Friday's Electric Lunch Hour - Rockline Edition

Yes I know. The sound is bad, we can't hear Anissa really well, etc. But still, this is an idea of what to expect at the Wishmaster OES 2012 event. Yours truly is on the 32 inch monster bass drum nicknamed "The Beast". It will be awesome :)

Enjoy!

o7

Friday's Electric Lunch Hour - Spacey Edition

Last Tuesday I got to see Mr Vai in action, and let me tell you, I'm still slightly radioactive from his powerful electric guitar antics! He even joked about this himself as he told a young girl who got on stage for the audience participation bit of his show by telling her "you might want to step away from my amps if you want to have children someday XD". All in all it was an awesome performance, with a lot of humor in it - It shows that Steve went to the Frank Zappa School of Hard Knocks!

Apart from that I'm slowly coming to terms with the sad fact that my vacation is almost over, and Monday will be the return to harsh reality. I am also less than one month away from the big Wishmaster event and this week we even got the thumbs up from Nightwish! You see they were also in town this week and the Wishmaster band members and a few members of the drumline were attending, and some of 'em were crazy/hardcore enough to wait just outside the tour bus to meet Tuomas Holopainen and Marco Hietala. Yes Montreal is great like that :)

So for the next few weeks I have to concentrate on a lot of drumming as we'll get into the clean-up part of our rehearsals and next weekend is our Death Camp, a drum corps style camp of musical immersion. Should be epic. And of course I'm already thinking about the break I'll take right after the show: I will be taking at least the Monday and Tuesday off (maybe even the entire week, because I can) and will do an EVE Orgy. We will decide what we'll do with Chez Stan and where. I cannot wait :)

Fly loud!

o7

Weekend of Drums & EVE Alliance Tournament X

Wishmaster and The Rockline

What a crazy summer I'm having! Putting aside some gaming to get better at drums is starting to pay off not only in terms of drumming and musical skills but also in terms of new experiences. Last weekend was a big one for the Rockline drumline as we had our first public appearances since the official foundation of the group. On Saturday we went to a Drum Corps revival event in Sherbrooke Qc; the activity is far from what it used to be in the 80's, but it does seem to be slowly creeping out of the darkness it fell into in the late 90's and early 2000's. I personally don't think it will again reach the heights attained in the mid-80's, but at least it's fun to know that Drum Corps is getting some exposure again and new generations of players and performers are being groomed.

That said, the Rockline was performing the last number of the evening before a traditional Drum Corps retreat, playing two tunes with the band Wishmaster ("Scaretale" and "Romanticide") with whom we'll be playing with at the big fund-raiser Metal show in October. Our almost brand-new drums had been the talk of the day as we got small groups of spectators at rehearsal, when half the group was busy in the senior corps Les Diplomates du Quebec. My bass drum especially was a head-turner by its size and its deep boom. I can safely say I play THE largest marching bass drum in the entire province :) We also had our timpani player with us for the first time and he did a great job even though he had never played with us before. And the performance itself? Mind-blowing is the only word I can think of. If you listen to "Scaretale" you know it starts with as series of punches after a soft intro, right? Well those punches were echoing in the valley below the stadium like cannon shots! The older and more traditional-minded people in the crowd weren't too sure but could do nothing but notice the quality of our drumline. Those who like Metal literally freaked out! I can now safely say that Drum Corps Metal not only works but is a total percussive orgasm :))

After the retreat all the participating corps and any Drum Corps veteran who was interested was invited to get on the field for a 200+ player mass band rendition of "Can't Take my Eyes Off Of You". The mass band had praticed it during the afternoon at the same time we were practicing our stuff, but that didn't stop about half our drumline from participating, with me and my monster bass officially nicknamed "The Beast" representing the bass line. I had to grab some bass drum players from other corps and ask "WTF do we play?"... boom click boom-boom, click boom-boom... wow, that's hard! and of course at the right spots people were improvising left and right so I didn't disappoint! All in all a great night, if a bit insanely hot as a heat wave is currently hitting the South of the province.

On Sunday we had another public appearance in the form of a parade in my hometown's Percussion Festival, in Longueuil Qc. This was my first ever parade, and I have to say it was a slightly painful one. As you see in the Rockline picture, I usually play with the bass drum mounted on a stand (yes, this is me at far right with "the Beast"), but for a parade I have to carry that thing. And I did. Ow my back! Well, I didn't suffer too much and I ain't dead, but I do still have a few aches even two days after the event. It was a lot of fun, nobody played perfect but everyone was in a festive mood. I do admit that the last two street corners were the longest and very hard and I wanted to stop but I made it. I even found the energy to take part in an impromptu jam session with a bunch of percussion groups that closed the parade. Kids big and small got to play on our drums, total mayhem. A perfect finish for my drum weekend!

