Brandon Flowers 930 Club

Have you heard of the fabulous band, The Killers? If so, then you know the lead singer and songwriter, Brandon Flowers. The Killers are my third favorite band. Obviously, Hanson and Bon Jovi are #1 and #2. :) They have a great sound, almost a combination of European bands like the Pet Shop Boys, New Order, and The Cure. But they're from Las Vegas, which you would know if you listen to their albums. I fell in love with their song "Somebody Told Me" from their debut album, Hot Fuss. The lyrics were ridiculous, ("Somebody told me / You had a boyfriend who looked like a girlfriend / that I had in February of last year / It's not confidential / I've got potential") but the melody was addictive...and the VOICE of that lead singer! It sounded so unique and fabulous to me. They got extra points when I read that Jon Bon Jovi was a big fan.

When I went on a trip to California a few years ago, my sister had tickets to the Jay Leno show. Guests are not revealed much ahead of time so we bought tickets without knowing who we were going to see. Well, I got lucky and the musical guest was The Killers! They sang their latest single "Bones" from their sophomore album, Sam's Town. I loved the song and the performance. I was now a big fan.

I've seen them a couple times since Jay Leno, but I watched them perform in huge venues where I sat at an incredibly far distance and could barely see a thing. If you love live music, nothing is more amazing then seeing the performer up close.

Earlier this year, The Killers announced that Brandon was working on a solo album, Flamingo. The constant touring and work made the band want to rest, but Brandon, with all his creative energy, could not take any time off. So the band said they were cool if he wanted to work on a solo project. "Great!" I thought. "Now there's a chance he will tour at smaller venues and I will get to see him up close!!"

Ah, my wish came true. Here are two videos I took last night at the 930 Club in D.C.

I realize this blog entry doesn't have much to do with drums, but I can't shut up about good music and this is one of my outlets... :) I did think the drummer, whose name I can't find anywhere, was absolutely fantastic. I tried capturing him and Brandon in these two videos. None of the songs would be amazing if the drum beat were terrible, but this guy played some really unique, energetic stuff that made the music pop. I really enjoyed watching him. But not as much as Brandon, of course.

Drummer of the Week: Tico Torres

I love Bon Jovi. Love. I had no idea who they were until I heard the song "It's My Life" on the radio in 2000. My older sisters of course knew who Bon Jovi were -- they were huge when they were in middle school. (I was born in 1986, the year "Livin' On A Prayer" hit airwaves). I absolutely fell in love with the song, especially the "woaw woaw" from the guitar, and the drum beat! So intense and LOUD and amazing! The lyrics were perfect -- it became my own little anthem. At 14, with super strict parents, I loved blasting the line "I just wanna live while I'm alive 'cause it's my life"!

I had to buy their latest album, Crush. I loved that album so much that I had to buy their greatest hits, Cross Road. I loved that album so much that I had to go buy every single one of their albums. Ten years later, I'm still a total Bon Jovi nut.

The drummer, Tico Torres, started off learning jazz drumming (perhaps I should consider this even more motivation for learning jazz) with Joe Morello (this guy has a number of drumming books -- he's amazing). Torres had already recorded drums for a number of artists when Jon Bon Jovi approached him to be the drummer of his new band. Almost 30 years later, they are now one of the biggest rock bands in the world.

Here's a video of Tico talking about his Remo drum heads:

Rock and Jazz Drumming

Before I started drumming, I knew what style I wanted to play. Rock. Though dozens of styles of drumming exist (Jazz, Funk, Middle Eastern, Heavy Metal, Punk, etc), I've always favored pop/rock music. I can’t resist music by Bon Jovi, The Killers, and Guns ’N Roses, especially since the drummer for each of those bands adds a solid beat with great fills. Though I’m not a big fan of U2, I still have tons of respect for drummer, Larry Mullen. I probably only like a handful of U2 songs (actually, I love the song "Red Hill Mining Town"), but the drum beats are always amazing to me. Listen to the song “Bullet the Blue Sky.” The drum beat intro is what makes me want to listen to the rest of the song. It just sucks me right in.

