Thursday, September 27, 2012
Hello All!!
Due to this wacky roller coaster of a ride that I jumped on, I fell off the blog hoarse. But I am trying to get back on so strap on your boots!
I have landed in Nashville, TN with my lovely band and lovely lady, and we are excited to be here. We have been lucky enough to explore Nashville a little this month and are really falling in love with it. We have gotten to see a lot of great music and meet a lot of great people.
We actually live right down the street from the famous Cash cabin. (No, it is not owned by Johnny Knoxville. Maybe he owns his vacation home or something, but definitely not the famous recording cabin.) Anyway, I wanted to focus on the famous drummer of the Tennessee 3. Johnny Cash' famous rhythm section.
Check out this 1965 version of Big River.
It highlights W.S. Holland's classic country shuffle. I call it the "Cash Cow". :-)
"and-a-1, and-a-2,and-a-3, and-a-4," with the brushes through the whole song.
Simple is powerful.
Check out W.S. Holland Wiki here.
Thanks all!! Happy Thursday. Fall is in the air!
Monday, October 10, 2011
Smitty Drum has moved!
Hi everyone. I am planning to do some new things with the blog and determined that Wordpress would be the best platform to use, so go head and bookmark or subscribe to the Smitty Drum blog at:
www.SmittyDrum.com
Thanks...see ya over there.
www.SmittyDrum.com
Thanks...see ya over there.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Zappa
It has been a while since I have written. I don't have a computer so it's not as easy to blog right now, but I will blog when I can. That is a funny word blog. I wonder where that word came from? Any way Mr. Tim Jones was nice enough to let me borrow his computer while he and Walker go get the other boys from the the airport.
We are in Indianapolis tonight. We play tomorrow at Rib Fest here in Indy, Sat at Hookaville in Ohio, then Steel Jam in Bethlehem, PA and then back to Wellston, OH for the Coal Festival.
We were lucky enough to get to stay in beautiful Monterey, CA for a few days after playing a nice festival there with Jackie Greene. Then 2 days after we chilled in Monterey. Did a really cool Backyard BBQ with the Honeymoon ladies. We hope to do more of those. Thank you to everyone for making it such a special afternoon. More to come!!
And to top all of that off the Levine residence had us over to have food and a bad ass jam session with Jonathan and the Honeymoon ladies. Thank you man!!
I woke up the morning of the 31st. Stretched and headed to the AT&T field to see the the Giants kick the feathers out of the Cub's and we were lucky enough to sing the National Anthem!! I think we killed it. good job boys!!
Most of you know what I look like. Long curly brown hair, black Mustache and a soul patch. Who is the guy that people tell me I look like the most? Well Frank Zappa of course.
Frank Vincent Zappa was born in Baltimore, but for a quick stint while he was a kid he lived in Monterey, CA before his family settled in San Diego.
I can't say that I put Zappa on the record player often to sit back and listen to his music, but I will say that I respect what he has done for modern day musical composition. His school of drummers are some of my favorite and Ruth Underwood is on of the Zaniest and sexy percussionists out there in the 70's. Sit back and enjoy some Zappa. This particular clip really show's his humor and his band's rhythmic sensibility. Enjoy.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Berkeley, CA- Birth Place of John Fogerty
Hey everyone,
Well... tomorrow Truth and Salvage plays the Starry Plough in Berkeley, CA with our friends the Real Nasty. Great band by the way. This particular watering hole has been a legendary spot in the Bay Area for over 35 years. Please come check us out! If you show up around 9 and start drinking, that should be about perfect to catch both acts. Here is the clubs motto that I copied and pasted for ya. I thought it was very cool.
"No Revolutionary movement is complete without its poetic expression. If such a movement has caught hold of the imagination of the masses, they will seek a vent in song for the aspirations, fears, and hopes the loves and hatreds engendered by the struggle. Until the movement is marked by the joyous , defiant singing of revolutionary songs, it lacks one of the most distinctive marks of a popular revolutionary movement; it is the dogma of the few and not the faith of the multitude"-James Connolly 1907
A very inspirational batch of words right there.
So, I did my research on Berkley,CA and there are many musicians from this area. Phil Lesh would have been a good choice, but a little too obvious and after seeing him rock with the Black Crowes, at the Filmore, in a pair of designer jeans... well it just threw me back a little. :-)
Charlie Hunter is from Berkley. A great jazz fusion guitarist that has a cool thing going on. I remember the first time I saw him at Be Here Now (an old venue in Asheville that doesn't exist any more) in 1997 and it was just him and a drummer. He plays this 8 string guitar, covering both the bass lines, guitar comps, and solos all at once. Amazing. Check some of his stuff out on You Tube.
The Counting Crowes are from there. I loved their first album, "August and everything After". It was kinda the sound track to my freshman and sophomore years in college at Tennessee Tech. The drummer Steve Bowman has some of the tastiest licks on that record. That record also was one of the first records that taught me how to accompany a songwriters song the correct way.
