Who is rocking the double bass lately?

One person I would have to say who is doing a great job of not overplaying right now is Jeremy Spencer. He is the drummer for Fiver Finger Death Punch. I can't say how much his drumming just fits with the song all the way through. There are always a few beats or ways that drummers play to a song that doesn't always sit good in my stomach. All of his beats fit very well and don't overshadow the rest of the band. I guess it also helps having a killer vocalist with an amazing guitarist and the amount of experience the entire band holds. I feel comfortable in saying that this is one of the first bands in general that gives me that getup and want to kick some butt feeling that Pantera gave me. I know there are a lot of hardcore Pantera fans that would disagree, but it is more in the way that there sounds backs what they are saying, and the singer doesn't have a whiny voice. Some bands just get that you don't have to play fast to be heavy, thanks to Vinni Paul, we are aloud to have those styles today!

Is Rockband/Guitar Hero Real Drumming?

YES IT IS REAL DRUMMING, the cost is highly different though, anyone can learn the guitar version for these games, Expert+ is fun, oh yeah, for all the musicians out there, it is a video game that is for fun. Got that!

Nobody is calling themselves real musicians who play these games. I see a whole bunch of people who worked hard to get good at an instrument bash something that is actually helping the music industry and them. You will have more fans come to your show if they are exposed to more music, how is this a bad thing? As for drums go, I am a double bassist who just tried playing Guitar Hero 5 on drums, real playing required. How the heck is a 7 year old supposed to play those higher levels, well, isn't drums just pathways when it comes down to it?

You learn rhythms, which now are more accurate than the first couple of games. For guitar, yeah its just fun, but drums...I actually do have to slow it down and practice the faster songs. Can you jump on the drums and start playing Children of Bodom 100% perfect because it is showing you the notes, nope, you still have to have timing and endurance. SO, in conclusion, bright shiny colors and fake notes, actually do help your drumming. Prove me wrong, I dare you!

Yes, I do practice the real drums, too. Anything that helps, helps, so for all the skeptics and negative people who like raining on every ones parade...nobody is making you play.

Sick new pedal! I am in love...Ooooooooh, Shiny!

Not only does TRICK Percussion's dominator pedal look cool, but it is functional too. I have been waiting for someone to take the riegns in design for pedals, its been the same thing for almost the last 100 years practically, first I saw Axis, and now these. Long foot board, and more attention to resistance prevention. The beaters make sense, they are aerodynamic, want one? Ooooh, shiny!

Practice makes what perfect? LIAR!!!

Well, I guess some of us will never find out, actually most of us. I can't say how many times I see musicians who do not practice. I am guilty myself of not practicing enough, but why do we do this to ourselves? It has to be the human need for instant gratification. If we don't see what we want come out on the other side, we get frustrated and get comfortable. Practicing involves being uncomfortable and learning from the bottom up. In double bass drumming, you really have to learn all of the same rudiments with your feet as you do your hands. So push past the stuck feeling in your stomach and pay your freaking dues...I know I have to!

Bigger is Better? Big Bass Drum Versus Little Bass Drum

Bigger is better? Not always. It is obvious that a smaller drum will produce more of a bounce or pop if you will. Tighter surface area, bigger bounce. It is funny how a lot of double bass drummers aim for speed but then get 22-24" bass drums, it doesn't really make much sense unless you have triggers to compensate for the loss in thud. I saw Fear Factory in concert, Raymond Herrera (now with Arkaea), the drummer had some of the smallest bass drums I had ever seen in live concert. Considering his playing style of very fast double bass that consists of many in between rests, he gets it! You can check out a song that he used the 18's on, Fear Factory-Cyberwaste it was very fast, also 24's which I own, have to be some of the slowest drums I have ever played on. But I like playing with complications, once I have a couple more levels of drumming under my belt, and some spare cash, its time to get some small bass drums. If you really want to go fast, besides practice, there is always physics! Now you can fit your set into a VW bug!

Who is The Worst Double Bass Drummer Ever?

