Ben Tufts joins DRUMline as East Coast Editor
 Ben Tufts at the kit
Topping off an extreme NAMM week of epic proportions including super galactic transformations of tantric energy wrapped in a burrito of love with awesome sauce...we are proud to announce the incredible discovery and addition of the talents and exploits of Ben Tufts...a superfluously talented and tech savvy drummer, writer and educator, to our stable of editors of which he is probably the most stable.Ben will be covering all sorts of fantabulously eminent drum happenings with a focus to the East in his denial of Horace Greeley suggestions. Welcome Aboard!!!!
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Concert Sound Pioneer Bob Heil to receive Honorary Doctorate - University of MO
Bob Heil developing concert sound in its infancy
(Fairview Heights, IL) The University of Missouri-St. Louis will grant an honorary Doctor of Music and Technology to Bob Heil during its December 20th commencement ceremony. Heil will be recognized by the university for his contributions to the world of broadcast, live and studio sound, and innovations to the Amateur Radio industry. In addition to receiving the honor, Bob will speak at the commencement.  “Bob Heil’s lifelong accomplishment and ongoing innovation speaks for itself,” said Marcel Bechtoldt, the manager of information technology at UMSL who nominated Heil for the honorary doctoral degree. “He continues to add to his many years of research in sound reinforcement and shares his wealth of knowledge in workshops, conference presentations, authored books, podcasts and at educational institutions worldwide. His passion for playing the theater organ and his interests in electronic technology gained in amateur radio at an early age were great foundations, allowing his creative juices to flow through the decades.”
“I am humbled and thrilled to receive this honor,” said Heil. “Throughout my life I have held the belief that human stories, whether told through conversation or song, help tell who we are as people. I’ve been blessed to be part of how those stories get conveyed to the world.”
Reprinted from heilsound.com
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NAMM 2015 is January 22-25, 2015 in Anahaeim. CA - We will be at the show Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Let us know if you're attending or desire to see something covered at the show via our CONTACT page (link above) Check out DW video below - we can't wait to show you what's new this year.
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Joe Cocker passes away at 70 leaving behind a legacy of great performances
 Kenny Aronoff and Joe Cocker - 2001
Joe Cocker is dead, leaving a gaping hole in the fabric of English / American...International Music. He wove a career of various styles and music into his own career which he wore like his tie-dyed shirt from Woodstock...many colors one theme of true performance. That image was seared into my brain for much of my youth - I used to think, when I was a bit naive... 'What's wrong with that guy, but boy he sure can sing'. He would gyrate and flail about like a man possessed and was he ever. Not until I saw him live in 2001, did I finally realize he was a singer - not a man who sang songs but a singer, a shaman an original artist. Thanks to Kenny Aronoff, pictured with Joe, I was in the front row at his St. Louis concert in September 2001 just days after 9/11. People were still a bit shaken up and trying to resume a normal life. Just as baseball helped people to feel a bit better, Cocker had a similar effect on me. You see, Cocker didn't write his own songs and sang pretty much whatever songs spoke to him. Those songs would take over his entire body and he would spew them out with so much passion and spit, spit that I had to dodge when it flew past the microphone. Blues, funk, soul, ballads, rock - Cocker excelled at all of it. Kenny told me it was a particularly difficult gig to play because there were so many styles and the songs were written by so many different people...making it hard to shift gears from one song to another and make the show groove. Well with Aronoff you can never tell - he makes it look so easy but it is interesting to see the challenge from his perspective. I feel fortunate to have seen Cocker live because he was so much alive, especially at a time when we were all hurting inside. It helps to be reminded what life is about and how passion can help us enjoy life and give us hope. Ironically, an Englighman made me prouder to be an American. If you never saw Cocker live you really missed out and you're not likely to see anybody as passionate ever again - a true original.
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Congratulations to Gunner and Holly Kim Kal on their nuptials.
