Thursday, April 30, 2009

Grey Street - A tad bit of Viol-Voc-Sax smoothness

Dave Matthews Band.. Who doesn't know them. They are an awesome band specially due to their fusion-istic  style with that awesome drummer at the back filling the song with so much depth, background and a solid back beat. The drummer is no other than the world renowned Cater Beauford

So the reason for this post is because I stumbled upon this song quite randomly while I was rummaging through my music folders for some distraction from work. Yes, once I found it I did get distracted from work but a bit too much. Just blew my head away with the resurfaced fascination of Cater's unique drumming style. His ambidextrous style is quite hard to mimic yet I'm trying real hard to get the syncopated hi-hat style he uses to his great advantage in almost all his songs and specially in Grey Street; the song this article's dedicated to.

Grey Street is from the Lillywhite Session album the alleged "leaked" album. Man, I just love this song so much! You have no idea how much I just want to be dirty with this drum track in the song :). For instance take the period between 00:56 and 1:10. Here it seems to be a pre-chorus where Cater plays this syncopated 3-hit pattern on the Ride (the bell) on the "and" beats. That beat though seems quite simple it's not. He's not just playing the ride, he's playing the hi-hat at the same time with his right. Remember he's playing his hi-hat with his left and the ride is on his immediate left.



He's just an awesome drummer to follow if you want to improve your ambidexterity as his songs require the switching of your lead hands constantly to play his rolls and the basic backbeat patterns of the song though they alone are quite complex. But if you keep at it I guarantee this guy's influence will improve your skills quite a bit. 

Just listen to some DMB songs starting with Satellite, moving to crush and finally to Grey Street. All those songs are simple comparatively and give you a good base to start on your practicing. Please note that when I say practice with these songs I actually mean a few implied, sub-steps that you need to follow. They would be to figure out what exactly Cater is playing. Listen to each and every point of the song and try figure out what he's doing with your own musical ear. Don't go to Google and type in "Grey Street Drum tab"!! You're a looser if you do this :) Nah, you're not, just make sure you do that after you've got more than 100 songs figured out by your ear. 

There's nothing like figuring out a beat for yourself. Listen to it, once, twice, ........, a hundred times if you have to and get it. I'm still trying to figure out simple beats (not that I'm a good drummer). What I'm trying to say is that it's normal to have bad days and have bad period and bad years. Let go of that tension and just play that drumset as hard as you can. Play till your sticks break, till your drum skin gives in under your tension induced strokes. Just let go and feel free to do whatever you want with YOUR drumset. It's yours and no one can control your strokes even if your teacher's right next to you. It's you who's moving that stick and you play just the way you want to. 

As you might have notice I've drifted quite a bit away from my main topic and this is exactly what I was afraid of. When I get into my zone I get distracted and I won't figure out that I've drifted till it's too late :) But I hope I've given some insight as to my principles when it comes to drumming. I'm hoping to do a article on starting requirements for a drummer specially late starters like me. I started when I was 17 or 18 and I've played for around 7 or 8 years I think. So I'll be your saviour; all those guys and girls who think it's too late to start. I'll guarantee if you give me a year of your life 1 hr a day I'll make you a drummer and a good one at it and a way better one than me... :)

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

A new world order.. A thought pattern illusionist..

After a few posts on my music related blog I've been pulled into a world of political liability and I'm bad at that as I would not look pass my 1st impression. But hey.. If you and I ever had similar thoughts we'd all be friends and we all will live happily ever after. But the saddest and most known truth is that it's not the case.. duh...!

Well, I think my music mind is asking for an article but my day-job mind says no, so right now my brains listening to a heavy tune of retaliation while my ears are listening to a band called "Heed", one of my recent favourites. My winamp is constantly filled with Heed for a special reason; that is Daniel Heiman. Got to say, that's a funny surname. But this guy has one of the best power metal vocals I've heard. Yes, that comment alone will beckon a retaliation from the power metal junkies but I have my own justifiable reasons for this.

For me music is a way of life and a sustainer of energy. It keeps me going and a song without it's appeal to me will be just another Paris Hilton. So uniqueness and melody (as I keep saying) is important and Daniel has a voice that has range, strength and at the same time strangely enough depth. I love his earlier project "Lost Horizon". 

For all you who haven't heard here's the Wiki link: Lost Horizon. Not comprehensive at all but it WILL give you a start. Once again Lost Horizon falls under the almost operatic vocal styled metal sub-genre called Power metal. Big names in this genre would be Halloween, Hammerfall, Iron Maiden, Gamma Ray, Primal Fear, etc, etc.

The key for me to like Lost Horizon is the fact that Daniel has his own unique style embedded in the vocal style. This gives rise to a new type of music which is hardly known to many called "Fantasy" or "Majestic" metal due to it's very much prevalent medieval touch. Another good example of Majestic metal would be Blind Guardian - yet another favourite of mine. 

So coming back to Daniel, his style is so unique at the same time being able to have such a range of extreme high pitch notes is just unbelievable. I just go nut when I hear the almost inaudible high pitch, yet perfectly maintained the melodical style I just adore at the 2:59 minute point of Highlander; a song from Lost Horizon's last album with Daniel called "A flame to the ground beneath". Another awesome demo of this fantastic vocalist would be "Pure" from the same album. 

