The Drum Also Waltzes: A Live Music Experience
This Thursday at Mississippi Studios will be unlike any performance yet. Prepare for an event focused on the band member that all-too often gets tucked in the back, maintaining the structure of the music and getting the credit last, if at all. This night, however, will feature an amazing local drummer, and another, and well, two more. We will get to hear not only their music, but also their thoughts.
Each performer will spend a few minutes discussing the wild world of drumming with the audience and host Jose Medeles (of Revival Drum Shop and 1939 Ensemble) before performing a set of their percussive-driven sounds.
The performers include:
Secret Drum Band featuring Lisa Schonberg
Dana Valatka of AU
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/39005024″ params=”color=127e7b” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]Paper/Upper/Cuts featuring Papi Fimbres
Ben Stoller of Hot Victory
When: 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 18
Where: Mississippi Studios, 3939 N. Mississippi Ave., mississippistudios.com 503-288-3895 x7
Tickets: $6 advance / $8 day of, http://ticketf.ly/1yQH3BP
To get a taste of the event, we tapped into these four phenoms for some insight:
1) What does drumming or being a drummer mean to you?
2) Who are three of your favorite all-time drummers?
3) What is your ideal drum kit setup? (# / types of drums and cymbals)
Dana Valatka:
1) Drumming to me, mostly, is an outward expression of spirit and love. It’s a way to inspire and connect with people, to create that feedback loop that I generally have some trouble making in everyday life. It tunes me in to the greater mind, and as bonus, playing my heart out keeps me fit!
2) All time? Too hard, but here’s three:
Jim White
Greg Saunier
Andy Newmark
3) There will never be an ideal drum setup. Sorry!
Papi Fimbres:
1) Drumming to me is the absolute freedom of the mind, body & energy (soul). When I play drums, I don’t play the drums; they play me. It’s an exchange of immediate emotion that can never be repeated once released.
2) Wow, this is a very difficult question. I’m not a fan of favoritism but i would say that my “favorite” 3 (types) of drummers would be random noise in the forest that has a rhythm like say birds. Another would be the footsteps of fancy shoes in an open area & lastly silence…the best.
3) The less the better. You can get about 10-30 different sounds out of one tom if you know how to open up that third eye.
Ben Stoller:
1) I believe rhythm is one of the most primal and fundamental ways to express our emotions and feelings. The modern “drum set” is an advanced tool to take the art of “drumming” to incredible heights. To me, being a drummer is the ultimate way to express myself.
2) That’s a hard one to narrow down but I always go with Bill Buford…Tim Alexander and Danny Carey really blew my mind when I was a teenager and influenced me immensely.
3) Its forever changing! Right now I’m really into roto-toms and bigger vintage drums…like a ludwig vistalite 24 kick and 18 floor. Usually I play a 4 or 5-piece but occasionally for some projects I’ll bust out my other kick drum for some double bass. I’ve always been a big fan of A custom cymbals and lately I’ve been having a lot of fun with electronic triggering.
