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Hey guys (and girls?)
I know I don't post too often, though read alomst all. Just curious to see what reaction/thoughts would be off this lil diddy since I got it up on the net. Comping off a well known bass groove... have at it.
The Track
<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ June 24, 2004 02:39 AM: Message edited by: JosiahM ]</font>
Hey Josiah, wassup!
Thanks for posting. I'd want to know your own opinion. Are you satisfied with your groove, pocket and time? Are you self-conscious of where you may be dragging/rushing? (We all rush&drag at one point or the other BTW)
I don't know what was your original intent in Posting so I'll go out on a limb here. Pocket playing is a workable Art isn't it. It's been said so many times before, worth repeating here. Vinnie worked on his and mentioned somewhere how he learned from Jeff Porcaro's. He worked on making his feel good. What he's recently done with Chaka Khan (even before that with Sting) definitely shows his hard work paid off. So if a guy like Vinnie took time to work on it, and I believe that was in the Post-Zappa years, so should we. For me at times the greatest challenge is to bring a comfort zone in simplicity. I listen to Garibaldi lay it down with Tower of Power, I even understand, let's say, a simple sticking he does. Then I play it and it just does NOT sound and feel as comfy as he. At times the flow gets obstructed or I may lack the drive, the extra zest. So I listen, listen and listen in an attempt to emulate his feel, and even sing the grooves out loud. In a drum emulating kinda way. With time, I know my groove and pocket did improve, still a way to go though.
Josiah,
This is quoted from you at musicianforums
" Why is that? The time is solid except for some minor rough spots, the chops are clean even in the most complicated of things, my doubles are sweet. The ghost notes are awesome.. every single rimshot is nearly identical in sound and power for the backbeats, a feat most revered by drummers. My dynamic levels are awesome... maintaining a nice low 8th note hi-hat and only spiked by specific accents while playing solid rimshots with mass ghost notes intermixed inbetween. "
Seriously man, good attempt on the recording, but without meaning to sound rude, your playing just doesn't quite match your ego yet. And you can't take criticism at all. I've seen you disagree with everyone that dares to suggest something isn't right. In a nutshell you're basically saying 'I am great, I am awesome, and undoubtedly when I've played as long as vinnie, I'll be right up there with him'. Lol, get a grip. And I mean that in the nicest possible way. [img]smile.gif[/img]
<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ June 26, 2004 10:47 AM: Message edited by: Rudy_Ment ]</font>
I am guessing you are putting that on here to get critiqued and have us point out things to work on so here goes. First off i have been (haha, and probably still are!) where you are at. Where you are at, in my opinion, is as follows. It sounds like you have worked on getting your hands and feet together. You sound as if you are working on some modulation. You have played around with takin' it out and bringin it back into the groove. Good stuff.
This is where i would suggest work. In everyone's playing, i believe, we develope new ideas but then before we move on we need to really put them under the microscope. Work all the tempos, all the feels, all the subdivisions being played or just being felt. Find ways to milk that puppy for all it is worth. Really it is like a painting. You don't just outline what you are going to paint but then not fill it in. You go back and color in the parts. Then you go back and establish nuance, add the little things that make it subtle yet striking. I do the same thing in my playing.
For just playing a simple 16th note groove on the hi hat, say, with 1 & 3 on the bass, 2 & 4 on the snare. I would record it with a 16 note click. See where i fall in relation to that. Then listen to the same groove with the 16th note click, but then see where i fall with the 8ths, quarters. So far as to how my feel is on the "big time" level, as in 2 or 4 bars at a time. What is the feel, where is it not being brought across right, or to my liking. I then record the same groove, this time to a 8th click and do the same process, at the way down to a whole note click every other measure. Then just play with the click, and then listen back without it, or don't play with it at all. See how the "live" sound is without the digital reference. Experiment with different nuance/feels in the same "big" feel. Really, all that for a simple groove that when i first started out, i thought was "below me". Wrong!!! Being that critical really pays off when you want to deal with reality and how good you really are. It is the ego check of the century, that is if you really are ready for it. Sometimes i am just not in a mental state to hear my mistakes, as in i just don't hear them. I may be so impressed that i KIND OF pulled something off, i let some things go, although if it were some other drummer, i would have tons of things to point out. Point being, remove yourself from your playing, get real with it. If it were your life-long "drum rival" how would you rate it, what would impress you, what would make you think he needs more work. Do that to yourself now. Sometimes just go back to something you find easy, record it, scrutinize it.
