Anika Nilles

I've heard the name, is she a YT phenom or does she have a presence in real life? As for Mapex & Tama, they're kinda the same to me, and neither is at the top of my Asian brands list. :O

Bermuda

I think for now she's a YT phenom, but she does know how to play. I'm a bit old school and expect a good musician to be playing with other musicians all the time though. She does compose her own stuff and is releasing music to buy though, so that's a plus.

Whether or not she gets to sub for the guy who plays with Weird Al is another matter ;)
 
She's really good. If you've not heard her you should check her out, in my view.

Does lots of interesting things with time signatures, she ran a monthly column in one of the major UK drum magazines for a couple years and it was always full of challenging exercises involving and manipulating time.

Would recommend her, she's not a flash in the pan. As for the switch from Mapex to Tama? Meh but best of luck to her.

Met her once, nice person also.
 
Whether or not she gets to sub for the guy who plays with Weird Al is another matter ;)

As with most pro gigs, you don't jump from YouTube to YouTour overnight. Playing the drums well is important and great and all that. But there are major elements of being a working musician that don't come from the web, no matter how many followers you have.

Until someone can listen, do sound design, program parts, create live parts, take direction, play seamlessly with a click, play with others in a scenario where they're not the center of attention, and most importantly, have the temperament and maturity to do it all in a cheerful manner... they're not ready for prime time.

Bermuda
 
Her playing struck me as kind of "drummy". As in there's tons of stuff in there that only a drummer would understand or listen to. I feel the same way about folks like Rabb, or JoJo M.

I haven't heard the band centric stuff, only the videos where she's playing along to a electronic melody/progression.
 
Is it just me, or is it really true, that when drummers write and release music, it includes a lot of drums.

On another note, is a question without a question mark considered proper English?
 
Is it just me or is it really true, that when drummers write and release music, it includes a lot of drums. (is a question without a question mark a question?)

I think generally, yes. They figure if someone is going after their music because they are making that music, and they're known for being a drummer, they expect people will want a lot of fancy drum stuff. I don't think they're wrong, either. I tend to prefer non-drum-centric music, but others are from different cloth.
 
I think generally, yes. They figure if someone is going after their music because they are making that music, and they're known for being a drummer, they expect people will want a lot of fancy drum stuff. I don't think they're wrong, either. I tend to prefer non-drum-centric music, but others are from different cloth.

Oh yea, no judgement. Just an observation. I guess other "sidemen" who do records do the same thing, feature their instrument. You humans are a curious lot.
 
As with most pro gigs, you don't jump from YouTube to YouTour overnight. Playing the drums well is important and great and all that. But there are major elements of being a working musician that don't come from the web, no matter how many followers you have.

Until someone can listen, do sound design, program parts, create live parts, take direction, play seamlessly with a click, play with others in a scenario where they're not the center of attention, and most importantly, have the temperament and maturity to do it all in a cheerful manner... they're not ready for prime time.

Bermuda

Point taken, sir ;)


.......
 
I wish her luck with Tama and thank her for the positives she brought to Mapex. Both companies make some really nice drums.
 
I'm a huge fan of Anika. Her drumming is very mathy, the opposite of what I play or usually listen to in every way. Lots of crazy subdivision stuff. But she does things in every video that make me drop my mouth open in awe. And she does compose her own music, and a couple of the videos feature other players.

I say all the power to her, she's making the big jump from youtube star to performer I think, but she's not what I would call a traditional youtube star like some others. She's riding some incredible playing, not looks or rehashing covers. And honestly for the next generation of players, all the power to anyone finding new ways to monetize their talents. Lord knows traditional live playing in bands and releasing albums is circling the drain.

The jump to Tama, I'm sure is just one of those international support things, now that she is doing more international work, the ability to get gear more consistently anywhere in the world is probably the prime factor. Those Mapex White Panthers she was playing I'm sure were fantastic. And Good for Tama to get someone to break the mold of being the drums for metal players. lol.
 
As with most pro gigs, you don't jump from YouTube to YouTour overnight. Playing the drums well is important and great and all that. But there are major elements of being a working musician that don't come from the web, no matter how many followers you have.

Until someone can listen, do sound design, program parts, create live parts, take direction, play seamlessly with a click, play with others in a scenario where they're not the center of attention, and most importantly, have the temperament and maturity to do it all in a cheerful manner... they're not ready for prime time.

Bermuda

I respect your opinion immensely, as your knowledge of the subject dwarfs my own, however, I will say that the jump from "youtube" musician to touring musician is becoming more common. I can think of 5 examples off the top of my head, and I am sure there are many more. Anika Niles has a video with 5 million views. 5 MILLION! That is 5 million people who know her name and have seen her face. If I am a touring musician looking for a drummer that does what she does, why would I not audition her first. She brings a fan base that a Nashville studio guy cant touch. I do understand that being a professional touring musician takes more than making videos, believe me, I was one of the guys who couldn't handle it, but I believe that bands will look to youtube more and more in the future.

As for the the jump to TAMA from Mapex, it makes sense that brands would be fighting over her. I say again 5 MILLION views! Abe Cunningham is probably my favorite TAMA artist and he wont play to 5 million people this year. I think us old guys need to realize how much the world is changing and we need to change with it.
 
I would compare her to Thomas Lang, he is like her more known for his clinics and drumming tech videos than for being in a successful band. Oh and same for Benny Greb and some others.

Very good for Tama having her. But then I am not a surprised. Meinl is also the distributor for Tama in Germany.
 
Saw her at the London Drum Show a couple of years ago.

Not to my taste in general but she clearly can play. Really play. I don't think she'd have any issues driving a band or touring, etc. She knows what she's doing and is very good at it.

I hope she gets the support she needs from Tama.
 
Saw her at the London Drum Show a couple of years ago.

Not to my taste in general but she clearly can play. Really play. I don't think she'd have any issues driving a band or touring, etc. She knows what she's doing and is very good at it.

I hope she gets the support she needs from Tama.

I think support might be the key word here as I read in the Russ Miller thread where it wasn't feasible for him to use/endorse the Black Panther series due to their limited production run of those kits. Saturns, on the other hand were much more available with respect to worldwide support.

I think Mapex kind of shot themselves in the foot with the limited runs of the Velvetone, Blaster and Black Widow kits. The shell compostitions are a bit confusing and the lack of choice with finishes didn't help either. I have the the Black Widow kit and it just so happens I really dig the tranparent black lacquer/blk brushed nickel hardware but I'm sure other finishes may have drawn more people to the brand. It's a shame as they really are fabulous drums.
 
Anika is one of the few YouTube drummers I really like. She can play, without doubt. I follow her Instagram too.

I think a lot of times, brand choice for endorsements is based on things that aren't obvious to most people. Someone mentioned Tama and Meinl having the same distributor in Germany, and that could certainly be a factor. If she gets better support from Tama, then I'm all for it!
 
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