what would you do if you had 2 weeks in l.a.?

[Randy walker]

LOL

[beat Hit]

As a side observation...

One thing for sure though, being big in Canada won't attract the same exposure as being big in the USA. For exemple, it's very difficult to get a Front Page interview in Modern Drummer if you're Canadian. Through the years, how many Canadians ended up in a major Modern Drummer interview? Neil Pert, Barenaked Ladies' drummer (forgot his name), who else...?

Although it's true that a major Modern Drummer interview won't necessarily bring bread on your table. But it sure will help the marketing angle of your carreer...

What do you Canadian HOD buddies think on the topic?

Ciao,

[beats]

Well there is a wealth of incredible Canadian drummers that are overlooked in major media type things.You could say that about Sweden,or Hawaii too.But we(Canadians/US) share the same influences and a dumb border.We all have acsess to one another.

Chris,if u have a chance to test L.A.,then u should sample it. T.O. is a hub for the industry,as is Vancouver.Much Talent over there.Lotsa opportunity out there if u got skills.You've moved around alot,so you know what you may be in for.It will certainly affect your creativity.Might be fun.

Heres some Canadian drummers who have rocked my world for a long time.John Wright of NoMeansNo.He's totally versetile.Plays traditional grip too.I reckon alot of you folks would be duly impressed with his command of drumset.Theres Jeremy Taggart of Our Lady Peace whos been gettin some notice.Hes super.

Theres a band based in T.O. called The Rheostatics.Dave Clark,their first drummer,is great.He produces/engineers now.Neal Peart played on one of their albums.Randall Stoll is a monster.Hes a total working drummer.Punk Rock legend Jon Card.Theres this dude Christian who has been in some quasi popular Canadian outfits(Gluleg,Edwin).Matt Frennette has always been a mainstay.I could go on,so many good drummers across our country.It's good work up here.........................peace........beats.

[beat Hit]

Right on Beats,

In that train of thought...

I'll add Vinnie's drum-buddy Vito Rezza from Toronto. Vinnie played on Vito's latest recording. It's due out this spring... Vito is definitely a master of odd-time meters... Awesome chops too. Love that guy. Vinnie was quoted as calling Vito: "The world's most well-kept secret".

Other strong players from Toronto are Rick Gratton and Paul Delong.

From Montreal you have the ex-UZEB, now Vannelli's drummer, Paul Brochu who's one of the most musical drummer I know. He's like a "Jeff Porcaro meets Peter Erskine" player. Very much an "all around" studio cat... Always inspiring to hear Paul play.

Another scary one from Montreal is Magella Cormier. This guy played on the 1st Alain Caron solo CD and is featured on the 1996-1997 Montreal Drum Fest CD... Scary performance on that one too... Magella's got monstruous chops coupled with a refined musicality. Some have called him the "Vinnie Colaiuta of Montreal" for good reasons.

That's all for now.

Ciao,

[FuseU1]

Hey, thanx 4 the heads up on all that, guys [Andy, both "beats"]...
Oh yeah, any of u Canadian guys heard of Randy Cooke? He's played w Kim Mitchell & Rik Emmitt [Triumph], etc...saw him w Kim in summer of '95 when i was doin a 2-wk gig there at the "[Super-] Ex[po]" Fair in Ottowa & he blew me away...sounded like a cross between Bonham & Gadd, w a lil Porcaro & Weckl influence thrown in...he killed the KM tune "All We Are" [6/8 shuffle]...also heard [from the Canadian rock band Helix's drummer] that RC was doin gigs at fairs & festivals as a 1-man perc ensemble, wearin a suit consisting of triggered pads; some sort of strolling act as a futuristic cyborg drummer, playing on himself...any of u know anything about Randy?...
also, dont 4get Greg Morrow - i believe he did some stuff in CAN [if i'm not mistaken] b4 moving to Nashville, & now he's a very-much-in-demand Nash A-list drummer....

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ March 25, 2003 01:28 AM: Message edited by: FuseU1 ]</font>

[chris perra]

there are tons of heavy players in canada, randy is a good friend of mine, he's doing edwin shows, snow, and alot of session work.

there's also troy feener, chris mcneil, gary craig, chris sutherland, ben riley, mark kelso,jorn anderson, wilson laurention from toronto.

in vancouver there is gary grace,gerry adoph,ash sood,al webster the list goes on... unfortunately in canada there is a limited number of high profile gigs,the circle is small.


in toronto randy gets called for 60% if the rock type gigs right off the bat,then you get the trickle down effect for what those guys can't do.

i'm sure it's the same everywhere, but canada's is a 100 times smaller than the u.s. so it's hard to get noticed.

about 10 years ago there was a feature in modern drummer about the drummers of toronto. the funny thing is the same 10 to 15 guys are still the mainstay of the scene.

by the way,i'm currently in burbank right now and like the weather much better, when i left toronto it was - 25 celsius.

chris perra

[FuseU1]

Cool post, thanx CP [& glad to hear it's a little warmer where u r now...]
4give my "naievete," but by any chance is that Edwin u referred to, Edwin McCain, or some other band named that?

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ March 12, 2003 10:24 PM: Message edited by: FuseU1 ]</font>

[chris perra]

edwin is a singer that fronted a canadian band called "i mother earth", he left to pursue a solo career 3 years ago,randy isn't on the album.you can check out his website at randycooke .com


chris perra