ChrisAdler

FEBRUARY
2012|199
DAVE McCLAIN ON…
Maturity, Peart & going
prog with Machine Head
Chris Adler
2012 PREVIEW
THIS YEAR’S ESSENTIAL
NEW GEAR AND DRUM
TALENT REVEALED
PLUS
John Steel
THE ANIMALS
Veronica Bellino
JEFF BECK
Manu Delago
BJÖRK
Pushing his limits & raising the
bar on the metal album of the year
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A WORLDMAX
SNARE DRUM
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ALSO
INSIDE
Mike Byrne
SMASHING
PUMPKINS
Clive Deamer
GET THE BLESSING
Sean Moore
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EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT
Welcome to 2012! I hope your Christmas
break was relaxing, rewarding and those of
you that played New Year’s Eve gigs got paid
handsomely! If this issue of Rhythm is the
first of your new gift subscription, welcome.
We start 2012 looking forward to what is
already shaping up to be a fantastic year of
drums, drummers and music. Lamb Of God’s
Chris Adler heads up this special preview
Working hard
on this month’s
issue. In a particularly frank and inspiring
Rhythm cover
interview, Chris talks about pushing his
playing to the limits and the potentially band-killing quality control he exercised on
the phenomenal new album, Resolution. Give it a spin and you’ll be hard pushed to
find drumming to top it this year. We also take a look at 10 drummers we guarantee
you’ll be seeing more of this year. Check in with us in a year’s time to see if we got it
right! Finally, we’ve done some digging to unearth all this year’s biggest gear stories.
Elsewhere, as Machine Head finished up a UK tour that saw his band headline
Wembley Arena, Dave McClain filled us in on his path to drumming maturity and
why he’s becoming desensitised to double bass playing. Also, we sit down with
Björk’s drummer of choice Manu Delago, and
The Animals’ John Steel tells his story. Add to
that the best gear reviews and advice and
world-beating tuition, and I can’t think of
a better way to kick-start the new year.
Editor Chris Barnes
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Art Editor Dave Tupper
[email protected]
Production Editor Chris Burke
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Staff Writer Rich Chamberlain
[email protected]
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Adam Jones, Robin Jones, Geoff Nicholls, Charlie Price,
Justin Scott, Erik Stams, Andy Staples, Mike Sturgis,
Chris Welch, David West, Colin Woolway, Henry Yates
CD Editor & Mastering Pete Riley
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Feature/Interview Photography
Shawn Stanley, Simon Lees, Gavin Roberts,
James Cumpsty, Getty images, Corbis
Music Engraver Chris Francis
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PLAYLIST
Cover image: Shawn Stanley
PUMPING ON
OUR STEREO...
DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE
Chris Barnes, Editor
THIS MONTH’S EXPERTS
DAVID WEST
A drummer for nearly
30 years, David is
one of Rhythm’s top
writers. This month
David interviewed cover star
Chris Adler, who told us all about
Lamb Of God’s new album, why
drumming shouldn’t be a boxing
match and why he’s a reluctant
soloist. Find David’s interview
with Chris on page 42!
WWW.RHYTHMMAGAZINE.CO.UK
ROBINJONES
Conguero Robin
has performed with
greats such as Louie
Bellson, and appeared
on hits by Elton John, Tom
Jones, Matt Bianco and Sade.
This month Robin begins a new
guest series on conga playing. In
the first instalment on page 98
Robin introduces the conga, its
tones and technique.
CODES AND KEYS
Back on form and back on the
Rhythm stereo. Washington’s cult
alt-rockers excel once again with
innately musical pop drumming
from Jason McGerr.
SHOUT OUT LOUDS
HENRYYATES
An experienced
writer who’s been
published in countless
magazines including
Total Guitar, Classic Rock,
Metal Hammer and Guitarist.
This month Machine Head’s
powerhouse Dave McClain told
Henry about the band’s rebirth
and the resurrection of his
technique. That’s on page 60.
WORK
We’ve been re-visiting the Swedish
indie-rockers’ 2010 album this month
too. Standout track ‘Walls’ is a pianoladen beauty featuring solid playing
from Eric Edman.
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is amemberoftheAudit
BureauofCirculations
January-December2010 8,097
BJORK
BIOPHILIA
This latest album from the Icelandic
songstress piqued our interest
after we met and interviewed her
percussive collaborator and Hang
drum expert Manu Delago (p54).
