Stickmanship.Spin.Toss. & Flip

[latim]

Hey fellas,

I'm sure there will always be some debate as to focus more on strict form and technique over having some showmanship on the kit. There are guys like Steve Smith who are technical gurus who also have some very entertaining stick tricks up their sleeves for crowds. There is also a slew of new guys including John Blackwell who studied up all the old skool cats to put on a cool visual display (suspended China behind his head. novel) as he pounds out the beats for Prince. Then, there are drummers who are not so appealing to see on stage, but are highly revered on tape.

What are you opinions on this issue? Would you place a certain emphasis on form as well as allocate a little time for your visual on stage?

I know that for some drummers, the visuals are distracting and gets in the way of the music. Others try to pull it off and suffer with their time and dynamics because the sticks are all over the place besides on the skins and metals.

For some of the rock cover tunes we're doing, I would love to get some ideas on some showmanship tools to woo some of the drunk crowds we play for. I know there must be a library of work done by cats in the past including Papa Jo Jones, Gene Krupa, and of recent Billy Ward.

If any of you have references or DVD's I can get a hold of while on the road, that would be GREAT!!!

[img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]

[CLWarunki]

As Thomas Lang put it: "showbiz is the name of the game". And he has the best stick tricks I have EVER seen (maybe cause he has em all!).

I think that after putting plenty of time into technique/rudiments/groove etc - stick tricks would be a worthy (and fun) investment to make.
If you are mostly a session/studio drummer, then it is pointless - but if you play live a lot this could be a nice tool to have in the belt.

Think of all the mosnter drummers around - they all have stick tricks and even "gimmicks". It's true, there is no musical value in these "tricks", but there is flair and style involved. Eye candy is tastey.

I would look into the Thomas Lang DVD for stick tricks (an amazing chapter) as well as anything else he has to offer. Blackwell has some nice ones too... but his DVD is more along the lines of watching him, rather than learning from him.
Going way back, Lionel Hampton had some killer tricks (there is a segment of him on the blackwell DVD!). Maybe even dig up some books on 80's rock drumming! [img]tongue.gif[/img]

I have been dabbling in this too (soome video clips on my website). Hope it helps!

[ashio nz]

I agree that showmanship is important, it definetely adds to the overall performance.
(I hate watching a dull group!)

Gerry Brown and Sonny Emory spring to mind with their stick tricks, it's sick.

Equally, a drummer needs to be able to PLAY first then he/she can look at incorporating tricks into their repertoire. It's like the icing on the cake.

[Kurt R]

Thomas lang's dvd set is pretty rockin. The stick tricks are just a bonus and what a bonus...WohoOo!

[diddle]

Go to drummerworld.com and check out some of the video clips. Some of the early jazz
guys were absolutely unreal.

Spinning is a nice way to add variety and visual effects while also being practical. I try to
be tasteful and appropriate and not over use it Sometimes I do something for people to
notice but usually when I spin and flip it's subtle and rarely does the average person
notice... If I'm spinning it's usually for a good reason. I spin on the way over from the
ride to the hat or visa-versa. . I have a certain little spin/flip I use to switch from
traditional to matched. . I flip and spin to switch from tip to butt I tend to use all parts of
the stick to get sounds so that kinda forces me to do it. I also love to find a little break or
stop in the music (once or twice per gig) that I can do a single (or sometimes double) flip
or a spin to add some spice. It's showmanship but it's great for adding some tension and
release to a section of music. Unless I drop the freakin stick then there is a
hhhhhuuuuggggeeeee release!

Once I saw Ed Shaughnessy at a clinic and he was playing, talking, flipping, spinning,
adjusting and drinking coffee all while grooving his azz off. It's all good

[quitou]

Yup, Langs DVD has an entire chapter dedicated to sticktrix and showmanship...he even shows how to use some of it in grooves...pretty cool stuff to watch...

I think John Blakwell's DVD goes into sticktricks as well...not sure though because I haven't seen it, but given the title of the DVD, I assume it's included...

Virgil is also a complete maniac when it comes to twirling...if you can get a hold of any videos with him soloing, it's quite a sight to see...

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ August 11, 2004 07:17 PM: Message edited by: quitou ]</font>

[hanayalator]

Meh, I've never been a huge fan of stick tricks and stuff. I think there's always more stuff to work on before that. Instead of learning a cool trick to make your audience go 'woo' you could lay down a sick groove and make them go 'woo'. But I think it also depends on the style of music too...rock and pop stuff is cool, maybe bustin it out with Coltrane might not be so cool.

[bryan v]

hey guys......
on this subject, I've seen Tommy Igoe do a really elaborate and impressive spin/trick to go from trad grip to matched and vice versa. He didn't really explain the motion though.
Anyone have any easy to explain ways to accomplish this that look good too?!!

Thanks!
Bryan

[Dazzler]

Stickmanship.Spin.Toss. & Flip ?


....toss is right!!
[img]tongue.gif[/img]

[peter c]

Virgil is also killer in this regard.
I am more forgiving, when the
drumming is above par.

Lang does a great job and Gerry
Brown is one of my favorites.

[img]cool.gif[/img]

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ August 12, 2004 12:10 AM: Message edited by: peter c ]</font>