New Altered Tune. Critique needed!

[peter c]

Steve,

You're such a great drummer
and the band has a real nice
sound. Thanks for sharing
this with us!

To me, the tune has two real
faces. One is open and the
other is closed. Your style
of play is perfect for both.

The only things I did not like
was the choking of the cymbal
and dynamics into the last
section, which were just a
tiny bit strong. I thought it
could have been a little more
subtle and THEN building,
going out, as you did, later.

I love that Stern sound!

Oh! That shuffle of yours is
just great!

Of course, these things that
I pointed out are really minor.
Cool, kick-my-ass band!

[img]cool.gif[/img]

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ June 16, 2004 09:05 PM: Message edited by: peter c ]</font>

[Derek DeFields]

speaking of Chinas....

Jeff has about the best guitar tone around IMO.

I liked everything you played. The melody could be little stronger in my opinion but obviously you have no control over that. Sounds good.

[Lee Collins]

Well, I have 2 opinions about steve's playing in the video:

1. Extremely good
2. See 1.

[Daniel LeClaire]

Steve,

This idea popped in my head while I was watching the video clip, I would love to hear Altered do a samba styled tune. That would be sick! [img]eek.gif[/img]

[Steve Holmes]

Daniel: Thanks so much. I'm trying to be more musical in my phrasing, glad someone picked up on it.

Berrand: The guy you wrote the tune actually has a PhD in music. Guess that doesn't make him a great writer though. I like the tune myself.

Mar Acrolite: Thanks. The way I start the solo with the break and half-time groove is my homage to Trilok!

PeterC To me, the tune has two real
faces. One is open and the
other is closed. The bass player John emailed me and said he agrees with you the most.

It's the open part I'm still unsure about. I'll try maybe chicking the hat every other quarter throughout. That may sound cool since it goes over the barline.
Thanks guys!

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ June 17, 2004 02:37 AM: Message edited by: Steve Holmes ]</font>

[CLWarunki]

Steve, killer playing! Lots of FEEL and CHOPS.

I would like to mention that 4:00 - 4:30 was brilliant. Quite clever AND slick. Kinda Vinnie meets Weckl in some ways, which I see in your playing a lot. (damn, that was probably the best compliment a drummer could give!)

Despite all the chops and flair, I think THE BEST part of the song was kicking into that straight groove around 6:00, then playin around with it!

The music is cool, reminds me of the mellow parts that CYNIC used to kick into (does anyone on this board know who I am talkin about?!) - PLEASE TELL ME YOU DO!

Oh yeah, and please share with us you cymbal setup for this gig, the ride and main crash sound amazing... same with the mini china (or stack?).

[WecklsMechanic]

Hey Steve,

I feel kinda out of place critiqing your stuff. I don't even do that for freinds even when they ask, but here goes.

Love the Holdsworth/Stern sound of the guitar player, and the Holdsworth Style changes.

The head of the tune sounds like it could breath a little more. Less volume at the begining, maybe even the bass line being a little more "spacey" about his part before you really establish the groove (i.e. the way Holdworth presents some of his tunes before the tune really starts). Maybe a happy medium between that kind of style and what you and the band are doing. Check out some of Vinnies playing on the 1st Pattatuchi Album regarding some of Vinnies "musicality" when it comes to tom/cymbal combos, even on the 32nd bar, that dude is one musical mofo. Usually bigger toms on a live gig give you that tone and resonance that would give you the depth/sound that would sound very cool with this tune. I agree with another fellow whom posted.... during the bass solo, feed off each other more. At the beginning of the bass solo take a Dave Garfield/Karizma "break" and don't play. Just cymbal accents with toms. Don't be so rushed into establishing a a groove/backbeat so soon, regardless of how simple of a backbeat your playing. Again...... let it breathe and become it's own animal. I noticed you like to throw in accents alot with your snare and cymbal together. Think more tom/cymbal combinations that sound "beautiful". I agree with the statement made by another about "choking" the cymbal. Doesn't sound good. Use a quick/dark splash/crash without any other drum accents.

Anywho...... great tune man!! Great blowing!

I've felt that transitioning onto a more "musical" plateau for me has been the best place for me to build a solo or any drum part. Drummers have been way more tuned into this these past 20 years than ever. And Vinnie is a very good example of that from selected recordings.

Hope it helps dude. You gotta share some of the Vinnie Footage you have. Need your car fixed?? [img]smile.gif[/img]

John

[quitou]

I don't really have any constructive comments other that it sounds amazing to me....just like everybody else has mentioned, killer feel and chops and phrasing...the only thing I thought sounded a bit funny was at the very end where you played a little bit on the rims...other than that though, it was great.

[likedachuch]

maybe it's just me, but i hear rasta at the 3:20 mark, during the bass solo? perhaps going in and out of that feel? also hear it on the section where you were hittin the rims of the toms. also, i don't know if the whole cymbal choking was as effective as you envisioned it, but overall i thought the performance was very inspiring! [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

thanks for sharing, steve.

[Drumskull]

Steve-

Try posting this as something else besides a wmv. I can't play it. It plays as if my finger is on the fast fwd search button every 3 frickin seconds. Anybody else have this problem?