3 Full Songs from my Bands EP

[SickRick]

Hey guys!

Finally I got my band to upload some stuff for everybody to listen to and enjoy. So here are 3 out of 8 Tracks that are on the EP. If you like, the EP will be available on iTunes in a few weeks, I'll let you know when its done. This is your chance to support a fellow drummer and enjoy some music that has my whole heart in it. I want to say something about the songs that are online:

1. Moneypollution is a straight Reggae-thing. I tried to fit in some Gaddisms here and there which worked out fine for the most time. There is an insanely good Sax-solo on that track by a 19 year old very talented player that we featured on the EP. I wrote and arranged all the Brass in that (and all the other except one) Song. There is also a little Ska-part in that song and at the end we get to rock out.

2. Ragga Jam is a real fun Ragga thing and I am kind of proud of the Drumpart because its pretty groovy and features some nice syncopation (especially in the bassdrum which goes along with the brass and the bassline). Sorry - there are quite some obvious messups in this one. We recorded all 8 songs in one very long night so everything is far from perfect.

3. Last chance to dance is a song that I wrote for the most part and its a real fun one to play. It begings with a nice Songo/Guaguanco groove and then goes into a funky Ragga groove. After that there is a transition into a very long trance groove in which I tried to emulate some electronic drumsounds by putting towels, cymbals and many other things on my snare drum. But everything was played live on acoustic drums. Check it out.


I am really really proud of these recordings for many reasons - mainly because it was tons and tons of work to put it out there: Writing and arranging parts, getting the band together, recording, editing.... TONS of work. The playing is pretty sucky for my taste but I'm cool with that given the circumstances we had to work under. I really hope that everybody here will like the stuff and leave some comments - good, bad - whatever. Tell me how you like it and give some feedback.

Listen here:

www.dreadnut.net

-> media - there is a player that starts automatically. I am pretty sure that there are some tools for Firefox with which you'll be able to DL the songs if you like em.

Lately I was asked on this board if I actually was a drummer because I raised an opinion that obviously someone did not like. Hope this gives you proof that yes, I am a drummer.

Sincerely, Lutz

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

Lutz, this is exactly where I'm trying to go drumming-wise. It is hugely refreshing to listen to some music with a strong groove but such technical virtuosity that is expressed by all of the members of the band. It really has drive and commitment; I'm actually enjoying the groove - and that's not just the drums, that's the sound of a whole band heading the right way. Beautiful. I do genuinely love this music.

[aydee]

Lutz, this is music!

Its not a sum of its parts, virtuostic as they are, but its an incredible whole that attacks all your senses as one.

What do I say? Great writing, very funky arrangements ( the horn parts are killin' ), other very well payed parts, great hooks, unt last but not least, great great drumming. Very controlled, restrained, sophisticated and tasteful .

Its what it its all about, and what it should be.

I loved it all..... all the song constructs, the opening Arabic flavored riff of Ragga Jam, the Copelandesque cross stick rims taps & sax solo of Money Pollution, the bastard-songo drum groove of Last Chance to Dance...

On the drum thing, overall, I love the way you have 'arranged' the drum parts as well.

I wish Dreadnut tremendous success because it deserves it.

Not just because I like it, but because you can see its into its soul & the honesty of of the music shines though...
a rare thing to see in popular music.

So much of music falls between the crevasses of being either too self indulgent or too ready-to-eat instant pop.

But most of all, the songs, man! they rock!

Go, Dreadnut..

.....................I- i- i- ...........like to go slo-slo-slo..........

[SickRick]

Thanks guys! I'm floored by these comments and truly happy you guys enjoy it! There is a lot more to come in the future I hope...

For me it is really the first opportunity in my life to express what I want to express on the drums - and in writing music. There is a huge difference in between practising in a small room and playing on stage and really: This is what its all about for me. You know: Playing in a band that I truely care about and playing music that I truely care about - and doing it with people that I really love. We've come such a long way together and it seems like we've only just begun to travel it... Its funny: I'm not proud of the drumming itself (which might me much much better if I had had more time and a different set and had practised more), it really is the music that I care about - drumming comes in second place only.

Thanks for the words!

But please: Even if you like the stuff, give me some input for the future!

[Drum-Head]

Grooby baby, groovy!

I must admit that I don't really listen to reggae music because from what I have heard, to me it often lacks originality. That being said I am far from having listened to all that's out there. I didn't find it was the case here. The music was fun and integrated some interesting arrangements - I enjoyed these tracks. Nice solid grooving. I particularly liked the sound of your snare.