It always makes me laugh when people say certain people are "bad" or "crappy" drummers. When it comes down to it, if you are signed, touring, and have been around for over 5 years in the mainstream, how could you possibly be a bad drummer? Often people say Lars Ulrich from Metallica is a crappy drummer, which is a just a huge way to say that you don't understand music or double bass drumming. It takes talent even if you don't have the best timing to come up with drum parts and to not overplay double bass. The fact is people can't be fixed by recording, but the edges get rounded out and timing can be helped. I don't think anyone is a bad drummer, maybe if they are drunk I can make an exception, but otherwise I stand behind what I said. Also, if you don't like a certain musician or band, then why are you listening to it in the first place. Lot of critics, but then again, its not uncommon for people in glass houses to throw bricks. Style shouldn't be equated into talent, but then again, its how you equate talent in the first place that really matters.

Double Bass Powered Car

I can dream can't I? When driving in hectic traffic on a lovely raining day, why can't I practice my bass pedals in the car. SO I figured it out, you just need to have a car that produces energy off of playing the double bass pedals where your regular pedals would be. Or the Flintstones could have used that technology to run the cars in Bedrock. Come on inventors, alternate power source and a way to practice, I think I just came up with the best way to counter attack global warming and build endurance!

E-Interview: Metal Drummer Tim Head from Dissimulated

I was fortunate to get an E-Interview with Tim Head from Dissimulated. He is from Brentwood, CA and Dissumlated is a Progressive death metal band in the Bay Area of Northern California. He is young as is the rest of the band but talent shows no limits. They have managed to cut through the clutter of metal to a distinguished style of heavy. Check them out at their myspace page: Dissimulated. Check out the whole thing below.


DP: How long have you been playing double bass in drums and how old are you?

TH: I've been playing double bass for about 3 years now. I just turned 18 in sept.


DP: How do you practice?

TH: I practice as often as I can. Sadly my set is at our practice space so its tough to get some playing in every day. But i usually start off with some select Travis Orbin or Periphery parts. It's really interesting stuff. Helps a lot with inner dependence between my hands and feet because they have the craziest time signatures you will ever hear. I usually play parts in 5/4, 7/8, and 9/8 when practicing as well to get comfortable with the odd time signatures. I also like to play para diddle diddles on my snare and kick to work my speed and memory with my hands and feet.

DP: Who is your favorite double bass drummer and why?

TH: My favorite double bass drummer is probably Blake Richardson from Between the Buried and Me. Simply because his style in all his parts are very different and very original. Also because he is close to perfect with time and for all drummers that's one of the most important things in your playing.

DP: How do you come up with the drum parts for your band in the creation process?

TH: When I play a drum part over a riff I try to naturally think of the opposite that you would typically play. So instead of having your snare play on the down beat of everything I like to spice stuff up and put snare hits in different spots. It honestly comes very natural to me now. But I try to change it up here and there simply to stay fresh with the music. I also write a lot of drum parts off poly rhythm's. A riff might be in 4/4 for guitar and bass but I might put a ride pattern in there that's in 7/8. I also write a lot of the guitar riffs for the band so I have plenty of time to experiment at my house before practicing on the set. That's typically how I write my parts for Dissimulated.

DP: What do you think is the new direction of double bass in mainstream?

TH: I think it's growing rapidly but honestly I'm hearing to many drummers that have double bass but don't know what there doing with it yet. You really have to practice. A metronome is a drummer's best friend. I think extreme music or just metal in general is starting to become a lot more popular towards people. For one thing its great for exposure on the other hand though, you really start to see ego's, and it no longer is really about the music. I sound very cliche right now, but honestly it's the truth.

Well rounded musicians are a product of discipline an open mind, and a whole lot of practice. As you can see and hear from this band, they are definitely a contender in the metal scene. I am interested to see how this band will mold and define itself over the next couple of years. It is always great to hear from another drummer on how they skin a cat. Everyone does it differently. Thank you for reading.

You can also see Tim on YouTube here: Malice Music

E-Interview--Harsh Words drummer: Mohamed Laglilate

Mohamed Laglilate is a drummer from Morocco. I wanted to get inside the mind of a double bassist on the other side of the world. It has to be a different scene over there. I was fortunate enough to talk to Mohamed Laglilate through the power of Facebook. You can check out his band http://www.youtube.com/user/harshwordsband here doing some covers. Metal lives and breathes, its breath just smells different depending on where you go. They also have their blog here http://harsh-words.skyblog.com . Below you can see what we talked about.

DP: What is it like to be a drummer in Morocco?

ML: In morocco it is normal, there are a lot of drummers here, but if we are talking about metal drums there is not a bad amount of drummers.


DP:Where do you play in Morocco?

ML:Now just in my city, we play at 7 scene.


