I just put some video up from a recent gig on April 9th 2011. Will be adding to this video list as I still have some video that I need to upload to YouTube.
I’ve been busy with a new day job and have been enjoying my experience in teaching. Something I want to persue more of in the future.
That’s all for now!
Check out some drum cam video from the gig.
I must say that Endgame is a great album.
Megadeth has been a major influence on me both as a person and as a musician.
I started listening to Megadeth in late 1986 when Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying first came out. The Thrash Metal sounds were a natural fit for me and I was really taken by a few bands of that era. I found a connection to humanity through their songs.
Listening to Dave speak and sing about various life experiences as well as political and/or global issues has always sparked something in me. Partly because I’d relate with some of it on a personal level… and partly because when it came to thinking, questioning how society operates, how business and politics inter-mingle or other worldly issues such as injustice.. I’ve always been one to think about things. I can take something at face value, but eventually, I’ll think about it. Or maybe I think about it right from the start.
In any event, I’ve always found inspiration in Megadeth’s music. Precise guitar solos and drum sections.
Here’s an interview with Dave Mustaine where he shares some of the ideas behind their last album titled “Endgame”.
Was looking around YouTube tonight and found Lamb Drums…. I had never heard of them before and thanks to DRUM Magazine’s YouTube account I got to see this Snare drum demo.
Check out the shells!
1 inch thick steel shells!
My first reaction was litterally “holy crap“…. I love the fact that they show several snare drums, they all look different but are all the same shells… and each drum they demo on the video features a different drum head.
What do you folks think? I’d love to try one out.
I love searching high and low on YouTube for all kinds of stuff…. especially inspiring videos in music or just drumming.
Here’s a classic Steve Smith drum solo from 1983 taken at Zildjian Day in Chicago 1983.
Enjoy!
My little drum cam project continues and it’s been a bit of a learning experience.
I get to see the good and the bad in my playing different styles of music. Mostly what you’ll find on these pages (so far) are basically classic rock/radio rock/blues/country stuff…. but I will soon post other videos from other projects.
Maybe even some rehearsal or practice stuff just for fun.
For me, I get to critique my playing…. and putting videos out there while being a very harsh critic of my own drumming… it’s a bit of a stretch in one sense.
But it has been rewarding.
So here is some footage from a gig played on January 22nd. The playlist is embedded in the page but there are also individual video links. I will also be adding more to YouTube from that gig shortly. Editing and uploading this footage can become quite time consuming.. 
So I’ve been looking and thinking about what my next acoustic kit will be because the gear I’ve been using forever is just ready to fall apart. Years of set up and tear downs along with countless hours of rehearsals.
One kit I’ve been looking at were the Gretsch Catalina Maples but I’ve recently found the new DW line to be quite tempting.
Here’s the press conference video
And here’s Tony Royster Jr’s performance on them:
Here’s Derek Roddy’s performance on them:
I have to say that I’m very very tempted to get some of these.
As I started to do quite some time ago, that being recording many gigs, I decided I would archive at least in part to what I have on YouTube.
My drum cam has been a part of my practice routine of sorts, giving me an opportunity to listen to how I play certain songs and productively (I really hope) critique my playing so that I get the right groove.
Here is the Drum Cam Videos page and the first of the entries, Rock Bottom’s boxing day gig.
Continue reading
Here’s a short word to say welcome to the new version of this website!
I intend to blog alot this year and updating the site was my first step. I’m not 100% sure I’m gonna keep these colors… but we’ll see!
I’ll be including many drum cam videos for fun from my YvesDrummer YouTube account and I’ll likely include more videos that inspire me…. as well as writing on what I’m trying to learn…. and also how I’m trying to improve at the task of teaching. Seeing as I’m not a “natural teacher”!
Best wishes to all of you in this new year!
One thing I started working on again is foot patterns. Mostly for double bass drumming.
The amount of time I can put into practicing is, unfortunately, not really a whole lot. With some work and being a single dad of 1 my time ends up being filled up. And my kit is sometimes not setup in my practice space in between gigs…. just because there is practically no time.
But a couple of days ago I got to spend some time with my kit. One thing I usually do in practice is play some kind of pattern between my feet. Something simple, like maybe 2 bass drum beats (right foot) and 1 hi-hat (left foot) played as a triplet. Once I’m warmed up a bit I usually variate my left foot so that ever second hi-hat beat is open… so it really gives the effect of open/close hi-hat in the pattern.
And over that pattern I’ll play some pattern with one hand while I improvise with the other.
What I thought I’d do a couple of days ago was try and play a few patterns with my bass drums and play over. Since I’m not used to doing this too much it gets challenging fast.
One of the simplest things I’m hoping to accomplish in these practice session is to really get comfortable in playing a double stroke double bass beat at varying tempos.
After watching this video of Dave Mackintosh of DragonForce, I noticed that he plays double strokes with his feet alot and I started thinking about it. Playing at very fast tempos would just be so much easier with this approach. So playing various beats and improvisation over the double stroke bass drum beats is in my practice regiment. (Video at end of post)
Another thing I’ve been trying to practice is kind of a shuffle feel double bass pattern, adding a double stroke with either the right foot or the left foot. I was always inspired by Vinnie Paul or Pantera and an example of what I mean is their song “Psycho Holiday” from their Cowboys from Hell album.
I’ve just started trying to build some muscle memory with a couple of these patterns, mirroring my right and left hand with my right and left foot…. and then playing a simple “4″ on ride/hi-hat and 2-4 with the snare.
Progress after a short time!
Here’s the Dave Mackintosh video. Peace all!
Recently, I’ve had the pleasure to team up with a couple of friends, Marcel Arsenault on guitar and Stéphane Bouchard on bass, to form a new jazz/funk band. We’ve called ourselves Kavorka.
After jamming once we played a 1 hour gig playing about 6-7 tunes… lot’s of improv that night. I also made a serious error in wearing a certain long sleeve shirt that night… and my sticks kept getting caught in my sleeves. It was pretty annoying, but kept me on my toes.
So our 3rd jam (2nd rehearsal) was video taped. We basically just jammed out on some tunes and trying to get an idea on arrangements.
Here’s a video from that day, it’s a John Scofield cover. I love this kind of stuff but it’s not often I get a chance to play these playful funky feel type songs. So at times it sounds a bit stiff and because I get in my own way mentally thinking a little bit… I fall off tempo a little.
Here it is… love playing with these guys.