What the hell is this?

Well, I did it. I hadn’t planned on it, but I did the thing they say gets more drummers fired. I stepped in FRONT of the drum kit. I am a drummer. Never wanted to be anything but that. And yet, somehow along the way, I found myself adapting more and more to musical processes which considered things like how  melodic context affects a song to create a vibe. Translation: I sing now too… Sometimes. How dare I? Leave that to the cool people up front! Strangely enough, my trusted and now long-time collaborators have encouraged me to take the lead on more than a few ideas. This is a confidence booster, especially when you work with people who are open-minded and don’t stay married to a concept, but are also honest enough to say when something isn’t to their liking without it being a hurt-fest.

It started with writing lyrics (which I’ve done since I was sixteen), creating scratch tracks simply to get ideas across, and eventually clobbering along on a MIDI keyboard just well enough to be dangerous. Embracing technological tools makes communicating a vision so much more efficient and easier, particularly when I’ve never really played a melodic instrument competently in my life. There were also circumstantial instances when the lyrics I’d written required that the lead vocal be sung, of all places, during the chorus, but the lead singer was also playing the harmonica during that part of the song. By the way, a very large portion of that song’s identity really hinged on the presence of the the harmonica at that time. So what’s the solution? “Don, what did you have in mind for the vocal when you wrote the lyric?” “Uh, duh…” All kidding aside, I often do have at least loose ideas. “Ok, you sing it.” Damn.

It’s hard enough to breathe when a drummer’s style of playing is a fairly physical one. There’s plenty to worry about without me having to stay in pitch while ramming my range down your throat. Do you want me to dance too? Just kidding. I love the challenge! I did come to a point where I had decided that I’d rather just play the drums well than try to do two things at a mediocre standard. However, sometimes it’s just a matter of playing that drum part enough on its own to where it becomes muscle memory. Then you just get the hell out of your own way! But by now, the cat was out of the bag. I had sung enough in live situations where I couldn’t hide anymore from the fact that some other things were looking to get out of my head than beats alone. My whole approach to the use of the drum kit is to play it in such a way that people can hear them sing too. Percussion experiments, striking tom toms instead of cymbal crashes for resonance, shuffles, rim shots, ghost notes, creative effects cymbal use, and even triggered samples are all great ways to make that happen. Yet, I had other experiments to perform. There are things like harmonies and octaves which provide tension and release. I’ve got tools, inspiration, drive, and capable participants to help me get it done.

So without further ado… No one asked for it, but here it is… Topanga Side Eye!