Dave Turncrantz

Zodiak

Member
Hello!

I've finally decided to start a thread about Dave Turncrantz, the drummer for Russian Circles. They play instrumental post-rock/post-metal.

Check them out: http://www.myspace.com/russiancircles
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Circles

Now that I've provided all the facts, let me get to the "fanboy" stuff!

Ok, Dave is really an EXCEPTIONAL drummer! Absolutely amazing!!! You just HAVE to hear him play! And give the band a couple of listents just to let it all sink in!!! He's brilliant, amazing! And I mean it. I listen to so much music, all kinds of music, and of course professional drummers do a great job and I like most of them, but Dave's drumming somehow is just out of this world in my opinion, it just feels so right! His parts, his energy, all the tiny little details! Sure, he's no Steve Smith or Dave Weckl, but for such an unknown band he's... you just HAVE to know about him, that's all! Few modern drummers play with such skill, passion, precision and creativity!

And I've been fortunate enough to see Russian Circles and Dave play live in Moscow, and even had a brief chat with Dave, and I can honestly say that he's the nicest guy you'd ever meet! I mean, most drummers are nice, of course... He answered all my stupid question and seemed really thrilled that... you know, someone would actually talk to him and know his name and his parts and his setup.

He plays a very small kit (and there's still so much sound going on, amazing dynamics!). I think his own kit is a green Gretsch kit, but in Moscow they must have been using rented gear. His cymbals are Istanbul. Two crashes, one ride, and hi-hats. His pedal is Trick (which I first heard about from him, actually), single pedal! No double bass, but astonishing heel-toe stuff going on in a couple of their songs.

You can of course check them out on YouTube, but I've got something special for you. I've actually recorded their entire performance, first row, 10 feet from Dave (and I got a drumstick, Pro-Mark 5B Japanese Oak, demolished after 3 songs). And since I know all the drumparts, I tried to record Dave's playing when all the drum fills and interesting stuff came. 5 or 6 songs, I can't remember. Real close so you can see all the drumming. The sound's a bit saturated, of course.

Here's a sample video, song called Youngblood: http://ru.youtube.com/watch?v=pce0NLZLQhM&feature=channel_page

Be sure to watch in High Quality!

The rest of the videos are here, on my channel: http://ru.youtube.com/lightoutube
Towards the end, can't miss them! :)

Please check them out! The band itself is absolutely great, but since it's a drummers' forum, I talk about the drummer so much!

You can also watch this video, pretty cool: http://ru.youtube.com/watch?v=RmOR1I2Q-OI

And this one, again, really upclose!!! :) And the song is ace: http://ru.youtube.com/watch?v=UvjnEI6pvd0

So... please be open-minded and check this drummer out! He's brilliant, live he's even better, and IMO he's truly one of the few modern drummers who PLAYS MUSIC on the drums, and not just an array of beats. The band's still too young for him to have a page on here, I admit, but take notice of Dave. By the way, he teaches in Chicago :) So any of you lucky enough to live in Chicago should take their chance :) I'd die for a lesson with him :)

Cheers!
 
I couldn't agree with you more. I saw him play in Seattle and I was also surprised by his minimalist approach with his kit. Everything he did looked so fluid and effortless. Absolutely amazing.
 
he is an amazing drummer.... i am practicing so much harder in order to be more fluid like him.
 
I just heard about Russian Circles a couple of days ago, and the drumming has already made a huge impact on my playing! Dave Turncrantz is just amazing.
 
yup russian circles, and dave himself are an amazing band with a phenomenal drummer. Saw them a couple of months ago and was just blown away. The stick clicking/ cross stick hi hat stuff hes doing at the beginning of 'fathom', what is it called and anyone know where I can learn some of stuff? On-line vids and so on?
 
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