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FEBRUARY 2012 |
5
42
COVER
FEATURE
Lamb Of God’s
Chris Adler
Features
42 CHRIS ADLER
Lamb Of God’s sticksman on the
band’s new album, getting through
their gruelling live sets and why
he is a reluctant soloist
54 MANU DELAGO
Expert Hang player and the man
providing the beats for Björk
60
DAVE MCCLAIN
The metal drum god on Machine Head’s
rebirth and his fearsome technique
68 HOT DRUMMERS FOR 2012
We round up 10 sticksmen to watch
out for in the coming year
70
VINTAGE RESTORATION
The third in our series showing you
the best methods for bringing old
drums back to life
WIN!
A 14"x5½"
Worldmax snare
p40
76 THE RHYTHM INTERVIEW
The Animals’ John Steel recalls his
band’s huge success in the ’60s on
both sides of the Atlantic
60
INTERVIEW
Machine Head’s
Dave McClain
70
FEATURE
Vintage gear
restoration
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Issue 199
February 2012
Want to subscribe to Rhythm?
Become a Rhythm subscriber and get a
set of Evans heads worth over £30, plus
save 20%. Head to page 82 for details.
www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk
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76
JOHN STEEL
The Animals’
drummer recalls his
career behind the kit
Regulars
08 BEAT
All the latest news and hot gear,
plus tips, classic sounds and more
30 DRUM ODDITIES
Weird and wonderful drum gear. This
month: Rogers DualMatic drop clutch
32
INTRODUCING
New bands and drummers you need
to have on your radar this month
34 REVIEWS
New stuff from Phil Seamen, Lloyd
Ryan, Radiohead, Zoro, Neil Cowley
Trio, Claus Hessler and more
36 DRUM DIARIES
Kenny Aronoff, Jason Bittner and Karl
Brazil open the doors to their worlds
126 ASK GEOFF
Your kit conundrums solved by our
resident gear guru
130 THE TRACK
The Ramones’ Richie Reinhardt on
the songs that mean the most to him
Gear Reviews
■ PEARL MASTERS PREMIUM LEGEND KIT
■ DRUMPORT
■ MEINL HCS CYMBAL PACK
■ LUDWIG SNARE DRUMS
■ PP 142 CAJON
■ DIXON BLACK WIDOW KIT
110
114
116
118
120
122
110
PEARL
Masters Premium
Legend kit
87
Drum Lessons
LEARN TO PLAY
■ Sting ‘Englishman In New York’
■ Deep Purple ‘Smoke On The Water’
PLUS LEARN LINEAR GROOVES, CROSSOVER FILLS, BASS
DRUM TECHNIQUE, HOW TO PLAY THE CONGA AND MORE
WWW.RHYTHMMAGAZINE.CO.UK
FEBRUARY 2012 |
7
HIGHLIGHTS
PEOPLE | MUSIC | GEAR
SOUND LIKE…
10 YOUTUBE STAR 18
Grammy-award winning
Meet the internet sensation
who’s backing Jeff Beck
drummer Ronald Bruner Jr
“To me there’s a common thread:
creating and performing rhythms
and drum parts that really
speak – they must have drama.
Drumming is all about drama”
CLIVE DEAMER
8
| FEBRUARY 2012
WWW.RHYTHMMAGAZINE.CO.UK
Get The Blessing wth
Clive Deamer far right
(er, possibly)
22
NEW FOR 2012
The year’s best new gear in
our seven-page Kit special
DEAMERGETS
PHIL’SBLESSING
Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images
Cliverevealsnewalbumanddouble-drummingwithRadiohead
■ It’s proving to be a
busy time for Portishead
drummer Clive Deamer.
In between regularly
joining Phil Selway on
stage with Radiohead for
some double-drumming,
he’s somehow found
time to hit the studio
with jazz-rock quartet
Get The Blessing.
“It’s a miracle we get to record at all,” reveals
Clive, whose third album with Get The
Blessing, OC DC, is just about to land. “Jake
[McMurchie, sax] was out of action with a
thumb injury for months, and my sessions
and other projects keep everyone guessing.
We've always had to record on an ad
hoc-basis and this was done in a similar way.
Various tunes and themes were tested on
unsuspecting audiences, this helped to build
arrangements and find an approach to each
performance.”
One of the many projects that keeps Phil so
busy is his gig double-drumming with Phil
Selway on some of Radiohead’s live dates.