His syncopation and melodical playing was something I hadn't heard on a drum set before. Tasty, tasty stuff. I would spend hours trying to emulate some of his hi-hat work on that record. Up until that point, I had just listened to drummers like John Bonham, Neil Peart, Lars Ulrich and Tommy Lee. I didn't know anything else. I grew up in a town where hair metal was king and Hank Williams Jr. was the preacher. Thank you Randy Tribby for introducing me to Led Zeppelin my junior year in high school.
Peter Buck of R.E.M. is from Berkeley. After high school he moved there.
OK... so I thought I was going to write about Green Day. They are all from the Berkeley area. I went for a little run this evening, put on my headphones, and borrowed Monti's ipod. I listened to the 4 or 5 songs she had. Great band. Songs are cool, the writing actually really good.... and the drumming was actually good.. Remember now, I know nothing about this band except for the fact that the lead guy has green hair and they have sold a shit ton of records.
I think my generation just missed the Green Day happening. Anyway I listened to them and then to some Counting Crowes (still trying to decide who I was going to research). I definitely vibed with the Counting Crowes stuff better, but I wanted to research Tre Cool and Billy Joe Armstrong because I am less familiar with them. I like a good challenge.
I noticed the funny rivalry between Tre and Travis Barker that the fans have created online. People are funny. In the end I could not find any cool videos of solo's or performances. The only videos were of them goofing off and running around the stage naked. So... I decided that they were not worth it.
Creedence Clearwater Revival on the other hand is worth it. John Fogerty and his brother Tom were born in Berkeley, CA. One would think, by their style, that they would be from the swamps of Louisiana.
I found a cool clip from the Johnny Cash Show. Doug Clifford the drummer is playing this cool straight-ahead quarter note swing-shuffle pattern. He really uses the quarter note on the hi-hat to drive this song.
The thing about the 60's-70's generation of drummers is that they knew how to swing. A lot of them were jazz players previously and started playing Rock and Roll because it was more popular and it paid better at the time. Mitch Mitchell, Ginger Baker, Levon Helm, Charlie Watts, the Wrecking Crew drummers, Motown Drummers, Joe Jackson Jr.(Just to name a few) had this slinky swing style that they implemented to the Rock and Roll movement and gave the music the "feel" that we hear when we listen to those old records. I miss that in today's drumming. Doug Clifford from Palo Alto, Ca exudes this in this performance.
Sit back, plug in some good speakers and enjoy the soothing, slinky vibe of Fogerty's voice and CCR's style.
Check out this link to see all the famous folks that are from Berkeley... Enjoy:
COME OUT TO THE SHOW TOMORROW IF YOU ARE IN THE BAY AREA!!
Well... tomorrow Truth and Salvage plays the Starry Plough in Berkeley, CA with our friends the Real Nasty. Great band by the way. This particular watering hole has been a legendary spot in the Bay Area for over 35 years. Please come check us out! If you show up around 9 and start drinking, that should be about perfect to catch both acts. Here is the clubs motto that I copied and pasted for ya. I thought it was very cool.
"No Revolutionary movement is complete without its poetic expression. If such a movement has caught hold of the imagination of the masses, they will seek a vent in song for the aspirations, fears, and hopes the loves and hatreds engendered by the struggle. Until the movement is marked by the joyous , defiant singing of revolutionary songs, it lacks one of the most distinctive marks of a popular revolutionary movement; it is the dogma of the few and not the faith of the multitude"-James Connolly 1907
A very inspirational batch of words right there.
So, I did my research on Berkley,CA and there are many musicians from this area. Phil Lesh would have been a good choice, but a little too obvious and after seeing him rock with the Black Crowes, at the Filmore, in a pair of designer jeans... well it just threw me back a little. :-)
Charlie Hunter is from Berkley. A great jazz fusion guitarist that has a cool thing going on. I remember the first time I saw him at Be Here Now (an old venue in Asheville that doesn't exist any more) in 1997 and it was just him and a drummer. He plays this 8 string guitar, covering both the bass lines, guitar comps, and solos all at once. Amazing. Check some of his stuff out on You Tube.
The Counting Crowes are from there. I loved their first album, "August and everything After". It was kinda the sound track to my freshman and sophomore years in college at Tennessee Tech. The drummer Steve Bowman has some of the tastiest licks on that record. That record also was one of the first records that taught me how to accompany a songwriters song the correct way.
His syncopation and melodical playing was something I hadn't heard on a drum set before. Tasty, tasty stuff. I would spend hours trying to emulate some of his hi-hat work on that record. Up until that point, I had just listened to drummers like John Bonham, Neil Peart, Lars Ulrich and Tommy Lee. I didn't know anything else. I grew up in a town where hair metal was king and Hank Williams Jr. was the preacher. Thank you Randy Tribby for introducing me to Led Zeppelin my junior year in high school.
Peter Buck of R.E.M. is from Berkeley. After high school he moved there.
