Cliff Almond here

Cliff Almond here

Yeah cool thread and great pics everyone, Ciff was a brilliant character, always loved his fights with J.R. Im going to see Ken K in White Chistmas this December. Ill post some Cliff caps later if you want?
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Hey Cliff, what a pleasure it was to meet you! ( And the great MR. Anthony Jackson. : )

And even more to see & hear you play. I know you guys were sleep-deprived and frustrated with gig/management/sound issues, but man, out there in the audience the show exploded with a bang. There was a real buzz about this gig already, and people got more than their monies worth, and left the theater gasping!

I split my time between NYC and India, and next time you come by this way lemme know in advance.. If I'm here, I would love to set up some more gigs for you guys out here. Lots of takers for this music.. clubs & audiences..( gigs/music festivals season is Nov thru March )

Thank you again for some awesome music and I have to say that you are taking the drum kit to whole different level. The inventiveness, the power and the groove all working together was mind blowing to experience!

Safe flight home.

...
 
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Hey Aydee-
Back in NY now...thanks so much for the compliments. It was great to finally get to India. Everyone was so nice while we were there. It was great to meet you as well. Im sorry that the schedule was so tight otherwise we could have talked a bit more. We literally went from the gig to eat and then directly to the airport.
As I mentioned to you when we spoke, we definitely had some equipment issues that day. When we got to the gig, the bass amp didn't work and they had the wrong guitar amp...(they actually sent another one but it didn't work either!) Fortunately I didn't have as much of a problem with my stuff as the other guys did. The drums were not great but they were playable.
I'm not usually one to make too much of an issue like this, because equipment issues can be expected on some level when traveling. However, in this situation we had only gotten about 2 hours of sleep for 3 nights in a row, and the plan was to do a quick check and leave to get some rest. However the equipment was not what we requested, and what they sent didn't even work. (The bass amp was distorting and they wanted AJ to play through it anyway...)We ended up waiting there for 3 hours for the right gear to show up instead of sleeping...so that was a bit frustrating. Quite often in an attempt to save money, promoters will ignore equipment ryders and just tell you that it's "the best they can do"....This particular promoter kept smiling at us and saying "thanks for your understanding..." but didn't really seem to care about fixing the problem.
Fortunately for us the other gigs in India were not like this. The equipment worked and everything worked out fine. Not the case in New Delhi for some reason. At any rate, we still ended up having a decent gig and people seemed to like it so that's all that counts in the end!
Again I really appreciate your kind words and meeting everyone there. I hope to see you again at some point...

Thanks-
CA
 
HEy CLiff, wow Its great to be able to interact with you and to say that youre a monster in the good way !!!!, my teacher Alejandro Matuk (maybe you met him) always tells us about you and to check out the work you've been doin'. I would like to ask you a question, hope you dont mind; I've always wanted to ask this to a great great player and I dont want to miss this chance: ¿What have been the aspects that you have practiced and focused more on, to develop the level that you have achieved, and also what have been the concepts that have developed your playing more, I mean that after studying that, you feel you have made a great evolution in your playing?. I hope you dont mind if this quiestions are very foolish but I'll be very grateful to your answer no matter what it is.

I look forward to meet you some day and see you perform live, until then get my best wishes and keep surprising us with your talent. Many cheers from Mexico City

Diego.
 
Hey Diego-
Thank you for the compliments...(and thanks to your teacher as well)...Your question is a broad one, and certainly not foolish at all.
There have been so many different things that have influenced me and my approach to the drums. It's a bit difficult to pick one thing that is the most important in my own progression. One thing I would say that comes to mind immediately are the basic fundamentals of the instrument that have to be reinforced constantly. In the case of the drums this would be rudiments. In my opinion you really need to have a good rudimentary concept in place to execute your ideas, and this requires some daily maintenance. Muscle memory has to be constantly updated, and i'm always surprised at how quickly my skills can disappear when i'm not keeping my hands in shape.
Another concept that I would say has helped me the most is ...as obvious as this sounds...Listening. Listening skills are CRUCIAL to becoming a better musician. It's important to understand what is going on in any piece of music when you are playing it, or when you are just listening for your own enjoyment. It's always important to know how your instrument fits into the picture of what is trying to be portrayed by the composer. Obviously, different styles have different concepts and approaches, and it's important to know what the best musical choice is for the situation. Many times we get caught up in other aspects of playing such as chops, speed, etc. and before we know it we aren't making the best musical choices for the situation. This is a concept that never ends and is always expanding. If I had to put my finger on two very important things that have helped me in playing the drums or any other instrument, it would be those two concepts, but I think even more so the concept of listening and knowing what to play and when to play it.
Hopefully that helps....

-CA
 
Hey Diego-
Thank you for the compliments...(and thanks to your teacher as well)...Your question is a broad one, and certainly not foolish at all.
There have been so many different things that have influenced me and my approach to the drums. It's a bit difficult to pick one thing that is the most important in my own progression. One thing I would say that comes to mind immediately are the basic fundamentals of the instrument that have to be reinforced constantly. In the case of the drums this would be rudiments. In my opinion you really need to have a good rudimentary concept in place to execute your ideas, and this requires some daily maintenance. Muscle memory has to be constantly updated, and i'm always surprised at how quickly my skills can disappear when i'm not keeping my hands in shape.
Another concept that I would say has helped me the most is ...as obvious as this sounds...Listening. Listening skills are CRUCIAL to becoming a better musician. It's important to understand what is going on in any piece of music when you are playing it, or when you are just listening for your own enjoyment. It's always important to know how your instrument fits into the picture of what is trying to be portrayed by the composer. Obviously, different styles have different concepts and approaches, and it's important to know what the best musical choice is for the situation. Many times we get caught up in other aspects of playing such as chops, speed, etc. and before we know it we aren't making the best musical choices for the situation. This is a concept that never ends and is always expanding. If I had to put my finger on two very important things that have helped me in playing the drums or any other instrument, it would be those two concepts, but I think even more so the concept of listening and knowing what to play and when to play it.
Hopefully that helps....

-CA

Almond joy!!!!
Very well put! Some really really good advice!! Why you dont have a pro drummer page here is a mystery! Bernhard!!!!!! Please lets put one of Cliff up huh???
 
Hey Cliff-

Thank you some much for your answer, and most of all, for the sincerity of your words and for taking it seriously hehe. Let me tell you that this words are solid gold literally, coming from a world class musician its something for my personal record. I will never forget this, it's been very kind from you, and hopefully this can help not only myself but all the community. I support Phil Maturano`s (by the way another monster player; cheers Phil!!! I'll jump to your thread and post another deep, secret revealing question if you don't mind!! LOL) petition of putting a Pro Drummer page!!. Again my sincere thanks and keep playing that way, some day I will be able to ask you some more interesting stuff personally. Until then, my best wishes from Mexico City.

-Your Friend Diego
 
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