Steve Smith

Re: Steve Smith Clinic! now with report and pics!

cool.

benny does some weird stuff with that ride. he rubs the but of his stick slowly near the bell and gets a screeching violin sound then he cups his hand over the bell strikes the bell and waves his cupped hand up and down creating a perfect wah-wah sound.

onf the cool things i now recall steve doing...see how he's wearing that headset? mid solo he does a call and answer between insanely fast vocal beatboxing and then echoing it precisely with just his double bass pedal.
duggaduggadrrrrduggadrrrrduggadigdugdigdugdugadadagudadadadrrdrrrdrrrdugiddydugdigdug.
the guy puts all those fast lawnmower metal heads to shame with his speed, dynamics and creativity.

j
 
Re: Steve Smith Clinic! now with report and pics!

Glad you enjoyed the clinics guys, Steve is truly a phenom. The first time I saw Steve was at a PASIC in Columbus, Ohio in 1993. Steves clinic was early (about 9:00 am ) and I was coming from about 45 miles away buckin the mornin rush hour traffic. I got their a couple minutes late and Steve was already playin. I stood at the back of the hall and kept hearing "man !" "wooow" "holy ****" coming from someone behind me. So at the end of the solo I turned around to see who was making the comments (which i TOTALLY agreed with) and it was Peter Erskine ! Last year at PASIC I got Steve to autograph my copy of his U.S.BEAT dvd !
 
Re: Steve Smith Clinic! now with report and pics!

just found some footage of steve and pete doing theire thing a couple of years ago. so it will give you an idea of the flavour...except now they are both much better and benny was involved.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWvAZ0JEJaA&search=steve%20smith

and him and benny did this hihat solo as a duo plus plus plus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WextSdDV1s&search=steve%20smith

and if you have any doubts if pete belonged on the stage with the other two drumming giants have a look here and be converted...to tabla
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gTIZXM8zTI&search=pete%20lockett

j
 
Re: Steve Smith Clinic! now with report and pics!

Absolutely NJ ! It freaked me right out when I saw the person behind me making the comments of glee and approval was Peter Erskine. I got to recount this story to PE almost ten years later, and he said he remembers the performance to this day !
 
Re: Steve Smith Clinic! now with report and pics!

actually now that i think of it i can understand PE's excitement. when i was a newby drummer all drum solos were amazing but i had no idea what i was hearing or even really seeing. even yesterday at the clinic i know that a lot of what those blokes were doing sounded like neat rumbling to me.
but to ears as old and percussively tuned as peter's he must have been able to identify or at least closely guess what steve was doing; and then as a top drummer himself, he knew exactly how hard the parts were; and then being the class of musician the peter is, he was able to see the full finesse with which steve was executing the moves...and the admiration was informed and genuine.
i think its a cool realisation i've just made: as we get better the solos we see around us become better understood and more fully appreciated by us.
i can imagine the guys at the top love meeting eachother and seeing what other guys are doing and how well they are pulling it all off. i want in on that...
j
 
Re: Steve Smith Clinic! now with report and pics!

I absolutely love Benny Grebs' kit. If I was to get a new kit, It would probably be very similar to that. The montreal highlights kit of his one of the best looking/sounding kits ever IMO.
 
Re: Steve Smith Clinic! now with report and pics!

I second that J ! Thanks for posting the pics and vid, great stuff. I belive you are correct that the reason I freaked when I realized it was PE behind me makin the comments was that he understood more of what was goin on then I, and was still duly impressed ! I'd like some of that also !
 
Re: Steve Smith Clinic! now with report and pics!

Hi guys

that was my first clinc and what a show!

just thought i would check in

adam
 
Re: Steve Smith Clinic! now with report and pics!

Hello! I was there aswell, in fact, jason got on bennys kit before, doubt you remember me, but what a day! I thought it was great when pete Lockett came on, i saw him last year at drummer live, and im planning on going to one of his clinics. Has anyone got there hands on Benny's album, I really liked the tracks he played at the clinic.
 
Re: Steve Smith Clinic! now with report and pics!

Grebfruit is the title, im about to buy one off of his site.
c6494c14.jpg

Cant wait to see benny again at drummerlive, hes such an entertainer!
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Just wanted to add that I have been spending time listening to this History of US Beat DVD and it is fabulous. An amazing drummer and the DVD is a great value. Good instructional stuff with outstanding solos and extras. I like the Bonham grooves and easy to understand when you see Smith break them down. Worth the price of the DVD alone, but way much more to the two discs than that. His hand and foot technique lessons are A+. His independence stuff, or interdependence as he calls it, is mind blowing. Thought Peart had that down cold with the waltz, but now I know why Peart mentions Smith ... he is the real deal. One of the very top drummers giving you 4 1/2 hours of amazing drumming. Check it out.
 
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My name is Steve Smith

no kidding, but I am not the famous Steve Smith.

I should buy Steve Smith sticks my techer would think it would be hilairious

You should have seen last time I went to test out some cymbals, the guy on the intercom was like "Steve Smith is here to test out some cymbals he is interested in" All the heads in the store turned.

I should sign my sticks, Ha Ha. :)

Yep he is also awesome for having the same name as me.
 
Smooooooooth. What ever band he's in, or style he plays, it's always just silky, man.

Definately tied for first in my living drummers list!

His DVD is awesome as well.
 
I've seen Steve Smith twice, once with Vital Information and once with Buddy's Buddies. Extremely dynamic drummer. Fantastic musician overall. I met him briefly and he was not overly warm. A bit of a distant / shy type.

Of course, everyone should strongly study Vital Information and Journey. However, there are a few recordings he did that show a slightly different side of his playing that with the above two bands :

Y&T - 10
Bryan Adams - Reckless
Goodman/Smith/Levy/Burbridge - The Strangers' Hand
Neal Schon - Late Nite
Neal Schon - Beyond The Thunder
Neal Schon - Electric World (also featuring Walfredo Reyes Jr.)
Stef Burns - Swamp Tea
 
Really GOOD! he can really DRUM IT :)
 
I saw Vital Information in April 2006 and Jazz legacy Sept 2006. NY

Amazing

Met Steve on both ocasions and he is a great person.
 
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