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| Modern Drummer Blogs |  |
Honor Society’s Alexander
Noyes
2010-03-19
 Hello, MD readers. I’m on the road again! I love to tour—and I have thirty-two more dates to fall deeper!
My band Honor Society is headed back out for the Here Comes Trouble tour, which starts March 19 in Tampa, Florida, and keeps ripping until May 8 in Atlanta, Georgia. The HS crew is going to be out in full force, and I can’t wait to see everyone!
This time out I’m rolling with a brand-new Ludwig Classic Maple kit! I had the privilege of working with Kevin Packard over at Ludwig to design a vintage-looking set with a WMP finish, which was an incredible experience. The kit sounds super thick. I am going straight Bonham with this kit, and pairing it up with some Paiste 2002s. The band has been mashing in rehearsals this past week, and the combo is perfect! All that rehearsal time also gave me the opportunity to incorporate some new electronic gear into the touring rig. I’m introducing a few Roland dual-trigger mesh pads, as well as ddrum acoustic triggers on the kick and snare.
See you on the road—come by and check out the band when we roll through your city. And as always, a big thanks to all my friends at Ludwig, Paiste, Evans, Vic Firth, and Modern Drummer!
For Honor Society tour dates, go buzzworthy.mtv.com/2010/02/18/honor-society-announce-spring-tourdates/.
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Spock’s Beard’s Jimmy Keegan
2010-03-18
Hey, kids, Jimmy Keegan here. So it was a little over ten years ago that I received a call for a session. The writer/producers were frustrated because they were trying to track some songs for a legendary artist and so far the rhythm sections were proving to be a little generic. Great players, but nobody was taking any chances. So along with the great Mike Porcaro and percussion legend Luis Conte, I took a stab at these songs. We asked all the right questions, and after making a few little changes the songs took shape and the writer/producers were extremely happy. When the artist received the demos, he was so pleased he decided to keep all the demo tracks for the album. The album would go on to win nine Grammys and sell over twenty-five million copies. The artist was Carlos Santana and the album was Supernatural. This year marks the tenth anniversary of this historic recording.
The Supernatural Legacy Edition includes the original CD remastered (and it actually does sound better) plus a second CD of some of the unreleased material from the original sessions. I play on “Primavera” from the original CD and “One Fine Morning” on the second disc. Mike and Luis play brilliantly on both songs and were, as usual, an honor and a pleasure to work with.
This year will also see the release of the tenth Spock’s Beard studio CD. For those of you who don’t know, I’m usually the band’s touring drummer. Nick D’Virgilio plays on all the studio stuff, but for the last three CDs Nick has also been the singer (not to mention doing guitar and keyboard work as well). When Nick took over the vocalist spot, I was asked to join them on drums for the live shows. This new studio album will have a slight change. I was asked to help out on some vocals. The songs sound great and I’m sure this will be their best release so far. A tour is in the works, and I have my work cut out for me. Nick has played some ridiculous stuff and now I’ll get to play it live.
2010 is also special as it marks my twenty-fifth year with both Tama drums and Paiste cymbals, and I couldn’t be happier. The drums Tama is producing are simply the finest on the market today, and Paiste has the strongest lineup, hands down. From the Signature and Dark Energy lines to the Alpha series, every cymbal sounds fantastic. The entry-level products from both companies are professional quality. I’m proud to be a Tama and Paiste artist.
Lastly, look for new releases from Rahsaan Paterson and new artist Steve Bonino to hit soon. I’m producing and mixing this one as well. If you’d like, go to www.aquariandrumheads.com and click on my artist page for some audio and video stuff. And keep watching www.tama.com for a full feature including an interview and some playing. That should be up sometime this month.
For future updates, check back with Modern Drummer or go to my Web site www.jimmykeegan.com. You can also check out the usual www.myspace.com/jimmykeegan. I have some audio and video there as well. Thanks!
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Chris Johnson
2010-03-16
Yo, what up, MD? This is ya boy Chris Johnson from Los Angeles, California. Like many others in this field, I started playing in church—my dad’s church, to be exact. So I was always there to play, practice, and everything. Needless to say, I was born in the church. Due to the lack of musicians in a small church, I had to play something, and I think I made the right choice!
A little about me: I attended Bellflower High School in Bellflower, California, where I played in the jazz and marching bands. I also sang in the school ensemble. Singing is what I credit my musicality at the drums to. I learned to listen to the other parts and approached the music as such. While growing up in a church background I was only allowed to listen to gospel music—John P. Kee, Hawkins Family, Fred Hammond, and drummers like Mike Nueble, Marvin McQuitty, Joel Smith, and Calvin Napper. It wasn’t until I got older and out on my own that I learned about bands and musicians like Tower of Power, Led Zeppelin, Sting, Steely Dan, and Phil Collins and drummers like Vinny Colaiuta, Steve Smith, Dave Weckl, and John “JR” Robinson. I love having this great balance of inspiration. At the end of it all I play drums with all these influences but always from my heart.
With God’s help I have been blessed to play and tour with Seal, Mya, Patti LaBelle, Anastacia, Fantasia, Beverly Crawford, Norman Hutchins, Stevie Wonder, and Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly. I am currently touring with Rihanna.
I hope this blog has touched, inspired, or blessed someone. I truly love what I do and know that I wouldn’t be me without the love and support of friends, family, and my peers in this drum business. “Keep sticking,” and God bless.
For more on Chris go to www.myspace.com/cjdrumdotcom.
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