Rock drummers add power and much more volume to a song -- the type of pulse that makes you want to dance. Rock music is the most popular and universal so the number of drumming books available are endless. Since January (when I started lessons), I’ve been practicing rock drumming. Now, my drum teacher Jason wants me to learn different styles -- the second style being jazz. I never listen to jazz, but I have no choice if I want a feel for jazz drumming. So I bought jazz drummer Art Blakey's Moanin' album, which I'm listening to right now. The more styles a drummer learns, the more creative they can be once they start forming their own beats. Learning different styles is also excellent for improving technique. Since I’m obsessed with becoming the best drummer I can possibly be, I’m for anything that will help me improve.

So what’s the difference between rock and jazz drumming? Well, first, a quick lesson for those who don’t know anything about music:

Music is divided into measures, which are divided by a straight line called the Bar Line. The standard time signature is 4/4 (also called common time). The top number indicates the number of beats in each measure and the bottom number indicates the type of note that receives one beat. The duration of musical sounds are indicated by different types of notes, such as a whole note (hollow oval), half note (hollow oval with a stem), quarter note (solid oval with a stem), eighth note, (solid oval with a stem and flag), and sixteenth note (solid oval with a stem and two flags). Check out the picture I drew to the right.

If the time signature is in 4/4 time, the whole note gets four beats. One whole note equals two half notes; one half note equals two quarter notes; one quarter note equals two eighth notes; one eighth note equals two sixteenth notes.

So if you count eighth notes in a measure, you count it 1 & 2 & 3 & 4. Sixteenth notes are counted as 1 e & ah 2 e & ah 3 e & ah 4 e & ah.

(Photo: The black notes are played on the hi-hat, the blue notes are played on the bass, and the orange notes are played on the snare. The orange numbering on top just show how you would count this measure. This is a ROCK beat!)

Rock drumming is usually in 4/4 time, but jazz drumming usually consists of triplets (a triplet is a note divided in three subdivisions, meaning a quarter note triplet equals one half note). Written eighth notes are usually played as triplets. It sort of has a swing to it. Rock drumming usually consists of beats 2 and 4 on the snare (see photo above again -- notice the snare is on beat 2 and 4), but jazz drumming usually uses the hi-hat on beats 2 and 4. The variations are complicated, but here’s a short video of what jazz drumming sounds like:

A standard jazz beat looks like this:


The red stem facing down is the notation for pressing the pedal for the hi-hat.

Earlier this year, my sister and I went to see trumpeter Chris Botti's show at Wolf Trap. We didn't go for the jazz show -- my sister wanted to see American Idol runner up, Katharine McPhee, who was the opening act. After Katharine was done singing, Chris Botti came out and played loud music with his huge band. The drummer played ridiculously fast -- the entire band sounded like they were trying to race and see who could play the fastest. The clitter clatter of it all gave us a headache so we left the show after the first song. "I can't believe that," my sister said. "I thought it was going to be a chill, relaxed, soothing thing, but what the f*** was that?" As I'm listening to Moanin' on iTunes, my sister barges in and says "Are you listening to elevator music? I feel like I'm in the lobby of a hotel."

It's an interesting album, but I'm pretty much only paying attention to the drumming, which is quiet...the drums aren't overpowering the song like rock does. It's almost hidden in the background, like a special sound that accents the trumpet dominating the tunes. I hear the swish of the hi-hat a lot, too. The tempo is faster than I'm normally used to hearing, which might freak some drummers out…but as I’ve discussed before, speed is definitely important to be a fantastic drummer.

Though I've only listened to a few songs on this album, I'm tempted to switch to Rihanna's new album, Loud. I need music with loud, pumping drums to get me energized...not quiet, trickling beats with a soft bass and ping-ping ride cymbal. (Besides, have you heard the Part II of "Love the Way You Lie"? That's some amazing beat.)

