 10pm. We played in basement. Despite exhaustion (from lack of sleep, not from playing...playing didn't feel very strenuous), stayed around to hear Drain's full set and really, really liked them. They are more poppy/new wave/punk than I realized. And not too loud (which is normally the case I gather).

I had drank night before and wasn't in the mood to drink...so I didn't at all even though beer was free. Didn't get good sleep night beforehand. Ate a good dinner around 5pm. Tried to nap and failed. Had a little bit of a headache and upset stomach upon arrival, but Pepto and Advil cured it. There was a rumor that they were to feed us free too...but no one else seemed interested so I let it go. I would have liked a fish taco or fries, though. I drank two iced teas before the set and half a glass of water during. Dosed up on Rescue Relief right before set started. Took a hit of Singer's Saving Grace in middle of set. I was yelling lyrics a bit cause couldn't hear my vocals well, which made throat feel worse than normal. I wore jeans, Keen's, and a t-shirt. It was warm, but I only sweated a bit.

Summing up renumeration...the show was free to public, but I guess we're getting paid (beyond beer/food). Don't know how much yet. There was a third band upstairs that night too.

Used The Drain's PA, which had a vocal monitor for drummer...except the actual drum vocals couldn't be turned up into the monitor without feeding back. So I could hear everyone else's vocals, but not mine. Which was a little weird. I could hear them in the house (far away) but not well. Especially weird during harmonizing, cause I could hear them but not me. But I managed. Feedback situation went over the top when JG did his feedback during Boscobel Breakout. The vocal monitor went nuts. Piercing noise in my head. Actually had reflexive moment of dropping everything and covering my ears...then though "oh shit, I stopped playing" and I recovered.

That said, the sound was actually pretty good. Not too loud in the house and well balanced. I could hear everything well except my vocals and the bass drum, which was a 24 inch drum and unmic'ed.

I used The Drain's kit with my own snare, snare stand, and throne. I'm beginning to think that, though it requires bringing stuff, that this is the safest way to go short of bringing my own whole kit. He had a Gretsch Catalina...like I said with a 24 inch bass and pretty big toms. The setup was ok. He had crappy ZHT cymbals that didn't sound very good. Washy and too loud for my taste. I like a quick decay. And the ride sounded the same as the crashes to me. His high hat was a little low, but I left it like that, which only tripped me up a couple of times, like when I was cross sticking. I didn't like the bass pedal. Might be worth bringing my own pedal too. It was okay, but the response was different from what I'm used to, which was disconcerting. It seemed like it had a half second delay. Since I couldn't hear the bass drum well it was hard to tell if this was really happening, or just my perception. His toms were on a pretty severe angle (mounted on big bass drum, so they had to be), but it wasn't a problem. I remember hitting my first round the kit fill mid-set and thinking "that went ok." His crashes were set high...one on each side...but it wasn't a problem. Ride was a little further right than I like, but I made it work ok.


Rough setup...not sure on sizes other than bass.

All that said, I played pretty well. Rolls and fills were decent. Bass was pretty good given the limitations of the pedal and not being able to hear. Coordination and consistency were ok. tempos were kind of all over the place. Not sure if this was my fault or someone else's. Started Fucked Up and Wasted too fast and tried to slow it down mid-song, but never quite got confortable. Suspect Device was a little fast too...but that could have been RS's fault since he starts the song. The Way I Love You went better than it has for some time. I think RS purposely started it a little slower to prevent disaster.

There was some cases of realizing that I was missing a component I needed...had to make choices/corrections on the fly...but these went pretty well for most part.

We haven't played some of these songs much lately, which made me forget how they go a bit. This particularly for Fable.

Our next show isn't until April 24th, which is a nice break after three months of show's every two weeks. A slate of new songs will be worked up starting next week. Couple that I'm to sing. Hate that, but gotta spread the vocal strain around. Was thinking last night that, even though I still make mistakes, the current set is pretty well learned...nearly played out. Almost too easy. I can play it without thinking at all. Usually thinking about it too much is when I mess up. It's a good place to be...but right on the edge of boredom/lameness.

Update: We brought down $25 a person for the show...which I think came straight from Great Dane.

