DRUM! - Features

Artist Quickie Q&A

Terry Silverlight: Lighting The Way

At the very dawn of the fusion era there was a band led by [keyboardist] Barry Miles with an amazing 14-year old prodigy on drums. That kid was Terry Silverlight, Barry's younger brother. Since those early days Terry has gone on to perform on dozens of top singles and albums with artists such as Natalie Merchant, Tom Jones, Freddie Jackson, Slaves of New York, and others.

Artist Quickie Q&A

Coby Batty Of The Fugs

The Fugs would have to be invented if they did not exist. Started in 1964 by Ed Sanders, Tuli Kupferberg and original drummer Ken Weaver, the band was ahead of its times. From its group name to its song titles ("Kill For Peace", "Dreams of Sexual Perfection") the band had the sensibility of punks, the outrageousness of beat poets, the honesty of folk musicians, and the adventurousness of beboppers.

Artist Profiles Quickie Q&A

Rich Redmond: Thinking Musically

Jason Aldean rode back to the top of the country charts in 2009 with a series of mid-tempo anthems and slower introspective tunes. Aldean's style relies on deft lyrics with an emotional edge and authentic country feel that cuts through sophisticated production. His drummer, Rich Redmond, is a go-for-the-throat rhythm master, who likes to keep it simple but cut loose in a big way when the opportunity comes. Rich is also a budding drum clinician as well as a songwriter/producer and one of the founders of New Voice Entertainment.We interviewed him by email this week.

Artist Quickie Q&A

Troy Zeigler: Fewer Drums, Bigger Sound

Troy Zeigler has parlayed a lifelong music education and the ability to hit hard into gigs with two highly individualistic artists. He digs the rhythmic foundation for Serj Tankian's solo efforts in his band FCC (Flying Cunts of Chaos); and has just finished US and European tours with Juliette Lewis.. We interviewed him by email earlier in the week.

Artist Quickie Q&A

Jim Feck Keeps It Fresh At DrumART

How did you get started with DrumArt?
I started DrumART in the mid-90s, making custom bass drum heads for myself and a number of local friends and musicians. At the time, print technology wasn't anywhere near as advanced as it is today and the Internet hadn't yet "taken off," so it was very much a cottage business for the first five years or so. I'm a Web developer by training, so as the Internet marketplace began to reach the critical mass needed to support a business like DrumART.com, I was able to develop a website and bring it to a broader market fairly quickly.

Artist Quickie Q&A

The Innovators At Garrahand

Federico Parra and Ary Lacanna have created one of the world's most intriguing musical instruments, the Garrahand drum. They met in music conservatory and later built the first Garrahand drum together. The Garrahand is a versatile all-purpose hand drum that sounds great in a variety of styles, can be played acoustically or amplified, and is built from the ground up to be a first-class studio recording tool. There's a video at the end of this article so you can hear it in action. We interviewed Federico via email.

Artist Profiles Quickie Q&A

Scott Liken of Istanbul Cymbals

Name: Scott Liken
Age: 38
Position: General Manager, Istanbul Cymbals USA
Years in music business: 7 Years in musical instruments, prior to that about 7 years in the recording industry.

Artist Profiles Quickie Q&A

Building Character With Beats

Dancing Drum is the passion and career of Steve Campbell and Lindsay Rust, musicians, teachers and community drummers from Santa Barbara. In the past year, they've gone around the world leading drum circles, created unique drumming education programs for kids in inner cities, performed at the Percussive Art Society and debuted a new line of Signature Series drums from Tycoon Percussion. We interviewed them this past week via email.

Artist Quickie Q&A

Bernard Purdie: The Real Deal

At seventy years of age, Bernard Purdie is in his drumming prime. He's been busy for more than a year with the revival of Hair, playing eight shows a week on Broadway. And, when he finds time to sneak away, he teaches at the New School in New York, plays clinics, tours, or hops into the studio, where he currently has three projects in the works.

Artist Quickie Q&A

Dawn Richardson: Keeping Busy

Dawn Richardson, once edited a special women's issue of DRUM!. Since then the San Francisco based-player and teacher has been all over the world of drumming, most recently on a tour with Tracy Chapman. We interviewed her last week.

Artist Quickie Q&A

Jon Wilkes of Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

Jacksonville, FL, platinum rockers The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus completed recording their sophomore album, Lonely Road, at the Valley Village, CA, studio of super-producer Howard Benson (Hoobastank, P.O.D., Less Than Jake, Daughtry, Seether, All-American Rejects). It's the follow-up to the band's debut breakthrough, Don't You Fake It, which sold more than 2.1 million singles and scanned over a million copies in the U.S. to date. The Lonely Road, came out this past February.

Artist Quickie Q&A

Alicia Warrington: Jane of All Trades

Alicia Warrington, drummer for the likes of Kelly Osbourne and Miley Cyrus among others, has certainly paid her dues. From living in her van to sleeping on floors, Warrington's risen out of the underground to mainstream success while still in her twenties. Now as drummer for the Gore Gore Girls, and The All Girls Boys Choir, it looks like Warrington won't be sleeping on floors again anytime soon.