DP: Why do you like double bass drums in music?

ML: Every drummer of death metal uses double bass , i found it to be very hard 3 years ago, but now I like it very much.


DP: How hard or easy is it to get a show

ML: It's very hard to get a show in Morocco you find a problem of sonorisation, a local, and then there is the gear.


DP: Do a lot of people listen to metal in Morocco?

ML: Not a lot, but some people do.


DP: Are there any bands from Morocco that are popular in more than just Morocco that you know

ML: In Morocco I like 2 bands, Wanted: technical death metal and Syncopea: progressive metal


DP:In one of our past conversations you mentioned that double bass pedals are really hard to come by, why do you think that is?

ML: We don't have a drum shop here, we have yamaha but with a commande, it's very expensive.

Thank you for reading this E-interview. It just goes to show that music will go where it wants to, it can show up in any part of the world, and surprisingly because of technology can sound the same, great minds think alike!

In a country like the US, musical instruments can be found anywhere and at really affordable prices. It is more impressive to me when a band outside of the US makes an international presence. This means usually that they have had more to overcome as band than just making it work, often oppression, government influences, and what we think is a bad economy is nothing compared to what the rest of the world deals with.

Just be appreciative of what you have and if someone got it for you. The dollar is worth three times as much as the Moroccan currency. This means that the $50 bass pedal over here is probably $150 over there making it harder to just throw together a band because you liked the video game rock band. Can you imagine that $1000 double bass pedal costing $3000, yes it is very real, I don't think Americans realize the value of being able to go to your local department store, and get real functioning instruments. Rock on Harsh Words! Thank you Mohamed for the interview.

Madonna Metal, a bad thing? You be the judge...

If you got this far you were not mislead. If you have ever listened to Lacuna Coil you can recognize the same thing. Now I have to prove it so you don't hit back on your browser. If you are comfortable with yourself, you can admit that Madonna is huge and always has been. Her vocal range is actually Mezzo-Soprano which is the mid range for females but Lacuna Coil's Cristina Scabbia is a Contralto, which is the lowest female vocal range. Usually done by witches in opera music, not exactly goth metal, but some Italian operas can be very Gothic. It humors me to listen to them and imagine Madonna being one of the vocalists. It sounds similar. Double bass? Yeah, I have to talk about double bass in every post or else it would be uncivilized. You have got to give Lacuna Coil credit for being very heavy and mainstream, and still having very tasteful double bass in it. In 20 years we can look back and say that that was a band who helped put more double bass into the mainstream, and internationally. Hope you enjoyed the reading.

Double Bass in Country Music?!?

I don't know if there is but it wouldn't be a bad idea. I think you can apply any instrument (or addition to an instrument) to any genre as long as it sounds good. Maybe I should start a country metal band, that would probably just make the country people happy and the close minded metal heads have even more angst. Those who appreciate both may have there dead dog run away from home while they were losing their job on the day of the apocolypse. That would be an interesting thing, with the more rock style of country it could be done very tastefully, but screaming in country may propose problems. Will we ever find out? If you know of anything close to that let me know, me ears are open!

Got trigger?

DDrum Drum Triggers
I love my triggers! Not only do triggers help in enhancing the auditory sound of a surface, but it is good for practice too. I noticed when using mine that it helps my ear distinguish the timing of fast double bass. I have to bass drums so I don't have to worry about the problems that come with triggering a single bass drum with a double bass pedal attached. It is really fun to practice loud and it forces you to hear yourself more clearly. I got the DDrum Triggers because they have a protective cover over the actual sensor, it would be pretty lame to pay for something that awesome and break it in one shot. Kinda like when you buy a really cheap pair of sticks and break them on the first fill, ha ha. I researched afford ability and functionality and these one's worked just fine for me. It also very nice to the ear to hear the end product of hearing your trigger to PA, depends on the brain or sound bank you get, thats another blog for another day.

Double Bass, Instrument or Part of Drums?

After the last interview I did, it got me thinking about Double Bass as an instrument or is it a part of drumming?

Kyle, from the Devour the Masses said he uses it in correlation to drums. I feel that it is to be considered a different instrument. It changes your style, it makes for a different feel, and depending on the use can really enhance the sound of your drumming. So yes it is a tool, but I would actually consider it an instrument within an instrument. Listening to a single bassist and a double bassist should allow for your own opinion. What do you think?