I still have much to learn about jazz drumming, but I hope I don't practice this genre for very long. I need my drums to be LOUD with a strong presence. I'm pretty sure I'll always stick to rock drumming, but I'll still dabble in other genres...only because I think it will make me a better overall drummer. But for now, I'm gonna go ahead and listen to Rihanna...Blakey's album is starting to become torture.

Drummer of the Week: Nick Jonas

It's not very common for a 24 year old to enjoy the Jonas Brothers...but I do. They remind me of Hanson -- a young, sibling trio, who are singers, songwriters, and instrumentalists. Besides, I'm a huge Disney fan, always have been, and I can't resist cheerful, pop tunes with great harmonies. When I found out Nick Jonas -- the youngest in the trio -- is a drummer, I wasn't surprised. He's the most musically-inclined of the bunch; he writes the majority of the tunes, plays multiple instruments (piano, drums, guitar), and possesses the best vocal range.

I was lucky enough to see their show at the Verizon Center in 2009 when Jordin Sparks was the opening act. During the encore, Jordin Sparks came back out to sing her new song, "Battlefield," with the guys, while Nick played the drums. Check out a fan video below:

An Ode to Hanson

I go to an average of 15 concerts a year. Since January 2010, I've seen the Jonas Brothers, Lady Gaga, Brandon Flowers, Rihanna, Lifehouse, and more. But no artist gets me pumped up like Hanson. Yes, Hanson. People roll their eyes at me anytime I mention them, but I can't help myself. Since 1997, they have been my favorite band. Something about the wholesome image, the bubblegum pop (someone TRY telling me that MMMBop isn't catchy!), and the talent (all three play their own instruments and write their own songs) wooed me into a passionate fandom. The youngest Hanson, Zac, was my first true, crazy, full-blown crush. And Zac Hanson just happens to be a drummer. (Oh, and I still have a crazy crush on him...)

No, he's not the reason I'm attracted to drums. My love of the drums started before I knew he existed, but he sure has been an inspiration to me. In fact, all three of them are inspirations to me. I feel like I grew up with them. I listened to their music evolve from their first album, Middle of Nowhere, with their high-pitched voices and bubbly melodies to their latest album, Shout It Out, which sounds like bluesy 50s and 60s rock and roll. Shout It Out is filled with rich melodies infused with trumpets and horns, great guitar solos, and of course, drum beats that give the tunes momentum.

So when I found out that Hanson would perform at the State Theatre in Falls Church on Sunday, November 14, I had to be there. I haven't missed a single show they have performed in northern Virginia and DC. Each time I see them, I turn into the giddy, silly, heart-pumping fan who stares wide-eyed at the stage. Yesterday was no different.


They came out around 9:30pm and the crowd went nuts. I was standing in about the 6th row. When Hanson performed at the Nissan Pavillion in Brisow, Virginia in 1998 I was sitting in the very back row (the place holds about 20,000 people). Now I get to see them up close, which is always exciting. They started off singing the first track on Shout It Out, an energetic pop tune titled "Waiting For This." The song turned into a medley of a track from their second studio album titled "In the City" and another unreleased song titled "Rock and Roll Razorblade." The crowd was on their feet, but I must say I got most excited during Zac's songs.

Zac sings quite a few leads on Shout It Out. Normally, he plays the guitar or piano during his solos, but for this tour, he's playing drums and singing at the same time. He is one amazingly coordinated drummer. During "And I Waited," a tough song that grabs you from the drum intro, he did not miss a single beat, or lyric! He was absolutely incredible. I didn't have my camera with me (only my phone) but here's a fan video of a recent show:

After 6 electric songs, they changed their set to acoustic. They sang two songs as a group, then Isaac and Taylor left the stage for Zac to do another song. This time he sang "Go," a ballad about a couple going through a divorce. It was just him and the guitar and of course, he sounded very beautiful.

Next up was Taylor on the piano singing a cover of "Love Me" by Elvis. Though the acoustic set was great for giving the crowd some time to stop jumping, I couldn't wait for them to get back to the electric set.