WWW.RHYTHMMAGAZINE.CO.UK
“Phil Selway contacted me out of the blue
through Portishead’s management,” explains
Clive. “Until I started working alongside Phil,
my only experience with another drummer
was [Portishead’s] Geoff Barrow. The
challenge seems to have begun successfully,
there’s a Radiohead Live From The Basement
DVD out now and a 2012 tour.”
Of his gear choices for the recording of
OC DC, Clive tells us: “I used a mixture of
Ludwig maple drums, my Gretsch kit as usual
and a Premier maple snare with
a satisfyingly woody sound, different to
previous GTB work. I think my playing was
more restrained this time.”
Get The Blessing requires a very different
rhythmic approach to Clive’s previous work
with Robert Plant [on his 2002 Dreamland
album] and Portishead, as Clive explains:
“Get The Blessing is very dynamic
improvised music, Robert Plant always liked
powerful yet ‘Springy’ jazzesque drumming.
So in one sense they’re similar. Recording with
Portishead was like a weird surgical
operation, extraordinary attention to detail
and playing to the timbre and sonics of drum
sounds. To me there’s a common thread:
creating and performing rhythms and drum
parts that really speak – they must have
drama. Drumming is all about drama.”
OC DC
Get The Blessing’s
third album mixes
trad-sounding jazz
horn and piano
arrangements and
deep bass grooves,
with Clive’s rich,
funky and musical
beats anchoring
them. At times it
evokes Dave
Brubeck, at
others the more
contemporary jazz
of Polar Bear, with
a little funk-rock
and acid jazz
thrown in. “My
favourite track
is ‘Americano
Meccano’,” reveals
Clive. “It's a tune
that [trumpeter]
Pete Judge
originated. It also
happens to feature
Robert Wyatt."
FEBRUARY 2012 |
9
BeaT! PEOPLE | MuSIC | GEAR
Veronica Bellino on
jamming with Jeff: “Of
course I was nervous,
but it was as cool as hell”
YouTubestarhitsbig
Veronica Bellino lands Jeff Beck gig after being spotted on the internet
■ Drummers all over the
world upload clips of
themselves showing off
their skills to YouTube
every single day. Some
pick up a smattering of
hits, a select few are
heaped with praise, the
majority are shot down
by commenters eager to
pick apart even the most
impressive playing.
Then there’s Veronica Bellino, whose
YouTube drumming clip attracted the
attention of Jeff Beck, encouraging the guitar
legend to sign up Veronica to his band.
10
| february 2012
On her unusually high-tech recruitment,
Veronica says: “I still can’t believe it! I feel
like it is such a one-in-a-million chance for it
to happen this way, but it did, and it is
amazing. The funny thing was, shortly before
Jeff contacted me, I was thinking about
taking that video down. Good thing I didn’t!”
With Beck suitably impressed by Veronica’s
chops things began to gather pace. She
explains: “I received an email from Jeff’s
management. After some correspondence, I
had a call with Jeff that day and he told me he
really liked how I played and wanted to get
some new material in the works. There was
no actual audition, but he did ask me to play
to a few of his tunes and send him the video. I
played ‘Nadia’, ‘Big Block’ and ‘Blast From The
East’. He told me he was impressed with the
videos. After that, we were both in LA in
January 2011, so he set up some time for me
to come meet him for a jam, and Rhonda
Veronica’s
highlights
“I enjoyed playing
‘I Put A Spell On
You’ at the Classic
Rock Awards. I
would have to say
that is one of my
favourites because
I just love the
groove, and Joss
Stone kills it. She is
phenomenal. I like
‘Big Block’ as well
because it’s fun to
flip that 6/8 feel
and put my own
spin on the song.”
[Smith, bass]. So I went and did it. Of course I
was nervous but it was cool as hell!”
Now attention has turned to the studio
where Veronica, whose previous gigs include
working with hip-hop rockers 13 and guitarist
Ron Balducci, is having a ball: “It has been
going great so far and wonderful working
with Rhonda as well,” she beams. “We have
an amazing team and everyone is open.”
While things are going swimmingly so far,
Veronica is fully aware that she has landed a
tough gig that has previously been filled by
some of the world’s top players. A certain Mr
Colaiuta in particular sticks in her mind.
Veronica admits: “It’s tough following all
those amazing players, but I am honoured. I
have to give it to Vinnie, the guy is a monster.
He comes out with the sickest fills ever. I don’t
know if I blink when I watch him play!”
You can check out Veronica’s playing on
YouTube at http://bit.ly/Etxkd.
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