Skip to main content

Basement Songs- Hanging out at Py's place

This week I offered to create a mix tape, of sorts, for one of my favorite blogs, Py Korry (see link to the right). The sit does some great writing about life and music and the guy who owns the house, Ted, was involved with the Bloggers For A Cure. He also did the interview of me for a radio broadcast a couple months back.

The music I selected for Ted was based on some of the drummers from the '80's that inspired me and made me want to rock out. You may not have heard of these guys, but you’ve heard their music, that's for sure.

I miss being able to walk down into my parents' basement and wail on the drums anytime of the day (and, when my folks were away, certain early morning hours, much to the chagrin of the neighbors). Drumming was more than just a chore for me. Drumming became the first way I felt like I could communicate passionately through art. Although I began trying to imitate Neil Peart (along with every other drummer my age), I soon started listening to the rest of the music, and figuring out how these drummers I admired worked to compliment the other musicians and chose their moments to show off and create snazzy drum fills. By the time I was in college, I had become a bigger fan of guys like Dennis Diken of the Smithereens and Chris Layton of Double Trouble rather than the showy playing of Peart or Bill Bruford. Truth be told, I just didn't have the patience to figure out 7/8 into 11/4 into 6/8 back into 4/4 time signature changes. That was nice when I didn't have a life (like, all the way up to 10th grade) but when I started socializing and dating, I wanted to just play.

Drumming became a way for me to work out my frustrations in a constructive and safe manner. I sometimes think that if I had my drums back up and I would have access to drumming every day, I wouldn't fall into my dark states so often. We have the room in the toy room. Maybe it's time to pull the old Rogers set down from the rafters and set them up again.

Until I figure that one out, and until next week, when I promise to have a new song to write about, check out Py's place (http://pykorry.com/?p=323) and the six songs I wrote about (plus, you can download them! Choice)

Aloha

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

MARATHON FOOTNOTES (for those who didn't think I would really footnote a stream of consciousness thought): Footnote #1 Academy Award Winning Best Picture Films from 1969 to the Present: Midnight Cowboy, Patton, The French Connection, The Godfather, The Sting, The Godfather II, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Rocky, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, Kramer Vs. Kramer, Ordinary People, Chariots of Fire, Gandhi, Terms of Endearment, Amadeus, Out of Africa, Platoon, The Last Emperor, Rain Man, Driving Miss Daisy, Dances With Wolves, The Silence of the Lambs, Unforgiven, Schindler’s List, Forrest Gump, Braveheart, The English Patient, Titanic, Shakespeare in Love, American Beauty, Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, Chicago, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Footnote #2 Members of the band YES, from 1969 to the present: In 1969, Yes is formed with Jon Anderson on vocals Peter Banks on guitar, Bill Bruford on drums, Tony Kaye on keyboards and Chris Squire playing bass. This group records

100 and Counting: Introducing The Epic Playlist

It started as all playlists do, an occasion that justified music for entertainment. In this case, it was a couples weekend getaway back in February. Super Dave proposed that he and I provide the tunes and we started a Spotify playlist: three songs at a time, no song repeats, no artist repeats. Dave would add his three, then text me that it was my turn. I would then add my three text him back. This cycle repeated until three hundred songs were compiled, and we drove off to Mammoth with our wives. A funny thing happened, though, it turned out we both enjoyed the challenge of trying to surprise or outdo the other so much that we continued building the playlist. We made a new rule of just three songs each a day and still no artist repeats. Soon, we came up with amendments to allow duets (The Emmylou Exception), multiple songs by the same band if said band had multiple lead singers (The Beatles Exception), or if there was a lead singer replacement that changed the artistic direction of

A Trip Through the "My 90's Tapes" Collection Pt. 6: Joan Jett and The Blackhearts "Up Your Alley"

Column 1, Row 6: Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, Up Your Alley In 1988, hair metal was on the rise and straight forward rock and roll was losing radio airplay. If the music wasn't a little slick and the mix didn't sound like the record was recorded in a sports arena, there was little chance of getting heard. There were exceptions, of course (Tracy Chapman comes to mind), but for the most part, loud and echoey was the sound of the day. At that time, Joan Jett and her latest version of the Blackhearts had been together for a few years and were clicking. The band members were Ricky Byrd on lead guitar and vocals, Kasim Sulton on bass and vocals, and Thommy Price on drums. Jett was coming off of co-starring with Michael J. Fox in Paul Schrader's film, Light of Day . Although the film wasn't a hit, it was high profile enough to bring the rock legend back into the public eye after years working the road and trying to rebuild the success of her early 80s albums, including the s