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Jørgen Smådal Larsen
2009-01-05

Hello there, modern drummers!

My name is Jørgen Smådal Larsen, and I hail from the far northern regions of Norway, above the polar circle actually! Has my upbringing in extreme conditions above the polar circle affected my drumming, you ask? I really don’t know, but it would be an interesting subject to explore thoroughly—another time. Today I’m going to talk about my band Lukestar, and if you’re not already familiar with our work I suggest you log yourself onto myspace.com/lukestar to check us out! It would be the perfect background music when you are reading this interview and checking out all the other cool stuff on moderndrummer.com and the Internet in general.

This year has been amazing for Lukestar. We released our second album, Lake Toba, last year and toured almost non-stop from January through November. On this record we’ve had three hit singles on Norwegian national radio, and we toured Norway quite intensely the first half of the year. In the summer we played a lot of festivals and had the honor to share stages with acts like MGMT, The Raconteurs, Sonic Youth, and My Bloody Valentine. I can tell you it was a blast, and I will never forget it for the rest of my life. In the autumn we toured mainly in Europe. First we went to Spain and France, then we squeezed in time to go to New York to play CMJ, and then we did Germany, France again, Benelux countries, and Great Britain. Oh yeah, and we also popped by Denmark and Sweden on our way home. Phew! As I said, it was an amazing year and I was given the opportunity to see places across Europe I probably wouldn’t have seen if it had not been for touring.

And now over to some more hardcore, cut-to-the-chase, serious gear talk! Lake Toba was recorded using a vintage Gretsch kit with Zildjian A Custom cymbals. Touring-wise I’ve used a couple different drumkits. I favor my classic, played-in, silver sparkle Premier Genista kit, but on the tours abroad I can’t always bring it. This past autumn I used a DW collector’s kit, a Ludwig Classic Maple (which I really loved), and a Yamaha Maple Custom. Always the same setup, though: 8x12, 16x16, and 16x22—simple and clean. I always bring my Ludwig Maple Classic 61/2x14 snare, my DW 9000 single pedal, and a small forest of pro-mark 747s. I play Zildjian cymbals: 14" K hi-hats, an 18" vintage Kerope crash, a 20" A Custom crash, and a 20" K ride.

This month we’re continuing the work on our new record—fun! Happy holidays, everyone!

Jørgen Smådal Larsen

Salem’s Todd Anders Johnson
2008-12-23

Greetings, Modern Drummers. My name is Todd Anders Johnson, and my band is called Salem. Our music is a blend of socially conscious funk, Afro-Cuban jazz, and hip-hop. I’m the drummer, vocalist, lyricist, composer, and producer in the band, and we’ve recently released our debut studio album, As It Is Above, So It Is Below. You can check it out on iTunes, at www.digstation.com/ArtistAlbums.aspx?artistname=salem, and at www.cdbaby.com/cd/salem3.

MD featured me in the On The Move department a couple of years ago, so I thought I’d let you know what I’ve been up to with my group since then. I’ve been living in Boulder, Colorado and have now tied together my passions for drums, music, touring, social activism—and snowboarding!

Salem is playing the biggest ski and snowboard events these days, like EXPN’s Winter X 12 Games in Aspen, 48 Straight’s King Of The Mountain in Sun Valley, the US Freeskiing Open at Copper Mountain, the Northface Masters US Snowboarding Open in Girdwood, Alaska, and the MSI US Freeskiing Party in Jackson. Warren Miller has been featuring Salem music in movies like Off The Grid and in trailers in last year’s film tour for Playground.

I’m now being sponsored by Libtech Snowboards and Folsom Custom Skis, which are both very eco-conscious in their manufacturing processes. I’m also working with Southeast Alaska Backcountry Adventures, a backcountry helicopter and snow-cat ski and snowboard guide company in Haines, Alaska. They have trips for normal clients, but they also fly professional athletes and cinematographers to remote backcountry peaks with Teton Gravity Research and Absinthe Films. Mountainsmith and Boulder Outdoor Center are also sponsoring Salem and our tours, which allows people to check out gear and classes for safe adventures in the backcountry.

Salem regularly tours throughout the cities and ski-resort towns in Colorado, Alaska, Jackson Hole, and Sun Valley, and this year we’ve toured Seattle and Alaska three times. Most notable was our three-week CD-release tour in August, traveling in a vegetable oil–powered shuttle bus with Earth Concepts Inc. that culminated in our headlining the Seattle Hempfest Mainstage for 10,000 people. It was meaningful to be powered by alternative fuel during a tour on which I’m singing about social change in the US. Bono’s One Campaign also flew me to Philadelphia last fall to take part on a diverse panel discussion and performance at the University of Pennsylvania. I hope to perform with Salem at more colleges this year in support of the new CD powered by vege-oil.

The new Salem album was recorded at Far & Away Studios in Boulder, Colorado by Geoff Gray. The first track, “Northward,” was mixed at Outkast’s Stankonia Studios by Grammy-winning mix engineer and studio manager John Frye. The album was mastered by Grammy-winning engineer David Glasser at Airshow Mastering. I hope that you’ll listen to some of the tracks and come find us in the powder this season.