Of course they wed somewhere tropical (note the Tiki statue and the pirate tux)
You'll be seeing a lot more of their pictures in DRUMline soon.
Also, check out gunnerkalrocktography.com or click their pic.
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New Ace Frehley single with Matt Starr on drums!
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Our friend Elie Bertrand has a killer new project, 'Sticks and Strings' with Guitarist Nikolai Oleknovitch...Check it out!
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SOUNDTRACK OF SUMMER TOUR 2014 - Running thru July 27th
Chris Frazier - Foreigner
Check out the amazing Soundtrack of Summer Tour featuring Don Felder of The Eagles, FOREIGNER and STYX. No matter your age you'll know every song. Just in case you don't know every song because you grew up without a radio or electricity, make your parents take you so they can show you how good music was, is and can be again. Also check out our interview with Chris Frazier, Foreigner drummer, in the Interview section. (Click Pic for Interview)
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VIC'S DRUM SHOP - Chicago, IL
Victor Salazar in his office
Several of my friends said. 'You gotta check out this place Vic's Drum Shop' when they were on tour and passed through Chicago. It the largest and arguably the best drum shop in the states if not the world. There's a separate room for practically everything so you can test snares in the snare room and cymbals in the cymbal room without background noise from other areas. You don't need a golden ticket to get in...you just gotta make it to Chicago...(Click Vic's Pic to the left and visit their site).
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 Chuck Silverman
Chuck Silverman's Influence on Music by Glen Sobel
At the age of 62, Chuck Silverman was way too young to leave us. He's inspired so many to not only learn off of his expertise in Latin/Afro Cuban/ Brazilian rhythms, but to open their mind and approach concepts on the drums in a different way. His goal was to turn drum students on to Latin rhythms through any means necessary. If it meant using popular rock or metal tunes that had a Latin influence, then he would use that. He was completely in favor of mixing Latin sticking patterns into modern fusion, jazz and rock drum patterns. In a way, he was for learning the rules...and then breaking them.
What separated Chuck from so many other teachers was his infectious enthusiasm for music, culture, drumming and continuing to learn new things everyday. Every year he would take students and drum enthusiasts on an educational trip to Cuba where they would mix with the locals in Havana and even get to play with the local musicians. I regret that I never took one of these trips. He was ahead of his time in so many ways. Chuck was the first drummer in the states that I saw play "left foot clave". In the ensuing years many other drummers started practicing this. This was especially peculiar to some back in the day considering Chuck was of Canadian origin and considered a "gringo". Another thing that Chuck did before anybody else was to expose American audiences to the amazing drummers of Cuba. Back in the ‘90s before YouTube and before most people were online, Chuck took a simple Camcorder to Havana and filmed 4 of the top drummers in Cuba playing their folkloric music, which had a clear American influence. These drummers had not been exposed to a world audience due to the isolation of Cuba, but they had access to American jazz and rock through Miami radio stations that could be picked up in Cuba as well as other means of acquiring music. It was interesting to see drummers playing their regional rhythms mixed with a Dave Weckl or Steve Gadd influence. Chuck felt it his mission to deliver the Cuban drummers message and music to the world with the VHS release of "Drumset Artists of Cuba". He did the same in the following years with many other video projects such as "Drumset Artists of Brazil" as well as his own groundbreaking, award winning instructional videos and books. I for one will continue to teach and talk about Chuck's unique perspective on drumming and keep his teachings alive. He's been an influence to so many and continues to be. You can still check out all of his books including "Practical Applications of Afro Cuban and Brazilian Rhythms For Drumset" as well as his instructional DVDs and YouTube teachings. His warmth and spirit come through in all of these and it just makes you wanna learn. RIP Chuck "Palito" Silverman. Gone too soon.
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Welcome Aboard Gunner Kal
Gunner Kal
We are psyched to announce Gunner Kal as our photography Editor. He's a drummer yet spends most of his time out front shooting just about anybody you can imagine. Currently he is cruising the Caribbean on the 'Monsters of Rock Cruise' - tough gig I know!
