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
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!
Sorry guys I have been working a lot lately, and subsequently haven’t been able to post as much as I would like to. I’m off to work a little more at the moment so below I have just posted some Dave Weckl videos for you to watch and enjoy. I will do a more detailed post on Dave Weckl soon, but for the moment enjoy some of my favorite videos of his.
Demonstration of Loose Phrasing Around a Click Track
No drummer, or musician for that matter, can argue the fact that Buddy Rich is one of the greatest drummers of all time. He was extremely innovative, and similar to the advances made by John Bonham in foot technique, Buddy Rich shed some much needed light on hand technique and finger control. One of his most notable accomplishments (for which he will be forever known) is called the “push pull.” It is a form of finger control that basically allows one to get twice the strokes with half the motion in one hand. it is a very finite, refined hand motion that, if mastered, allows one to comfortably move the stick with unbelievable speed and control, and very little effort or energy. Below is a video of another great drummer, Jojo Mayer, demonstrating this technique.
Jojo Mayer has made fantastic advances for modern hand technique as well. He has mastered the push pull, and has done amazing things for finger control as well. His DVD, “Secret Weapons for the Modern Drummer” is definitely worth buying and working through.
Buddy Rich played mostly swing and big band and is most famous for his work with Count Basie, Frank Senatra, Tommy Dorsey, his own “Buddy Rich Big Band,” and way too many others to list. He also did major session work, and is featured on recordings for such artists as Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong. He was a master soloist, and maintained an almost flawless balance between chops, power, speed, and showmanship. A few of his videos are displayed below demonstrating some of his famous technique and style, so enjoy watching one of the masters of our craft!
Solo From Westside Story with the BR Big Band
One of Buddy’s Famous Drum Battles with the Great Gene Krupa
So I talked about drum solos the other day. I discussed a few methods that I use to keep a drum solo interesting without having to come up with a million ideas on the spot. In the video below, I have attempted to construct a groove based drum solo that keeps the same basic feel throughout. I hope you guys enjoy!
Drum soloing is a concept that can be interpreted into a million different ways. It can vary greatly depending on the style of solo, whether there is musical accompaniment, the tempo, and a hundred other variables. Personally I prefer watching and listening to solos that happen over a vamp (Repeating musical figure, song section, or phrase) or if theres no musical accompaniment, that have some kind of time-feel (weather is be a jazz, reggae, rock etc…) established underneath. To me, this creates more opportunities to be creative within a certain style, and to construct a solo that is actually somewhat musical. I tend not to like Free-time (no time or feel established) solos, because I find it hard to relate musically to a solo that has no steady time, or implied style or feel. Don’t get me wrong, these types of solos can be amazing if they are played well, but I prefer groove based solos. One great way that I have found to help me solo over a groove piece of music is to use a motif. A motif is simply one repeating musical figure or idea that you can use over and over in a solo. I usually create a one or two measure motif in my solos, and then fill in every other one or two measures with improvised material. In the example below the first measure is the motif, and the slash marks in the second measure represents the improvised section. This whole phrase can be repeated many times in a solo, and keep it interesting to the listener.
Motif
Another way to keep a solo interesting is to create some kind of figure at the beginning or end of each 2, 4, or 8 measure phrase that you can use many different ideas over in the same solo. This is similar to a motif, but instead of using the exact same idea or lick every few bars, you are simply playing the same rhythmic phrase or accent pattern every few bars, but in many different ways. You are now improvising over the entire phrase, but using this accent pattern to bring some sense of consistency or musicality to your solo. See the example below.
Rhythmic Phrase
Try some of these ideas and concepts out the next time you have to solo, and hopefully they will help you create a well constructed, musical solo that you are happy with!
One of my favorite drummers, and drum soloists in particular, is Benny Greb. He is extremely musical and interesting to listen to so enjoy one of his solos!