Set list:

1. DON'T GIVE ME NO LIP CHILD
2. WE ARE THE ONE
3. TEENAGE KICKS
4. YOU STUPID FUCKING LIBERALS
5. THE WAY I LOVE YOU
6. THIS SIDE OF PARADISE
7. HELICOPTER
8. DANCE (4X) TO THE RADIO
9. BOSCOBEL BREAKOUT
10. FABLE
11. WARSAW
12. New Rose
13. MANIAC
14. SUSPECT DEVICE
15. FUCKED UP AND WASTED

Anger Rising, Jerry Cantrell

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGuJ3tvKgo8
(no embedding allowed)

Here's a cover:

Hate and War, The Clash

Nice view of the drummer:


Another version:

Drummers As Musicians

I've started this column at Dane101 where I interview drummers. This morning I thought of a new question to ask future victims:

There’s an old joke along the lines of, “your average rock band has four people in it: three musicians and a drummer.” There’s also the theme in the movie Spinal Tap that drummers are disposable and easily replaced. How do you think non-drummers view the role of the drummer in bands? Do you think others consider drummers to be musicians? Are drummers considered important? Are they considered disposable/replaceable? What do you think about all of that?

I don't know that the question is phrased very eloquently, but it gets the point across. Are drummers musicians? Are drummers artists? Are they unique?

The answer, of course (I think anyway), is a variation on "it depends." And as far as I'm concerned, the same is true of anyone who plays any instrument. But I think drummers get a bad wrap more often than other kinds of instrumentalists/singers.

To the uninitiated eye, playing drums is about hitting things and being loud. And maybe also about being fast in some cases. None of these things sound like art or even music on their face.

In the drum magazines there's alot of talk about "playing musically." This is kind of a nebulous concept to grasp. What does it really mean? The best I can grasp it, it means playing in context with what is going on in the song. That means listening to the other players and making your part compliment, not detract from, their parts. And keeping to contribute to something overall that is pleasing. Does that make it art? Who the hell knows? Not everyone thinks the same thing is pleasing...so whether it is art might depend on who you ask. But if pressed, even if you don't "like" something, you probably are able to concede that it might be pleasing to someone else. Conversely, if something is displeasing to most people, that's probably pretty easy to identify too. Lines blur sometimes...death metal...or maybe rap...comes to mind. You've got to have a mindset to accept some things as art if they really conflict with your own sensibilities.

This all gets back to my reoccurring question...how do you know what's good? And the corollary...how do I know when I'M good...and not just kidding myself...or being overly self-critical.

But that's a larger question...here I'm thinking more specifically...if we all agree that the music is good...does it matter who the drummer is? Could you replace the drummer with a machine? Could any drummer of the same level of playing ability replace another? Is drumming art or science? Expression or pure physical/mental skill? Magic or muscle memory?

I don't know that I know the answer.

I think it is easy to say that SOME drummers are not musicians. They aren't really paying attention to what's going on around them. They aren't contributing to something that is pleasing. Even if they aren't technically hitting "wrong" notes. These are "guys" (ok, people, but it seems more likely to be guys...so sue me) who play too loud or try to get in too many licks. Or maybe the opposite...maybe they are boring...leave too much open space. I think it's harder to identify the latter of these. Sometimes leaving space is good...and sometimes it's boring and not musical. That's a tougher call to make.

And maybe...being able to make that call...that's what turns a drummer into a musician. Knowing when the time is right to shine and when the time is right to lay back. That's music. That's art.

And there's stuff like nuance too. Phrasing. Accents. Balance. Consistency. That all contributes to it being art.

So what about me? I'm young in my learning. I don't yet have all the skills that I need to make it art. I'm still putting the motions into muscle memory. It isn't unconscious for me yet. I'm thinking alot and working hard. But...I would like there to be a point in time that I get to where I'm not thinking so hard...and I'm adding phrasing and accents. Things are balanced and consistent. And I can listen more to what's going on around me and react accordingly.

I think I'm on my way. I'm just not a master yet. But I do listen to the other musicians as much as I can. I don't try to show off...partly because I don't have the physical skills to show off...but even when I've developed more so that I COULD show off if I wanted to...I don't think that's in my nature. I don't like to draw attention to myself. I want to prove myself...but I don't want to draw attention to myself. I'll always be more about groove than flash.

Not that my personality automatically translates into being more of an artist than a show off is. But I do think it means that I'm not as likely to get distracted away from the art.

And that said, I don't think that I'm a particularly creative person...not particularly artistic. I'll be happy to get things technically correct and to not overplay it. There are surely people out there who have that creative tilt though.

So, in conclusion...drummers CAN be artists...but not all are. But that's the case with all people who play music. There are less artists than there are people who play music. I guess, as long as you're having fun, I don't know that it matters, though.

Theory: Some Charts

Some cheat sheets(Click to make images bigger).