Check out his excellent work at gunnerkalrocktography.com by clicking his picture.
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Randy Black's Pearl Kit at Musikmesse
 Randy Black with his Pearl kit at Musikmesse
Randy Black's Pearl kit was featured at Musikmesse in Frankfurt, Germany March 12-15, 2014. Check out Randy's DVD 'The Black Book' - he's a monster player but a sweetheart until you lace up the hockey skates - Congratulations Randy from me and Evil Ed!
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Me and Mike Johnston
Mike Johnston is an amazing teacher mostly because he breaks down seemingly complicated subjects so they are easy to understand. We'll have much more on him in DRUMline and you can check him out anytime at mikeslessons.com (Click our picture to visit Mike's site!
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Congratultions to Robbie Cope and Michael Miller for being nominated DRUM TECH of the YEAR by the TOUR LINK CONFERENCE
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BONZO KIT - Bonzo NAMM JAMM 2013
Click the BONZO Kit picture for more DRUM TALK TV Interviews about the East Coast Invasion of BONZO BASH
Check out Dan Shinder's interview with Brian Tichy for some great stories behind the BONZO BASH
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Ted Nugent DVD out! - If you missed Shreddy Teddy aka Sweaty Teddy in Concert this Summer - Get the DVD! ULTRALIVE BALLISTICROCK
Click DVD to BUY!!!
Ted Nugent and Co. were awesome this summer and I got to shoot pics from the front row. Dreams do come true. If you missed it you got another chance to put a Stanglehold (couldn't resist) on the excitement and see the show. It's nearly as good as being there.
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John Bonham 33 Years - Gone... longer that he was here...here long after he's gone...His legacy lives on! Click photo to read our BONZO BASH Story
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Congratulations to Evil Ed Nijjer and Nathalie Boudreau on their upcoming wedding this weekend in Las Vegas! Ed is our Editor in Canada and Nathalie assists him with camera work. They are both accomplished musicians and play in the band ARENA. I love em both - especially because they're amazing people - how amazing? ...well Nathalie is letting Ed interview people for DRUMline on their Honeymoon - she knew about that - didn't she Ed?
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| Evil Ed Nijjer and Nathalie Boudreau |
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| Frank Wolf, Tim Pierce, CJ Vanston, Al Pacino, Kenny Aronoff, Don Was, Ryan Adams |
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Kenny Aronoff has been busy as usual playing on: new Rod Stewart album and first single 'Beautiful
Morning'...new John Fogerty record and tour this fall...Recording: in his studio Uncommon Studios LA www.uncommonstudiosla.com, Recorded 2 songs for an Al
Pacino movie where Al will be a pop star and actually sings on the soundtrack...'Ryan Adams sang and played guitar on one of the songs.. brilliant
musician. Al Pacino is one of the happiest, nicest people I have ever been
around', says Kenny. Yamaha DTX drum clinic tour in August through Northwest, Southwest and Midwest. A Kenny Aronoff book is being written by Jake Brown through 2013...'I tell all my crazy stories' Kenny. Catch Kenny on the Yamaha DTX Clinic Tour:
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Cympad available on DRUMlineSHOP.net. Click picture above to buy now!
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Joe Travers has left Zappa Plays Zappa but remains in his role as Vaultmeister curating Frank Zappa's legacy. Ryan Brown, LA Studio and Touring Drummer, is the new drummer for Zappa Plays Zappa. Check out our ZPZ coverage in Blog 3 and more about Ryan Brown in the Archive section.
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Congratulations RUSH - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2013! Great Speeches, especially Alex, so good it's easy to remember!
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DRUM TALK TV - We are excited to Join Forces with Dan Shinder of DRUM TALK TV to share info and cross promote our site. Dan is leading the way - coordinating media outlets for drumming communication in a dynamic and rapidly changing environment and we are grateful for his support. Check out on his site drumtalktv.com. I put the raw footage of my NAMM interview with Dan in the DRUMlive section.