Can't wait to hear what's up next!

[shuffle]

Great songs. Very very good.

So much stuff I like in there ... too much to mention. I'll just say that your part to support the sax solo on "Moneypollution" , nicely building the energy, is wonderful.

Make sure to post when these are available on Itunes. I'll buy you stuff for sure.

Congratulations, and good luck.

[That Guy]

Speechless!

Brilliant musicianship by all members. You've really got a great thing going here Lutz. I have been playing these songs repeatedly all morning. Your band is striking a familiar cord with me. It's that cord that gets tapped when something is fresh and new.. and your band has it. My daughter is going nuts over "moneypollution."

Your vocalists voice is incredible along with the backing members. The vocalist sounds like Jason DeVore of "Authority Zero."

Your drumming is fresh and the arrangements are very well put together.

Keep it up buddy!

[SickRick]

Drum-Head: I think its obvious that we are not a typical Reggae-Band... its where we come from as a Band, but not as musicians. Our Keyboard player (who also produced the EP) is clearly from Pop and Funk, I come from Jazz, Latin and Funk - nobody really has a true Reggae-backround except our singer. But we learned the stuff and did some listening in that Genre over the last years. There is a LOT of great stuff out there that I highly recommend - especially drummingwise, some beats that these bands play are just great. Now, when we get together as a band, we try to create something that everybody likes and since there are so many different tastes in the band it usually is something that other people also enjoy.

The snare is a Tama Starclassic Brass snare (hammered) - looks and sounds beautiful, especially in that context. I used a towel on it for the recording of Last Chance to dance and later in the song I used a meinl Generation X Drumbal for the Trance-Groove. Really really fun to play - I dont do it live though since I am usually playing so loud that the Drumbal falls of the snare when I hit it :)

Shuffle: Thanks man! Great to hear that. I tried to bring in some dynamics with the bassdrum in the solo - starting really soft and then building it up gradually. First trys didn't really work because of the Noise-Gate. That actually sounded quite funny/bizarre - the bassdrum cut off after each hit like crazy. Thats why I absolutely HATE gates in the studio - it just takes away the dynamics. Well, after we shut them off it worked quite fine. I'll let you know once the tracks are on iTunes - it usually takes some weeks for them to create an account (which is a drag). It might also be available on Amazon music (I think they have a MusicDL thing).

That Guy: Thanks a lot for the compliments! Great your daughter likes the song... The chicks dig us, hehehe.... ;) (not that I would make use of that, I am almost engaged and just trying to figure out how to ask her).


Everybody: I just found out that Chris (our Bassplayer and Webmaster) also put up full lenght versions of our older Demo (Grab your roots, Irie, No Kawz) and of Zion Train. So go ahead and take a listen. Its quite funny how the band sounded like three years ago and how everything developed from there. Don't blame me for the terrible drumming on these tracks - back in the day I was really unsure of my playing in that style and still needed to find my voice (like the whole rest of the band). But still - interesting and quite fun songs!

[foursticks]

TIGHT drumming man, beautiful stuff. Looks my thoughts about you being an incredible player (from your posts) were right after all.. You got any other projects as well as this one? What sort of stuff is your 'thing'?

Peace.

[rhydianjlewis]

I love this, i'm going crazy for moneypollution, i just love the energy, and the way that first riff kicks in is awesome.
Drumming is extremely tight and tasteful, i couldn't fault it to be honest.

Are you just an 'amateur' band as such? ...Becasue these are professional quality recordings.

you should come to wales ;) this it just the type of thing which would totally fill the theatres around here.

[Drum-Head]

Drum-Head: I think its obvious that we are not a typical Reggae-Band... its where we come from as a Band, but not as musicians. Our Keyboard player (who also produced the EP) is clearly from Pop and Funk, I come from Jazz, Latin and Funk - nobody really has a true Reggae-backround except our singer. But we learned the stuff and did some listening in that Genre over the last years. There is a LOT of great stuff out there that I highly recommend - especially drummingwise, some beats that these bands play are just great. Now, when we get together as a band, we try to create something that everybody likes and since there are so many different tastes in the band it usually is something that other people also enjoy.

The snare is a Tama Starclassic Brass snare (hammered) - looks and sounds beautiful, especially in that context. I used a towel on it for the recording of Last Chance to dance and later in the song I used a meinl Generation X Drumbal for the Trance-Groove. Really really fun to play - I dont do it live though since I am usually playing so loud that the Drumbal falls of the snare when I hit it :)

It is obvious Lutz, and that was my point - I found it was a breath of fresh air from what I usually hear in the genre. I really do have a weak spot for musicians who do this kind of thing, mixing and innovating, integrating their backgrounds to create their own sound. Not to mention you guys spice things up with a bit of virtuosity here and there yet keeping things fresh and musical. I don't think that many can say they pulled that off successfully in "popular" kinds of music... I find this inspiring.