Zac also did a cover of "Oh Darlin'" by the Beatles. Again, he was incredible. Here's another fan video from a recent show:

Next was "MMMBop," the song that made them popular in the first place. I love hearing this song live -- the crowd is always extra energetic. The song always takes me back to 1997. Good times.

But the crowd was most energetic during the song, "If Only." Mr. Taylor Hanson plays the harmonica and piano at the same time. He starts the song off with the harmonica and jumping up and down to get the crowd to do the same thing. Hair was definitely being flipped in my face -- not very pleasant, but I love the song so much that I didn't really care. One more fan video:

Before the last song, Taylor said "We can end either really loud, or really, really quiet," so they ended on a quiet song, titled "A Song to Sing" from their second album, This Time Around. It was a perfect, beautiful ending to a very energetic 2 hour show. I can't freaking wait to see them again.

Oh, and one more thing. Nikki Reed was there. Yes, the girl from Twilight.

Set List:

Waiting For This
Make It Out Alive
Minute Without You
And I Waited
Speechless
Carry You There

--Acoustic--

Penny And Me
These Walls
Go (Zac Solo)
Love Me (Taylor Solo)

--Back To Electric--

This Time Around
Voice In The Chorus
Where's The Love
Madeline
Thinking 'Bout Somethin'
Oh Darlin'
MMMBop
Give A Little
If Only
Lost Without Each Other

--Encore--

Save Me
Dying To Be Alive
A Song To Sing

Drummer of the Week: Sheila E.

Sheila E. is one of the most prominent female drummers. Her father is percussionist Pete Escovedo, who she was performing with in 1978 when Prince discovered her. She joined Prince's band during the Purple Rain recording sessions. (The two dated for a little while).

Sheila E.'s most notable act these days is performing with Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band. I read once that during one of the tours they would each sit at the drum set and try to battle each other. Sheila E. would continue to play flawlessly as Ringo could barely keep up her. The comedic act was a joke on Ringo since he's so often dissed. (See blog on Ringo).

Check out the video below!

Practice Makes Perfect

I'm ashamed to admit that I barely practiced this week. I'm transitioning into a new job on Monday and I'm pretty nervous about it -- new co-workers, new boss, new tasks. Meanwhile, my graduate program is overwhelming me. I feel like I'm running out of essay ideas and there's much to think about before I even earn the next half of my credits, not to mention a project and thesis.

My only escape right now is drumming (during the summer, the gym was another outlet) and I didn't even make enough time for it. When I don't practice, I feel a void. My hands are usually itching to sit down by my practice pad and play some rudiments, but this week my mind was too boggled to really let myself do what I love to do. If I don't have my sticks in my hand, I feel like I'm missing something, kind of like the weird feeling you get when your cell phone isn't with you.

When I sat down to practice yesterday, I felt my speed slow down a bit. A few days of no practice really weakens the chops. Now I feel like the days that I worked so hard to build speed are reverted and I have to work extra hard to get it back. Not a good feeling.

So when I went to my drum lesson today, I had to confess to my teacher that I barely practiced. "That's OK," he said. "Today we will play some stuff that you are new to you."

We sat down facing each other using the same practice pad and played triplets with a specific kind of sticking. I felt exceptionally slow learning it, so of course, the only way to perfect it is to play it at least 800 times. Yes, 800 times.

I better make time to practice.

Anyone who calls themselves a musician needs to practice their instrument to refine their craft. 20 minutes a day is the minimum, but it must be done. My drum teacher says that we usually "practice to our strengths," meaning we don't practice things we NEED to practice, but instead practice things we already mastered. So with a minimum of 20 minutes a day, I better practice what I need to practice. I also need to learn to practice slowly. Sometimes I lose patience with myself and speed ahead, but that will only make my technique sloppy. The last thing I want is sloppy technique, especially since I pay $130 a month for lessons.

Time to take out the metronome and the books and sit down with the practice pad.