Robin Goodridge
Simple In The Golden State

"I'm a straight-ahead player," admits Robin Goodridge of Bush. "You'll find very few extended fills of bizarre time signatures in our music. But I try to find new ways of playing basic rock music. One thing I'll do is move the backbeat. Sometimes I'll put it on 2 and not 4, or on the "&" of 4, but keep the kick where it is. It's simple stuff, but it's effective"

Goodridge speaks with enthusiasm as he talks about recording Bush's newest album, Golden State. "We recorded at Olympic Studio in London," he says, "and we got a big drum sound there. The place lent itself to a big 26" kick."

While the sound was big, the kit was small. "When I recorded, I removed the drums and cymbals that I wasn't using, leaving me with a basic four-piece kit," Goodridge says. The drummer adds that he does intend to add a few pieces when the band tours, so that he can play some of Bush's older songs. Included in that setup are sure to be Goodridge's two favorite snare drums - a bronze Tama and a wood DW. Robin says that sometimes he plays one snare for verses and one for choruses, or switches from song to song.

Harriet L. Schwartz

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