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Thomas Lang Clinic in Portsmouth last night.....OH MY DAZE.....lost for words!
I had seen thomas in the company of Minnemann and Rabb at the Generation-X days earlier in the year, but i was keen to see thomas in his own clinic and talking a little bit about how the hell he does all this stuff!!?
He was mind blowing! Perfect technique.....hands were pristine and beautiful and his feet were literally equal to his hands.....anything he did with his hands his feet could copy. but the ideads were wonderfull and flowing and so athletically and perfectly executed....just wonderful wonderful playing!
I have yet to see virgil live.....but from the vids and clips ive seen, thomas seems to be more precise and sharp.....but as i say....ive not actually seen the mighty virgil.
anyway, thomas was asked the usual opening question...."How du do that?"......he explained that with his feet....control is the most important thing....speed comes automatically.....and he can and does play everything and anything heel down and heel up! he says heel down is so the beater comes off the head and should be used for quieter stuff.....and heel up must be pressed into the head.....bringing the beater back off the head (when playing heel up) is too much wasted effort.....
as for his hands....he uses the gladstone techinique, fingers, moeller and mostly wrist....again he said all should be used!
as for independence.....he said that he takes an idea or phrase with his hands or feet and puts them together and explores EVERY possible combo and outcome....so if a producer asks him to play ANYTHING.......he can!!! [img]tongue.gif[/img]
not forgetting the showmanship....he was spinning, twirling, throwing.....u name it....
this guy is unbelievable.....
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I saw Thomas years ago at NAMM. He was dressed so low key I thought he was so dude trying out the new Sonor stuff. The first three seconds I heard him play on the snare told me this guys got Weckl-like technique. When you've developed such a high degree of skill, it shows even in the little things like a short double stroke roll. He was super low key, almost teasing you for more. He wasn't there to do a clinic, but to represent the new Sonor pedal.
"bringing the beater back off the head (when playing heel up) is too much wasted effort..."
This is disturbing. I have now got the pedal to bounce off completely based on Smith's idea of letting the head breath and getting the fuller sound. It made sense and I immediately heard the sound difference, but it did take more balance and control. I've got to a point that if I dig in and keep the pedal in the head it's wrong and I am conscious of it as I play.
I've seen Virgil a lot and Thomas is more precise in his delivery. If music was about the visual then I guess it would matter, but on CD who really cares. The one thing I keep hearing from Lang--and this motivates me--is control, control, control, over speed. Speed will come with control. As I've gotten older, I've gotten more honest...and truth be told, I have little patience with "not getting it" quickly. I've been working on some Clave stuff, and it's deceptive...it sounds rather easy, and then when I isolate the ride pattern, I'm off here & there. Slowing it down has made a huge difference to nailing it perfectly. That and playing relaxed has really made drumming fun again for me.
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Just saw some Thomas Lang video clips on the
www.drummerworld.com website and was really impressed by his drum skills. It's a bit of an athletic event but non the less another way to play and make music. My question is; who does he play with?
It seems that every year drummers keep getting technically better but at the same time something seems to diminish. I guess it's my taste to enjoy the groove drummers more because of the trance they put me in. It's like they draw me in and when I'm about to get bored they do one little thing that draws me in further. At that point I forget where I'm at and time has no meaning. With the technical drummers it's kind of like listening to someone that uses a million words to get one simple point across . At that point I'm looking at my watch.
That's just my opinion, but the drumming is developing on such a fast pace now.
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This is the "New [& 'Free'] World" - didnt u know that "bigger [/faster/louder/stronger] is better?!"...MORE is more?!" Brasher & Brazen is the next "hip, cool" lawfirm?! [img]graemlins/whatever.gif[/img] [img]wink.gif[/img]
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wot like mike portnoy.......YUK!!! [img]graemlins/gulp.gif[/img]
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I think this guy Lang deserves
a chance to step up and accomp-
any someone and until then, we
should reserve our judgement on
whether or not he can actually
play the drums WITH someone.
He may surprise.
[img]cool.gif[/img]
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That's always been my thinking about Lang. Can he accompany a band playing like that; or is it just a calisthenic display of virtuosity?
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Yes Peter. I shouldn't jump to conclusions based off 1 min video clips from a drum video.
I like technique just as much as anyone else. It just has to accompany a really deep pocket to get me interested. I don't know what Thomas sounds like in a band. I'd love to hear it.
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As You see in Thomas Lang's dicography he is playing on Willi Langer's cds. I have one, so I'll try to upload some clips..
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It's obvious that there is NO doubt the guy can play...but then again, i like this sort of thing...
& then again, i also like a slinky, gritty, greasebucket groove/pocket just as much...
put the 2 together & ya gots mayhem & "moydah"...or someone like, say, Chambers...
...& NO, louie, NOT like MP [img]biggrin.gif[/img] [img]tongue.gif[/img] [i was being a bit sarcastic, as they say [img]wink.gif[/img]
<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ December 01, 2003 09:27 PM: Message edited by: FuseU1 ]</font>
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You're right, Blake.
I really believe that there
are a lot of pocket players
that have a lot of technique
behind them and conversely,
a lot of technical players
that have a lot of pocket.
Sometimes, it's just a mat-
ter of hearing them in the
right situation. People are
into different things at
different times.
I mean would a guy who's in-
to Latin expect to hear me
try to play "Dogboots" after
hearing me on Palmieri? You
just don't know. You can't.
You just have to wait and
see what happens.
[img]cool.gif[/img]
<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ December 01, 2003 12:08 PM: Message edited by: peter c ]</font>