The Retreat; Rockline is in the foreground, in our "Black-out" uniforms; I'm the second in line from the front

EVE Online Alliance Tournament X

I knew that this weekend wouldn't be an easy one so I took a couple days off this week, and I needed the break, especially yesterday where my back was hurting. So I took the time to catch up on this little game that got me into blogging called EVE Online. With Alliance Tournament X in full swing I got to watch Day 5 and Day 6, and I have to admit it's making start to miss the game! A few things have changed since last I played and a whole of  modules I have no clue about have appeared (Ancilliary Shield Boosters?). I do plan to get back in the game in mid/late September but with so many changes I will have some adjusting to do. Hell I don't even know if the fits I know still work! And the Vaga... the poor poor Vaga that has been circumcised by mad vikings... :*( Oh well, I guess I'll fly the Cynabal more. I also have a crazy Fleet Stabber fit I want to try!

But back to the tournament I was happy to see that the alliance I want to join (Purple Alliance, Red vs Blue) is doing so well, and in the same bracket as Rote Kapelle (hi Cerui and Ripard!) and Pandemic Legion (hi Mintchip!). And that last RK vs PL match... with the Bhaalgorn flagship and FOUR Malice assault frigs... Holy Shit !!! Gratz to Rote Kapelle on that win, and gratz to Pandemic Legion for the size of those testicles XD It'll be kinda hard for me to catch the end of the tourney live as I will have my boys with me and do plan to go outside and do some stuff, but I do plan to hit YouTube later next week and catch all the action. Now that I've made my peace with ISK making (meaning I won't try much) I'm actually anxious to come back to EVE and do what I love to do most, blow some shit up!

Fly balls to the wall !!! (actual aviation term)

o7

Friday's Electric Lunch Hour - Wishmaster Edition pt. 1

This is the first tune I have to learn with the drumline, so might as well put it here :) Oh and sorry about the lateness; I apparently needed a huge nap after work. I had to start one hour earlier and my body just hates earliness.

Enjoy!

o7

Drumline update #2

So yesterday evening I had a lengthy chat with the drumline's director after I requested last year's sheet music for both the snare line and the bass line. His initial reaction was to tell me "I'm sorry Ben, both of these lines are full and then some. Plus I don't really know your drumming experience since you haven't gone the drum corps way. Do you know ruffs? Flams? Hybrid rudiments?". I took all of this in stride because I knew the quality of this drumline, and I knew what I was getting myself into.

Let's see. This drumline is jam-packed with DCI vets and instructors. And not only is the entire line-up from last year returning, we are five new guys coming in. One has his job cut out for him as he is the timpani player; he has to write his own parts and stuff. Another is already marching snares in Quebec's senior corps, so he easily gets that spot. The third is a guy who was marching snares when I was a kid and he was already OMGWTF awesome, and he never stopped drumming. He'll get a multi-tenor spot and I know he's up for that challenge. The forth guy is actually a bass guitar player but he's a long time friend of Wishmaster's leader who happens to be the drumline director's son. He'll be on the bass line. And then there's me.

So to break down the drumline by section: 9 snares, 5 basses, 4 multi-tenors, 1 timpani, and various cymbals. This right there is a full-sized competition drumline, with only the pit crew missing. So because of my unknown status I will be on the cymbal line, but knowing what I can do on drums I will be a damn solid cymbal player. You see, playing on a drumline isn't about the individual but the sum of all parts. A good example of this is the Santa Clara Vanguard cymbal line, who not only perform all kinds of crazy visuals (look up "SCV viper" on YouTube) but also play stuff that would challenge the best orchestra percussionists. Modern cymbal playing isn't about crashing every other quarter note in 4/4.

But even though I won't be on the snare line itself, I simply cannot pass on an opportunity like this. I will STILL get the snare parts and practice them for two reasons: 1- just in case, and 2- just because. I will also have a look at ALL the other parts; I do have to concentrate on getting my own part perfect but I welcome this challenge with open arms. One thing is certain, I will have an awesome amount of fun. I mean, how often does one drummer get to hang out with 20-25 other drummers, some of which have vast experience? I see nothing but good coming out of this :)

Flam hard

o7

Wishmaster Drumline update

I'm in! :)

And not only that; I will get my try-out on the snare line. The parts should be relatively easy because Wishmaster does have a regular drummer, but let's not forget that this drumline has some pretty impressive people on it, with instructors and DCI vets. Plus, where last year's returning players will have four tunes to learn (three are kept from last year's set list), I will have seven. But I welcome the challenge. The point of this drumline is not to be on a DCI competitive level, but to have an unbelievable amount of fun while raising money for Opération Enfant Soleil, Québec's main foundation for children's disease help.

Last year the drumline was sponsored by a local music store for its instruments but they're looking for a new sponsor this year. This means that the first few rehearsals will happen on practice pads. Slightly less exciting but it means then when the drums do arrive we should have quick results. Be assured that when I'll get to play on a new toy, I'll post pictures :)

Rehearsals will start on March 20th, and the show will be on October 20th. There will be two opening acts and where last year Wishmaster employed an orchestra, this year we're going with a full drum corps hornline. Drum Corps Metal? Oh yes, and it will be GLORIOUS !!!

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