Thanks for the info on the snare. I'll be buying a new one in the not to distant future, I'll have to try this one out.

Regards,
Christopher.

[toddy]

your band has a tight groove man, i like it.
nice work between the vocals too, and the production sounds great.
you should work on getting the music out there to a wide audience, i think quite alot of people would enjoy this (especially considering the mini dub revival that's going on in dance music atm).

[mattsmith]

Lutz, there's no surprise from me that your musicianship is high, high, high. But the innovative quality that you bring to that style really places you apart. You know I used to hear stuff like Ragga Jam when I lived in Bucharest, but I never liked it much. But this got my attention right away. I liked it all.

I know you have to be excited about being responsible for something this nice.

[SickRick]

Thanks matt! This coming from you definetly means something! I didn't know you lived in Bukarest. That's interesting - is your family rooted in Europe?

foursticks: Also thank you! I do have some other projects, but nothing that happens on such a regular basis and nothing with recordings. I do a lot of Afro-Cuban and Brazilian stuff, some DnB, some Jazz from time to time (this is actually where I feel home even though now I almost never play jazz simply for the fact of a lack of musicians that share the interest in my region) and a lot of Soul and Funk. I have the big "dream" of playing in a trio (piano/bass/drums) that is open to all these styles but it is hard to find the right guys to do it and also, I just don't have a lot of time for other things besides Dreadnut Inc.: We rehearse twice a week 2hrs away from my place which means that I have to do a lot of driving to get there and back. Also, I do a lot of additional work like communication, booking, writing, arranging and so on for that band. Plus having to go to university and jobbing at two local music schools twice a week AND having a girlfriend.... Doesn't leave a lot of time. :)

toddy: That is what we are trying to do right now. But it is really difficult to get a wider audience outside of the homebase where you are known at.

rhydianjlewis: As soon as we can, we will! :) (Whenever that's going to be).

[Raymond Bloom]

Man, all those pieces sound really hip!! Basically you inspired me to make up some reggae tunes and try to push them to jungle and d'n'b.

I really enjoyed all those three songs, very tight, very good groove, great job!!

[Jeff Almeyda]

Rick, this is the best music from a forum member that I have ever heard!

I knew it was going to be good but you exceeded my expectations on this one. Your playing is mature and full of soul. I can hear your chops behind what you play and it makes the beat settle even more.

I need to listen a few more times but the first impression I got was: THIS guy gets it!

Thank you for being a true example of what today's younger drummers should aspire to.

Jeff

PS: The other guy's in your band are no slouches either, love the vocals!

[tak22thegoat]

Such power and energy from the band! And you're still in college? You're my goal when I reach college in 6 years =]

[Abstsbtsb]

Sick, rick.






20 characters

[jazzsnob]

you kicked my ass with zion train and this stuff sounds great too man. moneypollution is SUPER clean.

[SickRick]

Rick, this is the best music from a forum member that I have ever heard!


OK - all the comments are great and make me real proud. But this one.... this one blew my head off!

[gusty]

this is really cool, i heard a bit of the cat empire (aussie band) in there, specially the first song, loved it.

[Jeff Almeyda]

OK - all the comments are great and make me real proud. But this one.... this one blew my head off!

Brother, I wouldn't say it if I didn't feel it.

[Vic_Rattledeth]

Wow man, i'm not particularily a fan of Reggae but I loved your band. The drums are so perfect. They groove, they're interesting, and they're composed tastefully....I wanna play like this! Everyone else in the band is also very talented

[SickRick]

WE ARE NOW AVAILABLE ON iTUNES!!

If you like our stuff and want to support us, go and buy the whole record here:


http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=278711357&s=143443


Thanks a ton again for all the positive feedback!

[shuffle]

I just bought it.... as least I hope I did. I have all the songs in my library, but I hav'nt entered any payment information (?) How is that thing working ?

I'll send a recommendation to a few friends as well... Unfortunatly, I know how difficult it is to actually sell music on Internet, despite all the stores available. Again, good luck.

[SickRick]

I just bought it.... as least I hope I did. I have all the songs in my library, but I hav'nt entered any payment information (?) How is that thing working ?