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I finally cornered Stanton Moore in his Crescent Cymbal company's booth at the NAMM show. Stanton is spreading his infectious grooves throughout the world and Galactic's touring brings Mardi Gras to your neighborhood. Harry Connick, Wynton Marsalis, Dr. John..all the great New Orleans musicians have had their influence but Galactic is planting permanent seeds of their New Orleans Style wherever they play. Instruments are made to reflect Stanton's playing like LP's Pandeiro and Stanton's own Crescent Cymbals. If you want a challenge...try some of Stanton's grooves below or just sit back and dig 'em. See my interview with Stanton in the DRUMlive section.
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S.U.N. - Something Unto Nothing Having been a fan of Sass Jordan some 20 years ago it's great to hear her with the energy generated by Brian Tichy, Michael Devin and Tommy Stewart in S.U.N. Most of S.U.N have played in the BONZO tribute: The Groove Remains the Same and their song 'Nomad' illustrates that understanding the past pays big dividends in the present. Hopefully music's future is not the watered down pop B.S. being forced on us by the media...hopefully it is a spiritual and heartfelt effort which puts some soul back in the groove. If their name is any indication S.U.N. have plenty of 'Something'..I just hope its enough to overcome the 'Nothing'. Shine on S.U.N....Shine on!
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Ari Gold battles Neil Peart for Drum Supremacy!
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Cole Smith, the coolest Smith since Aero, was awarded two pdp snare drums as part of our DRUMline launch celebration. Cole was the coolest drummer I met at NAMM. DRUMline is committed to getting music back in the schools. Cole helped me by giving one of his drums away to the Rock School Scholarship Fund. They held an awesome fundraiser featuring James Durbin and Orianthi.
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| Cole Smith gives a snare drum to Charity |
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Thomas Langs speaks on the value of music education.
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ZORO's book The Big Gig: Big Picture Thinking for Success available now at thebiggigbook.com
Some books make for good reading. Occasionaly, philisophical perspectives based on experience and accomplishment should be consumed and internalized. Like a good meal, ZORO's perspective is satisfying but also provides fuel to propel us into the future.
In The Big Gig - Big Picture Thinking for Success, ZORO takes the basic communication skills he learned behind the drum kit and expands his success blueprint to a much bigger stage...success in LIFE! Not content to be just a successful musician, ZORO seeks success in all aspects of life on a path of giving, commitment and hard work.
We all have talents and once we discover those it is up to us to do what is necessary to succeed. Although reading The Big Gig can provide the tools for success you still have to take those tools and build the house you want to live in. ZORO shares his knowledge but emphasizes that only you can do the work to make your dreams come true.
There really are no short cuts but there is a path to follow once you know where you want to go. If you are unsure of your goals, the Big Gig may inspire you to figure them out and take that first step...then the journey is yours.
I learned a long time ago that if someone has experience and accomplishment in a field their opinion and advice is worth a listen. In The Big Gig, ZORO draws a detailed blueprint for you to build upon and the book is definitely worth reading.
Mike St. John DRUMline Editor
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ZORO being interviewed about The Big Gig
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 Gregg Bissonette and me
I filmed the Gregg Bissonette quintet at Cafe Cordiale, a very intimate jazz club on Ventura Blvd. in LA at the close of NAMM 2012. I will have a few songs of that performance up in the next DRUMline.
Cafe Cordiale is know for having a lot of great music. 14015 Ventura Blvd. Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 818-789-1985
Greg launches his drum school April 2012!
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Gregg Bissonette announces online drum school at GreggBissonetteDrumSchool.com Learn with Gregg online - Play all styles - Groove - Read and write charts - Increase your drum vocab - And much more. Beginner, intermediate, advance & beyond! Kick it to the next level...online.
facebook.com/greggbissonette Twitter: @greggtweets greggbissonette.com
GreggBissonetteDrumSchool.com
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