Drum Interview - Kyle Rector of "Devour the Masses"

Recently I had the pleasure of doing an E-Interview with the Sonoma County drummer Kyle Rector. He drums for Devour The Masses which can be described as Death Metal with an eccentric blend of several other genres. They are a new up and comer in the North Bay Death Metal Scene. Hardcore vocals mixed with melodic singing, tie together not only a new style in death metal, but also adds more flavor for the ears than your typical death metal band. They can be heard on myspace http://www.myspace.com/devourthemasses and followed at twitter http://twitter.com/dtmband. Check out the E-Interview below.

Devour the Masses are also playing a show at the Petaluma Phoneix Theatre November 7th, 2009. Tickets can be purchased at the door.

DoublebassDavid: First off what kind of drumkit do you have and what pedals do you use?

Kyle Rector: I use Yamaha Absolute Maple Custom Drums, it's the fusion model 6 piece set w/snare, bass drum, 2 rack toms, 2 floor toms. Cymbals are mixed but I'm aiming for a full Sabian set up right now. I have a DW9000 Double-Bass pedal. I play with the plastic hard side of the beater.


DD: What do you like about your drum pedals?

KR: My 9000's are great, they have a lot of versatility with about every type of set up I can imagine. What I truly love is that they're infinitely adjustable. I can add weight, switch the chains out for a felt strap, etc. They also have a great memory lock system for the beaters which is spectacular. And as a nice bonus, they come with a heavy duty carrying case for free.


DD: What are your goals as a double bassist for Devour the Masses?

KR: Well, I don't really have so much goals for double bass in DTM, but I have goals for my drumming overall in DTM. I generally try to keep my goals separate from my individual practice, and my role as a drummer in DTM. My only true goal that correlates between both is to be able to play anything I hear in my head along with the music when we're writing. So if I hear myself blasting away 220 bpm in my head to a song we're writing, then it's a goal to be able to play that fast with my feet.

DD: When you are creating music with Devour the Masses, how do you come up with such intricate drum parts? What is your process for making a new song?


KR: DTM's writing process is still relatively new. Most of the time it's me laying drums over riffs that Corey(lead guitar) brings in. So far it's more of a mechanical approach to writing music, and I find myself usually just laying drum tracks over the riffs, and then the band as a whole does the constructing.
The intricate drum parts just come from me practicing the song over and over and just letting the ideas flow. I'm usually never really done writing as I always find something new that sounds good. My main focus is trying to write to the song though, and help convey the message that we're sending out... though to be honest, I do feel I can be guilty of overplaying.


DD:What do you attribute your speed too with your feet?

KR: Practice, practice, practice. With a metronome, usually for about 50% of my daily practice. It's also a bit of experimentation, i.e. should I spread out the pedals more, lower their tension, add weight etc. Mostly practice though for about 1-2 hours everyday. Usually it's just selected rudiments that I play and every few days I bump up my metronome 4 bpm.

DD: How do you see double bass in the mainstream media taking hold?


KR: I don't really pay much mind to mainstream media, but I have noticed that double bass playing is definitely more prevalent in modern times. I think this can be attributed to cheaper and better quality double bass pedals. I know a lot of kids who got a double bass pedal when they bought their first kit. It's starting to become the standard for all drummers to be fast with both hands and feet. Fast double bass drum playing also has a "wow" effect on the crowd as well and I feel that this is a goal for performing drummers, especially during a drum solo. Lastly, metal has seem to be on the uprise in popularity in these past few years, granted it never died but it's definitely not as popular as pop, hip-hop, rap, country, etc. but there has seem to be more acceptance in mainstream media. For example, there are less idiots out there attributing heavy aggressive music to worshipping Satan, or being evil in some shape or form. It's naturally grown as a part of the music community and held in high regard for at least the technical value by most individuals. I use double bass but only in correlation as a drummer.

There you have it, from the underbelly of hell known as Sonoma County, CA...Devour the Masses drummer, Kyle Rector!

Until next time!

Who is your favorite double bass drummer?

Everyone who plays drums usually has a favorite drummer, but how about double bass? It is really starting to take ground around the world in more than just metal now. Who do you think is your favorite double bass drummer, and why?

I am going to have to say one of my personal favorites is Joey Jordison, very common favorite amongst beginning metal drummers. I am a supporter of diversity though. So he knows his way around the set and plays well with the music. He also is a well trained jazz virtuoso. How about you?