I'll send a recommendation to a few friends as well... Unfortunatly, I know how difficult it is to actually sell music on Internet, despite all the stores available. Again, good luck.


Really? This is strange - usually you have to set up an account on iTunes with a Username and Password and sign up with Paypal / Click and Buy / Any Creditcard and they handle the payment.

Well anyway - hope you like all the other songs as well and thanks for spreading the word. Hey to everybody:

Spread the word ;)

[SickRick]

Just heard:

We are also available on Amazon music (esp. if you're living in the USA I guess):

http://www.amazon.com/Dreadnut-Inc/dp/B0018NS8RK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmu%20sic&qid=1209987963&sr=8-1


And also on Napster, Rhapsody, LaLa and eMusic. Just search for Dreadnut Inc. and you'll find it.

Thank you everybody!

Ohhh.... Forgot: We just played our biggest gig so far this Saturday for about 3000 people which was an absolutely amazing experience. The crowd really seemed to enjoy it and there should be some nice Pics since many people took pictures. I'll upload them once I get them. We were also filming the whole gig, so you might soon be able to enjoy a Liveclip on youtube.

I'll keep you updated.

[shuffle]

Really enjoying your songs. Always a pleasure when they randomly pop-in my Ipod, and I often choose to play the whole album. Great music.

A drumming question... In positivamente, the middle section with all the consecutive fills supporting the horn punches - they're all great by the way... There is one fill among these that I particularly like, it is the second-to-last one (at 2:31) ... How do you play that ? I seem to hear R llR rrL llR rrL.. but I also think there is something else (?) .

[SickRick]

Really enjoying your songs. Always a pleasure when they randomly pop-in my Ipod, and I often choose to play the whole album. Great music.

A drumming question... In positivamente, the middle section with all the consecutive fills supporting the horn punches - they're all great by the way... There is one fill among these that I particularly like, it is the second-to-last one (at 2:31) ... How do you play that ? I seem to hear R llR rrL llR rrL.. but I also think there is something else (?) .

Thanks for the compliments.... and thanks for that question. It feels strangely good to get asked how to play something, hehehe.

Ok, that is the official Tony Williams lick which got picked up by Vinnie Colaiuta later and from him many other guys picked it up. Basically, it is a flam-drag that always starts on the left hand which makes the sticking:

rL rrL rL rrL rL rrL..... To explain: Flam (Left hand main note, right hand grace note) then a right hand diddle followed by a left accent. Everything on snare drum except the grace note of the flam (right hand) which is played on the first tom. Then you add a bassdrum in between... It is a grouping of 3 sixteenth notes repeated over and over which makes it sound rthythmically interesting.

What the heck, I'll just post a PDF with notation.

Cheers, Lutz

[shuffle]

Thanks.

Actually, I just realized I mistyped my original attempt at this sticking. I thought it was

R llR L rrL R llR L rrL R.

If you have time for this PDF, it would be much appreciated.

Thanks again

[yakbutter]

Really good, man. I don't like reggae, but I like this. Much more interesting than just the constant one drop thing. You guys got plans for gigging/touring? You got a myspace or anything? I'd like to catch you guys if you ever come out to San Diego.

[SickRick]

Hey Yakbutter:

We have a MySpace profile (who doesn't these days...)

www.myspace.com/dreadnutmusic

Unless we find someone who is willing to fly 11 musicians plus one sound engineer to the US we'll be there in no time... Right now I don't think its gonna happen, but who knows :

Anyway, YouTube live video coming really soon!

Here is the PDF shuffle, hope this helps. If you have any questions about it, just ask!

[shuffle]

That's a lot more than I was asking for... Crystal clear explanation. I'll work on that fill for sure. Many thanks..

[Madzu]

Hey Rick!

I'm a sixteen year old drummer from Oslo, Norway.
I listen to all kinds of music, including reggae.
I like to expand my view and surprise my fellow musicians.
Seriously, I buy at least 5 records a week, and listen whenever I'm home and on travel.
There's not much I haven't heard (of course some though).
And I don't say this because I heard one of your songs 5 minutes ago and got really excited. Have been in and out of the "Dreadnut" homepage last week. And! Rick, "Moneypollution" is one of the best songs I've heard. It's never boring, there's new exciting parts throughout the whole song. I guess this song was made in deeeep detail, huh? It's so complete. Truly an important subject you're bringing out through the lyrics as well. The song's got huge potential.

I wish you and your guys the best for the future, knowing I won't be the last to compliment you ;)

Greetings from Norway!

[MaxG]

Really great music...and drumming!

liebe Grüße
max