Over the years, there has been one unwavering staple at all of blink 182’s shows, and that is a Travis Barker drum solo. For some time now, he has been incorporating a rotating riser that, during his solo, lifts him completely off the stage and rotates him 360 degrees multiple times. His solo has definitely evolved over time, but the setup remains the same. Below is an old video from before Blink went on their recent hiatus. This gives you a really good idea of what the rotating riser does, and how Travis handles it. He also talks about his relationship with OCDP (Orange County Drum and Percussion), whom he has been endorsing for many years.
Travis Barker Solo on the Rotating Riser
Below is a more recent solo from Blink’s latest tour where they were accompanied by a few different acts along the way including Weezer, Asher Roth, Fall Out Boy, Taking Back Sunday, Panic at the Disco, The All American Rejects, and Chester French. This gives you a good idea of what the rotating riser looks like from an audience perspective.
Travis Barker Solo on Rotating Riser in Milwaukee 2009
From time to time, Travis Barker will do remixes of songs for various artists. He puts awesome drum parts to existing tunes and they sound great! He just put up a new one so here it is. The video is titled “The One” by Slaughterhouse. Enjoy!
Travis Barker Remix- Slaughterhouse “The One”
Heres another remix he did for Eminem’s semi-recent single “3 AM”
Review of a Vintage Ludwig Marching Snare After Re-Furbishing
So I did a post a couple of weeks ago about a vintage Ludwig marching snare that I picked up at a music shop for $100. I recently re-furbished it and the finished product is fantastic! I have taken some pictures and below is the newly re-furbished drum. By the way, it’s a 15″ by 12″ marching snare in orange sparkle.
Batter Side/Snare Side
Now see what the finished product sounds like
Now for the changes I made. I thought I was going to have to replace both the top and bottom hoops, but to my excitement, it only looked like they were bent because the heads were torn and warped. I therefore only had to replace the heads, and get some new snares put on. The throwoff is still in great shape, and all of the tension rods (although rusty) and fine as well. For the top head I used a Remo Coated Ambassador. I want to be able to tune this snare a few different ways, and the coated ambassador is a versatile enough head to give me that option. On the bottom, I put a clear Ambassador, and a generic set of snares. The end result is awesome, and sounds beautiful on recording. For the particular recording I used it on, I tuned it really low, and put one moon gel on the top, and one on the bottom. The end result was a really fat, dirty tone that supported the vibe of the tune perfectly as the music was country/acoustic/singer songwriter stuff. I would like to thank the guys at Professional Drum Shop in Hollywood for always being so accommodating. For anyone who lives in the LA area, the guys at pro drums are extremely knowledgeable and helpful. Below is a link to the post I did on this drum before re-furbishing. Enjoy!
The push pull technique is one that many drummers try to achieve mastery over. It’s been used for decades, and some of the great drummers of our time (ie Buddy Rich, Tony Williams) were masters and pioneers of this method. It’s simply a range of motion utilizing the fingers and wrist that creates the most speed and strokes with the least amount of energy and movement. Or, simply getting two strokes with the energy it takes to get only one. A few contemporary drummers have mastered this technique, but none better that Jojo Mayer. In his DVD, “Secret Weapons for the Modern Drummer,” he breaks down and demonstrates this highly sought after technique with both traditional, and matched grip. He shows exactly how to practice and develop this movement. Below are a couple of videos of Jojo talking about the basics of the push pull, and some of his other similar techniques.
Jojo Mayer Demonstrating Push Pull
Jojo Mayer Demonstrating Push Pull, and Pull Out Accents
Another famed drummer who has achieved a mastery over this motion is Dave Weckl. In the video below, Dave explains his method behind the “one handed roll,” or in other words, his version of the push-pull. In his explanation he credits Buddy Rich as his inspiration to learn the technique, and he demonstrates it briefly in a drum set situation.
Dave Weckl Demonstrating His One Handed Roll
For anyone who wants to practice and learn this technique, I highly suggest buying Jojo Mayer’s aforementioned DVD. Below I have provided a link to “Secret Weapons for the Modern Drummer” on Amazon, that I used in a previous post. Have fun developing your finger control!
It’s meaningless to have nice equipment if you don’t take care of it. The only real way to make sure your drums and hardware don’t get damaged is to get quality cases, especially if you gig and/or tour frequently. You might think that you have to spend a fortune on quality cases that will sufficiently protect your instruments, but this is not entirely true. The term, “you get what you pay for” definitely applies here, but a few companies make very high quality gear for the price. Obviously the ideal situation is to get hard cases for all your instruments, but if you don’t have the means to do that, there are still options. I recently went on the road for a month, and brutalized my gear, but avoided damage altogether by using Roadrunner drum cases. I have always used Roadrunner products, and never had a reason to switch. I use their soft drum bags, and their stick bag with the shoulder strap.
Roadrunner Soft Cases
To protect my cymbals, I found that SKB makes a great hard case that comes with individual pads to put between each cymbal to separate them. Their Hardware cases are also great, and all of their hard-cases come with wheels for easy transportation.
SKB Hard Cymbal Case
SKB Hardware Case
Lastly, Pelican makes some great cases for any electronics that you may be using. I use a small pelican case for my in ear monitors, but their cases are great for electronic drums/pads, or just cables and wires.
Pelican In Ear Monitor Case
All of these companies have great cases, but the ones I have listed and pictured are, I believe, the best that each of them have to offer. The bottom is that you have to protect your gear, and there are ways to save money while effectively doing so. Good Luck!
Hey all! I recently entered a contest at Coverband2010.com and the winner receives a Gretsch Catalina Ash 5-Piece Black Shell Pack, plus some really cool additional hardware, and better yet, a free trip to NAMM to perform. If you have some spare time, I would really appreciate your vote!
Review of a Vintage Ludwig Marching Snare Before Re-Furbishing
So I was recently in a local music shop, and picked up a vintage (I believe it’s from the 60’s) Ludwig marching snare in Orange Sparkle. the tone of it is amazing, and I am going to deem this post the “before,” and later I’ll do an “after” post when I’m done refurbishing it. I’m obviously planning on using it on a drum set and not as a marching snare. I want to use it mainly for studio situations, to obtain that highly sought after dirty, fat, beautiful snare drum tone that so many guys try to get these days. It’s becoming increasingly popular, even on the biggest pop records, and drummers obtain it in many different ways. To fatten and flatten the sound of your snare you can do anything from putting duct tape on the batter and/or resonant heads, to going crazy and covering the batter head with cardboard, and other muffling materials. Below is a picture of the drum in it’s current condition. I have not altered it in any way since I bought it, and I payed exactly $100 for it.
Ludwig Marching Snare
So the dimensions of this drum are obviously not typical to a snare that is commonly used in a drum set situation. A typical snare drum is 14″ in diameter, and anywhere from 3 to 7 or more inches deep. This drum has a 15″ diameter, and is 12″ deep. It is, however, a marching snare though, meaning its typically tuned very high to create that machine gun effect. I have never re-furbished a snare like this before, but I’m excited to play around with the different tones I can get out of it!
I’m gonna start the process by replacing the batter hoop, as it’s bent and warped in multiple places. I am also going to replace both the batter and resonant heads, and the snares as well. All of the lugs and screws are in seemingly good condition, a the throwoff works fine. Below I have recorded a sample of what the drum sounds like in it’s un-altered state.
It actually doesn’t sound that bad for having no changes made to it, but I’m excited to explore the possibilities with this new drum! Check back in a week or so, and see how it sounds. Thanks for reading!
SKB Hardware Case
Pelican In Ear Monitor Case