Peace.

For more on Todd Anders Johnson and Salem, go to www.salem-music.com or www.myspace.com/salemtoddandersjohnson.

JD Of My Ruin
2008-12-19

Hello all you Modern Drummer readers. My name is JD, and I’m the drummer for the Los Angeles–based hard rock band known as My Ruin. I’ve been asked to introduce myself and write my first blog for MD online, so I’ll start with my background and inspirations to let you in on a little bit about me and who I am.

It all began years ago, growing up listening to drummers like Ian Paice, Don Brewer, Tommy Aldridge, John Bonham, Steve Gadd with Al Di Meola, and Buddy Rich, to name a few. (When I first heard the intro to “Pictures Of Home,” all done with a single kick by Ian Paice of Deep Purple, I was sold!) These are some of the drummers who’ve help shape and influence me to kick ass behind the kit, whether it was Buddy Rich’s elbow techniques, Tommy Aldridge’s double bass drum executions, or the drum rolls of Ian Paice/Don Brewer and the late great John Bonham.

What I learned from these drummers was to play with and for the song and to shine when the song calls for it. I know there are drummers out there (especially in today’s metal music) who just want to play the fastest blast beats and double bass runs, and I say more power to ’em. But for me it’s all about the song! “Heavy” is all about the style of the execution and conviction with which you play your drums. Growing up in a small rural town in South Texas, it was always difficult to find fellow musicians who were dedicated enough to their craft to play with. For me, drumming is an art form, a passion-fueled and cathartic experience, and something I’ve always wanted to share with those who share my vision.

I used to play drum solos all day long, take naps beside my drumset, and wake up and do it all over again! Those were the days. Then one day I decided to pack up my drums and head to Houston, Texas, where I joined a couple of bands, played a few small club tours, recorded a CD or two. Finally I made the life-changing decision to jump in my Chevy Malibu and hit the road to sunny California, where Los Angeles was calling my name. It was just me and my best friends (my drums).

Once in L.A., I started honing my skills right away by recording with various bands that needed drum tracks. I jumped from band to band, recording and playing the club circuit in and around Southern California and the surrounding states, and I was on my path—but something was always missing. All the members in bands I was playing with had different musical tastes from me. There were a lot of nu-metal songs with no lead guitar, and although the drum parts were all me, the songs as a whole were not. It took me a long time to finally find the band I was looking for, and that was and is My Ruin.

I’d known lead screamer and notorious bad-girl vocalista Tairrie B. for a while. We’d crossed paths in the L.A. club circuit going back to her days on the microphone with her old band, Manhole, and mine when I was bashing the skins in Fractura. One day I decided to send her and her band some love on their MySpace page, and I put the word out to them that I was diggin’ their new album, Throat Full Of Heart, which was released earlier this year, and let it be known that if they ever needed a new baterista, I was available and more than ready to rock for the Ruin. I felt this was the band I was meant to be in. My band. They just didn’t know it yet. Soon after, as fate would have it, Miss B and lead guitarist Mick Murphy gave me a call—and as they say, the rest is history. They offered me the drummer position on Thursday, May 15, and the next thing I knew I was on stage in Las Vegas at The House Of Blues with my boys and girl, opening for Hatebreed and Type O Negative.

In no time, we hit the road, or should I say we hit the skies and headed to the U.K. for my first headlining tour with My Ruin. The ReligiosiTour, which started on October 15 in Manchester, U.K., stormed its way throughout England, Scotland, and Ireland and ended in Newport, Wales on the 31st, Halloween—a night and tour I will never forget. One of my favorite memories of our recent tour was the drum solo I played as we covered “Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo,” the classic tune originally made famous by Rick Derringer. It is also my first live recording with My Ruin.

I had so much fun playing for and meeting all the My Ruin fans overseas. It was a baptism into the band by fire, and an experience that I’ll forever remember. I’ve developed a friendship and bond with My Ruin, and there’s solidarity between us that can be felt during our live performances like no other band I’ve previously been a part of. Soon we’ll be working on the new My Ruin album, and I’m looking forward to laying down the drums with my “Familia Ruina” and bringing what I have to offer into the recording studio.

In the meantime, my advice to those out there on the same path is to never give up, and to stick to your guns/sticks no matter what. Follow your hearts, and let the journey be your destination, whether it comes in the form of blast beats, heavy rock grooves, blues, or metal—whatever tickles your fancy. Just do it, and do it with CONVICTION.

To check out the new album by My Ruin, live videos of the band, and the latest pictures from our ReligiosiTour, go to www.myspace.com/myruin And for those on MySpace who want to drop me a line, please do so at www.myspace.com/batteria.

A BIG thanks to Modern Drummer magazine for allowing me the opportunity to introduce myself, tell my story, and spread a little drum love!

JD/MI RUINA POR VIDA

Photo by Mark Latham.

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