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Heard this from the man himself at The Best of British drum show a few days ago. He's doing the British Pop Idol (you guys call it American Idol) tour. So this will be simply a groove gig, and I'm dying to see how he sounds! (not so much that i'd actually attend...possibly).
I havn't been a big fan of his solo's (i've only seen a couple though, and I've never really heard him lay some groove down), but this sounds like his first "Big break"?
I had a lesson with Thomas on saturday and we chatted about all sorts. this is FAR from his first big break??!! hes been massivly busy....hes done LOADS of pop tours, and has worked for lots of european pop and rock stars and has done lots of work with john wetton etc. he also produces for various artists and people.
I also had a sneek preview at his soon to be released solo album......HOLY SHIT!!!!
He is the most incredibly talented drummers and musicians you are ever likely to meet....and a fabulous teacher!
Louie - how does it "stack up against" Virg's OTV/SYI? [img]wink.gif[/img]
<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ February 16, 2004 05:19 PM: Message edited by: FuseU1 ]</font>
I dont want to give anything away....but it sounded FANTASTIC to me! and no matter how complex the drumming or music got....it ALL grooved!!!!
[...i also suppose that is a great title for his 1st solo disc ["Holey Shite!"] [img]tongue.gif[/img] ]
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Damn really? Shows how uninformed I am! Any CD's to reccommend btw? Looking forward to getting the DVD.Quote:
Originally posted by palmerlouie:
I had a lesson with Thomas on saturday and we chatted about all sorts. this is FAR from his first big break??!! hes been massivly busy....hes done LOADS of pop tours, and has worked for lots of european pop and rock stars and has done lots of work with john wetton etc. he also produces for various artists and people.
I also had a sneek preview at his soon to be released solo album......HOLY SHIT!!!!
He is the most incredibly talented drummers and musicians you are ever likely to meet....and a fabulous teacher!
So PL...a little more on the lesson. How much? What was TL's introduction excercise with you? What did he have you do and practice? Details my man! I'm mostly interested in any hand development--taking it slow, watching form, etc.
Thanks bro!
I didnt want to have the lesson and then come on here and tell you Everything, even tho i was very excited about it; you'd be suprised how many people read this board, and thomas is sort of doing me a favour as he doesnt teach much. but i can certaintly tell you how it went.
F***ing brilliant! I felt very belittled when i saw thomas walk thru the backstage door after my peformance last sunday, but after he agreed to teach me, i figured it was a good thing that he saw me play, so that he knows where to go and what to talk about.
he analysed my playing and said my technique is pretty wrong. left hand was too open, too much thumb. he said left hand must be closed like at claw almost. and right hand must come from the SIDE of the drum.....just like virgil holds his righ hand stick.....so the wrist can then work the way it is supposed to ....like when you wave at someone.
he then proceeded to teach me 4 different techniques.....wrist, fingers, gladstone, and another for doubles (similar to the new weckl one). he said good technique is about being able to CONSTANTLY change your technique within one song. he said he never (or very rarely) uses one sinlge technique in a song. thats what good technique is.....its about mixing it up and having an arsenal of feels and approaches.
he said technique has nothing to do with speed and chops....its all about CONTROL and making everything easier! speed is a result.
as for the feet....he said all that food twisting and sliding motion stuff is nonsense.....all pedals are designed with a sweet spot...(near the toe stop at the end) and that is where you play them and your foot doesnt move!
and my set up has to change completely as a result....sitting higher to accomadate better feet comfort and agility and to make use of the "power stroke". higher (and therefore closer) cymbals etc.
its was a four hour lesson FULL of information and excercises. he said never practice hands or feet on their own...always together and gave me loads of excercises to practice.....one had 16000 combinations and its about 10 yrs worth or practice! but that particular one cover everthing.....hand and feet endurance....time signatures and independence and coordination. (it will prob be on the dvd)
thoroughly inspiring and was amazing to watch him play....he is incredible!! and his bass, guitar, and keys playing is also extremly impressive! i dont know if there is anything he cant do! (and hes a really nice guy and a great teacher)
he said when he was my age (18) he practiced 3-5 hrs a day (i was expecting him to say 14 or something) but he said his practice is SO EFFECIENT that he got good very quickly.....so always practice hands and feet!
even weckl has gotten hold of some of langs excersises to help him.
Wow...
Thanks for that, PL.
As everyone else in here, I'm looking forward to his DVD, as well.
Same kind of "bad" news..... Manu Katche is part of the jury for "Pop Stars", the french version of the fuc... program !!!!
Excellent post, thx for that, LP.
"...good technique is about being able to CONSTANTLY change your technique within one song. he said he never (or very rarely) uses one sinlge technique in a song. thats what good technique is.....its about mixing it up and having an arsenal of feels and approaches."
That's it. No one could've said it better. Brilliant.
<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ February 20, 2004 04:16 PM: Message edited by: FuseU1 ]</font>
THANKS for that...I always like the "in the moment" stuff.
With that all said, would you say TL's new DVD a personal lesson with him (as good as a DVD lesson can be and all)?
As simple as it sounds...(and I should have known this because GLStone's Stick Control discusses this idea in the preface)...but practicing slowly w/o trying to "level jump" or master a feel too fast has made a big impact on not only my drumming, but enjoyment of drumming.
That said x2, I do feel that certain personalities are more geared to certain forms of discipline--practicing slowly, allowing speed to happen naturally, or being an efficient thinker, etc. Thomas and Dave seem to fit this bill. Virgil (possibly the most disciplined of all) has similar traits, but a certain uniqueness that craves exploration.
Again, thanks! Anybody else want to share killer lessons?
Just curious PL...
Was this a "one-off" lesson with Thomas or are you intending to keep up with it as and when his busy schedule permits?
Oh and was the 5 gazillion combinations exercise on the DVD... I'm eagerly awaiting my copy in the post any day now!
indeed i do hope to keep it up. thomas was pretty keen to do so too and was said i could ring him any time, so im very excited!
The dvd does have the system explained....not as detailed as in my lesson but yes it is there. no technique is there tho....only a little foot technique but no hand technique.....but then i thought the dvd is titled "creative control" and its more about control and practice systems. still a wonderful package tho.
and im baffled....all the adverts for the dvd say that there is also live concert footage and a performance of the "black page"???? i certanly cant find it....am i missing something?
Well I hope that stuff IS on there... I was quite keen to see The Black Page.
I love special features on DVDs though they sometimes seem to do a good job of hiding them. Hopefully it is on there and us brits arent getting a reduced content version of the disc.
the bonus stuff is interesting but there isnt loads of it.
the solo from the generation-x tour is great but it must have been a rushed and unfinished mix from the actual gen-x dvd which is yet to be released because the mix is SHIT! the drums sound poo and the floor tom is louder than anything else and the 12" rack tom u cannot hear! if thats the actual mix, then they have royaly buggered up the new meinl dvd!
the other bonus bit is thomas playing with a band from a few years back. look how differently he sits and plays!!!!!
Still waiting for that nice man at Hudson UK to get through all the orders and send out my copy!
I've been off work with a terrible cold for the last 2 days and I could have done with some "drum porn" to help me recover!