Meeting the band

Wishmaster is:

Philip Charbonneau: keyboard, vocals
Anissa Bélanger: vocals
Tony Batal: guitar
Daniel Tremblay: bass, guttural vocals
Alexis Serré: drums

Yesterday I was invited to a nice little happening that has to do with the Wishmaster show I'll be playing cymbals on this October. It was the media launch for the band's summer tour as well as the presentation of all the heads of departments for the October 20th gig. Present were a few local journalists and photographers, representants for the supporting acts (not really supporting acts, more like co-headliners), and representants for the dance troop and drumline (yay us!). Reps from the circus troop and Les Diplomates drum & bugle corps were also invited but Real Life did its ugly thing, but at least the drumline's director was able to cover a bit as he is also with the "Dips" as we call 'em here.

So basically it was a little party with Wishmaster presenting the new tunes on their set list, a miniature show in essence, followed by a small press conference and question period all done in a very easy-going manner. Following that I got to have a good chat with singer Anissa, and of course with drummer Alexis. The former was quite interesting despite the massive age gap (I'm 22 years her elder) because we have very similar musical tastes; I'll never get used to being called "Mr Gauthier" though! Do not let her young age fool you: this girl can SING! She doesn't try to imitate the Nightwish singers but her own voice works wonders. The drummer talk was also great because again our tastes match up not only musically, but also in drum set-up, a 7-piece DW placed almost exactly like my Mapex and also afflicted by cymbal addiction :) It's not every day that two drummers get together and talk Zappa and it happened yesterday as Alexis was taking down his kit.

But I had also an unexpected surprise waiting for me there. Apparently I made a good impression at the drumline's first practice because I was told by the director's wife that they felt sorry they couldn't put me on at least the bass line and that there wasn't time for a multi-tenor crash course. The fact that everybody from the bass line returned this year meant there was no room, and multi-tenors take a set of skills I have never practiced. But as I said before I don't mind all that and I'll have a great time. On the other hand, they told me that there is a spot open on the number three bass in the Dips. Mmmm... I may need to do some serious calendar juggling and possibly some hard discussions with my ex. Some practices fall on my parenting weekend, and only one in three practices is in the Montreal area. Not to mention the massive head-cramming I'd have to receive to catch up with the rest of the line. But even though I'm not sure if it's possible it was very uplifting to receive the invitation.

So the project is slowly starting to take shape. The venue is reserved, the people are booked, and work is under way. All we need now are actual drums and cymbals to play on :))

Drum Corps Metal for the kids and for the win!

o7

Wishmaster practice #1

After two weeks of anticipation and practicing on my own as time permitted (which wasn't as much as I wanted), we finally got the drumline together for the first official practice of the Wishmaster 2012 fundraiser show. We played on practice pads, cross-sticks for the cymbals  and the snare line on 2" x 8" wooden beams but do not let the lack of actual instruments deceive you; despite doing this for fun (and the kids of course) and having no intention of becoming a competition drumline, the Wishmaster line-up is boss!

I was welcomed very positively in the gang with one of my cymbal line mates telling me "What the hell are you doing on cymbals?!". I did mention my unknown status and the lack of space on either the snare or bass lines. Even though I'm not the same caliber of this snare line (again, we are STACKED), I did prove that I wasn't exactly a slouch when it came to sticking; I was the only cymbal player able to play the entire snare line warm-up. Without wanting to boast too much, it's already clear that I will be the pillar of the cymbal line. I even put an exclamation point on this as the practice came to an end; one of the snare girls played one last lick at full power on our table, and I replied by replicating her lick note for note much to her surprise, after which she told me "Hey! That's my job!". I was a great moment that loudly said "welcome to the family" :)

But the drumline practice wasn't the only great thing yesterday. These days Montreal is having a quite unnatural heat wave and for the first time ever I was able to ride my bike in shorts and a T-shirt on the first day of spring! We aren't just destroying temperature records up here, we are writing a new book! Temps are supposed to be coming back closer to normal as the weekend approaches but still, I never would have believed that I would be able to ride my bike so early and so comfortably, except maybe for my ass that needs the early season hardening XD

So all in all yesterday was a totally awesome day, and I can't wait for the next practice. This will get more and more awesome after each practice, I can only imagine what it will be like when we have instruments to play on. By the way, if you know anybody who works at a marching drum company, tell 'em that me and my 20-ish buddies will be more than glad to show off their equipment :)

Flam hard

o7

Drum Line !!!

It's no secret that I'm into drums. I'm a self-proclaimed drum geek and nothing makes me happier than talking about drumming, working on my sticking, checking out drum gear, and meeting people in and around the world of drumming. Last October I wrote a blog post about reconnecting with a few drum corps friends, my first drum instructor, and also meeting some new friends in the process. The event was a percussion meet held to attract music teachers from both regular and specialized schools to the fine art of percussion, and to do so two bands were on hand to explain their respective instruments and various techniques. The first band was a Brazilian style "bateria", which gave the meet quite a festive start. This is my old instructor's band by the way. And the second was a full-scale drum line consisting of seven snares (plus two spares...), three multi-tenors, five bass drums and three cymbals. Marry this drum line to a Nightwish cover band and an orchestra and you've got Wishmaster. And shit-tons of power!

Soon after the meet there was rumors that the drum line experience was going to be repeated; the full Wishmaster show was held for a local children's foundation and it had great success. And so it was that I kept in touch with these new friends and I made it known that if there was to be another edition, I wanted to be in on it. As I had mentioned last fall, I started practicing my rudiments a lot steadier in case something happened. And some time last week it did. The drum line's leader sent me an invitation for this year's edition first drum line meeting! So ever since that invitation I've raised my practice time from 1 hour a day to 2-3 hours. I know I can make the drum line as a cymbal or bass drum, but what I'm really shooting for is the snare line; I don't think I can make the quads as that takes some serious skills! My motivation: if one of my old time drum corps friends can make the bass drum line after 30 years without holding a pair of sticks, I can make the snare line. I realise that it's a huge step and it will involve an awesome amount of work, but I know I can do it. But honestly, I will not be disappointed if I don't get a snare spot; hell I'd just be happy being a roadie and changing drum heads and hauling stuff. But tomorrow night as I formally meet the drum line I fully intend to give everything I've got to give and maybe, just maybe, I will get to kick-start my drum line career after my own 30 year hiatus.

On a related subject, the bar where we've been holding the Montreal EVE Meets sometimes has some Audience Participation nights where people show off their singing skills, guitar chops and whatnot. Take a wild guess what I'd like to do :) I've found some snare solos to practice, most notably from my two favorite drum corps, namely Santa Clara Vanguard and Phantom Regiment. Needless to say a lot of work will be spent nailing the solos on the practice pad before I attempt 'em at full volume on a snare drum in front of an audience. But yeah, I'm getting weary of telling people I play drums... now I want to show 'em!

Fly loud

o7