I'd like to finish this small thought drooling article before I ruin my beauty sleep. As I work for an industry that does not know or believe in giving rest to it's human resources I'm strained quite literally to the brink of breaking down. But I'm glad for my music who'd stand by me everyday being non-judgemental; only to be judged by us - the thought pattern illusionists.....

P.S. Listen to the 20th second of the song "Pure" and you'd know what a perfectly done power metal harmony is. :) Do not forget and listen to the drums. Lost Horizon is a very good example of the style of drumming I'm into. Dynamic, powerful, complex, beautiful, runs on its own and at the same time not so over-the-top to drown the rest of the music. Listen and you'd know what I'm talking about. Please excuse any incomprehensible sentences.. No reviewing at all for this post.. :)

Monday, April 27, 2009

Best guitar playing I've heard in a while.. Inspiring.. So alien..

Good morning everyone. Just thought I'd share this guitarist with you. He's just fabulous. Wiki, Google or YouTube him; he's all over the place. This video I'm adding to my post is the most viewed with.. let's here it.. 21 Million views.. It's beautiful. He's known as Andy Mckee...

If any of you had seen the movie August Rush you might have seen this style of playing. Its called the "American Finger Style" and I haven't seen anyone like Andy. There's Don Ross and a few others on YouTube who's rated as good but I just don't get the same feeling inside of me, this warm, cozy, melting feeling when I watch their videos. 

Just watch this video and you let me know what you think. I'm still thankful to my friend Sanjaya Jayawardena for showing me this video on YouTube. I just love this song. The melodies this guy creates using a single hand is just phenomenal. Just mind boggling and simply unearthly. I love this guy. This playing is one of the most inspiring and breath taking. 

Enough talk, let's watch:


Music.. Different genres.. I hate that genre and love the other.. Bullshit..

For the past few weeks it's been the few bands on my Winamp that kept my work from becoming "too" stressful. All you metalhead the band names will be commonplace but for all you who's not, it would be your first time and as I mentioned in my opening note, quite morbid!!

Well my winamp looks like this..

What you do you think? Any band you know? Heard of Sanctity? Probably all you heard Toto.. I listen for a few songs and mainly for Jeff Pocaro (half-time shuffle inventor)
What about All that remains, Amon Amarth or Evergrey?? No? What about Light this city? Just like Arch Enemy, Light this city has a female lead vocalist.  'love 'em..

Well let me introduce you to this morbid, unaccepted, unethical, demonic and loud music. Other than Toto all other bands were of the Metal main genre. But the sub-genre varyies from Power to Melodic Death metal where Viking metal stands in the middle. :)

So what you think? Interesting? Just like any subject area, metal has it's origins, fascinations and passionate-cult following and it's not just for some depressed teenger. Yes, I agree if you say not everyone would like the music but I'd say that is because you let the masses control your taste. You're not open enough to accept metal as part of your song list though secretively you WILL and I repeat that you WILL love at least one or two metal songs during your life span..

I'll be impartial and I'll talk about the exact opposite scenario which holds true. I've met people who listens and engages in cult-like activities just to show-off to the world that they are not appreciative of the main stream music scene. Most of the metal scene in Sri Lanka is run through this theory, hence the reason for me to be on the down-low for the past few years. Most naive kids nowadays listen to music just to belong and be different. I don't have any issue with this but don't disrespect any other type of music.. 
I think anyone can and will love any type of music. So, just let yourself like whatever you feel like and enjoy this world of music. There's alot of things you can learn, specially if you are a musician and experience if you're a pure listener, in all types of music. Please I emplore that you let go of the "I only listen to metal, rock or techno" and embrace the music as a universal gift for all of us from nature. Music has the power to change or induce emotions and I believe anything that can do that is worth receiving your respect.....

A note from me to you..

Hey everybody, I'm Mr.Hachi Roku and I'm a hardcore music fan. For me everything is about rhythm, music or melody. My life revolves around it and I just adore, love and cherish a good song with a beautiful melody. 

I'd like to think that I'm not your average music lover. Being a musician I am somewhat cursed with the need to,  needlessly at times I must confess, analyse the song in figuring out how the guitar riff is played, how it seams in with the drums, what the drumbeat is and how the vocal melody changes are added. This for me is everything about music but yes, when I'm at work I'm disturbed by my own ways where, I'd suddenly start intensely analysing the song I'm listening to forgetting I'm at work. Most of the time I get laughed at as I start playing either air drums or guitar. :) Probably I'm talking for many of you out there as well.. I hope.. 

Further, I must say that my heart gets attracted to whatever music that is composed of a beautiful melody. Maybe I can give you the range of music I listen to but I'm sure for most of you my 1st love would be morbid, that said I've come across a few people who can appreciate music for being music but mostly I've been ridiculed or even harassed by the masses, yet I stand firm with my taste and would stand by it forever and maybe day more..:) corny..?? hehe.. You start following my blog, you'd get a lot of that...... sorrryyy....!

So... I welcome you all to my blog and hope that all you drummers are ready for a few drum lessons and also to receive some lovely underground music updates  from Sri Lanka and from anywhere there's music.. even from heaven and hell. 

This is me signing off and to all you I'll be called....
Mr.Hachi Roku.