Major Chords:

Minor Chords:

Circle of 5ths and Chart of Keys:

Theory: Chords of the Major/Minor Scales

Major Chord Progressions
If we take the major scale: C - D - E - F - G - A - B - C

And we build a triad off of each note of the scale using only notes found within the scale, we get this:

I C-E-G (1-3-5 Cmaj)
ii D-F-A (1-b3-5 Dmin)
iii E-G-B (1-b3-5 Emin)
IV F-A-C (1-3-5 Fmaj)
V G-B-D (1-3-5 Gmaj)
vi A-C-E (1-b3-5 Amin)
vii B-D-F (1-b3-b5 Bdim)
VIII C-E-G (1-3-5 Cmaj)

The major scale follows this whole-step/half-step pattern:
w - w - h - w - w - w - h

The chord scale follows the same pattern:
I ii iii IV V vi vii VIII
w w h w w w h

Now, all you have to do is remember which type of chord each number represents.

I ii iii IV V vi vii VIII
w w h w w w h
maj min min maj maj min dim maj

Minor chord progressions
Minor chord progressions are charted out much like major progressions, but the order of major and minor chords change.

i ii0 III iv v VI VII i
w h w w h w w

Types of chords
Minor chord: 1, 3b, 5 notes in the scale.

Major 7 chord: 1, 3, 5, 7 notes in the scale.

Minor 7 chord: 1, 3b, 5, 7b notes in the scale.

Dominant 7 chord: 1, 3, 5, 7b notes in the scale.

Diminished chord: 1, 3b, 5b, 6 notes in the scale.

Augmented chord: 1, 3, 5# notes in the scale.

6 th chord: 1, 3, 5, 6 notes in the scale.

Suspended chord: 1, 4, 5 notes in the scale.

Golden Progression
FYI, a very common chord progression is I-IV-V-I

Theory: Major and Minor Scales

Found a page with a nice concise bit on major and minor scales.

And I quote:

Major Scale in Every Key
C = C - D - E - F - G - A - B - C
D = D - E - F# - G - A - B - C# - D
E = E - F# - G# - A - B - C# - D# - E
F = F - G - A - Bb - C - D - E - F
G = G - A - B - C - D - E - F# - G
A = A - B - C# - D - E - F# - G# - A
B = B - C# - D# - E - F# - G# - A# - B
C# = C# - D# - E# (=F) - F# - G# - A# - B# (=C) - C#
Db = Db - Eb - F - Gb - Ab - Bb - C - Db
Eb = Eb - F - G - Ab - Bb - C - D -Eb
F# = F# - G# - A# - B - C# - D# - E# (=F) - F#
Gb = Gb - Ab - Bb - Cb (=B) - Db - Eb - F - Gb
Ab = Ab - Bb - C - Db - Eb - F - G - Ab
Bb = Bb - C - D - Eb - F - G - A - Bb

To simplify, you can memorize this formula to form a major scale = whole step - whole step - half step - whole step - whole step - whole step - half step or w - w - h - w - w - w - h.

Natural Minor Scale
When you play all the notes in a minor key signature, you are playing the minor scale. To guide you, here are the minor scales in every key:
C = C - D - Eb - F - G - Ab - Bb - C
D = D - E - F - G - A - Bb - C - D
E = E - F# - G - A - B - C - D - E
F = F - G - Ab - Bb - C - Db - Eb - F
G = G - A - Bb - C - D - Eb - F - G
A = A - B - C - D - E - F - G - A
B = B - C# - D - E - F# - G - A - B
C# = C# - D# - E - F# - G# - A - B - C#
Eb = Eb - F - Gb - Ab - Bb - Cb - Db - Eb
F# = F# - G# - A - B - C# - D - E - F#
G# = G# - A# - B - C# - D# - E - F# - G#
Bb = Bb - C - Db - Eb - F - Gb - Ab - Bb

To simplify, you can memorize this formula to form a minor scale = whole step - half step - whole step - whole step - half step - whole step - whole step or w - h - w - w - h - w - w.

Harmonic Minor Scale
To play a harmonic minor scale, you simply raise the seventh note of the scale by a half-step as you go up and down the scale. For example:
Natural C Minor Scale = C - D - Eb - F - G - Ab - Bb - C
Harmonic C Minor Scale = C - D - Eb - F - G - Ab - B - C

Melodic Minor Scale
When you raise the sixth and seventh notes of a scale by a half step as you go up the scale and then return to the natural minor as you go down the scale. For example:
Melodic C Minor Scale = C - D - Eb - F - G - A - B - C (as you go up the scale)
Natural C Minor Scale = C - Bb - Ab - G - F - Eb - D - C (as you go down the scale)