Derek Roddy Playing With Your Drums

DVD
LEVEL: ALL
$12.99

On this indispensable DVD subtitled, A Visual Guide to Personalizing Your Setup, extreme drumming maven Derek Roddy offers the knowledge you need before you attempt to play his infamous blast beats—or any beats, for that matter. Roddy, who shares that he’s been asked general kit-setup questions for years, collects his thoughts on topics ranging from proper seat height, drum angles, and hardware placement to using your available space on stage and the importance of a drum rug. Watch Roddy as he slowly builds his set from the ground up, speaking about each individual piece with a panel comprising a few of his working-drummer buddies, each of whom throws in ideas in a casual, conversational manner. Footage of Roddy ripping along to some intense tracks is a nice bonus. The draw might be for metal enthusiasts, but Roddy plays a variety of styles well, and the philosophies behind his setup choices are universal. Perhaps he’ll even inspire you to reconsider bringing that fifteen-piece kit to your next bar gig. (Hudson Music)

Ilya Stemkovsky

This review originally ran in the April 2013 issue of Modern Drummer magazine. For more CD, book, and DVD reviews, plus all the other great editorial from that issue, visit the April 2013 Contents Page.