The first gig i ever did was a studio gig. I had been a "live show-off" guy, bustin' chops and all that. Man... that gig put in me in not only MY place, but other places too, let me tell you. I wasn't ready for that musical microscope. My playing wasn't, neither was my ego. Now i pretend that i am the most anal-retentive producer in the world when listening to my playing. At least i am semi-prepared for my next ego blow, so i think.
I was just posting it to hear what people have to say.. I've paid for enough crtique on my playing (my loan letters let me know about it) that I know what and how to work on it..
I just like hearing other peoples playing and figured others might liek to hear mine, see what various ideas and styles etc.. I enjoy listening to what peopel post on this forum and others, be it good or bad.. everyone most always has something interesting to bring to the table.
I appreciate the comments though.. again not looking for one thing or the other. Though since Rudy has the sense to slam me.. we won't talk about why he was IP banned from another drummer forum.
[img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img] Peace!
This JosiahM is a complete joke. Anybody who says anything negative about his playing is banned from the musicianforums website. Immature and pathetic considering these people are only giving you feedback that will help you improve.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Why not? Go ahead Josiah. Tell everyone why I was banned from that forum. Because the moderator there cheated in a drum competition, there was proof of it. Because he deletes threads all over the place for no good reason. Because everyone bitches about everyone there, etc, etc, and ego's are way too inflated. The best thing that ever happened to me was to be banned fom that complete joke of a forum. But there you go again josiah, being defensive, when several people have given you constructive criticism, not least 'turtleface' at musicianforums who was spot on with what he observed.Quote:
Originally posted by JosiahM:
Though since Rudy has the sense to slam me.. we won't talk about why he was IP banned from another drummer forum.
You've got talent, but it's not completely harnessed yet. We've all got talent and we're all still learning. Not one drummer at HOD would dare to say things like 'my rolls are awesome' and there are some incredible players here, as you know. A million dollars could buy you lessons with the greatest drummers and music schools in the world, but it still wouldn't buy you humility. That's something you have to learn yourself. Remember this too. There are lots of great drummers who don't get much work if their attitude sucks. Nobody wants to hire them. It's not just drumming skills we need to learn.
[img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]
Not bad playing, I like the sound of your drums. How were they recorded?
As for the groove, you don't really let anything settle and change from bar to bar. I think that you could be a lot more accurate with your placements as the timing is a little shaky in places. The very first 16th note BD hit you play is out. Remember: Everything is timekeeping!! - where have we heard that before?!
Also there is an over use of the Gadd lick and the Blushda! Did you put that in for our benefit I wonder?! Nice to hear you play though, I just think you could concentrate on the GROOVE and TIMING rather than what licks you can get in.
Cheers for posting. [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]
..... as for blasting on other forums, well I wouldn't know about that. I looked at the musicianforims you lot spoke about. Is there any particular one you visit/post on so I can check it out too?
If Rudy's post was correct and you actually DID write that critique of yourself then all I can say is humility and modesty go a long way in this business. More than you'll ever know Josia and especially as that demo doesn't warrant such high accolades... especially from yourself, who actually played it!!
[img]smile.gif[/img] [img]cool.gif[/img]
<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ June 29, 2004 10:07 AM: Message edited by: Dazzler ]</font>
My advice is lock in the kick with the bass player and read Dazz's post 20 more times. [img]smile.gif[/img]