Recording Sessions

Make it simple. John Robinson is the king of making simple fills sound huge. Jeff could with ease take chances by adding a 6lick and not blink and it sounded like it was meant to be there.
I watched at NAMM Peter Erskine lay it down and funky, with such simple fills and it was great.

As to Jeff and syncopated licks, I'm sure it was worked out a few times before tracking.
For me in the studio, every time I walk into the studio it's different. I just did tracks for a guy whom was horrible and I will never let this see the light of day....We had a very hard time trying to write charts to his stuff let alone play, he could not play to a click so he went and laid his guitar part and vocal all at once, we were then given the stuff to learn, bars of 2 1/2....what si that?
A bar of 5 then a bar of like almost 3 but not quite plus the tempo was all over the map. Made for a real challenge, some tunes were easier then others.

Many times I am given a file with maybe some suggestions on a seperate track and I will just ease into it, maybe do a few passes and turn it in. Many guys are doing it this way now, I heard from Denny Fongheiser that he has not set foot in an actual recording studio in about a year, he has been doing his tracks from home.

Mna this is long...........I don't really get "into" a song, I listen for the sections and any distinctive hits that maybe a piano or guitar are playing, maybe try to play with them or even around them but staying in the contect of the tune, again thinking JR.
The more you listen to musical people like Jeff, Erskine, Carlos, Gadd..........in a pop context or even a jazz context for they are very similar, you are playing for the music. At some point it just becomes natural to WANT to play like that and not to overplay. I guess in some ways it's about growing up musically and maturing.

Mickey Curry is so about playing for the tune and just laying it down.
2 great records to play to and just absorb what it's all about are "Start The Car" by Jude Cole, and Peter Frampton self titled "black cover". JR, Jeff, Denny

Thanx Peter & Randy.
This is an important topic because we often discuss technique and allude to musicality when discussing other great drummers...(Peter's Gadd stories, etc) but we don't often talk about the subtleties of musicality when playing for someone. One reason funk drumming has appealed to me so much the past two years is the the concept of playing groove and making a feel busy without sounding busy. Randy's insights to JR's fills and Jeff's nuances are great! Let's hear more examples that come to mind here! At the Smith clinic recently, Steve discussed all the various sound you can make on the snare drum. I immediately thought about the hi-hats and the combinations just on that one sound source. Billy Ward is really into hats and his playing reflects this.

PP,

I don't know anyone who can do more with an HH and snare than Gadd. NO ONE.

The triplets that he's constantly employing are very subtle but there and this is something you should focus on, I think. You can't listen to him enough. Too many players gloss over what he did. Don't be guilty of that. He IS Gadd Almighty!

When you watch him, do you notice how close his doubles are to the head? This keeps the volume WAY DOWN on them and allows for their use, without interfering with the groove.

8th-notes on the HH, the 1/4's accented. Kick on 1 and 3. Left-hand supporting the 8th-notes with triplets, CLOSE TO THE HEAD and QUIET.

Make that a part of your routine. Let your left-hand become "Casper, the friendly ghost", like Steve's. "Quiet" is the by-word.

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<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ January 22, 2004 01:53 AM: Message edited by: peter c ]</font>

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I have a video of Jeff on one his last sessions doing this and it gives great insight to how Jeff came up with parts and played for the song. -Randy

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Randy, is this the one from Tommy Denander's soon to be released "Making of Radioactive"? I'm just guessing/hoping.
Please give us some more info. on this?

Thanks

Eagle

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Originally posted by peter c:
PP,

I don't know anyone who can do more with an HH and snare than Gadd. NO ONE.

When you watch him, do you notice how close his doubles are to the head? This keeps the volume WAY DOWN on them and allows for their use, without interfering with the groove.

<font color="#a62a2a"><font size="1">[ January 22, 2004 01:53 AM: Message edited by: peter c ]</font></font>

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Yep, and let's not forget Harvey mason, steve jordan, david garibaldi, all masters of the delicate touch and left hand casper the ghost, especially harvey [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Eagle, yes it is.

I can't wait to see the FULL DVD of Radioactive. Should be pretty incredible. Everything we've seen so far has been great, and I'm sure we haven't seen all the footage.

No doubt, the Radioactive DVD will be a must have.

Danny

Interesting topic. I've found that in my experience when I do sessions I have be given anything, from a complete drum chart with all the grooves written out, the form all the hits and so on. Then it's just a case of reading it down. Other times producers will give you a drum 'guide.' This may be a bar chart or chord sheet (useful!) with the the form or sections of a tune written out and nothing else. Then you will have to discusss the groove with him and the bass player to try and find something that fits together and compliments the track. I have also been faced with absolutely nothing! No joke, I recorded some incidental music for a tv series and the composer would play me his demo and I would clock it and try to replicate it. He would then say 'ok, lets try this with brushes now' or 'lets try a tom pattern' or 'can you make it more funky?' To be honest at first I felt a bit put out, as if I was doing a lot of the work for him, but at the end of the day it is simply another way of working.
We must remember that reading music is an aid to memory and a very quick and easy way of getting a musician to play exactly what you want, first time. When we hear players such as Dennis talk about pop sessions that they've done (when they don't profess to being able to read) I would imagine that it is the same for them: Either they've received a demo of the song in advance or they sit sown with the producer/composer and work out the groove and form of the track before doing a take.
I have learnt that people work in different ways and as long as I/we can make the vibe of a track feel comfortable, musical and groove then we have done our job, no matter what the process undertaken.

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Originally posted by Dazzler:
I have learnt that people work in different ways and as long as I/we can make the vibe of a track feel comfortable, musical and groove then we have done our job, no matter what the process undertaken.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Absolutely.
I've been fortunate enough to work with pretty much the same guys for sessions. We're all familiar with each others playing so there is already that trust that is really important. I've gone through the same thing Randy described....Painful! It's one thing to work with someone who has no concept of charting/arranging....it's another when they pretend they do. I personally don't like to sit around in the studio because it really starts to wear on you. I enjoy the charting because I'm doing SOMETHING! It's just frustrating when you come prepared and then you sit around while everyone else is figuring out the changes,etc...

I agree, dead time in the studio is tough. As is trying to decipher a song or some sort of music and it's structure.

As to the Radioactive stuff, basically it's Tommy and his girlfriend filming on a handheld camera the ongoing sessions. Jeff and his brother Mike listening to the demos and making cheat sheets. Then Jeff in the drum room and Mike and Tommy in the other tracking the tunes, then showing them listening to the play backs. Also has footage of David Paich at his place doing key overdubs with Steve Porcaro engineering.
This stuff way kewl, total insight to how Jeff worked, he even flubs a few times and they have to resatrt but it's during a time when they are working out a intricate lick either in the middle of the tune or the ending.

Trust me, when this finally hits streets you need to buy it.