OK... so I thought I was going to write about Green Day. They are all from the Berkeley area. I went for a little run this evening, put on my headphones, and borrowed Monti's ipod. I listened to the 4 or 5 songs she had. Great band. Songs are cool, the writing actually really good.... and the drumming was actually good.. Remember now, I know nothing about this band except for the fact that the lead guy has green hair and they have sold a shit ton of records.
I think my generation just missed the Green Day happening. Anyway I listened to them and then to some Counting Crowes (still trying to decide who I was going to research). I definitely vibed with the Counting Crowes stuff better, but I wanted to research Tre Cool and Billy Joe Armstrong because I am less familiar with them. I like a good challenge.
I noticed the funny rivalry between Tre and Travis Barker that the fans have created online. People are funny. In the end I could not find any cool videos of solo's or performances. The only videos were of them goofing off and running around the stage naked. So... I decided that they were not worth it.
Creedence Clearwater Revival on the other hand is worth it. John Fogerty and his brother Tom were born in Berkeley, CA. One would think, by their style, that they would be from the swamps of Louisiana.
I found a cool clip from the Johnny Cash Show. Doug Clifford the drummer is playing this cool straight-ahead quarter note swing-shuffle pattern. He really uses the quarter note on the hi-hat to drive this song.
The thing about the 60's-70's generation of drummers is that they knew how to swing. A lot of them were jazz players previously and started playing Rock and Roll because it was more popular and it paid better at the time. Mitch Mitchell, Ginger Baker, Levon Helm, Charlie Watts, the Wrecking Crew drummers, Motown Drummers, Joe Jackson Jr.(Just to name a few) had this slinky swing style that they implemented to the Rock and Roll movement and gave the music the "feel" that we hear when we listen to those old records. I miss that in today's drumming. Doug Clifford from Palo Alto, Ca exudes this in this performance.
Sit back, plug in some good speakers and enjoy the soothing, slinky vibe of Fogerty's voice and CCR's style.
Check out this link to see all the famous folks that are from Berkeley... Enjoy:
COME OUT TO THE SHOW TOMORROW IF YOU ARE IN THE BAY AREA!!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Welcome to My Blog-Big Sid Catlett
Hey everyone welcome to my new blog. I have an idea that I want to share with you. As I travel across the country with Truth and Salvage Co I am going to start blogging about some of my favorite drummers who have influenced me over the years. This is kind of a Test to see how it goes. I hope you enjoy.
Big Sid Catlett played in many groups from Benny Goodman, Dizzy Gillespie to Louis Armstrong. Louis considered Sid, "The best drummer he has ever played with."
Many consider Sid's technique to be the catalyst to make the switch from small traditional style swing, dixieland to early Bop. His syncopation between the bass drum and snare was the reason why.
The reason I chose this particular excerpt with The John Kirby Sextet in 1947 is because it shows just that. He also portrays the off-beat accents of his brush playing in a call and response effort to the band's comp patterns... And he is just as smooth and cool as anything I have ever seen as he does it. Man what style.
I will be hitting the road Fri starting in Berkley, CA and ending in Wellston, OH(my home town).
On this journey I will highlight famous musicians from the particular region that I will be visiting and blogging about them and my experiences there .
Please stay tuned.
From Wiki--
Big Sid Catlett played in many groups from Benny Goodman, Dizzy Gillespie to Louis Armstrong. Louis considered Sid, "The best drummer he has ever played with."
Many consider Sid's technique to be the catalyst to make the switch from small traditional style swing, dixieland to early Bop. His syncopation between the bass drum and snare was the reason why.
The reason I chose this particular excerpt with The John Kirby Sextet in 1947 is because it shows just that. He also portrays the off-beat accents of his brush playing in a call and response effort to the band's comp patterns... And he is just as smooth and cool as anything I have ever seen as he does it. Man what style.
I will be hitting the road Fri starting in Berkley, CA and ending in Wellston, OH(my home town).
On this journey I will highlight famous musicians from the particular region that I will be visiting and blogging about them and my experiences there .
Please stay tuned.
From Wiki--
Sidney Catlett (January 17, 1910 – March 25, 1951), was a swinging jazz drummer often referred to as "Big Sid Catlett" because of his large frame.
Catlett was born in Evansville, Indiana, and started at piano, but switched to drums and entered formal study when his family moved to Chicago. His career began in Chicago in 1928 with Darnell Howard. In adulthood he moved to New York City and worked with Benny Carter, Fletcher Henderson, Elmer Snowden, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Ben Webster, and others. In 1941 he joined Benny Goodman's band and after that joined Teddy Wilson's Sextet. In 1944 he did an album with pianist Harry Gibson. He also had his own band and played for Louis Armstrong's All Stars from 1947 to 1949 and became his drummer of choice. He played bop, dixieland, and other styles.
In early 1951 he began to suffer from pneumonia. In that same year he died of a heart-attack while visiting friends backstage at an Hot Lips Page benefit concert in Chicago, Illinois. In 1996 he was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame.
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